Luke was pacing now that it had been over 10 minutes since they had defeated the last lieutenant, and the general still hadn't shown up. Had he miscalculated? It just didn't make sense to let them recover after the fight. Due to its restrictions, it couldn't attack during it, but it could right after, which would have been the best time to strike. Luke just couldn't understand what was happening.

The rest of the team just couldn't keep up the vigilance needed to be prepared for the general for long. It had only been a short while since they departed from their everyday lives. And were now lounging around chatting with each other. Luke wanted to tell them to get ready, but he was starting to doubt his own theory.

Just before Luke started to spiral, the ground began to shake. Luke grinned as he gave the order to prepare. This was either Jace, or it was the general. Regardless it seldom hurt to be prepared.

Everyone had their weapons out and pointed where the shaking came from. Tension filled the air as it grew louder and louder, closer and closer. Soon a figure, a large figure, could be seen, but details were still blurry. It looked like Jace as it approached, so everyone dropped their guard. It would be nice having Jace during the fight with the general.

As soon as he got within earshot, Luke called out to him only to get a smirk that felt wholely wrong on Jace's face. Something tickled at the back of his mind, but he couldn't put the finger on it. The first thought of mind control was thrown out the window as that was an extremely mana-intensive spell. The most logical answer was that something had changed in Jace. For an average person, that was fine, but for a dragon, that could mean the difference between life and death for a whole planet. Luke prepared himself for a fight just in case.

Jace then opened his mouth, closed it, and frowned before opening it again. "You know I was never that good of an actor. Kept pushing what I wanted through what the character would do." In a flash, 'Jace' was in front of them, crouching down as if he was looking at a beautiful rock. "And it would be so dull to not toy with you guys for as long as I got free. I'm not sure how long that stubborn dragon will stay down, but I have a couple of hours at the least." He clapped his hands and grinned. "Now, let's see how long you can survive for." And with that, the not Jace kicked out at Tabitha.

Tabitha controlled her ice to throw her out of the way. If that monster actually knocked out Jace, she was NOT going to take a hit from it. As she glided away from the kick, it suddenly sped up, moving faster than she had ever seen anything move, and she was pretty sure it broke the sound barrier. She started to panic as the foot homed in on her faster and faster before stopping a centimeter away from her. A booming laugh rang out as the foot shot back. "Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you that fast." The giant man looked like he had cracked a great joke as he laughed at the panic Tabitha had felt. Then the laughing stopped. "But you really don't need that left arm of yours." Faster than Tabitha could blink, something cut through her ice and removed her left arm.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

For a second, everybody paused as her arm thumped to the ground before bursting into action. Luke launched the strongest attack he had along with James. Both had recognized that they couldn't hold back if they wanted to survive this fight. Sarah activated Aura of the Valkyries for resilience while Elizabeth fired her sound rifle at the fake Jace.

Tabitha took that time to stare blankly at her arm before the pain set in. Her scream of pain was timed with fake Jace's laughter.

Through his laughter, he was able to say, "That was even better than I expected!" Right before their attacks landed, a bubble popped up and soaked up the attacks before popping. "I love that skill. Only last for a second but man, was it worth all that killing."

Another pause erupted across the miniature battlefield as everyone truly recognized that this was the end. They would not be winning this fight. Tabitha had already checked out after her arm was cut off. Elizabeth was ready to die fighting along with Sarah. James and Luke's eyes burned with vivid hatred not just at fake Jace but at the very situation they wherein. How was it fair that all of their hard work meant nothing before this monolith of power. The worse part for Luke was knowing how weak fake Jace would be considered by the multiverse in general right now.

Fake Jace smiled, showing off all of his large sharp teeth. "Aww, don't be so down. When that dragon found out he couldn't win, he just threw harder punches. I can't wait to kill that fucker." Still smiling, he continued, "You know what, let's play a game. For each hour you guys can survive, I'll let 100 people leave the sector unharmed when it opens up. And to spice it up for every injury you can give me, I'll let another 100 people go."

Only silence followed as his words processed in their brains. They may die here, but they could save people by fighting back. Everyone but Tabitha, who was despondently looking at her severed arm, took a quick look at each other before nodding. They were going to get as many people out of here as possible. Luke infused himself with The Emperor, which gave everyone, within 30 meters, who considered themselves his citizen a buff to all stats. Sadly it would only affect Elizabeth, but even that was worth it. Elizabeth aimed her sound rifle at fake Jace, waiting for it to start. Flames surged around James as he knew that regardless of what he did, he would die first. He had the lowest physical stats out of everybody, and his spells drained him fast. The only way he was going to save lives was by attacking. Sarah just readied her spear; she had no significant attacks and could save the most lives by doing what she does best, not dying.

Fake Jace's smile grew, "I see the contestants are ready. Then let the games begin!"