# Chapter 29: The Coliseum of Blood and the Barbarian's Fury

  ## The Stage of Carnage

  The Coliseum of Blood was not just an arena; it was the sick heart of the Red Volcano Island. Thirty thousand souls, forced to witness and celebrate cruelty, filled the stands. Laiver, the Barbarian, sat on his makeshift throne, a grotesque smile of satisfaction stretched across his face. The crowd screamed his name, a rehearsed chorus of praise that, if observed closely, was empty, forced, devoid of any genuine emotion. The population was forced to lie, to love their tormentor.

  Hiroshi and Zark, in the quarterfinals, felt the weight of that macabre theater.

  "They are bothered," Zark whispered, her green eyes fixed on Laiver and his bodyguards. "The tournament already had a chosen winner. Our arrival broke the script."

  The Barbarian, nearly ten feet tall, with red hair and a colossal club, was the image of brute force. He was a broken man, but with a fragile ego, and the presence of Hiroshi and Zark was an affront.

  Zark, with a subtle movement, used her shadow manipulation. The shadows of the remaining competitors stretched, became dense, and paralyzed them. In an instant, the competition was over. Thirty thousand people were silenced.

  Laiver, however, was not irritated. He roared with laughter, a guttural sound that echoed through the coliseum. "Entertainment! Where is the crowd screaming the fighters' names? Where is the joyful applause?"

  The terrified audience tried to react, forcing smiles and empty applause. The farce was disgusting.

  ## The Barbarian's Gift

  Hiroshi felt bile rise in his throat. Laiver's manipulation of the weak was a mirror of the Empire, but on a more intimate and perverse scale. He could no longer bear it.

  "You're a little soldier of the Empire, Laiver! A barbarian who only fights the weak!" Hiroshi shouted, mocking him.

  Laiver's smile wavered, replaced by momentary fury, which quickly turned into a macabre laugh. He gestured to his soldiers.

  "The deserved gift for our challenger!"

  In a moment of absolute horror, the guards grabbed children, of various ages, and hurled them towards Hiroshi and Zark, as if they were sharp objects. The population descended into despair, mothers and fathers trying to reach their children, but the soldiers laughed, chanting a macabre song:

  *“The Barbarian is our King, the Barbarian is our God!*

  *Weakness is death, strength is the law!*

  *Love Laiver, or die for him!”*

  The scene was disturbing. Children rained down like a shower.

  Hiroshi and Zark felt the demonic aura of the soldiers.

  "Zark, use the shadows to save all the children!" Hiroshi ordered.

  The problem was that the paralyzed competitors, now freed by the guards, became Laiver's soldiers and attacked Hiroshi.

  Hiroshi channeled Kerchack's energy at 20%, concentrating it in his feet for superhuman speed. With a thrust, he used the hilt of the **Karius Sword** to knock out the candidates. The sound of cracking skulls was muffled by the children's screams.

  Zark used all her magical mana. The shadows became arms, nets, makeshift mattresses, cushioning the children's fall.

  Everything was done in seconds. The children were saved, but the crowd watching was massacred by the soldiers.

  ## The Draconic Fury

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  Laiver laughed uncontrollably. His ten-foot club was wrapped with people from the crowd, screaming for help. A two-meter silver shield also carried two people tied to it, crying and begging for help.

  The Barbarian leaped from the throne, an uncontrolled beast, landing in front of Hiroshi and Zark. The smell of blood and death was unbearable.

  Laiver, furious at being mocked, ran towards Hiroshi. His club hit the ground, crushing the skull of the person tied to it. The other prisoner screamed wildly, mixing with the Barbarian's roar.

  Hiroshi looked into Zark's eyes. She understood the message and used her shadows to pull the children out of the combat area.

  The collision was brutal. The club clashed with the **Karius Sword**. An invisible layer of wind pushed everyone back.

  "This will be easy. After I kill you, I'll eat that whore you were with and do it many times a day for the whole month until she dies," Laiver said, with a twisted smile and diabolical thoughts.

  Hiroshi just closed his eyes and gave a cold smile. A blue and black energy left his body. Laiver felt, for the first time, what it was like to face a real monster. An image was created from Hiroshi's energy: a giant black dragon, looking in Laiver's direction, a divine beast staring into his soul. The Barbarian felt terror for the first time in his life.

  "I won't kill you quickly. You will die slowly, because your life will be treated like trash while I watch the light in your eyes fade," Hiroshi said, looking into Laiver's eyes.

  The soldiers tried to shoot arrows, but Hiroshi's body was covered in a layer of dragon scales.

  "I am your worst nightmare!" Hiroshi shouted, with the face of a monster, red eyes and sharp teeth. "You awakened in me what I tried to hold back. I will show you what terror is."

  Laiver was startled. With his right hand, he brought the shield down to hit Hiroshi's body. Hiroshi noticed the two people trapped in the shield, but there was no way to save them. He held the shield with his left hand, piercing the two people and stopping the impact. Rage consumed Hiroshi as he watched people die so casually.

  Laiver, with his left hand, raised the club as high as possible, bringing it down towards Hiroshi with enough force to create wind. Hiroshi spun his body and kicked with his right foot, stopping the club before it descended with full impact. High in the air, Hiroshi used the **Dragon's Breath** technique. His mouth exploded in a black energy, hitting the Barbarian squarely, causing his body to burn and create wounds. Without losing time, Hiroshi descended at a superhuman speed and delivered a punch to the Barbarian's stomach, throwing him far away and hitting the wall.

  Hiroshi noticed that the guards did not stop the massacre against the crowd. He jumped into the stands and, using his hands, killed all the soldiers at a speed no one could follow.

  Laiver got up, furious, his mouth bleeding and his eyes red with rage. He jumped towards the crowd.

  "If I die, I'll take this whole city and people with me! These trash deserve to die with me! I won't let this place prosper, they'll end up with me!"

  Hiroshi noticed that the soldiers and Laiver didn't care about their lives; they just wanted to cause chaos.

  The chapter ends with Laiver killing people and devouring them as food, while Hiroshi tries to kill the soldiers and save the people.

  ***

  **END OF CHAPTER 29**