"Azarax! Slash at its back ankle or stab at its center chest. It may look bony, but all that's protecting it is ribs."
Azarax heeded his advice. While the beast's attention was mostly focused on Zero, Azarax came from behind and cut the beast's ankles, causing it to stagger. Then Azarax continued his momentum and slithered right in front of the beast. He flipped his sword around and stabbed directly where Azarax had told him to.
Despite its curve, the blade pierced deep into the beast. Azarax pushed off from his blade and twisted it as he pulled it out. Then he raised it above his head to deflect a devastating blow.
Trotting a few steps back into safety, Azarax stared down the beast and watched as its mouth and chest began to pour out blood. The beast's legs buckled, and it fell to the ground. Pitifully, it turned its head away from the Azarax's piercing gaze.
"Did you get it?"
"Not yet."
In an instant, the beast snapped its head forward and lunged at Azarax with its fangs. Expecting this, Azarax side-stepped the lunge and plunged his blade into the eye of the beast, causing it to go limp.
'Hey, I hit that eye with the shield, it's bruised.'
Then he retracted his blade and stabbed it a few more times.
"Now it is done. Fetch your shield, and let us return."
~~~
They returned to their cell, and after paying Zero a compliment about bravery, he began cleaning his sword.
"Like I mentioned. That damaged wall, with rubble piled up and a small slant to it. Tomorrow, at dusk, we will scale it and leave this place. Then we can fade away into the dark. I believe it's the least guarded wall, and escape from it will be the most plausible."
Zero nodded thoughtfully.
"So just win our match, then make a break for it?"
"Precisely."
"How are you sure that we will get a match at dusk, and where do we go once we get out?"
"The spectacle I've… we've been putting on. The onlookers love it. Thus, if we are still standing, we will be placed as the very last match, so people will stay for a longer time. As for where we will go after our escape. I have a couple of friends' houses we can seek refuge at, at least for a bit of time. Or ideally, we can venture past the mountains of Roma and into the islands beyond."
Zero nodded thoughtfully in agreement, then Azarax continued, "Now, if you have no more inquiries, all that is left is for a night's rest."
With that, Azarax stood his sword against the wall and laid down to sleep.
Zero stayed awake for a bit longer, contemplating his place in the world. To him, the thought line seemed especially daunting. For he had known nothing and was named after nothing. Perhaps once he was free, he could become something, something…
A howl rang out, interrupting Zero's train of thought. A moment later, Azarax's sword slid from its place and clanged against the concrete floor.
A sigh rang out next to him, and Azarax shifted around and picked up his fallen sword. He spared Zero a glance, then returned to his sleeping position.
"Hey Azarax, when you are free, what will you do?"
Azarax was silent for a moment.
"When we leave this place, I think I will travel to a distant land. Perhaps even across the great sea. Then I will continue what I started here. I will pursue strength and accomplish great and good deeds that will become renowned in the land, and then renowned in all of Era-Terre. All will know my name."
Azarax's eyes looked almost wistful, like he was not staring at the ceiling above, but rather at a faraway land.
"And you, comrade, what will you do?"
~~~
Zero found himself back in the basement armory, arming himself with his trusty, round shield and a different spear he found, as the last one had broken.
At the bell, Azarax and Zero got up to face their next opponents. Exiting the basement, they were met with especially loud applause. Zero even heard some of the audience members yell out Azarax's name.
"May our blades strike true, comrade."
Across from them emerged a man and another beast. The man looked surprisingly frail and was wielding a spear like Zero. This beast was thankfully less frightful than the last one they had faced. It went up to about the man's waist and had a hard, armored shell. If Zero had known what an armadillo was, he would have said they looked quite similar. The 'sand beast' was repeatedly smashing its claws into the sandstone ground.
Zero looked at Azarax for his plan and saw that he was staring at the opposing man. Perhaps a wistful look in his eyes, or maybe one of nostalgia. Eventually, Azarax acknowledged Zero's gaze and spoke, "I will take the man… he was an old friend of mine, a skilled lumberjack."
Zero nodded, and they approached their opponents.
'I should get its attention.'
After a moment, Zero broke off from Azarax and then began beating his shield with the shaft of his spear. A moment later, the sand beast broke off from the lumberjack and headed towards Zero.
Zero glanced once more at Azarax, then shifted his vision into the fractured plane and studied the sand beast. Its shell was practically flawless and contained no deep fractures. Zero crouched down for a moment and studied its face and underbelly. From far away, he could not see that well, but was fairly sure its underbelly and face had deeper ridges than its shell.
Zero judged the distance and determined he had time to glance once more at Azarax. The valiant man was at a standoff with the lumberjack. They seemed to be talking about something.
'Wait, what if they decide to run off now without me?'
Zero glanced apprehensively at the damaged wall, which happened to be next to the two men. But before his thought could take root in his mind, the lumberjack lunged at Azarax with his spear. At the same time, the sand beast let out a snarl and began to approach faster.