A few more moments passed until Zero was called for the last fight of the day.
Sitting in the empty armory, Zero felt dejected once more that there was not a spear. But he did not spend much time dawdling. Picking up his trusty shield, Zero latched it to his arm. Then, speaking his magic words: "Reveal thyself," Valiant Blade materialized in front of him.
Now that he thought about it, Zero was confused about what had happened to Azarax's original sword. Was it still out there, or was he holding the one and only?
Shaking off his thoughts, Zero sat down and mentally fortified himself for his fight. His plan was simple. Kill his first opponent, preferably in a fashionable way. Then, he would waste time bowing to the crowd. When they calm down, he would walk towards them, like an idol of sorts, and quickly scale the wall.
Then he would run. To where? He did not know, but he could figure that out later after getting a glance at what was around the area. He remembered Azarax had mentioned mountains surrounding Roma, and the islands after that. So maybe he would steal a boat and sail into the unknown.
After a moment, the bell finally rang, and it was time for Zero to see his opponent. As he ascended the steps and was met with the dying light of evening, Zero was surprised by how calm he was. He did not expect himself to be panicky, but he expected to feel his heart beating out of his chest. Perhaps it was the Works of a Hero enchantment.
'May my blade strike true.'
Zero entered the arena and was happy to be met with applause. Though he felt a pang of guilt, not entering the arena with Azarax, the applause meant the crowd did not hold it against him for killing the valiant swordsman.
Zero turned his attention to the other side of the arena. For a moment, nothing appeared. Then, a large beast entered the stadium. The beast was a grey color. It had four legs and a body that sat naturally atop it. It possessed a snout with sharp fangs. A quick glance in the fractured plane revealed the beast was relatively untouched.
Overall, the beast was almost the same height as Zero.
It was a wolf, but Zero did not know what that was.
The predator approached, and Zero did the same. Upon coming closer, the wolf used its snout to smell the air. A moment later, it completely ditched its battle pose. The eyes, which were as piercing as a needle, suddenly dilated into two large moons. Its tail began wagging wildly.
It was almost cute, or maybe more fearsome?
Zero felt the odd urge to pet it.
This time, the wolf approached with no fear, causing Zero to step back in concern. Then the beast pounced. Zero instinctively swung his sword to dissuade it, but the beast effortlessly raised its paw, mid-lunge, and swatted it to the ground.
Zero sprawled to the ground, the wolf atop him. He tried to bash the beast in the head with his shield, but he had dropped the shield when he fell. Also, his arms were oddly positioned for striking.
'I'm dead, again?'
Then the wolf opened its large maw... and licked him. Then again and again, until Zero was able to push its large snout away from him. Zero glanced at his sword, then forgot about it. The beast seemed friendly, and it was so adorable!
After Zero stood back up, the beast lowered its head, and Zero scratched behind its ear.
The wolf raised its head to lick Zero in the face once more, then lowered its head and pulled Zero off his feet.
'Ah aghh, what is it doing?'
Zero landed on top of the wolf's broad back. Somehow, Zero was situated where he was riding the wolf like a horse without a saddle. Not that Zero knew what a horse was either.
The wolf suddenly accelerated forward, leaving Zero just enough time to wrap his arms around the wolf's neck to steady himself.
As it turned out, the Wolf was heading right at the damaged wall with a slight slant. When it reached it, not a moment later, it took a leap into the air. Normally, a beast of that size, including wolves, would not be able to clear that height. But somehow, this wolf cleared the jump completely and landed on the opposite side of the railing.
For an audience who loved watching fights to the death, it was quite surprising when they all screamed and moved back. Of course, Zero did not witness any of this, as he was practically burying his face into the wolf's neck in an attempt not to fall off.
The wolf also did not pay them much attention and immediately ran into a passage leading down.
Finally, for the first time in his memory, Zero had left the coliseum's center ring. He had not been there long, just two days, but as it was his only reference of memory, it felt like a while and meant a lot.
The wolf had burst out onto a bustling hub with people walking all over. It continued his run, often twisting and turning until they had left the crowded part of the city. The whole journey was a blur to Zero, but now he was able to get a decent look at his surroundings. The last moments of twilight were upon them.
First, he saw the looming mountains that the wolf was heading to. Looking around, he saw multiple mountains creating a large circle around a sprawling city. Around him, on the quiet concrete and stone road they were on, were smaller buildings made of grey stone and concrete. Even if the material was dull, elegant arches and pillars made up for it.
'Where are we going anyway?'
Zero was too engaged with holding on or the awe of the city that he forgot to question where they were going. And they were really going; the wolf showed no signs of slowing down. Its great speed had probably left anyone looking for him in the dust.
Azarax said he wanted to travel across the mountains, so Zero saw no point in telling the wolf to do anything different.