Night had fully descended.
In a desolate area surrounded by abandoned cars and heaps of junk forming crude barricades, armed men patrolled with guns, machetes, and knives, keeping watch for monsters and mutated beasts. Within a building powered by a noisy generator, electricity crackled, illuminating a crowd of people who roared in excitement. They hit their chests and pounded their fists in delight, their faces twisted with brutality and menace as they watched the spectacle before them.
Inside a massive iron cage, men and women huddled together, crying, pleading, and trembling. Their clothes were torn, their bodies bruised and streaked with dried blood. Despair clung to them like a heavy cloak, ready to devour them at anytime.
Outside the arena, a black man with a curved scar stretching from his left cheek to his ear sat on a massive chair resembling a throne. His face was calm, almost expressionless, but his eyes betrayed his emotions, they were filled with mockery and disdain as he observed the suffering before him. Two young women in tight, revealing clothing straddled his lap, their hands roaming seductively over his chest while their lips curled in mischievous smiles.
Around them, the surrounding men stole glances at the women, while touching the women beside themselves. Most of the women had long since abandoned resistance, their eyes carried resignation. They accepted their fate because it was way better than that of the people in the cage.
A man in oversized clothes with sagging trousers swaggered toward the boss, casting quick, lustful glances at the women. His eyes were hungry, yet he knew better than to show it, if he still wants his head on his neck.
"Boss, 'they' are ready," he reported, his thick Yoruba-accented voice filled with respect.
"Igi," the boss replied, his voice deep and commanding.
"Yes, sir," Igi saluted.
"Na God naim go punish your papa? You come report to me by force? You dey craze? Ogun wan kill you? Start the game make me and my babes enjoy ourselves," the boss spat out in anger, his words sharp in pidgin.
Igi broke into a nervous sweat, knowing he had pushed the boss too far, even if it wasn't that far.
"As you wish, boss," he said, bowing and retreating to carry out his orders.
One of the women on the boss's lap cooed, "You shouldn't have shouted at him. He's only trying to please you."
"Do I need men to please me when I have two beautiful ladies here?" the boss said, sniffing their bodies like a predator.
"You should be careful, big daddy. He should report everything to you beforehand," the other woman said seductively, pressing closer.
"He wouldn't dare betray me," the boss growled, his tone laced with killing intent.
The two women shrugged, letting the matter drop.
Inside the cage, a young man ran forward, standing defiantly before the boss. Tears streaked his face, his voice trembling.
"Please, oga, have mercy on us! Please!" he begged.
"How dare you beg our oga like that? You want make Ogun kill you?" one of the boss's sidekicks growled.
"I'M NOT TALKING TO YOU!! FUCK OFF!!!" the young man shouted, forcing the sidekick to jump back in fear.
"Please, oga, I beg you. I'll do anything! Look at me!" The young man pounded his chest aggressively. "I'm still young, filled with energy. You can use me as you wish, but please, oga, I want to live!, please!!"
The boss regarded him with the same cold scrutiny one might give an insect. The young man's hope dwindled and at that moment, he knew death awaited him.
Desperation twisted into fury. He glared at the boss and cursed, his voice shaking with venom:
"RIGHT NOW, YOU FEEL HIGH AND MIGHTY, BUT YOUR DEATH WILL BE TEN TIMES WORSE! YOUR SOUL WILL ROT AND BURN IN THE DEPTHS OF HELL, SUFFERING FOR ALL ETERNITY! SINCE YOU ENJOY KILLING AND OUR DESPAIR, YOUR PUNISHMENT WILL BE GREATER THAN OUR SUFFERING! YOU WILL BEG FOR MERCY, ALL YOU WILL RECEIVE BACK WILL BE COLD SENTENCE! AS YOU SUFFER FOR ALL ETERNITY!!!"
The boss's eyes narrowed, malice and anger surging at the young man's words.
"IGI, RELEASE ALL THE MONSTERS AT ONCE! THEY MUST DIE TODAY! ALL OF THEM!!" the boss roared, his chest heaving with rage.
Igi grinned as he stood before a covered cage, the sounds of monsters growling from within. "Yes, boss," he said, signaling his men to push the cage toward the arena. As soon as it arrived, they flung the gates open, and a wave of monstrous beasts surged into the arena.
The captives braced themselves, knowing they were powerless. Mortals without Ascendant abilities, they were like ants before the monsters. Claws ripped, teeth tore, and flesh was shredded. The young man tried to fight back barehanded, but the monsters overwhelmed him, tearing him apart with bone-crunching precision. The sound of his destruction was like a pleasant music to the boss and his minions, who roared in ecstatic delight.
The boss's face lit with satisfaction as he watched the cursed young man devoured. Laughing wildly, he continued to fumble the women on his lap, squeezing and fondling without restraint. The two women looked on with disgust but preferred their current position to the deadly chaos of the arena.
The mood of the room shifted abruptly. The room atmosphere became so cold as if it was in the depth of ice. Three men emerged from the shadows, their eyes glowing with blood-red intensity and killing intent radiating from their very beings. The atmosphere thickened, fear spreading like wildfire. All attention snapped to the new arrivals.
At the entrance, a figure stood, exuding an aura of bloodlust and terror. His body radiated raw, murderous energy, and his eyes burned like coals in a furnace. Every movement suggested he was a predator, a demon ready to tear his prey apart.
For the first time that night, the laughter, the mockery, and the excitement were silenced. The arena had just found a predator far deadlier than the monsters or the men in power.