To control Thud, Morgan needed to connect to the zombie. Consequently, she felt the damage done to the undead as her pain. Lex heard her screams and felt her pain. It nearly drove him mad; his growing anger battled against his numbed emotions for control. Before meeting Morgan, he'd given up on life, his health, and even vengeance, feeling her pain had torn open a festering wound.

Time slowed to a crawl while he pushed the wight's curse out.

Louis, a vampire created by Jean D Arc, had started his sprint. He'd either target Milly or Lex. Neither Thud nor himself would be able to intervene in time.

So, he ripped the jawbone from the abominable centipede devouring his arm, and threw it at the deranged goat man, who liked to finger people. Doing so threw him out of cover and made him vulnerable to the goatman's fingering. The fight moved too quickly for Morgan to pull out from her connection with Thud easily.

Lex watched his thrown jawbone smash into the zombie's skull. Its head shot back, and a horn snapped off. He felt a little more feeling return to his knees and leaned up.

His hand lashed out and deprived the centipede biting him of a skull. A blast of qi shattered the teeth and muscle gripping his arm. Teeth dripping with golden blood stabbed deep all around his arm, and he made use of them. One at a time, he ripped them out and threw them at the goatman. Most missed or bounced off, but a few struck true.

Stab wounds to a zombie did little to slow it down or damage its morale. Instead, it shook its head and prepared to continue its long-range technique.

Lex felt some feeling return to his toes. They felt like pins and needles. Thud tumbled to the ground, unable to keep its footing under paralysis.

Lex ripped off the centipede’s other jawbone and threw it. The goatman ducked and lost the tip of its undamaged horn. It dodged moving more like a boxer than a magician. The goatman’s sudden dodge made the situation worse. If something didn’t change, he’d die.

Suddenly, the feeling returned to his left leg.

His leg struggled to support him as Lex’s muscles miss fired and his body regained control. Fresh qi rushed through his meridians, cleansing him of the curse. Still, his right foot was unresponsive. He rolled onto his hands and his good foot. Lex dug deep holes into the arena tiles with his fingers; he dragged himself forward and kicked off with his left foot.

In moments, he closed the distance and tackled the enemy's legs. The hooved limbs snapped in his hands as he pulled the goatman down and pummeled him. In a few short but brutal blows, the goatman's head was green paste filling the mold of Lex's fist in the arena tile.

Lex slammed his right foot forward, digging it deep in the arena. He held one of the goatman's horns up and threw it. All three of the head tentacle creatures were paralyzed. Louis had run to help but held back from getting close to Milly. Only the centipede battled Milly in earnest. Its strange composition kept it from being paralyzed.

The horn impacted the centipede's skull and cratered it. Green brains leaked out, and the creature twitched on the ground. Louis turned to Thud and charged forward, his arm raised for a deadly blow. Lex charged across the arena but found his speed only a little faster than the vampire.

Louis drove his fist through Thud's head, scattering green brains everywhere. Morgan let out another choked scream before she managed to disconnect entirely. He knew through their link that she was ok.

The vampire turned to him and grinned. It exposed its fangs, and its eyes flashed red like Marie, then it frowned. Louis turned its head to the side.

Lex got into a boxing stance. He bounced on his toes while Milly took the nearest tentacle head creature and slammed it hard against the ground. Louis charged fangs extended for a bite and received a jab for his trouble.

Black blood oozed from the vampire's mouth as it took jab after jab. Instead of throwing a brutal haymaker Lex kept his center of balance. Vampires were tough. Now wasn’t the time to gamble.

Louis hissed and clawed at Lex's arms. The vampire threw himself at Lex and tried to make the fight into a grappling affair. Instead of taking the bait, Lex danced back and around his foe.

This was their last enemy; Lex couldn't afford to fight on its terms. Lex played to his strengths and delivered punishing blow after blow every time an opening appeared. His fists were soon caked in black blood as he took the vampire apart. They were tough creatures. Blows that would kill a zombie many times over merely rocked Louis back on his heels. The vampire was fast and robust.

Lex started to increase the qi in his punches, searching for the right amount of power to put the vampire down. His latest punch threw the vampire's head-turned 90 degrees, and the force made it take a few steps back. If his foe weren't so fast, he'd risk throwing everything he had behind a second punch. At this stage, he couldn't risk it. Milly's paralyzing touch might work, but he didn't want to risk her.

Lex's brain-covered body glowed an ominous blue. His focus increased ever onward. He bounced on his toes around the vampire, searching for weaknesses.

After a series of body shots, he realized they were worthless. The vampire didn't feel them; only direct blows to the head seemed to faze the creature. But it wasn't stupid. As the fight dragged on, the vampire started imitating Lex by holding its hands up. It even bounced. Body shots proved worthless; only headshots proved to stagger the vampire.

It started guarding its head and going for punches of its own. Lex felt bone-shattering blows smash into his ribs and stomach. His skin was bruised and broke in places while he used his longer reach to punish the vampire in return. Both were tireless and didn't need to breathe; the fight could go on indefinitely.

Ten minutes flew by, and Milly found a place to lie down. The vampire learned at an astonishing speed, and they were soon evenly matched. Neither of them could deal and decisive damage. Lex's skin had gained a bronze paler after the repeated blows. In those areas where his skin had bronzed, he took far less damage.

Both had gone all out. Each delivered blow after blow at an insane rate but refused to go down. Their fight drew their focus onto only each other. Neither the crowd, their masters, or time mattered to them. Only winning the fight mattered.

That's why Milly was able to get in close and tap the vampire. Louis froze, and the bell rang. Louis’s fist froze mid-swing. This was Lex's chance to end the vampire once and for all. But he waited for the announcer's words.

"That is the match. Coven Silver Smith is the winner, with Louis captured. All of the Charmed coven's participating undead go to the victor."

Lex sighed and straightened up.

Morgan rushed up to him, he smelled and the rotten brains covering his body; she chose not to hug him. "You both did so well one more fight, and you'll get to go on adventures together," Morgan said.

"You're winnings." The mummy from the betting counter placed a hefty sack of coins in Morgan's hands.

"You'll need it," Jean said. They turned around to see the bastard royal. She wasn't quite as intimidating without her vampire guard. He sensed a change in Louis as Jean's command over him shifted from Jean to Morgan. "You know the third match will include armor and weapons. Equipping one undead properly is expensive. Two well, you could use a diet." She patted Morgan's cheek, and Lex could feel a fight coming.

"Say what you want. You're trapped here the same as I am. We are never getting out of here, getting married, or having children. Do you even remember the sun?" Morgan asked.

"How dare you. I'm free, and no one can tell Jean D Arc where to go or what to do." Jean shrieked.

Both girls started slashed and ripping. He prepared to stop the fight with a few quick slaps. "Don't interfere. This is between us." Morgan yelled. Lex raised an eyebrow.

They yanked off earrings, pulled finely braided hair, and lashed out with curses. Green balls of flesh disintegration and black flames rushed around the arena. Many of the spectators fled as blasts of flame hit the stands. The black flames were never told stone doesn't burn. The stone stands caught fire and spread quickly.

Once the stands were empty, Lex walked over to the wrestling girls and slapped them both. Jean stared at him in surprise while Morgan turned her anger on him. Lex batted her technique aside, knocking her green flesh melt technique into a nearby wall.

"You're alive,” Jean whispered in shock. Then her eyes narrowed. "That changes things."