Juli moved.
His smaller frame became an advantage. He ducked under Ragnar's first swipe, rolled between his legs, and delivered a sharp kick to the back of the raider's knee.
Ragnar barely flinched.
Juli kept moving. Cat and mouse. Never stay still. Never give him a clean shot.
Ragnar's fist came down like a hammer. Juli twisted sideways, the punch missing by inches and cratering the ground where he'd stood. Dirt exploded upward.
Juli planted his hands and launched himself into a spinning kick. His heel connected with Ragnar's jaw with a beautiful crack.
Ragnar's head turned slightly.
Then his knee came up and caught Juli square in the face.
Juli flew backward, tumbling through the dirt before slamming into a tree trunk. His vision swam. Blood filled his mouth.
"Is that all?" Ragnar asked calmly. "I expected more, young hero."
Juli spat blood and charged.
His speed was insane. Pure instinct and rage propelling him forward. Ragnar threw a punch. Juli ducked. A kick followed. Juli weaved left. Another punch. Juli jumped.
His hands grabbed Ragnar's head and pulled down as his knee drove upward. The impact echoed through the jungle.
Ragnar's eyes widened. Actually stunned.
Juli landed and immediately swept Ragnar's legs. The massive raider crashed to one knee. Juli was already airborne again, fist cocked back, and drove it into Ragnar's gut with everything he had.
The air exploded from Ragnar's lungs.
But Ragnar moved faster than should be possible. He kipped up in one smooth motion and his arm swung out like a steel bar. The clothesline caught Juli across the chest and sent him crashing to the ground so hard the earth cracked beneath him.
Juli coughed blood. His uniform was torn open across the chest, fabric hanging in shreds. His ribs screamed.
Ragnar loomed over him, claws raised for the killing blow.
Juli's eyes snapped open.
He rolled backward, the claws missing by centimeters. He jumped to his feet and spun, leg extending in what looked like a spin kick aimed at Ragnar's head.
Ragnar raised his guard.
Juli's leg stopped mid-rotation. Feint.
His other leg shot up in a bicycle kick, boot slamming into the top of Ragnar's skull with devastating force.
Ragnar staggered backward, genuinely hurt.
His tail lashed out like a whip, trying to catch Juli's ankle.
Juli saw it coming. He jumped, grabbed the tail mid-air, and used the momentum to swing himself onto Ragnar's back. His arms wrapped around the raider's waist and he arched backward, suplexing the seven-foot monster into the ground with a thunderous impact.
Juli rolled away, breathing hard. His body screamed in protest. Blood dripped from a dozen wounds. He needed a moment. Just one moment to breathe.
Ragnar stood up immediately.
Not slowly. Not struggling. Just up, like the suplex was a minor inconvenience.
He dashed forward, impossibly fast. His massive hand wrapped around Juli's throat and lifted him off the ground. Juli's hands clawed at the grip, feet kicking uselessly.
Then Ragnar jumped and slammed Juli into the earth with a chokeslam that created shockwaves. The ground split in spider-web cracks.
Juli's vision went white with pain.
Ragnar didn't let go. He pulled Juli up by the throat, the boy's feet dangling, and hurled him like a javelin toward a massive boulder thirty feet away.
Juli crashed into the rock with bone-shattering force. The boulder cracked. Juli slid down, leaving a trail of blood on the stone.
His whole body was broken. Ribs cracked. Arm twisted wrong. Blood everywhere. He couldn't feel his left leg.
"Get up," Ragnar called out, voice carrying across the clearing. "I know you have more. Show me!"
Juli's fingers twitched. His red eyes cracked open, barely focused.
"That's it," Ragnar encouraged, genuine excitement in his voice. "Stand, young warrior. Our dance is not yet complete."
Juli pushed against the rock. His body refused. He pushed harder. Something in his shoulder popped but he kept pushing. His legs shook as they took his weight. He stood, swaying, more blood than boy at this point.
Ragnar grinned and charged.
His front kick came like a battering ram aimed at Juli's chest.
Juli moved on pure instinct. He twisted sideways at the last possible instant. The kick missed by a hair's breadth.
Then Juli exploded forward.
Punch to the gut. Ragnar's abs caved slightly.
Knee to the ribs. Something cracked.
Kick to the jaw. Ragnar's head snapped sideways.
Grab the arm. Pull. Slam Ragnar face-first into the ground.
The invincible Blue Butcher actually looked hurt.
Juli tried to follow up. Tried to dash forward for another strike.
His legs gave out.
He collapsed midway, crashing to his knees and then forward onto his face. His body had nothing left.
But Ragnar was down too, lying in the dirt.
Then Ragnar laughed. Deep. Proud. Genuine.
"MAGNIFICENT!" He bellowed, still on the ground. Blood dripped from his mouth. His fur was matted with it. Bruises colored his face. "You actually damaged me. Me!"
Ragnar kipped up, slower this time but still standing. He looked down at his body, at the wounds Juli had inflicted, and smiled wider.
"You are special, child. Truly extraordinary. To push me this far, at your age, with your limited training." He walked slowly toward Juli's collapsed form. "You possess a gift that transcends..."
"I'm not special." Juli's voice came out weak, barely above a whisper, but somehow it cut through everything.
Ragnar stopped.
"I was never special." Juli pushed himself up on trembling arms, blood dripping from his mouth. "I had to train ten times harder than everyone else. No, a hundred times. Just to keep up."
His red eyes burned despite the pain. "My quads, my legs, my whole body. I built them through hell because I was born weak... We were poor. So poor I didn't eat some days."
Tears mixed with the blood on his face.
"Then I saw him." Juli's voice cracked.
"That hero. With the red hair. He saved me and my mom from raiders who attacked our colony. He didn't have to. We were nobody. But he did it anyway." Juli's fingers dug into the dirt.
"He gave me food. Smiled at me. Told me I could be strong too."
Vela, barely conscious against a tree, felt tears rolling down her scaled face.
"That kindness filled me more than any food ever could," Juli continued. "It gave me something to reach for. Someone to become." He looked up at Ragnar, eyes blazing through the pain.
"I want to grow up to be that kind of strong. The kind that gives hope to helpless kids who think the galaxy's left them behind. That's why I'm here! That's why I won't stop!"
Silence fell over the clearing.
Ragnar stared at Juli, really looked at him, for the first time.
"I misjudged you," Ragnar said quietly. The philosophical arrogance was gone, replaced by something genuine. "You are not special because of innate talent. You are special because you chose to become so despite having every reason not to." He bowed his head slightly.
"I apologize, young hero. That is a strength far more profound than anything I possess."
Juli tried to stand but his body refused.
Ragnar's aura began to emanate from his body. Blue and black energy swirled around him like living smoke, thick and oppressive. The air itself seemed to vibrate with power.
The temperature dropped. The jungle went silent. Even the wind stopped.
"You have earned something few ever do," Ragnar said, his voice resonating with power. The blue and black aura intensified, crackling with barely contained energy. "You are worthy of witnessing my Resonance Skill."
His golden eyes blazed with predatory light.
"And worthy of being finished by it."