SSSSS-Rank: Negative Leveling

Silas rolled his shoulders and stretched his neck. The movement looked casual, but Luthra caught the small details. The way his feet positioned for perfect balance. How his hands stayed loose but ready.

This wasn't someone who got nervous before fights.

"I should warn you," Silas said. "I haven't had to actually try in quite some time. Most people turn to stone the moment they look at me wrong. You might last longer than usual."

"Thanks for the warning."

"Don't mention it. Professional courtesy."

The guards backed up another ten feet. Even Borris looked nervous. Misha whispered something to Jako, who shook his head.

'They're scared of their own boss huh,' Luthra thought. 'Good to know.'

Silas raised one hand and examined his fingernails like he was checking a manicure. "Tell me something. What made you think you could walk into my home and challenge me? Pride? Stupidity? Or do you actually believe you have a chance?"

"Maybe all three."

"Honest. I appreciate that. It's rare to meet someone who admits they're about to die stupidly."

Luthra shifted his weight and tested his grip on the chain. The metal felt different now, heavier somehow, like it was eager for what came next.

"You talk a lot for someone who's supposed to be impressive."

Silas laughed. "Fair point. Actions over words, right?"

The air pressure changed. Luthra felt it like a weight settling on his chest. The temperature dropped ten degrees in two seconds. Every guard in the courtyard stepped back without realizing they were moving.

'This is what real power feels like.'

Silas's eyes began to glow with a soft gray light. Not bright, but impossible to ignore. The ground around his feet turned dark, like shadows were pooling there.

"Last chance to surrender. I promise to make your statue particularly lifelike."

"Pass."

"Your funeral."

Silas moved.

No warning, no buildup. One moment he stood twenty feet away, the next he was in front of Luthra with his hand reaching for his face. The speed wasn't superhuman, but it was perfect. No wasted motion, no telegraphed intent.

Luthra jerked backward and the fingers missed his cheek by an inch. He swung the chain in a wide arc, aiming for Silas's ribs.

Silas caught the chain in his bare hand.

The weight enhancement activated instantly. Four hundred percent increase. The chain should have felt like it weighed several hundred pounds to anyone else.

Silas didn't even blink.

"Interesting trick. Heavy chain, right? I can feel the magic in it." He yanked hard and pulled Luthra forward. "But weight is just physics. And physics bows to true power."

His other hand shot out, palm open, aimed at Luthra's chest. Luthra twisted away but the hand grazed his shoulder.

Gray energy spread from the point of contact like frost on a window. The fabric of his shirt hardened instantly, turning to rough stone. The transformation crept up toward his neck.

'Oh shit.'

He grabbed his shirt and tore it off, the stone fabric shattering like pottery when it hit the ground. Half his shoulder was numb, but the spreading stopped.

"Quick thinking. Most people freeze up when they feel the stone taking hold." Silas still held the chain, examining it with genuine interest. "This is well-made. Very well-made. Where did you get it?"

"Made it myself."

"Talented. I'll have to add it to my collection after you're gone."

Silas released the chain and stepped back. He seemed completely relaxed, like this was a casual conversation instead of a fight to the death.

'He's playing with me. This isn't even serious for him yet.'

He coiled the chain and tried a different approach. He activated Mind's Eye and studied Silas's movements, looking for patterns, weaknesses, anything.

What he saw made his stomach drop.

Silas's aura wasn't like other hunters. Instead of a steady glow, it pulsed and shifted like liquid mercury. Threads of gray energy extended from his body in all directions, some reaching toward the guards, others disappearing into the ground. He wasn't just powerful, he was connected to everything around him.

"You're analyzing me eh?" Silas tilted his head. "What do you see?"

"You're cheating somehow."

"Cheating?" Silas sounded genuinely offended. "This is my domain. Every stone in these walls, every grain of sand in this courtyard, they all recognize my authority. That's not cheating, that's mastery."

One of the gray threads touched Luthra's foot.

Pain shot up his leg as his boot started turning to stone. He jumped backward, but three more threads were already reaching for him. He dodged left, then right, staying ahead of the creeping gray energy.

"You can't run forever."

"Don't need to run forever. Just long enough."

"Long enough for what?"

Luthra didn't answer. He was counting in his head, waiting for the right moment. The Sigil of Binding was in his pocket, but he needed to get close enough to touch Silas without getting turned to stone first.

'This is impossible. He's too fast, too strong, and he doesn't even need to look at me to use his power.'

Silas raised both hands and the gray threads multiplied, dozens of them snaking through the air. Luthra ran in a wide circle, staying ahead of them, but they kept coming. The courtyard was turning into a web of petrification energy.

"Impressive stamina. You're lasting longer than I expected." Silas lowered his hands and the threads stopped moving. "But this is getting boring. You are starting to disappoint me."

He looked directly at Luthra.

The world slowed down. Luthra felt the petrification magic hit him like a physical force, starting at his feet and climbing steadily upward. His legs locked in place, stone spreading up his thighs toward his waist.

'Dammit.'

But the stone moved slowly, much slower than when Silas had touched him directly. Luthra realized he could still think, still plan. The eye contact version was more dramatic but less efficient.

'He wants me to panic. Wants me to struggle and beg.'

Instead, Luthra smiled.

Silas's confident expression wavered slightly. "What's so funny?"

"You made a mistake."

"Really? What mistake would that be?"

"You got bored."

The stone had reached Luthra's waist. In another ten seconds it would hit his chest and the fight would be over. But ten seconds was enough.

He activated Void Step.

For a moment nothing happened. The petrification magic fought against the teleportation, two types of energy canceling each other out. Then space twisted and Luthra vanished, leaving a stone shell in his place.

He reappeared directly behind Silas, one hand already reaching for the Sigil in his pocket.

Silas spun around faster than should have been possible. "Teleportation? You're full of surprises."

His hand caught Luthra's wrist before the Sigil could clear his pocket. Gray energy began spreading up Luthra's arm.

"But not full enough."

Luthra had one chance left. Instead of pulling away, he stepped closer and drove his knee toward Silas's stomach.

Silas blocked with his free hand, but the impact sent him sliding backward across the stone courtyard.

"Rebecca, NOW!"