Ethan steadied his breathing.
He forced the rise and fall of his chest down, tightening the rhythm bit by bit. He took a step back. The instant his foot planted on the deck, a faint tremor climbed up through his ankle—yet his whole body felt pinned in place by something invisible.
Then the energy inside him started to surge.
This wasn't a simple power-up. It was the kind of pressure that felt like it might spill out of him at any second. Strength roared along his meridians, only for him to clamp it down—hard—locking it against the surface of his body.
The Powered Combat Armor lit up in response. Luminous patterns crawled through the seams of the plating, channeling that excess power outward.
No charge.
Ethan just lifted a hand and released that energy, compressed to the limit, straight ahead.
The moment it left his body, the air tore open, a visible shock-line carved through the space between them and slammed into the sea-born monster's torso.
Impact followed immediately.
