Chapter 126

Merder Pyramid, Merder Stadium, Atlanta - 12:00 PM

It didn’t take long for me to get teleported into the arena. My body shifted so that I was sitting on the stone throne when I appeared. I immediately started to assess my very own boss room.

And found it absolutely lacking. The room was large, but aside from the stone throne and three entrances, one in front of me and two to either side, there was nothing of note. Snapping open my inventory, I stood up and started scattering things all over the place.

While the bulk of Talspra’s traps were still sitting in my room, I had several items still in my inventory so I could keep Divine Messenger at its peak. Caltrops, javelins, arrows, ball bearings, and darts were flung all over the floor. Not only would it get in everyone’s way, but I would be able to use them as projectiles from pretty much anywhere.

As I did, I listened to Benedict Merder’s voice as he announced the teams. He was trying to mask it, but I could tell his usual enthusiasm wasn’t there anymore. Frastina’s decision had been absolute, and he was suffering for it. I could be an empathetic person, but everything I just learned from Howard made it impossible for me to sympathize.

“Still can’t reach me?“ I asked quietly.

[[Patron Message]]

I’m sorry, Ant. Frastina turned that room into a dead zone for me. Once you went inside, it actually got worse than when it was just Howard.

I know your circumstances now, and I am truly angry at what’s going on. The worst part is, I think Frastina was trying to do me a favor. I think she guessed that I’m the kind of Patron that likes these kinds of death games and was aiming to please me, which only makes things even worse. Or maybe she’s just playing some kind of power game. I don’t know what she’s thinking.

You have to survive this, okay?

I mean, I know you can, but you also have to.

Sincerely worried,

Sara

“I’ll do everything in my power to survive,“ I promised her.

Benedict Merder finished calling out all of the teams and announced that the Wheel of Chaos was going to spin. I looked up expectantly, but nothing appeared over my head.

“Oh, well that’s just dandy, isn’t it?“ I spat. “Guess bosses don’t get to spin the wheel. No embracing chaos for me today. Wonder if that means I won’t get a mandatory quest, either.“

Even though I said it, moments later the quest screen popped up.

[[Mandatory Quest: Survive!]]

You have made it to the prestigious Chaos Cup as a raid boss! This is the highest honor that can be given to powerful monsters, and all you have to do now is slaughter every single person invading your lair or survive long enough for the pyramid to collapse and do it for you.

Objective: Kill the heroes or survive until time is up.

Time limit: 30 minutes.

Reward: Determined by results.

“Oh, great, so even if I wait them out then I’ll probably die when the pyramid implodes. Neat,“ I muttered.

Taking a breath and trying to get rid of some of the anger boiling inside of me, I reached into my inventory and pulled out My Golden Bowling Ball. I held it in one hand and retrieved the Writhing Belt Whip with the other. Making sure that the Nonlethal enchantment, which I had gotten to take care of Branson and his men but now realized I wouldn’t need, was off, I cracked it in the air a few times.

I moved behind my throne, just in case, and waited after a minute or so. I heard the starting gun fire, and then a cannon boomed. I put my arms over my head, having expected this, and the ceiling in front of the throne exploded with a bone-shaking boom.

Dust and chunks of rocks fell around me, but I was uninjured. I turned around and looked at the throne to see that it was fine, but a giant hole had been blasted out of the ceiling in front of it. That was another entrance for the “heroes,“ which meant I had to be vigilant of it. People were unpredictable like that.

From the three original entrances, I heard yells and feet stamping up to meet me as fast as they could come. The pyramid was tall, but with all these people having stats well above the average player, they would be making it up soon. I walked around slowly and listened, paying careful attention to the sounds.

I could easily pick out where the Adrenaline Junkies were thanks to the sound of Lucy screaming. I didn’t imagine the administrators would split up the teams, but I walked over to that entrance and checked anyway.

Sure enough, I could see an enlarged Lucy running up the stairs. Noah and James were running alongside her, and I could see members of Atlanta’s Worst Team, Best In Show, Diamond Breakers, and Thunderstealers trailing behind her. I picked up two javelins with Lift, and the Savage Defender immediately bounced ahead to intercept them.

My mind began to focus on him as he used an ability to grab my attention, but due to my high Wisdom, I was able to throw off his influence.

“Didn’t grab aggro!“ he yelled with a grimace.

He wasn’t the one I was most worried about here, though. Walter, the Intervention Specialist, was in the back of the group but I needed to make sure he wouldn’t interrupt me. So I yelled and activated a skill from my Ringmaster’s Hoodie for the first time.

“Ladies and gentlemen of this side of the pyramid, may I have your attention please!!“ I yelled loudly. “Pay no heed to your surroundings, your allies, your crowd, as all you need to do is pay attention to me!“

Some of the combatants tripped on their way up, mentally affected by Hyperbolic Declaration. Even those who were resisting it slowed down noticeably. Now that the timing was right, I Pushed the javelins down the stairs as I regaled those transfixed by my voice with a series of rapid-fire facts about gladiatorial combat.

The Savage Defender attempted to leap in the way of my projectiles, but I made them curve around him and Lucy before bringing them straight to Noah. They pierced through his back, causing him to scream, and I alternated between Lifting and Pulling as he got dragged towards me. I glanced back to see Walter completely taken by my skill and unable to respond in time.

Behind Lucy, I could see Samantha the Thunder Striker begin casting a spell, her hands lit up with crackles of electricity, and I moved Noah to block her line of sight. A dart of electricity fired, creating a thunderclap that shook the pyramid, and the Rage Eater took that hit for me. I started stepping backwards into the top of the pyramid as the man struggled, but he couldn’t break free.

“Should have ate some of your girlfriend’s rage when you had the chance,“ I chastised once I dragged him to a stop in front of me. “Want some of mine?“

“If you’re offering,“ he hissed through grit teeth, and I chuckled.

“Nah, I think I’ll ride it out. Lucy, though, she’s going to have a grand old time without you,“ I told him before raising My Golden Bowling Ball.

A look of panic passed through Noah’s eyes as he understood the meaning of my words. Shuffling back a few steps, careful of all the junk I scattered, I wound up and threw it at him. I Pushed the ball, dropping my influence on the javelins, as it lit on fire.

The ball slipped past his outstretched hand and slammed into Noah’s face with all the force I could muster. It didn’t kill him, he was too resilient for that, but I grabbed the bowling ball and jabbed his broken, bloody nose a few times. He was staggered and dazed, and he soon disappeared.

The entrance I had used to grab Noah was suddenly covered by a large stone block, and I Pushed a ball bearing towards it to see if it was one of Olivia’s illusions or Ava’s conjurations. When it bounced off, I knew, and ignored it for now. No doubt I would be notified by their arrival when it became time.

Hearing footsteps behind me, I threw up my Shield just in time to block a series of bullets from hitting my back, though it was already starting to shimmer. Increased defenses or not, the bullets still hurt. I turned around to see that Most Valuable Prisoner’s David was sitting at the top, reloading his M1 Garand. The Light of Guidance surrounded him, so it looked like Team Trouser Snake was down that way, too.

I lurched forward on my Heelies, leaving a path of abandoned weapons kicked away in my wake. David panicked and dove onto the next platform down. It wasn’t so tall that he wouldn’t be able to fire at me from there, but he would have to reload first. I watched the entrance cautiously as I approached it. Something grab my legs, and I fell onto a spear.

Turning onto my back and kipping up, I could clearly see Team Titan’s Kenji, the Shadow Boxer, attacking the air through the hole in the ceiling. My legs started to hurt, and I looked down to see his shadow punching mine. I shifted away from the attack, but ultimately ignored it. Those blows bypassed my Shield because I wasn’t being attacked directly, but weren’t very strong.

Flicking my wrist upwards, I ejected rope from the Vambrace of Wires and wrapped it around his ankle. He paused, looking down at it before looking at me. Before I could pull, I was lifted off of my feet. I found myself upside down and I threw out my hands before I could get suplexed into the stone floor. Awkwardly catching myself on my bowling ball and whip, I was suddenly grabbed around the neck and lifted.

I could see William grappling me and suspected that Theodore was the one who suplexed me. The Tag Team Champions specialized in holds and throws, and getting between the two meant that I had the possibility of getting stunned repeatedly. I Pulled two caltrops directly beneath the wrestler. He jumped into the air as I braced myself for the piledriver.

My head collided with the ground and William let go of me as his ass landed on sharp spikes. My Shield shattered and Thick Skull mitigated the rest, but I wasn’t in a good position. It was with some satisfaction that I saw Kenji was on my level now, frantically attempting to remove the wire rope from his leg. I flicked my wrist and caught Theodore’s arm with the Writhing Belt Whip, and he stumbled away as it started eating at his flesh.

Using the whip to hoist myself up, I kicked the downed Williams in the crotch before snapping my foot into his windpipe. He clutched his neck, choking, and I lashed out with my whip. I could hear the flesh tear off of Theodore’s arm along with his screams. It swung towards the prone Tag Team Champion before getting caught by Daniel’s shield.

A quick glance showed that everybody around me was glowing now, and decided that had to stop. I slammed my shoulder into the Guiding Light’s shield and twisted, pushing it aside so I could be chest to chest with its wielder. He looked surprised and panicked, and that suited me just fine.

“Bye,“ I said as I activated Crash Test.

My body was flung forward, taking Daniel with me. We ran into Tristan, MVP’s Swordsman, and Preston, Team Titan’s Divine Oracle, as we exited the building. They all took damage and flew backwards off of the pyramid. Once the skill stopped, I used an Air Step and pivoted directly towards David even as I set up a Force Field right in front of him.

The Gunner scrambled to shoot me, but the two bullets bounced off of my invisible obstruction. One of them ricocheted, tearing into his arm, and he looked away from me to see it. I raised My Golden Bowling Ball high before swinging, using Drop for extra damage.

He looked back in time to see me coming, and he did manage to shift, but I caught him in the neck. The ball collided with the stone behind him as he disappeared.

Yanking the Vambrace of Wires, Kenji fell down to my level. He hadn’t been able to free himself from the rope and I could see darts, javelins, and arrows sticking out of his body. Raising my foot, I brought it down on his stomach before stomping down on his neck next. Despite the abuse, the Shadow Boxer wasn’t dead yet, and he grabbed my leg as I shifted my attention towards the entrance.

The others were crowding the door, though they stayed back. I saw James, the Blasphemous Priest, smirking, and I immediately flew into action. Releasing Kenji from the wire, I pulled myself free. I jumped up onto the next highest step in a single leap and set a Force Field behind me. The step I had just been standing on exploded less than a second later, destroying my defense and blowing up Kenji where he lie.

“Thanks, Bill!“ I yelled down the side of the pyramid, cackling.

James’ look of success soured as the bird on top of the pyramid released a screeching whistle. I jumped up, using another Air Step, and snagged it while it was distracted. It immediately started shifting in my hands, dragging me onto the roof as Claire, the Animal Soul, changed from a small bird to a mastiff. Letting go, I rolled onto the roof and lashed out with the Writhing Belt Whip and the Cable Conglomerate.

Both managed to wrap around her front legs, though Eldritch Chomp didn’t activate, and I lifted her off of the ground by spinning. The look on the dog’s face was pitiful as I slammed it against the hole in the roof, and the whine of pain was almost heartbreaking. Almost.

I could feel the battle lust overtake me as I was up against terrible odds. As I yanked Claire back to me and slammed My Golden Bowling Ball down on her head, I could feel the heat of the moment.

I felt the need to defeat everyone here in as decisive a victory as possible. It wasn’t just for survival, I knew, but I allowed myself to be taken by it. Claire disappeared and the bowling ball cracked the stone beneath her.

[[Notice]]

You have defeated [Team Titan].

Points will be tallied at the end of the event.

Swiping away the notification, I saw Lucy’s giant hand raise up through the hole in the roof. Opening my Ringmaster’s Hoodie, I revealed Krinkee’s Bandolier for the first time. I grabbed the handle of the Writhing Belt Whip with my teeth and ran forward as I pulled out two of the fire bombs.

Just as Lucy’s enlarged claymore came out of the hole, I tossed down the explosive vial directly onto her face. She screamed and let go, falling to her feet and trying to pat out the fire raging on her head. Magical auras started to engulf her, and she was healing as fast as she was taking damage. That was good, I wanted her riled up since Noah wasn't here to help.

People started popping up on the roof, all in one general area, and I had to imagine this was the doing of the Intervention Specialist. Jamie was first, followed by the rest of her team, and she immediately started firing at me with a brand new pistol. I tested to see if Shield was still active, and it was. Her bullets caused it to shimmer, but I was already on the move.

“There she is!“ I yelled.

Jamie was a high priority target, and I activated Cheetah Sprint. I cleared the distance in a few steps and dropped the fire bomb in a spot beside me. Charlie, the Smuggler, had attempted to step around me to get into a flanking position, but the sudden heat and fire caused him to back off. Blake, on the other hand, stepped up in front of their leader to stop me from getting to her.

The Shield Tank was a hulking figure with two large shields, and he braced himself for my attack. I knew I shouldn’t have, but I accepted the challenge head on. Swinging My Golden Bowling Ball towards the twin shields, I let go of it and dove to the side. It lit on fire as I activated the Iron Anchor’s blessing, and the air was filled with a loud sound similar to a gong.

Rolling to my feet I stayed low, pivoting and reaching for Jamie with my now free hand. She jumped backwards as Charlie filled the space in between us. I grabbed him instead and pulled his leg towards me even as I continued my forward momentum. He fell to the ground easily, and I could practically feel his poor Constitution. Mounting the Smuggler, I slammed my forehead into his nose twice before I was shoved aside by Blake.

I allowed myself to travel in the direction I was pushed, rolling off of Charlie and onto my knees. Jamie fired more shots before I switched the safety again, and she checked it immediately. The Cable Conglomerate wrapped itself around the Smuggler’s wrist and I pulled him towards me, grabbing the dazed man by his leather armor, and held him up as a shield.

Jamie fired another two shots, both of which glanced off of my rapidly diminishing Shield. If it weren’t for my defensive measures, they would have gone straight into my head. Since Charlie wasn’t big enough to cover me, I released him from the Cable Conglomerate and threw him off of the pyramid. Blake screamed and stepped forward, but I went for his knees.

Grabbing him, I rolled to knock him off balance and put him between Jamie and I as I tried to flick her safety again. It didn’t work, and I saw that she was keeping it in position with her finger. Getting Blake over me as he flailed, unable or unwilling to get rid of his shields, I kicked him into the air and into the hole. He clambered loudly to the bottom, and I could hear people yelling loudly at his entrance.

Getting to my feet, I Pulled My Golden Bowling Ball back to me before it could roll off of the side of the pyramid. Lunging towards Jamie again, she wheeled backwards but couldn’t escape my enhanced speed. I lashed out with both my whip and the Cable Conglomerate, grabbing her leg, and raised the ball high into the air.

Dropping her gun, Jamie pulled a dart out of a pouch on her waist. I recognized it as one of mine as it flew towards my face. I shifted, and the accuracy boost of the Weapon Master activated. The dart landed in one of the rectangular holes in the mask. I felt my face numb from poison, but it went away quickly. She fell to the ground, out of any potential sight of the Intervention Specialist, and I struck her armor with the bowling ball.

The Weapon Master wasn’t out yet. She pulled a simple spear out of her inventory and leveled it at me while raising her foot. I had to throw myself out of the way to avoid both, hitting the ground and rolling. I brought her with me, the Cable Conglomerate tightening around her knee and slithering up for her arms. When we stopped, I found myself face to face with her.

“Sorry, no time for banter,“ I said as I rose to my knees.

Releasing the Writhing Belt Whip, I pulled out Vermon’s Smash Stick. She immediately tried to protect her armor, and unwittingly allowed the Cable Conglomerate to tie her up. There was no need for that, as I wasn’t going to destroy her protection. She would need that in Pittsburgh, after all. Instead, I swung it down at her exposed face, giving it a little more oomph with Drop. Jamie struggled, but there was nothing she could do, and three swings later she disappeared.

I roared with triumph as I stood, returning the rope to the Vambrace of Wires. The crowd screamed with me, and I walked around the hole to play up my victory over another MVP.

That didn’t mean I was complacent, however. I saw how the air shimmered around the hole, but pretended I didn’t. The sound of footsteps on wood didn’t escape me, either.

Closing my eyes, I swung the Smash Stick blindly towards the hole. It stopped midair, and I heard a grunt of exertion from the person I had hit. Recognizing it as Robert, the Shield Champion from Best In Show, I swung again. This time the only grunt was from exertion as the shield took the blow for him. Opening my eyes, I looked down at my Bandolier and sent my last two bombs out to rbit.

As I felt Robert back away, I followed after him. A weapon sliced through the air beside me where I had just been standing, and I laughed. This was a mass invisibility spell that would cause the Illusionist casting it to drain magic power quickly. It was also useless.

“Wasps!“ I yelled. “I summon thee!“

The sound of cursing surrounded me as the insects flew out from inside my hood. Even though the invisibility would fool their eyes, there were several ways they could figure out where people were. The fire bombs I set Orbiting slammed into Robert’s back, and I felt his presence disappear. All around me, the wasps started flying to various spots nearby.

Setting my Smash Stick back into my inventory, I Pulled the Writhing Belt Whip and did the same with it before retrieving my Vague Stick. Willing it into a spear, I started going to town.

The nearest shape to me that the wasps recognized was smaller than I was. I could hear their fists flying around, and I could see the bugs getting swatted away. Seemed to me like this was Ben, BYOB’s Barroom Brawler. I lunged forward on my Heelies just as the Cheetah Sprint skill fell off. The spear was knocked aside, though it was at the expense of allowing some wasps to reach him, so I ducked.

Air rushed over my head as my opponent missed me. I spun, shortening my grip on the spear in order to strike where I thought their head was. The butt of the weapon struck them where I expected, and I followed it up with a strike from My Golden Bowling Ball. They fell to the ground, and I skewered them three times in quick succession before I struck the ground with the tip of my spear.

A blow struck me from behind, shattering my Shield and slicing into my skin. I wheeled forward and turned around only to see a few wasps remaining. Gunshots rang out, and I gritted my teeth as the bullets hit my chest. It was painful, but the defenses of being a raid boss couldn’t be denied. I should have gotten more information from Howard before I came down, but I was just so pissed off.

Before I could lunge at the enemy that I thought was Grey from BYOB, a pair of arms wrapped around me. They attempted to throw me backwards towards the hole, but I hooked their leg with mine and we both fell. Based on their gear, I could see that this was William out for revenge. I slammed my head back against his face repeatedly. I could hear people running towards us, and I was starting to see that not everyone was invisible.

Testing out, I looked behind me towards the hole. Now was as good a chance as ever to see if cooldowns were actually shortened. Grabbing onto William’s arms with my own, I activated Crash Test again.

We slid across the ground, knocking over Pierce the Violent Negotiator, and the Tag Team Champion screamed the whole time. He attempted to break free, and I obliged once we were over the hole. He fell far enough for his head to slam into the stone, and he disappeared as I came to a stop. Pushing my shoes, I slithered into the hole and onto the ramp that Dave must have created before rolling down it.

I landed in the midst of most of the spellcasters, but they weren’t the first thing I saw. The first thing I saw was a Lucy, nearly ten feet tall and covered in veins that looked ready to pop. Her teammate, James, was attempting to calm her down.

Grinning, I threw the bowling ball at her back before kipping up to my feet. Her scream seemed to shake the pyramid down to its foundation.