"I'm sorry, but I haven't gotten much fun out of this."
Felix's voice buzzed from within his mechanical suit. He hovered above the chaos, steam hissing from vents. "I suppose I'll drop a nuke, trim the numbers a little."
Grenades spilled from his armor's foot compartment, detonating in rapid succession. The ground cracked open, fissures tearing through the gym floor.
The kaiju roared and swung, but Felix sidestepped in the air, firing searing pulses from his palms.
Zero rose from the rubble, ruby spears bursting from the ground and stabbing into Dara's colossal feet.
No effect.
"Cover me," Nil said calmly.
Zero nodded. Nil rose beside Felix, seawater swirling around her fingertips.
"Hello, Serial Killer Man #1," Felix mocked.
"Shut up and be useful," Zero snarled, only to narrowly dodge a punch.
Gloxer blurred into view, fists swinging, his fury scattering into both Felix and Zero's defenses. "Stay out of our fight!"
The monster lashed out again, wrathful energy waves pulsing from its chest. Felix braced, his armor rattling.
"Your rage… it rivals the late Ezekiel." He charged power into one arm and slammed a fist into Gloxer's face, sending him skidding across the floor.
On the sidelines, Psylaiso whispered, "Saraline… Do we intervene?"
The Seventh Saint bit her lip. Then, without warning, she rocketed upward and smashed her fist into Zero, cratering him into the ground.
Nil gasped, but Zero barked: "Finish the ceremony!"
Saraline pummeled Zero, but a gauntleted fist cracked against her cheek. Felix. "That was disgusting," he sneered.
"I choose this as my domain…" Gabriel murmured. He grabbed the gym's walls, compressing the entire room until every fighter was trapped together.
Famine raised a finger. Psionic rays burst toward Jeremiah, but Rallio blocked with her legs, counter-kicking Ilya. Ilya dodged and clipped her knee with a bullet, drawing a scream that rattled the rafters.
Jeremiah tossed a volatile lollipop at Ilya's feet. Detonation shook the hall, just enough for Psylaiso to pounce Mog unopposed.
"You know I'm not slow, right?" Ilya appeared in front of Jeremiah, decking him before he even processed her words. He shot backward, wings flaring, whipping gusts that staggered her group.
Roxanne traded blows with Richard against the beast's legs. "Seems like everyone's relative in power," she said, grinning.
"You want adaptation?" Richard hurled a skeleton at her. "Eat."
Roxanne crunched the brittle remains. Her skin paled like corpse paint, veins glowing faintly. "Cheers, darling." She scuttled up Rallio's leg, hammering blows into its hide.
Richard smirked, but then froze. The kaiju stilled, head tilted skyward, mouth gaping wide.
"Bae, down—"
Nil finished her chant. "Submerge!"
The gymnasium drowned in sudden ocean. Water crushed every inch of the battlefield, Saints and sinners alike. Famine and Lichness endured. Others flailed.
Gloxer didn't. He boiled. His scream vaporized the tide, heat skyrocketing until his tuxedo ignited, body sheathed in flame.
Nil collapsed. Zero vaulted forward, catching her and sealing her in a ruby cocoon high on the wall, safe for the moment.
Jonah staggered awake. He notched arrows and let fly, chanting: "Enchant!"
Melissa laughed. "Weak!" She stepped toward him, her skin splitting, red swirls unfurling like wounds across reality.
The battlefield dimmed. Vision shrank. Only a single monstrous eye gleamed in the dark, its chuckle echoing like knives dragged on glass.
"NO!" Richard howled. "NOT AGAIN!" He pressed his palms to the floor, trying to decay it—but nothing happened.
"What—what is that?!" Gloxer's flames flared bright, forcing light back into the room.
Melissa stood. Or something using her shape. Her body unraveled into a red spiral, a cyclone of malice that mocked the idea of flesh or divinity.
Jonah fired arrow after arrow, but she walked on, each step inevitable.
Famine's sockets widened. "I… I IMAGINE YOU AWAY!"
Nothing.
Godly power doesn't bend to imagination.
The spiral swallowed Jonah whole. His screams reverberated once, then cut off as though erased from existence.
Dara collapsed, her kaiju form shattering, her unconscious body slamming against the ruined floor.
Jeremiah's lollipop fell from his lips. Zero froze, Nil inches from the same fate.
The spiral swelled, consuming air, space, hope. The fighters huddled in corners, even Rallio's empty husk retreating instinctively.
Then—
"Congratulations, Eliza. Or Samiel. Or Melissa."
Thidos' voice descended, smug and thunderous. "You have killed Jonah Sala, and earned an exit from the Reprisal. This marks the end of the second challenge: BETRAYAL. Only one more remains."
The red spiral vanished, teleported away. The doors yawned open, white light beckoning—but no one moved.
Famine stood rooted, mouth still open mid-scream.
Lichness tilted his head back, smiling at the ceiling. "Thrilling, wasn't it, Jonah?" His laugh broke, cracking into sobs.
Zero rushed to retrieve Nil's cocoon, clutching her limp body as he fled. Jeremiah followed with Dara slung over his back.
Gabriel left with Saraline and Psylaiso in tow. Felix trailed behind, cackling, his armor sparking with heat.
Gloxer's fire dimmed. He motioned his group to retreat. Roxanne hauled Mog's unconscious frame. Richard and Ilya walked silent.
Only Famine and Lichness remained for hours, statues of denial, before trudging to their dorms.
The Saints did not cheer.
They gathered in the council chamber. Alabendo's corpse slumped on one of the seats, eyes blank.
Michael gagged. Miles laid a steadying hand on his back.
Lianous looked away. Rosaline and Merlin clung together. Castor and Pollux stood banished outside, too young to see. Paris guarded the door in silence.
"We need a meeting," Miles said at last. His voice rehearsed, almost too smooth. "How could Thidos let this happen?"
His lips twitched, threatening a smile—then vanished, as though erased like Jonah's screams.