Back in New Jersey...
Deep within the ruined, shattered lower levels of the hotel, Nemesis held a phone to his ear, his breathing ragged. "Yeah, I've taken care of the two intruders who breached the perimeter. There's only one left to locate outside."
Suddenly, the shifting of concrete and crunching of glass echoed through the dark. Nemesis snapped his head around, his phone dropping from his hand.
Emerging from the dust were Liam and Asher. Both men were completely drenched in a mixture of their own blood and Nemesis's, their uniforms torn to shreds. Yet, their eyes burned with an unnatural, terrifying intensity.
"You really are a monster, old man," Liam said, a feral, slightly unhinged grin touching his lips. His posture was strange, completely relaxed despite the severe trauma to his body. "But there is absolutely no way I am giving up here."
Asher wiped a streak of crimson from his forehead, his grip tightening on his weapon. "This is the best fight I've had in years. If the Number Two of Loop is this ridiculous, I can't help but wonder how terrifying the Number One must be."
Nemesis's white hair was matted with sweat and blood. He snarled, his single remaining hand curling into a fist. "I gave you pests a chance to die quickly. Now, I will personally tear you apart."
With a desperate roar, Nemesis lunged. Liam and Asher exploded forward to meet him.
Nemesis drove his fist straight toward Liam's jaw, a strike meant to shatter bone—but Liam simply tanked the blow, absorbing the impact with grim resolve. Before Nemesis could pull his arm back, Liam's fingers clamped down onto the fabric of Nemesis's shirt like iron vices.
What are they trying to— Nemesis's thought was cut short.
Liam violently yanked Nemesis forward, perfectly lining him up as Asher delivered a thunderous, bone-crushing punch squarely to the center of Nemesis's face.
Then came another. And another. Asher unleashed a blinding, relentless barrage of punches, each strike landing with a sickening, heavy thud.
Their impact... it's heavier than before, Nemesis thought frantically, his vision flashing white under the assault. Is this pure adrenaline?
Desperate to break the chain, Nemesis swung his left fist wildly toward Asher—but Liam instantly intercepted the opening, hammering a succession of devastating heavy blows into the side of Nemesis's face and throat.
Impossible!
Before Nemesis could even reset his balance, Asher launched himself into the air, spinning flawlessly to deliver a massive kick that caught Nemesis directly under the chin. Liam finally released his grip on the shirt, allowing the sheer momentum to launch Nemesis backward.
The Number Two of Loop flew clean through three successive drywall partitions. Liam and Asher didn't give him a single second to breathe, sprinting right through the dust trails.
Before Nemesis's body could even hit the ground, the duo synchronized their movements, delivering a tandem kick that sent him crashing through five more rooms. The instant his body skidded across the floor, Liam caught him by the ankle, spun him, and slammed him downward with enough force to crack the foundation, sending Nemesis plummeting to the floor below.
Asher followed immediately, diving through the freshly made hole and stomp-kicking Nemesis directly in the chest, driving him an additional five floors down into the pitch-black basement of the complex.
Nemesis violently coughed up a thick spray of blood, staring blindly into the darkness. For the first time in his legendary life, he saw the unmistakable shadow of death looming over him as Liam and Asher dropped down into the landing.
Refusing to fall, Nemesis forced his battered body up and rushed Asher. Using his severed wrist as a brutal, blunt weapon, he drove the stump directly into Asher's throat, pinning him violently against the concrete wall.
He spun to deal with Liam—but Asher, ignoring the strangling pressure on his throat, reached out, grabbed a handful of Nemesis's snow-white hair, and slammed his face brutally back into the concrete.
Before Nemesis could reorient himself, both Liam and Asher unleashed a synchronized, dual kick squarely to his temples, launching him across the floor.
Nemesis dragged himself to his feet, his chest heaving as he gasped for air. Together... these two are an absolute anomaly. They are unbeatable.
In a final, suicidal gambit, Nemesis charged them one last time.
Asher countered instantly, planting a heavy boot right into Nemesis's face, while Liam simultaneously delivered a low, sweeping kick to his calf. Nemesis's center of gravity shattered, his balance shifting entirely.
In that perfect microsecond of vulnerability, Asher raised his hands and slammed both of his palms with explosive force directly over Nemesis's ears.
A split second later, Liam duplicated the motion, driving his own open palms directly over Asher's hands, doubling the concussive shockwave straight into Nemesis's ear canals.
The internal pressure ruptured instantly. Nemesis's senses vanished into absolute, ringing silence as the entire world began to violently spin out of control and his senses stopped working