Not wasting a single second, Warden threw a direct jab, one filled with aura and power, toward Stark.
[Warden: 10382 speed]
His speed stat had actually reached over 10000 from the combination of both [Dark Spheres] and [The End of the Line], meaning that he was confident he would be MUCH faster than any of the humans present in this prison, which is how he had been able to take Stark aback the first time and kill him.
And yet...
~FWISH~
Stark moved his head to the side, the punch striking only a few centimeters from where he was, yet his pupils never leaving the warden, who was quite surprised by the sheer speed of the human.
And in response...
Stark swung back, his fist filled with crimson aura and rage, aiming for Warden's armor as his face was too difficult to reach.
"ARMOR SCULKIFICATION!" unable to avoid this attack since it was a direct counter of his, Warden activated his skill and filled his entire armor with sculk, pretty much stopping Stark's fist but also... engulfing the boy's arm in sculk again.
"You're an idiot, aren't you," Warden smiled as he pointed at Stark's right arm, which was progressively getting taken over by the liquid, "You're done for again."
But in response, Stark just looked at his arm for a few seconds, tilting his face as if he was confused how did this changed anything.
And then...
~BOOOOOM~
His arm literally exploded with crimson aura, sending away all the sculk that was from it, almost like his aura was an antivirus against that bacteria.
"???" Warden's eyes widened.
"I think you're the idiot," Stark swung again, and this time the attack actually hit as Warden was sent back by a few meters, although it was just his legs sliding against the ground.
"-13827!" his HP was reduced even more than before, scaring him more than it should.
He had vowed to fight against criminals forever, until he died doing his job, and yet... in front of this one prisoner... he felt like he was nothing.
"Aura Smash, Crimson Spears," he summoned three spears and fists and sent them at the warden, who extremely easily avoided them all, "Crimson Ball Transmission," he summoned the ball in his left hand, but instead of instantly throwing it, he kept it inside, just incase something happened.
"SCULK SURGE!" Warden pointed his arm at Stark, then began to fire bursts of sculk at the boy, who ran around in circles around the boss.
"Didn't we say we would only be using our fists?" Stark tilted his head as he slid on the ground.
"You threw projectiles at me, so I consider the deal to be over," truthfully, even if Stark hadn't done that, he would have started using his other skills anyway: deep down he knew he wouldn't win against Stark in a one on one with their fists, even though his were enhanced.
"Oh well," Stark shrugged.
And then...
Stark's vision went completely dark, as if all the light had been purposely shut in his eyes.
And then...
~CLICK~
His vision came back.
"Goodbye," and as expected, Warden was right behind him, already beginning to swing down his hammer.
But...
"Dumbass," Stark smiled as he snapped his fingers.
~SNAP, FWISH~
Remember how he had used [Crimson Ball Transmission] yet kept the crimson ball in his hands?
Well... right as his vision went black, he immediately gently threw the ball behind him without even looking back, meaning that it landed RIGHT behind Warden.
~SMASH~
Warden smashed his hammer in Stark's location, creating a massive explosion and a crater forming in that spot.
But Stark was already behind him in the air, ready to punch him one last time and finally end this battle once and for all.
"..." Warden's horns glowed intensely, and then... the monster looked back with a wide smile on his face, as if he had predicted that Stark would do that.
"...?" Stark was confused, but he still went for the kill, as there was no reason not to hit when he had the opportunity to.
And yet... just as his fist was about to connect...
~FWISH, CLANG~
A collar-like chain wrapped itself around his neck, closing in on him as he was suddenly held back.
"Fucking... IDIOT," Warden laughed maniacally as he saw Stark on the ground, "You were SOOOO focused on everything you didn't even notice the chain slowly approach you!"
That's right, Warden had activated [Prisoner Chain], yet instead of making it go fast, he could also make it go slowly as to not alert his opponent.
And so just like that... Stark was stuck with a sculk-filled chain around his neck, one that would normally stop him from moving.
Warden lifted his hammer as he arrived in front of Stark, ready to finally end all of this, having outsmarted the human.
"So long, prisoner."
And then... he swung down.