>Couldn't I make them non-existant by just taking the Battle
>item?

In theory, yes.

If you're a character who's free to raid Battle. (Fortress mage, for example, is almost never in this position. Uncaballed mages/warriors who might want to fight Battle often aren't.) And if you're able to keep the item from Battle. (Scion, for example, is rarely in this position... they're a small cabal and it's hard for them to cover all level ranges effectively at once for long.)