Alex''s entire body was numb as he ducked and weaved through claw strikes from Maki. Sayed saved him at the last moment, charging in with his sword and cutting into Maki''s flank. Alex jumped back and fell to one knee. They had about four minutes left in the fight, but Maki didn''t seem like he was going down. Seven four-foot-long pieces of rebar now stuck out of Maki''s hide, each one looped around to prevent it from being pushed out, but still, the green energy glowed around the wounds. Still, ''the Beast'' refused to fall.


    "And it seemed like such a good idea." Alex gasped between breaths. "Seven ''might'' uses later, and I''m doubting it."


    Could they just back off and play it safe to run out the timer? Maybe. Did that mean the person who ran the arena had to play by the rules? No. Did Alex like the idea of trying to negotiate with a man who hadn''t even said a word before attacking them? Definitely not. Had Maki killed Gramps? Yes. Alex pushed himself up with his staff and prepared to charge in again. There had to be a way to take Maki down.


    It was muted in his ears, but he could hear the crowds cheering from the stands. Moreso than sound, it felt like a vibration that ran up from the ground. Some stomped their feet while others shouted for Sayed to fight on or for Maki to give it his all.


    Boom. Boom. Thud. Boom. Boom. Thud.


    Alex knew somewhere in the back of his mind that the entire process was beyond messed up. He had read of cultures who fought for entertainment, like the Romans. Even in his own day, there were arguments and debates about how people who participated in American football gave away their bodies for money in their youth. Concussions that ate away at a person''s mind were the price of that entertainment.


    However, that didn''t stop him from feeling the thrill of a good fight. Even when lives were on the line, even when people died, he couldn''t stop the adrenaline that pumped through his veins with every heartbeat.


    Sayed continued to fight Maki off in the distance, and Alex paid close attention to find his opportunity to take back over. Maki had been too good at playing defense and only had one piece of rebar left. If he could hold Maki still, maybe he could get one last piece into a vital area. His current piece was sitting off to the side on the ground, waiting after it had been knocked away in his previous attempt.


    Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a flit of green movement. Erin dashed in between buildings, keeping an eye on the fight but also keeping out of it. Alex looked at her as she watched over Sayed. ''Thorn Queen'' Leah was her bounty name, and a thought ran through Alex''s mind. There had to be a reason for that title. The same as his ''Tin Man,'' ''Sword Saint,'' or ''the Beast.'' Whoever ran the bounty office had a sense of humor when naming outlaws, and ''Thorn Queen'' should be no different. Keeping an eye on Maki as Sayed parried one of his claws with a sword, Alex approached Leah.


    "What can you do?" Alex asked.


    "Three minutes remain, folks, and it looks like Sayed is going to hold back ''the Beast'' alone!"


    "Demon''s Divide!"


    "What are you talking about?" Erin asked, her eyes flitting between Alex and the fight.


    "Your curse," Alex said, leaning forward. "I''ve got magnetism. Sayed clearly has heat and a sword. What can you do?"


    Roar! Crash! Crunch!


    "Oh, looks like Sayed took a nasty hit there, folks!"


    "Is this really the time?" Erin asked, nodding over to the fight.


    "You will not take me down, monster! In the name of God, I will win!"


    "He''s fine. We need an edge, and we''ve got three minutes left. What can you do?"


    "I can—" Erin hesitated but then glared at him. "I can make things grow—seeds, plants, and even a person''s body. I can make them grow faster."


    Alex frowned as he let those thoughts play over his mind. Her healing ability was tied to growth. She made parts of the body grow naturally but faster. She could also cause plants to grow, but there was no vegetation in the arena. When she healed people, her hands had a green glow, much like Maki''s wounds.


    "I can support," Erin said. "But I''m no help against something like this."


    "Can you trust me?" Alex asked as the realization hit him.


    Alex knew it was a lot to ask of anyone. Trust was something a person built over time. It required give and take. It required a person to be there for another again and again. He had a crazy idea. If he was right, they didn''t need to stall Maki. They could win.


    "Sayed gets up again!" the announcer yelled. "How many times can this man stand up after being put down? He truly is the Champion of the Arena!"


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    "What are you going to ask me to do?" Erin''s face went pale, and Alex realized he had a wide grin cracking his face.


    "Two more minutes remain in the fight, folks. Who will win? Maki ''the Beast'' or ''Sword Saint'' Sayed? Will ''Tin Man'' Ortega or ''Thorn Queen'' Leah swoop in to steal the spotlight? Only two more minutes to decide who goes on to the next round!"


    Alex explained the plan. Moment by moment, Erin''s face paled more and more. What had been whiter than a sheet now almost glowed like LED lights. At the end of it, she did not look like she could ever trust him. However, Alex knew it was the best plan he had.


    "Fine," Erin said in a way that implied Alex was insane, and she was only agreeing because he held a really big stick in his hands. "We''ll try it."


    <hr>


    Erin didn''t trust Alex, not in the slightest. What kind of madman did he think he was? She kept close enough behind him that he didn''t think she was running away but was ready to bolt the second she could. She was on a critical mission. She couldn''t afford to take unnecessary risks, but he had just barged over and asked her to get close to that monster. She had said she could support him, but that was it.


    "Oh, what''s this?" the announcer said. "Folks, it looks like ''Thorn Queen'' Leah and ''Tin Man'' Ortega are up to something. They''re charging at Maki!"


    The crowd collectively gasped. Ahead of them, Sayed stood against the monster. He was beaten, bruised, and bloody from cuts across his body. He had no sword, and only his gauntlet remained, the claws on it glowing bright orange. With just a cursory look, Erin knew he wouldn''t survive the next minute. One more good hit from the monster, and Sayed would fall.


    However, the man''s face did not show despair. Instead, a broad smile stretched his beard from side to side. Erin couldn''t believe it. He was enjoying this. It didn''t take long for her to realize Alex''s smile reflected the same. They were both enjoying the fight.


    It made her sick to think about it.


    "Sayed!" Alex yelled as he charged. "One more time! We need to hold him still!"


    "Alright, brother!" Sayed yelled and charged forward from the opposite side.


    The monster looked between them as they charged, and Erin slowed herself. Even if she did help in the end, she didn''t need to get caught up in that monster''s claws for the plan to work. It was better if she stayed back before she made her decision. Playing it safe was the right thing to do.


    They hit the monster from top and bottom. Alex screamed a word as he slammed into the monster''s legs, knocking it off its feet like a cannonball. Sayed yelled something, slammed his clawed gauntlet down, and fell on top of the monster. Erin ignored that.


    Bump.


    Her breath was coming quickly in her chest. Her heart beat in her ears as time seemed to slow around her. The world turned into silence as the beast hit the ground. Alex fell to the ground and looked back at her. Sayed held on to the monster''s chest with his burning claw. In her mind, this was her moment to run. She could run. They would have to last for less than a minute. They would all survive and be in the maze in less than a minute.


    Bump. Bump.


    "Only one more minute!" the announcer yelled.


    But could she do it? It was a new way to use her curse, a way she hadn''t thought of in her few years with it. Granted, she had never encountered a monster like Maki ''the Beast'' before. Even after joining the Revolution, she had mostly been on missions to gather information or to find people. She hadn''t needed to adapt to a life or death struggle because there was always an out. There had always been an escape.


    Bump. Bump. Bump.


    "Erin! Do it!"


    Inside her, her gate felt eager. It wanted to open up and try it. She had never had this feeling before. She was the one who controlled the gate inside of her. But now, at this moment, it seemed like the gate itself was pleading to her. It wanted to be used. It wanted to try.


    Bump. Bump. Bump. Bump.


    "Shades," she whispered, opening her gate and running toward the monster.


    Power curled and wrapped through her body, twining from her heart. Like growing vines inside of her, the power twisted and slunk its way through the rest of her body. Her hands gained a green glow as she approached the monster and placed them on it. She whispered a simple command in her mind and used it to structure her will. She told the monster to heal.


    "Thirty seconds!"


    Time resumed its normal flow around her as she touched her healing hands to the monster''s hide. Green light flowed out from her hands, and in seconds, the monster''s own green healing light exploded out in a flash. The monster''s wounds coiled and grew back faster than they had before. Most of the cuts and scrapes healed instantly, but seven had a problem.


    Erin grunted as she poured more power into her healing, and she looked over to the monster''s legs to see if the plan was working. Muscle, hide, and tissue were trying to stitch themselves back together, but because of the metal bars stuck in the monster''s hide, they had nowhere to go. Hide and muscle strands erupted from the open wounds as they met resistance inside. The healing was happening, but it was disjointed and corrupted. Hide and tissue desperately reached over the metal bars and tried to stitch themselves to the other side. The monster''s body was pulling itself apart in seven places while trying to stitch itself back together.


    "Twenty seconds!"


    "Sayed!" Alex yelled. "Can you get it?"


    "I''ve lost my sword, brother, but I will try!"


    "Wait!" Erin yelled herself, letting go of her healing with one hand and reaching into her cloak.


    From the straps, she pulled out Abed''s sword. She had to momentarily let go of her healing, but she threw it up to him with both hands. It whirred through the air, but Sayed merely reached out a hand with a smile and caught it like he had been practicing that trick his entire life.


    "Then let us give this tale a proper end," Sayed said, holding up the blade and letting it glow bright orange.


    "Ten seconds!"


    "Demon''s Divide!"


    With a long arc, Sayed jumped into the air and cut down through the monster''s neck, severing through hide, bone, and flesh with one mighty stroke. The monster had no defense for it. It was hobbled on the ground, beaten and broken from the fight. The smell of burning flesh filled the air. The fight was over.


    Brrt.


    A loud bell rang out in the arena. The crowd cheered, and Erin fell to her knees. She closed her gate. They had done it. They had won. She had done it. She had used her curse in a way that she had never expected. She looked over to Alex and saw him on the ground, grinning and giving her a thumbs-up.


    "What a fight, folks!" the announcer yelled. "Maki ''the Beast'' is defeated! ''Sword Saint'' Sayed. ''Tin Man'' Ortega. ''Thorn Queen'' Leah. ''Street Urchin'' Jack. Those four are going on to the next round!"