No Honour in Life

Did Leo really just hear an archangel give him the instruction to kill other people? No, he must have been hearing things. The pain that cradled his leg in a brutal embrace was messing with his head.

'Leo, did you hear me?' Raphael's voice shimmered beside Leo once more. 'They're calling you a cowardly newbie up here.' His voice had fallen to a whisper, and Leo could imagine he was hiding probably hiding in the corner of a stand full of people calling out terrible names, trying his hardest to give his advice in secret.

'I heard you.' Leo had long lost the resolve to deal brutal attacks, so he wasn't going to do this easily. But why? Wasn't it enough that he won? Did winning only count when it was with a fatal blow? Probably. He felt stupid for not assuming that in the first place.

Prim's hand twitched, but she otherwise didn't stir. Leo looked her over, and wondered how he'd managed to win against someone with a body clearly trained like a professional fighter's. It was like she was born to kill monsters, real ones.

'I'm sorry, Prim.' Leo laid her on the battlefield and dragged himself onto his good knee. He thought about how to finish her. How could he possibly do it without it looking like a barbaric slaughter, or attracting too much attention with his lightning powers?

'Do you need a hand?' asked Raphael's soft voice. The tiny quartz orb floated closer like the archangel himself was leaning in.

'What do you mean?'

'Do as I say.' Something about this took some of the weight off Leo's shoulders, so he let the archangel speak. 'Lift your hand and point to the crowd, any part of it.' Leo followed the instructions, and the heckles immediately turned back to very aggressive cheering. Some of the members of the crowd called out suggestions that Leo could barely make out.

'Stone to the temple!'

'Just cave her head in!'

Leo felt sick. Hopefully those were the suggestions of demons, or he was going to be asking Raphael a lot of questions about the morality here.

Raphael's voice returned. 'Now, you can place your hand on her chest and release a jolt of electricity that will stop her heart. It will be mundane, but she will die painlessly.'

Leo thought about it, on one hand, he thought that such a lack of theatrics would ruin his chances with gaining sponsors. His other worry was that if he finished the job, he'd never see Prim again.

'Hey,' Prim's bruised face rolled to the side, eyes watching him through bloodshot whites.

'I… I can't kill you, Prim. It's wrong.' Leo balled his fist and pressed his knuckles to his forehead.

'I'll just go back to my home here and have to try again. It's alright, kiddo, this ain't the end. But damn, you'd make a good friend.'

Leo felt tears well, as his throat turned sore with the strain.

'Leo…' Raphael's voice wavered.

'Darlin', grab my gun,' Prim instructed. 'And fire right here.' She gestured a weak hand to her forehead, already dirtied and bruised. 'I won't feel it, promise. The crowd'll eat it up.'

Leo bit his lip to stop the pain turning to cries of anguish. She was right about one thing, they could have been good friends. He barely pawed the barrel of the weapon and dragged it to his side. Placing his hand on the trigger felt like the most terrible thing he'd ever done. Was this really the price he had to pay to get Hazel back? This was torture, and only his first day.

'I'm sorry, and thank you,' he managed to splutter through running tears and a bloody mouth. Prim closed her eyes, and Leo took the shot.

The crowd went crazy, cheering and calling out words of encouragement like they were almost relieved he'd done it.

'Shit.' Leo dropped the gun. He wavered for a moment, eyes hazing from water and blood, then ground came up to meet him.

Leo woke in a bed, which honestly surprised him considering his last memory was that kill. He should've been in Hell. Acting instinctively, he stretched his body outwards before anything else, and realised that both his legs were a little sore. This was weird because he had the terrible memory of the snap he heard when Prim broke one of them. He was lying in a pretty room. His room. It was empty aside from the lovely little bits of furniture, but the balcony doors were open, wind pushing the white drapes into the room like they were the Mantle of God.

'Huh?' He felt himself over, and found that his most obvious cuts were gone, and merely a few bruises remained. Was this just what happened when you slept in this part of the afterlife?

'Leo.' Raphael stepped in from the balcony, head lowered like a nervous animal. 'How do you feel?'

Leo realised Raphael probably assumed he would be angry about everything, which wasn't entirely untrue. However, he didn't pin that fury on Raphael this time, but instead the people who made these games. Otherwise, he just felt confused and sad. He said none of this to Raphael, and pursued something more interesting.

'Will I see her again?' he asked.

'Yes.' Raphael's voice was soft and low. He kept by the door as if he would need to make an escape at some point. 'Once she passes that first battle, she will be able to walk these grounds freely, much like you can.'

Leo just nodded. He wasn't sure what to say next, though he felt the urge to fill the space growing between them. There were so many questions about the brutality he was going to have to commit in Heaven's Colosseum, but all of them would probably be tough for a being of good like Raphael to answer. He suddenly realised that Raphael hated this as much as he did. No archangel was designed to tell a human to kill another human, nor were they meant to rebel against the Creator. This system was unfair and cruel, but they needed it to achieve their goals. He quietly gestured to his Key and checked his sponsor request list. The hologram-like screen was blank. He nearly bit his cheek in frustration.

'Do you need a break?' Raphael asked, head so low his white cap covered his eyes. 'Would you like to take the day off, tomorrow? You're in, so you don't have to worry about being removed from the grounds like if you had lost.'

Leo didn't think about it too long–he'd learned hesitation was a bad idea here. 'No.' He pushed himself to the edge of the bed and walked to the balcony. A brilliant night sky full of blue coloured stars and wavering lights from the colosseum created a fantastical image… perfect for hiding the gore. 'No, I need to keep going if I'm supposed to get used to this.'

'Then you have a choice.' Raphael gently took his hand, avoiding eye contact all the while. 'Would you like to fight someone again, or try your first survival game on a lower floor?'

'Let's try a survival game,' Leo said. 'I'll have to kill more people in one day then, won't I?'

'Yes Leo, yes you will.'