Chapter 26 - Fighting Pits

A vast room, with a dome shaped ceiling, and dozens of fighting pits, with tunnels in them leading further down into the earth. 

It smelled like a mix between shit and iron with a hint of saltt texture to the air itself, coming from somewhere. His nose twitched, as his eyes turned.

The flashes of Mage Lightning careening through the air and curving into a creature with a large body, and a massive metal horn on it's face, were bright enough to cause temporary blindness.

The materials of monsters, certain ones, were conductive for different disciplines, the same way a magic crystal was a magic magnet, the horn of an Eyeless Grey was an amplifier, increasing the power of magic by a few times, but it was very unstable.

Forcefully expending it's stamina by hitting it with their magic, the Mages then backed off, and the soldiers in their armors, identical to the one he had on, rushed forward, throwing ropes over the Grey and beating nails into the ground, locking it to the floor.

Three Mages stood next to each other, chanting. 

He looked back forward, as the monster belted out a blood-curdling wail, its legs kicking ferociously, but it's stamina had long abandoned it.

It couldn't resist the mind control magic. 

That's right. Argo's lips curled down slightly.

Forbidden Magic, that only worked on low intellect races, or if powerful enough, on people. 

For obvious reasons, it was forbidden. If one was a High-Level Master, they would brainwash people who had not awakened their Discipline, and force them into anything they wanted. 

The only saving grace was that it took a High-Level Master to even make the attempt at mind-controlling a mundane person, due to the level of intellect.

However, the specialized Mages of the rebels could use this highly draining magic, between the three of them all at once, as a ritual, and on a non-intelligent mundane monster.

He wasn't certain how long they were doing this, but if it got out that the Dumbaran Rebel's were dabbling so deeply in Forbidden Magics, it could only end with their continent-wide extermination, and the genocide of anyone who was even slightly involved with them.

Anything that tampered with the mind or soul, was seen as a crime against humanity and the gods.

Just knowing it was happening, and saying nothing, was grounds to be executed immediately. He wouldn't be able to use this knowledge against them, unless he was willing to be put on the same list and be extensively investigated.

Red stopped at the end of the hall, and looked down at her fighting pit, where Karl and another young Mage, Raul, were wrestling with a Merk Wolf, that had long claws, which grew longer at the exact moment of attack.

"Red!" 

"Sorry I'm late. I got a replacement for Lars." Red jumped down, and started casting a healing magic on her two compatriots, whilst using the Magic Crystals as catalysts to amplify her power. 

Feeling reinvigorated, Karl started casting, but the Merk Wolf was not slow. It turned on Red, who was alone in the pit, and had just healed it's injured prey, diving for her! 

She lowered herself and looked up at it's open belly. Casting sound expansion magic on her hands, she braced and straightened up, hitting it's underbelly like a gong! 

It's whole body spasmed as it hit the ground, and the chains that Karl had been casting, flew past her, restraining the Merk Wolf! Raul passed by her like a shadow and drew close, "Get ready!" 

Using a Sleep Magic, he used his wand like a pin and pricked the Merk Wolf that had turned it's head despite the tight chains to try and bite him. 

Once the Merk Wolf was falling asleep, the Soldiers descended upon it, and got the ropes around it, nailing it to the ground. Among them, was Argo. 

None of the soldiers would notice that he was not one of them due to the helmet making it impossible to tell them apart, aside form their voices.

Karl arrived at Red's side, a strong contempt on his face, "Raul almost died." 

"...I'm sorry." Karl passed by her, without listening to her. 

They stood in front of the vainly struggling Merk Wolf. There was nothing it could do. Purple dust flew into its nose and its eyes, while open, looked incredibly lost.

Argo noted the substance's existence and stepped back.

His back was to the tunnel of the fighting pit, of this, he was keenly aware. 

The way out that Red had mentioned, there were two.

Either, going up through the Giant Roads, past the great chambers and onto the road itself, or, heading through the fighting pits down to where the monsters that wandered up came from, and finding a way through there. 

He didn't want to leave though, like she did, despite what he had told her. 

He had other plans.

His body was mostly healed, but his Aura was still gathering itself.

After what had happened, he felt like the quality of it, had gone up tremendously, but it was regenerating too slowly.

It would take days at that rate, to go back to full and there was nothing he could do about it. 

His ear twitched.

"...ey! Watch out!" Argo spun around, though his aura was weak, his skill honed from combat in the mountains, and the sharpness that came with having faced a life-or-death situation not long ago was still there.

His knees bent, and his blade drew fast enough to make the sword sing. 

His eyes were slits, as he cut open a creature with large thin-film wings, and a fatty body, as well as long, narrow ears, that looked like sonars of some sort. 

His blade had clashed with its skull and teeth, and won, splitting it straight down the center. His whole body ached angrily in response to the sudden stress. Magic Healing would save one's life, but it wasn't a cure-all.

The soreness would remain, as the body took the patch job that was Magical Healing, and made it right over time.

He sheathed his sword, staring down the hole of the fighting pit with a cold gaze. He couldn't keep holding the sword, or else his arm would give out, and then the questions would come.

"Your pretty good. What's your name?" Karl put his hand on his shoulder, and looked down at the corpse of the thing that had rushed him. He was smiling.

Argo put a hand over his chest, a Dumbaran etiquette he had learned from his paternal family, it had two fingers out, as if he was pointing, the others were curled like a fist over his heart, "My name is Korrian, Lord Mage." 

Red's eyebrow flinched. Was he a noble of Dumbar? That wasn't what he had told her. 

Karl smiled from ear to ear, and clapped his back, "See? This is the strength of Dumbar! Good! Someone come clean this up. We need to prepare for Master Murphy. What say you, Korrian? Will you volunteer, to watch the monsters, while we prepare?" 

Argo lowered his head, his hand over his chest, "Of course. For the sake of Dumbar, there is nothing I would not do." 

Karl's eyes shone. 

"Good! Raul, take Korrian to the kennels, he will guard you while you bring the monsters to order for Master Murphy. I need to go and grab together to rune and tomes. Red. Clean up here and meet us at the entrance. The other squads from above should be arriving soon too." 

Argo didn't watch him go. Keeping his head down, until all but Raul were gone, he walked over in silence.

Raul measured Argo with his gaze, but said nothing. 

Argo didn't care for it, either. Raul was a Mage. If push came to shove, he could use the discharged Magic Crystals under his armor and slay him before he could cast enough magic to detonate them.

The Merk Wolf, completely under Raul's control, had a collar with an incense burner on it, though, the only thing it burned was that strange powder, causing it to remain in a state of confusion.

Raul mounted it, and it jumped out of the fighting pit, over twelve feet, in a single bound. It was strong. Argo couldn't do the same, and climbed up the ladder, but Raul was already far away.

He quickly caught up. They were going to the far side of the massive room of fighting pits, to where a great door lay with a familiar craving engraved upon it's pearl white stone.

A tall woman, wearing gauntlets and a blindfold covering her eyes. She had her arms crossed, and though he couldn't see her eyes, he felt himself being judged. 

Behind her, stood dozens of faceless creatures, some jumped, some flew, and some crawled. But she alone stood on two legs, facing them down.

His heart stuttered. It felt as though, she was fighting against hordes of the night, and was unaffected.

Her sightless gaze weight on him heavily. Raul looked back, he then looked back forward, and raised an amulet, that shone with a vibrant sapphire light, dispelling the illusion.

That intense feeling, dispersed as fast as it had come. Argo looked down, to find that Raul had headed inside already. 

As he stepped foot within for the first time, he understood, for what reason that door was constructed as it had been.

And what it meant.