Blade watched the first few battles, noticing instantly that vampires were indeed killing their own. He guessed that the fight was pre-planed which ensured nothing got out of hand. That hunch only served to enforce his other revelation he had come to; that indeed he was going to die, even if it did not happen in the ring. That knowledge did nothing to comfort him so he watched in silence, contemplating the fighters and his fate.
Soon it was his turn in the ring. His opponent was a large bald vampire handling a broad sword. His name, by what Blade understood, was Dagger and for some reason the day-walker did not find that hard to believe for, beside the sword, the vampire also had many daggers. Blade felt a little lucky, considering he had seen worse on the streets. Somehow the thought of the Blood-God and his demise helped keep the slayer's morale up.
During the moments where the two sized each other up, the crowd went wild. The vampires wanted nothing more than to see Blade die by the hand of their own. Their taste for the day-walker's blood was great but it grew even more after Dagger managed to land his first swipe of his sword. The crowd however found itself very disappointed when Dagger's body turned to dust minutes later.
Blade stood in the ring and examined the people gathered. His eyes landed on Dragen, who was grinning widely and almost happy that the battle had ended favorably for the slayer. The day-walker also saw the evil in the vampire's eyes. The very evil that he had strived to kill all his life. They stared back at him with hatred yet in their depths he could also see the reverence and respect.
Something flashed just out of the corner of his eye. Blade turned quickly and scanned the space. Nothing was there, except more vampires than he liked to see in his situation.
The next few fights became progressively harder for the day-walker. He became tired and the small wounds that he accumulated from each battle took their toll on him. He could almost see the end and for some reason dying by the hand of those vampires was not in the least bit appealing so he fought on with every ounce of strength he had. With that single thought in mind, he drove a silver stake into his opponent's heart. Out of exhaustion, the man fell to his knees, sword still in hand. The silver blade still shone in the light yet its master was too tired to lift it for one last battle.
"Getting tired, Blade?" Dragen asked tauntingly from his perch. "Have you finally given up?" The arena slowly quieted. All eyes were on the day-walker who was now a pitiful image of his former strength. Blade slowly looked up to the taunting vampire, his eyes still holding his hate yet the fire burned low in his spirit. "Yes, I see your weakness, your broken spirit. You are nothing now. Nothing and alone. No one will help you now, not even my oh-so-dear daughter-in-law." Whispers broke out but Dragen called everyone back to order with a simple lift of his hand. "Declare defeat now, before the Vampire Nation and you may live." The crowd cried out in protest but Dragen's resounding command silenced them quickly. "What do you say, day-walker?"
Blade was tempted to give in, to let everything go and finally quit. His original goal had always been to kill the vampire who had bitten his mother. He found Frost and killed him for it, not to mention his mother. Blade wondered if he could really throw in the towel. He looked up at the ceiling and moments later anger swelled within him. How could he have grown so weak? How could he give up so easily? Those questions fueled his hatred for every being in the room. His grip tightened around his sword as he closed his eyes. He opened his mouth to say something but his words caught in his throat. Daughter-in-law? Could Ha'Dre have been part of the vampire ruling family? Maybe she had set the whole thing up and that is why she knew they were coming? His anger boiled over. "No!" he yelled as he stood up. His eyes locked on Dragen. "I won't stop hunting all of you mother-fuckers till every last one of you is dead. Now, bring it on!" The life of the crowd ignited as his words. They called for another battle and the day-walker's death.
Soon, Blade found himself facing another vampire with a single sword. Despite the fact that this opponent held only one weapon, Blade feared him the most just because of the look in his eyes. Blade took a fighting stance and waited for the vampire to make a move even though he could feel his newly found strength draining quickly. His opponent grinned at him and took a step forward. Blade blinked and all of a sudden he found himself flying backward into a very hard wall. A grunt escaped his lips seconds after contact and oddly enough, he didn't feel a thing when he landed on the floor face first. It took him a few seconds to find the energy to push himself up. He looked up and found the vampire in the same position yet where he previously stood. "The hell?" Blade mumbled to himself.
His opponent grinned at him. His malicious smile gave Blade cause to pause for behind that smile was more self-confidence than even the slayer had ever felt in his whole life. "Let me introduce myself properly," the vampire said, his voice colored by an old English accent. "I am known as-"
"I don't give a shit as to who you are," interjected the day-walker as he stood up on shaky legs. "Fight you asshole."
The vampire grinned and nodded. "I would not have expected anymore than that. And to say you looked so worn a few minutes ago." His grin widened for a second before he jumped forward his sword ready for a strike.
Blade barely had time to get his sword up for the block which in reality did nothing, for the vampire just lightly touched the silver blade before moving out of the way. The day-walker blinked unable to figure out if his eyes were deceiving him or if the vampire was actually as fast as he thought he was. Blade looked at the vampire, realizing that he was playing with him. Somehow that thought just made him feel like he was the hunted and no longer the hunter. A growl escaped his lips as he charged forward ready to strike his opponent down. Moments later, a sharp pain ripped through his side yet he dismissed it and brought his sword down just to be stopped by the vampire's hand clamping around his. Blade was so close that he could smell his opponent's breath, which was none to pleasant to the nose. He was also aware of the blood trickling down his side. He didn't have to look to know that there was a sword lodged in his side. "What the hell are you?" the day-walker breathed, unable to pull himself away.
The vampire grinned evilly and leaned closer to whisper, "La Magra". The sword twisted in his side and the hand tightened with bone crushing strength. Blade tired to get away. To pull his hand out of the vampire's hand, but he was too weak to do anything or the vampire was too strong, he couldn't quite decide. "Struggle little slayer."
"I killed you," Blade whispered softly, which only managed to entertain the vampire even more. Seconds, later Blade was thrown against the wall behind him. The half-vampire grunted and looked back up. He just couldn't wrap his mind around the whole situation. "The Council pure-bloods died," was the only thing that he could cling to, to make any sense of the world around him.
"I was released, nothing you can do will change that," the vampire replied, stepping closer and leaning into Blade. "Afraid yet?"
The vampire's eyes glowed a deep red, which died quickly as his attention was pulled away from the day-walker to something in the crowd. La Magra turned around, searching the faces. After a few minutes, he didn't appear to find what he was looking for because he shook his head and sheathed his sword. His eyes shifted to Dragen, who stood up quickly sensing that something was wrong. "You told me this place was secure," said the vampire in the arena to the other in the lookout.