Kishan rubbed his eyes with one hand while casting a spell with the other. The guards were closely watching Alex, who was rolling on the floor, cackling crazily.
"I am very disappointed in you, ugly one. Now we have to find another guard to replace this one!" Kishan scolded Alex.
"Oho ah, oh my god, I can't breathe! Wait, wait, ahah—"
Kishan finished the spell and made Alex stand, which alerted the guards.
"Wait, wait, don't kill him. I have control now," Kishan assured the guards, who didn't seem so assured. "Get his spear from the wall, and clean up that idiot's body while you're at it, please."
Several goblins from the back went to grab the body off the spear. They seemed to be alright until they started sliding his head off the spear. Then a goblin puked, and another passed out.
Alex stared at the scene quietly. The pain from Kishan's spell was not worth the laugh. The goblin's blood surprised Alex since he was expecting to see red but instead saw the wall of the arena painted a deep blue. He felt queasy at the sight of the mutilated goblin; after all, he was young and had never killed before.
After dragging the lifeless body away, Kishan piloted Alex over to the spear that he threw, commanding his body to pull it out. Now, the guards were really on edge, even with Kishan telling them it was alright. They didn't take their eyes off him for a moment, many not even blinking. The goblins had learned their lesson.
"Ugh, why did you have to go and make things difficult? If you wanted to fight, you should have just waited to do it in the arena," Kishan complained as a deafening roar from the crowd drowned him out.
Several goblins gathered around a crank, and when they started to push, the ground shook. The gate to the arena started slowly sliding up the wall. When it was high enough for goblins to duck under, some did. Running out into the middle of the arena, they all grabbed the lifeless body of the mole-dog and dragged him back under the gate and past Alex.
'Fly high, little buddy, fly high,' Alex silently paid his respects as his fallen comrade was dragged into some back room.
"Welp, looks like it's about time. Don't die... I guess," Kishan's words of encouragement bounced off Alex as he was piloted into the arena.
The gates slammed shut, and Kishan cut his control over Alex. The noise in the arena was much louder than he thought it would be. The sound seemingly pierced his body from all angles; he felt the bass of the crowd's roar in his heart.
The arena itself was an oval around half the size of a football field. The floor was entirely sand, and the walls were too high to climb. Even if he could climb them, spikes carved into the stone deterred any attempt. Above the spikes, countless goblins filled the stadium, a sight that made Alex's eye twitch. They all looked at him, some with looks of disgust, others with confusion, and even one or two with lust. They had never seen a goblin like him before.
A shriek across from Alex caught his attention. Looking over, he saw who he was supposed to face: the goblin that had killed the mole-thing.
"Oh Kishan, you shouldn't have! I get to kill another?" Alex looked at his opponent excitedly, but the goblin's eyes were focused. Its shoulder was cut, seemingly by the mole, but it showed no signs of pain or fear.
The gladiator was holding a bloodied sword and a dented shield. He wore little armor, a single breastplate for protection. Scars marked his body with experience as he raised his sword and tapped his shield twice, as if taunting a wild beast.
Alex, seeing the defiant goblin's taunt, began walking towards his foe. The calmness of his opponent gave him an unsettling feeling. Sure, he was naturally bigger and stronger than the goblins, but he was just some young college student. Facing a seasoned warrior in his first real fight was pretty much a death sentence; one slip-up and it's over.
He clenched his spear tightly, adrenaline running rampant. Once he was close enough to the goblin, it tried speaking to him. The gladiator quickly realized Alex couldn't understand and stopped, assuming a fighting posture. In response, Alex pointed his spear at the goblin.
Alex waited for his opponent to make a move, but the goblin just circled to his left. Alex's nerves were getting to him, all the tension clouding his mind.
"I guess I shouldn't have expected a goblin to fight like a man," Alex said before creeping towards the goblin, who studied his every move.
Once Alex was close enough, he lunged at the goblin with his spear. In response, the goblin calmly pivoted, dodging Alex's spear and raking his sword along Alex's thigh. Luckily, the wound wasn't deep enough to disable the leg.
"Shit!" Alex yelped in pain, quickly turning to face the goblin. The goblin stayed put, and a smirk appeared on his face. Alex, seeing the smug look, lunged at the goblin again. This time, he swung the spear in an attempt to behead the goblin, but his opponent simply ducked and responded by slicing Alex's shin.
The gladiator was toying with Alex, a fact that made Alex's rage intensify. No matter what Alex threw at him, the goblin would move out of the way and cut him more. But Alex didn't let it deter him; all of the goblin's attacks were shallow and did not impede his mobility. Until Alex made the particularly bad decision of throwing his spear at the goblin.
Pang!
The goblin used his shield for the first time in their fight, deflecting the spear around him and closing in on Alex while he was still extended. The goblin slammed his shield into Alex's knee, causing him to fall and expose his back fully to the goblin.
Slice!
The crowd roared.
Alex tried to stand up and run away, but he yelped in pain as he fell again.
'AGHH, that bitch just cut both of my Achilles! God damn it!'
Alex looked back to see the gladiator slowly walking towards him with a relaxed posture and a smile on his face.
'Damn, I have to get my spear!'
Alex spotted his spear not too far away, but he couldn't stand up. He began to crawl, leaving a trail of red sand. The gladiator watched his struggle, finding it amusing.
As Alex was crawling, the goblin gladiator kept slicing his back and legs; each strike caused the crowd to thunder in excitement. The pain pushed Alex forward, filling him with adrenaline.
Alex was closing in on his spear rather quickly, but the goblin didn't seem to mind. He continued to maim Alex's back.
Finally, Alex reached his spear. Extending his arm, he grabbed hold of it. Then, he turned around to see the goblin swinging his blade down on him. He brought the spear in front of him and held it with both hands in an attempt to block the strike.
The block was timed perfectly; the goblin couldn't redirect his strike.
But it didn't matter.
The sword sliced clean through, only slowing slightly.
'Shitty goblin manufacturing!' Alex thought, certain the goblin's blade would cut clean through his head. With nothing left to lose, he simply jerked his head right as far as he could.
The blade came down, missing his head by an inch. Instead, it cut deep into his collarbone. A scream from Alex as well as the crowd followed.
The goblin gladiator looked up at the crowd with a smile on his face; however, it quickly faded as his attempts to dislodge his sword from Alex's body failed. He looked down, and for the first time in their fight, he found himself surprised.
Alex was holding onto the sword with both hands, looking into the goblin's eyes with a furious expression.
With blood dripping down his hands, Alex let out a scream. Then, he let go of the sword with his left hand and lunged for the goblin. Stupidly, the goblin didn't let go of his sword, allowing Alex to grab him by the wrist.
Immediately, the goblin knew he had made a mistake, furiously pulling at his wrist in an attempt to free it. He even bashed Alex's wrist with his shield, but nothing budged. He had never felt strength like that.
Smack!
Something hit the goblin's face, dazing him. As he looked up to see what had hit him, he found it: a fist two inches from his face.
Smack!
His knees wobbled, and he dropped his shield.
The crowd suddenly became silent.
Smack!
The goblin fell to the floor. He looked up and saw Alex, with a bloodlusted smile. Alex had finally gotten a hold of this slimy goblin, and he was the perfect target for his rage. Blows continued to rain down on the goblin.
At some point, the light in the gladiator's eyes had quit. He now stared at the ceiling of the cave with a distant gaze. His body had stiffened, but at this point, only exhaustion could stop Alex.
He raised both of his hands this time. He brought them down on the goblin's head. Blue blood covered Alex as he continuously slammed both his fists down on the goblin.
At some point, the fists slowed, looking less explosive than they did at the beginning.
Finally, Alex stopped. He looked down at what he thought was the goblin's face, but it had none of the usual markings.
Then he looked up at the silent crowd. Alex expected to see sympathy or rage for their fallen warrior. But all he saw were goblins staring with their eyes and mouths wide open. This continued for an unsettling amount of time before one shout caused an avalanche of noise.
Alex fell to the ground and covered his ears, fearing they would burst. He began crying, overwhelmed by pain and all of his emotions running amok. He felt rage, hopelessness, relief, and an overwhelming sadness. The crowd affected him the most.
'You're shouting for me? After what I did? You're all sick.'
Alex took his eyes off the crowd and put them back on his dead opponent. Then, his eyelids became heavy. Without resisting, he closed them, hoping sleep would whisk him away to a better place. It did not.
He awoke to a familiar pain. Opening his eyes, he saw Kishan's lit-up body chanting the healing spell. An involuntary scream poured from Alex's mouth. Countless guard goblins stood around him, holding him down.
Alex had countless wounds from the gladiator who toyed with him. The wounds gave him stripes like a tiger, but instead of orange and black, his stripes were white and red.
The healing continued until Alex was in perfect condition. The only mark left on him from the arena was the one on his mind. He passed out after the healing spell had worn off.
Waking up, he found himself in another cell. This one, however, was different from the last. The only solid wall was behind him, with metal bars in front and on the sides of him. The cell connected to other cells, most of them empty, but occasionally he saw one with a goblin or some strange creature in it. The cells to his left and right were empty.
The floor of the cell was stone, but sand dragged in from the arena covered most of it. Unlike the last cell Alex was in, this cell didn't have a bench or bed. It only had a bucket. There was a large padlock, even by human standards, as well as a latch beneath it. Alex could also stand up and stretch; it was much more spacious.
The most noticeable aspect of the new living space was the noise. He could tell that he was being held under the colosseum. The noise was constant, but most of the time, the noise wasn't so bad. However, occasionally the crowd would agitate. When excited, the noise they generated would shake the foundation of the arena, and dust would fall from the ceiling of Alex's cell.
The room that held all the cells was rather large, and quite long too. It curved, and Alex couldn't see the entrance or exit. There was a path to walk in the middle, with cells on either side. Crystals hung from the ceiling outside the cells, dimly lighting the area.
Alex, still being exhausted from the constant pace of the last three days, fell asleep quickly.