Lucian vs. Luke

Luke stood outside the entrance, the sunlight stretching his shadow long behind him. His broad shoulders blocked almost all the light.

"I asked you, what did you do to her?" Luke took a step forward, his towering frame radiating an intense pressure.

Lucian did not answer immediately. Super Senses LV1 quietly activated. His hearing extended outward, through the corridor and past the abandoned equipment room. Apart from rats scurrying through the ventilation ducts, he heard no one else breathing. He also glanced at the long-rusted, defunct security cameras on the gym's exterior wall.

Just him. He didn't bring his lackeys.

The corners of Lucian's mouth slowly lifted. The perfect test subject had delivered himself right to his door.

"I'm talking to you, freak." Luke's brow tightened, a dangerous edge entering his voice. "I saw you harassing her yesterday. Today you cornered her in this moldy shithole again. You think you've got balls?"

"Harassing?" Lucian laughed, the sound echoing through the empty interior. "Godolkin's top Golden Boy, the future superstar of the Seven, has a thing for stalking people? Or are you into her and desperate for an excuse to talk to her, so you decided to use me as your stepping stone?"

Luke's expression darkened. Lucian had seen right through him. He had indeed been attracted to Cate's quiet, mysterious air. Yesterday, he had been about to approach her when Lucian beat him to it. He had followed them here today intending to play the hero rescuing the damsel in distress.

"Shut your filthy mouth." Luke lowered his voice. "Now go inside and apologize to her. Then get the hell off South Campus. Otherwise, I'll show you why I'm the top sophomore."

"Really?" Lucian casually tossed his backpack onto the floor and rolled his neck. "Then I'd love to see it."

Luke wasted no more words. He was not the sort who liked trading insults.

He suddenly stepped forward and drove a straight punch at Lucian's face. It was fast enough to stir a gust of wind.

Lucian did not dodge. LV5 Carbon Skin instantly covered his entire body. His skin looked unchanged on the surface, but its internal molecular structure had reorganized within milliseconds into a supermaterial comparable to diamond.

Bang!

The fist slammed squarely into the side of Lucian's face.

Lucian felt as though a truck traveling at full speed had hit him head-on. The strength granted by LV4 Super Physique was terrifying. His feet scraped across the floor as he slid two meters backward, his back crashing into the mottled wall and sending plaster showering down.

Although Carbon Skin had perfectly protected him from fractures and flesh wounds, the tremendous impact had still knocked him back.

"You didn't pass out?" Luke looked at his own fist in some surprise, then back at Lucian.

"That's all the strength you've got?" Lucian straightened. "Guess the bar for the Seven isn't that high."

"You're fucking dead." Luke swore, his gaze turning utterly cold.

A dazzling red light suddenly lit up his arms. The veins beneath his skin turned into flowing lava, and the air around him instantly warped as the temperature soared.

Thermonuclear Manipulation LV4.

"You asked for this!" Luke roared, his fists blazing with searing flames as he unleashed a storm of punches at Lucian.

Lucian crossed his arms in front of himself.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Heavy blows hammered Lucian's arms in rapid succession. Temperatures reaching two thousand degrees instantly burned his sleeves to ash. Yet the flames licking his skin failed to singe even a single hair. The carbon supermaterial's heat resistance far exceeded what ordinary people could imagine.

But that did not mean Lucian was having an easy time. Every punch Luke threw carried astonishing force. Lucian could only defend passively, retreating step by step as the wooden floorboards shattered beneath his feet.

If he keeps using me as a punching bag, even if my skin holds up, the impacts will injure my internal organs.

Seizing the instant Luke paused for breath, Lucian thrust both hands forward.

Visible ripples of air struck Luke's chest.

Luke merely swayed. His charge did not even slow.

Looks like this low-level physical knockback works against ordinary Supes, but it's nowhere near enough against Golden Boy.

Lucian quickly twisted aside.

Luke's fist smashed into the doorframe where Lucian had just been standing. The heavy solid-wood double doors exploded instantly, sending splinters flying like bullets.

Lucian swung a heavy counterpunch into the side of Luke's face, unleashing the full strength of Super Physique LV3.

Bang!

It felt like punching a red-hot steel plate. A dull ache spread through the bones in Lucian's hand.

I'm completely outmatched in both strength and defense. That number-one ranking really isn't just talk.

The strength gap is too big. I have to end this quickly.

He raised his hands. Although the surrounding electrical system had long since been disconnected, stray static electricity in the air and light leaking through the roof began gathering in his palms. Light Energy Manipulation LV4.

"What the hell are you?" A flicker of shock crossed Luke's eyes as he watched the blinding light flare in Lucian's hands.

Wasn't this freshman a strength type? How could he give off light too?

Boom!

An intense burst of light exploded between them.

This was no ordinary flashbang. It was a shockwave of light energy with physical destructive power.

Luke screamed and staggered backward, clutching his eyes. Even with LV4 Super Physique, having such intense light shine directly onto his retinas at point-blank range instantly blinded him.

Lucian did not pause. He pressed the attack while Luke was vulnerable.

He charged across the burning floor, activated Partial Metallization, and drove a heavy metal fist coated in Carbon Skin into Luke's abdomen.

Bang!

Luke flew backward like a tattered sack and slammed into the rusted iron framework of the stands. An iron support as thick as a thigh caved in deeply.

"Cough..." The golden flames on Luke's body dimmed somewhat.

His vision blurred, and his head buzzed. Something was wrong with this freshman. Strength, defense, a light burst, shockwaves... How many fucking powers does he have?

Luke staggered to his feet, intense wariness rising within him. When did Godolkin University recruit a monster like this?

He decided to retreat first and inform Professor Brink.

"You got lucky today, freak." Luke snorted coldly, and two thick jets of flame suddenly erupted beneath his feet.

His body instantly rose into the air, flying toward the gym's broken roof.

Trying to run?

Lucian's gaze hardened. If Luke escaped, not only would he fail to get his abilities, but he would also face a full investigation by Vought International. He absolutely could not let him leave through that door.

He pushed off hard with both legs, his LV3 Super Physique unleashing its maximum speed and jumping power. Lucian shot skyward like a cannonball and grabbed Luke's ankle just as he was about to fly through the roof.

"Get off!" Startled, Luke kicked his other foot, wreathed in roaring flames, hard at Lucian's shoulder.

Lucian did not dodge. He took the heat and the heavy blow head-on, using the force of Luke's downward kick to flip his body upward.

His hand clamped tightly onto the skin at the back of Luke's neck.

Got you.

Mind Control LV3, activate!

Luke's body abruptly stiffened.

A burst of white light suddenly exploded in his mind. It was a false memory of brief dizziness and extreme terror that Lucian had forcibly implanted. Against a strong-willed Supe, LV3 Mind Control could not maintain control for long,

But it was enough.

The flames beneath Luke's feet instantly went out. Without thrust, the two plummeted straight down from more than ten meters in the air.

Lucian adjusted his position in midair, forcing Luke beneath him. He raised his partially metallized right arm high, aiming at Luke's temple.

Bang!

With a heavy crash, the two slammed into the center of the basketball court. The wooden floor collapsed completely, throwing dust into the air.

Lucian knelt on one knee at the bottom of the crater, panting heavily.

Luke lay beneath him, eyes closed, completely unconscious. A large red swelling marked his temple, but there was no bleeding. His LV4 physique truly lived up to its reputation.

Fuck, he was hard to beat. Lucian shook his right hand, which had gone numb from the impact.

He was just about to get up and drag Luke into the shadows when faint footsteps suddenly sounded behind him.

Cate emerged from the shadows at the edge of the stands, both hands gripping The Subconscious and Behavior Control tightly. Her hood had fallen onto her shoulders, and her eyes, usually filled with fear and wariness, were now fixed unblinkingly on Lucian.

She had seen the whole thing.

From Luke's first attack to Lucian's display of terrifying defense and shockwaves, the flash had briefly dazzled her eyes, but she had also seen that strange method at the end that instantly robbed Luke of his ability to resist.

She had had a chance to run.

But she had not. Her feet had remained rooted to the spot.

Lucian looked at her, his tense muscles slowly relaxing. Inwardly, he breathed a sigh of relief.

If Cate had run, he would have been in serious trouble. But she had stayed. Perhaps that meant her curiosity about him had already outweighed her fear of the rules.

"You didn't leave." Lucian stood and brushed the dust off himself. Although his shirt had burned away, he did not feel embarrassed in the slightest.

Cate swallowed. She looked at Golden Boy Luke lying unconscious on the floor, then back at Lucian.

"Who exactly are you?" Cate's voice trembled slightly, but it held more resolve than before. "You didn't just withstand Luke's fire. You can use shockwaves and light too. And at the end, you grabbed him, and he just fell."

She bit her lip, her gaze complicated.

"You're clearly so powerful. Why are you hiding who you are?"