Raging flames filled the room by the time I rolled back to my feet. The flames lapped hungrily at my charred flesh but it made little difference against the molten heat that pulsed inside me. I was somewhat surprised at how quickly the fire had spread. In less than half a minute the entire storage room had transformed from dusty repository to savage inferno. And given what I’d thus far seen from the other rooms secreted around the Finger of God, the fire would soon be spreading rapidly up the length of the monolithic structure.

This could be a good thing, I thought as I strode out of the fire and into the corridor. It was apparent that the assassin had fled after I’d been knocked back into the fire. She might have thought that the fire would finish me off, but given my appearance and the abilities I’d demonstrated so far, it was more likely that she was just looking to find a new hiding spot that she could use to ambush me.

I glanced back at the fire that was already creeping from the room. Hiding would be a risky gamble at this point, though if the assassin went high enough fast enough she might outrace the flames for a time. The monks had built this arena impossibly tall and there was an almost endless parade of floors above them. But even if there was a top floor, the spreading fire would likely collapse the entire structure before either the assassin or I found it. Even if my demonic physique let me ignore the raging fire, there was nothing I could do to survive being trapped in a collapsing tower. But that wasn’t the only threat looming over my head.

Numbness had spread across half of my back from the point where the assassin’s blade had struck me. I clawed at the dead spot on my shoulder as I jogged up the stairs to the next level. My bone claws cut deep enough to draw steaming blood and the flesh that healed back together felt fresh, but those lines quickly re-succumbed to the growing infection. I supposed that I could always hack my arm off at the shoulder to get rid of the slow-spreading disease, but I wasn’t keen to go down that path. It would be better to simply follow my opponent into the spiraling darkness above me.

I was on guard now and despite my hurriedness I vowed that I wouldn’t let the assassin surprise me again.