His face darkened.
It had two more Soul Vessels than him—far more abilities, far more strength.
It was superior to him in almost every statistic.
The gate behind him slammed shut, echoing like a final judgment.From the shadows above, the masked Abomination gave Neptune one last, hollow look before turning away.
The Abomination of Darkness stood at the opposite end of the arena, its presence sending a shiver crawling down Neptune's spine. Its hollow eyes—cold, endless pits—locked onto his own.
Neptune summoned Crownbreaker. The silver blade materialized in his hands, its faint hum syncing with the pounding of his heart. Adrenaline surged through him. Every instinct screamed to run.
He ignored them.
They met in the center of the arena.
But something was off.
The Abomination's body was covered in deep cuts, jagged wounds still oozing dark, tar-like blood. Its movements looked sluggish, its breathing uneven.
Maybe it had fought before, maybe against that masked one.
Good. That made this fight possible.
Barely.
Neptune inhaled deeply, forcing his heartbeat to steady. The cheers of the spectators faded into white noise. Only the sand, the blade, and the monster remained.
He knew one thing about this enemy, it could vanish and reappear at will.
He glanced at the sky. Still gray. The sun unmoving, trapped just as he was.
The Abomination's neck snapped sideways with a sickening crack.
Time seemed to slow.
Then it vanished.
The fight had begun.
It appeared from the right side. Neptune spun, just in time to block a heavy blow from it. Crownbreaker met its fist with a metallic clang that rattled through his bones. The force of the impact sent him sliding through the sand, his arms trembling from the shock.
"Right side…" he muttered, gritting his teeth.
Crownbreaker pulsed with faint white light, its will feeding on the strength of his opponent.
It could endure. It had to.
The Abomination roared, lunging again. Neptune countered, but as he took a step forward—his legs locked.
"Damn!"
Dark tendrils erupted from the sand, coiling around his boots and calves.
He couldn't move.
The Abomination appeared at his left, fist raised. Neptune swung upward, aiming for its torn chest—but the blow landed first. The dark fist collided with his face, bone splintering on impact.
He was thrown across the arena, tumbling through the sand before crashing to a stop.
Pain exploded through his skull. His vision blurred. The taste of blood filled his mouth.
He couldn't rest for a second, he had to move.
He staggered to his feet, blood dripping from his nose and lips. The Abomination loomed, black ichor spilling from its chest wound.
"I hope it hurts more than mine," Neptune hissed.
The creature twitched, head snapping sideways again. It vanished.
"Right side!"
Neptune lunged blindly, thrusting Crownbreaker to his right.
The Abomination had an attack pattern.
It all started back in the cell. The Abomination cracked it's head at a weird angle, and disappeared and then launched from the right side. After that, it vanishes again and comes from the left side.
Neptune had studied the Abomination from the start and planned everything.
He memorized the exact angle and with that, he was able to predict where the Abominations body was.
With that result, Neptune was able to calculate where the beast's chest was. His own body was about the same size as the creature's, so he could figure out exactly where to stab to hit the heart. Every humaniod creature had the heart in the same place as a human.
But there was still one piece missing.
Luck.
Luck answered.
The Abomination reappeared—straight into the strike.
The blade pierced deep into its chest.
A shriek tore from its throat, a sound so sharp his ears rang.
"Go back to hell!" Neptune roared through clenched teeth.
Crownbreaker drove through fog and flesh, piercing the Abomination's heart. Its scream shook the air, making Neptune's ears bleed.
Then—
Dozens of razor-sharp tentacles erupted from its chest.
"Shit!"
He tried to pull the blade free, it was stuck.
He released the hilt, threw himself backward as the tendrils exploded outward, slicing through the sand and air. Several grazed his arms and back, tearing flesh and fabric alike.
He stumbled, bleeding, gasping.
The tentacles withdrew, curling back into the creature's body. It stared at him, hatred burning in its hollow eyes.
Still alive.
His heart sank.
His calculations were right
The Abomination's head cracked again.
It vanished.
"Left…"
It launched from the left, Crownbreaker still buried in its chest.Neptune ducked under the sweeping punch, already predicting it
He seized the sword's hilt—
—and twisted.
The Abomination convulsed, coughing up black blood. Its arm went limp.
Neptune roared and slammed his fist into its face.
Once.
Twice.
Again.
Until bone gave way beneath his knuckles.
Crack. Crack. Crack.
The sound was monstrous, but so was this world.
The Abomination twitched one last time, then fell still.
Dark vapor rose from its corpse as Soul Fragments poured into Neptune's vessel.
He slumped beside the body, chest heaving, blood pooling beneath him. His once bright eyes—orange and blue—now looked hollow.
Pain returned like a tidal wave as the adrenaline drained away.
He had won.
But with a great cost.
His back was shredded. His chest torn open. His jaw cracked, his nose broken, his head pounding.
Above him, the crowd roared. Their cheers were deafening.
Their joy, disgusting.
Neptune lay motionless, staring at the crimson-grey sky until the world faded to black.