RIIIINNNGGG!!

The bell rang and the battle starts.

In a split second, Ryu was in front of his opponent, claws extending, canines barged and he slashed his enemy in full force. The air rippled at the speed, and the clouds of dust flew in every direction as a result.

However, the she-elf was quick. She managed to retreat in a blur, claw marks on the ground, missing its target.

Elves were famed for their speed, but the beastfolks?

They were known for it.

The she-elf was still standing tall at the ready, though now laid her breasts bare for everyone to see. Fresh blood smudged her creamy skin as gruesome claw marks tainted her bouncy white flesh. Two wounds on the upper chest and one below, the pinkish tips unmarked, and the crowd roared in lust.

Ryu licked the blood on his claws. A soft rumble vibrated in his chest. He was excited at the taste and smell of blood. The scent of his opponent’s fear. All his senses heightened. He wanted to toy with her before killing her. Wanting to enjoy every moment of it.

The she-elf’s face paled. If not for the black collar that hindered the flow of mana, she could have healed herself seconds ago. Besides the electrifying and paralyzing effect, the black collar was more famed at impeding the flow of mana, rendering its captives unable to use magic nor spells.

In a master-servant seal, the servant could fight in full force. But the scroll was expensive, as well as, hiring a mage to do it. As for the collars, they were cheap though they hindered their captives’ abilities. The empire distributed it freely to enslaved other races. As a result, black collars were commonly used for slaves and prisoners, while a master-servant scroll was used for servants.

Elves were proficient in both magic and physical attacks — a balance character. But without mana to use magic nor any weapons to defend themselves, they were sitting ducks for the wolves to feast on.

As for the beast race, they were champions regarding raw strength, physical attacks, and defense. In the entire six realms, the beastfolks were uncontested in this area, with their skin as tough as the hardest orihalcon — the most powerful and forgeable ore in the entire realms, also the rarest.

Even if Ryu was a half-breed, his strength was undeniable. But they were not without flaws. Though the beastfolks could bend mana to use as a force combining it with their physical attacks, concerning magic and spells, their mastery was limited to none with the weakest magic resistance in all races.

The she-elf’s face contorted in ugly desperation. She finally realized her predicament. Without magic or any weapon, how could she defeat a beast with just her strength and bare hands?

This was a battle that she could not win!

“I concede defeat!”

The she-elf looked at whoever was in charge, yet the mocking audience only reciprocated her gaze.

. . .

. . .

AHAHAHAHA!!

The people erupted in a laughing fit. Some thrown insults and curses.

The she-elf’s face contorted in a scowl. She didn’t understand that this was a battle to the death as she was only brought here yesterday night. She stared at the laughing people with piercing eyes thick with hatred and disgust. But being distracted during a fight was never wise.

Ryu sprinted in the she-elf’s direction. His fangs glistened under the blazing light.

Swish!

It happened so fast that the onlookers only saw were after blurs and clouds of dust.

As for the she-elf, she didn’t even know what happened. She turned in Ryu’s direction, who was now twenty meters from her. He looked feral and deadly. His lips trickled in blood and he spat something from his mouth.

The she-elf frowned, didn’t register what it was, not until it flopped on the ground, rolling before it stopped.

The elf’s eyes bulged, and her face twisted in denial. Her neck inched to her right, every crackle of her joints warned her to look away. Gushing blue blood like a waterfall poured at the open flesh. There were torn skins like shredded meat while bones stuck out –– her right hand was gone!

ARGH!

At the ear-piercing scream came the reverberating sounds of cheers.

The she-elf hadn’t recovered along with the ecstatic crowds when Ryu sprinted once more, kicking dust in his wake as he barged his teeth and ripped the she-elf’s left arm.

AAARRGH!

Another scream and the she-elf kneeled on the ground. A biting cold stabbed her knee and a paralyzing fear ate her limbs as she turned and looked at the beast in front of her.

“M-mercy . . .”

Elves were prideful creatures, but faced with this kind of enemy and predicament, the she-elf could only plead when Ryu gripped her neck and pushed her to the ground. Her eyes stretched wide and her pupils constricted at the sudden lack of air as her legs trashed to escape.

But without arms, she couldn’t do much. Her eyes turned the darkest blue, tiny veins popped at the pressure while blood dripped from her nose and saliva leaked from her mouth.

Ryu was kneeling on one leg and tilted his head as he pinned the trashing she-elf, looking at her like she was a prey he was about to devour after being caught.

YEEAAHHHH!

The Colosseum erupted in another uproar when Ryu plunged his hand on the she-elf’s stomach, and the latter gurgled her blood, suffocating her lungs, drowning her throat.

Ryu tortured his opponent with a curved on his lips. The more gruesome his kill, the more food he would get.

The audience roared their approval at the she-elf’s trashing and shaking, bathing in her blood.

Ryu stretched his fingers inside the elf’s stomach, searching for something. And when he felt that familiar slimy piece of meat, he pulled it out, and the she-elf jerked and spat out blood which landed on his face.

Ryu’s tongue slipped from his mouth and tasted the thick blue liquid at the corner of his lips while his slit eyes remained lock on the she-elf’s stomach. His hand pulled out her intestines while his other hand held her neck in place.

Ryu frowned when the she-elf no longer resisted like she was dead. But he knew, he knew that she was alive. He heard the beating of her heart and the faint gasping of her mouth.

Ryu compared the she-elf to the others he killed before. This prey didn’t make him happy one bit as it already stopped resisting with just the tiny bit of torture.

So weak.

Ryu lost his interest and he released his hold on the she-elf’s neck.

The elf thought that she was granted mercy. Her bloodshot eyes brimmed with tears, quivering at her foe. Just before she thought he spared her life, Ryu slammed both claws on her ribcage. She lurched and spat another mouthful of blood.

The she-elf couldn’t gasp for air anymore, much less scream from the pain. Tears were pouring from her eyes while her ruthless foe opened her ribcage, exposing her heart and other organs to view in the open.

The she-elf thought nothing but dying than to experience this kind of torture and humiliation.

The onlookers were wild in a frenzy exhilaration while the new ones dragged in the Colosseum for the first time vomited as they were shocked at the display of savagery.

Ryu’s claw sliced the she-elf’s beating heart inched by inched, enjoying the tiny organ thumping in full speed, spewing blood, being amazed by it every time. Before he got bored, he squeezed the little piece of meat, pulverizing it beneath his fingers. The sliminess, blood thickness, and coarse texture on his palm made his lips curled upward in a menacing smirk.

He always enjoyed squashing that organ the best.

Ryu stood, looking at the sickening body of the she-elf . . . well, what was left of it anyway.

The elegant beauty could no longer be recognized. After all, once opened and disemboweled –– they all look the same.

Just rotten flesh, blood, and bones.

Unsatisfied with his kill today, Ryu hammered his feet on the she-elf’s head with a bone-chilling crunching sound. Blood splattered everywhere. Carcasses crushed to dust as brain matters loitered the dirt and an eyeball flew towards the audience’s direction, which sent the spectators into a wild frenzy of cheers.

Hmp!

Ryu snarled before turning. He was about to take his first step back to his cell when his nose caught a distinct smell. A never-before scent amidst the pungent smells he had gotten used to. He could not describe the smell as it was new to him. He had never smell anything like it in his life.

The fragrance intensified and his body tightened. His nostrils flared, inhaling a mouthful of that enticing aroma. His ears perked as his fine hairs stood while an invisible force pulled him towards it. His eyes dilated and his pupils narrowed, searching the crowds for that smell . . .

Until his golden orbs met azure ones.