John and Knox dropped into fighting stances. Hannah slowly backed away, leaving the two monsters to tear into each other alone.
John struck first—a clean, powerful punch straight to Knox's face. Knox's head snapped back. He immediately countered with a hard shove to John's abdomen, forcing him off balance, then launched into a flying dropkick that smashed John into the wall.
John wrapped both arms around Knox's leg, but Knox hopped free just in time. John ripped his head out of the cracked concrete only to eat a brutal right hook that sent him staggering.
John charged forward, crashing into Knox and driving them both through another wall. He released his grip and unleashed a furious barrage of punches. Knox raised his arms to block, forearms absorbing the storm.
Knox slipped a vicious liver shot through John's guard. John reacted instantly, driving a knee into Knox's face. Blood sprayed from Knox's nose; he spat it directly into John's eyes, blinding him for a split second.
Knox capitalized with a crushing uppercut, then brought both fists down in a hammer blow that slammed John into the ground.
Knox dove straight down to finish him—only for John to throw his legs up at the last moment. Knox's chest slammed into John's feet, the impact jarring both of them.
John sprang back to his feet, landing a rear hook followed by a punishing body shot. Knox threw a counterpunch; John blocked it and fired back harder.
Knox's smile widened. He spat blood onto the floor and laughed.
"You're a damn good fighter for someone who's completely fucking insane!"
"I don't need your grudging respect," John growled. "It means nothing to me." He stepped closer, fists raised again.
Knox stomped the ground so hard the concrete beneath John's feet shattered. He stomped again—chunks of floor exploded upward, launching John into the air amid dust and debris.
The cloud blinded John. Knox seized the opening and rocketed toward John's exposed back.
WHAM!
But it was John who struck true. Knox was smashed face-first into the ground.
"How…?" Knox rasped, confusion drowning out the pain. "You didn't see me coming. You didn't sense me… So how…?"
"Let's kick this up a notch!" John roared.
He slammed into Knox again, the two of them crashing through wall after wall.
Meanwhile, the Maggots fled through the tunnels, desperate to escape the destruction. Hannah stayed close behind, scouting for any sign of pursuit.
She knew one of the two titans would eventually win—and the victor would come for her next. That was why she ran.
Then the wall beside them detonated. John and Knox burst through, still locked in savage combat, trading blows like wild animals.
"Other way!" Benjamin yelled, leading the group in a frantic turn.
Knox shoved John back with a powerful punch, then charged. John sidestepped and drove a sharp kick into Knox's liver. He leaped upward and came crashing down on top of him.
Knox threw his arms up to guard. He shoved John off and planted a kick square in his chest.
The fight turned even more brutal. They smashed through walls, ceilings, floors—rubble and debris raining down in their wake.
John threw a heavy right hook. Knox ducked under it and hammered John's abdomen with relentless punches, refusing to let up.
John finally staggered back. Blood poured from his mouth in thick streams. He was battered, weakened.
So was Knox.
"Think, John. Think!" a voice echoed in his head.
"Look at your surroundings. It's a tunnel—parallel concrete surfaces. Sound waves bounce and echo at insane speed."
John's eyes lit up. He understood.
He drew the deepest breath possible and unleashed a scream at the top of his lungs.
The supersonic wave ripped through the tunnel. Walls cracked. Sewage water rippled violently. Knox screamed in agony, clapping both hands over his ears.
John didn't stop. He grabbed Knox's head, drove a brutal knee into his face, then followed with a vicious liver shot. Only then did the scream end.
Knox tried to fight back, but the instant he lowered his hands, John slammed a fist into his solar plexus. Knox gasped, air stolen from his lungs. He forced himself forward through sheer will—only to eat another punch to the face.
Knox dropped to his knees, wheezing. John seized him by the shoulders, yanked him upright, and unloaded.
One. Two. Three. Right, left, uppercuts—Knox's body slowly went limp. He collapsed.
John didn't stop. He straddled Knox and kept pounding, smashing his face again and again.
Then his head snapped up. His ears caught a faint sound. His gaze locked onto the fleeing Maggots.
"Don't think I forgot about you," he said, voice low and eerie. He was practically a killing machine now.
The group ran harder, but John's senses were razor-sharp. He broke into pursuit.
A sonic boom cracked the air. The shockwave blasted them all off their feet.
Hannah scrambled up and planted herself between John and the others.
"Don't you dare hurt them!" she shouted, fists clenched. "I know you're stronger than me, but after that fight with Knox, don't pretend you can last long against me either!"
John gave a soft, humorless laugh. "Is that so?"
In the space between heartbeats, he closed the distance and seized her throat with one hand.
"You're outclassed," he said coldly, tightening his grip. "If you're weak, accept it. Don't cope."
"Don't you remember 5 years ago, just 7 days before you deliberately betrayed the rich...? You tried to make me join you but I was too scared..." Hannah said, coughing the words out.
"Then the last thing I ever heard from you was… 'If I can't make you do what's right, then do it yourself.' You walked away before I could answer… Those words hung over me. They crushed me with guilt…" Hannah said, slowly turning purple.
"But I never forgot those words... So look at me now.. I've done what's right all by myself.." Hannah could barely even open her eyes anymore. "If only you had talked to me a bit longer..." She couldn't finish her words.
"HANNAH!" Benjamin shouted as he saw her body going limp.
John's eyes widened in horror as he immediately let go.
"Hannah?!" He said in shock.
Then the memories began flooding in, his plan, the hundreds of conversations he had with Hannah, Aya...
He looked at the Maggots. They flinched under his gaze alone.
"Guys… I…" The words died in his throat.
John slammed his fist into the ground in raw frustration, then rocketed upward through the ceiling and vanished.
Benjamin rushed to Hannah's side, trying to slap her awake.
"Move!" Emma shoved him aside.
She dropped to her knees and began CPR—thirty chest compressions, then two rescue breaths. She repeated the cycle three times.
Hannah suddenly gasped and jolted awake.
"What… happened?" she rasped, blinking in confusion.
---
"Ah… help… someone… ah…" Knox whimpered.
He crawled forward on trembling arms, sobbing quietly. Tears streamed down his battered face, mixing with blood.
"Someone… save me… please…" His voice was barely a broken whisper.
His tears and blood pooled beneath him.
Then, finally, he collapsed—unconscious… or perhaps worse.