“We need to reorganize,” Viktor said. He looked and sounded tired. The organizers had granted them a box of supplies to use between rounds. Symbiotech sprays and lotions, Arthurtech energy recovery lozenges, and more filled it. Everyone dug in, patching their wounds and catching their breath. “Elisha is out. We're one person short. It's not the worst thing ever. They're down two.” He nodded at Nil, acknowledging him properly for the first time since they met. “So, the assault and flag teams need—”

“I'm out, too,” Mobi said, leaning on his axe. Fatima wrapped his left arm in an Arthurtech limb stabilizer. He winced, flexing the limb. Chain imprints covered it and his neck. Nil guessed the knight had entangled him on the way to the red beacon. The visage hovered by the pair. It appeared to have taken a liking to Fatima and studied her first-aid skills.

“What?!” Viktor exclaimed. He threw the wound-sealing spray across the square, and it shattered against the wall. “Your arm should be fine. You can go another round.”

“I can't lift my axe, and my magic isn't going to recover enough from these things.” He spat out an Arthurtech lozenge grimacing. “I need time to absorb wildfire, and there is none here. I'm done.”

“What about defense? You can do defense, right? It's not going—”

“I'm fucking done, Viktor,” Mobi growled. “A good leader needs to differentiate between a liability and an asset. Or do you just want a body on the field to act as a meat shield?”

“I didn't tell you to split up from the team, did I?” Viktor spat.

“How many times did my fire save the round, fuckwad?”

“There’s no point in fighting, guys,” Nil said, stepping between the two men as they started getting in each other's faces. His eyes stung from the fumes coming off the burn ointment he had slathered on himself. “You can't force someone to take part, Viktor. Mobi. Could you stay on standby in the rest area and come back for the next round if we lose this one?”

“I could. No promises, but I could. My magic won’t have recovered, but it might be enough for my arm to recover.” Mobi looked past Nil at Viktor and continued slowly, mockingly. “That's called compromise. It's how you deal with and empathize with a teammate.”

“Fuck off, Mobi,” Viktor said. He wiped the blood from his face, and Anya helped seal the open cut above his eye. “So, it's five on five. I think Lily and I should go on defense this time. The stuff here isn't enough for me to recover my magic all of the way.”

“Perhaps you should keep Anya too and just hunker down,” Nil suggested. He studied the square. “Lilly, how limited is your ability? Do you control what stone or rubble you pull into your armor?”

“Somewhat,” Lily replied. “Why?”

“Could you theoretically use it to destabilize the buildings around the square and close some of these alleys? It would be great if we could create a bottleneck.”

“I haven’t really used my power that way before, but it should be possible. Theoretically. It might just be the push I need to get the final ranks for ascension.”

“That’s not half bad an idea,” Viktor commented. “Is two people on assault enough, though?”

“I trust Nil,” Fatima said. She rested an elbow on his shoulder and leaned against him. Then, her nose twitched as she inhaled the ointment’s fumes. The woman stepped away from him, grimacing. Her reaction appeared to amuse the visage. “I think we can do it. There is no need to assault. We just run in, steal the flag and run.”

“They’re two people short, too,” Mobi said. “They’ll have similar team distributions.”

“Fine.” Viktor sighed. “We’ll do just that. Three on defense. Two on offense. We need to win this. I doubt we’ll have the strength for another round.” He stood up straight and rolled his shoulders. “I’m trusting you, Nil. Get that fucking flag. Alright?”

“Nil will get the job done,” Anya said, restocking her quiver in the final seconds before the resupply box sealed itself. “He took care of two people mostly on his own. I’m more worried about us.”

“Just don’t get knocked out again,” Viktor told her. “Perhaps it's best to hold off on attacking until the enemy has initiated it. Wait until one of them is vulnerable or we’re in trouble before getting involved. Ambush instead of snipe.”

“Got it, boss.” Anya shot Nil a sly wink before scaling the nearby building. It amazed him how she managed to move so fluidly despite the sprained ankle.

The second round began half an hour after the first. They knew it was time to start when the flags started glowing, and the luminous pillars rose around them, extending from the ground to the barrier above. A smaller dome appeared around the supply chest and Mobi, cutting both off from the team. Medical staff had already carried Elisha off the field. Winged beasts flew above, testing the dome’s integrity. Nil tore his eyes away from them and sprinted at the pyramid. The sound of collapsing buildings followed them. He didn’t waste time, hanging around to see whether Lily succeeded with her part of the plan.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

“You got Viktor to shut up and listen,” Fatima commented, running by his side. Unlike the rest of the team, she didn’t have a mark on her. The blood blades she held were half an inch longer than the first time they fought, and the hexagons that formed them appeared closer knit together. “Impressive.”

“Tell me what to expect again.”

“You met the spider summoner already. She was a part of the assault team last time. Her spiderweb traps got Elisha just as we reached the beacon. They have their very own Anya. The man has wall-running skills, so expect lots of repositioning and Artisan-made arrows coming from all over the place. Then we have two standard brutes. One hardens himself, and the other is just crazy strong and has regenerative powers.

“The most annoying of them is the barrier maker. The bastard uses them for defense but also to hit hard, trip people up, or have them run into walls. It's annoying how he also switches between melee and mid-range fighting. I think he’s the best trained and powerful of the lot. If not for Mobi, the bastard would’ve had us last round. He used up his magic and broke his arm, taking barrier-man down.”

“I’ll bet the spider summoner will leave us a bunch of traps,” Nil said as they approached the pyramid. He was amazed at how Fatima maintained her pace while talking and managed not to sound breathless. “I hope she stays on defense since the critters are useless against me, but I don’t think we’ll be so lucky. It’ll probably be the archer with at least one of the brutes or the barrier guy.”

“I don’t think barrier-guy will hang around for defense again. He's their biggest source of raw attack, with the chain knight and cat summoner out of the picture. That’s unless the brutes have a secret up their sleeve like you do.”

“Let's hope not.”

The pair slowed as they reached the pyramid. Neither of them saw any signs of the enemy team. Nil scanned their surroundings with Energy Instinct but detected nothing. Given how the majority of the remaining opponents were physical attackers, he doubted the ability would detect anything new. Nil only saw the warmth surrounding the local bioluminescent flora and the pink flecks dancing around Fatima’s blades. Energy Instinct almost made the terrifying weapons appear beautiful. The shimmering aura around it was deceivingly pretty, as always. Nil didn't fear any power on his team as much as hers. Fatima didn't hold back when they dueled. A single misstep on his part could potentially cost him a limb, if not his life.

“Over there,” Fatima whispered, pointing at the row of buildings just east of the pyramid. A trio moved along its roofs.

“Can you identify any of them?” Nil asked.

Fatima shook her head. “I'm sure barrier-guy is with them, though. In the last round, he got ahead of us by bridging gaps between buildings with his barriers and running along the roofs. I bet he's doing it again to run to our flag as fast as possible.”

“Let's hope Viktor and company can hold off long enough for us to do our part.” Nil took a moment to scan the path ahead as he came up with a quick plan. “We're splitting up. You—”

“Don't get overconfident, Nil,” Fatima interrupted. “You're good but not good enough to steal the flag alone.”

“That's not what I'm saying. We only need the enemy to think I'm going at it alone, so they focus on me. Then you go around the back and either steal the flag or take out one.”

“And we can take out the other one together before heading back.”

“Exactly.”

“Okay. I like that. You go straight at them, and I'll go around.”

Nil finally found himself alone. He needed Brutal Battery close to full charge, so he Expended the last of his energy to scale the pyramid. It took him a couple of minutes. Once at the top, he caught sight of Fatima weaving her way toward the red flag. The enemy team's assault group didn't appear far from the blue beacon. The space around the square appeared bigger. It looked like Lily had successfully collapsed the building.

Nil was in the middle of plotting his course when an arrow grazed his cheek. Since he was in a neutral state, the head sliced his cheek, and warm blood flowed freely from the incision. He immediately ducked and channelled Absorb. Nil caught sight of the opposing archer on a nearby rooftop. When the second arrow struck Nil before sliding off him, the man turned tail and raced back toward the beacon. He took delight in the fact the man had run past Fatima without even noticing her.

It was a big risk, but there was something Nil had wanted to try since the second he read Brutal Battery's description. He took a running start, picking up speed as he crossed from the pyramid's flat top. Then, once he reached the edge, Nil leaped.

For a heartbeat, it felt like he was flying. Unfortunately, the increasing downward trajectory robbed him of the feeling a moment later. Nil fell halfway down the pyramid before landing on his feet. He didn't stumble, and his knees didn't buckle under the force. Absorb took care of everything. Brutal Battery’s stores jumped from almost empty to just under halfway. After gaining confidence with the first, Nil employed an Expend-powered tuck jump for the second, pouring half of his new reserves into it. He got much more air and traveled a significantly longer distance.

I'm a fucking superhero.

The joy didn't end during the fall. He still felt powerful and amazing. Nil hoped the organizers would give him a video copy of the event so he could get a still of the leap. Absorb almost brought him to full, and when he landed, he ran straight at the beacon, ignoring all else.

Arrows pelted, losing all momentum on contact, and then dropped to the ground. Then, one exploded when it struck his chest. The symbiote squirmed, coming alive as it wrapped around the flames clinging to his chest. The fire singed his neck and chin, but he ignored the discomfort. When he looked up, he saw the visage pointing at the source of the arrows. Knowing where they were coming from, let him bob and weave. Nil occasionally switched to Expend, covering large distances in quick bursts, then Absorbed again as the hail of arrows intensified.

When the fuck is he going to run out?

Fatima came to the rescue.

Nil heard a yelp, and then the man fell from the roof. Much to his surprise, the archer’s trajectory changed, and it was as if gravity had switched from the ground to the wall. His feet touched down, and he took off running along it. Wall running kept him out of Fatima’s reach, but he was now exposed and an easy target. Nil nailed a target with a thrown chunk of rubble for the first time since the match began. It struck the man’s back, knocking him off his feet. The man tumbled along the wall for several feet before his ability ceased working. He fell to the ground and didn’t rise again.

The flag capturers closed in on the red beacon and heard lightning crackle in the distance. The enemy assault team had started their assault.