The challenges to enacting Jonathan’s plan were manyfold, and the risks were as well. The Uthraki would pose a danger to the city if they were unleashed, as unless the forces of Granath were right there, it would be difficult to harness their power. The only way that Jonathan could think of this working was if he told the Uthraki about the plan. However, that had even more risks inherent. In addition, he would only ever be able to get a few over from Tartarus into this world, as the token only worked once a day. However, it was the best idea that he had.

Edgar had slowly warmed to the notion, and the two men eventually hashed out a tentative plan. Jonathan would enter Tartarus, and make his way to a previously unexplored village, where he would attempt to make contact with the villagers. If everything went south, he would flee and leave, but there was a chance that he could negotiate his way towards a deal if he played his cards right. It was a long shot, but the only other thing that Jonathan could really do, that only he could do. All of the other defenses were being handled by the citizens, and Jonathan needed something to do to contribute. This was his best option.

He had little preparation to do for this, save for leaving the city environs, and he simply teleported into Tartarus when he was ready, leaving Edgar behind. He had summoned some of the stronger fighters to guard his teleportation spot, just in case the Uthraki visitor became violent. That was assuming that he managed to succeed, of course.

The molten world of Tartarus sprang into being a moment later, greeting him with a blast of searing air. He took a deep breath, and then started towards the nearest village. He avoided the village where he had led the eel through, as he doubted that they would be very enamored with his presence. Instead, he headed for one a few dozen miles away, one that had not yet enjoyed the pleasure of his company.

As his feet flashed across the volcanic rock, he weaved his way through the various lava flows and environmental hazards, covering miles every minute. Some time later, he arrived at his destination, coming to a screeching halt outside the village. It looked much the same as the other ones that he had seen, with a crude array of stone huts.

Uthraki milled around within the village, and a few hunting parties were dispatched every now and again. For this to work, Jonathan would need to find their leader. Otherwise he would be simply mobbed.

Jonathan snuck into the village, using his advanced Dexterity and some of his more complicated Void abilities to mask his presence. It was not a skill, per se, but he could use the Void’s conceptual power to eat up the sound of his movements, as sound was just a form of energy. The Void was hungry for everything.

With this in action, Jonathan managed to make his way deep into the village, eventually coming face to face with a hut that clearly belonged to the leader of the tribe. A massive, bleached skull hung over the door frame, and the house was slightly larger than the others. Jonathan steeled himself, and then knocked on the door. It flew open a movement later, almost taking his head off.

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“What?” A gruff voice called out from inside. “I told you lot not to disturb me. Do I need to come out and lop off a few heads again?” Jonathan simply knocked again, this time on the hut. There was a muffled curse, and a hulking brute of an Uthraki barged out the door, hefting a large sword. He paused upon seeing Jonathan, and regarded him with a look of curiosity. “What are you supposed to be then?” Unlike the normal Uthraki, this one seemed not to have as much pent up hostility. Rather than instantly attack Jonathan, he actually seemed curious.

“I am the man who can help you get your revenge against Granath,” Jonathan said.

The Uthraki leader snarled, and whipped his sword, down, nearly splitting Jonathan in half.

“LIAR!” He bellowed, reversing the sword strike.

“I’m not lying!” Jonathan shouted as he ducked. “I come from another world. I can transport you there.”

The Uthraki only laughed bitterly and kept attacking.

“If you can beat me, runt, then perhaps I will listen to you. There is no place for weaklings here!”

It was better than nothing, and Jonathan seized upon the opportunity. He imbued his fist with power and rammed it into the Uthraki’s gut, sending the massive man stumbling backwards. However, the fighter was a lot higher level than Jonathan, and the strike did only superficial damage to his reddish skin.

The sword came whistling down a moment later, and Jonathan hurriedly parried it with his gauntlet, wincing in pain. There was a lot of force behind that strike.

The Uthraki grinned through stained fangs, and ramped up the speed, massive muscles bulging and stretching as he did so. Jonathan cursed loudly and flitted backwards with the use of his stamina redirection ability as a particularly deadly sword stroke came down right where he had been standing. The Uthraki kept control over his weapon, not letting it touch the ground, and reversed the strike, turning it into a sideways slash. The man was clearly skilled with his weapon, despite appearing to be nothing more than a raging brute.

Jonathan felt the wind of its passing, even through his armor, and met the blow with his fist, sending all of his power into it. From his Divinity to the conceptual energy of the Void, all blended together to strike. A nova of energy erupted from his fist as it swung, and the two strikes clashed in a storm of power and fury, sending tremors racing across the ground. The Uthraki laughed at this, and gave Jonathan a wicked grin.

The man started to pulse with angry red light and charged Jonathan, bullrushing across the distance between them in the blink of an eye, disengaging from the crossed weapons. However, this allowed Jonathan to lash his fully enhanced fist into the base of the other fighter’s chin. The Uthraki had been underestimating the amount of strength that he had, judging Jonathan by his earlier strike. However, that was only the barest part of his power.

With a roar, he accelerated his fist with his redirection ability, and it rocketed into the Uthraki’s head, knocking him off his feet and into the air. Bones snapped and flesh cracked under the onslaught as the attack struck home. There was a moment of silence as the Uthraki fell, and then a crash as he landed next to Jonathan. The fighter rolled over, getting to his feet. With a grunt, he set his jaw back into place, and laughed.

“You’re putting on a good show, runt. You possess great power for a worm. However, I am only getting started here.”