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"If you win, you live. If you lose, you die. If you don't fight, you can't win."

- Eren Yeager, (Attack On Titan)

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<(Atem POV)>  

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Sakaarian Grand Death Battle will start in a few more minutes. I request all of you to kindly take your seats as the participants complete their final preparations. Remember, bets are open without any cap limit today, so bet away as much as you want." A cheery female voice announced throughout the stadium.

"Do you think we should bet as well? Brunhilde asked with a hesitant expression on her face while going through a small device in her hands to check how many credits she had to her name and by the slightly disappointed look on her face, it didn't seem many. 

"Hmm? No, it's alright. We would be getting the entire planet soon anyway. We do not need to try winning credits through petty gambling." I casually answered as I continued using my magic and cosmic awareness to try to sense if Karnilla had reached anywhere near our spatial location. I wanted to empty the entire planet of its resources and citizens before I left. 

The fact that I had complete authority over the city of Zenith didn't mean that I could precisely trace its location at all times. I could feel it's general direction but that was all I could do. I could have found it its exact and accurate location with the help of Zoya but sadly, my trusty mother box was still evolving. 

"Hey, I am back, and I have some good news as well. Guess what? I bet every single credit I had to my name on Atem. We are going to make it big once we win. I even emptied my mother's savings account and sold all of my grandmother's antique jewelry as well. The bet ratio is 1:9 if Atem wins. So, I will be able be able to make 9 times my money once the race is over. They are so nice, they are almost giving away money" Korg suddenly came over and proudly proclaimed, as he showed us a small metal bar which was the proof of his bet. "And the funniest thing was that I think I am the only one who bet on you in the entire stadium today despite everyone not liking the Grandmaster very much."

"..."

"..." Brunhilde.

While we were staring at Korg, wondering to ourselves if he was really that naive, secretly clever, or just simply greedy, our gazes were soon drawn by the roar of four racing pods that zoomed toward us. 

"Oh look, those three are back, and they even brought a... very good-looking guy with them. Look at those hard solid rocks on his body. It almost looks like a piece of art... I think I am in love." Korg muttered in a daze as his gaze got stuck on the bulky stony figure driving a race car behind the other three of the Fantastic Four members.

"You didn't tell me that you knew another Kronan? I am barely tolerating one. I don't think I can handle another." Brunhilde brashly complained, not even caring that Korg might be able to hear her.

"He isn't a Kronan but a mutated human. But now that you mention it, you are right, his mutation does make him look very much like a Kronan." I agreed with Brunhilde's assessment. 

All the members of the Fantastic Four looked depressed like someone had just robbed them blind and left them naked in the streets. However, the only exception was Johnny Storm who continued to sport a big smile on his face as his racing pod came to a halt beside us. 

"Hey Atem, you are not going to believe what happened. You see the big guy made of stone behind us, can you imagine..."

"Let me guess, Ben's mutation wasn't as appearance friendly as you all initially expected, was it?" I asked while trying my best not to sound apathetic to his condition.

"Oh, you recognized him even without him speaking. Well, that's a first. It took about five minutes of him talking and revealing two of my secrets that only he knew for me to even think of believing that he was the same boring Ben Grimm I knew." Johnny stated with a shrug.

"I think we should get our pods in the starting line. We can always talk about my... change later. I want to focus on the race for now." Ben abruptly stopped the conversation with an uneasy look on his face. 

He didn't look comfortable about all that was going on here.

Reed too agreed with Ben with a slight nod while making sure to avoid looking directly at Ben, guilt evident in his eyes. 

'Is it just me or does Reed's skin look cheap rubber?'

"Well, I am done too with all the customizations, I have even carved the runes on different parts of the car as you requested. I have no idea how you came to know about such custom-made versions of elder futhark runes, but I doubt they would be of any help to you in this race. Runes only work when they are extremely precise and look exactly similar to the original form they were written in.

The more you try to change or mix them without direct approval from their maker or power source, the more 'fuddled' and weaker they get. And as far as I remember, Odin, the King of Asgard and current highest authority of these runes doesn't really like others using them unless he personally allows it. You would be lucky if they even activate, much less complete their functions." Brunhilde informed me as she gestured towards my freshly painted racing pod.

She was right. The runes wouldn't have worked if they were normal runes used by the sorcerers of Marvel Multiverse, but they were not. They didn't depend on Asgard or its magical energies. They were in fact runes of the Harry Potter world that were perfectly tuned to operate by powering themselves with the magical energies in the environment. So, as long as there was even a single drop of cosmic or universal energy around the runes, they would never stop working unless I wanted them to.

As for their control, I had immediately asserted my authority over them the moment Brunhilde was done with the vehicle, injecting my own magical energy into those runes and placing my intent on them. It wasn't hard at all since they were not under anyone's control and my magic bonded with those runes like lock and key.

Truthfully, the pod didn't look anything special. In fact, it didn't even look 'cool' according to my standards. But giving it a cool factor wasn't the primary aim behind its unique design. No, the white and orange racing vehicle was the size of a Vespa 400 microcar and honestly even looked somewhat cartoonish with a small light body and a pointed front that resembled a rocket. It even had two huge thruster jets on its sides and a jet nozzle behind it to accelerate it to inhuman speeds. 

The 'car' might not be able to fly or teleport but with thrusters of that size, they would definitely be able to give tough competitions against anything the Grandmaster could throw at them.

The others also had similarly sized vehicles with comparable specs, but they weren't as fine-tuned to perfection as his one was. Brunhilde had made sure to use all the mechanical and technical knowledge she had gained to perfect Reed's design to the 't'. This was the best she could do and frankly, it was enough for me to win the race.

The Fantastic Four and I no longer wasted time as all five of us mounted our respective vehicles and drove ourselves to the starting point of the race after Brunhilde gave us an encouraging nod and Korg gave us a big thumbs up before both moved to the audience section.

The Grandmaster was already waiting for us at the starting point, excitedly waving at everyone like some bigshot superstar. It looks like he takes great pride in his fame and loves the attention. He was quite different from the other elders of the universe who normally kept themselves low-key... well, at least as low-key as they could get.

"Lookey here. It seems that you guys actually showed up. And you kids have even got yourselves a car! And to think that I even prepared those excellent carts for you. Such a shame. But worry not. They will be put to good use by my other loyal fans." Grandmaster gave a wide toothy grin before clapping, upon which five other cars slowly rolled onto the starting point as well.

All five were occupied by people sitting in them, dressed in appropriate driving clothes. I even recognized two of the five drivers. One was the middle-aged woman named Topaz who was extremely loyal to the Grandmaster while the other one was the red-skinned Sakaaran Imperial known as the Red King who dressed in his golden armor which looked too big for his car.

"Wait, weren't we five supposed to only race against you? Also, these are racing cars, not carts." I tried to correct him, ignoring the hateful looks both Topaz and the Red King were throwing at me.

"Nope. These are carts since the drivers are pulled by the cars which have four wheels similar to carts. Racing cars are a completely different thing. As for these extra five people, it's to make the game fairer and more exciting. I mean I can easily take on all five of you if I wanted but the audience might be bored that way. But with these extra participants, there will be more explosions, more deaths, more thrill, and definitely more EXCITEMENT. So, what are we waiting for? Let's RACE." Grandmaster yelled like a kid on a sugar rush as he boarded his cart, not even giving me the chance to argue with any of his logic.

"..." I couldn't do anything but just breathe out an annoyed sigh as I too prepared to board my racing pod. The Grandmaster was a shameless old man and anything I tell him, no matter how good the logic in my words was, they wouldn't be able to convince him to race us alone. He was really crafty when he needed to be.

So, giving a final nod to the Fantastic Four members sitting in their pods, I looked at the audience section where I saw Korg excitedly cheering us on with a makeshift banner with 'Go Hard Handsome Rock Guy' written on it while Valkyrie was calmly drinking what looked like a cup of ale, minding her own business. 

I even spotted Caiera standing with a couple of other Shadow People in the VIP section looking directly at me. As soon as our eyes met, she gave me a small smile, or at least tried to but unfortunately for her, it just turned into an awkward twitch of her face. It looked like she didn't have much practice in smiling. 

"Seriously, I should have just said 'fuck you' to the system mission and killed Grandmaster at the very start. At least, I could avoid embarrassing myself that way... Once I win this and get my hands on you, I am going to melt that annoying grin right out of your face, Grandmaster, this is my promise to you." I muttered to myself as I got into my vehicle, ready to start what would one day be the most famous race in the galaxy.

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