The suit saved my life.

That probably wasn't an exaggeration considering how much Defense this thing had added to me. It still felt like I'd been tackled by a building, and I could feel the bruises, but the auto-recovery enchantment on the vest under my jacket was already starting to work on them.

By the time I was able to stand up, Kara had maimed the other Minotaur to where it wouldn't be a threat. She ran over to help me stand, and there was honest concern on her face.

"Are you okay?" She opened my jacket to try to look at my chest.

"I'm fine." I patted my chest with my hand and had to suffer the new wave of pain that caused. I holstered the gun that she held out for me. "Already healing." I nodded at her arm. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I've had worse." The ivory woman showed me her bloody shark teeth as she smiled. "They taste like rotten fish."

"I'll get you something to wash your mouth out with once we're out of here, but right now we need to leave before reinforcements show up." I looked at Ella, who was standing near the other door, looking at us in shock.

"Why haven't you grabbed the core?!? We need to go!" I ran over to her, but her eyes were vacant. She was in shock.

I turned to the Minotaur boy. "Trok, I need you to guide Ella out of here!" I closed my eyes and hoped I was doing the right thing. "Get that door open! Kara, keep an eye out; I'll grab the core!"

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Kara grabbed my arm as I hurried over to the middle of the room. She pulled me close enough to her so that she could whisper and we'd be the only ones who could hear. "You don't know what that thing will do to you!"

"I know." I nodded at the two civilians. "But Ella's in no shape to carry it, and I'm not making a teenage boy their target." I shook my head when I saw her response. "You can't grab it either, because I can't carry you and fight. And that's if it's a Tier Zero. You have to stay clear in case we get attacked again."

The red-eyed woman glared at me, but she let go of my arm.

I walked over to the core and touched it with only one finger. It was warm but didn't immediately suck me into it. I slowly pushed my hand closer until my right palm was against it. There was something there that felt like a taunt to fight like the ones I'd get at the orphanage from the other boys. It was mixed with a dare and beckoning me, but there was no way I was answering it.

I grabbed the sphere with both hands and tucked it under my arm. The intensity of the challenge grew, but it was something that could be ignored, so that was what I was going to do. Klix or Trent could deal with the fight that the core wanted to have. My job was to bring it to them.

It was like the sphere understood my intention, and the challenge faded along with the heat. It was like the sphere wanted me to bring it to someone more powerful. The thought terrified me, but that wasn't a problem for right now.

I looked at the screens of the floor above us and saw too many dead bodies. The place was wrecked, and it didn't look like there was a single living person. I didn't see anyone I recognized, though as bloody as the scene was, with all the different colors, I doubted I would have been able to spot anyone in that mess.

That did tell me one thing, though. The fighting had moved somewhere else and was probably headed this way. I had the prize that everyone wanted, and I'd just seen what they were willing to do to get it.

The sphere suddenly felt a lot heavier in my arms.

Dread ran through me as the door opened. There was no one on the other side, but I knew that wasn't going to stay that way for long. I nodded at Kara, and she ran through the door with the three of us right behind her.

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