The projection of their crimes was still floating high above the arena, broadcasting their guilt to the entire universe.
"Incompetent programs," the Lead Prime Auditor droned.
The entity did not wait for the guards to finish the job. It stepped out from behind the podium.
The Lead Auditor slowly descended through the air, floating down to the arena floor. In its hand, a massive, oversized gavel materialized. It was forged from pure, condensed black gravity. The weapon warped the light around it.
"I will delete the anomaly myself," the Auditor announced.
The entity aimed the gravity gavel directly at Arthur.
The Lead Prime Auditor hit the marble floor.
"BOOM!"
The impact cracked the pristine white stone, sending a shockwave of heavy, oppressive gravity rolling across the arena. The remaining Enforcers immediately stopped fighting and scrambled backward, terrified of being caught in their boss’s area of effect.
Cassia and Vane regrouped, standing a few feet away from Arthur. They were both panting heavily, covered in sweat and minor bruises.
"That is a very big hammer," Vane grunted, his grip tightening on his chipped broadsword.
"It’s a localized black hole attached to a stick," Cassia corrected, her silver eyes narrowed. "If that thing touches you, it crushes your physical and conceptual form into zero dimensions. You just stop existing."
Arthur stood tall. He casually rested the heavy, pitch-black Ebonheart Sword on his shoulder. He looked at the towering, faceless grey construct walking toward him.
"Your middle management was weak, and your security is sloppy," Arthur sneered, his voice carrying easily over the quiet arena. "Let’s see if the CEO actually knows how to work."
The Auditor did not reply with banter. It simply raised the massive gravity gavel.
"Commencing Judgment," the entity droned.
The Auditor didn’t run. It didn’t blur. It simply bypassed the physical space between them, appearing directly in front of Arthur in a single, jerky frame of reality.
The massive black gavel came down in a brutal, two-handed overhead smash.
"WHOOSH!"
The sheer gravitational pull of the weapon tried to suck Arthur directly into the strike zone.
"System!" Arthur commanded in his mind.
[Ding!]
[Analyzing hostile trajectory. Calculating optimal evasion route.]
A series of bright green, geometric lines flashed across Arthur’s vision. Without his million-fold multiplier to make him faster than time, he had to rely entirely on perfect, absolute timing.
Arthur shifted his left foot back exactly three inches. He twisted his torso at a precise forty-five-degree angle.
The massive black gavel slammed into the floor right next to Arthur’s hip. It missed him by less than a millimeter.
"KRAA-THOOM!"
The marble arena floor exploded. A crater thirty feet deep instantly formed, the stone completely pulverized into fine dust by the absurd weight of the strike. The kinetic backlash shoved Arthur backward, his boots skidding across the slick stone.
"You missed," Arthur mocked, wiping a speck of dust from his dark suit.
"Correction is inevitable," the Auditor buzzed.
The construct swung the gavel horizontally, aiming to crush Arthur’s ribs.
Arthur ducked under the wide sweep. He didn’t retreat. He stepped inside the Auditor’s massive guard. He brought the Ebonheart Sword around in a tight, fast upward slash, aiming for the entity’s featureless grey face.
"CLANG!"
The dark metal of Arthur’s sword sparked violently against the Auditor’s face. It didn’t cut. The grey glass was impossibly hard, reinforced by the foundational laws of the Omniverse.
The kinetic shockwave traveled down Arthur’s arm, making his muscles ache and his bones rattle. Fighting a god with base mortal stats was like punching a titanium wall.
"Physical trauma is inefficient," the Auditor stated calmly.
The entity brought the heavy handle of the gavel down, slamming it into Arthur’s shoulder.
"Ugh!" Arthur grunted, his knees buckling slightly under the heavy blow. He quickly rolled backward, putting distance between himself and the relentless construct.
He was breathing hard. Sweat dripped down his face. This was a grueling, exhausting fight. He couldn’t overpower the Auditor, and he couldn’t afford to take a direct hit.
He needed to change the dynamic. He looked around the arena. He looked at the massive, glowing crystal pillars supporting the spectator stands. He looked at the terrified Enforcers huddled near the walls.
Arthur smirked. If you can’t beat the boss, break his office.
The Auditor charged again, raising the gravity gavel for another lethal smash.
Arthur didn’t dodge backward this time. He sprinted entirely to the right, heading straight for a thick cluster of white marble pillars.
"Get back here, anomaly!" the Auditor buzzed, turning sharply and following him.
Arthur reached the first pillar. He stopped and turned around, putting his back against the stone. He waited.
The Auditor lunged, swinging the massive black hammer directly at Arthur’s chest.
At the absolute last microsecond, guided by the green lines of his system interface, Arthur dropped into a slide.
"CRACK! BOOM!"
The gravity gavel missed Arthur entirely. Instead, it slammed dead center into the massive marble pillar. The incredible crushing force deleted the middle section of the column. The heavy stone roof above groaned loudly before collapsing, sending tons of jagged debris crashing down onto the arena floor.
The Auditor was momentarily buried under the rubble.
"Oops," Arthur laughed, scrambling to his feet. "Property damage."
Cassia and Vane had just finished tying up the last squad of Enforcers. They saw the pillar collapse and immediately started running toward Arthur to help.
"Arthur! We got your back!" Vane yelled, raising his chipped broadsword.
"Stay back!" Arthur roared. His voice was frantic and absolutely serious. "Do not step into this fight! If you interfere, you violate the rules of the audit! The trial is legally forfeit!"
Cassia stopped dead in her tracks, throwing her arm out to stop Vane. "He’s right. It’s a one-on-one dispute. We hit the judge, they erase us all instantly."
Vane gritted his teeth, looking incredibly frustrated. "He is just a man right now! He is going to get killed!"
"Watch him work, hero," Cassia said, her silver eyes glued to the fight.
The pile of rubble violently exploded. The Lead Prime Auditor stepped out, its grey glass body entirely unharmed, but its aura was flaring with highly agitated static.