“There's a strange one mixed in down there, isn't there?”
Crimson's gaze clung to Yuto's back. A sticky, chilling gaze. Yuto felt it across his entire body. It was deeply unpleasant, the eyes of someone observing an insect. The impulse to charge at the monster, drive his sword into her, and strangle her surged within him. The inexplicable murderous intent boiled up again merely because Crimson was watching him.
‘No.’
He crushed the impulse. Charging at Crimson now would be suicide. The woman existed on another plane. She could erase Yuto like dust with a flick of one finger. There was nothing the current Yuto could do to that monster.
So he ignored her. Turning his back on Crimson's gaze, Yuto headed toward Gaon and Rugil.
The two had reached their limits. With his narrow, one-eyed field of vision, Rugil was barely managing to shove back an attacking gladiator, while Gaon limped beside him and struggled to guard his flank. They would not last much longer. For the two men, neither of whom was physically sound, this pandemonium might as well have been death's threshold.
SLASH! Yuto cut open the back of a gladiator trying to attack Rugil, sending the man rolling across the ground. The gladiators about to attack the pair quickly abandoned the idea and backed away as soon as Yuto approached. Even those from other leagues who had first seen Yuto today did the same. They had watched him instantly take a sword from a guard and use it to cut down the others. By now, everyone knew that boy stood on another level from the rest.
“Take these.”
Yuto handed Rugil and Gaon the swords he had taken from the guards he cut down on his way over.
“Don't attack first. Stand back-to-back and hold your ground.”
Neither man was physically sound, and neither was accustomed to using a sword. If they tried to attack, they would only expose openings. In this situation, their best choice was to stand back-to-back and focus on defense. If they held out that way, common rabble would not kill them.
Ebil glared at Yuto. Corpses lay strewn around her. Even the Upper League gladiators were ultimately nothing more than slaves Ebil had collected and raised. To people who could wield neither the power of a Constellation nor even magic, Ebil was an absolute predator.
She had demonstrated that power. Ebil alone had already killed more than ten gladiators here. Even so, she had failed to draw Crimson's attention. She had rampaged in pursuit of notice from the woman she admired, yet those red eyes watched Yuto instead.
‘Yuto.’
Ebil ground her teeth. He was an enigma in every respect. Despite claiming to remember nothing but his own name, he handled a sword skillfully and knew how to whip an arena crowd into a frenzy. Perhaps even his claim of amnesia was a lie, but Ebil had not considered that a problem.
As long as the choker remained, Yuto's life was at Ebil's mercy, and his value as a gladiator was high. She simply had to make good use of him. But now—Yuto could no longer be used as Ebil wished. Instead, his very existence had become a major obstacle to her.
Crimson was already watching Yuto rather than Ebil. What Ebil had to do was clear. Killing other humans or Evomon would not steal Crimson's attention from him. Ebil was also the owner of a colosseum. She knew exactly how to seize a spectator's interest.
She only had to kill the one receiving all the attention. Then that attention would naturally turn to the victor. Splash. Ebil approached Yuto, trampling through puddled blood and over corpses.
A prickle.
He sensed murderous intent. It was murderous intent of the most inferior sort. Yuto turned his head toward its source. Ebil approached him with disheveled hair, her whole body covered in dirt and dripping sweat.
“How dare you......!”
Ebil spoke in a boiling voice.
“Someone like you dares attract her attention?”
Jealousy permeated her voice. WHOOSH! Scarlet fireballs appeared behind Ebil.
Gaon and Rugil retreated in terror, but Yuto calmly considered the situation and adjusted his grip on the sword. Inferior murderous intent, rage, and jealousy. Emotion had overwhelmed Ebil's reason.
That was why she could not think calmly. She was in complete disarray. Sweat streamed down her dirt-covered face, her breathing was ragged, and her steps wobbled. Neither the power of a Constellation nor magic was infinite. Both consumed stamina and aether. No matter how superior one's strength, failing to wield it calmly turned it into a double-edged sword. Even without injury, one could no longer move once one's stamina was exhausted.
“You're nothing but a slave!”
Ebil shrieked and swung her hand. WHOOSH! A fireball hovering behind her shot forward. Yuto threw himself aside at the same instant. BOOM! The place where he had been standing exploded, and a cloud of dirt rose into the air. Hot wind grazed his skin. Still in a roll, Yuto launched himself again. BOOM, BOOM! Explosions tore at the ground behind him one after another.
‘Magic.’
This was different from his previous opponents. No matter how fast a guard's sword moved, a body ultimately had to swing it. The shoulder moved first, the center of gravity shifted, and the gaze turned. If he read the signs, he could dodge.
Magic was different. It manifested with a single gesture, followed irregular trajectories, and its explosions devoured even the place one dodged toward. He could sense the murderous intent and determine its direction, but slipping inside its path as he would against a sword was no simple matter.
Moreover, magic was not the only power Ebil wielded. Blades of wind rippled around her body. If the fireball she had just launched was magic, those wind blades were the power of a Constellation. If Yuto approached carelessly, they would grind his body apart.
Magic at range, the power of a Constellation up close. Yuto rose from his roll. Ebil burst into laughter at the sight.
“Ahaha!”
Cackling, Ebil raised both hands. WHOOSH! Fireballs formed once again. Yuto rolled across the ground and used the bodies of other gladiators as shields to evade her barrage.
‘A frontal confrontation is impossible.’
Yuto's mind worked coldly.
‘The magic is the problem. I need to drain her aether first.’
All those powers consumed aether and stamina. Ebil had been rampaging without rest. She had killed gladiators, attacked Evomon, and was now bombarding Yuto with magic. The moment when that power ran dry would inevitably come.
And so Yuto began to flee without forcing an attack. More precisely, he moved in a way that made it appear as though he were fleeing.
“Die! Die!”
Ebil floated into the air. She had begun using the power of her Constellation in earnest to pursue Yuto. Flying rapidly through the air, she bombarded him with magic. Yuto evaded the attacks by a hair, making each escape look truly desperate. Fireballs burned the edge of his clothing, and wind blades cut strands of his hair. He dodged those attacks, too fast for the eye to follow, through instinct alone.
In the process, Yuto became certain. He was skilled not only at fighting opponents with swords but also those who wielded powers like these. How could so much experience fit within this young body? He set the question aside for later.
‘More. Keep attacking.’
If he dodged with ease, Ebil would grow cautious and conserve her strength. But if he looked as though she could catch him with ‘just a little more,’ the maddened Ebil would continue attacking with everything she had.
‘More.’
Yuto counted inwardly as he rolled between the corpses. Twelve fireballs. Nine wind blades. Each time Ebil manifested her power, it grew a little weaker. The fireballs shrank, the blades slowed, and the intervals between their manifestations lengthened.
“Hah, hah......”
Ebil's breathing grew ragged. She gnawed at her lip and spat out the words.
“Why......? Why won't they hit you? Why won't you die......?!”
As the madness peeled away, anxiety appeared on her face. Only now did Ebil sense her strength fading. Far from catching Yuto, she would exhaust her aether first at this rate. No, her reserves were already scraping the bottom.
And Yuto had been waiting for that moment. The instant Ebil tried to shape another fireball, during the brief delay before it manifested, Yuto kicked off the ground.
Ebil's eyes flew open. The slave who had been fleeing until a moment ago reversed direction as though it had all been a lie and darted in. He moved faster than anything he had shown thus far. Only then did Ebil realize that every close escape she had witnessed had been an act.
Her confusion delayed the completion of the spell even further. The forming fireball dispersed uselessly in midair. Ebil recoiled in horror and threw herself backward. WHOOSH! Unlike the magic she shaped herself, a blessing was power bestowed by a Constellation in the heavens. Activating it was faster than casting magic.
But it inevitably consumed even more power than magic. Her nearly exhausted aether was wrung dry. The wind blades she summoned around herself had less than one-quarter their original density.
SLASH!
The blade that pierced between the gaps in the wind blades tore open Ebil's side. Blood sprayed. It had not cut as deeply as Yuto wanted because he had been forced to break through, but Ebil's face turned deathly pale. She was unused to pain of this kind.
“Aaaaargh!”
Ebil screamed and twisted. Once more, she wrung aether into the hand she swung. The blades surrounding her in defense concentrated around it. The sharp slash hurtled toward Yuto.
Wind nearly invisible to the eye. But Yuto surrendered his body to instinct. The wind blade passed over his rapidly lowered head. Severed strands of hair flew through the air, and Ebil's eyes widened. Yuto swung his sword at the same moment. SLICE! His blade severed Ebil's right leg.
“Aah, aaaaargh!”
Ebil tumbled across the ground. Her side had been cut open, and her leg had been severed. Her mind went blank as blood poured out. Yuto suppressed his panting. He too had pushed himself too hard, moving excessively to drain Ebil's strength.
But there was no longer any need. Ebil could not fight. Suppressing his breaths, Yuto strode toward her. She had fallen backward and could not even rise. She dragged herself along on her backside, sobbing through her groans.
It was over. Yuto would kill Ebil, the woman who had created and operated the Colosseum and forced slaves to fight. He had no reason to show her mercy. Ebil had treated Yuto favorably until now, but that had merely been part of a mistress training her slave.
Thump.
As he approached Ebil, Yuto felt his heart pound. It was a strange sensation. Yuto now held the absolute advantage. Even so, his heart warned him not to approach carelessly.
‘Why?’
Experience had permeated his body, but Yuto did not know what that experience was. All he had to do was approach and drive his sword into Ebil to kill her. There was no reason to retreat. Even so, Yuto did not ignore his instincts. He flinched to a stop and took one step back.
It happened then. Pale green wind surged from Ebil's body. Her aether was already depleted, and she had suffered mortal wounds. She should not have had the strength to draw out so much power. Even so, it was vivid enough to be seen with the naked eye.
That was not Ebil's power. Her contracted Constellation, the ‘Deer That Runs with the Wind,’ had bestowed a blessing upon her. The reason such power descended upon Ebil, who was utterly insignificant compared to the beings contracted to that Constellation, was simple.
The Constellation wanted to watch Ebil struggle longer. —ROAR! A tremendous wind erupted from her and swept toward Yuto. It was incomparably stronger than any of the attacks Ebil had unleashed thus far.
It was too late to evade. Yuto gritted his teeth and held his sword upright. He had to protect his body somehow and endure. But—could he? The moment Yuto's face contorted.
“Rooooar!”
Someone shoved Yuto aside. The hands touching him were hot as fire. As he was sent flying, Yuto looked toward them.
The Mad Fox.
It had broken free of the Evomon and, with its body battered beyond recognition, sprinted across the Colosseum in an instant to push Yuto away. CRUNCH! Before Yuto's eyes, the pale green wind hacked the Mad Fox's body apart. The flames surrounding its small frame guttered beneath the fierce gust, and blood sprayed as its orange pelt was torn open.
‘Why......?’
The truth was unmistakable. The Mad Fox had hurled itself forward to save Yuto. It had pushed him aside and taken the Constellation's blessing in his place. The blood-soaked Mad Fox tumbled across the ground. Its resilient Evomon vitality kept it breathing despite the wounds. It barely lifted its bloody head and looked at Yuto. The eyes that had contained only rage, hatred, and madness now held a different awareness.
“Yu......to......”
The Mad Fox stammered Yuto's name. The call sent a powerful shock through him, as though he had been electrocuted. Just as Yuto knew the Mad Fox, it knew him. The little Evomon remembered Yuto and was calling his name.
“Flo......”
Yuto spoke without realizing it.
“Flokiro......?”
The Mad Fox.
Relief spread through Flokiro's eyes. At the same time, pale green wind surged from Ebil's body again.
“Ah, aah, aaaargh......”
Ebil lay facedown, her body convulsing. Her aether was exhausted; there was nothing left to wring from it. Her side had been cut open, her leg severed, and she had lost far too much blood. But she was still alive. If she had no aether, she could burn away her dying life to squeeze out more power. The Constellation was blessing Ebil now not to protect her, but to force her to keep fighting.
Yuto gritted his teeth and kicked off the ground. Unlike the last one, this blessing was slow to activate and weak. He could break through it now. Reaching Ebil in an instant, Yuto drove his sword down.
SHNK! The point pierced Ebil's heart. Her mouth fell open in her deathly pale face. The pale green wind around her began to scatter.
“I...... I am......”
Ebil twisted weakly and stammered. Her barely moving eyes looked not at Yuto, who had impaled her, but at Crimson in the VIP section.
‘Ah......’
Crimson was smiling brightly. The smile appeared delighted, but neither it nor her gaze was directed at Ebil. Ebil despaired at the realization and died. To the very end, she had failed to earn Crimson's attention.
“Haa...... Hah......”
Yuto pulled the sword from Ebil's corpse. Her face, twisted by despair rather than pain at the moment of death, was gruesome. Yuto felt nothing as he looked at it. Someone who had to die had merely died.
“Flo......kiro.”
Yuto turned away from Ebil's body. Flokiro lay facedown on the ground, blood-soaked and panting. It was alive, but gravely wounded. Yuto hurried toward it.
“You...... Why did you......?”
Approaching and dropping to his knees, Yuto forced out the words. Perhaps Flokiro no longer had the strength to speak, for it merely looked up at him. Its eyes held only relief that it had protected Yuto.
“Why......?”
Thump, thump. His heart raced. An emotion he could not identify as sorrow or rage surged up to his throat. From beyond his empty memories, he thought he could hear someone's voice—a precious voice that seemed just within reach, yet remained beyond his grasp.
Yuto carefully reached toward Flokiro.
Clap, clap, clap.
The applause from the VIP section stopped Yuto in his tracks. A chill ran through him as he looked back. The Crimson Ringmistress had risen from her seat. Smiling as though genuinely delighted, she applauded at a leisurely pace.
“How entertaining.”
Crimson opened her mouth.
“I saw something far more entertaining than I expected.”
Crimson looked only at Yuto.
“A little brat who couldn't even contract with a Constellation threw a noble into the mud? Even after her Constellation bestowed more power upon her. And an Evomon that hadn't even formed a contract shielded a human. I saw all sorts of entertaining things.”
Crimson picked up the bottle beside her and drained the remaining liquor. Then she tossed the empty bottle aside.
CRASH! The sound of it breaking rang strangely loud.
“But you know,”
Crimson wiped her lips with the back of her hand and tilted her head languidly.
“I don't think I'll see anything more entertaining than that.”
The laughter vanished from her voice.
“We've already seen the highlight, haven't we? Everything that follows is just tedious cleanup. The survivors fighting and killing one another—it's predictable and boring.”
Speaking at an easy pace, Crimson raised one hand.
“So let's stop here.”
A red storm swept across the Colosseum.