The white sand of the arena turned a sickly ash gray as the demonic energy poured out of Jarek’s mutating body.

The crowd in the Colosseum which had been screaming in horror suddenly fell dead silent. A heavy unnatural pressure descended over the entire stadium. It was not the commanding weight of an S Class aura. It was something fundamentally wrong. It felt like the air itself was rotting.

Up in the VIP suite Elias Vance gripped the edge of the glass window. "What is happening to the barrier?"

The glowing blue magical shield that protected the audience from the arena was flickering violently. The black energy radiating from Jarek was acting like a corrosive acid eating away at the Association’s strongest defensive runes.

"The Lost do not use mana" Vane whispered his black eyes wide with morbid fascination. "They use anti mana. They consume the natural laws of our world. The barrier will hold but just barely. Let us see how your anomaly handles a true nightmare."

Down on the sand Glen did not wait for the monster to finish its transformation.

"Lightning Movement" Glen commanded.

He vanished in a flash of blue electricity crossing the fifty yards in a microsecond. He appeared directly behind the mutating rookie aiming a brutal dual strike at the back of Jarek’s neck. He channeled Savage Strike into both silver blades intending to decapitate the boy before the black crystals could fully cover his body.

The silver swords struck the jagged black spikes erupting from Jarek’s spine.

Instead of the loud metallic clang Glen expected there was a sickening hissing sound. The moment the silver blades touched the black crystal the enchanted metal began to rapidly decay. Rust spread up the length of the swords in the blink of an eye the sharp edges crumbling into gray dust.

Glen’s eyes widened. He immediately released the hilts dropping the ruined swords to the sand.

Jarek spun around. His face was no longer human. His jaw had unhinged revealing rows of jagged black teeth and his eyes were empty voids of pure darkness. He swung his arm which had mutated into a massive scythe of black crystal.

Glen ducked leaning backward as the crystal scythe sliced through the air above him.

He felt a sudden agonizing burn across his cheek. The blade had not touched him but the sheer proximity of the black energy was enough to scorch his skin. It felt like someone had pressed a branding iron against his face.

Glen rolled backward putting twenty feet of distance between them. He touched his cheek. His fingers came away stained with a thick black sludge that smelled like rotting meat. The wound was not healing. The ambient mana in his body was actively avoiding the cut terrified of the foreign infection.

"What the hell are you?" Glen whispered his heart hammering a frantic rhythm.

Jarek did not answer. He let out a distorted mechanical screech and charged.

The mutated rookie moved with erratic terrifying speed. He did not have the refined technique of an academy elite. He moved like a rabid animal throwing his body forward with absolute reckless abandon.

Glen activated Abyssal Juggernaut Armor.

The dark crimson and black armor materialized over his skin pulsing with heavy kinetic energy. He needed the ultimate defense if he was going to survive close quarters combat with this thing.

Jarek slammed into him. The black crystal scythe struck Glen’s crossed forearms.

The impact sent a shockwave of displaced air tearing across the arena but Glen held his ground. The Abyssal Juggernaut Armor absorbed the kinetic force feeding the energy into Glen’s muscles. Glen pulled his right fist back preparing to deliver a devastating counterattack. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

But then the pain started.

It did not come from the physical impact. It came from the armor itself. Where the black crystal touched the dark crimson plating the demonic energy began to seep inside. Thick black veins crawled up Glen’s armored forearms bypassing his physical defense and sinking directly into his skin.

Glen gasped his vision suddenly swimming.

A chorus of thousands of whispering voices flooded his mind. They spoke in a language he did not understand but the intent was perfectly clear. Hunger. Despair. Absolute consumption. The voices clawed at his sanity trying to rip his consciousness apart and drag him into the dark void of the outer worlds.

"Get out of my head" Glen roared.

He unleashed the stored kinetic energy punching Jarek squarely in the chest. The blow sent the mutated rookie skidding backward across the sand but the damage to Glen was already done.

Glen dropped to one knee clutching his left arm. The black veins were spreading pulsing with a sickly dark light. The demonic infection was crawling up his bicep heading straight for his chest. Heading straight for his spiritual core.

System Warning.

Foreign Entity Detected.

Core Corruption at 15 Percent.

Warning. Anti Mana infection spreading. Healing magic ineffective.

Glen gritted his teeth forcing himself to stand. The pain was blinding far worse than the agony of a skill merge. This was not a test of physical strength. This was a parasite trying to eat his soul.

Across the arena Jarek recovered from the punch. The black crystals on his chest cracked and instantly reformed growing thicker and more jagged. The demon was adapting to Glen’s strength.

"You look hungry" Glen said his voice strained but his dark cocky smirk fighting its way back onto his face. He refused to let this thing see him break. "But you picked the wrong guy to bite."

Jarek screeched again raising both of his mutated arms. The black energy began to gather in the center of his chest forming a dense swirling sphere of pure anti mana. The air around the sphere warped and died the very fabric of reality struggling to contain the demonic power.

Glen knew he could not block it. His armor was already compromised. If that sphere hit him the corruption would reach one hundred percent instantly.

He had to end this now. And he had to do it with his bare hands.