∼ Day 24 ∼

The clangor of metal sounding out was the only precursor to the metal gate blocking our path into the corridor suddenly being pulled up into the ceiling above. I had no idea what kind of mechanism they had made placed into the very structure of the colosseum, but it was rather impressive as the metal-barred gate simply rose, lodging itself there.

Peering down the tunnel that had the warm rays of the morning suns bleeding in, I suddenly noticed that everybody's gaze was on me. At first, I was quite confused at their expectant but respectful gazes. But it didn't take long before I realized that they apparently wanted me to take the lead.

Not quite sure as to why bashing in the head of the strongest orc with vicious intensity made me the de facto leader, but hey- who cares? I didn't spare them any more attention as I simply began walking down the corridor.

Before I even managed to reach halfway through, the odor of blood, sweat, and every other possible bodily fluid hit my senses like a freight train. The odor was very odd as it seems ingrained in the very fabric of this colossal structure. It wasn't necessarily fresh or from new fights, it was more of a testament to the ages of combat and slaughter that this colosseum had gone through.

The roaring of the crowds and the glaring rays of sunlight was more than enough to blind my senses for a solid few moments after taking my first steps outside the corridor and into what laid beyond.

But the moment I removed the cover of my arm that I was using to shield my light-sensitive eyes, I become utterly floored by the epic sight before me. The colosseum was a lot more massive than I had first guessed it to be.

No stadium on earth could ever rival the sheer size and grandeur portrayed by this behemoth of a structure. Directly in front of me, was an endless stretch of bloody and sandy ground. It was just like what you would expect from the age-old fighting grounds of gladiators.

The amount of area the inner fighting grounds that this colosseum possessed was more than I could possibly imagine. I couldn't even estimate just how much space we had.

While the grounds were flat and rough, there wasn't anything else populating it other than us. Except for the massive square hole going straight down to who-the-fuck-knows-where. While I was quite far away from it, as it was centered directly in the heart of the grounds, I instinctively knew that it went very far down.

Although those things were baffling on their own, nothing was more eye-catching than the literal sea of greenskins that flooded all around the sides of the colosseum. There wasn't a speck of unused space, they had actually managed to fill up every single spot available.

There were so many creatures that you couldn't even distinguish a single one out of them all. It had all just merged into one giant roaring sea of bodies. There was no doubt in my mind that there was at least an entire million greenskins and other creatures observing from the stands.

But just thinking of that number was nowhere near as mindboggling as actually witnessing it on your own. It was first now that I had realized that everybody behind me had also emerged from the corridor, only to stare in absolute wonder and awe at the sight before them. Taking stock, I notice something quite interesting.

We weren't alone...

Spaced evenly from each other were similar corridors matching ours, scattered around the bloody grounds. From each, walked out a group of monsters. Their composition and size seemed to be pretty much exactly like ours, only with some few exceptions.

In total, there were eight groups, including ours. It didn't escape my notice that it was the exact same number as the mountains cradling the city. What I had originally guessed to be other domains of authority figures, coincided with what I was currently seeing.

Seeing as we were the Mistress' "property" I didn't believe it was too farfetched to surmise that there must be seven other figureheads in this city who each contributed their own "property".

While I couldn't talk for those groups farther away, due to the sheer distance, it seemed that everybody had pretty much been outfitted in the same shoddy equipment. With the emergence of all parties involved, the crowd's roaring only grew louder.

Hmm- something weird was happening...

I couldn't put my finger on it, but the atmosphere seemed to have almost become... invigorating?

I didn't know how to explain it, and I definitely wasn't the only one feeling it as the others behind also had auras that had begun to grow increasingly ferocious and savage.

No... it wasn't just the intensity of the crowd that got our blood flowing and adrenalin running. The colosseum had something to do with it...

Suddenly, the same resounding and deep strike of a drum sounded out once again, silencing the crazed crowd. Looking up towards the reverberating sound, I spotted a massive leather drum hoisted up high on a platform. Standing behind it with a massive cloth-covered log in each hand like drum sticks, was an bulky ogre.

They literally had a fucking ogre to beat a drum?!

Well, it seemed to work quite efficiently, as the resounding bass of the reverberations were almost enough to make my heart palpate out of rhythm. Although the beat had just managed to stop the oncoming roars of the greenskins lining the colosseum stands, it inadvertently also seemed to rile them up once again as their roars and jeering made a rebound.

"Silence!" - ???

Out of the blue, the ear-splitting sound of a wretched voice rang out to echo off the massive walls of the colosseum, which finally caused the riled up greenskins to shut the fuck up for good.

I was at first mollified by where the hell the loud voice came from, but I soon realized it had that the voice had the distinct tone of something being magnified through something like a megaphone or through speakers.

Looking up towards the platform beneath the drummer ogre, I spotted a plump and round creature standing behind a podium that almost fully obscured as the creature's small stature didn't reach all that high. Although the distance was very great from where I stood to the platform, I could distinctly recognize the creature as a gremlin.

With sudden inexplicable hatred and distaste boiling up from deep inside me, I had to make a visible effort to quell it. I knew it wasn't Jeerbal but the mere reminder of him was almost enough for me to go berserk.

Standing behind that podium, the gremlin was holding some kind of object but I couldn't make it out. He was holding in front of his mouth as if to speak into it, and my guess was that it was some kind of magically infused object that helped him magnify his voice.

But before I could inspect the wretched creature any further, its voice once again rang off the colosseum walls.

"Gikkuk-kuk, that's more like it... Now! - we're all gathered here for the marktonly Mauling!" - ???

With his the ending of his words, the crowds once again blared into a wave of noise and movement. What actually surprised me, was that the word "marktonly" managed to fail in translating, as it really didn't have a corresponding meaning to anything I knew or understood.

But honestly, it wasn't too surprising seeing as my knowledge was mostly based on things back on earth. The only thing I could glean from the context and the vague hint of meaning from my translation skill was that it meant something along the lines of "quarterly".

I had no idea how long a year was in this world, a year being how long it takes for the planet to complete on revelation around the twin suns, so I didn't know how long this 'marktonly' time period was, only that it was a set amount of days.

"-Ahem, with the generous donations of the warlords of the city of Maldrak, standing before you is the prime fodder collected out for your entertainment." - ???

My attention peaked as he mentioned the warlords and the city of Maldrak. It wasn't hard to piece together the puzzle here as the Mistress must be one of these alleged warlords, and the boundless city harboring this monstrosity of a structure was Maldrak.

Looking around, I quickly came to wonder about some other balconies and platforms situated just above the fighting grounds just like from where the gremlin was speaking.

Although the gremlin's platform was wide and open, there were eight other platforms, or rather balconies, scattered around which were enclosed as more of a VIP's spectating suite. Each one was situated directly above the entrances from whence we emerged.

These balconies were all large and closed off with tarps and various other luxurious items. I quickly realized that these must be the private rooms of each warlord, but seeing as I felt no presence within them, I hadn't taken notice of them before now.

Scanning each one, I'm suddenly stifled as I had apparently been wrong in assuming that the warlords weren't present, or at least wrong in that the balconies they were completely empty.

A single balcony, the one to the immediate right of us, had a subdued presence within. With a chill running down my back, I recognized the aura. It was the same presence that had been inside the carriage pulled by the massive beast and guarded by two ogres.

I didn't know if this were one of the warlords, but the sheer potential power hiding within that room was menacing. It did definitely catch my intrigue that this balcony room was apparently the only one currently occupied by anyone.

But before I could ponder just why that would be, I was pulled from inspecting it any further as the gremlin's wretched voice fell once again into my ears. Instead of addressing the spectators like before, he was actually addressing us, everybody inside the fighting grounds.

"Kuk-ku-ku-gik, you must all be quite confused -but fret not! The rules are quite simple, as there is only one." - ???

Listening intently, everybody had their attention directed towards the now sinisterly grinning gremlin.

"Kill or be killed" - ???

With the clatter of armor, and sound of hands tightening around their weapons, all the groups began looking at each other warily, only to be interrupted by the gremlin.

"Gik-k-i-k-iii, you're not fighting each other you stupid gits, gik-kuk. Do you gits really think we want to see you maggots pathetically kill one another?" - ???

With confusion was written on the faces of everybody gathered, I began to have a dangerous premonition quickly building up in the back of my head.

Bloodlust and dark desire took over the gremlin's face at that moment, and all of a sudden his voice turned deep and sinister.

"Release the reavers." - ???