Gwyn found himself following Colton on a long winding path through the coliseum. Fiona stayed back in the room, and Colton silently walked in front of him the whole time. He was taken through a practical maze of hallways and corridors. They turned in every direction and went up and down several inclines. There was no chance that Gwyn could have remembered how to get back, and though he was not aware, that was the point of the roundabout path.

They walked into a large open room. It was dark and difficult to see in and gave the impression of a vast expanse. Unbeknownst to Gwyn, they were right under the arena itself. The room was high and large enough to fit a five-story house inside, though the dim lighting made it unclear, and Gwyn simply followed Colton in the low lighting. Eventually, Colton stopped and pointed to a large metal plate on the floor.

"I apologize for this, but I'm going to need you to stand on that."

Gwyn looked at the plate and back at Colton.

"The arena is above us; the floor we have combatants fight on is a thin, robust metal that we can open and close. We have a series of rooms underneath that house various fighters and beasts before the fights," Colton continued talking even though Gwyn had not asked for an explanation.

Gwyn silently did as he was told. The plate shook, then began to rise off the floor. Colton saluted him by placing his right hand on his left shoulder. Gwyn ascended into the ceiling, which was slowly opening and letting light pour in from the outside. It took quite a minute to ascend to the arena, which only made the unwilling gladiator feel uneasy as he slowly got closer to the light.

Gwyn gulped as he finally entered the arena. Cheers of a large crowd greeted him. It took a while to adjust to the light, but he laid eyes on the scene before him once they did.

The arena itself was a massive, flat field. The ground appeared to have some loose sand laid out, and the whole space could have easily fit a battleship. From outside the arena, a stadium of seats rose to the coliseum's highest point. The seats were packed with Aqueenians; it looked like a sea of green and blue, who were yelling out all sorts of things he could not make out.

"Well, we are here!" Mem said from under Gwyn's makeshift cloak.

"Indeed, say how good of a chance do you think we had to escape with Fiona's help."

".002% chance of succeeding, you made the right call."

"I see." Gwyn looked around at the empty arena. Next to where he had come up, there was an assortment of weapons on a rack—a sword, spear, shield, flintlock rifle, etc. He walked over and looked at the weapons closely. As he was looking, an announcer's voice began to ring out loud enough for all the stadium to hear:"

"Welcome one and all! I present you with a most special fight brought on by his majesty this day! Today we will see the power of someone from another world!" The announcer stopped for a moment to let the crowd cheer. "Will the legend turn out to be true, or will we see him die this day! No one can know for sure!" The announcer stopped to let the crowd cheer again.

"Is there a legend?" Gwyn asked the Needaimus hidden under his cloak.

"After the first Netzians arrived, a legend arrived that one more would come who would shake the world. Most researchers think it just arose from fear at the sudden arrival of people from another world."

Gwyn wanted to ask more, but he had no time to as the announcer began to speak again.

"And on the other side, we have our traveler's opponent!"

The stadium floor began to open up. Two large doors in the ground slid open, but nothing rose as the doors slowly and quietly moved. A metallic sound echoed in the arena as the doors finally stopped. The hole was dark like it was the opening to an endless abyss.

The crowd became hushed as a guttural roar rang out from below the stadium. A giant clawed foot reached out from underneath. It was scaly and about the size of an elephant. Another equally large foot rose from beneath the hole. The claws from the feet dug into the ground and made a scratching sound on the metal surface. The legs made a motion as if the beast was trying to pull itself up.

The scaly legs stretched out as they got closer to the top. Soon, a serpent and tiger-like head emerged. The head was wide and had a series of spikes that looked practical for nothing except tearing things apart. Two twisted horns came out of the top of its head and ran down its back. It had bright red reptilian eyes that looked around the arena separately before focusing on Gwyn.

The crowd and announcer had fallen silent as the beast continued to emerge from the dark hole.

It pulled its hind legs up and took a step forward. The beast let out a large breath; it became a gust of wind that nearly toppled Gwyn over. He barely remained standing as the beast looked down at him. In total, the beast was as tall as a four-story building. Its front looked more reptilian, but the back half seemed more mammalian by comparison. Though it was large, a lack of tail made the overall length seem shorter than it should be.

"What is that?" Gwyn finally asked after surveying the quiet and shocked crowd's expressions.

"Its name is a little hard to pronounce, but a direct translation is Unkillable...." Mem said.

"Is that just a choice picked as a joke or something more descriptive?"

"It is a bit histrionic, but it stems from legends about the beast."

The beast took a position like it was going to lunge at Gwyn; he began to run and barely avoided the giant foot smashing down on top of him. Gwyn fell to the ground and tumbled as the beast slowly turned its head to him.

With some quick movement, Gwyn managed to push himself up and broke out into a sprint before the beast made another move. It watched as he put distance between them.

"Use words I can understand, please!" Gwyn yelled at Mem, "Or better yet, just get to helping me with your power!" The beast made a rumbling sound that resembled a purr, like a cat before toying with its prey.

"Alright, alright. Are you right or left-handed?" Mem asked as Gwyn continued his sprint.

"Why does that-"

"Just answer!"

"Right-handed!"

The beast let out a roar and began to walk after the sprinting Gwyn lazily. Its large size allowed it to close the gap between them quickly.

"Alright! Uncover the skin on your left arm and hold it out," Mem instructed.

A shadow began to grow over Gwyn. He didn't have to look up to know what was happening. With as much might as he could muster, he leaped forward and somersaulted on the ground as a massive foot smashed behind him. The blow was barely avoided, but Gwyn managed to break from his roll and move back into a sprint to the other side of the arena.

He stopped and spun around so that he could see the beast. His back pressed against the wall that divided him and the raised seating of the crowd. The unkillable was looking at its foot as if it expected to see a smear on it.

Without hesitation, Gwyn pulled off his makeshift cloak and threw it to the ground. The crowd gasped in surprise as Mem quickly found its way to Gwyn's left shoulder. Gwyn held his arm straight to the side and tore the sleeve off to expose the whole bare arm.

Mem wasted no time and began the process. In a matter of seconds, its body seemed to break apart. A series of several large spikes dug into Gwyn's arm. The nerves were the first thing tapped into, so he would not feel pain for the remainder of the process. With the pain shut off, Mem's body unfolded more and began to graft itself to the arm from the shoulder to the hand. The inside was turned to mush and replaced with the mechanical body of the Needaimus to complete the process.

The whole thing happened so fast that Gwyn was unable to perceive any of it. The next thing he realized, his arm wore in what looked like a metallic blue gauntlet. The body and wings had formed around his arm, and the head seemed flat on his hand. The only odd remainder was Mem's tail which hung off Gwyn's shoulder and moved freely like an extra appendage.

"Huh, cool." Gwyn mused as the beast realized he was standing across the arena. He opened and closed his mechanically encased fingers to see if there was any resistance. The movement was smooth.

*****

Odell groaned as he walked through the coliseum vendor area. His father proudly led the way, though he had no idea where he was going in reality.

"Father, do we have to come. Actually, did I have to come?"

"Of course, we must make some effort to attend a big event like this when we are in town!"

"Couldn't Avon have come with you?" They turned a corner and found themselves facing a dead end.

"Nonsense, Avon is far too busy preparing to take over the throne!" King Fio said confidently.

Some Aqueenian citizens walked behind the pair and whispered to themselves about the foolish Hobusians. Odell shrugged and gently turned his father, so they were walking in the opposite direction that they had come.

"I'm pretty sure that the royal viewing seats are this way."

"Ah, yes, I knew that, of course!"

Odell didn't bother answering and led his father to their destination, a special booth set aside for the royal family and their guests. Naturally, Odell nor his father were invited, but they intended to invite themselves in. King Fio knew that they would be allowed to enter since it could be a diplomatic issue if some random guards refused them.

Sure enough, the guards stepped aside as soon as they saw the duo approaching from down the hall. King Fio burst through the door and announced his arrival.

"You old fool!" he shouted while pointing to King Whitlock. Despite his tone and demeanor, the Hobusian king had a goofy smile on his face as he waited for a rebuttal. The Aqueenian king sat on some raised chairs behind four seats for his children, three of which were occupied. The queen sat next to King Whitlock and gently poked him.

"Dear, that troublesome King wants your attention."

"Just ignore him, my dear. The fight is about to begin; look, the Netzian is coming out now."

Odell broke away from his father, who was staring daggers at the Aqueenian king and made his way to the window.

"What is he wearing?" Odell shouted out.

That caught the attention of the others in the room, and all turned to the arena. Asha burst into a fit of giggles.

"He wrapped himself in a curtain! Does he think that would give him the edge in battle!" he shouted as he slapped on his knees.

"Now Asha, perhaps he... has something in mind...." Hermina said while trying to be sympathetic.

"Hahaha, when faced with his death, the fool has just gone mad!" King Whitlock roared in synchronized laughter with Asha. Donn quietly rubbed the hair on his chin.

Before anything more could be said, the announcer began his speech. At the same time, the door slid open, and Fiona was escorted into the room. She immediately broke free from her guides and ran up to the window where Odell stood. She looked out at Gwyn and sighed.

"Friend of yours?" Odell asked. Fiona jumped and turned to the Hobusian.

"Oh, hello, Odell!" Fiona had not noticed him before, "He's not a friend, but I am supposed to be responsible for him, in a way...."

"That's an apt description!" Asha chimed in, "He's going to turn out just like that house plant you were responsible for as well!" he continued to giggle.

"Asha! We have foreign guests here!" Donn snapped. Asha calmed himself, but not before glaring at the crown prince.

King Fio made a small chuckle before turning to King Whitlock with a somewhat severe expression.

"Are you sure it is wise to execute a traveler before the conference and in such an over-the-top manner?"

"You manage your internal affairs, and I'll manage mine. I have a bad feeling about this one," the Aqueenian king said without turning his gaze away from Gwyn in the arena.

"Hmm, well, I'll just enjoy the show then." King Fio said with a shrug.

Out on the field, the arena was opening up, and the unkillable was climbing out. King Whitlock smirked, but the rest of the room was painted with shocked expressions.

"Father, don't you think that is a little excessive?" Donn asked with a groan.

"Hahaha, he's as good as dead!" Asha shouted.

"Oh dear, this will be over quickly," Hermina muttered in shock.

Fiona balled her fist and lightly smacked the glass in front of her. Her father won this one.

"Man, your dad is serious, huh? The poor fool. Where did you guys even catch that thing?"

"Donn led a successful hunting party in the Lethno Mountains not too long ago; we were able to catch such a fine specimen during that trip!" King Whitlock bragged.

"It's a bit small. Did you catch the runt of the litter!" King Fio said with a chuckle.

King Whitlock didn't get a chance to reply. At that moment, the unkillable charged across the arena and smashed its foot where Gwyn had been standing.

"Guess that's it," The queen said with a shake of her head. Everyone began to turn their attention away from the arena.

"Hold on; he avoided that!" Odell shouted. The room immediately fell silent as focus returned to Gwyn. He was sprinting across the field while the beast was lazily chasing after him.

"He has good form with his run; I would expect he did some kind of training on his homeworld," Donn mused as he rubbed his chin. They watched as Gwyn narrowly avoided another stomp.

"Haha, this guy is great!" Odell laughed.

"It won't matter, though...." Fiona said with a sigh. She turned away from the window and planted herself in one of the seats. She had lost interest in the match as the outcome was a given.

Gwyn dramatically threw off his makeshift cloak in the arena.

"Oh, now he's doing something!" Odell shouted. He had the most fun of everyone in the room. "He's got a Needaimus with him!"

"What!" King Whitlock roared and jumped up from his throne. He charged over to the window next to Odell and smashed a fist against the glass. There was enough force to cause a couple of small cracks in the robust window. He was tense for a moment longer, but his shoulders soon relaxed, and he took a deep breath. Then, the king let out a laugh. "He managed to partner with that troublesome one; no matter, they can die together! Two nuisances are taken care of at once!" the king snickered as he made his way back to his seat. He leaned back into it and awaited with glee for when the unkillable finished off its prey.

*****

Gwyn looked at his arm for a moment longer before he broke out into another sprint. The beast had only just noticed him, and he wanted to make sure to keep as much distance as possible.

"So how do I use my powers!" he shouted as the beast began to walk in his direction.

Do you want the good news or the bad? Mem's voice rang in Gwyn's head.

Gwyn looked back at the beast as it was crouching down like it was going to pounce. He changed directions and began to run to the wall of the arena.

"Just tell me!"

Well, your compatibility is at 1% currently....

"In a way that I can understand!" Gwyn shouted. The beast shot forward in its strike and landed just behind where he had sprinted from. The shock almost knocked Gwyn off balance, but he managed to catch himself and keep running.

In short, you can only use the power at a small point right now, like the tip of your finger, and it has to make physical contact.

Gwyn spun around and pressed his back against the wall. The beast was slowly turning its head to him. Gwyn looked around the empty arena. His eyes laid on the rack of weapons that had been there when he entered. All the shaking had knocked the rack over, and the weapons were lying on the ground. They were clear across the arena after all the running he had been doing to escape the beast.

"Fine, can I liquify the things legs or something?" Gwyn spat while trying to catch his breath.

The ability doesn't work on living things... that would be gross.

Gwyn took a deep breath and began a sprint across the field to the weapons. The beast watched him the whole time. It had gotten tired of the chase and was studying Gwyn to determine the opportune time to strike.

Gwyn reached the weapons in no time; he instinctively picked up the gun and pointed it at the beast. A beam of light shot out when he pulled the trigger. It was not what he expected, but he didn't mind the results. Gwyn pulled the trigger again, but nothing came out.

It needs time to cool, and you're not going to defeat this beast like that. Mem chimed in.

Gwyn picked up a sword in a sheath and slung it on his back; then, he grabbed a one-handed ax. He had expected the weight to be an issue, but he found the objects surprisingly light, even with the arm not fused to Mem. He shrugged off his curiosity and faced the beast. It looked at him with a plain expression. Had Gwyn not been in the arena, the unkillable would have been taking a nap at this time.

Gwyn charged across the field to the unkillable. The beast slowly moved its head to keep him in view but did not do anything else otherwise. He was able to charge halfway across the field and chuck the ax with all his might. The weapon flew across the air and smashed into the side of the beast. It harmlessly bounced off and hit the ground. The blade was bent and cracked to pieces from the impact.

"Is this thing made of rocks?" Gwyn gritted his teeth and pulled the sword off his back. He held the blade in both of his hands, then shook his head and slid it on the sheath. He realized that hitting the beast with the sword would be a waste of his energy. Gwyn slowly began to back up so that he could keep the beast in view. He pinched his shirt with the arm that Mem covered.

The ability was easy enough for him to use; it seemed to come naturally without putting much thought into it. The parts of the shirt he held suddenly turned liquid and began to soak into the rest of the shirt. Gwyn found the process rather strange, but he decided not to dwell too much at the moment; he had more important things to worry over. He rubbed his fingers over the wet portion of the shirt, and it turned back to a solid. A hole was left where the shirt had been tested.

Gwyn nodded and looked around the arena. He understood the ability, but he wasn't sure what use he could make of it in the current situation. There were the arena walls, the floor, the weapons laying around, and the rack the weapons sat on.

"Mem, how deep does this ability reach right now?"

About a quarter of a hand! Mem cheerfully replied.

"That is not helpful...."

If you're thinking of making a hole in the wall to escape, that won't work. The wall is at least half a fathom thick at best.

Gwyn shook his head.

"How much is that if I have a centimeter?" Gwyn held two fingers as close to a centimeter apart as he could.

The thickness of the wall or how much your ability reaches?

"Never mind!" Gwyn said with a shake of his head. He looked around the arena again. He had not been planning to escape through the wall but now had some understanding that he couldn't even if he wanted to. The unkillable, having gotten bored of waiting, was slowly walking close to the pair. Gwyn smiled and shrugged. "Guess I'm dying," he said apathetically.

Don't just give up that easily! You may not care about your life, but I'd like to see a sho– support you to the very end!"

Gwyn chuckled for a moment and shook his head.

"I have an idea, but I don't know if we can pull it off... It would require some planning that I couldn't begin to layout even outside of this situation." Gwyn scratched his chin as he stared at the slowly approaching beast.

Please leave it to me, partner! Any odd layout, plans, or calculations are a Needaimus specialty! Just tell me what you're after, and I'll help you get it done!

"You sound like a sketchy door-to-door salesperson, but I don't have much of a choice but to trust you," Gwyn said with a laugh. He began to relay his plan to Mem.

In the royal viewing section, only Odell and Donn had kept any interest in the fight. Fiona had gotten distracted by a casual conversation with Hermina, Asha had fallen asleep, the queen was knitting, and the kings were locked into a dull conversation about trade arrangements.

Odell was still up close to the window as Gwyn failed to damage the beast with the gun or ax and was now eagerly watching Gwyn look around the arena.

"You know, Odell, you are blocking some of the view," Donn said as he walked next to the Hobusian, looking out the window. His tone was not malicious, so Odell just shrugged it off.

"The rest of them don't care what's about to happen," he retorted to the crown prince.

"Haha, well, I think our guest did the best he could. It's a shame; I think with a little training, he could have become a great hero for Quenth... but my father had made up his mind."

"Hahaha... a pure Netzian being the hero for Quenth! I think I know a few people that would take issue with that."

Out on the field, the unkillable had begun to smash on the ground again. Gwyn jumped out of the way, barely avoiding the blow. The creature had gotten tired of watching and just figured it didn't need to understand Gwyn's movements to kill him.

Gwyn stumbled on the ground and pushed himself back off with a thrust of his arms. A moment later, the beast smashed its foot into the ground, and Gwyn jumped leaped out of the way. This time, Gwyn used the free tail which stuck out from his shoulder to keep himself from falling on the ground. The point of the tail struck the ground, and he quickly changed the direction of his sprint by pushing off with it.

The unkillable began to stomp on the ground furiously, and Gwyn narrowly similarly avoided each blow as before. He was starting to grow accustomed to using the tail as an additional appendage that he could use to catch himself.

"He's really trying not to get stomped on, but he will run out of energy eventually...." Odell commented.

"Hmm, he's trying his best," Donn added.

"You're still paying attention to that?" Asha interrupted with a yawn. He stretched out his arms and smoothly rose from his chair. Donn and Odell paid no mind to him as Asha strode over and slapped each of them on the back of their shoulders. "It must be exciting waiting for that fool to die," he said as he peered past the shoulders of the other two.

On the field, Gwyn avoided another blow and sprinted around the creature in a circular motion. The tail from Mem was dragging on the ground around him as Gwyn ran. The unkillable was not able to turn as quickly while Gwyn sprinted behind it. He skidded to a halt from behind the beast. Then he took a half step to his left while the beast continued to turn and face him.

"Looks like he's given up!" Asha shouted.

Gwyn kneeled and placed his hand on the ground.

"Father, what is that rogue Needaimus' ability again?" Donn asked while he rubbed his chin.

King Whitlock didn't bother answering and just waved his hand lazily to dismiss his son's question.

Gwyn stood up from the ground and began to take a few steps back slowly. The unkillable raised its foot and snorted angrily. It smashed it into the ground as Gwyn leaped backward. He was careless and ended up landing and sliding on his back.

No one paid attention to Gwyn, however. As the unkillable smashed into the ground, a loud cracking sound began to fill the arena. It grabbed everyone's attention. King Whitlock jumped from his seat and stormed across the room to the window. His children and Odell slid out of the way.

From under the foot of the beast, cracks began to appear and spread. They followed a line as if they were connecting points in a shape around where the unkillable stood. The beast didn't realize what was happening until the entire floor underneath it opened up, and it was swallowed into darkness.

The crowd cheered as the beast disappeared out of view.

"A... amazing!" The announcer, who had been silent for the fight, finally chimed in. "I think, given the challenge, we can call this a victory!"

King Whitlock balled his hand into a fist and smashed the glass in front of him. The shattering sound echoed around the arena loud enough to grab everyone's attention.

The king made a friendly smile.

"Well, I must commend you for your accomplishment; however, this is a fight to the death. If you don't bring the beast down, you cannot be declared the winner," King Whitlock's voice echoed around the arena for all to hear. He shrugged off a series of boos that echoed from the stadium.

Donn shook his head but didn't say anything. From inside the hole, the unkillable roared.

Gwyn rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, what do I do now?" he asked himself as he looked up at the king.

I think this is where you die. Mem chimed in.

"You're not helping... but your right...." Gwyn's shoulders slumped. He took a deep breath in and looked at the hole as the unkillable was climbing its way out. It snarled and flashed its teeth at Gwyn.

I hope you don't mind, but I might need to take my leave here. Mem echoed in Gwyn's mind, but he did not pay attention as the massive beast looked down directly at him.

Neither Gwyn nor Mem had a chance to say anything more. The beast's red eyes suddenly glazed over with a misty purple-blue and charged from the hole at Gwyn. Its beast opened its mouth and slid on the ground; Gwyn didn't bother moving as he entered the beast's mouth. He couldn't have moved even if he wanted to; the beast had suddenly increased in speed. However, Gwyn was the only one who noticed.

The beast stood up and swallowed. It shook its head and began to look around the arena. It examined the crowd with red pupils. They all became uneasy in their seats as the beast attempted to reach over the arena wall. An invisible barrier kept the crowd just out of reach, and they all collectively sighed in relief.

The beast made a hissing sound as it turned away from the crowd and began to walk around the arena. It briefly looked into the dark hole that Gwyn had opened but had no desire to go down in it.

Donn sighed and shook his head.

"Well, father, you got what you wanted, but how do you plan to contain the beast?"

"It's nothing you can't handle, son!" King Whitlock happily chirped.

"Somehow, I expected you to say that...." Donn stepped out from the broken window. He landed directly in the arena as the invisible barrier opened just enough for him to pass through.

The beast took notice immediately and turned to the prince. Donn balled the fist connected to his Needaimus and punched it into his free flat palm.

The beast charged at Donn and swung its arm. Donn gracefully ducked under the arm and ran forward to the beast. He jumped high in the air and pulled back his fist, and punched the unkillable in the face. The beast reared back from the blow as the Aqueenian prince landed back on the ground.

The unkillable shook its head then glared back at Donn. He took a stance and readied for the creature to charge.

Instead, the beast began to make a sound that resembled gagging. Donn lowered his arms. The beast continued to gag and stammer around until it finally fell over with its mouth agape. Gwyn stumbled out with the sword that had been on his back in one hand and covered in blue liquid and goo.

He fell onto his back and stared at the sky. The sword fell to the side.

"Ugh, I think I got some of it in my mouth," he said after spitting, "At least it's dead now...."

Unfortunately, a little internal bleeding won't stop it. It's just napping. Mem explained.

"Don't tell me that." Gwyn groaned as he fell unconscious.