A distant corner of Nick’s awareness took in the announcer’s words, but the overwhelming majority of his attention was locked onto the emerging beast.
The cage’s obliteration had freed all three creatures trapped within, letting them move after their long confinement. The pair of unaltered animals reacted on instinct, each choosing a different last-ditch survival strategy.
The closer rhino bent down in submission, falling onto its knees as if genuflecting before rolling onto its back like a dog, every crook of its posture radiating total submission. The one that was farther away bolted, sprinting as fast as it could in the opposite direction of its mutated brethren. It didn’t even glance in his direction.
While Nick judged the second approach to be the wiser by far, in the end, the result was the same. Sanguine oblivion at the claws of the fallen rhinoceros. The grotesque wall of muscle and ill-will had finally stopped screaming, allowing Nick to feel the frantic pounding of his heart once more. Hear the enthralled murmur of the crowd, despite the ringing in his ears.
The fallen beast reared up, savoring its newfound freedom, then took three steps to saunter over to the supplicating rhinoceros cowering before it.
Almost casually, the mutant reached up with both forelimbs, rearing back before bringing the bladed appendages down with blinding speed and incredible force. The terrified animal had just enough time to let out a single, shrill bleat, before a maelstrom of living weaponry erupted across its body.
A solitary heartbeat later, its shredded remains were flung high into the air, like someone had dropped a live animal into an industrial-strength blender and forgot to close the lid. Raw tatters of quivering flesh flew beside torrents of blood and bile, painting the pristine arena floor in a thousand shades of gore.
Nick blinked, and when his eyes opened once more, the corrupted creature emerged from the cloud of viscera, which was still raining to the ground in a panoply of carnage. The entrail-encrusted beast paused, gathering its strength before surging forth.
It moved with blinding speed, reduced to a crimson blur before his eyes. A solitary heartbeat later, which marked the tenth second since the cage had shattered, the corrupted beast overtook its former kin, towering over the fleeing animal like a nightmare made flesh. The animal turned and tried to dodge, letting out a shrill scream of terror. But it was already far too late.
The fallen beast slowed just before it struck, so that it could lower its head and line up its horns, allowing Nick to follow the action once more. The mutant hit the terrified rhino broadside. A hundred onyx points pierced its hide in a single moment, driven home with the force of a battering ram.
At this point, Nick expected the corrupted creature to stop-thrust. To eviscerate the rhino by raising its head while stepping back. Instead, the hulking brute gathered its strength and then lifted the entire rhino over its head, its body transfixed by an endless array of swordlike horns.
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Crimson blood came pouring down in a waterfall of steaming fluid, as the animal’s dying cries rang out and then abruptly cut off. The fallen beast opened its mouth and drank deeply from the downpour of viscera. Somehow, Nick could tell that it wasn’t feeding. That it was relishing the wanton joy of slaughter instead.
“Spread out now,” he yelled to the others, who were still grappling with the shocking turn of events. “Slow it down however you can, but whatever you do, don’t let it catch you. We won’t have a chance if it does.”
The fallen rhino bucked and then whipped its horrific head up and around, flinging the carcass free from its horns. The savaged remains went sailing into the air, the perforated corpse cartwheeling straight for the lowest tier of stands, gouts of blood spiraling in all directions.
For a moment, Nick thought the body was going to crush an entire row of bystanders, a sight that he might have enjoyed given the circumstances. But then the barrier sprang to life. The sodden mess of weeping flesh came to an abrupt stop, right in front of a screaming family of bright blue aliens, the arena’s protective magic momentarily flashing into translucency.
A heartbeat later, the corpse came tumbling back down to the floor far below, exploding with a sickly splat when it collided with the stones.
“Spread out and don’t let it near you,” Kenji bellowed. “Whoever it’s chasing, try to lead it into our arc of fire while we whittle it down at range. None of us will survive more than a glancing blow from that monster. We must prioritize defense until we can find a way to use its size against it. I don’t think it can turn once it activates that rushing surge. Call it out if you see it tense up, then whoever its chasing needs to leap to one side as fast as they can.”
A heavy clang resounded from beside Nick as Bret shimmied out of his breastplate, eschewing armor in favor of speed. The black-haired warrior clearly agreed with Kenji’s assessment that mobility was the key to winning this fight. “Watch out guys, it’s looking our way,” Devin’s voice was tinged with barely repressed panic.
“Dispersal pattern,” Kenji yelled over the roar of the crowd, as he began running toward the center of the party. “Remember to call out when it charges or changes its target.”
Nick expected the fallen beast to rush right for them. Instead, it began sauntering their way, almost casual in its demeanor. A feral gleam of anticipation was flashing in its fell, black eyes. The party gave way before the mutant, falling back to one corner of the arena floor, spreading out in a pattern like a football team taking to the field.
Nick found himself standing front row center. He gritted his teeth and held his ground, although he desperately wished to be anywhere else. “It’s not taking us seriously,” Veronica’s voice rang out. “Hit it now while its open, but don’t burn through your abilities until we know what we’re dealing with.”
Knowing that her advice was solid, Nick reached across his back, sheathing his sword into his dimensional storage, a motion that had become smooth through repetition during the tutorial.
He visualized the weapons he wanted and pulled two throwing javelins free from the flap, fumbling a bit with the extra length. Unlike the crude spears that Nick had crafted back on the Searing Isle, these were proper weapons. Flame-treated oak shafts, tempered iron tips. Perfectly straight and well-balanced.
By now, the rhino had closed half of the distance between them. Nick’s heart pounded within his chest like a blacksmith hammering an anvil. He was dead certain that at any moment, the fallen beast would stop toying with them, and the true battle would begin.