“It’s a good day to die!”

Nil did his best to ignore the announcer and focus on Energy Instinct. The game plan hadn’t changed. He needed to track down the Cursed One and take it out before Pietro could find it. He also needed a decent sense of the arena. Nil had rushed it while facing Jaqueline because of her incredible mobility. As far as he knew, his current opponent had no such abilities. That meant Nil could use his journey toward the Cursed One to find elevation and study his surroundings.

“Hardship breeds greatness. The phrase couldn’t be truer on the ice moon affectionately called the Silver Pearl. They started as nomads, moving between the geothermal oases that litter the planet, but then built magitech metropolises around them. They were expected to skyrocket to the status of Control World, but a cult seduced by the Scourge took hold, polluting the holy empire from the inside. Today, our challengers stand in what remains of their capital, Heiligberg.

“Past challengers and forces from around the multiverse have cleansed the moon of all its corruption and darkness. Only the Executioner of Heiligberg remain. Its magic and corruption keep people stronger than Iron Realm from entering the city. If more than a couple approach it, the creature empowers itself with corruption and becomes unstoppable. It must fall so we can reclaim the lost wells of power. So must a Summoned so their power seed can purge the land of corruption.”

The announcer sounded heartbroken. Almost desperate. Nil detested the Death Gauntlet when he first learned about it and considered its purpose stupid. Seeding, nurturing, and growing multiversal warriors and then forcing them to kill each other felt excessive and purposeless. Now, he knew better.

Death Gauntlet was the arena construct’s way of helping the Nexus take back ‘Dark Worlds,’ and helping rid them of the darkness. The power seeds inside each Summoned were more than just a source of power. Nil didn’t understand the significance of the word ‘seed’ for the longest time. Now, he saw clearly.

Nil planned on purging the Cursed One and then using Pietro’s power seed to bring life back to the Heiligberg and Silver Pearl. He had a purpose greater than purging his world of Pietro and the other corrupted soul weapons-bearers. Layla claimed that Cursed Energy struggled to exist in magic and Qi-free worlds like Nil’s Earth.

Get rid of the bastards. Save worlds.

“I know universes full of people abhor today’s challengers. Nil is a rising star, but he slew a favored beacon of beauty and power during his last match. I hear there was an attempt on his life outside of the arena. Was it for slaying Jaqueline Shredder? Now, he’s returned to fight another of his world. Will this victory settle his vendetta? Will he use this third victory and its rewards to the Bronze Realm and Gauntlet? Or will he stick to Iron and continue to settle local squabbles?”

“Meanwhile, Pietro the Frost Emperor, God of the Iron Gauntlet, God of the Death Gauntlet, has built a career out of slaying aspirants of his world. He has prevented almost two dozen hopefuls from his world from winning their third Death Gauntlet match and apparently revels in it. The hatred doesn’t change the fact that this man has purged twenty-two Cursed Ones and cleansed lands distant from his own with twenty-two power seeds. Will this be his twenty-third? Or does this mark his end?”

The world shook, and Nil heard a distant grating. It was the sound of something heavy and metal scraping stone. He focused on nothing but that and tuned out the rest of the announcer’s speech. He was relieved when the part meant for the fighters to hear ended. Nil’s eyes scanned his surroundings, and he plotted the best path forward.

The pillar of light surrounding Nil fell, and he dashed forth with all of the speed he could muster. Expend combined with an infused Toggled Supercharging already helped him move incredibly quickly. The recent extra unit of Finesse granted Nil additional control, ensuring he maintained his balance and never placed his feet anywhere unstable. Then, there was the Bronze Realm Might. The power and stamina gained from it made an even greater difference.

I can do this. Let's make Pietro my little bitch.

The arena construct had dropped Nil off somewhere tepid for an ice world, but when he scaled a cleanly sliced marble pillar, frigid gales bit at his cheeks and ears. Already expecting to face frigid temperatures, he had dressed differently from his previous trips into the arena. Nil wore fur boots, woolen trousers, a t-shirt, and a thick sleeveless outer layer. They were all durable and made for battling Summoned, but Nil doubted they’d last once he started releasing energy blasts. Garuda System’s logo, two silver eagle wings, stretched across his back, extending from one shoulder to the other.

Nil’s surroundings fit the title of ‘holy city’ perfectly. It reminded him of the trip to Rome he took with his family before the cataclysm. It was just before his mother got pregnant with Emily. They had taken a trip to the Vatican. The structure and area at the center of the arena bore a strong resemblance to the Sistine Chapel. Nil sensed a strong Cursed Energy signature somewhere along its perimeter. It was where he needed to go.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Warmth and humidity welcomed Nil when he dropped down to ground level. Given the announcer’s spiel, there were geothermal vents around or under the city, fighting the harsh winds above. Nil was thankful for the two vials he carried and that he didn’t need to consume them immediately. The environment gave his opponent the advantage. The ground was clear but thick snow still covered the taller buildings’ still intact roofs. If Pietro’s power was anything like that of Burning Sands, the man would bring the white powder under his control and gain a distinct advantage over Nil.

It wasn’t just the cold that threatened him. Brutal Battery excelled at dealing with big, powerful hits, robbing the source of kinetic energy. However, it struggled with countless tiny strikes from minute sources. Sand. Salt. Snow. All technically countered him. As he had discovered with the ‘Daughter of Venice’ and seen Pietro do to Adam, the smaller fragments could also do significant damage from the inside.

It took Nil just under ten minutes to cross the city and reach its heart. Energy Instinct helped him track down the Cursed One. It looked uncomfortably human. Centaurs of Greek myth came to mind. Instead of a horse’s lower half, the majority of the creature’s body resembled a giant bear with mange. Then, a human torso grew out of the shoulders. It had scarred grey skin that matched the ugly animalistic half. A gaunt, noseless face glared at Nil, flashing a maniacal grin, and the grating Nil had heard was the sound of the titanic axe it dragged along the ground. The Cursed One stood two stories tall, and by Nil’s estimate, its weapon was just as big.

Much to Nil’s annoyance, he had beaten his opponent to the monster by mere minutes. He saw Pietro rapidly approaching from the opposite direction, riding an avalanche of snow and corrupted soul weapon ready. In his regal outfit, the man looked like a knight charging into a joust. Nil had to turn off Energy Instinct’s visual output since the countless tiny lights shining from the snow under Pietro’s control were blinding.

When the Cursed One charged at Nil, swinging its axe with far more control than one would expect of a monster, he swiftly formulated a new strategy. A quick scan told him that the monster had not one, not two, but three cores in its body, and the weapon it controlled had the same aura as a corrupted soul weapon. There was no way he’d defeat it before Pietro caught up to them.

“You’re going to have run interference,” Nil said, pulling Meatball out of his core. The whelp squeaked at him excitedly, shuddering as her beady eyes studied the approaching monster. “Get that thing as far away from Pietro and me as possible. Divide and conquer. Got it?”

The communication lessons had paid off. It wasn’t just Meatball who seemed to understand Nil’s instructions. When she let out a quick series of squeaks and curled into a tight sphere, he knew what she wanted.

“Remember to Reinforce.”

Nil aimed at the charging Cursed One’s face and gathered energy in his readied arm. He took a deep breath in, counted down from two, and then threw with all of his might, infusing a tenth of his total stores into his supercharged strength at the last moment. Meatball shot forth like a cannonball, her spikes and cracks blurring as she spun rapidly.

It had started as a game. Nil would throw Meatball. She’d speed around the dirt in her bowling ball form and then leap back into his hands. Her demanding squeaks made it clear that she wanted to be thrown. He had memorized during their communication practice. Now, the time had come for the game to turn into a weapon.

The Ironroot Whelp flashed crimson. Despite Nil’s high Finesse, he struggled to follow her flight. Much to his horror, the Cursed One didn’t seem to suffer from any such problems. It raised its axe, holding the wide side of the axhead in front of its face. Nil expected Meatball to rebound off the blade, but she extended a woody tentacle, wrapped it around the weapon’s handle, and spun like a tether ball. She hit the monster’s face with any force to make it stagger a step. She then unfurled, crawled over on the creature's face, and stuck her entire head into the eyesocket, going for the sunken-in organ within.

The Cursed One swiped Meatball away, flinging her into a nearby wall. She flashed again midflight, curling into a ball. The whelp bounced off the surface, onto the ground, and then rolled into one of the bear-like feet. The attack lacked the same force as the one before, but the now crimson-glowing spikes successfully tore the leathery hide, drawing another angry roar. The damage was insignificant but had the desired effect. When Meatball rolled away, disappearing into a side street, the Cursed One followed, leaving Nil to deal with his opponent.

An annoyed scowl replaced the unusually calm expression Pietro usually wore. The wave carrying him changed direction but had to slow and defend when a hail of rubble rained upon him. Instead of trying to grapple the man or engage him in melee combat, Nil leaped past him, attempting to land a slash as he passed. The three-finger blade missed, costing Nil a fair chunk of energy, but he recovered most of it upon landing.

Nil didn’t mind the failed attack. He was probing for information. The key to overcoming Pietro was figuring out how his attack worked. The man tried to flee on his wave, but Nil launched another barrage. The snow couldn’t carry and defend him simultaneously. Absorb activated just in time to catch the spear thrown at him with surprising accuracy. Given Pietro’s history, it wouldn’t surprise Nil if the man had earned enough Schema Tokens to push all attributes to Iron Realm’s limits.

Just as Nil switched to an Expend, a sharp pain in the side of his neck gave him pause. He released a minute flash of energy through the area, sealing the wound, and his hand rushed to the injury. It came away a moment later, holding a crystal scarab no bigger than a pimple in its early stages of development. Despite the burning from Expend, a chill filled the area around the injury. The little critter’s awkwardly bent limbs repaired themselves, and the scorch marks faded. Nil crushed it again, trickling the energy through his gauntleted fingers and disintegrating the insect.

Damn. Snow would’ve been so much easier.