“It’s time to present the fighters!”, said the announcer, “On the red side, we have Andrew, only nineteen-years old. He was a member of a gang in the past, so he says. He’s been jailed fifteen times, been in countless fistfight, and knocked men much bigger than him! This match is yet to decide, don't understimate him!”. Andrew waved his sword, making the public cheer.

“I’m going to bet twenty on him”, said a bald man in the stands right under them to the one at his left;

“Have you gone mad?”;

“I’m going to win big this time, witness”, and he moved towards the small fat man who was sitting on the stairs, collecting red and blue cards on his knees, mostly blue it’d seem.

“On the blue side”, said the announcer, “We present the tallest man who has ever fought in this arena! We don’t know his name, neither his age, and neither what he did before arriving here, but one sure thing is that he wants to win at all costs!”. The Giant spat on the ground, making the public boo at him. Some of them stood up and threw pebbles at him from a small bag, but none of them arrived near him.

“I hope he loses”, said another man from the stands;

“My God, he looks hideous”, said a female voice.

“Let the fight start!”, said the announcer.

Sam climbed over the parapet and sat on the ledge. The drop to the stands would have killed anybody, and even some of the ones below. “What you’re doing?”, said Felix;

“Trying to escape. Who cares about that stupid fight?”, she said, “Follow me”, she pointed at the nearest wooden beam over which the lights had been installed.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t let you do that”. They turned their hands towards the heavy steps of a young man with dark hair, followed on each side by three men wearing silver plate armor, with an open helmet which had a black and yellow hackle on top. Their spears pointed at them, while two of them had a quiver loaded in their crossbows.

The young man’s long dark boots, which went past his knees, clicked on the ground as he moved towards them, dragging his black coat on the ground. He kept one hand on the engraved golden hilt of his rapier, caressing the sapphire at the pommel.

“If I were you”, he said, “I’d put on the ground every weapon you have if you want to live”. Felix complied, as there was no other thing to do. One of the soldiers holding a crossbow walked towards it, always keeping a finger over the trigger, until he kicked it away. Sam’s head rotated from the soldiers to the beam, and again. She sighed and returned to the balcony.

“Fine. I’ll do it”, she said, crouching to lay the knife down, until one her knees touched to the ground. With a shriek, she charged at the young man. He shifted his footing on the right and grabbed her wrist before the blade hit his shoulder, but it still left a small cut in the fabric.

He gritted his teeth, “You brat, now my coat is ruined”. He twisted her arm until it made a cracking sound, but Sam’s wide gaze was still set on the young man’s eyes. Her nostrils dilated, showing her teeth, while her cheeks were becoming red. The blade was shaking, hovering over the young’s man coat.

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She gasped when a soldier knocked her in the back with the shaft of the spear. Another one pried her hand open, making the knife fall on the ground and another one pushed his armored boot on her calf. “Can’t win without your friends, huh?”, she said, as two soldiers pulled each of her arms, “Can’t you? I’ll kill all of you one on one, I swear it!”. One soldier pushed her to the ground, keeping her down by pushing his gauntlet on the side of her face, while the other one was preparing the rope to tie her.

“I was merely playing” he said, and his gaze shifted to Arthur. “Poor guy”, he said, passing his leather glove thumb on the cut Sam did to him, “Did the bad girl hurt you?”. Arthur nodded. The Dark young man turned towards the soldiers, “Don’t worry. You’ll be fine from now on”.

The public roared, and all the people stood up from the stands, booing and waving their arms at the fighters. The young man and the soldiers moved towards the railing.

“We’re not pleased with the way it ended”, said the announcer, “but that’s the nature of fighting. Everything is allowed”.

The body of Andrew laid on the ground with a knife sticking from his back. The Giant spat over his hands and cleaned them over his mechanic suit.

“As the Giant won, he gains the title of Free man and the right to live!”, said the announcer, “The Golden door will now open for you!”.

“Interesting”, said the Young man;

“But the giant guy won, sir”, said a soldier with a crossbow;

“Thanks for telling me”, he grunted and moved away from the railing.

“Follow me”, he said, as he passed next to Felix, without looking at him.

They took an elevator which brought to a large room divided in three aisles by two rows of pillars. Rays of light were filtering through the narrow but long windows. There was a group of people sitting around the center, and when they saw the young man, they rose from the ground, standing in line.

“Welcome again”, he said, “As you can see, I brought you some new friends to play with”.

Felix, and Arthur joined the line, while the soldiers dropped Sam away from them. Arthur kept his gaze fixed on the only shoe he was still wearing. The young man raised his chin, staring with his black eyes into Arthur’s.

“Maybe you can be the lucky one, can you?". Arthur was shivering.

The Young man turned towards the soldiers, “He comes with me”, he said, and pointed his finger to a girl with a ponytail, “You’re the leader now, explain everything to the new ones”.

Arthur gave him one last look before going out of a double door on the opposite side of the elevator. The sounds of many bolts closing meant that there was no escape from this room.

“Bastard”, said the girl with a ponytail, and all the three strangers nodded. She turned towards Felix, “Come. I’ll explain you everything”. They seated in a circle in the middle, like they did when Felix entered.

“I’m Marie”, said the girl with the pony-tail, keeping her voice low.

“Caroline” said the girl with curly hair next to her.

“John” said a guy with a tattoo on his left arm.

“Felix”. John gazed at the lynx insignia on Felix’s suit, “Wow, you’re a cadet”. The two girls looked at him in awe.

“Huh”;

“My older brother’s one too. Do you know someone called Nate there? He’d help us here”.

“Sorry, I don’t know him”, he knew all the survivors of the day the Academy was destroyed, and it was not because he had a good memory, and somebody called Nate wasn't any of them.

“You must help us, Felix”, said the girl with the pony tail;

“Must?”;

“We’re going to escape”, they all nodded. “We won’t survive a duel out there, but that guy has a plan”, she pointed at a pillar, and Felix had to move his neck to find a guy with his head covered by a hood seated with his back against the marble. “Does he?”;

“We have no choice”, said John;

“And what I need to do?”, said Felix;

“He’ll explain to you when he wakes up”;

“Can we wake him up now?”. Felix rose, but John grabbed his ankle, “Don’t do it, man”.

“Please, don’t”, said Marie, “If you wake him up, he’ll be angry”.

“Get off”, said Felix, moving his foot away from John’s grip, “What are we going to do then?”;

“We wait”, said Marie.