Shadows of Los.

The Capital of the nation of Los was very different from the one in the Republic. Both were big cities full of people moving in and out of buildings, but that was the only thing they had in common at first glance.

In the Republic, there was an abundance of stores, hotels, restaurants, and bars in various zones of the city. It was the result of being governed by a council of merchants. Business was the number one priority everywhere.

The Capital of Los was different. Its founders and government were the Faith of Los. A religious group, as such, instead of stores and buildings for commerce, there were churches and monuments to the angels and figures of the faith. Beautiful buildings, with statues of holy importance everywhere. The parks in the center of the city were full of priests and priestesses preaching their sermons. Crowds gathered around them to pray and ask questions. Some even brought their children to a puppet show that taught the morals of the Faith.

Even the soldiers patrolling the streets were different from the army of the Republic. Here, the people got close to them and spoke in a friendly way. Here, soldiers were equivalent to members of the church, so people treated them with reverence and awe just like the priests.

"They indoctrinated their people really well." Thanatos said this while sitting on a bench listening to a young priest preach.

"Don't say it so loudly. If people hear you having a problem with the religious authorities, the army can arrest you at that moment. They take you for interrogation and, depending on how you resist, you could be imprisoned for life." Castess made a hand sign to be quiet.

Although friendly on the surface, the people would turn against anyone that disrupted the order. The country prided itself on being a safe place for humans in a continent filled with violent beasts, but they did that by crushing all attempts at rebellion or insurrection. Obedience must be absolute to keep the peace. That is the motto of the Six Orders and their leaders.

"I'm so glad I didn't end up in this country when I came here." Thanatos said to himself before walking to the lower districts.

In the poorer parts of the city, similar churches of lower quality were still present, and even if some houses were in bad shape, the statues were still impeccable. Thanatos grabbed the book to check the direction. They were close. After walking through some dark alleys, they reached a small building. It looked like it was empty. In truth, it was a place of corruption and shady deals.

"No matter how much you try, people will find a way to commit crimes no matter what. I'll leave the talking to you, Castess."

"I know it is just like we practice. I'm a merchant, and you are my boss." He knocked on the door five times, exactly as the instructions in Ennis's book said.

A small window opened in the door and a pair of eyes talked. "Can I help you?"

"We came to see the pet rats."

The window closed and soon the door opened. The man made a gesture to come inside, making sure no one was watching before closing the door again. The small room led to a hallway, on the other side of which a single man sat in front of a locked door.

"300 gold pieces for the two of you. The betting takes place at the counter next to the bar.

Castess made a shocked face. 300 gold pieces! I'm not made of gold! He wanted to complain, but the infiltration was more important. He grabbed three bags and gave them to the man, who put them on a scale to confirm they were real gold.

"Drinks are on the house." He moved a lever, and a mechanism opened the door.

The sound of screams of excitement filled the room. Dozens of people were cheering for the fight. In the center was a ring surrounded by an iron cage. Inside, two wolf demi humans were fighting to the death.

An underground house of illegal fights. People could come here to bet a tremendous amount of money to see which demi human would be victorious. Ennis had come to this place several times in the past.

Thanatos and Castess sat on one of the balconies to see the fight. It was a brutal battle. Both demi humans were fighting only with their bodies and only had some cloth covering their crotch. Anything was allowed: biting and clawing at each other, punching, kicking, gouging the eyes, anything. The only requirement was to kill the opponent.

Thanatos looked at the faces of the other people cheering. They were all dressed in fine clothes. They probably were people who lived in this country for most of their lives, in a place where they killed demi humans on sight. Right now, they were cheering and screaming at the top of their lungs, seeing two demi humans trying to kill each other. All under the eye of the Capital.

A strange feeling was beginning to form inside Thanatos. It took him a moment to recognize that feeling. Contempt. "It's weird. Why do I feel contempt for people that haven't done anything to me?" He was asking himself, but Castess answered.

"Well, it is probably because you hate the fact that they enjoy making demi humans suffer."

"But why? I don't know those two down below. They could be murders or anything for all I know."

"You haven't noticed? Thanatos you feel contempt against them, because your first impression of a demi human was a good one, wasn't it?"

"My first impression?" He thought at the time that he met Neo, she tried to kill him. I would call that a good first impression. Or maybe it was the fact that she helped with the lion?

"You are probably correct. I mean, Neo was kind of dumb and aggressive, but the Chief of her village was nice. It is thanks to the demi human tribes that I can make so many potions and have such big profits."

After having saved a bunch of demi humans in the raid at Ennis mansion, he didn't find anything pleasant about seeing a couple of strangers fighting for the enjoyment of someone else. He ignored the fight and focused on his mission. Finding partners to do business.

He and Castess moved through the place after grabbing drinks and spoke with several people. They introduced themselves as merchants looking to sell illegal items from the Republic and the Kingdom. They offered potions and weapons at cheap prices. They used the same tactics as in the Republic, however…

"Do you have slave demi humans on sale?" Everyone asked for the same. Demi humans to use as slaves or fighters in this place.

They declined. He saved so many tribes. They thanked him with teary eyes. After saving their lives, he couldn't turn a blind eye and offer demi humans as slaves, even if they were people he had never met before.

Neo would never forgive me if I did that. He declined all the offers, even those who tried to entice him with massive amounts of gold. The negotiations ended up being a failure.

"I don't know what I was expecting. Ennis was a bastard. Of course, the people he had relationships with are equally as disgusting as him."

"I wasn't worried that you were going to take an offer. Your biggest quality is that you stick to your choices no matter what." He gave him a pat on the back. "Let's get out of here and go to places where we can make deals."

They were about to leave when the sound of booing caught Thanatos's attention. It was the first time the audience was displeased. A demi human with grey skin and a scar on his right eye entered the arena.

He was a type of fox. His body was very muscular. He ignored the boos as the announcer spoke. "The hated and useless fox demi human, Kit. He is going to fight against not one, not two, but five snake demi humans. Can he survive once again with the odds against him? Please make your final best now!"

The crowd bet all against him. Not a single person bet on Kit. This piqued the interest of Thanatos. The crowd seemed to talk like they already knew this guy, but for some reason, everyone hated him. The five snake demi humans entered the arena and the fight began.

They jumped at him with delay. With their poisonous fangs open, they surrounded the lone fox, but... He escaped between them with agility. No matter how they tried to capture him, he slipped past them in a few seconds. That was when Thanatos realized why everyone hated him.

"He's not going to fight."

"Stop running, coward!" "Fight you dirty demi human!"

Kit refused to entertain the crowd. He only focused on running away without fighting back. He just ignored the insults from the crowd and kept running away without any trouble. After several minutes, the snake demi humans got tired after trying to catch him.

It took only a couple of seconds, but it was a blink and you missed it moment. Kit moved faster than during the entire fight so far and knocked out the five opponents. He only used a single punch on the back of the neck, and they were out cold on the ground. He didn't kill them.

"Again!" "This is a fight to the death, you mongrel!"

Kit just sat down in the arena and waited with his arms crossed. The indignation in the crowd reached the point where they threw things at him. A bottle of liquor broke on his back, but he wasn't fazed at all.

"Please calm down. Our trainer is going to come out and teach this insolent a lesson." The announcer said while the gate opened and a man entered the arena.

He was a human. His face had several scars. "You still haven't learned your lesson, Kit. You must really like to be punished." He cracked his knuckles with an expression of arrogance.

"I'm never going to bow my head and do as you want!" Kit sharpened his claws. Seeing his face was enough to sense his anger toward this man. Thanatos felt he was about to fight for real this time. "After I kill you, all of your lackeys will follow."

Kit attacked with his claws aimed at the man's head. "DIE ARIN!" He yelled, but his claws never reached him.

POW... a single punch sent Kit flying to the other side of the iron cage. His body hit the cage and bent some of the iron bars. He vomited blood as he tried to stand back up. With great difficulty, he took a battle stance.

Thanatos felt the energy inside Kit surging like a river. He was about to use a special ability. "[Claw of-"

CRASH... Kit's face was stomped on the ground. Arin crushed him beneath his foot.

"Enough of your shit, brat. I'll punish you however many times as necessary until you understand your position." He proceeded to take Kit away and ordered for the snake demi humans to be killed.

The exchange left Castess astonished until he heard Thanatos speaking.

"Someone who follows his choices no matter what. Yeah, those people are interesting." He said with a playful smile.