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After their mage fell, the enemy fighters had little chance. One was a knight whose hammer caused miniature explosions whenever it struck. The air rippled with every collision, and the sound echoed around them. Now that the barrier had ceased moving, Nil worried the sound would draw other teams, so he charged at the man while Xiang dealt with a kukri-wielding rogue. Blood streamed from her cheek, and she appeared to be favoring her left leg. Her ability to hold up against both and not fall already was impressive. However, he could tell that she couldn’t keep it up for long.

The explosions proved perfect for charging Brutal Battery. Nil caught the hammer mid-swing. Absorb nullified momentum, but the head still boomed. It rattled Nil’s eardrums, but he suffered no damage. He guessed his ability didn’t function to full effect against the sonic element. This possibility highlighted that Absorb didn’t strictly follow the rules of physics. Sound waves were kinetic energy, after all.

Absorb must be incompatible with certain frequencies. 

Nil gritted his teeth as he ripped the weapon out of his opponent’s hands. He threw it with the power of Expend at Xiang’s opponent. It clipped the man, staggering him. The disruption was enough to turn the tides. Xiang used the opportunity to back away from the rogue. She threw both her chakrams at him. One grazed his ribs. The second planted itself high in the thigh. Xiang triggered the explosion and the man screamed.

“I surrender!” He yelled before disappearing in a flash of light.

Meanwhile, the final member of the team uselessly struck Nil with tightly balled fists. Lesser explosions followed each blow, but they didn’t hurt Nil’s ears or rattle his brain like the first. The man appeared to have a significant Might investment, so he didn’t hesitate to bodyslam his opponent before twisting his arm behind his back and kneeling on the limb. Several tiny pops followed.

“Surrender before I start breaking things,” Nil said.

“Fuck you,” the man yelled, kicking.

“You think I won’t do it?” He increased the pressure, drawing an angry grunt. The kicking slowed. “You made a hell of a racket, buddy. My team won’t be happy about me not putting you down straight away. Surrender before I do something I don’t want to.”

“I surrender.”

Nil and Xiang claimed the two pouches before returning to Fatima. She hadn’t moved and still appeared dazed. The woman’s pupils were the size of saucers. Energy Instinct highlighted the thick pink and purple flecks radiating off her as the crystalline red continued to climb up her arms. They came up to her elbows now.

“Is her brain fried?” Xiang asked. She kneeled and reached for Fatima’s shoulder. The raised runes on every participant's collarbone didn’t show against the black symbiote, but tracing them would also trigger the return teleport.

“She just needs a bit longer to recover,” Nil said, grabbing Xiang’s hand. “Let’s relocate somewhere a bit deeper in the arena and give her a bit. The pouches might just have something to help her. If it doesn’t work, we send her back.”

“Fine.”

The woman’s stoic nature made it difficult for Nil to get a read on her, but he was sure she sounded annoyed. He let Xiang take half the pouches while he carried Fatima and the rest. They jogged deeper into the arena. It was risky, but Nil didn’t want to bother fleeing from the Barrier the next time it moved. Xiang was an excellent combatant, but she paled when compared to Fatima, and he wanted the latter by his side when facing the final opponents of the battle royale.

Worried that another team was now stalking them, Nil kept going for fifteen minutes, taking several twists and turns, changing speed, and slipping through buildings. Energy Instinct didn’t detect anyone pursuing them, but he didn’t want to take risks. Sounds of battle rang all around them, and approximately seventeen other competitors remained. He hoped the surviving teams would keep each other busy long enough for them to recover.

By the time they stopped, Xiang was breathless, covered in sweat, and looked on the verge of collapse. Dark patches marked her navy blue leggings and top. She dug through the pouches until she found the healing serum. Xiang took a swig and also carefully slathered it on her wounds. Then she took a sip of the energy drink and drained a water bottle. The brews appeared to help, but Xiang still seemed a light breeze from unconsciousness. She and Nil then fed all the recovery fluids to Fatima, too.

“Can you keep an eye on her for a bit?” Nil asked, taking a sip of the energy drink. The newly claimed pouches also contained rolled spheres of nuts and dried fruits. They were a nice, sweet treat, and Nil helped himself to one. The final remnants of discomfort from the psychic attack faded.

“Where are you going?” Xiang frowned, breaking a sweet sphere in half. She ate one and tried feeding a bit of the other to the still catatonic Fatima.

“I’ll ensure we weren’t followed and maybe scout a bit,” Nil answered. “I’ll keep low and on the roofs. Don’t worry.”

Xiang nodded. “Stay safe. Don’t get knocked out after I risked loss for you.”

“I promise I won’t.” He studied Fatima for a moment. The visage appeared concerned about her, too. The symbiote continued writhing, and the crystal armor was halfway up her upper arm. Nil hoped the sweet treat would do the job. Something similar had helped him during the emergency quest after Oth’s psychic assault. 

Lights flashed two streets away. Nil heard the sounds of several participants locked in combat. It was tempting to get a closer look, but he resisted. The arena was almost half the size of what it was at the start of the event. He was sure there would be others watching the battle, looking for an opportunity to thin the competition. Nil kept Absorb on as he leaped between roofs and circled their hiding spot. It didn’t seem like anyone had followed them.

Well, that’s a relief.

He believed their plan was a good one. Unfortunately, more than one other team had the same idea. Nil also thought it possible the Mind Mage and their companions had holed up in a hiding spot, waiting for teams fleeing the barrier. The big battle was loud, and predicting the road survivors would take afterward wasn’t hard.

Before returning to his companions, Nil studied the paths to the center of the arena. He looked for the most obvious roads people would take away from the barrier, past them, and toward enemy teams. Once Fatima recovered, Nil wanted to discuss finding somewhere high along an unavoidable road and dropping on passing teams. 

Nil was still studying the surroundings and scanning for surrounding energies when a blood-curdling scream made his heart leap into his throat. It was Xiang. He raced toward the team’s hiding spot, cursing himself for taking too long. Given the woman’s ability to suppress her presence, he didn’t expect anyone to find the location. Nil had scanned the surroundings for several minutes before moving on. He was almost sure no one had followed them. Almost.

Despite the rapid approach and urgency, Nil took his time sneaking into the building. Absorb made him silent, but he still needed to avoid rushing forward and making a racket. Nil's heart dropped when he reached the floor where he had left his companions. 

Fatima was conscious. 

She stood tall over Xiang’s cowering form. The rogue-mage sat pressed into a corner, clutching the stump of her right arm. Xiang’s hand and most of her forearm sat at Fatima’s feet. The heartbreak wasn’t from the woman’s betrayal. Because as he looked from the side, Nil wasn’t sure it was intentional. In fact, Fatima didn’t look like herself or in control. Alongside the dense pink and purple motes floating off Fatima, thick black smoke billowed from her. The visage looked like it wanted to cling to Fatima and embrace her, drawn to the dark magic.

Cursed Energy. Why did it have to be Cursed Energy?

The expression on Fatima’s face took Nil back to seven years ago. He’d seen the look once before on another Summoned’s face: the man who killed Aisha. Nil had expected Symbiotech to be up to no good, using Cursed Energy to make illicit devices. Now, it seemed so much worse. The company was making the same twisted entities that killed someone he loved. 

Fatima’s odd ability suddenly made a lot of sense. She displayed many different skills that didn’t seem to go together. The woman had speed and stealth, which put her on par with Mortal or Iron Realm rogues. The accompanying blood blades made her more potent than most. Now Nil realized they were soul weapons, which people of their rank usually didn’t have. Symbiotech had probably constructed one with Cursed Energy, and Fatima volunteered as its host. Nil wondered whether they—or a connected company—had tried the same with the Summoned from seven years ago and failed. Somehow, the soul weapon transferred vessels to him, and now Nil worried he’d end up like Fatima and the man, too.

Xiang had suspected there was something off and too powerful about Fatima. Nil now felt foolish for waving off her worries. He expected the ruling powers to ensure nothing of the sort got through, but he remembered Layla mentioning how Cursed Energy had hidden him from the Nexus and Schema. Nil guessed the dark presence could fool Apocalypse Arena’s construct, too.

Anger boiled inside Nil. He felt duped. Even though he lacked in the Mind department, Layla had assured him it didn’t mean he was lacking in intellect. Shina, Symbiotech, and Fatima had made him an idiot of him.

“Hey!” he yelled when Fatima advanced on Xiang. Both women’s attention shifted to him. Fatima’s pupils were still the size of saucers. She swayed and twitched, looking like she had snorted or injected a massive dose of whatever illicit substance was currently popular on the streets.

Fatima staggered as she stepped toward him, then charged as sure-footed as always. 

Aware that Absorb barely functioned against Fatima’s blades, he stayed in a neutral state. Fortunately, her attacks lacked her usual precision, giving Nil a chance to weave between them. When he struck Fatima, she accepted the unempowered blow. Her usual care and agility appeared gone, too. She stumbled backward and almost fell but caught herself at the last moment.

The dazed rogue came at Nil again. Dodging in the small space proved impossible as she whirled like a dervish. The crimson crystalline growths had covered her torso and hung from her hips like a long skirt. So, when she spun, the woman looked like the spinning dancers of the Sufi fraternity. Nil successfully avoided the blades but failed to do the same for the ropey extensions. The aura and the tops shredded his skin and flesh across his abdomen. Nil struggled not to scream and just about contained himself. He successfully snuck in a strike and pushed her back. The Expend-powered blow struck Fatima’s chest, cracking the crystalized blood armor.

Finesse has progressed to Iron 0!

A sudden pulse of power washed over Nil. His senses sharpened, and following Fatima’s erratic movements became easier. When she came at him again, he hopped backward. Her daggers scythed inward and just about missed his neck. Both arms shot upward, and she swung both blades downward together. Nil caught Fatima’s forearms just above the elbow. Much to his surprise, she pushed him back. Whatever was going on with Fatima had amplified her strength.

“Snap out of it!” He hissed. The blades crept closer. The tips slid into his pectorals like butter. It wouldn’t be long before they endangered his internal organs. “I don’t want to do this.”

“Don’t be an idiot,” Xiang screamed at Nil as he tried headbutting the rogue out of her daze. “That’s not Fatima anymore. She’s going to take you out.”

Nil knew she was right. The three of them had already made a lot of noise, and Nil couldn’t afford to get knocked out now. At the same time, he felt guilty for what he was supposed to do. Despite everything, Fatima had been a decent teammate. If the Mind Mage didn’t break her, Nil doubted she would’ve turned on the team and lost control over the Cursed Energy and the soul weapon. So, he whispered a silent apology before releasing Brutal Battery’s energies through his palms. Instead of just opening the valve, he treated it like a tap and released a trickle of power. 

The armor disintegrated. Fatima’s skin, flesh, and skeleton followed. It wasn’t a clean dismemberment like she achieved with her blades. Instead, he destroyed every bit of her arm within his grip. Worried that her blood and weapon could still damage him, Nil kicked her abdomen, pushing her away. 

The move helped him escape the bloody whips that lashed at him, but not the Cursed Energy. Nil grimaced as the smoke, pink and purple flecks, flowed into his burnt palms into. He felt an alien presence follow them. His arms felt three times as heavy for a heartbeat, then the discomfort and all signs of the thick smoke disappeared.

A flash of light enveloped Fatima before her back touched the ground, and then she was gone. The arena construct had teleported the woman away to save her life. Nil hoped it would snap her out of whatever the Cursed Energy and soul weapon had done so he could get some answers—if Symbiotech allowed it.

“Are you—”

Nil stopped short when he found Xiang gone, too. Several pouches lay where she had sat. Busy dealing with Fatima, he hadn’t seen her disappear. He couldn’t be sure whether she surrendered or the arena construct took her, too.

“I’m sorry.” Nil sighed. There was no way he could’ve expected such a development, yet he regretted not sending Fatima home. Xiang would still be in the competition if he listened to her advice and wouldn’t need to make it through the rest of the battle royale alone.