Upon seeing Victor standing at the far end of the hall, Kael and Aiden kept moving forward, though they instinctively slowed their pace.

  “I suppose you’re not here to welcome us,” Kael said, without lowering his guard.

  Victor took a few steps toward them, slow and confident.

  “You won’t get past this point,” he replied. “I have orders. And in those orders, you don’t leave alive.”

  Kael scanned the place again. His eyes lingered for a moment on the large door behind Victor.

  “So the one who gave those orders is back there,” he said. “And he’s also the man we’re looking for. Why don’t you let us see him and save us all the trouble?”

  Victor didn’t answer.

  Instead, he lunged at them.

  The first strike was a direct kick that slammed into Kael, sending him to the ground. Without stopping, Victor spun and delivered a second kick with the opposite leg, knocking Aiden to the floor as well.

  It all happened in a blink.

  Aiden pushed himself up, shaking his head.

  “I’ll take that as a no,” he muttered.

  “Yeah… I think so too,” Kael added, struggling to his feet.

  Victor was already heading toward Kael.

  Kael tried to counter with a punch, but Victor intercepted it easily. He blocked, redirected, and in the next motion attacked Kael’s legs, bringing him down again.

  Aiden jumped in to strike from behind.

  Victor dodged without even looking.

  Aiden landed, drew a deep breath, and for a brief instant something shifted. A greenish glow ran across his iris.

  He attacked again.

  For a few seconds, the fight seemed balanced. Punches and kicks collided in a rapid, precise exchange. Aiden mimicked Victor’s movements, copying his stance, rhythm, and technique.

  But it didn’t last.

  In a final exchange, they both pivoted at the same time, lifting their legs to strike. The kicks brushed past each other… and Victor’s connected squarely with Aiden’s face.

  Aiden fell backward.

  Kael reentered the fight.

  “Aiden!” he shouted while attacking. “You’ll never beat him at his own game!”

  Aiden understood instantly.

  It was the same as with the Exterminator.

  Copying wasn’t enough.

  Kael threw another punch, but Victor anticipated it. A sharp blow to the chest sent him stumbling back several steps, followed by a kick that nearly dropped him again.

  Aiden stood up, teeth clenched.

  I have to figure out how.

  He launched himself again, imitating once more… and lost ground again. Every exchange ended the same way: Victor one step ahead, Aiden a second too late.

  Victor knocked him down again.

  “You’re persistent, I’ll give you that,” Victor said, looking down at him. “But it’s not enough. I don’t know how you do what you do… but you’ll never match techniques I’ve perfected for years.”

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  Victor straightened up.

  Kael attacked again.

  Aiden too.

  Their fists collided with Victor’s. He shifted his weight to counterattack… but something changed.

  Aiden’s wing snapped open, intercepting the strike. In the same motion, Aiden twisted his torso and launched a direct punch that forced Victor to step back for the first time.

  Victor took a step back.

  Just one.

  But it was enough.

  Aiden looked at him, breathing hard.

  “Maybe not,” he said. “But I have something you don’t.”

  His wings tensed behind him.

  Kael saw the opening and didn’t hesitate. He lunged at the same time as Aiden.

  They advanced together, synchronized by urgency. Aiden attacked head-on with rapid strikes, while Kael circled to Victor’s side, trying to break his guard. Victor responded with precision: he blocked, pivoted, and delivered a sharp blow to Kael, forcing him back a couple of steps.

  Aiden didn’t stop.

  He attacked again, straight on, and as he moved he murmured almost to himself:

  “Maybe this will work… rhythm break.”

  Remembering a technique he had seen from the Exterminator, he began moving irregularly, bouncing from one leg to the other in horizontal trajectories, disrupting the attack pattern. He closed the distance in a blink and landed a direct hit.

  But Victor reacted.

  He caught Aiden’s arm mid-strike and, with brutal force, slammed a punch into his face. Aiden staggered… but came back in immediately. Kael too. They gave him no time to breathe.

  Victor stepped back.

  Then another.

  “Well,” he said with a tense smirk, “you’re annoying.”

  He raised his voice slightly.

  “What do you expect to gain?”

  Kael answered without hesitation:

  “The truth.”

  Victor let out a short, bitter laugh.

  “The truth hurts,” he replied. “And it’s not always good. Sometimes it’s better to live in ignorance than to face the horror of reality.”

  Aiden heard those words while catching his breath. His eyes dropped briefly to his wings.

  Then he leaned slightly toward Kael.

  “I have an idea,” he whispered.

  Victor charged again.

  “Here we go,” Aiden said.

  He beat his wings hard.

  The thrust sent him sliding at high speed toward one of the walls. He planted his feet against it and, without stopping, flapped violently again, launching himself back into the center of the hall—this time behind Victor.

  Victor twisted his neck, trying to follow him.

  Too late.

  Aiden landed and beat his wings one final time, propelling himself straight at him. Victor managed to block the strike with his forearms, but the impact pushed him several meters back, dragging his feet across the floor before stopping with effort.

  “It’s not enough, kid,” he growled, his arms still trembling.

  Aiden smiled, not pulling back his fist.

  “That wasn’t everything.”

  From the side, Kael appeared.

  The blow was clean. Precise.

  Victor hit the ground.

  Victor rose quickly, regaining composure despite the impact.

  “Nice hit…” he muttered, spitting blood. “Let’s finish this.”

  Aiden and Kael assumed guard at the same time.

  They attacked together.

  Victor blocked the first assault and countered immediately. Aiden landed a hit—just enough to create a minimal distraction—and Kael seized that instant to strike from the side. The exchange became chaotic. Punches, blocks, counters. No one gave ground.

  Blood began to flow.

  They knew what was at stake.

  It was no longer about technique or precision.

  Whoever endured longer would win.

  The blows continued. Breathing grew ragged. Legs trembled.

  Victor launched a kick that forced Aiden back several steps. Kael stood to one side, swaying, but still tried to attack. The strike was deflected easily, and the counter slammed him into the floor.

  Kael didn’t get up immediately.

  Aiden straightened with effort. One eye was nearly closed, blood streaking down his cheeks. He clenched his fist with the last of his strength.

  This… he thought… will be everything.

  He locked eyes with Victor and beat his wings, using the momentum to launch his final attack.

  Victor saw him coming.

  He tried to move.

  But from the ground, Kael reacted.

  With one last effort, he hooked Victor’s legs, immobilizing him just long enough.

  It was an instant.

  Victor tried to break free, lifting his leg to kick him—

  He wasn’t fast enough.

  Aiden’s fist struck squarely.

  Victor was sent flying several meters before crashing to the floor, unconscious.

  Silence returned.

  Aiden barely remained standing, swaying. He looked down at his fist.

  It wasn’t enough, he thought.

  He still couldn’t defeat him alone.

  That punch wouldn’t have landed without Kael.

  “Hey…” Kael’s voice came from the floor. “If you’re done thinking… help me up?”

  Aiden blinked, then smiled.

  “Sure.”

  He extended a hand and helped him to his feet. They both walked slowly toward Victor’s unconscious body.

  “He was strong,” Kael muttered. “But… now we can finally go in.”

  He turned to move.

  Then he heard it.

  It sounded like applause.

  Both went into guard instantly. Kael lowered his gaze and found the source: the radio clipped to Victor’s vest.

  The applause continued for a few seconds, slow and deliberate. Then came a laugh.

  A voice emerged from the device.

  “Well…” it said in a calm, almost amused tone. “You certainly put in the effort. It was quite a show, if you ask me.”

  Kael snapped his head up. In the upper corner of the hall, a small camera watched them. He looked back at the radio, jaw tight.

  “You made it through all my defenses,” the voice continued. “I must admit, I didn’t expect you to get this far.”

  A brief pause.

  “I suppose you truly want to see me. And it would be rude not to receive you… after everything you’ve been through.”

  A click echoed through the hall.

  The large door slowly opened.

  Kael and Aiden stood up straight. They advanced cautiously, every muscle tense, not knowing what to expect. As they crossed the threshold, an intense light from the massive stained-glass window at the back of the chamber illuminated their faces. They blinked, waiting for their eyes to adjust.

  Then they saw him.

  Seated behind a wide desk, relaxed as if none of what had happened concerned him, was the masked man. The one who existed only in rumors. The one many doubted was real.

  Cobra.

  Leaning back in his chair, he observed them silently for a few seconds. Then he let out a soft laugh.

  “Welcome,” he said.