Nature of a Killer

'And that's the match! Leo has struck his foe down in spectacular fashion.' Bijan the caster thrust Leo's wrist into the air, risking electrocution from the lightning that still coursed across Nameless. Leo searched the floor for his opponent. She was a very skilled swordswoman who wielded twin flaming blades. Something about her looked glaringly like a pirate, for some reason. Might have been the baggy shirt. Still, Leo felt a little remorseful about the kill. Hopefully–when she came back after whatever happened when fighters died in the arena–she would forgive him and he could learn from her techniques with hellfire. That seemed to be the case with most of his opponents–they all had something to teach him.

Leo thanked Bijan and left the battlefield as quickly as his exhausted legs would allow. It had been obvious for the last week or so since he'd arrived in bronze rank–eyes were on him. Something about the crowds made him feel like every move he revealed was analysed, as if he was being vetted for something. He could only pray it wasn't those demons working in the dark lab under the entry floor of the colosseum. There were of course the eyes of the spectators and sponsors, of which he'd gathered another three angels and two demons.

His abilities were expanding faster than he was able to learn, so fights mostly consisted of him using Raphael's lightning, Ruh and switching between Nameless and Bellestar. On occasion, when his opponent showed promise, he would surprise them with a new ability. However, most of these new abilities felt slow or weak in comparison to the lightning he was used to. Switching from an archangel's power to other abilities felt like a rich family moving into a working-class suburbia. The new weapons were a bit unwieldy, too–daggers, a scythe and even a metal baseball bat amongst them. There was however a pair of black gloves from a demon that helped him hit harder without bruising his hands. Something about punching an opponent at the most unexpected times instead of using his superpowers was way more satisfying.

Leo strode down a long hall, passing by a few fighters on the way. Amongst them was that Jun of the Massacre, who sat in a waiting room with a whetstone to his enormous blade. The guy was practically always in the colosseum, or at least Leo had never seen him outside its walls. Did he just not have a place to stay? It was true that many fighters who earned great repute in a rank gained a room in the colosseum's outer wall, but Jun's stature and terrifying demeanour would make any landlord nervous for their furniture. Leo had considered speaking to him on many occasions, but every one of Jun's brutal fights reminded Leo that he didn't like this type of guy.

Jun's eyes met Leo's. A cold and dark second passed, like the terrifying uncertain reality of a nightmare. Jun nodded at Leo without even a smile.

'Salam,' Jun said. Now, Leo's Arabic wasn't nearly the best, but with Tiam's help, he at least knew a greeting when he heard it. However, he lost his nerve and just nodded his head. Leo needed an out. It would be weird to keep walking, so should he just brave a conversation? Was this man one of those gentle giant types, or was he just being respectful to a potential opponent?

'Leo!' A meaty arm hooked over his shoulder and immediately gave him both a fright and comfort. Harvey smiled and yanked Leo away from the waiting room without even addressing the tense situation. 'Good work out there again, man! You're moving up the ranks faster than me. We might end up going to Silver at the same time, at this rate.'

Leo strained a smile across his face before saying, 'maybe, but what's going on with that Jun guy? I can't work out if he's a bad guy or just treating the colosseum like work.'

'Well firstly, I haven't seen the guy around for a while.'

'He's in the room you just dragged me away from.'

'Oh.' Harvey strolled up to the entry again. 'Wassup.'

'Salam.'

'Cool.' Harvey returned to Leo's side. 'Well there you go.'

Leo had to laugh. What was it about Harvey that made him so relaxed around a brutal killer? The guy could probably walk up to Satan himself and ask about his day.

'I think he's not so bad.' Harvey helped Leo stiffly walk down the hall. 'You might have it right when you say he's just treating the colosseum like work. Seems like he leaves his feelings at the door, which we could all learn to do.'

'Right.' Leo traced the lines between the stone pavement with his eyes, like travelling through a maze.

'Where are your friends? Didn't they come to see your match?' Harvey gestured for someone in their path to move aside and let the exhausted Leo through.

'Raphael is off doing angel things, probably. He still needs to maintain his position in the hierarchy by doing his actual job for God. And Tiam…' Leo stopped tracing lines and thought about his friend. They hadn't stayed at his room very often this week. Did something happen?

'Just seen enough fighting of their own?'

'Yeah, that's it.' Leo wasn't convinced that this would be a simple issue to fix, but he really didn't have the energy to deal with it.

'Say, we haven't gone out here since we had lunch last week.' Harvey gestured to the doorway ahead leading out to the open streets and shops. 'We should go get drinks at Half-a-Rebel.'

'Wuh?'

'It's a sweet bar owned by one of my sponsors, actually. She'd love to meet you.'

'I don't know man, I'm pretty tired.' Leo gestured to his shaking knees, which Harvey laughed off.

'Absolutely get some rest first, buddy. Sleep off the fight and I'll meet you at yours tonight? I might even be able to convince the barkeep to sponsor you and give you her balance defying power.'

Leo mulled it over for a few moments. Balance defying power sounded really cool, and he hadn't gone out for drinks since his bucks party on Earth.

'Alright, let's do it. Half-a-Rebel it is.'