Chapter 14 - The Arena

The two demi-human boys waited for some time before the guard came around to their end of the hall. He glanced at the two of them with a look of mild annoyance before speaking.

"The two of you, come with me. Try anything and you die a dog's death, got me?" He grunted as he turned the key in the lock of their cell. The two boys nodded to show their understanding as they stepped out of the small cell.

The guard turned on his heels and started walking without even sparing a glance to see if they were following. It seemed he was quite confident in the abilities of the human guards that were posted throughout the entire holding facility.

They passed through a different hallway from the one that Adam had led them through the day before. They were taken to a holding area that held just then. The guard then turned to face them with a cold smile.

"You're up first. Since its your first time, you will be paired together. After a few matches we'll split you. Put on a good show." He gave them one last savage grin before turning around and locking the metal doors that barred their way out of the holding area. Before them was a large wooden door that had beams of light filtering into the small room from outside.

Dion could vaguely hear the loud voices of humans. One particular voice sounded much louder, and each time the owner spoke, the other voices in the background would cheer louder than before.

Before long, the cheers outside had quieted, but that only made the sound of Dion's fast heartbeat even louder in his ears.

"And here we have our two latest additions! Welcome them into the Arena for their debut. It is either their blood, or the blood of their foe!" A gruff, loud voice bellowed through the air as the two young demi-humans hesitantly stepped out of the open doors.

The crowd went wild upon seeing their two new play things step into the light. They had gotten used to the older fighters, and were eager to see some fresh meat in the arena.

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" The crowd kept roaring at the top of their lungs, as the two demi-humans stopped moving.

Mian stared, his heart frozen cold, as he saw the massive amount of humans that had gathered up in the stands. The way that they all looked down at him hungrily made his skin squirm, and his fur feel stuffy.

"And for their opponent... Well, we don't want them to die too quick, so we won't be pitting them against any other demi-humans, or humans. Instead, we are going to use..." He trailed off for suspense as the doors on the other side of the arena began to open up.

"Roar!!!" A loud roar blanketed the arena as the wild beast that was being held within the holding room was let free. A dark furred bull bounded forward, its eyes bloodshot as it stared at the two slabs of meat that the humans had presented it.

"Our two new demi-human fighters will be paired up against the notorious Kanou! Will they defeat their opponent, or will Kanou's horns be dyed in blood yet again?!" The spectator kept on droning about the specifics of the match to the audience, riling them up until their cheers reached a crescendo.

Dion stared at the bull with a leveled gaze. He was confident he could take it on, one on one, but the only variable here was Mian. The omega was weak, and would be the weak link in their team. The saying, 'A chain is only as strong as its weakest link', came to mind.

'Damn it all to hell!' Dion swore as he thought back on his foolishness from three days back. If only he hadn't stayed to fight those other demi-humans, then he wouldn't have been so badly injured that Mian needed to care for him.

"Mian," He mumbled loud enough for Mian to hear him. "When the fight starts, run back to the door we came from. I'll handle the bull." He told Mian. The scared boy nodded hastily as he took a step behind, ready to spin on his heels at once.

"Are you ready for this match?!" The announcer roared to the crowd.

A heated wave of energy suffused the entire arena as the crowd yelled back one loud, "Yeah!!!"

"Then let the match begin!!!"

With that said, the chains that were strapped around the bull's neck fell free, allowing the bull to run free. It roared to the air, stomping its feet angrily, before setting its sights on a target. The dark haired demi-human that stood before it was its first target. Next, it could go after the two colored demi-human.

"Over here, you big bastard!" Dion roared out to get its attention, digging his feet into the ground for purchase. His insult seemed to catch its attention plenty as it let out a sharp breath of air through its nostrils before throwing itself in his direction, charging at him like an arrow set lose from a tightly strung bow.

Dion's eyes widened upon seeing how much momentum was behind it. He immediately threw himself out of its path, dodging right at the last moment just before it shot past him. The bull came to a stop, spinning around to find its dark furred target. It spotted Dion on the ground, but just before it could charge again, a small rock smacked against its thick skull.

"Hurr?" It turned slightly, fixing its red, crazed eyes on Mian.

"Over here, big lug!" He waved his arms stupidly in the air. He couldn't let Dion die, because Dion was the only one among the two of them who could fight the bull and kill it.

"Hurrrr!" The bull let out a guttural roar before bolting in Mian's direction.

Upon seeing the bloodthirsty bull raging in his direction, Mian immediately turned and fled.

'I'm going to die....'