Talia could not believe that it had healed so well already.
Karthid’s feet were now bare. In his hand was a large sword with a slightly curved blade and a single edge. He swung it back and forth slowly, looking comfortable with it as though the sword was part of his own body, or a lover willing to swirl itself around him and taste the flesh of others. If he was seriously injured, he did a great job of hiding it from the crowd.
“You can do this,” Talia uttered.
There was the horn!
The group of fighters charged at each other, running to the nearest, while some of them chose to be more tactical by skipping by larger fighters and going after the weaker ones first. Talia tried to keep her focus on Karthid only, not wanting to witness any bloodshed for the sheer entertainment value of it. Such a thing seemed far from sacred to her. Even so, she found her blood pumping and couldn’t help but feel some sense of thrill at seeing her man take such deadly measures to try and win her for himself.
He took down one, and another, then several more of his opponents. Each time, Talia tried to shut her eyes but found it impossible to look away. He severed limbs and rendered entire fighters in half with sweeps of his mighty blade. It was so conflicting to watch. She wanted him to kill every one of these other fighters, but she knew they were mostly slaves and captives who weren’t even part of this city’s society.
Even so, her warrior from another galaxy, red skin shining under the burning alien sun, made even redder by the blood of his fallen opponents—he was so hot that she found herself growing moist, wanting to touch his rippling muscles and feel that power driving deep into her again. Most of all in that moment, she wanted him to win—become victorious and claim her as his prize and his wife.
“Do it for me, Karthid!” she screamed out as he took down yet another fighter, a huge brute of an alien with four arms holding spiked clubs. Karthid’s sword slit the ugly thing’s throat and then swung around to do the same to its belly.
Talia didn’t want to acknowledge that she was thrilled by this. No, it was not the blood and gore, or the violence itself. It certainly had nothing to do with the death and pain. She was aching for Karthid to use that unstoppable body to pleasure her, to take her by force and to fuck her until she couldn’t stand it for even one moment longer.
Before she even realized it was happening, she noticed that her finger tips had crept down to her pussy and she was playing with herself.
Immediately, she stopped that. There were just some things that she would never do. But the thought didn’t leave her mind and the throbbing of lust didn’t go away.
This all went on for twelve more rounds and over the length of many hours, it must have been. The sun was high in the sky now. Finally, the winners of each of those rounds appeared at the entrances to the arena. The ground did not look at all like sand by this point. It was more like the colored stuff that was used to line aquariums, and it was just as wet too, with blood and sweat, as well as the occasional bout of tears from a dying combatant in immense pain. Talia was glad she was too far away to be able to hear the fighting over the roars from the enthusiastic crowd.
There were plenty of children in those seats, as thought they were at a ball game, and the women were just as happy to see blood being shed as the men who watched. Even though this was apparently some kind of final round for the victors so far, it wasn’t much of a competition. Karthid was the winner here, taking down several of them himself while the others fought among themselves.
When there were only three left, a large man and woman who looked to be of a similar race were left standing near Karthid. They looked at each other and then both ran toward him instead of trying to fight each other. Obviously, they wanted to get rid of the tougher opponent first. But there was no use in that underhanded tactic.
Karthid swung his sword at the man as he charged, and slashed them across the neck. The wound sent him to the sand. He seemed to be having trouble running himself though, and it might have been due to an injury in his leg from before the tournament.
Next, the woman rushed at Karthid with her spear. He hesitated for a moment. Perhaps he did not want to kill her, although she was not the first woman he’d been forced to fight that day. As she came near him, Karthid faked to the left and then darted by her, bringing his sword arm around in a backhanded motion that not only caught the female fighter off guard, but also opened up her torso from the side. Her green-blue innards spilled out as she screamed briefly and then hit the sand too, unmoving.
The man was still squirming around, and Karthid put the sword’s tip through his neck to ease his pain permanently. It was brutal and vicious, but Talia had no misconceptions about who he was. Karthid, her man, was a barbarian warrior from an alien planet. She was damn proud of him for that and her heart’s bond to him was unbreakable.
Waiting eagerly for it all to be over, she looked down and saw that her alien mate had been exerting himself more than he was letting on. It wasn’t obvious and most of the crowd probably did not catch on, but Talia could tell that Karthid was suffering a great deal.
The loud speaker sounded out over the arena again. “Proud people of Baklofer, I present to you our thus-far champion, Karthid of the planet D’khleas, last of the renowned Reh’loy tribe. He has paid for previous discrepancies through physical punishment. Yet, he is still triumphant!”
“He’s won?!” shouted Talia to no one. Her heart soared and the sky seemed to almost brighten enough to make her forget about all that horrid blood below.
The council’s voice continued, “And as we have a warrior of such infamous breeding here in our arena today, what better way to celebrate than testing his mettle against one of the most feared races known? Enter, Ruchler the Growler!”
The crowd once again erupted. They obviously knew what to expect next, but Talia had no clue. She almost wanted to vomit instantly. Everything was surely lost now, since Karthid was clearly worn out and hurt.
“What? No, no, who is that?” she questioned, knowing there was no one to sooth her with answers or reassurance. She almost wished the hard-faced female guard was there with her. Anyone would have been better than the torture of watching all this alone in her gilded stand.
As an answer to her question, a large gate that had been until now left closed, slowly lurched open to reveal …
Darkness. Then, there was a glimmer of something green that shone like a gem. No, there were two of them. They were eyes. Followed by the creaking sound of the big doors splitting and opening, came a rumble, a growl. The ancient-looking stone doorway was at least twenty feet high. What walked out from the shadows within stood almost as tall. It was a giant with dark green skin, completely naked and not carrying any weapons either. Even without those, it didn’t seem like anyone could take it on in a one-on-one fight.
“This isn’t fare!” she shouted. No one could hear her from all the way up there, and it was unlikely they’d have listened anyway.
Karthid didn’t look afraid as the giant entered the area, creating huge pivots in the sand as it walked. Its footprints showed up the real color of the sand as it moved across the bloodied arena floor. Again, the giant growled and sounded like some type of animal instead of the human-like alien it was. Yes, its skin was the color of a lizard, almost with a slightly scaly quality to the texture, from what Talia could make out. Although it was so monstrous in size, the thing looked like a very large man.
The horn sounded and Talia secretly said goodbye to her love as the still blood-thirsty audience clapped and shouted out for their final taste of death for the day.
Karthid showed little sign of planning for the fight. He held his red-stained sword before him and waited, favoring his weight on the leg that wasn’t causing him to limp. He didn’t move as the giant stepped closer. Perhaps he could not walk any longer, after all the fighting. Surely there was no honor in such an unfair fight. These savages should have at least been able to see that.
The green giant came close
enough and then swung its fist around and down to try and smash Karthid.
But it moved slowly and the red, tattooed warrior sidestepped the fist.
He quickly raised the sword and brought it down in one motion, like a flash of lightning. The blade sliced through a good depth of the giant’s fingers and it let out a horrendous roar, the anger apparent on its big, ugly face.
It reversed and flexed its muscled, arching that immense back and beginning to shake all over as though it might explode. This made the crowd grow louder than it had been the entire day. They were ecstatic, as though their planet had just won some intergalactic lottery and they were all billionaires now.
Instead, Talia realized that they’d all known something she had not about the green giant. It began to shimmer, the green skin growing bumps. Those became scales that looked like they belonged on a big lizard. Its head became elongated like a snake or, no, like a dragon!
The thing sprouted wings, slithering from its back and extending out behind it. Hopefully they were just left over from an earlier form of its evolution. If that gigantic beast could fly on top of all the other advantages it already had, by being a giant and a dragon, this was only going to be a slaughter instead of a fight.
“He’s a half breed, part giant and part weredragon, very rare to see one with such a strong shifting ability,” said someone behind Talia.
She just about fell off the high-up platform from the fright. Turning, she saw the stern but relatively kind female guard. “What the hell?” Talia asked through short, breaths. “You scared me.”
“I am to watch you, make sure you do not attempt to … escape.” She looked at the edge of the platform where there was a small wall that could easily be jumped over. Below, there was nothing but a sheer drop to a certain death.
Talia scoffed. “You think I might try to kill myself if Karthid loses, don’t you?”
“It is what many have tried.”
“And you must think he’s done for now, is that right?”
There was no answer given, but none was necessary. It was clear that the female guard held zero hope for Karthid winning. Talia went back to watching the fight and tried to block everything else from her mind. If she couldn’t be closer to her man to cheer for him, she would at least be there for him in spirit and heart.
The giant weredragon’s dark green scales were glinting like muted jewels under the high sun. Over the reddish sand beneath, it looked like some kind of twisted, post-modern art display for Halloween. Still flexing and finishing the final touches of its transformation, the monster did not notice its opponent rush forward across the sand.
Karthid had run in a curved line, so he approached the weredragon from the side. It was the side where the beast’s hand was already cut up badly too. He charged silently and slashed at the giant’s ankle, unleashing a torrent of inky blood from the fresh wound.
The thing screamed and clutched down at its leg with the already cut hand, then tried to swing at Karthid with its other. There were claws at the ends of those enormous fingers now, which could have slashed a person to ribbons.
Only, Karthid was too nimble despite his own injury. And he looked deeply satisfied at having somewhat evened things up by injuring the giant dragon. The stunning, despite being covered in dirt and blood, red alien warrior backed away quickly to a safer vantage.
The giant weredragon growled and lurched forward, its injury nagging at it and reducing its gate. It stepped forward, but putting weight down on its ankle was visibly painful. It looked up and around, as though assessing something, then spread out its wings to flap them slowly once or twice. Without wasting another moment, it flapped the scaly wings down and launched upward slowly. It made a thunderous sound and the weredragon growled again, making a terrifying display of itself.
Karthid did not look afraid. Just then, he looked out across the blood-slaked sand and it seemed for an instant that his eyes met Talia’s own, although that had to be impossible. He raised up his sword and let it glimmer in the midday sun, which cast his shadow in a pool around his feet, making the ground dark and the color of the rich soil she was so familiar and comfortable being around.
He drew in a deep breath and let out a mighty roar. “For Talia!” Her name echoed out over the still silent crowd, for none could bring themselves to make a sound and interrupt such a momentous occurrence in their sacred arena.
Hearing him confirm his adoration and utter devotion to her in the face of almost certain death was bittersweet beyond belief. Talia could hardly stand to keep watching, but to look away and not see every tiny detail of what was about to occur—that would be sure to haunt her for the rest of her life. Especially if it was the last time she was to see her one true mate alive and breathing.
The dragon reached a height that would have made it visible for miles all around, even out into the harsh desert. Then, it dove downward at Karthid.
He moved back a little but did not flee or try to outrun this impressive aerial predator as it rocketed toward him.
Talia closed her eyes and then had to force herself to open them right away. “You must watch,” she told herself, “He can do this.”
The female guard did not speak but was enthralled in the spectacle, a sinister smile painted over her already unwelcoming face. And she was one of the ‘nicer’ people in this city, apparently.
The massive dragon had its hands spread out, claws ready to come together and crush Karthid as it dropped down on top of him.
Just as it was the end for him, Karthid swung his body down, bringing his sword back and flinging it forward with every ounce of strength that was left in his being. The blade spun furiously, so fast that it was almost an invisible blur shimmering in the sun.
The red alien sprinted from where he’d been standing, at a tremendous speed, away from the growing shadow of the flying beast coming down.
The dragon screamed and smacked into the sand near Karthid. There was silence all over as people tried to work out exactly what had happened. There it was—the sword was sticking out of the thing’s eye, the very end of the handle the only thing that was visible. The rest of the weapon had driven itself deep and probably into the brain behind it. The dragon remained still, and viscous blood oozed out to meet the red sand below.
There must not have been a single person in the entire city who was not cheering with all their might, applauding and screaming for the hero Karthid until their lungs hurt and their throats were hoarse.
Talia fell to her knees and looked out over the walled platform, tears streaming down her face from a joy she never expected to feel, and from being able to let go of all the fear and anxiety that had been threatening to drown her while she’d put on a brave face to watch this abominable tournament.
19
-Karthid-
He wanted to collapse beside the cooling corpse of the half breed giant-weredragon, but that was not going to be possible for some time yet. Sleep would have to wait, no matter how much Karthid had already gone through that day. He stood tall in the red arena, surrounded by the blood of the fallen, many who he had personally put an end to. The taste of victory was upon his lips now. A warrior knew that sensation all too well, craved it, needed it to truly be alive.
A small, golden platform, carried by several guards, came out to meet him in the arena. They gestured for him to stand upon it and carried him to the edge of the arena. The guards cheered and smiled at him now, instead of treating him like an unwanted pest.
“You are the greatest warrior on the planet!” one of them shouted. Through blurry vision and so much pain, Karthid wasn’t sure but felt that he recognized the guard. It was one of the youths who had mocked him as he’d been lead into his cell the previous day.
How things change for a warrior who knew how to use his sword well! Karthid thought.
They carried him as a hero now, the crowd throwing down flowers and gold coins that covered the sands of the arena. However, there was only one reward that Karthid was i
nterested in.
He was brought up to the top of a strange pyramid made of stone. It reminded him of the type some tribes used for sacrifices to their primitive gods. With wide eyes, he hesitantly stepped down from the platform when the guards stopped and asked him to do so.
Everything else was forgotten the moment he saw Talia standing at the top. She was so beautiful, more so than he recalled. His heart wanted to burst forth, his cock ached and pulsated, and he wished that no one else was around so that he could ravage her right there and plant his seed inside her, to begin a family immediately.
The woman his heart desires so was surrounded by men and women, who were dressed in ornate robes and masks that covered their faces.
“Karthid!” came not one voice, but many. It emitted from each of the masked, robed figures at the same time. The effect was eerie but nonetheless impressive. And their singular voice boomed out over the whole arena as it had done throughout the day. “We are the sacred council of Baklofer. You are a sacred hero to all who reside her now, and into the future. We present to you, your sacred prizes.” They all at once gestured to a pile of riches, golden items encrusted with ridiculous amounts of gems, crates brimming over the tops with gold coins and jewelry, and piles of the most elaborate and lavish clothing he’d ever seen.
None of it even began to compare to the radiant warmth that gripped his heart when he looked at Talia. She was crying but her face was happy, the tears of pure joy.
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