Like a glorious, clipped beast crashing down from the skies and into the brutal, tal floor of the earth, the Enforcer Drone slamd into the arena.
The figure of Enforcer Lucian backflipped, leaping off the drone just monts before it smashed down and exploded into splintering hunks of tal and arcing electricity.
Silence fell over the arena. Complete and utter silence, as everyone watched, breathless.
The mont Lucian landed, he gripped his Aether Shotgun tightly and scanned the area around him.
He swept his gaze over the arena, desperate to locate the monstrous being who had sohow turned invisible. But of course...
Nothing.
There was nothing. Not a single thing he could find.
His optical implants buzzed wildly as he roared out, firing his shotgun haphazardly in every direction.
BOOM! BOOM!
Shells scattered and the floor cracked, tal plates erupting beneath the force of his blasts.
"Co the fuck out! Who do you think you are?! Do you know who I am?! Huh?!"
Lucian felt it then, a mounting panic clawing at the edges of his control. With every second that passed without finding his enemy, the sensation of a blade hanging above his neck grew sharper. Closer. Ready to fall.
Still, even through his desperate roars and reckless fire, nothing happened.
Then, just as he reloaded with a set of brilliant purple-blue rounds from the belt strapped to his waist...
SAA!
The sharp whine of a spear slicing through the air could barely be heard before it beca visible to the watching crowd. By the ti Lucian even saw it...
It was already there.
BOOM!
The spear slamd into his chest, impaling him completely. Blood burst out as his body flew backward, skewered through the heart and smashed into the tal floor.
...!
"Huk! Haa! Motherfucker...!"
Blood sputtered from his lips as he looked down at his chest—utterly pierced. The walls of his heart had shattered.
He was dying.
Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that today, after leaving Skyglass Heights with the promise of earning over one million credits for taking down a "little man" for HAO, he'd end up dying. With a spear in his chest.
That thought had never once crossed his mind.
The sound of footsteps echoed in front of him.
With great effort, Lucian raised his head... just enough to see the figure.
The man who had sohow turned invisible.
Who had evaded not just his personal sensors, but the thermal vision and advanced scanners of his Enforcer Drone.
How the hell had this man done it?
That was Lucian's final thought before blood stopped flowing to his brain, and darkness took him for good.
Damian walked slowly toward him, gaze steady as he took in the sight of the nearly split-open chest and the blood soaking the floor around him.
Blood.
It seed to be the path he was destined to walk. A future paved with rivers of it—until he reached his final goal of the Drunken Butcher.
In the silence of the arena, he raised his fist.
...!
The very floor trembled beneath him.
And in the stands, the audience exploded—stomping their feet and roaring with everything they had.
A terrifying bellow of excitent, shock, and despair rang out in equal asure.
So were simply spectators, thrilled by the spectacle. Others were stunned, unable to believe what they'd just witnessed. And then there were the gamblers—the ones who'd bet on an outco that had just been obliterated.
But all of it—every cheer, every scream—was drowned out by the thunderous roar echoing through the Rustblood Circuit Arena.
HAO remained silent.
Damian kept his fist raised until a chi rang out from the wristband on his arm. He glanced down just to be sure.
2 Million Credits.
He had no intention of staying a mont longer.
He turned and began walking toward Exit Door #3 when...
"You think you can just fuckin' leave after embarrassing HAO?!"
The Hostile Arena Operator's voice erupted overhead.
Damian's expression turned grim. He looked up, directly at the center of the arena ceiling, where a shining, multicolored orb of brilliance glowed.
His eyes remained cold.
"A bet is a bet," he said evenly. "I've won. I no longer wish to fight. Isn't that how the Rustblood Circuit Arena works? Or should Cybernetic Humans be afraid to participate, knowing that even if they win, they won't be allowed to leave?"
...!
His words struck like a spear to the heart!
If fighters began to believe that a victor couldn't walk away... who in their right mind would ever risk stepping into the arena again?
His voice was calm. Precise. Undeniable.
HAO seed to glitch out for a second—but recovered quickly.
"Haha! What are you talking about? The Rustblood Circuit Arena is all about fairness, and you, my friend, are a shining example! Ladies and Gentlen, I give you our newest champion! He ca, he saw, he conquered! The Wild Beast—leaving with 2 million credits in winnings! Soon to walk the safe streets of the Hollow Stacks!"
...!
"Rember his face, folks! This is your Champion of the People! He's got 2 million credits and an unknown cybernetic mod that lets him turn invisible! Give it up...for our Champion!"
The HAO's voice was drenched in false smiles and coated with venom underneath.
The arena erupted in cheers once more.
But even more people simply stood- watching Damian. Watching each other.
A man with 2 million credits was about to walk the streets.
And...what a fuckin' target that was!
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