Iron Sovereign: I Hunt the Apex

Chapter 8: The Necrotic Beast

The purple mist expanded fast, rolling across the shattered white marble like thick smoke. Wherever the mist touched the floor, the stone turned black, melting under the harsh magic. Aiden backed up two steps, keeping his eyes locked on the fallen form of the four-eyed shadow beast.

The dead monster twitched violently. Its broken neck snapped back into place with a sickening crack. Black fluid leaked from its wounds as its torn flesh knitted together, covered by fresh layers of dark bone armor. The monster stood back up on its four heavy legs, its eyes no longer glowing red, but burning with a deep purple flame.

Around the arena, spectators screamed in terror. People scrambled toward the exit doors, knocking over seats in a wild rush to get out of the stadium. They knew necromantic magic was forbidden by city law, yet Guild Master Vane had used it openly in front of thousands.

"Kill him," Vane commanded from his balcony, his voice cold and devoid of emotion. "Leave nothing left of him."

The revived shadow beast let out a distorted shriek that rattled the high stadium windows. It moved much faster than before, its heavy body leaving a trail of purple mist as it charged straight toward Aiden.

Aiden held his red energy blade with two hands, lowering his center of gravity. He knew this was not a living beast anymore. It felt no pain, and cutting its throat a second time would not stop the dark spell driving its body. He needed to destroy the core of the purple mist inside its chest.

The monster lunged, its heavy front claws sweeping through the air in a deadly arc.

Aiden used his Shadow Stride ability, stepping sideways into the shadow cast by a broken stone pillar. He reappeared behind the monster's left shoulder, swinging his glowing blade in a fast horizontal strike.

The blade bit deep into the beast's back, slicing through the new bone armor. But instead of green blood, thick purple smoke poured out from the cut. The monster did not even flinch. It spun around rapidly, its spiked tail whipping toward Aiden's head.

Aiden ducked under the tail strike, feeling the freezing wind of the necrotic energy brush against his cheek. He rolled across the marble floor, coming up on his feet near the edge of the central stage.

Marcus stood on the stage above him, paralyzed with fear as he watched the undead beast thrash around the floor. He tried to run toward the back doors, but his knees buckled, and he collapsed onto his hands and knees.

"Aiden, help me!" Marcus cried out, his voice shaking. "It will kill us both!"

Aiden looked at Marcus for a fraction of a second, his face hard. "You brought this on yourself, Marcus."

The shadow beast turned its attention toward the stage, lured by Marcus's frantic cries. It opened its wide jaws, gathering a ball of dark purple flame in its throat.

Aiden knew he could not let the beast destroy the stage yet. He needed Marcus alive to confess the truth about the rift betrayal to the city council.

Aiden sprinted forward, channeling all the physical speed and strength he had absorbed. He leaped off the ruined marble floor, soaring thirty feet through the air. He landed heavily on the monster's back, wrapping his left arm tightly around its thick neck frame.

The heat from his body clashed with the freezing purple mist coating the monster's fur. Frost formed along Aiden's arms, but his Rock Armor Structure protected his skin from freezing.

The beast shrieked, thrashing wilder than before. It slammed its heavy body against the side of the stage, trying to scrape Aiden off its back. The concrete structure crumbled under the force, dropping dust and debris onto the floor.

Aiden held his grip, tightening his left arm around the beast's throat. He raised his red energy blade with his right hand, aiming the point directly at the center of the monster's spine where the purple energy pulsed brightest.

"Fall," Aiden growled, driving the glowing blade downward into the bone armor with all his strength.

The blade sank all the way to the hilt. Heat exploded inside the monster's core, burning away the purple mist from the inside out. The purple flames in its four eyes flickered wildly, then dissolved into black ash.

The giant shadow beast let out one final, weak gasp and collapsed onto the shattered stage, its body melting into a pile of black dust.

Aiden jumped clear as the creature dissolved, landing smoothly on his feet in front of Marcus.

Faint blue letters appeared in his vision:

Target slain: Necrotic Shadow Beast.

Trait absorbed: Necrotic Immunity.

Resistance to dark and poison magic increased.

A cool energy settled deep within his chest, neutralizing the leftover frost on his skin. He felt stronger, his body adapting to every threat thrown his way.

Aiden walked up to Marcus, grabbed the collar of his polished silver armor, and hauled him to his feet with one hand. Marcus trembled, his eyes wide with terror as he looked at the porter he had tried to sacrifice.

"Now," Aiden said quietly, "you are going to tell everyone what you did."

Before Marcus could speak, a high-pitched alarm sounded from the top of the stadium. Red emergency lights began to flash along the high walls, casting long crimson shadows over the empty stands.

Guild Master Vane was no longer standing on the royal balcony. The doors behind his chair were smashed open, and a squad of city enforcers in silver robes stood inside the doorway, holding weapons drawn.

Suddenly, the ground beneath the entire arena began to shake violently. Deep cracks spread across the marble floor, stretching from the central stage all the way to the outer walls.

A loud rumble echoed from deep beneath the stadium floor. The earth split open in the middle of the field, exposing a dark, bottomless pit. From the depths of the pit, a massive beam of dark purple light shot straight up into the sky, shattering the stadium glass ceiling into millions of falling shards.