Ed and Zara steadied themselves as the blue light began to fade. Filing out of the square, they looked around at the well-fortified buildings of Wrath around them.

The buildings were spaced out, each lined with walls and separated by small streets and alleyways. Each house was a well-protected and independent compound, with large courtyards designed for training and movement.

The houses were the opposite of what they had seen in Envy, pursuing practicality and efficiency over appearance. This resulted in most of the places looking the same outside of signs identifying the places' purpose and owner.

I like it. Ed appreciated the simplicity of it, finding the entire city much easier on the eyes than anything he had seen in Envy City.

“It’s less, destroyed, than I was expecting.” Zara said.

“Mm. I thought it would be an active warzone... Actually, it feels kind of empty.” Having walked away from the teleporter, they found that there were a lot less people walking around. It felt like a ghost town.

Whenever they did see someone, they always left quickly, moving to their destination with speed and purpose.

“Where is everyone?” Zara asked.

“I don’t know.”

Walking for a while longer, they soon began to hear faint sounds coming from off in the distance. Looking at each other, they decided to get closer and figure out what was going on. Weaving between the buildings, the sound began to get louder and more distinct.

People were cheering.

Following the sound, they found themselves at the doorstep of an arena. The cheering now overwhelming.

“I guess we have our answer.” Zara said.

A line of people was constantly streaming into the arena, handing over a small amount of money to a large man sitting by the entrance. As they watched, more and more people streamed in from the surrounding area, joining the line.

“Do you want to see what’s going on?” Ed asked.

“Yeah!” Zara nodded excitedly, immediately jumping into the line before it filled up even more.

Joining her in the line, Ed noticed a small sign stating that tickets were five dollars each. Readying his cash, he handed it over to the man and entered without either party saying a word.

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“Ladies and Gentlemen what a spectacular fight that was! Who would’ve thought it would end like that!” A voice bellowed across the arena.

Reaching the bottom of the stands, Ed looked around for seats, while Zara looked over the railing into the pit below. Seats stretched on for several rows, circling around the pit in the centre.

The pit itself was fairly simple. It was an open sandy space with two four large, gated entrances forming a cross with each other. The pit was low into the ground, allowing for somewhat large monsters to be brought in without fear of it getting out into the audience. However, it also wasn’t too far down.

One of the gates was lowered, and Zara thought that she saw something dragging a limp body through the exit.

Spotting a pair of seats towards the middle, Ed and Zara shuffled through the crowd, and sat down.

A hush fell over the audience as everyone found their seats and people stopped flooding in.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, a brand-new fighter is joining our arena today. Can everyone give a loud welcome to Ysolda!” The announcer’s voice rang out throughout the arena again as one of the gates lowered into the ground.

A humanoid dinosaur stepped into the pit, a toothy grin on her face as she looked up at the audience. She stood just under two metres tall, and her body rippled with muscles. Her clothes were dirty and torn, hanging loosely over her athletic frame. She was barefoot, long, raptorial claws on both her feet and hands.

She walked into the arena with confidence and without carrying a weapon.

“As is customary whenever we see a fresh face, Ysolda will have to be put to the test against a wild and dangerous beast before she is allowed to face another competitor. Everyone get your money ready and place your bets on whether you think she will survive!”

The gate opposite her lowered as a gigantic, monstrous boar stepped into view. It towered over her at nearly three metres tall and twice as long. Deadly tusks speared out from the beast's face, glinting under the sweltering sun.

Without any preamble, the boar charged at Ysolda the second it saw her. The ground shook under its weight as it barrelled towards her. She stood completely still, as if rooted to the ground out of shock or fear.

Mere moments away from being skewered by one of the tusks, she dodged to the side. Her hand stretched out, her razor-sharp claws digging into the boar’s side as it rushed past. Long, bloody gashes stretched on for about a metre before her fingers got caught and she was dragged along with it. Her body rag dolled through the air as she narrowly kept hold.

The beast narrowly stopped its charge before it collided with the wall, squealing in pain. It looked around in confusion, trying to find its opponent.

Ysolda used this moment to steady herself. Pulling her hand out from the boar, she used the gashes to climb onto its back. Her feet and hands shredded the wounds even more, causing the boar to squeal.

Feeling something on its back, the boar rocked back and forth, trying to throw her off balance. The ground shook as Ysolda was sent flying. She grabbed onto a wild tuft of hair in an attempt to hold on, but was soon thrown off completely.

Soaring through the sky, there was nothing she could do when the boar’s tail whipped out at her. Shielding her head as best she could, she groaned as the tail slammed into her.

With a thunderous crack, it threw her into the wall. Her body slumped over as the boar readied itself for another charge. Furious, its head shook wildly as it stomped forward, quickly picking up speed.