Interstellar Beast Master-Chapter 10: Blood Stains the Arena I

As the freight elevator blinked with neon lights, Damian reminded himself why he was descending into what felt like the belly of a beast ready to swallow him whole.

He was here for one reason, and that was to earn enough credits to get the equipment Anastasia needed. With that gear, they could infiltrate the ZENTHRA Beast Corporation's headquarters and give her access to their mainframes.

This would be one of the more dangerous things he would do- barring what he was doing right now of course.

From there, they could finally dig up information on the Interstellar Beast Masters and, more specifically, the Drunken Butcher.

Vex Talon and his Rhino-bat Interstellar Beast!

Once they knew even a little, then they could make a plan on how to destroy everything this Interstellar Beast Master had. To make him feel even a semblance of the pain and hopelessness that he felt.

And then...he would kill him.

Whether it was with his bare hands or through the jaws of the furry little fox.

One way or another, the Drunken Butcher would die.

The freight elevator groaned as it descended.

Everyone inside stood shoulder to shoulder- some with arms crossed, some flaunting weapons, others twitching with adrenaline or faulty cybernetic limbs. Damian kept his eyes forward. Anastasia stood beside him, still as a statue.

DING!

The doors slid open soon after, unleashing a wave of sound like thunder exploding inside a tin can.

They stepped into a massive underground chamber bathed in sickly red and electric violet lights. Pipes lined the curved ceiling like the ribcage of some hideous creature. The air reeked of sweat, oil, blood, and raw adrenaline that clung to everything like a virus.

The Rustblood Circuit Arena was both alive and dead with activity.

Neon banners flickered with fighting stats. Holograms of combatants floated in the air above, replaying finishing blows in slow motion.

Metal platforms glided across the floor while robotic medics whisked away fallen fighters like broken toys.

The androids guarding the wounded, or what was left of them, seemed more interested in salvaging implants and organs than offering care.

No one here cared about the Hippocratic Oath.

It wasn't "Do no harm." It was- How profitable can we be with the dead and dying?

"OOOH!"

The crowd roared as two combatants tore into each other in the center ring. One was a bulky android with spinning sawblade arms. The other was a Cybernetic Human backed by a rusted Beast that looked like an augmented pit bull.

A pit bull that had been twisted with thick limbs and purple fluids pulsing through its veins, barely keeping it lucid as it lunged at the android. The fake Beast Master behind it lobbed a glowing plasma bomb soon after.

BOOM!

The pit bull went for the throat as the bomb was thrown, and the android's head flew off-distracted by the blast just long enough to falter.

But even as it fell, its blades twitched, stabbing into the cybernetic beast's belly! Purple-crimson blood gushed out in thick arcs.

"NO!"

The Cybernetic Human screamed, sprinting to the bloody wreckage, staring at his dying, whimpering beast. The damage was irreversible.

And when he realized it was irreversible...

"You stupid little shit!"

He kicked it in rage, splattering more blood.

...!

Damian watched the whole thing coldly.

That wasn't a Beast Master. Even if they called themselves Cybernetic Beast Masters, they were nothing like the real ones.

"OOOOH!"

The crowd erupted again. Some booed. Others hurled glass bottles into the ring.

And this...this was just the morning.

One could only imagine how insane it got at night.

"Kitsuul," Damian sent a thought to the small creature on his shoulder. The invisible fox-like beast watched everything with wide eyes, its expression shifting to one of anger when the cybernetic man kicked his dying companion.

"Besides invisibility...do you have any racial traits or abilities I should know about?"

Even though he trusted the power flowing through his body, the kind that could bend metal, he wanted to be sure.

The tiny creature squeaked softly in response.

It said that...it was really good at eating things.

Good...at eating things?

Damian blinked. That was oddly reassuring as he would find out what she meant soon enough.

After answering, Kitsuul turned her attention back to the crowd, eyes sparkling with excitement like she had no idea what was going on, but found it awesome anyway.

Anastasia led him through the chaos of the crowd. Spectators were shouting, placing bets, and arguing over stats while watching multiple fights on holograms displayed in their visors.

They stopped at a grimy kiosk that looked like it had been salvaged from a wrecked starship. Behind it sat a man with a mechanical jaw, wires running into his ears and disappearing beneath a bloodstained hood.

"Registration?" he rasped, not even bothering to look up from his screen.

"Yes," Anastasia replied. "Solo match entry."

She spoke like someone too familiar with the rules. Damian turned to her, wondering how exactly she'd been spending her time lately.

The man tapped a few keys before finally glancing up at Damian, scanning him from head to toe, then chuckled.

"Name?"

His tone oozed contempt like he was prepping to watch a brutal slaughter. He clearly didn't think Damian would survive long enough to warm up.

Damian returned the look with equal coldness.

"Light."

"Light... fuckin' a, okay. You got an alias?"

An alias. Damian paused, about to speak when...

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"Therion, the Wild Beast," Anastasia said coolly, cutting him off.

Therion. A word that meant wild beast.

Damian raised a brow at her. She met his look calmly. Was that how she saw him? The wild beast meant to hunt down the Drunken Butcher?

"The Wild Beast it is," the man grunted. "Bit over the top, but whatever. You'll be called in soon. 10,000 credits if you win your first fight. Triple that for every win after. Simple enough, right? I'd say don't die... but man, you look like you're about to anyway. Good fuckin' luck, friend. Say hi to my granny if you see her soon."

...!