The demi humans were wearing high-quality armor. The weapons were different according to the soldier's preference. Unlike other countries with most of the population being human, here several kinds of people with different abilities had to reach common ground.
The way to settle conflicts and disputes was the law of the strongest. The council was the one who dictated every law and the way to behave in society. They collected resources and protected their people. If one had a disagreement, he was more than welcome to fight his superior or even the council members themselves. Incentivizing competition and personal power was the goal of the Demi human Council.
"Ohhh, it's been a while since a human wandered this far. You came alone?" A wolf demi human said, licking his teeth.
"Yeah, it seems I got lost. I was going east when I suddenly stepped into a bunch of traps. Don't worry, I will be on my way. I don't want to fight or anything."
He tried to play innocent and weak, but they only laughed.
"HAHAHAHAHA. You think you can escape from us. We don't care about your past or why you are here. From now on, you are going to be a slave."
"He looks too weak to be a slave. We should just eat him. I haven't tasted human meat in a week!" An alligator, like demi human was drooling.
"P-Please, I don't want to die. I can be useful as a slave. I'll work!"
Wow, I'm really bad at playing the victim. But if they try to kill me now, I'll have to defend myself. In that case, maybe showing my power would scare them enough to take me alive.
The demi human jumped at him and took a chunk of his arm. No, it was the opposite. With his claws, Thanatos cut the arm, the armor, and the body with one swift cut.
"What?" "What happened?" "Ruru, hey Ruru!" Thanatos attacked so fast they didn't notice he grew claws for a moment.
They took their weapons and formed a circle around Thanatos.
"Please, I don't want to fight. If you take me unharmed, I won't oppose you. Only a fool would let himself be hurt, right?"
"You fucking human. Hiding your strength to take us by surprise!"
"What a coward. I'm going to break your bones and munch on them."
A demi human that looked like a rat used a spell. It was the same type that the traps had [Alarm].
"Did you call for reinforcements? That's too petty, isn't it?"
"Shut up! You should have thought about that before resisting!"
"Excellent." Thanatos vanished. He moved to the back and killed the man who activated the [Alarm] spell. "I have an idea. I don't need you guys anymore."
He slaughtered the soldiers in less than a minute. One of them used a spell, but he wasn't sure what it was since he killed him so fast.
Thanatos covered himself in the blood of the soldiers and then hurt himself a bit on the arm and the chest. As the reinforcements came close, he began to breath rapidly and made a face like he was in pain.
"AH… AH… AH…" Another squad of soldiers with different kinds of combinations of animals, but it was similar enough.
"What happened here? Did you kill them?" The guy that looked like the leader took out his great sword.
"I… they threaten me… I just wanted..." His eyes turned white and he collapsed on the sand.
Please don't try something stupid like killing me. I beat a bunch of your guys. You need to take them in for interrogation or at least to your superior.
He was betting on the man's intelligence and the chain of command. If the plan failed, then he was just going to kill them too and try with the next squad that came. That would be a bad scenario since his infamy with the country was going to get higher for the stupid orders of some low ranked soldier.
"Put shackles on, we are taking him in!" The plan worked, and he was apprehended.
***
"Wake up, human!" A splash of water hit him in the face.
Thanatos was chained down by his arms and legs. It wasn't iron, or some simple metal. He could feel the magic in the chains. They were reinforced with magic to make them extra hard to break.
He was impressed. He couldn't break these chains with physical strength alone. They must have assumed he was a fighter. There was nothing to worry about; he only needed some magic to break free.
He looked around the room. He was hanging from a beam on the ceiling. Three men were watching him. It was a small room with no windows. Only a lantern illuminated the area.
From their clothes, one was some kind of interrogator dressed in dark robes. His face was hidden, but he had fur on his arms. An official or army member, his face was covered in scales. Lastly, there was a man in fine clothes. His ears were like those of a rabbit. He was holding a book.
Perfect, they think they are in control.
"What? Where am I?" He played the part of a prisoner.
"What was your intention of coming here? How many people were with you? Are you part of some group of mercenaries or the military of a country?" The interrogator grabbed his face and asked the questions. He pointed a hot metal rod at his gut.
"W-WAIT! I'm alone. I was traveling to the east. I swear I don't want any trouble."
The interrogator pressed the rod against his naked flesh, burning him like a piece of meat in the fire.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH! STOP!"
The screams were real. Thanatos was getting burned, but after everything he had been through, it was more annoying than painful. It's like having a piece of food stuck in your teeth after eating.
"Not causing trouble. You killed a platoon of our soldiers on the border of the city. You expect me to believe that a normal person can do that?" He put the rod against his face. He was going to brand him for life.
"Please, I was a mercenary in the Republic, but that was a long time ago. But now I just want to live free. I ran from the army. I just want to live in peace where no one can arrest me!" He was going to cry a little, but the man with scales on his face was alert to his words.
I got his attention, but he's watching to see if I'm lying. A mercenary wouldn't cry for something so insignificant like being burned.
He stopped himself and looked at him as he spoke.
"Come on, I'm telling the truth. Yes, I killed your people, but they attacked me first! It is called self-defense."
The man walked closer and looked at him from top to bottom. He was completely naked. This was nothing out of the ordinary. He was examining his muscles; they were indeed those of a mercenary or fighter.
"Why did you quit being a mercenary?"
"I was working for syndicates, but no matter which one I worked for, they all got destroyed by one of the big three in the Republic. You know about them. The Red Dragon is dangerous. They came and took people down like they were nothing. I'm tired of having to hide from the army and run away from syndicates. You believe me, right?"
"Why should I? You could be a spy sent by Los or an assassin from the Hand sent to kill the Council. There are a hundred possibilities, but I can find one with enough time." He wasn't going to let him go.
"That's enough, commander Gy. It's my turn to inspect him and see if he's good enough for our business."
The man walked toward Thanatos and raised his hand. He touched his body all over.
"Mmm, seems good enough to survive a couple of fights. I shall take him."
"Secretary, I have to protest. This man is hiding information. It is better if I take him for interrogation-"
"The Council has given more authority to the coliseum than to the army. As his representative, I made the decision to take him. If you have any problem with that, you can talk with the Council. Of course, that would end up with your death." He said with a smug smile on his face.
"Don't get cocky. It is a six to four vote. If one of the members changes their vote, then you will be the one fighting for your precious slaves!"
"All talk and no bite. When that time comes, we'll be ready, but today I'm taking him with me."
The hostility was palpable. The existence of the council was the only thing keeping these two from fighting right here and now. The man then looked at Thanatos.
"From this day on, you're a slave in the coliseum of the Demi Human Council."
***
The guards took the chains and shackles from him. Instead, they put a collar on him with spells.
"That collar is enchanted with a variety of spells. We can know exactly where you are at every moment. If you try to escape, it can cause you pain or even kill you. Here is an example [Pain]" he said while aiming a wand at his collar.
It began to glow, then a surge of pain coursed through his body. It was like being stabbed in every pore in his body with tiny knives.
"AAAAAHHHHHHH!" It hurt a lot. It was actually painful. It was targeting the nerves in his body. Thanatos could bear the pain with difficulty, but instead he rolled down the ground and screamed as hard as he could to sell the weakling narrative.
"You see, there are dozens of wands attuned to the collars of all the slaves here. You must obey our orders. If you do that and win some fights, you can have privileges here."
"I-is that supposed to be a good thing? I'm still a prisoner."
"Yes. Your fate was sealed when you came here as a human. If you want to refuse to be a slave fighter, you can die in your first fight. Although I heard you wanted peace, there is no greater peace than fighting here with rules. Hehe." He was obviously getting pleasure from his suffering.
"I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Beru Beru, the secretary of the coliseum boss. I managed the fights, the betting and the expenses. Not that I'm interested, but was your name. I need to enter something for the people to bet."
"My name… Why should I tell you?"
"Fine suit yourself, hehehe. Dead meat 44, it is then. Show him the accommodations."
The guards took him around. He had heard something about the coliseum from Kit, but it was much bigger than he thought. It had five floors with hundreds of slaves, humans and demi humans alike.
The rooms for rest, an armory, and training grounds. An immense dining hall and some VIP areas for the strongest fighters in the coliseum. The guards joked and laughed that he could become one of the best fighters.
"A human has never made it past the top 100 warriors. Most of them die without takin' a place in the ranking, hahahah."
They only bother to rank the top 200 fighters in the coliseum. Those had the most public betting. For the people of this country, going to the coliseum and seeing a massacre was like going out for dinner on the weekends.
"You'll be staying in the lowest common room. There are no beds here. If you want one, win some fights."
Ok, how do I get out of here in one week?