Daniel and Jaegyeon Na stood side by side in the center of the hall. Mugak Wang looked at them and adjusted the thick prayer beads around his neck.
He had a wide and arrogant grin on his face.
"I will bury both of you in this hallway."
Mugak did not wait. He lunged forward and swung a heavy punch at Daniel. Daniel didn't dodge. He planted his feet and used the Iron Fortress technique to take the blow directly on his stomach.
WHAM!
The floor tiles shattered under the pressure. Daniel didn't budge. He immediately countered by swinging his hand like a blade. He used the hand blade to chop deep into Mugak's shoulder.
CRACK!
The bone snapped and Mugak's shoulder slumped at a weird angle. He didn't even blink. Instead of backing away, he stepped closer and drove his forehead into Daniel's nose. Jaegyeon Na appeared in a blur of movement and launched a kick that slammed into Mugak's ribs, sending him skidding sideways.
BOOM!
Mugak smashed into a thick concrete pillar. The stone cracked deeply from the impact. As Mugak slid down, a jagged piece of rusted rebar was exposed within the fresh crack. Mugak didn't hesitate. He reached back, gripped the metal rod, and ripped it out of the pillar with a spray of concrete dust.
"That's enough. I won't let anyone else trample me anymore!"
Mugak stabbed the metal rod toward Daniel's neck with terrifying speed. Jaegyeon Na moved in, using a series of rapid-fire kicks to deflect the rod and hammer against Mugak's chest. Mugak simply stood there and took every hit. He didn't try to block. He let the kicks land so he could grab Jaegyeon's jacket.
"Got you."
Mugak yanked Jaegyeon toward the floor. Jaegyeon twisted in mid-air and used his free leg to kick Mugak in the throat, forcing him to let go.
THUD!
Daniel moved in and delivered a heavy punch to Mugak's solar plexus using the Ultimate Fist. The force was enough to stop a truck. Mugak's back arched and the air hissed out of his lungs, but his expression didn't change. He wrapped his arms around Daniel in a tight clinch.
Mugak jumped, using his momentum to slam both of them through the weakened floor tiles and into the lower level of the fortress.
BOOM!
Dust filled the air in the basement. Mugak stood up among the wreckage of fallen pipes and debris. He grabbed a heavy metal pipe that had burst from the wall during their fall. He didn't care about the steam scalding his skin. He swung the pipe like a club.
Daniel rolled out of the way and regained his stance. He switched to the hand blade again, slicing through Mugak's biceps to try and disable the arms. Blood sprayed against the wall, but Mugak just laughed and swung the pipe harder.
"Keep cutting! I have plenty of blood to lose!"
Mugak swung the pipe in a massive arc, catching a support beam. The metal beam bent and the ceiling began to groan. A heavy chunk of debris fell between Daniel and Jaegyeon, breaking their coordination.
Mugak saw the gap. He threw himself at Daniel with a desperate roar. He swung the pipe with enough force to cave in a car. Daniel tried to raise his arms, but he was off balance from the falling rubble. The pipe was inches away from his temple.
Daniel's eyes suddenly went blank. One moment the pipe was about to crush his skull, and the next moment a heavy strike exploded against Mugak's chest.
THUD!
A massive shockwave erupted from the point of impact. Mugak was launched backward like he had been hit by a high-speed train. He smashed through two brick walls before finally stopping in a pile of rubble. Daniel remained perfectly standing, his arms at his sides as if he had never moved at all.
Mugak coughed up blood and pushed the bricks off his chest. He stood up slowly, his body battered and broken, but his eyes were still wide with madness.
"What was that attack?! Give me more!"
Jaegyeon Na didn't give him a second to breathe. He launched himself at the pile of debris. He unleashed a barrage of spinning kicks that sounded like gunshots against Mugak's body.
WHACK!
WHACK!
WHACK!
Mugak tried to swing his fists, but Daniel rejoined the fray. Daniel used Kyokushin Karate, delivering a series of precise and devastating blows to Mugak's vitals. They attacked from both sides, a storm of strikes that turned the basement into a graveyard of shattered concrete.
Mugak's resilience was inhuman. He took dozens of hits that would have killed a normal man. He kept trying to grab them, his movements becoming slower and more sluggish as the internal damage finally began to take its toll.
CRUNCH!
Jaegyeon delivered a final, thunderous kick to the side of Mugak's head while Daniel landed a heavy palm strike to his chest. The combined force finally overcame Mugak's endurance.
His eyes rolled back into his head and his knees buckled. He crashed into the rubble and lay there perfectly still. The number two of the Dark Crocodile Society was finally finished.
Jaegyeon Na stood over the body and wiped a smear of blood from his cheek. He turned to look at Daniel who was lost in thoughts.
"That attack just now. You have taken a step towards it, right?"
Daniel did not answer immediately. He looked down at his own hands and slowly curled them into fists. The feeling of that sudden, instinctive movement was still vibrating through his bones.
Jaegyeon walked over and clapped a heavy hand on Daniel's shoulder. He looked at the younger man with a serious expression.
"That is your own unique path. Do not forget that feeling. Grab onto it and let the path unveil itself to you."
Daniel stared at the wreckage of the floor where they had fallen. He repeated the words under his breath in a soft whisper.
"Let my own unique path unveil..."
Jaegyeon nodded and looked toward the exit of the basement. He started walking and gestured for Daniel to follow him.
"We have stayed here long enough. The others are waiting and we still have to get out of this place."
Daniel took a deep breath and let the air out slowly. He ignored the stinging in his knuckles and the dust coating his skin. He looked directly at Jaegyeon Na.
"Before leaving... I have something I want to tell you."