The club room snapped back into focus.
Then it blurred.
The smell of ozone burning was the first thing that hit Sam, then the shockwave of movement.
Sam watched for a beautiful, catastrophic moment as his body moved without conscious thought.
Godspeed.
The emotional upheaval had caused him to unconsciously trigger his strongest ability, then his body prepared to destroy what it saw as a threat.
The pale blue lightning of Godspeed turned brilliant Gold as Holy Hero Energy enhanced the ability further.
Sam saw his arm move, rearing up for a strike, no technique, no discipline, just violence.
His exoskeleton started forming from the knuckles first, the unique bluish white substance forming then matching the same brilliant Gold of Godspeed.
Then it connected.
Riser's face turned in slow motion as then he was lifted off his feet and propelled into the clubroom wall.
The magically reinforced wall cracked and crumbled, burying Riser.
The rest of the room had yet to catch up to the strike, but the breaking of the sound barrier caused the shockwave that the rest of the room didn't have time to prepare for.
Sam barely paid attention to anything but the feeling of hitting Riser.
It didn't feel wrong.
If anything… it felt right.
Like a dam breaking that Sam didn't know he had. Every emotion felt stronger, more complete.
He slowly lowered his arm as a small satisfied smile formed on his face.
He felt good. Better than he had in weeks.
But the shifting of rubble shook Sam out of his reflection as Riser stood from the rubble. Eyes burning with hate.
Sam felt the anger, humiliation, and hate mingled together.
He didn't care.
Flame licked at Riser's wounds, the small ones from the impact of hitting the wall quickly disappeared.
But the rapid bruising of his Jaw?
That stayed.
Sam faintly heard Rias take a sharp intake of breath, but his attention was very clearly on just Riser.
"Do you even know what you just di-" Riser started.
"I shut you up."
"You think you can walk in here, insulting my friends? Treating them like furniture to be used or discarded?"
Riser dusted off his clothes, an act of false nonchalance as Sam saw his jaw tightened.
"You think this changes anything? Your little tantrum means nothing here."
Sam let his smile spread further as he flexed his armored hand.
"Who just lets themselves be hit like that?"
Riser's face contorted as Sam felt a fresh wave of anger wash over him.
"And then, little Phenex, let me tell you something."
Sam stepped closer, using the verbal momentum to fill the space physically.
"You. Ain't. Shit."
Flames started to leak from Riser as the man's fist clenched.
But before he could think about making a swing.
The pressure in the room abruptly felt heavy, as if gravity had just increased.
Sam saw Riser widen his stance, the anger he felt from the man slightly dissipated due to this sudden pressure.
Sam barely felt the need to shift, he registered the pressure but it didn't feel that much different.
"Thats enough. Both of you." A new feminine voice called out behind Sam.
Riser looked past Sam for the first time since the punch.
What he saw made his eyes slightly widen but he quickly gritted his teeth.
"You think you can brush this under a rug. I didn't know Silver-Haired Queen of Annihilation allowed crimes against nobility to go unpunished."
The name drop got Sam's attention, but not enough to take his eyes off Riser.
"Little Phenex, running off to someone bigger and badder? What a 'young master' you are."
As if to punish both men, the pressure increased further.
Riser fell to one knee to keep upright, a new wave of humiliation rolled over him.
Sam ,however, was the one to widen his stance this time.
He didn't know this 'Silver-Haired Queen of Annihilation' so he wouldn't give the satisfaction of falling.
"It seems neither of you two heard me. I said Enough."
Riser finally looked down to the floor.
Sam kept his resistance up but the narrow focus on Riser lessened when he heard Rias's voice.
"Sam… listen. She's on our side."
Sam felt a wave of concern, shock, and… excitement? wash over him from the girls as his focus lessened from Riser to the wider room.
Sam finally turned his head back to the ORC members, seeing all their expressions of concern.
Godspeed lessened instinctively as the pressure increased, not by intention, but by lack of power in Sam's body.
Sam dropped to one knee, mirroring Riser as he looked past Rias to the newcomer.
"Now that the ego test is done, let's continue with this meeting." The new woman said as if she didn't just command the room to silence.
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P*treon.com/Alex_DLC000 for earlier chapters!