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Hector ducked under the electric fist and pulled up a bed of iron spikes. The metal distorted away from Karkash, bending around an invisible bubble. So Hector just added more--spikes upon spikes, all branching out, each one bending against the magnetic field. They quickly formed a metal sphere, and rather than becoming trapped, Karkash merely tore open a hole to continue attacking.

Hector expected as much, however; he caught the man’s arm and tore it off.

Karkash burst backward and shoved the metal sphere into Hector, knocking him off the roof along with a slew of shingles.

Hector hit the pavement of the adjacent road--which meant Stoker and Karkash were alone. He launched himself up with a sudden metal platform, up and over the building, and sure enough, he saw Karkash already tearing into the other man with lightning.

As he fell, Hector tried to coat Karkash in iron, but the metal dust wouldn’t accumulate against the man’s skin. It was little more than a nuisance as he decapitated Stoker.

A metal box was Hector’s next choice. Four walls shot up around Karkash, far enough from him that they didn’t immediately distort, but Karkash just shoved them into the surrounding buildings, crashing through windows and doors.

He had the man’s attention again. Karkash soared toward him, and Hector made another wall, double his own height. He expected Karkash to seize control of it and was not disappointed. The wall moved straight back toward Hector, and he annihilated it, because he’d already gotten what he wanted: a moment where Karkash couldn’t see him. And when the iron wall turned to dust, Karkash was clearly surprised to see Hector already right there in his face.

Full strength, Hector landed a crushing punch, enough to shatter his own fist along with the man’s face.

Karkash rocketed through a line of buildings.

Hector’s arm was absolutely wrecked from the impact, even crackling with sparks from a last second electric surge. He could see Hoyohté fleeing toward Karkash but couldn’t do much to stop her. That wouldn’t be the end of this fight, he knew.

He glanced at Garovel, who was merely staring at him, eye sockets even wider than usual. Hector took a ragged breath and went to check on Stoker.