Animal World/Cheddar Cheese

## Beast Hunt

In the dark of night, a luxurious carriage pulled up quietly to a run-down iron gate in the depths of an alley, and a hooded man disembarked from the carriage with a huff.

His pudgy fingers crammed with massively-bejeweled rings were clutching a metal cable, locked to the other end of which were the skinny necks of several young men.

The man cracked a smile as he waved his "entrance ticket" at the doorman and then impatiently strode into that gloomy, restricted area.

Inside the iron gate, there were vague and intermittent cries of forlorn animals tearing at the velvety night sky dotted with sweet stars.

A secret game was being played out here popular among the nobility—for the price of a few cheap slaves, they could partake in an "audio-visual feast".

And those slaves naturally became the most important seasoning in the gluttonous affair.

From a spectator platform, noblemen craned their necks and looked through exquisite opera glasses as they greedily scanned this beast fighting arena known far and wide as "The Pit"—

Lambs chained together awaiting slaughter, the ground strewn with eerie white bones, and a slowly rising animal cage.

\*Ba-dooom—\*

The heavy iron cage crashed with a hasty boom on the ground, kicking up a ring of dust and scaring all the blood from the faces of those pathetic young men.

The nobles leaned in and stretched their necks as they chattered excitedly among themselves.

"I hear... that beast will go berserk as soon as it leaves the cage. One time it killed over a hundred people in a mere half an hour."

"Heh-heh. I hope those little chickadees can put up at least some fight, or else the two days and three nights I spent coming here will have been a waste of time... I'm afraid the cries and looks of despair are the most emotionally stirring part of this game."

"Although, I seem to have heard that the nobles who previously taken part in this game have all gone missing without a trace..."

"Hmph. That's just a ruse concocted by those conniving local nobles to scare us away. It only comes about once a month... Everyone wants in!"

...

The rusty lock of the iron cage was kicked open violently, and the whispered chatter came to a sharp halt.

The crowd was looking forward to seeing what this legendary bloodthirsty beast would look like, and even more so the ruthless game's spine-tingling thrills that were to come.

Claws like knives and snow-white fangs.

But under that grayish-white fur skin was actually... a skinny little kid.

The nobles all stared at each other, but then they saw the youngster cheerily pick up the thick iron lock off the ground and casually snap it in two.

He cocked his head to the side playfully, then pointed to a half-open door at the side of the Pit.

"I don't like playing games with weak little kids... Go."

"Hey—What's going on?! What about the show we were promised?"

"Yeah! Where'd this little brat come from?!"

A wave of anger arose from the spectator platform. The youngster lifted his head and snapped his fingers with a resounding snap.

\*Ka-thunk—\*

The round spectator platform was instantly surrounded by an iron fence that fell from the white ceiling, forming a nifty little cage, just like that.

The nobles, pale with shock, crowded together in a panic. Viewed from a distance, they were just like wriggling bugs dressed in pretty silks.

The youngster waved a key glinting with cold light from his wristband, and his mischievous voice reverberated in the massive arena:

"Hah. You're locked up now... But I can only give this key here to one person."

"The show is just getting started. Good luck, everyone."

As he said that, beast-like wails and sounds of scuffling kicked off.

...

Lanterns as bright as daylight shined down with a bleak glow, and the reek of blood washed clean the sins of the Pit.

The youngster skipped happily along the spiral staircase leading up to the spectator platform, then he tapped the cheek of a barely-breathing human with the tip of his bare foot.

"...Give me the key... Let me go..."

The human's bloody hand grabbed the youth's skinny ankle. The youngster shrugged his shoulders and stuck the key into the keyhole, then turned sideways and squeezed into the cage.

"Who ever said we'd let you go once you got the key?"

The youngster gave an innocent look as he drew close to the human's black-and-blue, blood-streaked face. Then he patted him on the head and suddenly extended his claws.

"Looks like you're the strongest among these dregs. Hee-hee. Congrats—You've won the honor of a one-on-one fight with me."