Umbra exhaled in slow pants, as if he were already calculating his every move right down to his breath. The leo medusa across from him shook its serpentine mane and took up a deep growl, accompanied by the undertone of constant hissing.

The excitement of the crowd intensified as they marveled at the fearsome beast. Without further ceremony, the fight began.

The leo medusa charged forth. Blown back by its sprint, the snake heads retracted into its mane as if coiled to strike.

Already, Fia thought her death loomed imminent. And I'm not even the one in the arena yet!

The lion rushed to pounce on the black dragon. All its snakes reacted at once, snapping outward to bite at Umbra. The paws tipped with sharp claws extended as the lion lunged.

Umbra jumped to the side at the last second. In doing so, he also flung out one claw to rake at his opponent. Between Umbra's sweeping roll and the lion's skidding stop, a small cloud of sand was kicked into the air.

The leo medusa froze for a moment. Umbra assumed a low crouch and never shifted his gaze from the enemy. The airborne grit settled around them. Slowly, the lion lifted one of its paws. A trickle of blood ebbed from the side of its ankle.

"Ooh." The crowd seemed to react in unified fascination. The intrigued murmurs rose in volume as the next bout began. Fia's heart raced like a drum against the thrum of noise.

The leo medusa hurled itself at Umbra in a frenzied sprint. The serpents began spitting green streaks of venom which hit the ground and sizzled. With so many snake heads attached to the lion's mane, their accuracy was terrible. The leo medusa struggled to control that many distinct parts of its body simultaneously.

Umbra fled in zigzags to avoid the acid sprays. If any corrosive droplets had landed on his scales, his reaction showed no sign of injury. Since Umbra had to dodge the frenetic attacks and the leo medusa could take the straightest path to him, the gap between them closed. Umbra tried to throw himself out of the way in the same manner as before.

The leo medusa learned to anticipate this pattern already. Umbra was caught in an outstretched paw. The thick, lion claws scraped across his scales, toppling Umbra to the ground. With a fearsome roar, the leo medusa rose to smash him beneath its weight. Every snake head loomed above Umbra's head, hissing in readiness to bite their victim.

A snarl sounded from the dragon, unaffected by fear. He flipped onto his back and dragged his wings across the ground to push himself farther beneath the lion's body. When the lion came down, its claws pierced Umbra's already ruined wings. Its weight would have pinned him in place if not for what he did next.

Like every dragon knew, the belly was a vulnerable spot. Umbra scratched all four claws across the lion's gut and made it recoil. Yowling, the leo medusa leaped off of him, and Umbra scrambled away.

The black dragon shook himself off. When his eyes lifted to take in the enraged lion, fear seemed to enter those emerald eyes for the first time.

The leo medusa snarled savagely. The snake heads danced in an elaborate swirling motion. With their jaws spread wide, the venom could be seen dripping from their fangs. The substance amassed into an orb floating in the air—an advanced magical technique unlike any Fia had seen before. The green poison reflected in her awestruck eyes, and the toxic bomb was launched at Umbra.

He leaped away as quickly as he could, but the poisonous orb exploded with a wide blast radius. The noxious fumes swirled like a storm, encompassing Umbra. He was swallowed within the blast and did not reemerge.

"No…." Fia moaned. The corrosive venom of the leo medusa had singed the ground, and Fia could only imagine what it would do to his scales. As the green cloud diffused with the rest of the air, Fia prepared to see his corpse.

There lay Umbra where he had collapsed.

"No. No. No," Fia repeated absently. Her anxious claws brought her to pace on a small stretch of the bench. He can't die. I'm gonna die too!

The crowd erupted into gleeful cheers. The lion roared and shook its snake-infested mane.

"Regificus the leo medusa wins—!" The final announcement was cut short as a sight movement in the arena caught everyone's eye.

The pile of black scales twitched. Umbra staggered onto his feet and coughed.

"Umbra Caligo lives!" While Fia had no idea what the announcer bellowed in the foreign language, she imagined a joyous declaration like that.

"He's still alive," she whispered to herself. Fia hopped up and down giddily, but worry stayed in the posture of her wings as she leaned forward intently.

The rumble in the leo medusa's chest thundered over Umbra's growl. The two circled each other with new regard for their adversary. The leo medusa must have expended the last of its mana in the toxic blast since the monster attempted no more magical attacks. Dashing into close quarters once more, it must rely solely on its physical prowess.

The tides of battle began to change, as the leo medusa's wound now took its toll. Its movements grew sluggish while Umbra recovered rapidly from the poison. The smaller dragon successfully tumbled to the side of the charge and struck another gash across the lion's paw.

Relentlessly, he focused his attacks on a single leg. The scratches accumulated and caused the lion to limp after Umbra who now took the offensive. The lithe dragon leaped onto a shoulder. From there, he flipped onto the leo medusa's back. His claws dug into flesh for a secure grip. Umbra drew back his head like one of the snakes prepared to bite and struck the nape of the neck.

A deep, throaty howl sounded from the lion's jaws. Its whole body shook to throw Umbra off. However, his teeth must only shred deeper into the lion's vulnerable neck. The dragon clamped down like a vice and tore his head side to side to keep up with the lion's movement.

Meanwhile, the snakes contorted around the lion's head to defend their host. Umbra surrendered one claw from the lion's back and slashed it through the air when they struck. A few serpentine coils were sliced clean through, and the severed snake heads dropped to the ground.

The remaining snakes managed to puncture Umbra's scales, softened from the acid. If anything, the snakes only helped hold Umbra in place while he gripped the thrashing lion with one less claw. Like this, he remained clamped on its back, his jaws crushing into its neck.

The frontmost half of the leo medusa collapsed first. Then, its rear quickly followed. The monster had fallen, and Umbra cut the remainder of the snakes away. He sprung off the lion's back and withdrew in a series of dizzy, staggering steps. A few snakes were still alive, hissing furiously, but they could not get close enough to attack Umbra anymore.

The swell of cheers from the crowd overwhelmed the announcer who could barely be heard. "Umbra Caligo wins!"

Despite his exhaustion, Umbra rose on his hind legs and flung out his wings. A victorious roar lifted from his chest. After the brief celebration, his front claws tapped back to the ground. Umbra bounded back towards the leo medusa and flitted about the remainder of the snakes.

Crouched low, he hissed at the snakes and carefully sliced off their heads when they tried to bite him yet again. Before he could finish off the leo medusa's mane entirely, some human guards walked out to him. They leveled their spears and forced him back towards the gates.

Umbra tossed his head and denied the guards this humiliation. With his nose pointed to the sun, he pranced out of the arena.

“Wow,” Fia murmured in a sharp intake of breath when she saw Umbra.

Once the doors were drawn shut, his posture changed immediately. His shoulders were slouched, making his wings dragg across the ground and his talons plod over the dirt-trodden floor.

As he drew nearer, she prodded his mind to create the telepathic link.

Without a glance her way, he allowed it. Umbra barely mustered the energy to hop back onto the bench with her.

You did amazing! I can’t believe what I just saw. Are you alright?

The connection was severed as quickly as it had been made. Umbra curled into a ball and used his wings to shield himself for some privacy. He did not respond beyond a few unintelligible mutters. More loudly, his stomach grumbled.

“Oh.” Fia leaned nearer to him and batted her concerned eyes. Though she no longer had a way to commiserate with him, she now understood.

Their captors had not fed the growing dragons enough for supper last night. The hunger pangs had started in Fia’s belly long ago, ever since she had been transported on the ship. Umbra, however, had spent a much longer time in the humans’ clutches. The lines of his ribs were visible beneath his weary, scarred scales.

He’s hungry. He was trying to feed on the leo medusa’s corpse….

To him, she whined, Umbra…! Fia repeatedly poked his brain, begging him to bring back their telepathy.

What? he snapped at last.

I asked if you’re alright, she pouted. Your scales…. Do they burn?

I’m fine.

Is there anything I can do to help?

Stop bothering me. Worry about yourself.

Their mental connection quietly ended. The brutal battles in the coliseum continued. Indeed, Fia must worry about herself, how she would survive the next fight when her chain was the one selected from the wall.