Chapter 169 - Ares

Kyle had no time to think as another deadly gauntlet punch the size of his chest slammed into his spear shaft. The force sent rippling waves through his arms, making them numb while his soles drew lines in the dirt. The Spear shuddered with a ringing vibration that threatened to shake itself apart, residual arcia energy sparking outwards. Kyle did not lose his grip, quickly switching his hands over in an attempt to strike Ares.

The spearhead shot through the air right towards Ares's face, but Ares grabbed it at the last second with his burly armored hands. A taunting sneer appeared through his unkept beard, his fiery pupils glaring down at Kyle. "More guts than that shield kid, at least. Has he told you how long he lasted in the ring with me?" Ares mocked.

Kyle didn't respond, focusing on the battle at hand. Already the Cretin soldiers were clashing with the Seven Snakesall over the district and beyond, both sides now vying for the final victory. The duel had been going on for ten minutes as both sides tried to figure out each other's abilities. Sounds of explosions of pellet fire and fighting enveloped the two of them, but no one interfered in the duel. The soldiers knew that they wouldn't be able to stand up against the two leaders who were now embroiled in a clash, one that would go down in history.

He yanked the spear backward, hoping that the sudden jerk would slice or at least grate against the skin of Ares's palm. Instead, Ares merely let go, and Kyle hurriedly compensated for the lack of friction. Kyle turned his momentum into a spinning strike, reversing his grip and slashing down from above.

The downward slash was knocked aside by Ares's right gauntlet again, the two metal surfaces clashing and erupting with friction sparks. Before Kyle could pull back the spear again, Ares delivered a strong lower-body smash with his left gauntlet. Ares' fist shot forward like a bullet, catching Kyle off-guard as it crashed against the half-damaged exosuit's armor. It hit Kyle right in the ribs, the composite armor plates and arcia traces creaking and snapping. Small fatigue cracks began to grow, but the exosuit armor was largely intact. Still, Kyle was surprised that his Active Defense engravings did not activate as expected, the full damage striking the armor.

The same taunting grin was still plastered on Ares's face while Kyle was knocked back another foot. "You've survived ten hits now. Much better than Ulon was. Did he tell you how he pleaded for his life?" Ares chuckled, pumping his gauntlets together and causing arcia energy to jump between the knuckles.

"No, but I wish he told me how much you talk." Kyle shot back, preparing to strike again while Ares was still a bit away. Distance is my ally - my spear range is further than his arms. Even if Ares was a half-giant, Kyle knew he could win slowly through careful planning. Ares's size hardly intimidated him, Kyle having fought aliens and exosuits far larger than him in the past.

However, as soon as Kyle tried to move, the exosuit stuttered a little, the motion being restricted a little. Arcia energy flared up all around the stricken location, the surge overwhelming the engravings within. Before Kyle could understand what was happening, Ares was already in front of his face, an uppercut screaming towards his chin.

A quick impulse of the acceleration engravings allowed him to narrowly dodge the uppercut, the gust of air billowing past his face mere inches away. Another incoming right hook from Ares forced Kyle to brace his Spear, the gauntlet striking again against the shaft and sending a violent tremor down its length. The force sent him skidding to the side as Kyle recovered into a fighting posture a few meters away.

"What's the matter? Arctech failing you?" Ares bellowed with a confident grin, his arms outstretched and daring Kyle to attack. "I gave up my war in the Central Sector to fight you, you better make this worth my while!"

Kyle glanced down at his damaged exosuit. It was in bad condition, having withstood the fractures and strain placed on it by the mage hunter crew and the explosion. There was no way he would be able to repair the armor in the middle of the duel. Still, his mind was more focused on the effects of Ares's gauntlets, the blue arcia energy still sparking between the nubs of its knuckles. Until he knew the ability, he wasn't going to make any rash moves just yet. Time for a test.

Kyle lunged forward to the standing Ares. As soon as he got within striking range, he drove his foot forward, metal boots digging into the dirt. He wound his arm back, performing an overhead strike with the spear while leaving his chest exposed. As expected, Ares ducked low, throwing a counter hook right at the chest. Just before the gauntlet hit the armor, Kyle sent his own arcia energy to the exosuit, triggering the Active Defense engraving manually.

The gauntlet slammed into the armor plates again, but this time, the engraving was active, improving the resistance of the armor. The composite materials were all tightened up, strengthening the durability only temporarily at the moment while energy drained out of the embedded crystals. To Ares's surprise, the damage was negligible, feeling as though he was punching a solid wall of hardened treated steel. "What?"

A small smile appeared on Kyle's face, having figured out the effect of Ares's gauntlets. Ares' momentary confusion was capitalized upon, Kyle accelerating his arm with the acceleration engravings in his exosuit. In a blitz attack, he launched two strikes, narrowly hitting Ares' head and gauntlets. Despite the sudden boost in speed, Ares was still able to dodge the attacks nimbly, his large body moving like water.

"Grr... Sebastian told me these gauntlets would hurt you!" Ares complained to himself as he threw another punch. He did not allow Kyle any room to breathe, staying within striking range as they fought tooth and nail. Kyle was continuously on the back foot, their battle traversing the district while they exchanged blows across the open street.

This level of physical strength is impossible, even for a man of his size. Kyle couldn't wrap his head around just how quickly Ares was moving. However, he could sense that there was arcia energy also present in Ares' body, enhancing each strike and movement to alarming heights. Kyle's eyes darted about rapidly, trying to keep track of the continued rain of blows that Ares sent his way. The spear rattled vigorously as it blocked each blow, while some were dodged. The adrenaline pumped through his ears and heart, overwhelming his senses as the cries of soldiers and fighters around faded away. His vision locked only onto Ares, who seemed hardly flustered, only smiling at Kyle.

"Good! It wouldn't be fun if you just fell over like Ulon!" Ares roared, enjoying the battle.

I have to maintain my distance advantage. Kyle used his Spear, his mind racing as he tried to calculate the correct sequence of moves to force Ares back. He parried and swung his Spear in precise movements, each slashing motion threatening to eviscerate Ares and under his arms. That is, if Ares was a normal human. A final swing allowed Kyle enough time to thrust his entire body backward, creating a five-meter gap.

"If you won't come to me, then I'll come to you!" Ares lunged, the explosive strength in his thighs bursting out as the earth beneath his feet cracked. Craters were left in the street as Ares launched into the air faster than Kyle could anticipate.

Accelerate! Kyle's exosuit thrust him to the side, allowing him to side-step the incoming punch. He threw another jab of the Spear, this time aiming for the gauntlet in hopes of blowing it up.

Ares slammed his foot into the ground, using it to pivot away. Ares yanked back his extended gauntlet arm, narrowly dodging the incoming spear hit. With an outstretched reach of his hand, he attempted to grapple Kyle, who leaped backward again once more. Ares immediately gave chase, not letting Kyle create any distance.

Kyle didn't enter any of the buildings nearby, carefully making sure they remained in the open air where he could see Ares. A close-quarter battle with such a brawler would limit his spear movements. He kept his skills close to his heart as they continued the duel, the battlefield evolving around them. I need to find a combo that can take him down in one hit. But he hasn't shown all of his cards yet.

According to Damian, Damian couldn't land a single hit on Ares. Kyle also had yet to land a hit, and he suspects Ares might have something hidden up his sleeve. However, just before he could rationalize his next move, Ares launched another attack in a bid to pressure him. Kyle countered with a spear jab as always, with Ares anticipating it and ducking. But this time, Kyle was willing to venture a bit more, activating the acceleration engravings on the Spear of Defiance itself. The sudden thrust on the side of the spear engraving jerked it sideways, skewing the trajectory and allowing the spearhead to slash toward Ares's neck.

However, when the long, bloodied edge of the spearhead touched Ares's skin, the spear suddenly stopped in mid-air a centimeter away. What? 

Kyle immediately tried to yank the Spear back, as Ares reached out with both hands to grab onto the Spear's shaft, preparing to pull it out from Kyle's grip. Shit! Just as Ares was about to reach the Spear, Kyle quickly activated the detonation ability, targeting the air itself. The tip of the spearhead blossomed into an explosion, Kyle expending a single arcia crystal. The explosion billowed out into a ball of smoke that engulfed Ares's head, Ares's grip loosening enough for Kyle to free the Spear. Kyle and Ares both were forced back away from each other.

A single fragment of the spearhead broke off, chipping the edge slightly. Ares hasn't touched it yet - a new effect? It was now obvious to Kyle that Ares had a lot more up his sleeve than just being a large brawler. His mind raced while Ares charged right back at him, his figure bursting out through the explosion as tendrils of residual smoke clung to his shoulders and outline. Kyle immediately ducked and weaved through the violent combo, Ares's punching speed increasing quickly.

Kyle fended off the brutal series of punches and hooks, their battle taking them across the street. Blows and counterstrikes of the spear blew up nearby walls, pavements and lampposts, devastating the battlefield. Kyle watched as a stray pellet storm hit him, the exosuit's Active Defense engraving resisting the incoming kinetic force. At the same time, he watched as the pellets barely made it to Ares's body, stopping just inches away from his skin before clattering to the floor. That's a similar skill to This is My Turf - is he a system user as well?

He didn't have the time to ask, and he didn't want to expose his knowledge either. However, Ares continued to ramp up the speed, clearly hellbent on catching Kyle's Spear of Defiance. The frequency of the blows increased, to the point where their fighting was like a blur to the other soldiers fighting. The two had now become a whirlwind of death, a natural disaster in the district as nothing survived in their battleground. Cretin, Snakes, and enforcers alike took great caution to avoid them, knowing their pellets had little to no effect.

Kyle's eyes darted as he tried to examine Ares' body. A simple blouse and pants befitting that of a dockworker were all Ares had on him, with the only arctech equipment being the gauntlets. No Galactic Era devices either. Kyle knew there was no chance that he was going to get another look at the unique ability, not unless he changed the environment into something that would allow him to catch Ares off guard. As much as the open-air environment benefitted him, it also allowed Ares visibility of his spear strikes. It's a risk I will have to take.

To Ares's surprise, Kyle dashed from the open street into a crumbling three-story building, its interior blasted apart by mortar shells and occupied by the Cretins. The occupying Cretin soldier squad screamed as Kyle led the charging Ares right into them, smothering the soldiers in blood, dust and debris.

Kyle sprinted up the central carpeted stairwell, with Ares following quickly after. The moment Ares reached halfway up the stairs, Kyle suddenly spun around, capitalizing on the uneven footing. With a violent lunge, Kyle attempted to stab Ares once more.

Ares was no slouch, the uneven footing hardly matters to him. A single side-step had the spearhead sailing harmlessly past Ares's face. Still, it allowed Kyle to pull the same trick as before, the acceleration engraving triggering once more and forcing the Spear next to Ares.

Unfortunately, the Spear remained steady and firm - Ares's hand had already grabbed the Spear's shaft. Kyle watched in surprise as the shaft warped and twisted with an ear-splitting sound, the entire Spear of Defiance broken into two halves.

Instead of using the top half of the spear, Ares tossed it to the side, opting for a follow-up strike. Kyle felt the gauntlet struck him under his left shoulder. The active defense engraving activated, the gauntlet's arcia energy boosting its performance and increasing the resistance of the armor plates. However, it did not prevent the transfer of kinetic energy to Kyle's body, his ribcage and organs shaking violently from the blow. Necklace of Healing! 

Kyle instantly raised the lower half of his Spear like a baton, blocking the follow-up punches. "COME ON, SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT!" Ares shouted, delivering a flurry of jabs, hooks and crosses. In the tight narrow stairwell, Kyle was forced to block or parry it with his new baton or his gauntlets. The fractured baton whittled away with three more strikes, being far too short for Kyle to even use as a weapon. He tossed it to one side, relying on his exosuit armor to defend.

His exosuit gauntlets shook with each incoming strike, but the armor still showed no signs of fatigue or cracking, unlike Ares's first hit. Ares's eyes squinted in suspicion as he realized his attacks were inflicting no damage on the armor. Ares immediately threw a heavy punch, knocking Kyle back up into the second floor's narrow hallway and buying time.

Kyle tumbled, recovering back into a defensive stance while Ares decisively unstrapped his gauntlets, the heavy metal crashing onto the dusty floor with a thunderous thud. Each of the gauntlets weighed more than ten kilograms each, Kyle no longer underestimating Ares's combat prowess. The two stared each other down the tight abandoned hallway, both intimately knowing that the duel would change.

I can't come into contact with his skin directly - it has a forcefield and a decay effect. Kyle didn't know the exact conditions of the skill nor how long it lasted, but whatever damage he wanted to inflict had to get past the forcefield. He twirled the baton in his hand while Ares pumped his fists outwards, both sides limbering up. The adrenaline surged through Kyle's veins, the muscles in his body pushing themselves to the limit as they tensed up, explosive energy ready to burst out at a moment's notice.

Something deep within Kyle responded, delivering a wave of refreshing energy that invigorated his bones and stamina to new heights. The fatigue that had been weighing his motions down disappeared in an instant, the sweat clinging to his armor now chilling to the touch. Is this the effect of the 229-A-X genetic package?

MG404: [Skill Obtained| Enchancment (Advanced) | Push your latent potential to the limits. | Passive Skill. Increased muscle growth and regeneration. Increased bone density and structural integrity. Increased reflexes and nervous reactions. Increased thought process. Stats Increment will improve over time with training. Unique Title will be applied at each stage.]

MG404: [System Message | New Enhancement Level achieved.]

MG404: [Title Obtained | 229-A-X Enhancement Title (Unique) | On the path to becoming a god amongst men. | Current Level: 1. Current Stat Increment Boost per Level: +25.]

Kyle had hardly any time to do dedicated training since he had his race upgrade. He could feel his senses heighten, the world slowing down just a little bit more, his thoughts clearer and his reaction time faster. His pupils expanded, taking in every angle of light that allowed him to see the incoming charge from Ares. The half-giant barrelled down the tight abandoned narrow hallway, fist raised and ready to strike. A flash of energy sparked in Ares's forearm, Kyle catching a glimpse of it for just a single instant as the first shot towards his face.

Kyle immediately raised his arms to block his head in a front-guard. There was something new in his senses as the punch hit the gauntlets head-on. He could feel it reach forward past Ares's hand and clasp around his gauntlets, attempting to crush it. The armor plate creaked a little, but Kyle immediately pulled his two arms away, throwing an uppercut right hook with the help of the acceleration engraving at Ares's forearm. Kyle's counter hook aimed right at the elbow, intending to snap it backward.

Just like the spear, his armored fist stopped right before touching Ares's skin, unable to proceed any further. However, Kyle could tell that Ares was struggling a bit more to fend off the fist, Ares's face scrounging up a little as the first was much closer. Kyle immediately retracted his fist before the same weird sense could envelop his outstretched fist. Without hesitation, Kyle pivoted on his right foot and delivered a left kick toward Ares's knees.

This time, the kick was much more successful, the forcefield now only able to stop it half a centimeter away from the knees. Kyle repeated the process, dodging Ares's counterpunches and trying to breach the forcefield. Ares continuously attempted to grapple Kyle in a bid to lock him down, intending to crush Kyle's exosuit like the Spear. Yet, Ares was now surprised by the improvement in Kyle's speed over the duel, as if fatigue was only making Kyle stronger.

As Kyle launched another kick, Ares reached out, attempting to grab his leg. With the help of the acceleration engravings, Kyle darted about like a butterfly, making it impossible for Ares to get a hold of him. Frustrated, Ares wrapped his burly hands around a doorway into an abandoned apartment, gripping with his full strength. Kyle ducked as a sizable chunk of debris was swung at him, before accelerating backwards once again to dodge Ares's outstretched arms.

"Slippery bastard. You won't get away forever!" Ares tensed his muscles up, Kyle sensing the same arcia energy coursing through the half-giant's body. Kyle had never really 'seen' arcia energy before, but something about the enhancement had triggered a change, his vision now clearly seeing temporary glimpses. It was as though Ares's body had circuits within that channeled them into internal engravings. He could not see the full extent of the circuit, only fragments and selected sections.

Still, Kyle was not about to wait around and let Ares charge up whatever he was about to do. Kyle closed the gap in two strides, planning to knock Ares out of the channeling state. However, instead of his punch making it closer to the skin, it was stopped even further, more than a few inches away. Sparks erupted from the corner of Ares's eyes, Kyle sensing that the forcefield was now expanded further than before.

Alarm bells rang in Kyle's head as the forcefield surged forward, about to envelop Kyle like a crushing hand. Kyle immediately leaped backward, but Ares was done channeling, giving chase. The forcefield ruptured the walls of the cramped hallway, shredding the concrete apart as Ares sprinted down towards Kyle in a head-on charge. Kyle instantly changed course as he reached the end of the hallway, attempting to evade the charge in an abandoned apartment. The living room within was still filled with the memorabilia of the evacuated family. Toys, paintings, drawings, and books were all coated in dust, half of the room already blasted apart in a mortar strike. A gaping hole extended right between the floors, allowing Kyle to jump back down to the first floor.

However, no amount of walls or concrete was enough to stop Ares, the behemoth bursting right through. The rushing wind billowed the soot away as Ares crashed down onto the first floor, pursuing Kyle with unrelenting fury. Kyle sprinted to the backdoor of the building, vaulting over a half-collapsed wall into the alleyway. His channeled state can't last forever - nothing does.

Kyle pumped his legs as hard as he could, his thighs burning as the surroundings moved past him in a blur. Just behind him, he could hear the thunderous rumbling of Ares's footsteps. Trash bins, rubbish piles and abandoned furniture were disintegrated in Ares's warpath, his speed increasing rapidly as the gap between the two of them closed.

Kyle now had half a mind to use his skills, but he knew the battle was far from over. Given my skills cooldown, I can only use it a few times. Now, he had to figure out a way to break Ares's forcefield, which was clearly generated by arcia energy. He considered using Arcia Disruption first, knowing that he had two uses for it. But what if I can disrupt the forcefield without relying on the skill?

As Kyle continued to run, his thought process cycled faster than each footstep. Ares's gauntlets worked by overloading my engravings, resulting in the active defense engraving not activating. All I did was activate them in advance, and the surge of arcia boosted their efficiency. It was the same as an electrical surge, but Kyle did not have the gauntlets to implement his new concept.

But maybe I can. Kyle dug his feet to a halt, turning rapidly to face the disaster rumbling right towards him in the closed alleyway. Trash and debris were flung high into the sky as Ares instantly closed the gap in mere seconds, launching a punch at Kyle.

Penchant for Violence! Kyle immediately ducked as the familiar sense of strength boosted him to even newer heights now, the world slowing down tremendously as his mind worked overtime. With the new enhancement boost, he felt his body brimming with untapped energy, the confidence welling in his arms as he raised his fist. A single battle cry had Kyle launch a punch against Ares, intentionally hitting the now-expanded forcefield. However, he aimed right at Ares's guts this time, despite knowing that he would never reach it.

Ares was more than happy to take the blow head-on, smiling with confidence. However, the forcefield visibly warped in both of their visions, as if Kyle's punch had bent the shape of it. Still, Kyle's punch was stopped more than half a meter away, having no apparent effect. Yet instead of continuing to fight, Ares felt a sudden lurch in his guts, his body cramping up a little as he took a step back.

Kyle's fist hurt from the impact, and his entire kinetic force came to a near-instantaneous halt. But he knew Ares had to be affected by it - the forcefield couldn't absorb all of the energy in his punch. In a blink of an eye, the roles were flipped as Kyle went on the assault, aiming to destroy Ares's forcefield with a flurry of punches.

Unexpectedly, Ares immediately compressed the forcefield, reducing the effective range. Kyle felt his body go off-balance as he nearly tipped forward. Ares took advantage of the momentary disorientation, using one hand to grab Kyle's left armored arm and slam him into the nearby wall. The impact blasted Kyle right through the bricklayer, sending him tumbling into yet another abandoned building damp with moisture. His left armored gauntlet had been twisted and stripped apart beyond recognition, his skin beneath red and raw. Kyle removed what was left of the destroyed gauntlet and quickly channeled the Necklace of Healing to fix the surface-level damage.

Not good enough. I need something more, just like his gauntlet. Kyle was hoping to overwhelm the forcefield through kinetic energy. With that now out of the equation, Kyle needed something else. He shot back up to his fighting posture, watching as Ares clambered into the same building through the new human-sized hole.

"You're good. If you surrender, I'll take you in as my pupil." Ares offered, cracking his knuckles. "No one needs to die here, especially someone as talented as you."

Kyle stood up to his full height, staring right back at the approaching Ares. He watched as the flow of arcia energy within Ares's body became clearer and clearer in his vision. "I agree. No one needs to die here. If you surrender, I'll make sure the Ardent Cretins keep at least one district."

"HAH! You think you can win against me? When you can't even throw a proper punch? You haven't landed a single direct hit on me yet." Ares motioned to his relatively clean body that had somehow avoided the chaos of the duel. "If you're the strongest in your gang, you might as well give up now."

"If you're the strongest in the South Sector, then this city is a sham." Kyle retorted with a mocking sneer. "Hardly worthy of mention. You haven't seen the heights I have - you're not even worth a grain of sand to them."

"Then show me these heights!" Ares suddenly burst forward in a surprise attack, but Kyle was already prepared. He could already sense the build-up of arcia energy in Ares's fist, hinting at the incoming strike. With the additional time, Kyle dodged with ease, slinking between the pillars of the abandoned building as Ares's wide punches knocked chunks off them.

Kyle felt as though the environment was changing as if his senses had unlocked a new layer of reality. Things he hadn't noticed before were now all starting to appear - the ambient arcia and the flow of arcia in his own veins. Intuition began to build as he could even start to tell where the source of the Penchant for Violence came from within his body. Energy surged and pumped from his heart outwards, snaking through the myriad of capillaries and nerves to feed each muscle. Even as he dodged, he could feel more and more of each bead of arcia energy traversing through his body like a coursing river.

At the same time, he was able to predict more and more of the arcia energy within Ares's body. Glimpses of bright temporary arcia flashes clued Kyle into the attack. Kyle's mind began to compartmentalize it, relating it to his century of training in his former life. Just like the training lights. Kyle couldn't help recalling the dummy cyborgs who would flash red before attacking. Each of Ares's strikes was now telegraphed easier than ever. An epiphany appeared in Kyle's brain, raising his affinity with arcia energy even more. Is this what the mages see?

He doubted it, as he couldn't see the ambient arcia energy directly, nor the forcefield itself. All he could see was his own body's arcia energy and bits of Ares's arcia energy internally. Still, it was more than enough to put what he wanted to do into action. With explicit thought, Kyle consciously channeled arcia energy into his muscles and bones, more than what the Penchant of Violence skill had given him. Each part of his body was strengthened and hardened, just as Ares's fist hit Kyle's arm head-on once more.

Ares's originally confident expression became more solemn as he felt his own fist go numb. His eyes burned with a feral rage, no longer in a playful taunting mood as he began to take Kyle more seriously. "Playtime's over, kid. Now you lose."

Kyle didn't respond. Instead, he focused on concentrating the arcia energy into his fists. He could feel the energy dissipate past his pores, disappearing into thin air, but soon, he was able to maintain a consistent thin surface layer. As Ares threw his next punch, Kyle matched the punch head-on, the two fists colliding with each other. The forcefield surrounding Ares's hand suddenly ruptured, ripping apart like a popped balloon. For the first time in the duel, Kyle finally landed a direct hit.

The blow sent a shockwave through the building, loose dust and rubble shaking loose. Both Kyle and Ares immediately took a step back, the punch hurting both of them. Kyle almost couldn't feel his fist, while Ares was flabbergasted at the reddish blotching of his knuckles. "You, how-"

Kyle didn't let Ares finish, immediately launching a counterattack. The arcia energy flowing in his body was now just as real to him as the beads of sweat clinging to his clothes. He threw another arcia-infused punch right at the confused Ares, the acceleration engraving boosting it as fast as he could. Kyle could feel his shoulder being yanked out by the force, but he gritted his teeth and saw the punch all the way through. With a resounding crack of bones, the punch landed right on Ares's chin, the impact sending Ares staggering backward.

Kyle grinned as he relished in the result. "Playtime's over. Now, you los-"

Suddenly, Kyle felt his legs grabbed by something, despite Ares being more than three meters away. Kyle tried to shift his legs, but he couldn't budge an inch. He watched as Ares stood back to his full height, towering over Kyle as his eyes flared with energy. A wide grin was on his face as he clapped mockingly. "You're the first one in a long while to bring this out of me. Let me show you just exactly why I'm the strongest in the South!"

Kyle felt his entire body dragged out from under him, his whole being flung widely and smashing through an array of surrounding pillars. The violent, repeated impacts sent shockwaves through Kyle's internal organs as his armor reached their breaking limit. As he smashed through the last foundational pillar, the entire building came crashing down, burying him in a sea of rubble. Kyle gagged as he lay pinned under a large piece of concrete, the falling debris smashing his exosuit armor into smithereens. The Active Defense engraving didn't work against three tons of building materials falling from the sky, his exosuit on the brink of failure. His mind could not understand what had just happened, but he could only liken Ares's ability to something that he had fought in the past. His guess was only verified as he watched Ares's half-giant body float out of the rubble towards where he had fallen.

Telekinesis!