Chapter 257 – Coliseum

A man floated in the air, a black cloak fluttering behind him as the hood casted shadows on his face, obscuring it from view. The only part visible was the man’s mouth which moved softly as he spoke into a communicator.

“The jewel isn’t here,” the man said, his voice deep. 

“Oh, it's not?” a static-filled voice replied. “Then they cleaned it up.”

“So you’re telling me that I just wasted my time,” the man said.

“I know you wanted to go, Whirlwind,” the voice laughed. “I was giving you an excuse to.”

“Hmph. Maybe I should switch my secretary. You know me too well.”

“Knowing you well is why I’m your secretary.”

The man smiled, his dry lips rising up, as he looked around the battlefield. Blood stained the blades of grass. Patches of the field were burned, frozen, or both. In the center, a giant circle of exposed dirt stood out, its edges too sharp to be natural. The man stroked his grizzled beard as his attention went to the forest.

“I somewhat regret turning in my favor to that dark angel,” the man said. “I didn’t expect him to take the girl. I did tell him to take her to me, didn’t I?”

“Yes you did,” the secretary replied.

“Well. He runs that thing. The Coliseum, was it?”

“Yep.”

“Then this could be a win win,” the man mused. “He gets his entertainment. We get one less headache. Though, she was an intriguing headache, but still a headache nonetheless.”

“Heading back?” the secretary asked.

“Yes. There’s nothing more I can do. She’s as good as gone.”

The man took one last gaze at the forest. Then, with a slash of his hand, he disappeared into thin air. A soft breeze was all that remained of his stay.

The first thing that Yuki heard when she awoke were the groans and moans of pain and suffering. She couldn’t see a thing through a blindfold that covered her eyes. When she tried to move, she heard chains and felt metal cuffs dig into her wrists.

‘I don’t think I’m at the hotel,’ she thought, her head still a bit foggy.

She was sitting on a rock floor from the feel of it. Her clothes were still the same ones she wore during the battle against the hydra and the monster, albeit a bit worse for wear. She also had a throbbing headache that sat in the back of her head, just painful enough to be distracting. 

‘What happened?’ she wondered. She tried to reach up to touch whatever was covering her eyes, but her shackles weren’t long enough. ‘Of course.’

Changing tactics, she tried to summon her mana to urge the blindfold off, planning to use the air. But her mana eluded her. It was still there, within her. She could feel it. Depleted and small, but still there. Yet, she couldn’t use it. 

‘Of course,’ she sighed.

She gave up and leaned back, resting against a stone wall. The wall was cool to the touch though a bit rough, small points poking into her back. She turned her attention to sounds surrounding her. There were a number of people around based on the number of groans and moans she heard. They, too, were in chains. She could hear them rattle every now and then. 

‘I’ll just have to wait here until someone explains what happened,’ she thought.

Her own memory was foggy. The battle against the hydra was a blur in her head. She remembered an overwhelming sense of excitement and challenge. What had actually occurred during the fight with hydra after the spell escaped her.

‘Wait.’ Her hand shot towards her neck, but was halted by her shackles. She didn’t need to touch her neck, though. ‘My necklace.’

Then she remembered. She had left it on the field to face the hydra. At least, she thought she did. She used it to help with the spell and never put it back on, so that was the only explanation. 

‘Akira should have picked it up for me then,’ she thought. ‘I should ask her.’

She shut her eyes and reached out to the thin thread that connected her to Akira. Panic shot through her as she couldn’t locate it. She looked around desperately, her heart racing, until she brushed past it. A sigh escaped her. It was there. Very faint, but there.

‘Thank god.’

However, another problem rose up right after. Like with her magic, she couldn’t seem to strengthen the thread enough to communicate through it. Something was suppressing it.

‘This is bad,’ Yuki thought.

She had no magic, no communications, and no idea where she was. By themselves, they were already bad to have, but together meant she was isolated with no means to escape.

‘How did I get to here? Did I mess up somewhere during the hydra right?’

Ultimately, she gave up trying to figure out what had happened. She didn’t have enough information and no way to gather any with her magic being suppressed. She couldn’t see and was bound to one spot. 

‘I guess I’ll just wait here until someone comes by and explains what happened.’

And so, she sat silently on the hard, stone floor, blocking out the sounds of pain from the people around her. Time went by though how much, she couldn’t tell. Then the slam of a metal door entered her ears. She turned her head towards where the sound had come from. The click of heels followed it as someone approached her.

“Ah. You’re awake. Wonderful,” a man said. His voice was raspy, almost to the point where Yuki couldn’t understand what was said over the groans. “It’s a bit stuffy in here, isn’t it? Don’t worry. This is just the containment room.”

A door rattled open in front of Yuki. More footsteps approached her. When a cold had touched her arm, she could help but twitch.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to do anything,” the man rasped. “I’m not into that type of fun. Just releasing your shackles. Well. The chains at least.”

True to his word, Yuki heard the clatter of chains as they detached from the cuffs on her wrists and hit the ground. She restrained herself from trying to fight the man. She could feel his magic within him, something she still couldn’t use. Fighting could mean death.

‘It must be these cuffs,’ she thought. ‘They’re suppressing my magic.’

“I’m going to take off your blindfold,” the man said. “Don’t get any ideas though. You won’t be able to do anything even if you tried. Got it?”

Yuki gave the man a nod. 

“Good. Much more understanding than most.”

The man’s fingers brushed against her head as he fumbled with what must have been the knot of the blindfold. When the cloth over her eyes fell away, she was met with the insides of a prison cell. It was dim in the cell, something she was grateful for. 

As her eyes adjusted, she was able to see the face of the man who she assumed was her captor. There was nothing too remarkable about him besides a rather odd scar on his cheek and a pair of black feathered wings that sprouted out from his back. 

“You can stand right?” he asked. Yuki nodded. “And speak?”

“Of course,” Yuki replied, her throat a bit dry. 

“Good,” the man said with a satisfied nod. “Follow me then.”

He stood up and walked out of the prison cell, waiting by the open door for Yuki. When she walked out, the man shut the door with a loud clang and walked down the hallway, his boots clicking on the floor with every step. As Yuki followed, she took peeks at the other cells that lined the hallway. Only a few were filled, but the ones that were had people in various states ranging from scared to beaten and scared. 

‘What happened to them?’ she thought.

“They weren’t as understanding as you,” the man rasped. Yuki looked at him. “They took some, let’s say, coercion to get them to come with me. They’ll be fine. Probably. Come along.”

‘I don’t think I came here on my own accord, but alright.’

They left the hall and entered what had to be the main building. It resembled a medieval castle of sorts. Made out of stone and wood, it had massive chandeliers like ornaments that cradled a red flame. Oddly though, Yuki felt no heat radiating from them. The stone halls were filled with cool air and flickering shadows.

‘Magic.’

The floor had a long carpet with intricate designs woven into it. It looked a bit worse for wear, probably from footsteps that constantly trampled over it. Doors lined the hall with a carpet in front of each of them. The iron doors had no keyholes or locks or handles. Just a different colored plate that replaced where these things would have been.

“Here we go,” the man announced with a grin. “This will be your room. It’s not the largest, but it is quite cozy.” 

He put a hand over the plate of a door he stopped in front of and the door swung right open. Yuki looked inside it. It had a thin bed, a dim lamp, a toilet, and a bookshelf. Along with those items, there was almost no open space. 

“Shower or bath?” Yuki asked.

“You’ll get those in due time,” the man replied. “That’s home. Take care of it.”

“I see.” Yuki gave the tiny room another look over. “May ask a question or two?”

“Go ahead. Can’t guarantee that I’ll answer it though,” the man smiled. 

“What is this place?” she asked. The man’s smile widened.

“This is my Coliseum,” he said, his wings pumping a bit behind him. “A home for only the finest entertainment. People from all around come. And you, my friend, will be participating in it.”

“I’m glad that you’re not saying that I have the privilege to participate,” Yuki noted.

“Ah. Well, I am not dumb,” the man shrugged. “I know that most people aren’t here by their own will. I would know. I’m the one who took them. Any other questions?”

“Yes. How does your Coliseum work?”

“You’ll find out. Soon. As in, tomorrow.”

“I see. Then,” Yuki said, “What’s your name?”

“My name?” The man laughed. “I no longer have one. I lost it years ago. But I have titles now. And those, to me, are worth more than names.”

“What should I call you then?” Yuki asked.

“Call me the Fiddler,” the man grinned, a dark glint in his eyes, “for I am a lone musician, who loves to play.”