Day 25..

So to sum up my time here so far, I'd give the place a 1/10.

The staff were shit and would never shut up, the other 'guests' were rude and aggressive, and, judging by some of the noises and shouts during the night, there were definitely a few murderers and rapists mingling around, making me wonder if there had been a prison nearby or something. And since everyone knew that you couldn’t claim EXP, you really had to watch what you said and who you looked at. It was why murders were common place and the guards really wouldn’t think twice about gutting you if you talked back.

Maybe it was because management went for people who were more likely to travel or hide by themselves and thus were more likely to get kidnapped by the management's minions. And just maybe, those that travelled by themselves in these days were either insane, desperate or a tad unsavoury.

So on one hand they are technically cleaning up the riff raff, but also ‘technically’, they don't actually discriminate with who they steal, like me for example, so fuck them, and I hope they all die horrible genital-mutilating deaths.

Overall, my mind and soul had regained a few threads, but barely.

And I'd all but stopped talking to people, resorting to nods and grunts to communicate, which had gotten me beaten up a few times with the guards.

But with Serens continued angelic help and counselling, I was starting to come to terms with things I'd done and even managing to start putting the pieces of my mind back together.

Without her companionship I don't think my mind would have lasted a few days, let alone for this long..How do others do it?..

Maybe they have someone like Seren..

The thought of discussing this with anyone else made me feel sick and if the physical person was a piece of shit, imagine what their ‘Seren’ would be like.

But my experiences and introspective discussions had prompted me to question whether all this wasn't as bad as I first thought..

I mean, this is all horrifically fucked and I AM completely fucked in the head..but, I'm still alive and when I look at the grand picture, all this human death is not really any different to any other species is it? I mean, before all this, we used to kill millions of animals a day for food and in some places death was a sport too. And now we're actively hunting and killing, with extermination as the core principle.

Seren had vehemently reinforced that no matter what, it wasn't my fault, that I had no choice, and that I was being forced to do whatever it took to survive.

But, realistically, I do have a choice. It's just either kill or be killed.

Which is pretty much what it's been since the beginning.

This is life now. This is the norm.

Since Tommy's, Gilos and Fedros passing, I had been in two more teams and I had a grand total of 39 wins under my belt, nearly getting to Tommy's score..Achievable thanks to management's infinite generosity - graciously sending me more than one fight on some days and even three on others.

Unbeknownst to them however, was that all this fighting bolstered my skills and for each dance with death that I survived, the stress and fear seemed to unlock hidden genes in my body, making me feel ever so slightly stronger, faster and deeply synchronised with my instincts and abilities.

But today's fight saw my team wipe - after they tried to use me as a meat shield yet stupidly died as a consequence, the idiots didn’t know I could Slipfold, meaning it was just little old me by myself again.

It's almost like they put me on the worst teams possible because they don't like me.

Plot twist, they definitely hated me.

And for the life of me I couldn't understand why they hadn't just killed me yet or, if they were worried about public outcry - which is very fucking unlikely - then why not poison me beforehand and have me fight their leader in a grand display of their prowess?

It would remain a mystery until I could ask them.

What wasn't so much of a mystery anymore apparently, was why they made us fight with such shitty odds and why they made us fight in general, if some of the fuckhead guards' conversations were anything to go by - I'd had to decipher their dipshit speak into something sensible, but it did make sense.

It was all to do with this ‘control domain’.

All EXP gains were basically stolen and funnelled up to management and distributed in some sick and twisted payroll scheme with a gambling ring bolted on, and, at the same time, our excess Majik was constantly siphoned and used as fuel for their defences that protected this place.

Being forced to MAGN level 1 meant that apparently bonus EXP was generated from fighting significantly higher levelled creatures, somehow, and also, so that our Majik point resource pools shrank, allowing the excess revenue to be sucked up.

Even the guards and workers were limited to a specific mag level depending on what job role you had.

The shittiest business model in all of history.

Then to top it all off, apparently they'd been doing this after only a fucking month had passed since the nightmare event.

A fucking month.

Who even comes up with this shit? How the hell did they set it up?!

Fucking scummiest of the scum.

It was probably why they hadn't off’d me yet, because I was still churning out great returns of EXP and Majik for them. Although I definitely wasn’t their favourite since, even though there was a bit of reputation surrounding me after I'd one shot the T-Rex, I wasn't special in the arena, not by a long shot considering some of the fables.

That honour was bestowed upon a few individuals that had reached the lofty heights of 80+ wins, of them was a couple nicknamed the lovers, for their reputation of being fiercely loyal and passionate with each other, but to underestimate them would be pretty stupid. They were insanely strong, having been fighting as a couple since the beginning and rumours had it they were the leaders of a mob before the fall.

And then another notable one was the mysterious Vamp, who wasn't an actual vampire but did drink literal blood, looked far too young, had white hair, AND, wore a red jacket.

Fucking gross, but can’t deny his cosplayer-commitment to the visage..

I'd be dead if I said that to his face.

Even with his stats heavily reduced, once he got going, he had abilities that simply gave him the attributes of someone who was MAGN 50.

He was at 89 wins and so everyone talked about him constantly and how he was sure to be the next to join the almighty management.

Pfft. Doubt it very much. They don't play fair so why would they honour a single word.

I..won't get my hopes up or entertain the likes of them..

I'm either escaping on my own, then brutally razing this place to cinders..or…I'll die here.

Leaving Marri and Lone behind.

Curled up in my corner spot with the luxury of having four whole stinking piss-stained blankets due to a lack of owners, I stared at the flames, trying to breathe through the immense heartache I felt whenever I thought of them. But it was no use and to make matters worse, after I thought of them, it always opened the floodgates, and I ended up thinking about everyone else I had come to care about..

Sylvie, little Lyra and Erza..

I miss our talks and your jokes at breakfast..Dammit I hope you're all okay.

Steve..Gods I hope you're doing well and have finally got your suit of armour made of rock. Ha, wait until you see Seren in her daemon form..ohoho..

Triya hope you're still kicking ass and keeping all your gang in check..bet you're the queen of the underground or some shit already ha..

Catara…somehow I am still on guard about saying ANYTHING compassionate with you even mentally, lest you turn it around into an uncomfortable innuendo and then report back to Marri about another successful mission..But you're a real hero in my eyes. I'll never forget what you did at the pumphouse..

Mya and Grave..Fuck I'm so sorry for my stupidity, leaving you behind in my rush to make progress..I'm just glad you are together and hopefully keeping safe. Even though it's been short, you guys have had my back and that means everything to me..

And..Siya.

Every time I thought of Siya, I came back to images of me brutalising the bloody stumps of the Striga in the arena and wincing in shame…I didn't feel worthy to even think of her name ever since that act of violence.

I hope you're okay young lady..You saved my life so many times I lost count. I hope..If we ever see each other, you can forgive me..for what I’ve become..

Silent tears were like a bedtime story to me these days. The only way to fall deep asleep was to gaze soullessly at the Majik bin fire and release a few saline drops down my grime and blood stained face..

…

..

*CLANG CLANG CLANG*

Ugh..Piss off..

I had just started to doze off when a guard rudely made a racket and opened my gate.

Surprise, surprise, it was the black gauntlet guard. My black gauntlets that stuck out like a sore thumb from his standard issue guard kit which consisted of black workers trousers, a helmet of any description, spray painted black with a hole cut out of the top for the massive throbbing c-

"Get up, meat beater. Management has got a special treat for you tonight."

Fuck off thieving prick..What do the shitheads want now. I've already done my fight for today.

With a grunt I pushed myself up and followed the prick to the ramp promptly, but just with enough delay to warrant a quick smack to the back from his weapon.

Cunt.

The tunnel walls leading to the arena's meatbag entrance were unnaturally smooth now; the 3D printer Majik organisms had finished their work here a few days ago.

"Enjoy, pissant." I didn't react externally, as that would just end up with me being truly brutalised, but I was surprised that the cockhead knew other English words apart from 'meat beater' or 'I love to gag on management's saggy scrotums before breakfast'..

The crowd were chanting something as I walked to the gate and, as it folded down on itself, I exited out into the arena with the same amount of passion and excitement as you'd expect from a rock.

They erupted into the usual jeers with a few spots in the crowd actually cheering and whistling. Apparently there were meat beater lovers in the house tonight.

The announcer said some things in Italian, of which I'd started to pick bits up. She said something about teams, killers, betrayal, choices and..love?

A spotlight clapped on and shone down onto the centre of the arena, where there were two people tied in stocks, bent over and completely naked.

It was the fighting couple, the lovers.

*FOR THE BENEFIT OF OUR SIMPLE MINDED STUD OF THE NIGHT, I SHALL REPEAT MYSELF IN THE BARBARIC, LEAST ROMANTIC LANGUAGE OF THE WORLD - THE ENGLISH.*

What a joke..

The audience roared with laughter.

*BEHOLD, A GIFT FROM THE GENEROUS AND HARD WORKING TEAM HERE! FOR YOUR EFFORTS AND MILDLY ENTERTAINING DISPLAYS, YOU NOW HAVE BEEN GIVEN A CHOICE BETWEEN THREE GIFTS.*

Don't make me laugh.. cretins..

*IN FRONT OF YOU ARE THE TWO FABLED LOVERS. IF YOU PICK THE WOMAN, YOU MUST KILL HER LOVER. THEN, DEPENDING ON PREFERENCE, YOU MUST PENETRATE ANY ORIFICE YOU DESIRE AND THRUST TO THE FINISH LINE!*

Fucking monsters. Sick disgusting vile bastards.

*YOU MUST FINISH TO SEAL YOUR DEAL! ANYTHING ELSE WILL BE A DISQUALIFICATION AND IMMEDIATE EXECUTION! TEEHEE!*

No. If it comes down to it, I'd rather die.

*NOW, IF YOU PICK THE MAN, IF THAT'S THE TEAM YOU PLAY FOR, THE SAME RULES APPLY! PICK A HOLE AND MAKE THAT GOAAAAL!*

If there is any god listening, please. Not this. Anything but this.

*NOW THOSE ARE YOUR FIRST TWO CHOICES, BUT THERE IS A THIRD, SLIGHTLY MORE EROTIC CHOICE. IF YOU DECIDE TO NOT PICK EITHER OF THEM, OUT OF SOME STRANGE SENSE OF..JUSTICE? OR, MORALITY?!....HAHA MORALITY? HERE!?*

She said something in Italian and the crowd erupted into more sickening laughter to which she cackled along with.

The man and woman were both sobbing and shouting to each other in sentences that I didn't understand but could guess it was either goodbyes or attempts to soothe and comfort.

*AHEM. SO THE THIRD OPTION IS YOU PICK BOTH. IF YOU HAVE THE ENERGY, YOU CAN FILL THEM BOTH AND THEN JOIN TEAMS TO BECOME TEAM MEAT BEATER LOVERS, BUT! YOU MUST FINISH BEFORE THE OGRES COME OR ELLLLSEEE..*

The crowd burst into raucous laughter as she cackled and screamed, completely unhinged.

*NOW, MAKE YOUR CHOICE. FUCK THEM ALL TO SAVE THEM ALL! OR KILL ONE AND RRRRRUIN THE OTHER! *

I grit my teeth and walked towards the man.

He smiled at me with tears and snot running down his face. The woman on the other side screamed and howled.

"P-p-please. Save her life. I know..it's strange to ask. But she'll grow to like you I can tell..please though, be careful..s-sh-she's pregnant. And I know it's insane but..I w-wanted to give her a chance. I wanted to g-give the b-baby a chance. We have fucked up..we didn't think it was possible to get pregnant anymore but.. it's happened..and now I can’t..I don’t..

He sobbed and looked down yelling at the ground.

"One day we got a fucking quest that simply said 'Prepare for childbirth'!! It's why those sick monsters are doing this! They are angry that we even dared to refuse an abortion!"

Pregnant? Are you f..

I looked over and analyzed her.

Label: Laural

MAGN: 65.434

HP: 300/650 (1412)

Note: A woman who would do anything for her lover. There is indeed a small life taking shape inside her.

My blood ran thick with slush ice.

What is this nightmare? What is this HELL? WHAT IS THIS PLACE WHERE I MUST RAPE TO SAVE A PREGNANT WOMANS LIFE?

The pregnant woman Laural was staring daggers at me, sobbing and shaking her head, begging me to spare him.

I looked down at my hands and at the man.

There is…no coming back from this. Even if I somehow managed to escape after…I'd be alive but..it would only be to get revenge. I couldn't go back to Marri…or Lone. I would be better off dead than tainting them with having a rapist of a father or husband..

There was an internal conflict between fury and my artic-cold state.

I looked at the guy and nodded.

My mind started to slowly float back, away from my body as I reached out and placed my hand on his forehead.

It will be quick and painless…it…it is..-

*OHHH IT LOOKS LIKE THE STUD HAS MADE A DECISION! OH I BET THE LADY LOVER IS DRIPPING AT THE ANTICIPATION RIGHT NOW!*

Laural was choking on her words, wailing, pleading for me to look at her, to wait, to just wait for one more moment.

Don't look at her. Don't look at her face. Don't look at her eyes. Don't-

My eyes briefly glanced to the side and I saw her looking at me, lips trembling with the sad smile of someone who…still had hope.

DON'T.

But I couldn’t pull my sunken gaze away.

She slowly nodded and shouted words that slammed my slipping mind right back into my body.

"You're..a father, aren't you?"

Wha-

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"You have a family right? A wife you still love?"

How-

"Then you know what you'd want in my position. Please, I need him. I'd rather die than be without him."

…

I looked down at the man who was staring at her shaking his head whimpering.

“No-no. Please! Do it! If there’s a chance, any chance they’ll live! I-I-..”

I..

"No no! What are you doing? No, don't! They'll kill us both!"

I backed away.

“They’ll kill us all!”

I can't do this..

I took a few more steps back and my mind…it felt better.

I'd…

"...rather..die."

*WHERE ARE YOU GOING STUD? HAVE YOU CHANGE YOUR MIND? OR PERHAPS YOUR SEXUAL PREFERENCES?*

"I'd..rather..die!"

*OH HE FINALLY SPEAKS? WHAT WAS THAT STUD? YOU NEED LUBE OR A FLUFFER OR SOMETHING? SPEAK UP! COME ON!*

"I SAID I'D RATHER DIE, THAN DO ANOTHER THING FOR YOU CHILD KILLING RAPISTS! SHE IS PREGNANT YOU SICK, SHIT EATING, PISS DRINKING CUNTS! YOU, WHO CHAIN OTHERS DOWN AND THEN PRETEND TO BE STRONGER? NO! YOU'RE JUST A BUNCH OF WEAK SCARED FLECKS OF SCUM THAT CAN DO NOTHING BUT DESTROY AND HATE BECAUSE YOU ARE TOO FEEBLE TO PROTECT. AND NOW YOU TRY TO INFLICT AS MUCH PAIN ON OTHERS BECAUSE YOU THINK THAT MAKES YOU BETTER THAN THEM. WELL GUESS WHAT, YOU'LL NEVER BE GOOD. YOU'LL NEVER BE BETTER. YOU'LL ALWAYS BE TRASH. YOU WILL ALWAYS BE WEAK LITTLE VERMIN. NOBODY WILL EVER CARE FOR YOU, EVER. AND I PROMISE YOU THIS. YOU'RE ALL GOING TO DIE PAINFULLY AND HORRIBLY. REMOVE MY COLLAR! REMOVE MY CHAINS! I FUCKING DARE YOU! I FUCKING CHALLENGE ANY OF YOU SCARED PATHETIC SMEARS OF SHIT! COME ON! COME DOWN HERE! COME ON! COME ONNNNNN!" I roared out and was left heavily breathing as the crowd died down.

It wasn't my finest hour, but damn did I not feel unburdened and free. Even if just for a moment, for the first time in weeks, I made a decision that was my own and I roared it all out.

It's probably going to be my last..but fuck it. I'm done with all this…in fact..

The crowd had gone almost silent as I took a step back and Slipfolded a centimetre on the spot, my newly learned trick from the arena. It neatly severed the hinge of the stocks holding the man.

*HOW FUCKING DARE YOU-*

I didn't bother listening to the bitch announcer, instead sticking my middle fingers up and spinning around as me and the man moved over to the woman and did the exact same thing, releasing her.

She was smiling at me with such a broad smile it reached her tearful eyes, even in the face of our certain death that was to come.

They embraced each other and the man spoke to me over the escalating volume of the extremely offended and angry crowd. Their dose of pain and suffering had not been administered, and they were livid.

"They will kill us..fuck they will kill our unborn child-" he looked at the woman. "-but you are right, my love. I-I’m sorry..Death is better than being apart. This place is too corrupt..we will continue our journey together in the next life."

The woman smiled and nodded, then looked at me as chaos erupted around us.

"Thank you. I..I know this will cost you and us everything but, thank you. Whatever choices you have made up until now, no matter anyone else's judgement, even the divine, I would forgive you for them, never forget that."

The crowd sounded like it was rioting now, apparently I had hit a nerve and people were trying to break through the shield. There were strange clinks and vibrations, triggering ripples all over the barrier in different coloured lights; it looked like people were attacking the shield.

*STOP YOU STUPID WHORES! ALL OF YOU. GUARDS! STOP THE-ARGH FOR FUCK SAKES I'M SPEAKING THAT UGLY-*

Ha. The dumb bitch switched to Italian, sounding angry and panicked.

"Shit. Our times are nearly up. She just called for the guards to kill us..fuck." the man grit his teeth and out on a feral smile. "Let's take a few of the anus-eaters with us eh?"

His accented use of the word anus made me snort, even as guards started pouring in and forming up around the edge.

I looked at the guards and then back to the guy and for the first time in ages, I grinned and lowered my stance.

"That sounds good to me."

They began to march towards us with weapons drawn, obviously they had been instructed to show a sign of a consolidated and uniform force. But when the klaxon blared alarmingly and the monster den gates folded in on themselves, pants were visibly shat.

The guards froze and looked at each other in confusion before the leader tried to shout something out, but it was told difficult to hear over the screeching announcement lady spitting venom at the crowd who, judging by the sounds coming from the shield all around us, had reached a new fever pitch and really wanted to get in and take me up on my challenge.

*WHO FUCKING OPENED THE DEN?! WHAT ARE YOU WHORE IDIOTS DOING DOWN THERE?*

Announcer bitch is so mad she's speaking English..oh sweet satisfaction..

Unfortunately, from the monster den, came a guttural roaring and the sounds of hundreds of angry, hungry screeches.

Shit didn't think of that..

Someone had apparently unleashed the entire stock and they poured out like water bursting from a dam.

Welp. So it's either be eaten alive, or stabbed in the head by these toss-bags..

The guards screamed at each other and started backing up, forming haggard defensive formations.

They clearly did not like it when the odds weren't heavily stacked in their favour, and the oncoming horde was a significantly bigger threat than a bunch of attribute-crippled inmates.

On paper, your average guard was nowhere near as strong as your average prisoner. But, the slave bands blocked the use of skills outside the arena and having the stats of a mag 1 versus a mag 35 was the same difference as a toddler fighting an MMA champion.

Although here in the arena, at least the toddlers could teleport and conjure purple spiked tendrils that could puncture through bone..

"Come on! We need to get into the den! We must fight through the horde! It may be our only chance of escaping!!" Laural, still completely stark naked by the way, didn't bother asking for my consent and grabbed mine and her mans hand, then grunting as we jolted forward like we were on a rollercoaster.

It felt like the air was compressing and turning into a liquid, pulling us forward like a riptide.

But we only travelled for maybe 20 or 30 metres before we slowed down and skidded on our fronts, causing the man and woman to cry out in pain, they were both still completely naked.

Fffffffffuck - THAT must hurt..They won't be doing any loving anytime soon..ugh especially if we all die..

"I need a few seconds to regen, cover me!" Laural yelled out and they wasted no time in going back to back as the guy started conjuring purple spike-tipped tendrils from the ground and laying into the monsters who we'd grabbed the attention of.

But is there any use?

We were completely surrounded by a raging sea of monsters, big ones, small ones, some as big as a car. I even spotted one that looked like a huge woman with 6 arms and her skin was-

Is that fucking Shiva??!!

It wasn’t, clearly, because deities obviously wouldn't get imprisoned or struggle to fight off 12 shark headed wolves, but the inspiration for this creature's mutation was clear to see.

I shoulder charged several keen blades-for-arms monsters that were charging towards the pair, paying careful attention to not get caught in the tendrils that burst from the man, dancing in between monster claws and weaving as best I could with the space that I had.

The guards started screaming and shouting, and the sound of clashing metal rose above the din of screeches, roars and the audience rioting behind the flickering shield dome.

My body unexpectedly froze, seizing up, and I clutched my chest as my heart suddenly jolted, thundering a single immense beat that sounded like a drum. I could hear my pulse becoming a deafening waterfall and my nerves fired and crackled like a fireworks display and my skin and muscles vibrated, releasing magma grade heat.

ARGH WHAT THE FUCK-

I managed to pull off a Slipfold as my surrounding view filled up with flesh, slimy scales, chitinous limbs, snarling jaws, multiple eyes and buckets of saliva. Many of the dozens of things around me simply tried to carry on but then fell apart into piles of offal. I buckled, slipped and landed in the gore.

Clutching my head, lying in the foetal position, my mind ached. It felt like it was being pulled out through tonnes of concrete, muck and grime, peeling back my skin, burning my flesh and yet, slowly coming back to reality.

As if I’d been in a protective suffocating coma running on autopilot for the past few weeks, that I was only now waking up from.

Images, thoughts and feelings flooded my head and quite concerningly, it felt like my life was flashing before my eyes.

I stared through trembling hands as I watched a thin strand of EXP shimmer rise up toward me, chaos roaring around me like a maelstrom.

You. If only..I could..have you.

The shimmer was..Flinching, struggling and twisting, being stretched and arcing up and then back down in whorls and curls towards me. As if it were coronal loops struggling against a gravitational pull.

And yet it seemed to be resisting whatever force was being applied to it, defying whatever absolution orders it had received.

Come..Plea-

*SHIT! SHIT! WE’RE UNDER ATTACK!-

The bitch announcer was gone and had turned into a male voice that had a thick accent.

-THE WING CONSTRUCT IS SHREDDED MARZ! - ALO! GET DOWN THERE NOW! TURN THE FUCKING BACKUP ARRAY ON! IT IS GOING TO RUN OUT OF-ARGHURK-..!*

His screams were cut off rather abruptly and there was a brief period where the audience went quiet before the screams and sounds of battle flooded in both from the outside and the immediate surroundings.

ALERT! CONTROL DOMAIN SYSTEM DAMAGED.

ALERT! CONTROL DOMAIN FAILURE IMMINENT.

800 SECONDS REMAINING UNTIL COMPLETE SHUTDOWN.

What the hell?!

“UGH! YES! DID YOU SEE IT?!” The man was hysterical, laughing as he snapped a ghostly purple tendril around a monster's neck and hurled it off into a different group. I strained my neck up.

“OH MY SWEET-YES! WE CAN DO THIS! JUST HOLD ON FOR A BIT LONGER! YARGHHHH!” The woman was waving and shifting her hands around in complicated gestures that appeared to send invisible blades out, slicing up limbs and pushing back dozens of claws and teeth. They were a two person man-and-woman army.

There was a tension tugging at my hand and, as I looked down, I witnessed the EXP reaching out with the tiniest whispers of thread reaching desperately out to me.

Yes! Come! Nearly....Nearly...THERE!

I reached out and gasped as it connected after ripping free from some other magnetic pull and slamming into my hand. There was an intoxicating surge of energy, of strength and of pure ecstasy; the wounds and pains started to fade away.

ALERT.

CONTROL DOMAIN FAILURE IMMINENT.

600 SECONDS REMAINING.

SUPPRESSION FIELD AT 90%.

Abruptly, the amazing feeling was overwritten. My body convulsed and my back arched; My bones felt like they were being stretched out and my skull felt like it was splitting in twain.

“GAAARGGHHH!”

“AGHHHH!”

“UGHHH!!”

The other two screamed out as well.

As quickly as it came, as quickly as it went, and it left me panting like a wild, wounded animal..but I felt much stronger, so much so that I even had the luxury of mentally complaining about this see-sawing of pain and relief.

Make your BLOODY mind up body, christ!

Current Status:

HP 759/759

MP 759/759

EP 10%

DS 10%

SWRD 10

SHLD 10

FTHR 10

GLYP 10

Okay, okay, OKAY. I can freakin’ work with this!

It was small numbers considering my actual potential, but it felt incredible. I went to take a step but stopped as I coughed once. Then twice, then on the third, I hacked up a stream of black crud but I was not even given the grace period to puke up and it was cut short as something tackled me and bit into my arm, cutting into bone. I howled and screamed in agony, choking on the black crap that was being purged from my body, but gloriously my shields came to the rescue. They spontaneously deployed into config:prime and enraged, I surge-elbow smashed the disgusting creature in the temple, briefly stunning it, giving my shields enough time to swivel around my shoulders and guillotine its head off. Well, it was more like brutally hacking its head off with a blunt machete. It took 5 attempts before it managed to slice it off but I was overwhelmed at the sight of my shields.

Damn you are a sight for sore eyes! YES!

Knowing my time was extremely limited, I jumped up onto my feet and shuddered as my bone and muscle tissue regenerated in my damaged arm.

Shit!-

Was all I had time to think as I looked up and saw a bear class monster rearing up and about to slam down onto me, but my luck dice rolled well and Laural yelled out painfully and the thing froze for a split second before it imploded into a horrific basketball of meat and compressed bone.

“GET OVER HERE YOU STUPID MAN!” She cried out at me, half laughing and half wailing, and I thought it was best not to go against her wishes after the most recent display.

So with a skip and a hop, and a Slipfold, I joined their bloody inner circle.

“Did you get some strength back as well?” The man yelled out, to which I just yelled back “YES!” and surge punched a grub-faced dog that leapt up towards my head.

“Excellente!” The man flashed a brilliant grin. “I don’t know what you did in your previous life to obtain such luck, but I hope you never run out of it!”

But as fate would have it, it wasn’t running out of luck I had to worry about, or my time..or even the streams of monsters running around us. No. It was the squad of extremely pissed off elite guards that were carving a path directly towards us, with murder on their faces and the burning desire for death glazed in their eyes that became my most pressing concern.

Switching to config:exo to maximise protection and to conserve energy for Slipfold, I glanced around and started placing anchors down and warned the other two.

“We’ve got compan-ACK!” I didn’t even get the chance to finish my sentence before one of the guards suddenly blurred in a straight line, pushing monsters out of the way, and then pincer-gripping me by the throat with both hands, lifting me effortlessly off the ground.

I reacted by grasping at his hands and attempting to pry them off, but his grip felt titanic and unstoppable; there was no way in hell I could overpower him.

There was no time to even scream. I felt and heard cartilage and my spine crunch, making my arms and legs spasm uncontrollably and I felt hot liquid run down my neck and chest.

Nnnn-

"Goodbye whoreson." The absolute shit stain smiled into my face and a fleeting thought pointed out he looked familiar, but my mind was blinded by white and black spots of pain, struggling to function due to the severe nervous system damage and disruption. Somehow, either by the sheer wonderful power of Majik or by the united desire of every single cell in my body to slap the ever loving shit out of this asshole, I managed to crack a smile back and clasp virtually onto a Slipfold point.

Even as my mind started to spin into the abyss, I peeled back my lips and silently laughed in his face to which he frowned.

Fu..FUck..you..this is..just another..SHIT FILLED. TUESDAY.

I mentally roared and Slipfolded, taking the smarmy bastard's arms and the front of his face with me.

My feet landed first and I crumpled like a sack of bowling balls, all to the sounds of sweet, oh so satisfying, high pitched screaming and wailing.

Dipshit must've never watched any of my fights.

My neck and spine already on the mend from the spools of shimmering Majik seeping out of his black gauntlet covered-

"MY. FUCKING. GLOVES." I gasped as my breathing and heart rate ramped back up to normal and if any normal person was watching me, they would have been rather appalled and possibly a bit confused at the sight of me eagerly yanking out the thieves severed limbs and tossing them behind me and immediately equipping the heavily missed gauntlets, before curb stomping and shield smashing the screaming, faceless shitbag to death.

Especially since the final layer of hell had broken loose around me.

What are the fucking odds. Thanks for bringing them back to me, assho-

"STTRRRREEEEEEEE!"

An immensely high pitched trilling sound pierced the air. Shit.

The unmistakable sound of a Striga; I didn't know what direction it came from.

ALERT.

CONTROL DOMAIN FAILURE IMMINENT.

480 SECONDS REMAINING.

SUPPRESSION FIELD AT 80%.

Another tsunami of strength and stamina blasted through my body and I roared as my muscles cramped up and my bones creaked with strain.

"FFFF-ARGGHH!" I arched my back in agony and was left panting as it subsided, leaving me with a feeling like I could sprint for miles and I could lift a bus.

Uhhh getting there! Nearly!

Deploying config:mirror and Null claws, I searched out the lovers, and a cold stab of fear struck me in the chest as I saw them surrounded by the elite guards. Laural was being fought back by a big blue shield, and her man was on his knees struggling, as one of the guards was lifting a sword up to execute him.

No! You fucking savages!

I Slipfolded danger close and in a clean movement I integrated surge into my shields and simultaneously sliced into the sword and the guards arm.

Big shit.

Unfortunately neither could cut through, my attributes were still too weak compared to his, yet my only saving grace in that moment was that A, my shields didn't shatter and managed to stop the blade, and B, my sudden appearance had been enough of a distraction to allow Laural to plant a hand on two of guards faces and shrinking them to the size of a marble before blasting forward and grabbing her man and taking off up and over a less crowded spot. The guards shouted angrily and some tore off after her whilst the remaining 6 started to lay into me. They were too fast for me to keep up and my energy and block resources plummeted from trying to desperately defend myself, but it was no use, so I Slipfolded, hoping to take some limbs with me.

Argh! Eat shi-WHAT!!?

SOMEHOW, they dodged back just in time and avoided the deadly severance of the skill.

That is extremely fucking troubling.

So with a fanatical determination to spill some guts, I tried my luck again, hurriedly folding towards a straggling guard, AND YET STILL to my continuingly growing horror, the female guard slipped preternaturally backwards, away from my exact exit location and when she lunged in back at me, she further showed absurdly precognitive speed and reflexes by jumping back to safety when I tried to Slipfold wreck her a second time.

That’s no fucking coincidence.

A cold wave of dread washed over me. I tried a different target and the exact same thing played out. I retreated back towards a safer looking area.

How the piss are they doing that! They know where I'm going to exit and when I'm going to trigger the fold!?

This was really fucking bad. That was my only real way of dealing any serious damage and if they had some counter for it..What else could I do? Shield slap them?

ALERT.

CONTROL DOMAIN FAILURE IMMINENT.

420 SECONDS REMAINING.

SUPPRESSION FIELD AT 70%.

“GRARRRGH!!” The sudden flood of increased strength and energy dropped me down to a knee growling, and in my moment of vulnerability I was forced to Slipfold away to dodge a deadly axe swing aimed for my skull.

Too close!

As I recovered, Laural zoomed overhead floating in the air above me, shouting. "There's a small hole right at the top of the shield dome! But I-I can't carry you both that high!-"

...They can still make it.

"Don't be FUCKING STUPID! Get out of here! GO!!" I bellowed out and waved her away, refusing to show the regret already poisoning my mind, yet she still hesitated.

Please just go. I’ll manage…somehow.

"But you-I-I-"

"I'LL BE FINE! JUST BLOODY GOOOOO!"

Maybe she’ll come back for me eh?..

She gave me a sad frown but simply nodded.

The guards that were not fighting off the hordes of monsters, started going berserk and put all their attention into the two escapees. I watched as she took off and I traced her trajectory as she picked up speed. She was absolutely right. There was a small hold right in the centre of the dome shield and she was heading straight for it.

Come on gal, you can do it.

The guards were hurling rapid moving fire and plasma projectiles but this clearly was no amateur, bobbing, spiralling and weaving out of the way.

And yet the sheer quantity of them meant that she got clipped by a few.

Bastards!!

I consecutively chained Slipfolds until I was close enough and I unleashed a barrage of surge integrated shards, distracting them just enough for her to move closer.

Go on! Get the hell out of here!

She was only a few metres from the exit now.

Yes! That’s it! Go find somewhere nice and raise the heck out of that child! Come back for me though maybe?..fuck..

I Slipfolded to a safer looking spot again, the guards vocalising their dislike for my interruption. But I didn't care, she was just breaching the hole.

Fuck it, I’ll settle for you naming your child after me - Go! And never look ba-

Abruptly, the surrounding area darkened.

“No!” I gasped as a silent, blinding beam of yellow light winked into existence, piercing Laural and both of her passengers.

Blood vaporised in the air as they were sent slamming into the edge of the shield, off which they bounced and proceeded to plummet down back towards the arena floor.

A delayed jet engine booming sound blared out causing everything to briefly stop and snap towards the source.

Nonono! Come on! Float! Wake up! Fucking, DO SOMETHING!

My mind frantically tried to calculate their landing spot but it was fruitless. Another beam materialised and slammed a direct hit on them again mid-fall, severing her in two and exploding the man's head like a water balloon.

Like a terrible full stop at the end of an unexpected break up text, the delayed jet engine noise boomed out once again.

I just stood there, staring in disbelief and anger.