As soon as Casper walked closer, Swevr struck.
No warning, no shout — just a sudden, heavy fist heading straight for him. Casper barely had time to register the movement before he ducked, the punch cutting through the air above him with a whoosh.
Casper felt the wind of it graze his hair.
"Fast," he muttered quietly and added in his mind, Strong too.
He stepped in close, trying to take away the reach, driving a short punch into Swevr's ribs. The impact landed solidly but it felt like hitting a sack of rice.
Casper shuddered then followed it up with a shin kick. The kick landed clean against his leg with a sharp thud.
Swevr's face darkened as Casper ducked under his punch and drove his elbow upward toward Swevr's jaw. The blow connected, snapping his head to the side. It wasn't enough to drop him but made him grunt.
Casper didn't pause.
He pivoted, hooking an arm around Swevr's neck and yanking him forward, slamming a knee into his midsection. Once. Twice. The second hit forced air out of his lungs in a loud cough.
Casper let the grunt go and took a step back, breathing heavily. "Why don't we stop this?" He asked slowly then said in a hushed tone, "Before I make you cry in front of your child."
Swevr straightened slowly.
The cough faded. His breathing steadied far too quickly.
He rolled his shoulders once, neck cracking, then looked up at Casper — there was no anger in his face nor hate instead he looked amused.
"Cry?" he repeated.
Then he stepped forward.
Casper's eyes suddenly widened.
Swevr's hand shot out, clamping around Casper's forearm with crushing force. Casper didn't even have time to react as he caught a foot straight into his stomach, and then another, and another.
He staggered back, barely standing. He could feel a burning pain emerge from his stomach as he held back the urge to spew up his afternoon snack.
The fuck? Casper thought surprised, He hits like a semi-truck on steroids. Is this the power of working out?
Casper's eyes soon caught the man lunging straight at him, his arms spread forward as he attempted to grapple him.
But Casper didn't let that happen, in a split second he rolled to the side, avoiding the clinch.
Swevr's hand grabbed nothing but air.
Casper came up from the roll low and tight, already inside his guard. He drove his shoulder into the man's hip, throwing him off balance.
Swevr slid back half a step and grunted, "You're good."
Casper acknowledged it with a grin when the man suddenly bared his fangs.
He lunged forward, covering the distance between them in the blink of an eye.
Casper tried to step back but his heel found nothing.
'What?'
For a split second, his balance vanished — the world tilted, the wood ending beneath his foot but somehow he managed to catch himself.
That was when it clicked.
His eyes snapped up to Swevr.
The man wasn't pressing randomly. He wasn't rushing in wildly. He stood exactly where he wanted to. He was like a hunter who had herded his prey.
That bastard…
Casper's jaw tightened. The burst of aggression, the pressure — it hadn't been about overwhelming him. It had been about driving him back.
A grin appeared in Swevr's face.
"Nowhere to go," he roared, his fist inching closer to Casper's face.
Casper's eyes darkened, reluctantly he decided to defend.
At the last instant, he twisted his wrist inward and brought his forearm up, barely deflecting the punch. The impact rattled through his bones, numbing his arm all the way to the shoulder, but it kept Swevr's fist from caving in his face.
The force shoved Casper sideways, almost causing him to go overboard.
A painful groan escaped his mouth. Who the hell am I fighting against? The Terminator?! Why does his punch hurt so much?
Casper immediately ran straight at him, then veered hard at the last second.
Swevr swung on instinct, a brutal hook meant to catch him mid-charge. Casper slipped past it by inches, the punch tearing through empty air as he ducked low and slid under Swevr's arm.
His fist hit the wooden ground of the docks and instead of the thud Casper thought he'd hear.
The wooden docks suddenly exploded from the weight of his punch, splintering it into pieces as parts of the dock collapsed into the waves.
Casper's expression immediately turned grim.
"What was that?" He asked carefully.
Swevr chuckled, "Eh, surprised now aren't you?" He said in a low voice, "Guess I'll reveal it to you since you're going to die anyway. I'm a person who has acquired supernatural powers… I'm what the mystical world calls a Beyonder!" He proclaimed proudly.
Casper stared at him seriously, Zmanger really gave this guy a potion?
After a moment of exchanging glances, Casper quietly questioned. "I see, so which pathway are you? From that little display you showed earlier I'm guessing Hunter?"
Swevr raised his eyebrow, "Oh you know about that?"
Casper nodded and admitted his secret, "Yes… after all, I'm a Beyonder too."
"No wonder you were so cocky."
Casper didn't let him continue, he pushed forward then lunged back immediately, drawing him closer to him.
To beat a hunter, you had to be a better hunter.
Swevr snarled and rushed after him.
He chased after him, drawing close to the warehouse wall.
"You can't run anymore, boy!"
Casper remained silent.
Just when he was about to reach the wall, he twisted his body and kicked off the wall using his leg and put the nearby Swevr in a chokehold.
Casper pressed tightly, cutting off the blood supply to his brain.
He knew that facing a Hunter in a fight would be pointless, their durability and strength was off the charts. Swevr seemed to shrug off all his attacks, every single one of which could knock a grown man out.
There was no point in attacking him with kicks or punches, he had to do something that targeted his internal body — something that hadn't been reinforced.
"All brawns no brain," Casper mocked as he tightened his grip on the man. "Let's end this mummer's farce," he whispered in the man's ears.
But his provocation seemed to do more harm than good.
Swevr let out a monstrous roar, he leaned forward and with all his might slammed Casper against the ground.
Casper immediately rolled to break his fall, he pushed himself forward and stood up all in the blink of an eye.
Swevr didn't give him time to breathe as he unleashed a frighteningly powerful kick to his leg which Casper sidestepped.
Swevr quickly continued by placing his palms on his chest, giving him a push that caused Casper to stagger back. He threw a right hook to his side which Casper leaned out of before quickly ducking under one of his overhead hooks.
Seeing that Swevr overcommitted to his strike, Casper seized the opportunity and delivered a harsh punch to his cheek that sent him a few steps back.
But just as Casper closed the distance to continue his flurry of blows, Swver somehow twisted his body unnaturally and delivered a frighteningly powerful blow to Casper's cheek that caused the wind to crack and a large gust of wind to cover them.
"Casper!"
The scream tore through the quiet alleyways of the dock.
Adem's voice broke. Tears welled up in his eyes as he instinctively stumbled forward toward Casper. Reaching them, he froze in shock.
"..."
Casper's eyes turned bloody and bulged as veins popped out underneath his skin, his eyes were cold and his neck tightened, his head tilted to the side.
Phew!
He spat out the crimson blood in his mouth, and turned his gaze back to the trembling Swevr. He looked perfectly normal, except for a small gaping hole in his thigh.
At the last second, Casper managed to quickly draw his revolver and fire a shot at Swevr's thigh which severely reduced the force of his blow. Otherwise Casper could attest that his eyes would've popped out of his socket.
"You played dirty!" Swevr barked, fighting through the pain as he lost his balance.
"I didn't play dirty," Casper muttered softly before his eyes turned sharp, "Didn't anyone tell you? When you raise your hands, you put your life on the line, everything and anything goes. This is a street fight man, there's no rules."
Casper didn't give him another second.
The moment he finished, he lunged.
He dove low, shoulder slamming into Swevr's injured side, both hands locking around the man's wounded leg. With a sharp twist of his hips, Casper yanked hard and pivoted at the same time, using the pull to spin himself behind Swevr's back.
Swevr roared in pain, staggering as his balance
broke.
Casper stayed glued to him.
He slipped in close, chest to back, one arm hooking around Swevr's waist while the other clawed straight into the bleeding wound in his thigh.
Swevr screamed.
Not just a scream — but a raw, guttural howl.
"Get off!" he snarled, swinging his arm back blindly.
The blow smashed into Casper's shoulder, then another slammed into his ribs. Casper grunted but no matter what, he didn't let go. Instead, he dug his fingers deeper, tearing at muscle and flesh without hesitation.
Swevr's strikes grew wild. His feet soon fell limp, causing his leg to buckle.
The massive body toppled, crashing sideways onto the planks with a thunderous slam that rattled the docks.
Casper stood up, then raised his hand over the man's throat, ready to end his life.
"Dad!" The arrogant child from before called out as he rushed towards their side.
But Casper paid him no attention, mercy was for the weak. He didn't want to let this man go only for him to turn out to be a big problem later. He had seen this in webnovels multiple times before.
He wasn't stupid.
But just before his foot could land, a sharp voice cut through the tense air.
"Enough!"
Casper turned towards the origin of the sound to witness a blonde haired man with soft features and black eyes — this was Zmanger.
…
"Zmanger, good to see you." Casper commented as he placed his foot on Swevr's throat, restraining him.
"What brings you here?" He asked politely, completely ignoring the man pinned under his foot.
Zmanger pinched his nose and sighed, "I knew this would happen, that's why I rushed over here as soon as I heard," he muttered under his breath.
"Could you please release my man," he asked Casper casually, as if this were a daily thing.
Casper tilted his head in confusion, "What do I get out of it?"
Zmanger pinched the bridge of his nose, "Just let him go, old friend. I have something I need him to do for me… some pest has been sneaking around things that aren't of his concern and people way higher and stronger than me want me to kill him and thus I need him to kill them for me."
Casper nodded in agreement. "Alright. I'll unchain your dog, but I need something from you."
Greedy bastard, Zmanger thought, biting the inside of his cheek.
"What?" He asked plainly.
Casper quickly answered. "You know the case I'm taking right? The heist one? Yeah, I need you to find the leader of the crew for me. I need him to testify for me saying that my client wasn't involved. You're the front and foremost in matters of making people disappear. I know they came to you and I know they're still in Backlund and are under your protection."
"How the hell am I supposed to convince that guy to turn himself in and testify?!" Zmanger asked incredulously.
Casper shrugged, pinning Swevr tighter. "Threaten them, bribe them, kill them, I dont care."
Zmanger swallowed, displeasure written all over his face. But in the end, accepted his deal.