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The chaos of New York's streets was a cacophony of screams, metal clashing, and the thunderous roars of Orcs rampaging through the city. Kai Vel's senses, enhanced far beyond those of the people around him, picked up every cry for help, every clash of battle. His hearing honed in on the shrill scream of a mother clutching her child, caught between a wall of destruction and a pocket of bloodthirsty Orcs.
In a blur of motion, Kai moved.
One moment he was standing in the middle of the street, his eyes scanning the battlefield. The next, he was across the block, his hands wrapped around the neck of a snarling Orc. His grip crushed the creature's windpipe with a sickening snap, silencing its growl. He tossed the Orc's body aside like a ragdoll and knelt before the trembling mother and her daughter.
"Run," he said, his deep voice calm, commanding. His eyes glowed faintly as he scanned the area, making sure no more threats loomed.
The mother hesitated for a moment, her wide eyes locked onto Kai's towering form, and then as if something in his tone reassured her, she scooped her daughter into her arms and fled toward safety.
But there were more. So many more.
The crack in the Rift wasn't just above the city anymore—smaller fractures, in reality, had appeared all across New York, spitting out more pockets of hungry Orcs. They ransacked the streets, feasting on destruction and chaos.
Kai's mind split into parallel thoughts, calculating strategies, predicting outcomes. He dove into action, his super strength and speed propelling him into the thick of it. Orcs barely saw him before they were torn apart. His fists shattered bone, his feet moved with lethal precision, each step crushing stone or metal beneath his weight as he advanced.
A trio of Orcs cornered a group of civilians huddled in an overturned car. Without hesitation, Kai ripped through the pack like a storm, snapping spines and sending bodies flying. His heat vision lashed out, cutting through another cluster of advancing Orcs, searing their flesh and melting their crude weapons.
All the while, his mind worked two steps ahead, analyzing patterns, and weighing options. His Valorian combat arts were lethal, fluid, and almost beautiful in their efficiency. His strikes flowed into one another, his movements a dance of death that none of the Orcs could counter. His body responded automatically, but his mind was elsewhere—strategizing, always thinking.
Amid the chaos, Kai spotted a figure he recognized—one of the heroes, a leader by the looks of it. The man's uniform was torn and bloodied, but he moved with purpose, directing civilians and coordinating the others. His face was hard, etched with the weight of responsibility.
Kai appeared before him in an instant, his sudden arrival startling the man.
"You-you're the one from earlier," the hero stammered, catching his breath.
"You're in command," Kai stated more than asked, his voice cold and precise. His eyes flicked toward the battlefield, scanning the situation as he spoke. "Evacuate the civilians now. you heroes pull back from the front line and focus on getting everyone out. Leave the Orcs to me."
The hero looked at him, conflicted for a moment, but there was no room for argument in Kai's tone. He hesitated, then nodded. "I'll inform the others."
An officer nearby heard the exchange and, after a quick command from the hero, began relaying the orders over his radio.
As the humans scrambled to execute the new plan, Kai's attention was drawn to a figure standing atop a building, silhouetted against the crackling Rift in the sky. The figure was an Orc, but not like the others. This one was larger, his armor more refined, his posture regal in a twisted, brutal way. His skin was marred with old scars, and a massive axe rested against his shoulder. His eyes gleamed with a dark intelligence.
An Orc Lord.
The Orc Lord locked eyes with Kai, a cruel grin spreading across his scarred face. He bellowed something in his guttural tongue, but the meaning was clear. It was a challenge.
Kai's fists clenched. He launched himself into the air, speeding toward the Orc Lord, his cloak billowing behind him. As he closed the distance, the Orc Lord raised his axe high, his voice booming with laughter.
"You! A Valorian!" the Orc Lord snarled, his voice dripping with malevolence. "I have faced your kind before! Your warriors fell to my blade like cattle, and I savoured every moment! Is that why you hide among these weaklings now? To protect them? Or are you just another sheep in warrior's armor?"
Kai landed before the Orc Lord, his expression unreadable. The two stood there for a moment, facing off on the rooftop. The city around them was in chaos, but for that brief second, it was as if the world had gone silent.
"Your kind," the Orc Lord continued, his voice taunting, "always believed yourselves superior. Always looking down on us naming US one of the Inferiors But we the Orcs—oh, we know the truth. Strength is all that matters. And your people? Your precious Valorians? I have killed dozens of them. And now, I'll add you to the list."
Kai didn't respond. His eyes narrowed, but his body remained eerily calm. His parallel thoughts processed every possible move the Orc Lord might make, every possible outcome of this battle. The Orc Lord was strong—stronger than the others. But Kai had fought stronger before.
Without warning, the Orc Lord lunged, swinging his massive axe with terrifying speed and precision. The rooftop cracked beneath his weight as he brought the weapon down, aiming to cleave Kai in two.
But Kai moved faster.
In an instant, he sidestepped the strike, his body blurring with speed. The axe slammed into the rooftop, splitting the stone, but Kai was already behind the Orc Lord. His fist shot forward, connecting with the back of the Orc Lord's head in a powerful strike that sent him staggering.
The Orc Lord roared in rage, spinning around to face Kai, but he was too slow. Kai struck again, this time with a devastating kick to the Orc Lord's midsection, sending him crashing through the rooftop and into the building below.
As the Orc Lord lay in the rubble, gasping for breath, Kai descended into the wreckage, his eyes cold and unfeeling.
"I am not like the others," Kai said, his voice low and dangerous. "And you are nothing but a relic of a failed species."
With a final strike, Kai's eyes burned with golden light ending the Orc Lord's life, the body crumpling into the debris. He didn't linger. There were still battles to fight, still people to save.