Once Dawn stepped inside the loge the first thing he noticed was the heavy smell of smoke and sweat.
The other notable thing inside was the silk curtain on his left.
The lighting from the arena revealed 4 silhouettes on a pile of pillows.
3 of the four appeared to be young men who were standing on their feet, while Dawn could only make out the large arm of the 4th.
Suddenly a thunderous voice rang throughout the arena.
"Who told you all to stop!? Continue to have fun! Continue the battle for that is why you were born! For blood! For glory!"
Immidietly after, every oni in the arena repaeated her last words.
"FOR BLOOD! FOR GLORY!"
The woman's voice carried a commanding aura much like Dawn's, but there was a core difference between the two.
Dawn's was like an executioners, one that would grant you a fast death, but hers was like a wild tiger which would play with its prey before consuming it.
With her encouragement the fun and bloodshed returned to the arena and everything returned to how it was before.
"Oi boys, leave me for now."
The 3 however did not move as they were still afraid of the man standing behind the curtain.
Thus as encourigement the matriarch moved her large hand with incredible speed and severed ones head clean off.
The head rolled on the cold floor while blood sprouted out of the still standing body.
This gave the other 2 the desparation to run for their lives.
When they turned to leave however they ran in to Dawn.
The 2 oni immidietly froze again once coming face to face with him.
They were unsure about what to do.
Their eyes began to water as they thought the matriarch would kill them aswell.
"He won't bite you, don't worry. Or atleast not while you are not a threat."
Heeding her advice the 2 oni warily slipped by Dawn and escaped.
The 2 boys ran out and passed by Sharktear who was still trying to process what has happened.
He was unsure wether he felt excited to see such a strong individual or soil himself because he hit him in the face.
However in an unexpected turn of events the woman he was entrusted to carry suddenly sprung out of his arms and on to the ground.
She them immidietly delivered a kick to Sharktear's knee with enough force that it broke.
The oni cried out in pain letting the child go and slip in to the womans arms while he held his now broken leg.
"What the hell!?" Sharktear cried out in pain and surprise.
The woman then opened her eyes reveailing two void like spaces.
Looking in to them Sharktear forgot about the pain of his leg as he was overrun by shock at the sight.
"Those eyes-"
However Dawn cut in before he could finish.
"Stand down, woman!"
Erisha quickly turned around and saw Dawn's back.
"We are safe here. Do not cause trouble to our hosts." He commanded.
While Erisha was confused she listened to Dawn and eased her body.
However once she did not see her little brother she tensed up again.
"Where is Cain!?"
"In your arms you dirty bitch!" Sharktear answeared.
Erisha looked down to see that this was true and immidietly layed him on the ground.
She then spread his cloths to see the wound left on him by Curt.
To her shock the wound has already been healed only leaving a large scar.
"What, how did you-?"
"Oh can you please just shut the fuck up? You are ruining it!" Sharktear shouted.
He wanted to see what a conversation between two beasts was like and what the outcome will be.
Just then Erisha felt an overwhelming presence not so far from Dawn.
Just from a slight feeling she knew that the being Dawn will meet was a monster.
"Are you done?" The thunderous voice asked.
"Yes."
"Took your sweet time, Kazamir!"
The silhouette then stood up.
From her shadow one could make out her large body.
As she stretched the lighting revailed two big round breasts on her chest.
She then bent over and grabbed something amidst the pillows she was laying on.
It seemed like some kind of bandage as she wrapped her breast with it.
Once that was done she put on some kind of coat on and tightened a belt around her belly to keep it in place.
Once she was fully clothed she pushed the silk curtain away and revailed herself to Dawn.
She was tall, far taller then Sharktear.
Her azure blue body was filled with bulging muscles and scars.
Her hair was white like the rest of the oni however it was increadebly long, reaching down to her waist.
She wore a dark blue and black kimono which was far more decorated then one a regular oni would wear.
She took a few steps ahead which was enough to cover the distance between herself and Dawn.
"So what can this good old Ryuran do for you~?"
Her voice was oddly seductive.
Given her large body and scars many would think that her appearence was repulsive, but to the oni she was the most beautiful woman in the whole world.
Strangly Dawn did not answear her immidietly.
He looked at the oni for a few seaconds before taking a deep breath.
"You are not the one I expected to meet here today, Ryuran."
His reaction put a small smile on to her face.
For a whole minute Dawn did not speak and did not move.
He simply stood in place with his eyes closed.
It was his way of mourning the dead.
After the minute passed Dawn looked back in to the wild eyes of the azure oni before him and continued.
"I have a woman and child with me. They are two elfs who were recently banished by their people. I need a disguise for one and identities for both of the best quality."
"Oh~ anything special I should know about them?"
"Both of them are royal elfs of the direct bloodline with the boy being a direct heir to the throne, while the woman was marked by the abyss."
Silance ensued soon after he finished.
Even the gigantic lady before him was speechless, while Erisha was shocked with her mouth hanging wide open.
To think Dawn gave out their identities so freely to someone unkonown like her was not something she expected of him.
HoweverDawn knew of the special characteristics of an azure blue oni.
Unlike a normal oni the azur kind was bigger, stronger with more affinity for the magical arts.
In Ryuran's case she mastered a type of lie ditection Dawn was unfamiliar with.
He did not know how she was able to tell lies from truths but its effect was undeniable.
The silance however was soon broken by Ryuran's wild laughter.
She was even holding her forehead as she laughed.
She laughed in to Dawn's face for a whole minute before wiping her tears away.
"Haah, that is why you are my favourite Kazamir! You know how to keep things from becoming too boring. Even when I was just my predecessor's student, you came here and shook the town to the very core with your unreasonable requests!"
Then suddenly, her voice turned serious.
"That being said do you realise what you ask of me?" Her voice no longer contained the same seductiveness and playfullness when they first arrived.
"I do." Answeared Dawn boldly.
"If you know that, then you must also know that the price will be high aswell."
"Yes."
A wide smile spread across Ryuran's face and in the next moment a loud bang could be heard throughout the arena, as something flew out of the only loge in the whole settlement and in to the arena.
The gahsps of shock filled tha air and the fighters stopped.
All turned their heads to the cloud of sand in the middle of the arena.
As the smoke cleared it was revailed that the one who flew out was infact Dawn.
Following closely behind him Ryuran jumped at him like a living torpedo.
Dawn planted his feet, raised his arms and took the oni matriarch's attack head on, causing another explosion inside the arena.
Those who have fought inside the pit before the two titans landed inside despretly tried to get out.
As the smoke cleared the two beings were revealed inside a contest of strenght.
Veins began to pop on both of their necks and foreheads as neither could push back the other.
The struggle continued until Dawn relaxed his body and let himself be pushed to the ground, only to use the momentum and kick the matriarch off of himself and in to the wall.
Dawn quickly got up in the nick of time just as Ryuran was flying towards him once again.
This time however he was not fast enough as her fist burried itself in to his face, sending him a few meters back.
She then followed up with another blow to the face and another to his stomach.
Dawn's body bent over from the shock of the last blow as he was forced on to one knee.
When he looked back up Ryuran's knee was flying towards him.
With a loud bang the knee landed.
To the matriarch's surprise her knee was only burried inside Dawn's hand.
Dawn's grip tightened as he held on to her leg.
At the same time Dawn swept the her other leg, causing the giantess to fall.
When she opened her eyes a fist was travelling towards her at an alarming speed.
She moved her head just in time, making the fist collide with the ground.
Ryuran quickly countered with a blow to Dawn's face, giving her the time to stand up. But in the next moment Dawn launched a kick towards her stomach.
The kick landed right in the center of her guts, which was followed with another strike, this time with his right fist, to her now exposed chin.
The blow was powerful enough to launch her head all the way back.
When she looked back down Dawn already moved beside her with his right fist ready to strike.
A wild smile appeared on Ryuran's face revealing her theets and tusks.
"Yes, it would be boring if you didn't last atleast this long." She thought as Dawn's right hand was blocked by her large shoulder.
In response her left hand swung in to motion.
At the same time Dawn also swung his own fist making the two blows collide.
"HOOOOORAAAAA!"
"GRAAAAAAAAAA!"
The two warriors screamed as they launched a flurry of blows against each other.
They exchanged blow after blow with incredible speeds.
To the crowd it seemed like a storm of punches and kicks appeared between them.
It was brutal, with red blood spilling and flying in to the air and on to the sand below.
From the crowd Sharktear watched with amazement as the two beings before him clashed.
They were faster then any he has ever seen, stronger then even the largest beasts and more vicious then a starved monster.
He realized early on that if even one of the strikes landed on him he would die.
He gripped the metal bars before him with enough strenght to dent them as he could barely contain his excitement at witnessing such a battle.
On the other hand Erisha found the battle before her nothing more then barberic and repulsive.
Both fighters had vicious fighting styles that did not have any foundation whatsoever.
They made their moves based on soly on their insticts and what the other did.
It was not like the elegant and honorouble duels they had in Eldmar.
Nonetheless she knew why they were here and why Dawn was forced to do this.
It was because of her.
If not for the fact that she was cursed they wouldn't have had so much trouble until now.
The black market traders, Curt and his squad of undead and now this.
Dawn is putting his life on the line again while she can only watch.
Not to mention that her brother still hasent woken up which made her worry even more.
From what she could tell there was nothing wrong with him physically.
Maybe he just need a little mlre rest then usual.
Suddenly, her chain of thought was broken by a loud bang inside the arena.
She looked back to see Dawn kneeling before the oni matriarch.
Both combatants were breathing heavily, but it was clear who was in better condition.
Unlike Dawn who uses life energy to accelarate the healing of his body, onis had naturally developed the ability to regenerate their bodies.
Combined with the matriarch's bigger range, she landed more blows on Dawn then he could on her.
"-Haah, whats the matter -hehehe, don't tell me this is it! Come on! You need to show me more of your power! I can smell it on you, a smell similar to my own! You were born differant from the rest! You had the qualities to be a force of nature ever since you were born! So lets stop the warm up and give it our all!"
Suddenly the matriarchs azure blue skin became darker by the seacond as the brown in her eyes dissapeared, leaving fully white ones in their stead.
Blue electricity began to zap around her as her white hair turned pitch black and the tusks inside her mouth grew to the same size as the ones males had.
With a loud roar her new form was completed.
The roar carried so much force it shook the air around the arena.
Many of the audiance fainted from the sheer fear and preassure Ryuran radiated.
Even Erisha had to support herself with the wall besider her just to remain standing.
Every instict in her body told her to run, that they needed to get out of here.
Even the shadows around her began to swirl around as if they were trying to protect her.
Thenkfully no one noticed this because those who stayed at their feet were focused on the fight.
It was rare that the matriarch entered the pit herself, but none has ever seen this side of her before.
Not even when she was fighting the previous matriarch.
Once Erisha regained her footing she looked down in to the pit.
Her eyes immidietly wandered to the still kneeling man before the matriarch.
His expression put despair in her heart.
Dawn's eyes were wide open with his jaw slightly loose.
For a fleeting seacond he looked at the woman before him with a compleatly stunned face.
But that was it.
A single moment.
It dissapeared just as quickly as it appeared.
Dawn rose to his feet.
He cracked his neck a few times making sure the damage has healed.
"What are you waiting for!?" The matriarch asked.
She revailed the dormsnt power inside of her and she urged Dawn to do the same.
"Quickly! I want to taste your power!"
However much to her dissapointment Dawn simply took his fighting stance.
The excitement on Ryuran's face quickly dissapeared as it was replaced with anger.
In a single burst of speed she closed the distance between the them, startaling Dawn.
She then delivered a devastating kick to his abdoment.
Blood gushed from his mouth as he was sent crashing in to the wall behind him.
He grunted and struggled to get up, but before he could recover Ryuran was already in his face and delivered blow after blow of precise strikes to his face, shoulders and chest.
After each blow a loud cracking sound could be heard as Dawn's bones shattered.
She then grabbed his head, pulled it back and began to repedeatly smash it against the wall.
Each time she did his face went deeper and deeper as cracks began to appear.
She continued until the wall became unstuble, threatening the onlookers who stood above.
Those who were still conscious quickly grabbed those who weren't and ran away as the wall collapsed.
When the smoke cleared everyone could see the matriarch holding Dawn by his head.
Blood gushed from his entier body with bones sticking out from several places.
Erisha could not belive her eyes.
Shock and fear came over her body as she sunk to her knees.
Ever since they met him, he was an absolute being.
One that could have killed them at any moment if he chose to do so, yet he chose to help them.
Although he was a stoic prick with questionable methods and goals he was still willing to listen to their story, even with Erisha being cursed.
To see him like this, being held by the head, beaten and broken, made her feel true despair for the first time since coming to this world.
If he died here then their way home was gone, if he died then these people would most certainly kill her and Cain.
Thus with all her might she prayed.
She prayed for him to stand up and fight!
Ryuran took one final glance at the now broken man before her with dissapointment in her eyes.
In the end he too could not pose a challange.
When they came to Geiza many, many years ago she heard stories about a man who lived inside the Dark Woods by his own choice.
He was not like the rest of the forest dwellers, who only stayed in there for a couple of weeks.
He lived in that accursed place alone for years and only showed himself at the most dire of times.
Naturally she has always wanted to meet him to see what truth the stories held.
And he came.
When the previous matriarch was alive he came to meet her.
He found this place all on his own and threatened her and their people.
He demanded an identity in excange for keeping their setttlement a secret from the rest of Geiza.
Even then she could see he was no ordinary man.
Sadly he rarely visited them.
Ever since she became the matriarch she dreamed of the day he would set foot in their settlement once again.
And he did.
She could smell him the moment he entered the arena.
She did not want to belive it at first, that is why she came up with a little test.
She ordered the guards that stood at the entrance to her loge to not let them in and act in particularly disrespectful way.
This was to see if he would match the pitchure she had of him in her head.
And oh boy did he deliver.
That wave of killing intent he let out was the one she dreamed of.
It was then that she knew the stories were true and her intuition was right.
But now he was nothing more then another dissapointment.
Many faced her before and any who dared was now dead.
She sighed.
She then turned around and threw Dawn in to the center of the arena.
With a loud thud his body landed in to the sand while she turned to leave.
From the outside it seemed as if he had died, but Dawn was still faintly breathing.
Inside his mind he was floating in darkness.
It was a strange yet warm feeling.
Dawn knew that if he allowed himself to be embraced by this place his regeneration would not work.
Even now it was struggling to keep him alive.
Then suddenly he heard something in the void.
It was as if someone or something was walking towards him.
With what little control he had he opened his eyes and willed his head to move.
Once he layed his eyes on to the being, rage took over his mind.
It was that soldier again.
With that same wounded body and empty eye sockets.
What did it want?
Why did it suddenly appear?
In that moment the soldier stopped, just a few steps away from Dawn.
It stared in to Dawn's eyes as a gentle smile appeared on its face.
It raised its hand and snapped its fingers.
Suddenly a large iron gate appeared inside the darkness.
It had chains all over it with four locks keeping whatever was inside it trapped.
"No... don't!" Said Dawn in a weak voice as his eyes widened from shock.
The being simply smiled as it reached inside its uniform and pulled out a key.
The key was ridden with rust all over, but was still intact.
"No!"
Ignoring Dawn's desprate plea the being turned around and began walking towards the gate.
"Move! Goddamn it move!"
Dawn's body shook as he tried with all his will to make it move.
With each step the soldier made Dawn's desperation grew more until finally when it was before the gate, Dawn managed to move his body and with a burst of immense speed appeared beside the soldier.
He grabbed its arm that held the key and using his immese grip streanght he broke it instantly.
"BEGONE!" Dawn screamed as his fist flew towards the soldiers face.
To Dawn's shock just before his fist landed the being smiled once again and showed no resistance to his blow.
And as the attack landed Dawn snapped back in to reality.
He was now standing on his feet near the wall of the arena.
He looked around, more confused then ever.
He then felt immense pain all over his body making him shake to the very core.
He looked at his arms and saw crimson red mist all over them.
He then noticed blood on his right hand.
However his arms were healed, thus the blood could not be his.
Dawn then looked to the side where he saw the giant matraiarch walking out of a cloud of sand.
As she appeared he noticed her dislocated, bleeding nose.
She grabbed her nose and put it back in its place while a wide grin appeared on her face.
"Now thats more like it!"
But Dawn blankly looked at her with bloodshot red eyes.
He then looked back at his hands.
He felt the changes within his body.
He was stronger and faster then before.
Anyone else would have welcomed such power saving their life, but Dawn felt nothing, but pure disgust.
He closed his eyes, grit his teeth and clenched his hands as the anger inside him began to boil.
Then suddenly, like a volcano it erupted.
"DAAAMN IT AAALL!"
The red mist surrounding Dawn suddenly shot out in all directions, shaking the arena in the process.
The wave of energy was like a large burst of wind as it blowed back everything it made contact with.
Ryuran stood her ground and laughed in excitment and anticipation of what would happen next.
Dawn reopened his bloodshot eyes with the fires of fury burning inside them.
He was done playing around.
The two combatants dashed towards each other, both readying their fists and in the middle of the arena they clashed once again.