<strong>Adam:</strong><br/><br/>His whispered words of comfort only served to heighten the sense of betrayal when his claws reached out to swiftly mow through her mess of tangled 'hair'. Before she could cry out, his clawed hand wrapped around her throat and choked down her sobs of pain. There was surprisingly no rage. She had already known that this would be a losing battle for her. Even without the blindfold she was useless, her beautiful golden eyes having been gouged out by Balthazar himself before she was pitted into the arena.<br/><br/>Still, twin trails of black blood seeped out from behind the blindfold as tears of blood trickled from her sightless eyes. Her scalp was now a bald and choppy mess, the entirety of her head glistening in the same dark fluid. Not red such as a human's, but a dark, dark purple...for her venom was most potent in her blood.<br/><br/>Her lips parted soundlessly as he thrust into her, spreading her most intimate parts wide and gaping for all to see. Pinned down by his body and held helplessly at her throat, she could do nothing as he pummeled into her. Even so, her body writhed beneath him. Whether it was from the pain and in want of escape, or whether it was from a slight pleasure was hard to tell.<br/><br/>Those seated nearby roared their approval, many sexual jeers and jokes being made among themselves.<br/><br/><strong>Sarathiel:</strong><br/><br/>Too late, Argus realized the folly of his own actions. The dust that he had disturbed with his own attacks, mixed with the stirring of her feet nimbly evading as she avoided taking on a fatal wound, stung at his many eyes. Now, their small platform was hazy with dust and complaints from the spectators showed that they certainly were not pleased. Yet the Arena Master did nothing to clear the dust. Instead, he lazed in his seat, idly watching the proceedings below. Occasionally, Balthazar's whims could turd the tide of a fight between contestants. Today, he felt no intention to do so. The slave girl kneeling between his legs desperately lapped at his perfect cock. One all men would envy, and women feared for its size. His gaze turned from the arena floor to her and her head bobbed even faster, dread in her eyes knowing what would happen if he lost interest in her, fear knowing the consequences of if she displeased him.<br/><br/>Despite the covering of dust, Argus's form was still quite visible due to the glow of his fire. His body seemed more human-like now, the blue from his eyes no longer so prominent as they squinted against the offending dust and smoke. Something stirred near him, and before he could dodge, he felt her blade pierce between his shoulders as he fell forward from the momentum.<br/><br/>Through the settling haze, the hint of a smile could be seen on his lips. His eyes, which had stayed closed throughout their entire meeting, opened to gaze evenly at the angel. A warm kindness could be seen within the depths of sparkling blue before his body erupted into hot flames, the fire seeming to eat away at him. Was it Sarathiel's imagination or did his whisper a soft "Thank you" before those alluring eyes closed forever?<br/><br/>Dark ashes lay where Argus's fallen body had been a mere few seconds ago. On afterthought, his defeat had seemed almost<em>too</em>easy. Perhaps the one who owed a favor was the mythical peacock...<br/><br/>Nearby, the stands went wild, no longer upset that they were unable to clearly see as the killing blow had been delivered. In their minds, the first death had occurred and that was all that mattered.<br/><br/><strong>Zehair:</strong><br/><br/>As Zehair's hand disappeared into Grendel's muscled chest, the monster was stopped dead in his tracks due to utter surprise. The hard scales that he had always been so proud of, the scales that he protected him from various onslaughts, those very scales had been penetrated and broken through to the heavily muscled -- but soft -- flesh beneath.<br/><br/>Yet when that very hand reappeared before him, slick with his own blood and holding his still-beating heart, Grendel stared dumbfounded. He was a monster of brute strength and little intelligence, but realization dawned slowly in his dying eyes. Horror, anger, and then despair flashed through those barbaric eyes before he took a stumbling step forwards in an attempt to retrieve his most precious organ. Only to watch it squeezed and burst within the demonic angel's hand.<br/><br/>Grendel toppled forwards one last time, a cry of defeat bubbling from his throat before he fell. Life no longer ran through his veins and Grendel would rise no more.<br/><br/>It is no easy feat to squeeze a heart to pulp with bare hands. Despite that fact, Zehair had easily disposed of the tough and muscled organ like paper being crumpled. The audience sat stunned for a moment, most had been convinced Grendel would rip the wings from the angel and dispose of him. Bathed in the blood of his opponent, the fallen angel was quite a sight. Almost fearsome. After a pause, the stands erupted into cheers.<br/><br/>Another fight won and over with.<br/><br/><strong>Herja:</strong><br/><br/>Out of all the fights, those with seemingly the most mesmerized spectators were those watching the Valkyrie. From the beginning, she had been the most battered of the contestants, the odds were against her and victory for the chimera seemed certain.<br/><br/>Yet the chimera lay dead, its own proud horns brutally removed only to be gouged into a new location.<br/><br/>Surprise was the Valkyrie's winning factor, along with the chimera underestimating the injured angel. Pride and confidence had fueled it, the injuries it sustained so far were merely lucky strikes. Until its 'tail' fell limply forwards, her sword jutting out of its other eye socket leaving the venomous snake's corpse completely sightless.<br/><br/>The chimera roared with anger, startled at the sudden attack, but twisting to try and swipe at her. Too slow, too late. Her blade pierced through its back in a sear of heat that only heightened the beast's anger. Again, it charged towards her...but the world kept moving, swimming before its eyes as darkness slowly settled in. Eyes still focused on their opponent, tunnel-vision showed their prey right before them and yet they weren't moving forwards. The venom from their own counterpart pulsed through their system causing their body to feel stiff and sluggish. Finally, it collapsed, unable to move.<br/><br/>They watched through limited sight as the angel approached, felt her clamber atop its shoulders, and then pain. Pain. Mind-numbing, searing pain exploded in their minds. No. It was actually coming from their head. This thought became one instead of two as death embraced the other. Now, only the human head of the chimera was left and fear creeped into its consciousness. Whimpering, but not yet begging for mercy, its chance was cut off as it too met face to face with its horn. Quite literally.<br/><br/>The eyes of more than one Prince had watched the fight with interest, but the lesser demons seated within the stands voiced their opinion without restraint. Angel she may be, but the fight had been brutal and sated their bloodlust.<br/><br/><div align="center">*    *    *    *</div><br/>As each fight was completed, those specific platforms slowly lowered back down to the arena grounds. Iron bars materialized as the runes glowed once again, the victorious slaves finding themselves trapped within their cells as their chosen weapons disintegrated. The carcasses of their opponents were unceremoniously tossed to the side, as the Arena Guards stepped in once the runes disappeared from the ground, only to kick and tug at the dead to dispose of them. Eventually, some would be fed and feasted upon by the various lowlifes of Hell. Perhaps even the Legion would swarm in a desperate need to sate their hunger for flesh and blood.<br/><br/>Balthazar stood, the girl was now merely in his way and he stated so by tossing her bodily to the side, leaving her to whimper in pain as she trembled unsure of whether or not she was allowed to leave. Again, his voice boomed clear throughout the stadium, sarcasm dripping from his words as he addressed the three winners thus far. "Well fought, angels. It seems that you shall live to serve as another day's entertainment. I trust that everyone approved of our celestial friends?" The shouts of approval from the crowd was not what he had truly been looking for, instead his eyes flicked to the Prince's seats around the stadium and noted with a smirk that many were nodding ever so slightly...and those who were not held a particular gleam in their eyes.<br/><br/>Oh yes, satisfaction was just one word to describe the feelings he saw.<br/><br/>"Let us hope that the<em>rest</em>of our slaves fare just as well then!" With those words of dismissal, the three cages began their slow descent downwards, returning to the dark depths of the arena.