Chapter 50: Where Is the Emperor?

The duel began swiftly.

Hammer and Ant Bull edged closer to one another until they were separated by ten meters. They stopped.

"Begin!"

At the command from the announcer, both gladiators sprang into action. The fight erupted violently, right from the start.

Though large in stature, Ant Bull was astonishingly agile. He slid across the ground, closing in on Hammer with lightning speed, and with one swift strike, severed Hammer's left arm.

But this was the opening Hammer had intended. Taking advantage of Ant Bull's momentary vulnerability after his attack, Hammer grabbed Ant Bull's right leg. His mechanical claw spun rapidly, twisting off Ant Bull's leg.

Amid the audience's wild cheers, the two fighters separated once again.

Ant Bull, balancing on one leg, hopped to maintain his stance. Hammer, meanwhile, calmly retrieved his severed arm, placing it into the storage box stitched into his back.

As the crowd's excitement simmered down, they braced for the next exchange.

"Die!" Ant Bull roared, launching himself at Hammer with force, his arms poised, blades ready to pierce both flesh and metal.

Hammer charged too, though his speed was notably slower than Ant Bull's erratic hopping. But his presence was overwhelming, every stride thundering, and he roared, "The Champion of Valor blesses me!"

With each step, Hammer gained momentum, and before Ant Bull could react, Hammer tackled him, smashing the clawed arm down upon Ant Bull's head.

The first blow dented Ant Bull's skull.

The second left his face grotesquely concaved.

By the third strike, Ant Bull's head exploded.

Hammer rose from the pool of blood, lifting Ant Bull's corpse high above him, bellowing to the crowd, "For the Champion of Valor!"

The spectators' applause grew deafening, celebrating the victor with frenzied adoration.

Hammer did not leave the stage. Dragging Ant Bull's body, he paraded around the arena's iron fences, showing off his gruesome trophy, savoring the victory.

"This guy's ruthless, trading an arm for his enemy's life," Craine rose, clapping his hands.

Gray looked at Grotto. He had expected Grotto to revel in such a brutal fight, but instead, his friend sat there trembling, a look of shock on his face.

"Antara!" Grotto called out to Hammer, "It's me!"

At the sound of his name, Hammer turned sharply toward the voice. He spotted a soldier and two figures in power armor.

Grotto removed his helmet, racing to the edge of the stands and waving frantically.

Hammer dropped Ant Bull's corpse, leaping up and furiously waving back. The two shouted to each other, but their voices were soon drowned out by the overwhelming roar of the crowd.

Grotto gestured toward the direction from which Hammer had emerged at the beginning of the fight, signaling with a code only the two of them could understand, indicating that he would come to meet him.

But Hammer simply shook his head gravely and turned away.

...

Backstage at the arena.

As a reward for his victory, the arena implanted a new prosthetic arm for Hammer. However, this replacement was far from functional; it was merely a blade capable of emitting electrical currents.

As the procedure was being carried out, Hammer noticed Grotto, who had come with the female guide.

Grotto had arrived alone, having sent Gray and Craine away to keep them out of trouble.

Upon seeing Grotto, Hammer immediately rose, dragging his half-attached prosthetic behind him, and knelt before the guide. "Master."

The guide nodded approvingly, then introduced Grotto. "This is the bodyguard of the First Legion's commander. He wished to meet a brave gladiator like yourself."

"Yes." Hammer bowed deeply to Grotto. "Honored sir, I salute you."

"Antara... you... I..." Grotto trembled, struggling to find the words. After a long moment, he turned to the guide. "I need to speak with him alone."

"Of course," the guide nodded, leading the others out of the room.

Only after they had all gone did Hammer dare rise. He embraced Grotto, holding him tight. "Brother... my brother..."

"What... what happened to you?" Grotto murmured, feeling the cold metal of his brother's half-transformed body, terrified to even guess at the horrors Hammer had endured.

Hammer did not answer right away.

The two, muscular and battle-hardened, clung to each other, sobbing bitterly. Their tears and snot mingled, staining power armor and metal shoulders alike.

When Hammer had cried his fill, he sat down and began recounting his story.

The day after Grotto had left for the underhive, a military officer had come to their home, accusing him of being a traitor, claiming he had defected to the enemy.

As the family of a traitor, both Hammer and his sister were fined five hundred Thrones, an impossible sum for anyone, as a soldier's monthly pay was less than twenty.

This debt was transferred to Hammer and his sister. They were sold to a guild. His sister disappeared, and Hammer was transformed into a pit slave.

"A week ago, I killed my overseer and escaped. I was forced into the arena, given two days of training, and then thrown into the fights." Hammer's eyes burned with fury as he stared at the floor. "I named myself Hammer. A wise old gladiator led me to the faith of the Champion of Valor."

With that, Hammer pulled a small statue from his pocket.

It depicted a gladiator, holding a captive in one hand and a string of skulls in the other.

"No... you can't forsake the Emperor... I fought alongside his emissary in the underhive. How can you turn away..." Grotto's voice shook.

"Where was the Emperor?"

Hammer's voice cut him off. His piercing gaze locked onto Grotto's. After a moment's silence, he repeated, "When they accused you of treason, where was the Emperor? When they sold our sister, where was the Emperor? When I was mutilated into a pit slave, where was the Emperor?"

Grotto had no answer.

"The Champion of Valor gave me strength. I cannot leave. I belong to the arena now. I offer blood sacrifices to this mighty god," Hammer declared as he placed the statue back into his pocket.

"But... the Emperor's emissary saved me... without him, I'd still be trapped in the underhive..." Grotto grasped at straws, hoping to find something to hold onto.

Hammer cast a sidelong glance at his brother. "Maybe the one who saved you is also a god, or perhaps he's an emissary of a god willing to extend his favor to this world. Whatever he is, he's far better than that slave master sitting on Terra who cares nothing for us."

Grotto fell silent, reflecting on the words. He recalled the reverence some had shown toward Qin Mo, even treating him like a deity.

"I have another match soon," Hammer said, rising and heading toward the arena.

"You need to come with me," Grotto grabbed his brother's shoulder. "The commander will give you a better prosthetic. He'll make you whole again. Then we'll find Maya, and we'll live together in the underhive."

"They won't let you take me," Hammer glanced at the door.

"They certainly won't," Grotto removed his gravity hammer and placed it in Hammer's claw. "But I will take you, regardless."

Looking at his brother's power armor and the weapon he had just been given, Hammer hesitated briefly, then nodded. "Yes, we will find Maya, and we will be a family again. But first, I need to repay those bastards in full."