Hellbringer stepped forward, weapons pointed at Stormbreaker’s damaged body. The blue Guardian wobbled, systems clearly short-circuiting as electricity arced from one joint to another. Victory looked like it was in the bag for the red Guardian.

Then everything flipped.

The arena shook.

Thin dark purplish lines bloomed on Stormbreaker’s armour plates, originating from its chest. A myriad of billions of letters seeped into the blue metal, creating venous patterns. Stormbreaker threw her rifle away. A new compartment hissed open along its two legs.

Two daggers slid out from hidden spots, each blade longer than a city bus. The daggers themselves held the same intricate venous patterns that ran along its body. A faint bluish glow shimmered along each blade’s edge.

Sweat dripped from Gale’s forehead. This looked way too much like his own stuff. Phase Touch on the weapon edges. Breath of the Void leaking into the Guardian. The change looked like his abilities but rougher, less smooth. Like someone had jammed the abilities into a machine that couldn’t really handle them.

“Are you goddamn serious right now?” Kyle leaned forward in his seat. “A sudden power up is cheating! Give me my money back!”

“Stormbreaker has activated her trump card!” Yandil shouted. “Ladies and gentlemen, you are watching something totally new! The Champion’s hidden arsenal!”

Rachel grabbed Gale’s arm. “Do you see that? You see that right?”

Gale kept his face blank. It was like looking at himself except in a giant robot form. Intuitively, Stormbreaker didn’t use Breath of the Void to its full potential as if she was fighting against the skill itself.

Hellbringer fired another missile volley at the changed Guardian. The missiles streaked across the floor, heading for their target.

Stormbreaker moved. Her style of movement completely changed, no longer the smooth flowing water from before, but something that jerked at any sudden movement. The missiles flew through empty air as she showed up somewhere else.

“Incredible evasion from Stormbreaker!” Yandil shouted. “I’ve never seen movement like this! She’s literally disappearing and reappearing!”

Kyle grabbed his chair arms. “How is she doing that?”

“Holy shit. Something the size of that can move like that? How the hell did they lose in history?” Ollie leaned forward, the same as Kyle.

Stormbreaker appeared behind a broken platform, both daggers up. She struck down, the phase-edged blades cutting through solid metal like it wasn’t even there. The platform split in half, pieces dropping to the floor.

Hellbringer spun to find her new spot, energy cannons charging. The beams fired where she’d just been. Nothing there.

Stormbreaker showed up on his left, one dagger swinging wide. The blade hit Hellbringer’s shoulder armour, cutting through layers of protection. Sparks flew as damaged innards shorted out.

“First big hit on Hellbringer!” Yandil shouted. “Those new weapons are cutting through armour like it’s paper!”

“Those aren’t normal blades,” Lily glanced beside her. “Gale what the fuck! It’s similar to yours, no?”

The blue Guardian’s fighting style turned into a deadly dance. She would pop up close, strike with both weapons at once, then vanish before Hellbringer aimed a barrel at her. Each attack hit a different armour section, taking apart his defenses bit by bit.

Hellbringer tried to change tactics, firing in predicted locations instead of tracking. His weapons covered multiple spots, trying to catch Stormbreaker as she moved.

She appeared inside his attack pattern, daggers crossed above her head. The weapons swept out, cutting twin lines across Hellbringer’s chest plate. Warning lights flashed across the red Guardian’s body.

“Stormbreaker has found her rhythm!” Yandil shouted much louder. “This is championship-level combat! Every strike is landing! Hellbringer can’t keep up!”

Breath of the Void had completely changed the pilot’s abilities. Was this what they saw when he let it in?

It was… scary. She might be fighting the insanity that came with it which could be why it was rougher than how he usually used it. The transformation also wasn’t stable. It looked like hers might recede at any moment.

Hellbringer fired everything at once again, trying hard to make space. Missiles, energy beams, and smaller hot weapons filled the air around him.

Stormbreaker moved through the mess like it was nothing. Stormbreaker phased parts of her body that allowed the projectiles to pass through her. She disappeared for a moment, then reappeared in front of Hellbringer, both daggers thrust forward.

The blades punched through his chest armour, going deep into his chest. Electricity arced through the blades, hitting the internals of Hellbringer.

“Devastating hit to Hellbringer’s core systems!” Yandil screeched. “Direct penetration! This could be the finishing blow!”

Hellbringer stumbled back, moving a lot slower than before. The light in its eyes flickered, as electricity continued to arc through its joints. One arm hung uselessly, while one of the laser cannons in its back exploded.

Stormbreaker pulled the daggers out and struck again, this time hitting joint connections. The phase-edged weapons cut through hydraulic lines and power cables, causing oil to spill all over the metal floor.

“Hellbringer is falling apart!” Yandil shouted. “Ten years of experience pays off! Stormbreaker knows exactly where to hit!”

Kyle slumped in his seat. “Well, shit. There goes my twenty bucks.”

Clyde snickered. “Game over. Red’s got nothing left.”

Stormbreaker’s final attack came as a spinning strike with both daggers. The weapons cut through the back of Hellbringer’s neck, causing its own head to fly away from its body, and the rest crashed onto the floor.

“STORMBREAKER WINS!” Yandil screamed. “ELEVEN CHAMPIONSHIPS! THE AZURE CHAMPION REMAINS UNDEFEATED!”

The arena blew up. Cheers from hundreds of thousands of fans blasted the arena. Stormbreaker stood over her fallen opponent, right dagger raised high. The black inky substance receded from the plate, showing the original blue and silver colours underneath.

Kyle pulled out his wallet. “Alright, who do I owe money to?”

Clyde grinned. “Me, Lily, and Ollie. Twenty each.”

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

“This is highway robbery,” Kyle muttered, counting bills.

Lily took her winnings. “Next time don’t bet against experience.”

Ollie pocketed his payment.

Rachel looked at Gale. “What did you think of that transformation? Those weapons came out of nowhere.”

“Crazy. Amazing. Awe inspiring.” Gale pretended to smile as he chose his words carefully.

Rachel turned to Gale. “Okay, but really. Those abilities down there looked awfully similar to yours.”

The group’s attention shifted to Gale completely. His face grew flush at the unexpected attention.

Lily leaned forward. “She’s right. That patterns and line stuff covering the Guardian, and the way those blade edges lit up when they cut through armour. Those are your signature moves when you slice through defenses.”

Kyle and Clyde exchanged looks, both of them nodding.

“Now that you mention it,” Kyle said, “rookie does have that same dark energy thing going on during fights.”

“And the way he cuts through stuff that should be impossible to cut. Pretty similar fighting style,” Clyde said.

What else was he supposed to say? He saw a monster in his room, got transported to an unknown world and suddenly magically got void powers?! What kind of idiot would believe that?!

“I…” Gale started, then stopped.

“Come on,” Rachel pushed gently. “There has to be some connection. The resemblance is too close to be coincidence.”

Lily crossed her arms. “You’ve got to have some idea where those abilities come from. Training? Family techniques? Something?”

All five pairs of eyes stayed on him. Gale felt stuck, cornered by their questions.

“I-I got transported to another world and got void powers, haha?” Gale smiled.

For a full minute, no one spoke, and the only noise came from the crowd and Yandil still somehow screaming at the top of his lungs.

“Man’s got a point,” Ollie finally said, looking back at the team. “Besides, all of you know I came from a different world than Earth, except probably this guy,” he pointed at Gale, then continued, “Aur has magic. Reality-bending abilities. It’s not like weird stuff is unprecedented.”

Kyle snorted. “Boss man, isekai plots are so 2020s.”

Clyde nodded. “Try forty years outdated.”

“Shut up, Kyle.” Rachel sent a spark his direction.

“Ow!”

“Outdated or not,” Ollie said, “the point stands. Strange abilities exist. People develop them in different ways.”

Gale felt some of the pressure ease off. He took a deep breath, then looked at Rachel, then at the others.

“To be honest, I only got these powers after I woke up in the Eclipsed,” he said. “Mom and dad never told me anything about anyone, about anything. Every single day was survival training. There was no time for other stuff. Learn to stay hidden, stay alive, learn to fight. Repeat. That was it. I didn’t have these same powers when I was with them. I don’t have answers because I was never given any. I’m not hiding some secret family history or ancient technique. I really don’t know.”

Kyle’s expression softened. “That’s actually pretty harsh, rookie.”

“Harsh is an understatement,” Clyde said.

Lily sighed. “Idiots.”

Rachel smiled softly. “I didn’t mean to push.”

“It’s fine,” Gale said. Rachel really didn’t mean it anyways. She was probably just as curious as he was about her own issues.

Suddenly, all the lights cut out. Complete darkness surrounded them. The crowd noise stopped instantly, leaving total silence.

An androgynous voice spoke from everywhere at once: “Memory Restarting.”

Light flooded back. The same arena stretched around them, but everything had changed. Empty seats rose in tiers toward the darkness above. Red lighting cast blood-coloured shadows across the metal floor where blues had been before. The cheerful crowd noise was gone, replaced by quiet that was just wrong.

Gale looked down. Instead of sitting in the spectator chairs, all six of them now stood on the arena floor. The same metal surface where the two Guardians had fought moments before.

“What the fuck?” Kyle spun around. “How did we get down here?”

Rachel put her back against Gale as her gauntlets heated up.

Ollie looked towards the walls. “No exit points visible from here. We’re locked in.”

Even if they tried to jump the walls, the energy barriers probably would’ve kept them inside the arena.

There it was again. The crawling feeling of being watched. Gale’s eyes swept across the empty seats, looking for anything that might’ve been looking at them. Nothing visible, but something was definitely somewhere there, watching them.

Breath of the Void’s tendrils spread out everywhere, letting his senses capture the whole arena. Nothing was there except shadows and only a vague place where the gaze came from, but nowhere pinpointed.

The watching feeling grew stronger. More focused. On him.

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the Coliseum!” Yandil shouted over the speakers suddenly. “I am your host, Yandil, and today we have a very special event planned for your entertainment!”

“Great. We’re the entertainment now,” Kyle said, backing up to where Clyde was.

“Today’s program features a unique disciplinary action!” Yandil said. “We have six criminals who have violated the sacred laws of our city. These lawbreakers have destroyed multiple Guardian Units, the blessed creations of our eternal Architect!”

Clyde drew his long gun from his shoulder. “Guardian Units? Is that what they call the tachikomis?”

“The Architect built those machines to protect our city, to maintain order in his absence,” Yandil said. “These six terrorists have murdered his children, disrespected his legacy, and shown complete disregard for our most sacred laws!”

Rachel’s gauntlets glowed to a near white hot metal. “Terrorists? We were defending ourselves!”

Ollie drew his own deagle from his jacket. “No point arguing with a recording.”

“But our beloved Architect was merciful even in death!” Yandil said. “These criminals will be given one chance at redemption! They must face trial by combat against two of the Architect’s greatest champions!”

Kyle laughed bitterly. “Let me guess. The same two metal monsters that just beat the shit out of each other.”

“In the Red Corner!” Yandil shouted. “Weighing four hundred and sixty-seven tons, standing thirty-eight metres tall, the Crimson Devastator himself – Guardian Unit Hellbringer!”

The arena floor split open with grinding metal sounds. The same opening they’d watched before, but now much closer. Much more real. The massive red Guardian rose from below, fully fixed and armed for combat. Missile chambers rotated into position. Laser cannons charged along both arms. The machine’s head turned toward them, eyes flashing once in their direction.

“Those weapons are going to cut us apart,” Lily said.

“And in the Blue Corner!” Yandil said. “Weighing four hundred and twenty-four tons, standing forty-one metres tall, the Azure Champion herself, the Guardian Unit Stormbreaker!”

The blue Guardian emerged, her armour shiny under the red lights. Her massive rifle powered up, electricity jumping between armour plates. Both Guardians took positions at opposite ends of the arena, weapons aimed at the six humans standing between them.

“The terms of combat are simple!” Yandil announced. “Our six criminals must survive the trial and defeat both Guardian champions! Victory means redemption and freedom! Defeat means death and eternal shame!”

“Six people with small arms against two walking tanks. Totally fair fight,” Kyle said.

“At least they’re not fighting each other this time. Silver lining,” Clyde said.

“How is that a silver lining?” Rachel snapped.

“Now they’re both trying to kill us instead of each other.”

“Your trial begins in sixty seconds!” Yandil said. “Use this time to make peace with whatever gods you worship! Prepare yourselves for judgement!”

Rachel looked to Ollie. “Any brilliant strategies? Because I’m fresh out of ideas for fighting giant robots with mass genocide weaponry.”

“We target joints and exposed systems. Same as the spider mechs, just bigger,” Ollie said.

“Thirty seconds!” Yandil announced.

Suddenly, the empty seats filled with people. Thousands of spectators appeared in the stands, all wearing the same crystal growths they’d seen in the peaceful city streets. But these faces showed no kindness or joy. They were looking down on them with hysterical desire to see them die.

“DIE! DIE! DIE!” the crowd chanted.

“Well, that’s creepy,” Kyle said.

The spectators raised their fists. All of them held a red light pole in their hands that had a single symbol that said “DEATH.”

“DIE! DIE! DIE!”

For one single instant of a moment, Gale thought he saw movement in the darkness above the highest seats. The only way to live was to figure out how to get to that thing and kill it. The answer wasn’t beating these robots.

“FIGHT!” Yandil screamed.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep