"I guess it's obvious who they put their money on," Tanaka jested.
"I'm guessing THAT'S your sister?" Gazi pointed out.
"Yup," he crossed his arms boastfully with a smirk on his face. "That's Zara."
The sharp sound of the bell ringing spread across the room, drowning the noise within.
"Is this safe?" Gazi asked.
"Oh yeah, sure.... well, most of the time."
"That guy is huuuuge," Tanaka awed at Brux's large frame. The man was a literal mountain of muscle. He looked like a bodybuilder who ate ten other bodybuilders.
"He is not from this village, is he?" Gazi commented, watching as Brux roared and charged towards the girl who couldn't have been a year or two older than Tanaka.
"No. He's from the Yera Mhondi tribe," Zipher said as he watched the match.
"Ooo, I want to fight him too." Tanaka's eyes glinted as he saw the girl throw a flurry of kicks, one after another, at the giant man.
"No," Gazi said as he placed a hand on Tanaka's shoulder.
"Yera Mhondi?" Gazi placed his hand on his chin as he stared at the floor for a while, deep in thought. "The crime syndicate?"
"Yeah, apparently a bunch of criminals decided to form their own tribe and the three kings let it slide," Zipher pumped his fist in the air, watching Zara dodge and attack.
"I heard they once tried to capture him and he just lost it. They say he killed twenty soldiers before they finally managed to detain him."
"Thirty," a slick voice beside them called. "I'm sorry for eavesdropping; I just happened to overhear you talk about my talent in there," he nudged his cane, pointing to the ring, "Brux," the man smiled.
"I just wanted to set the record straight. He killed thirty warriors before they finally took him down. Well, barely took him down. Ha." The man smiled smugly.
Tanaka stared at the ongoing match without paying this manager any thoughts. All he managed to see were his purple merchant robes.
"Hey, I've seen you here before," he stroked his chin as he chewed on a piece of straw.
The crowd burst into cheers. All of them turned to the ring to see Brux swinging his large fists at Zara.
Zipher breathed heavily as he saw his sister now on the defensive. The manager saw Zipher's fear from the corner of his eyes.
"Oh right, isn't that your sister in there, little man?" he grinned widely.
"Sure is," Zipher responded, folding his arms confidently as he kept glancing at the cage, his skin shivering each time.
"Ooohh, really?" His grin spread, filling the air with malevolent intent. "I guess it's only fair she gets to be with her loved ones in her final moments, eh? Hehe. Ciao."
The man turned his back to the boy as he wove himself into the crowd. He grabbed the top of his hat and grinned at the boy with his head tilted low before he disappeared completely into the crowd.
"Hey! My sister is going to win!" he yelled through the crowd.
"You seem awfully confident for someone whose sister is caged with a known mass murderer," Tanaka stated to Zipher as he softened his tone.
"She's been through worse," Zipher clenched his fist.
He raised his head to see inside the fighting cage. His sister was dodging Brux's unrelenting punches and trying to land a blow on the behemoth swinging relentlessly at her.
Zipher's pupils dilated. Drops of sweat gathered on his forehead as he tried to take in deep breaths.
"Ouuuu, she's quick, she's slick, but can she survive?" the commentator yelled. His voice screeching like nails scratching on glass.
"This seems like an unfair match. He's a trained warrior and she is barely a teenager," Gazi said as he looked around.
"Shut up. She is going to win," Zipher snapped.
Zara threw jabs left, right, and center with fast striking speeds that should not have been possible for someone that age. She simultaneously tried to evade Brux's heavy punches.
"Haaaaah, stand still and let me pummel you!" the giant screamed.
She simply squinted her eyes in response. Her braids swung back and forth with every one of her movements.
Brux growled and grit his teeth. His large frame started showing thick veins and muscle. The cage glowed as grey patterns started appearing and glowing on Brux.
Tanaka's eyes widened. "That's..."
Gazi reached for his pendant, pressing on it hard, and rubbed it while watching the match.
Zara threw some roundhouse kicks, but they were all rendered ineffective by the Chipo-enhanced fighter.
He's too strong, Zara thought. She created some distance between her and the man. His neck. I can finish this with a double roundhouse kick. Come on, Zara.
She rushed towards him, launching the first roundhouse kick. Brux knelt on one knee from the impact.
Zara went for the second kick to his neck. It was a mere foot from its target when the pattern glowing on Brux grabbed her leg mid-air.
His huge teeth appeared as his lips curved into a smile, right before slamming her into the ring fence.
"Zara!" Zipher cried as he saw his sister flying towards the metal.
"Ohhh, LOOKS LIKE OUR LITTLE BUZZY BEE HAS BEEN CAUGHT!"
"Ok, this has gone on long enough." Gazi moved towards the cage entrance, pushing past the people in the crowd.
Brux grinned like a shark who had just smelled blood. He approached slowly.
Zara struggled to get up. Still, she managed to get to her feet even though both her knees were angled inwards as she stood in front of the bent wires of the cage.
"Uuuu, looks like our little bumble bee's luck has run out. Get the coffin!" the commentator screamed.
Two thousand rubies. For Mom, she thought as she forced herself to launch at the man with a cocked fist.
"Argh!" she coughed out blood while some seeped from her nose as she made impact with the cage metal. She had run straight into Brux's punch. Her body slumped down to the ground, twitching.
Her arms shook as she tried to press down on the mat and get up.
Brux's eyes constricted as his facial muscles relaxed into a deeply disturbing smirk while he moved towards the girl. The crowd went ecstatic, cheering him on as he toyed with his prey.
"Are you sure you want to be seeing this?" Tanaka asked Zipher, whose chest heaved with exertion due to his quickened breath while tears streamed down his face.
Tanaka could not help but feel bad for him. "Damn it. Where is Gazi?" He looked around while he pulled Zipher to look away from the fight.
The crowd went feral as Brux stood towering over Zara's defeated form. The people screamed and cheered whilst others covered their eyes or their mouths in shock.
What's wrong with these people? Tanaka thought. WHAT'S WRONG WITH THEM. SHE COULD DIE!
"This isn't a match, it's an execution. And they're... glorifying it." Tanaka's jaw clenched as his hands curled up into fists.
"You are all sick!" he yelled, though his voice was just as easily drowned by the masses cheering and screaming for blood.
Kesi's dead eyes flashed before Tanaka's face. Tanaka's hands curled into fists, tightening further. Small drops of blood gathered in his palms.
"WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU? WITH ALL OF YOU?"
The tattoos on Tanaka's fingers glowed lightly.
Brux continued his predatory strut towards the bleeding girl lying on the mat of the cage. Zara was barely standing, blood flowing from her lips and nose; her left eye was already swollen to the point where it was barely open. She stood awkwardly on her toes, her knees bent inwards as she tried to find balance.
When Brux got close, she made a last-ditch attempt at throwing a fist. Her arm flailed, moving in an arc instead of a straight line. Brux easily caught the incoming fist with his left hand.
He grinned as he looked at the girl.
Brux crushed her hand within his palm.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhuhhhhhhuuuhhhhh!!!"
Zipher shook as he heard the sound. He turned his head slowly with tear-stained eyes and a quaking body.
"Z-Z-Zara?" Zipher's eyes widened.
The crowd erupted into a frenzy, Brux enjoying every second of it.
"Ouch! I'd hate to be her right now!" the commentator screamed once more.
"Leave her alone!!!" Zipher cried, not knowing what to do.
Brux squeezed the girl's broken hand further, forcing her to let out another cry in pain.
"Hehe," Brux smiled.
"I give up," Zara tried to whisper to her opponent through the blood gurgling in her mouth.
"What?" Brux slowly placed his ear close to her mouth.
"Say it again," he mocked.
"I... argh... I give up," she repeated, writhing in pain as Brux had her lifted by her broken hand.
"Hmm hmm," Brux smiled.
"AND YOU THINK I AM GOING TO LET YOU?" A sinister smile grew across his face as he squeezed the girl's hand harder in the air.
He took a deep breath through his nose and let it out as a sigh. "Music to my ears."
"Ahh, alright, I've had my fun... let me put you out of your misery." He lifted her broken frame with his left hand.
"NOOOO!" Zipher cried out.
He cocked his right hand, ready to deliver the final blow to end it all—not just the match.
"YOU'LL KILL HER! STOOOP, PLEASE!" His voice cracked as he strained it. Zipher tried to run to the cage, but Tanaka held him in place as he closed his own eyes.
Brux laughed as he saw the crying boy and turned back to his prey. "Goodbye, Zara."
He released his punch. His bicep shook from the impact.
But Zara was unharmed. There was a hand blocking his punch with glowing patterns near the palm.