The floor of the entire stone chamber trembled slightly with it.
First to emerge was a pitch-black bovine face, its eyes glinting dark red in the dim light.
Then came curved, sharp horns, followed by broad shoulders, a neck, and a chest that looked built from rock-the human torso was covered in iron-black skin, and its muscles were not smooth lines but tightly twisted bundles, like steel cables ready to burst, coiled layer upon layer, each holding an almost brutal degree of raw strength and hardness.
The crowds in the arena began to disperse.
Liquor spilled by someone and several dark red stains remained on the flagstone floor.
Diamante tightened his belt and walked toward his companions waiting in the shadows of the colonnade.
He grinned, his laughter echoing down the empty passage.
"This place is even more interesting than I expected."
Today's performance had ended.
The spectators talked as they left, their faces carrying a mixture of satisfaction and anticipation.
They talked about tomorrow's program, about the "performers" destined to bleed dry inside iron cages.
On this island, another group paid the price for entertainment-pirates who sailed this route but broke the rules here through carelessness, arrogance, or simple stupidity.
Anyone who was not alert enough or strong enough would be silently swallowed by this island.
"The two strongest people in town,"
Diamante lowered his voice. He had not merely been amusing himself earlier.
He had pried something valuable out of certain people. "One is the arena's 'king,' a gray-haired girl. Apparently... she has horse ears.
"Her name is Oguri Cap."
In a room somewhere far from the clamor, the air carried a mingled smell of leather and metal.
An exceptionally burly figure stood by the window, the contours of his muscles resembling repeatedly hammered cast iron in