Snippet #2300994

The crowd went wild. Mostly frustrated people who bet their money on Baalhanno. People were booing and throwing leftover food down into the arena grounds.
Arcadius held his sword against the man's neck from behind him and looked up to where the judges sat. Aedile Gaius Antonius, the game host, stood up and tried to calm the crowd from going berserk. He was going to call the shots as to whether Baalhanno should live or die. The crowd shouted that he should not live.
"Damn these Romans." Baalhanno said. "One moment they worshipped me like a god, now that I finally lost my winning streak, they call out for my blood."
"I won out of pure luck." Arcadius said. "What's going to happen now?"
"You have to end my life here warrior. My defeat has disappointed many and robbed them of their coin purse."
"What?!" Arcadius protested. "I don't want to do that."
"I haven't tasted defeat like this in a long, long, time. I guess you are the one who has come to replace me of my title as a champion of the arena. I always expected this to happen sooner or later. It's gonna happen to you to someday as well. Someone is going to come and replace you while you look up to see the 'thumbs-down'. They think themselves gods, passing judgement on a man's life like this."
As Baalhanno predicted, Antonius gave the 'thumbs-down- sign.
"Do it!" Baalhanno growled.
"Whats going to happen if I refuse?"
"There's no room for soft-heartedness as a gladiator. They'll kill you."
Arcadius looked about the crowd with a glowering expression on his face. He ran his blade through Baalhanno's throat swiftly.
The man's limp body collapsed to the ground with a thud. The crowd went wild as they chanted Arcadius's name.
Arcadius slowly walked back into the gladiator quarters with downcast eyes, dropping his blood-stain sword along the way.