The heat was the first thing that he noticed as they descended into the underground of Jayou. There had been rumors around the topside that Raile had listened keenly in on, and now that he had a bit of free time to get away from the shop, he wanted to know more.

Already, he could hear the cries of a crowd egging the fights on in The Furnace, but before that was a set of guards up front inspecting people as they came in. It wasn’t too difficult for the silver tongued merchant to worm his way in, but his partner for the night was a bit harder to pass by. Rhenakos, of course, was adamant about the way he presented himself, and that presentation was a complete threat.

In the end, though, Raile had an in. “You see,” the merchant said as he slid a bit of silver to the guard. “I was thinking of trying to sponsor him in matches. If you’d just let this slide…I promise that win, or lose, he’ll offer a might bit of entertainment.” With the little bribe, and a glare at the idiot demon hunter, the guards let them pass. Of course, Raile wasn’t about to back out of his idea, and Rhenakos was more than willing to throw down at any time.

“I could bring Izzy here when she gets older…show her a thing or two about fighting,” The red haired hunter said as he wiped the sweat off of his forehead. He had not thought this through, and had worn his usual overcoat full of supplies.

Raile rolled his eyes, “You’re not serious about that, are you?” The look that Rhenakos gave showed that he had been. “And you wonder why she’s turning into a little hellion…” The merchant had been a lot smarter about his clothing choice, and had come with a short sleeve tunic and pants, making him look rather normal. This was, of course, to keep himself from standing out. It was something he had realized benefited him in the worst of times, though…being married to two Rosenites tended to push against that anonymity that he desired.

Still, it was easy to sign Rhenakos up for a match. Shockingly easy. Rhenakos and Raile separated, and it took a few moments for Raile to make his way through the crowds, and spot the real prize of the night. “Ah yes…” The bookie. “Excuse me, sir,” Raile said with a smile as he produced a bag of silver. “I’d like to make some bets…”

—

Rhenakos found his way to the preparation area, and found a locker for personal use. He noted that there were guards taking stuff out of another locker, and with a look from Rhenakos, the guards merely shrugged. “It’s not exactly stealing if they’re dead.” The hunter couldn’t really argue that point, and instead focused on preparation of his own. First was to strip away the heavy jacket. Most of the demon hunting tools would be useless here anyway, so he focused on what would help for single combat.

Of course, knowing my luck…it won’t be. In the end, he grabbed the small black cylinder and pocketed it. Between that, the runes, and his rings he should be set for just about anything.

“And now…we wait…” Which, for Rhenakos, was one of the worst things in the world.

Tonight, just like any other in the Furnace, had its air filled with electricity. The excited crowd was growing in population as lines filled up at the broker booths before filling in the seats to the arena. Mountains of coins were awaiting the victors and the losers would only leave with empty hands. For Livana, neither had matter much for it was the fights that satisfied her, not monetary gain. To be frank, she had plenty of it.

She had been pleasantly slumbering in her private chambers in a large bed that had previously also held three males along with her. None of them had been able to sustain her for too long before they were drained of everything and literally kicked off the bed the previous night. A light series of knocks came before an elderly, yet regal butler came in and cleared his throat. “Lady Livana. I’m afraid you have slept a bit too long. The fights tonight are about to start.”

Lazily, she pulled her head out from the covers and looked at Grieger. “Fine. I suppose I had a bit too much fun then. I’ll get dressed then…”

“Yes madam. I’ll take care of the mess afterward”, he spoke, relating to the trio of lifeless bodies on the floor. Grieger then took his leave and Liv slipped out of bed and into a sliming midnight blue dress and custom knee-high boots with heels. Rings, earrings, and her necklace were quickly applied and her hair combed but otherwise kept down from its usual updo. When she was ready, she left the room and headed to the stands but not before she took a glance over to the broke booths and could see many were eagerly making their wages on tonight’s entertainment. There were several bouts that were to prove to be a hell of a show, and it brought a delightful smirk across her lips. “My lady, the fighters have all registered so far. At least the ones that showed up early enough”, Grieger spoke as he rejoined her along with some parchments in hand, containing details, wagers, and other tidbits on their volunteers.

“Anyone that sticks out?”, she asked as she led them to the roaring crowds. “Well, apparently Chainer has returned…”

“Chainer?” There was an intrigued glint in her eye; that particular man was one that people had called inhuman while he was in the ring. While his main profession was a bounty hunter, he would stop by from time to time to fight in the Furnace. In either case, he was vicious and merciless as he fought with a pair of spiked chains that would strip the flesh of his quarry. Winning a fight or capturing a bounty wasn’t enough for him- he would torture them as much as possible. It usually made for quite the showing here and already she knew that the audience was very familiar with him. “Obviously he’s the favorite. Who’s paired up with him tonight?”

“A newcomer by the name of Rhenakos. Seems like he made an impression with some of the guards, though not a well one. Seems to think he’s quite the fighter…”

“Interesting.”

The two made their way to the ground level, while the crowd parted and gave them room to maneuver. It was a rarity to see the mistress watching from the stands and not from her luxury box up above. It was merely on a whim that she decided to watch these fights more closely and the first was about to begin. She gestured to the announcer in the arena to start.

“The first fight of the evening will be Chainer vs Rhenakos! Will the newcomer overcome the sadistic hunter? Let’s find out! And remember, all betting for this fight are done, folks!”

The guards went to retrieve the fighters and the first to show was a man of tall stature, covered in an arrangement of cloth and leather armor and black boots. Dragging by either side of him were the acclaimed long chains wrapped around his gloved hands. The oddest striking feature was the mask he bore as heavy breaths resonated from him. It was hard to believe by his appearance that he was a man, but he had the tendencies of a beast. The crowds grew wild at the sight of him and were waiting for his opponent to join in before the announcer scurried off and Liv would rise up from her seat and all grew quiet.

“Begin!”

The crimson haired demon hunter entered the ring, the small black cylinder in his gloved hand. His left eye glowed with demonic energies, and the familiar sensation of it burning merely egged Rhenakos on. Without his heavy coat on, he was wearing a short sleeved tunic with leather armor underneath, and his usual vambraces that covered the runic carvings all across his arms. On his right shoulder was a single leather pauldron. It wasn’t the best setup, but when one swung a heavy sword around for long enough, the lighter the better.

Besides, Rhenakos knew how to take a few hits.

The hunter smiled as he tossed the small cylinder up in the air, catching it as the announcer called his bit. It had been some time since Rhenakos had cut loose like this. Even his hunts lately had been disappointing. Perhaps this would give him a good run.

Begin.

Rhenakos caught the cylinder, and clenched his fist around it. At once it activated, and a sword almost as tall as Rhen, and equally as wide formed from the dark energies it produced. At once, he felt the weapon’s drain on him, and with a wicked smile and crazed look in his eyes, rushed forward. Despite the large weapon, Rhenakos moved with surprising speed, and swing the weapon around as though it were as light as a regular sword.

Straight down. Break! The hunter brought it down with a massive force. If his opponent was too slow to react, they would be crushed beneath the blade. But that would be too easy, now wouldn’t it? he thought as it came down. I hope it’s not over so quickly…

The area became thunderous with uproar the moment the fight had begun. From the stands, one would swear to be witnessing pure chaos as the crowd cheered, jeered, fought amongst themselves even all the while Livana kept her eyes on both men as they prepare for combat. Chainer never took his own eyes off Rhenakos the moment he arrived. For him, it would just be another victim to add to his list. The strange cylinder he kept with him spawned a large sword that seemed nearly impossible to wield and yet he moved with it as if it was an extension of him. The crowd seemed enthralled by the display and some were regretting placing their bets on the wrong man.

Meanwhile, his opponent breathed heavily through his mask, preparing himself to dodge readily once he made his move. He had first imagined that even with his strength, it would take some time for it to connect with him, but in the last precious seconds, he had been mistaken and narrowly maneuvered to the right, avoiding the fatal hit and instead found a light lesion down his upper arm. He slid back a good few feet away and looked to the injury. To anyone’s recollection, that had been the first time in a while he had been on the defensive.

“Oh my”, Greiger proclaimed. “Suppose he’s just not only talk then, after all.”

“Perhaps. Let’s watch and see”, Liv spoke, although she was liking what she saw. The odds were stacked against him, and it would only make the show more intriguing to the fans. Chainer recollected himself and wind up the chain in his left hand and unraveled the one in his right. Even with the unexpected surprise, his chains should still have more of a reach and speed advantage, he believed. Attrition seemed to be the most logical option, not to mention, he didn’t mind punishing him a bit before this was over.

It was his turn to make the approach, zig-zagging his way over. His feet constantly shifting and changing direction, but it wasn’t his movement that was to be on the lookout for. Nay, it was the unwinded chain that trailed behind him, scraping against the earth before he whipped it out in front of him, kicking up some of the dirt and debris to launch at Rhenakos. His arm was then flung in the opposite direction to lash the chain against him, aiming for the head. Regardless of the success or failure of connecting, he closed in the distance and threw a left uppercut with the fist still wrapped up earlier, aiming for the torso.

The fact that the Chainer had reacted so quickly left Rhenakos feeling good about himself. This wouldn’t be over in a single blow. What fun. He hefted the blade out of the ground where it had left its mark, letting it fizzle back into the small cylinder. It was a strong weapon, but keeping it active had a cost. The less it was active, the better it was for Rhenakos in the long run.

Still, this was a life and death match, and his focus was veering to his weapon. The Chainer was already on his way in for an attack, using a serpentine like motion to approach. He had seen this before in demons, and it was a solid tactic, but it was nothing more than a waste of energy when it came to Rhenakos’ usual tactics. Just predict and- His eyes widened.

Shit. Chain. It was too late to react like he should have, and once the Chainer snapped the debris up, Rhenakos found himself temporarily blinded. What’s the follow up? He felt the blow connect to his torso, and the impact knocked the wind out of him, sending him up and back a few feet.

Much to everyone’s surprise though, Rhenakos landed on his feet, stumbling a bit as he coughed and sputtered, both from the blow and the debris. It took him only a moment to burn away the debris, his left eye flaring red as the demonic powers in his body activated. There it is. The familiar pain… He could feel the demonic blood heating him up, his left eye smoldering. He could almost smell the burning flesh as it tried to eat away at his human side.

At once, he turned it around, ignoring the fact that he could barely take a full breath, and launched himself forward. The sword activated as he swung in a hard, horizontal arc, ready to cleave the Chainer in half should he fail to react.