Three months had passed...

I've been stuck in this place for about that long. The realization that I'm stuck here for now set in pretty early on. But being here gave me a good chance to learn about the way this world operates.

The elephant in the room being my condition, or rather, lack of condition. Other than a few close calls I haven't had any 'bloody' Incidents, and it seems like the manakyte in the air or everyday objects isn't enough to trigger an explosion. So I didn't have to worry about every little scrap or scratch.

Elves and demons don't seem too much different than humans at first glance. aside from the magic I mean. But there are a couple of differences I've noticed. Both elves and demons are much weaker than a human of the same size.

Even when I first started working, there was a noticeable difference, of course I was still probably a bit stronger than average, but I'd been out of practice for a few years at that point. Working here helped me regain some lost muscle though, so I can't complain too much.

Another difference is how fast the elves really are. My past experiences with them weren't just flukes, I've seen them leap across 20 foot gaps in less than a second. I've looked up from the gate that keeps me locked in and can barely see them moving across the tree tops.

Other than that, there's not much that would expose my real identity. But something must be up with humans here, whenever I bring them up in a conversation, they seem to recognize what I'm talking about. But, it always sours the mood of the conversation.

It's better for me to just keep up the demon charade for now. Whenever I don't bring up humans, I can keep a conversation with the other demons decently well. They all seem like good enough people, they don't deserve what the elves are putting them through.

Still, the elves work me and the demons pretty hard, most of it is building new additions to the village or just meaningless hauling from point A to B, but as if it wasn't enough, they have us wear heavy shackles anytime we're out of the slums, which gets in the way.

I kept hearing the term 'Blood Flow Inhibitor', so I asked Kulvit about it, and he told me it was the tattoo around my and the rest of the demons' necks. Apparently it lessens the flow of manakyte in someone's blood, weakening their magic.

But, aside from that, I'm no closer to learning about where I am or how I got here than when I first started. I'm grateful for Kulvit and his family though, he's been letting me stay in a room next to their clinic. There's not really anything in it, but the walls are sound enough to keep out the cold.

Today has been surprisingly quiet, It's almost noon and the elves hadn't come to work us half to death yet.

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

There was a loud banging sound that came from the gate, me and a few dozen other demons, including Kulvit, gathered around to see what had made the noise.

There were a few elf guards, one was bashing two swords against each other, which was making the banging sounds. After around a minute of the clanging metal, he stopped, as most of the demons were gathered around. Then, one of the elves spoke up.

"As you all know, today is the 'Day of The Redeemer', and I've come to collect all who were selected to participate." As he said this, he pulled out a scroll from behind his back.

He began to list names, and those who's names were called stepped forward and taken out of the slums off into the village. While he was doing so I asked Kulvit what this was about.

"It's a festival the elves hold once a year to amuse themselves, the demons selected fight against members of the guard, and if they win, they're free to go." He explained.

"Oh, that sounds pretty generous of the elves to do that." I replied.

Kulvit said something under his breath, it was hard to hear but I think he said...

"You'd think so..."

I was confused for a moment but as he said that, his name was called. A disappointed look flashed on Kulvit's face and he began to solemnly walk towards the gate and off into the village. The elf with the list spoke up again.

"Alright, the rest of you line up, you're going to the holding cells where you can watch your friends." As he said this, a small smirk appeared on his face.

The rest of us were walked out into the village and towards the large arena that acted as a centerpiece for the village. When we arrived, we were locked into a holding cell that spanned about a quarter of the inner ring of the arena, and the wall locking us in was made of the same wooden fence that made up the outside of the demon slums.

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It was a lot sturdier than it looked because it was farmed specifically to be high in manakyte, which made the wood exceptionally hard to splinter and crack.

There were seats higher up and past the inner walls of the arena. They were filled with a huge number of elves, It looked to be a few hundred. I had no idea there were this many in this village. The sounds of them cheering and yelling for the festival to start were deafening, the stomping of feet shook the room me and the demons were in, as we were right beneath some of the seats.

Kulvit was the first to come out. When he did, the crowd erupted into boos and derogatory remarks. Kulvit was armed with a wooden sword and shield. It was hard to tell, but the edge looked dulled and the tip was shaved round, making the weapon nothing more than a child's toy.

This calmed my nerves as it seemed this really was just meant to be a show, and was meant to entertain both parties. But Octavia and her daughter Lilith still looked worriedly into the arena. Which I guess would be expected for any fight a loved one was in. Then crowd's hate was turned to admiration as the other contestant step out.

He was a younger looking elf, he wore a confident smile and was dressed rather nobly. He shared the same orangish red hair of the village elder, who was watching on from a special booth. But something was off about his weapons. They weren't wooden like Kulvit's, they had a shine to them, that indicated they were made of a metal and were honed to a sharp edge.

"Wait Octavia, who is that? Why does he have real weapons?" I asked Octavia who was standing close by.

"That's the Elder's son... It's like this every year..." She slowly replied.

A loud voice began to ring throughout the arena.

"~wwwWWWWELCOME EVERYONE!! TO THE 216th ANNUAL 'DAY OF THE REDEEMER'!!"

It was some announcer, he must've been using magic to amplify his voice like that.

"TODAY'S FESTIVITIES WILL BEGIN WITH THE MAN OF THE HOUR, THE ELDER'S SON: KATSURO!!"

So that's the elf's name... The crowd bellowed out cheers at the announcement. Katsuro rose up his arms to soak in the praise and pointed his sword at Kulvit. After a short pause in speaking to let the crowd cheer, the announcer spoke up again.

"LET THE MATCH... BEGIN!"

As soon as the words left the announcer's lips, Katsuro began to hurl balls of fire towards Kulvit, who responded by reinforcing his shield with a rocky exterior. It did little to change the fireballs' force as the first one shattered the rock shell Kulvit had made, and the second blasted him backwards.

Using the opportunity, Katsuro rushed down Kulvit at lightning speed and clashed weapons with him. Kulvit had just barely managed to block a fatal blow with his sword and shield.

"Um, this seems a bit intense for an exhibition match, right?" I said while flicking my gaze towards Octavia to ask her.

She didn't reply and when I turned to look at her, she was covering her mouth with one hand and a tear was rolling down her cheek. That's when the realization hit me.

This was never meant to be a fight... It was an execution. One that Kulvit was never meant to walk away from.

At this revelation I began to panic and try to escape the holding cell we were stuck in. I lined myself up with the door and began to ram into it. But the cell was so shallow into the wall, I only had about 6 feet to gain speed.

The fight continued outside, It was obvious Kulvit had seen his fair share of battle. He made up for the difference in speed by reacting to Katsuro's attacks before he made them. But it still wasn't enough, he could find openings but he wasn't fast enough to strike before Katsuro could dodge out of the way.

I heard a snap in the door, It was beginning to give way. Another demon shouted at me.

"STOP! What are you doing!? Do you want them to kill you too?!"

"I can't just let him get killed out there!" I responded in kind.

Kulvit was getting chipped away at while he had yet to land a solid blow on Katsuro, who still had a villainous smile on his face. He was beginning to slow down, all while Katsuro only seemed to be getting faster, everywhere he stepped left a singed boot print onto the ground.

I continued to beat away at the door. Another creak, one more crack. The wood wouldn't hold much longer, I just pray it breaks soon enough.

Ever since I got sent here, Kulvit has been the only person to go out of his way to help me. More than that, he was a good man. A good man who's family was watching his final moments of life.

For all the reasons in the world. I can't let him die here! NOT LIKE THIS!!

Katsuro struck at Kulvit, who's wooden shield had already splintered and fallen to the ground. With no options he held up his sword to try and stop the blow, but nothing he could've done would've stopped it.

Katsuro's attack came down on Kulvit, slashing straight through the wooden sword he was holding, and leaving a deep gash from his chest to his waist. Kulvit was immediately brought down to his knees as the wound began to spill blood.

The crowd went into a frenzy, things were being thrown up in the air, and the rhythmic stomping grew louder. The hilt of the sword Kulvit was once holding was now on the ground and in flames, either from the attack itself, or Katsuro's magic.

Kulvit and Octavia's daughter, Lilith, began to cry. At the same time, Katsuro was flaunting his apparent victory and the door I was hammering away at cracked again, down to its last support.

Katsuro began to taunt Kulvit further.

"I thought you were supposed to be one of the stronger demons. Hell, you used to be a soldier didn't you? Oh how you've disappointed me so..."

"Maybe... Maybe so..." Kulvit said, in between heavy breaths.

"But... You'll get your reckoning..." He continued.

For the first time since the start of the fight, Katsuro lost his smug expression. What replaced it was a look of disgust and rage. He raised his sword up to Kulvit's neck.

"Go back to hell where your kind belong." Katsuro said.

"Then I'll see you soon!" Kulvit yelled out.

With one last charge, the door finally broke. I continued to run forward, but stopped when I saw what was in front of me.

Despite the cries of the crowd, there was a deafening thud as Kulvit's body fell to the ground, and lying at my feet... Was the severed head of the demon, Kulvit.