N'Arahn finished his turn and gestured to the audience to be quiet. Silence reigned for a moment, for only his own servants were present, not one of whom would have dared to make a sound now.

The demonlord raised his voice and knew he could be heard throughout the arena: "As is proper for us, we all do well to stay in shape at all times, even during breaks in the battle. That's why we have this arena, which has seen its fair share of sweat and blood. But today is a little different. Today, I as your master would like to provide a little diversion." He paused for a moment, checking that the silence was still being observed. Nothing stirred. "Today your blood will not be spilled, for we have a guest of honor!" This time, N'Arahn allowed the cheers and the accompanying roar to break out with a wry grin.

He raised his hand again and the noise ended immediately.

"Welcome to the arena, angel."

With a mocking bow, he pointed to the grating behind which Veidja was watching him. With a crunch, the barrier moved upwards, clearing the way for the angel to step onto the sandy floor. There was only a tiny hesitation before she approached him, standing tall. Her amber eyes fixed on him across the great distance. N'Arahn had to grudgingly give her credit. She hadn't been able to appreciate the scale of the arena from the side entrance, but she seemed unfazed. Despite the immense height of the tiers, filled with its servants, despite the vast oval of the arena, completely enclosed by black rock. The dome that stretched over the arena threw back reflections of light in an artful interplay, so that no separate lighting of the arena floor was necessary.

Veidja paid no attention to any of this. Her bare feet confidently found a way across the sand until N'Arahn stopped her a few steps away, simply denying her the opportunity to move any further towards him. Her face twisted briefly into an angry expression, and then she was back to a calm but focused demeanor.

Knowing that she was safely pinned down - after all, he couldn't have any unexpected interruptions now - the demonlord turned back to his audience.

"This angel will add a little spice to our competitions in the future. She is a battleangel, tested in many fights, versed in the art of demon slaying." Murmurs and hisses rose up, raining down on N'Arahn and his angel. He grinned again and continued: "Don't worry, she can't kill you all with her bare hands." Scattered giggles and hysterical shrieks echoed down to him.

Had the angel just muttered "You think so?" Arrogant beast.

"She'll be competing here in future so that you can learn something about the way angels fight. So I have to disappoint you right away: No matter how nice it feels, she will not be killed for the time being." No protests, he hadn't expected any. "Your captains will assign you each to battles. However, the first, and only fight for today, will be done by me personally. After all, I want her to settle in here properly."

He turned back to Veidja, who was watching him attentively. Her gaze made him uncomfortable in an unusual way, as if she could see something he was trying to hide. Although he had no idea what that might be.

"Do your worst, angel. No armor, no weapons. Let's see how long you can hold out."

Scornful, weird laughter rang down from above. Displeased, N'Arahn looked up, reached through the ranks of his servants in his mind and found a half-mad mind. Immediately he felt the other crawlers move away from the still loudly laughing lesser demon.

"Ah, we have a patron. One of my servants is eager to even your odds."

A thought impulse was all it took for Darr to ruthlessly make his way towards the crawler, who didn't see the calamity coming. The captain grabbed the demon and threw him off the rank and into the arena in a single sweeping motion. Screeching, the auburn body sailed through the air until it landed on the sandy floor with a crunching sound and twisted limbs.

When N'Arahn bent down to him, there was still life in his servant. Pitylessly, he looked at the shattered body, grabbed an arm and pulled the creature towards the angel.

With a sideways glance at Veidja, he asked: "What would you like? A horn?"

A loud crack and he broke off a horn that was growing out of the side of the crawler's head, right at the skull, so that a piece of scalp came off with it. A high-pitched whimper came from the meatbag, but the demonlord ignored it completely.

"Maybe a spike instead?" He held out one of his servant's claw hands to the angel. "That's a nice one, it makes a good weapon." With a jerk, he tore off the bulging finger and claw at the junction to the hand. The whimper increased to a screech.

"No, I know something better."

N'Arahn pulled one twitching leg as straight as he could. Ah, he was enjoying this performance. He could almost taste the angel's revulsion, so intense was Veidja's discomfort. He energetically reached into the lower demon's thigh with both hands, severing skin and sinew with his fingertips, sliding through muscle flesh and wrapping his hands around the thigh bone. It got bloody and slippery, and he had to pin the crawler's body to the ground with one foot, but after a bit of tearing, he held the long, wide bone up.

"Just a bit of residue to remove, like this..." He wiped the bone on the twitching, screaming bundle on the ground. "...one spike still missing..." With a popping sound, he broke off one end of the bone, leaving a sharp-edged end. "...and now your patron has given you an excellent weapon."

The demonlord tossed the bone to the horn and claw and glared at the angel. "Or should he serve you with something else?"

N'Arahn loosened his shadow grip on the angel; she should be able to move freely again. Veidja shook her head, pale. The demonlord chuckled inwardly. The angel's composure was certainly vulnerable. Let's see. He turned back to the dying creeper, who was making eardrum-shredding sounds.

"You're annoying."

With a kick, he stomped on his throat, causing an almost eerie silence to reign instantly. The demons in the stands didn't even make a rustling sound.

In the silence, the angel's footsteps were clearly audible, though she hovered more over the sand than stepped into it. N'Arahn did not turn to her, nor did he need to reveal how superior he was. There. A sharp pain stretched from his right side deep into his belly. Gasping, the demonlord laughed out and, in a half turn, slashed at Veidja with the back of his hand to keep her from pulling out the bone she'd rammed into his body.

"You fight dirty, little angel, who would have thought so."

He grinned wildly at her, the pain fueling his desire to fight. His blood dripped hot along his hip, still just a thin trickle. He left the sharpened bone where it was; it barely impeded him.

"Come on, come on. Try again."

N'Arahn held his arms wide open, as if the angel wanted to jump into his embrace. Veidja looked at him from her ducked position with narrowed eyes and began to circle him slowly and watchfully.

Again he allowed her to attack him from behind, but this time he turned at the last moment so that the angel collided with his chest. Something sharp hit the side of his neck, but missed its intended target. This beast had apparently also taken the crawler's claw.

The demonlord let himself be carried along by the momentum so that he landed on his back in the sand. He wrapped his arms tightly around the angel's body so that she couldn't jump up again. She was really fast and agile, damn it. But he was stronger, bigger and heavier. In his grip, he felt a first rib crack, then a second. The pressure of the claw on his neck eased, which N'Arahn took advantage of to loosen his embrace as well. He placed a hand on the back of the angel's neck and pulled her into the sand beside him in one brutal movement. He followed immediately and sat on her, blocking her legs.

Despite everything, Veidja didn't make a sound. Impressive, N'Arahn thought distractedly. And again that intense, fixing gaze. He knew she must be in pain, but she didn't let it show. She squirmed under him to get free again. She hadn't let go of the claw, stabbing at his legs. He intercepted her hand and nonchalantly broke her forearm.

Their gazes were locked, neither taking their eyes off the other. N'Arahn felt his head emptying. His body struggled, pain erupting anew as Veidja managed to pull the bone from his side with her uninjured hand. But he didn't feel quite involved as he wrested the bone from her again and drove the tip deep into the ground through her hand. The battle frenzy should have taken over long ago. The urge to kill the angel should already be overwhelming.

But the smell of Veidja's blood mixing with his in the sand, and those amber eyes... As if enraptured, he leaned closer to her. Wanted more of that smell. More of her.

He only noticed in passing how the angel pulled the stake out of the soft ground again and brought his hand and stake between their bodies. Only when his chest touched the sharp-edged spike did he feel as if he was being pulled back into his body.

The angel growled at him. "Come on, come on," she mimicked his request from the beginning. N'Arahn grinned so widely in disbelief that the corners of his mouth almost tore. Then he straightened up again and laughed uproariously. Whatever had just held him back was over. Now he would make the angel scream.

The demonlord grabbed the angel's arm and ripped the sharpened bone from Veidja's hand with a jerk.

"Little butterfly, now you will be impaled."