Amid the shouts resounding from all directions, the woman stood with an expressionless face and the sound in her hand stretched out.
As for protection, just like the slaves that had come out so far, all she had was a weapon without a single piece of armor. So did the man on the other side.
The man swung his mace and glared at her with ferocious eyes. It looked like he was raising his fighting spirit.
“Which one do you think will win?”
The Tyrant asked me. A voice that sounded strangely excited.
He had only talked about useless words until now, but he suddenly brought up something related to the match for the first time.
I looked at him once, then looked back to the pitch and answered.
“The female side will win.”
He looked back at me with curious eyes and smiled.
“Are you asserting right away? Are you sure?”
I didn’t have to answer.
[Lv. 43]
[Lv. 42]
I wasn’t sure.
One level at level 40s wasn’t that big of a difference.
The female side had a higher chance of winning, but one level difference was enough for a variable to occur.
Even so…
Somehow, it didn’t seem like that variable would ever happen.
This was just intuition.
I stared down at the two gladiators standing opposite each other.
– Alright then, let the game begin!
As soon as the match started, the man turned the mace and shot it straight at the woman.
The woman turned around and approached. The man skillfully picked up the mace and swung it again.
He seldom gave up the distance. He pulled himself back and swung his heavy mace without hesitation. The thorns attached to the iron ball rubbed all over the woman’s body, and blood spurted out.
She kept trying to get close to her opponent, barely dodging the rushing attack by a slight margin. It seemed like it didn’t matter if the mace hit her. It was a bold and reckless move, almost like a beast.
“You bastard like mouse…!”
It was the man who was pushed out of the momentum.
He quickly grabbed the mace and struck it hard.
The woman lowered her posture for a moment. Avoiding the attack, she wrapped the sword around the chain that connected to the iron ball, and then pulled it out.
The man missed the mace. She also threw away the sword entangled in the chain and rushed forward, drawing another sword from her waist.
The man who quickly drew his sword also responded to the woman’s attack.
The gladiator match continued for a while. Even though I didn’t know swordsmanship, it was the woman who clearly had the better ability.
The man could not come to his senses with the fierce sword attack, and he was in a hurry to defend himself.
Whoa!
And at one point, in the blink of an eye, one arm of the man flew away.
He let out a tearful scream, lost his balance, and fell to the floor. The cheers of the audience erupted.
“Sa, save me! Please!”
Without time to struggle with pain, the man cried out in an earnest voice.
“I have younger brothers waiting at home! Without me, they will all die! Please…!”
The words didn’t go any further.
The man’s head, floating in the air, fell to the floor and rolled.
The woman who had brushed off the blood on her sword let out a rough breath with an unrelentingly heartless face.
She turned around, not paying attention to the man’s corpse, nor to the crowd. Then she walked straight to the exit.
If the match was bland, the boos from the spectator stand would fill the arena. But this time, the boos and the cheers were equally great.
“Haha! After all, Reef, that bitch is the best!”
“What’s the best? It was fun before, when she was still rolling at the bottom. But nowadays, she only ends the fight like that.”
“By the way, there are no opponents in the fifth order anymore? Would she challenge the champion soon?”
“Ah, no matter what, she’s still not good enough for a champion…”
The sound of the audience talking resounded in my ears.
The Tyrant said with admiration.
“This is as you said.”
“...”
He looked down at the woman leaving the arena with a strange gaze, then asked me.
“How about it, Seventh Lord? Did you enjoy the game?”
I opened my mouth softly.
“Is this fun?”
As if it was the expected reaction, he said with a big smile.
“Well, quite?”
“...”
“Battles between insects are also fun in their own way. They scramble to spare even such a trivial life, bite each other, and then eventually despair. Isn’t that interesting?”
All the other Lords were like that, too.
The guy who said those words yawned and got up from his seat.
“It looks like there are still a few more matches left. Would you like to keep watching?”
It was as if he had seen everything he could see now.
I shook my head and got up from my seat.
“Okay, then you can finish what you came here to do. This guy can guide you to get the slave you’re looking for.”
Saying that, he pointed to one man standing behind him. A man with long shaggy hair and a blunt impression.
“It was nice to see you again, Seventh Lord. Let’s go.”
After saying that, the Tyrant waved his hand and moved forward. The servants followed behind him.
I stared at his back, then shifted my gaze to the man who was pointed out by the Tyrant.
He bowed politely and opened his mouth.
“I’m Gillock, the prison chief. I heard the Lord is looking for slaves in the prison. If you tell me who it is, I’ll get them right away.”
I glanced down again.
The figure of the woman had suddenly disappeared outside the exit.
In the still uncooled heat, there was only blood, and a corpse left in the stadium.
Gillock offered to bring the slave I was looking for, but Asher and I went directly to the prison.
A hallway full of disgusting smells mixed with things.
I spoke to him as we walked past the iron bars where the slaves were imprisoned.
“The girl who played in the last match, is her name ‘Reef’?”
Gillock replied with a puzzled look.
“Yes, that’s right.”
I asked him again.
“Does she have anything to do with the Sixth Lord?”
It’s something I had been curious about for quite a while now.
Because the Tyrant, who had no interest in other games, seemed to be only interested in her game.
The game itself was nothing special
Even if the level was higher than the previous matches, at most, it was a confrontation between level 40s. It wouldn’t be enough in the other’s view.
If so, it meant that he had some interest in the woman's existence, not in the game…
As if my prediction was correct, Gillock hesitated to answer with a slightly stiff face.
“Is this a difficult question to answer?”
“No.”
“Then answer me.”
As soon as I rushed, the story flowed out.
“Her younger brother is addicted to the Sixth Lord’s [Blood Art].”
“...Addicted?”
At that point, I immediately understood.
The Sixth Lord’s [Blood Art], poisoning.
'...Is he talking about light blood disease?'
The unique [Blood Art] possessed by the Sixth Lord was as vicious as his inclination.
His [Blood Art] was basically the ability to amplify physical abilities.
However, if he raised his blood skill to the limit and entered a berserk state, he would emit blood mist from his body, but the problem was that the subject who came into contact with the mist would lose their mind and run wild. Blood would boil all over their body and would burn their own life force.
There’s a reason it’s called a disease.
This was because even after the berserk state ended and they barely saved their life, his blood remains latent in their body.
It was like living with a time bomb in one’s body that could be detonated anytime.
That’s why his existence itself is a disaster.
His evil personality wasn’t the only reason he was called the worst vampire, but the existence of that ability also played a big part.
In the game, it reminded me that there was a setting where there were several cities or villages that were destroyed in the past because of his abilities.
Resistance was possible if there was even a bit of magical power or a high level of spirit, but it was impossible for civilians living ordinary lives.
“For the gladiator who wins the championship, the Sixth Lord grants them one wish. That’s why she became a gladiator of Actipol.”
“...”
It was a short explanation, but it was enough to solve all the questions.
If one became a champion, they could make a wish to the Sixth Lord.
So, she became a champion and became a gladiator to help heal her brother.
Naturally, another question arose.
“Who’s the current champion?”
“It’s me.”
...What?
As I looked, Gillock spoke again.
“I am the current champion of Actipol.”
“…Aren’t you the prison chief here?”
“Yes, it’s because I used my wish so I could manage the prison here. That’s why I am also serving as the head of the prison.”
Oh, was that the case?
I didn’t quite understand, so I asked.
“Why the prison chief? There must be much better positions.”
Even if it was a wish, of course, there would be limitations, but it would have been possible to gain a fortune to live and play for the rest of his life, or to gain the title of a knight in the territory.
I remembered there was a knight who was a champion of Actipol in the Sixth Lord’s castle in the game, too.
He didn’t say a word for a while, but then answered bluntly.
“At that time, I wanted nothing else. I was just living because I couldn’t die, and I became the head of the prison intending to do something better for the conditions of the slaves I lived with.”
“...”
For an unexpected reason, I was a little surprised.
A place where all the humans whose lives are thrown into the gutter.
They played a match in which someone must die every day. It’s hard to think that there could be camaraderie. Still, to take care of the conditions of the slaves, he became the head of the prison, using that one wish everyone here coveted.
It was enough to get a rough idea of what kind of character this man named Gillock had.
I didn’t talk to him further and just walked without a word.
The thoughts that ran through my mind were of the woman named Reef.
Gillock said she was trying to become a champion to cure his brother’s illness…
[Lv. 48]
I felt a sense of unease in my heart.
It wasn’t because Gillock’s level in front of me right now was much higher than hers.
Even if she defeated Gillock and became the champion… Because, as far as I know, there was only one way to cure the light blood disease.
The death of the Tyrant, the source of the disease.
There was nothing other than that.
That was why, until now, there had been no one who had survived from the light blood disease.
'...Well, I don’t care.'
It was enough for me to take out the man named Van, as Gulpiro asked.
With that, there was nothing more to see in this territory or here in Actipol.
Soon, Gillock stopped in front of a prison cage.
Several slaves were scattered randomly in the dark iron cage.
“Open the door.”
“Yes.”
Geeek.
At Gillock’s command, the guard opened the cage’s door.
He pointed to the squatting young man sitting with his knees wrapped in the corner.
“That’s Van.”
The pointed Van looked at him with eyes full of fear.
He was dragged and beaten, so his face was full of scabs and bruises.
“Is that Van who ran a fruit stand?”
“...Yes, yes? That’s right.”
I beckoned to him.
“Come out.”
***
The outer corridor of the stadium.
Gillock, who had just come out of the prison and was walking down the hallway, stopped when he saw a woman walking in the opposite direction.
But the woman only glanced at him once and did not stop walking.
While watching her passing by, Gillock opened his mouth.
“Is your brother okay?”
Then she stopped walking.
She turned her head and looked at Gillock with cold eyes without saying a word.
Gillock murmured, choosing what to say, and finally sighed.
“Don’t challenge me for the championship, Reef.”
“...”
“You can’t defeat me. I don’t want to kill you. And even if you win, the Sixth Lord will surely…”
“Shut up.”
Reef cut what he’s saying with a fierce growl and turned around and went off the road.
Looking at her back, Gillock sighed once more.
He looked up at the sky and murmured.
“...Fuck, really.”
I feel sorry for Gillock and Reef
ReplyDelete