episode_0033

“If you’re here, shouldn’t you say hello first?”

A man with light brown skin and slightly disheveled blond hair stood crookedly and approached to speak. He exuded a thuggish atmosphere.

“Hello?”

“You can’t even say hello?”

At his words, other slaves emerged from the room, chuckling by the man’s side.

“Hey, what if he gets scared and refuses to fight?”

“If he’s like that, it’s better for him to die here.”

I gazed at the chattering group intently.

“They’re all kids.”

Tall as bean sprouts and with a gaunt face, they seemed young.

“Are they middle schoolers?”

He seemed a bit short for a high schooler. As I entertained this unusual thought, the man came up to me and sneered mockingly.

“Hey, if you hand him over, I’ll let it go.”

The bastard pointed at Iris and babbled nonsense. If he had insulted me, I could have brushed it off, but I couldn’t tolerate insults toward Iris.

“No.”

It was natural that my words didn’t come out politely. When I firmly expressed my refusal with a displeased expression, his face twisted.

“I tried to let this guy pass without a ceremony, and he’s acting up?”

“Do you want to protect your family with that face, pussy?”

All sorts of offensive words were heard, but I pretended not to know. He cracked his knuckles and approached me step by step.

“We need to give this little shit some proper education.”

It seemed necessary to give this jerk a real lesson in manners. I opened my eyes as if to show that I wouldn’t yield, and the atmosphere grew colder.

Just as it seemed we might start throwing punches at each other any moment, the tension eased.

“Prepare the Fight Mix slowly.”

“Ugh…”

The man who had been clenching his fists in front of me, Pike Max, was called by a rat-like figure. The rat told Pike Max that his fight was coming up soon and to come downstairs. He revealed this with a smile, eyeing me.

“Good. Hey, don’t mess with this guy. Let him be. Let’s see if he can look at me like that after watching me fight.”

The eight slaves burst into laughter at Phimex’s words, shouting that he was amazing. It seemed that Phimex was a very capable gladiator with fearsome skills and would soon be promoted to the upper level.

“Watch closely,” he growled, and I nodded silently in response to his warning. Was I being positive because I was a sucker? No. I was being positive to mess with that bastard. Inside, I laughed wickedly like the protagonist of Death Note.

After he left, the slaves led me and Iris to a resting area overlooking the arena. As we sat on a long sofa, the slaves chuckled and took seats in the empty spaces.

Each floor was so high that the entire arena could be seen at a glance. In the arena, they were clearing away the corpses torn apart by monsters.

The slave sitting next to me tapped my shoulder and sneered, saying I would end up like that too. Since someone tried to touch Iris, I had no choice but to seat her under the sofa, in front of my legs.

Bastards.

“And now, for the next match! The rookie gladiator creating a legend of invincibility! Phimex!”

“Wow!”

“Wooah!”

A tremendous cheer erupted. Phimex seemed to be quite a formidable gladiator, as they boasted.

Phimex held a gleaming sword and shield, far superior to the weapons prepared in the passage or the one Iris had held. He wore a leather chest plate but seemed to have no other armor.

“His opponent is ~ !! Rekra, who has grown by consuming hundreds of humans!”

Clang, rumble.

With the sound of bars rising, a crimson bull-like monster snorted and leaped out. Unlike an ordinary bull, its horns were truly massive, and it had horns on its jaw as well.

The monster’s size was immense, at least the height of a one-story building. Despite the monstrous creature in front of him, Phimex moved calmly.

“Kuoooo!”

The monster let out a loud roar and charged towards Phimex, extending its horns forward.

Crash!

The ground shook with a strong pounding sound. Despite the situation that could have been frightening, Phimex calmly dodged the bull and struck its hind leg.

“Kuoooo!”

Though its thick skin and bulging muscles prevented a deep cut, it created a significant wound. The monster cautiously lunged again, but couldn’t best Phimex.

Phimex toyed with the monster, then disrupted its vulnerable belly, causing it to collapse.

“Kuuung!”

The monster fell, spewing blood and extending its tongue. It was Phimex’s victory.

“Wowwww!”

“Eeek!”

Tremendous cheers erupted. Phimex casually waved his hand, displaying the composure of a victor. As I gazed at Phimex in silence, the slaves, perhaps thinking I was frightened, chuckled and tapped my head.

I looked at the monster, which was sprawled out, blood pouring from its mouth and belly.

“Is it finished?”

At the moment a magical spell was cast.

Thud, woong.

Miraculously, the monster rose to its feet. Its torn belly had mysteriously healed, and its gaze had returned.

“Uh, what is that?!”

The ones who had mocked me now gaped in astonishment at the monster. Growling, it charged straight at Phimex. Of course, when resurrected with “Is it finished?” a boss becomes even stronger.

“What is this?!”

Phimex, flustered, hastily raised his shield to block the monster. Startled by the heavy blow, his body trembled. After barely deflecting the attack, he looked in shock at the monster preparing for the next assault.

“We thought the defeated Lekra had risen again! Can Phimex win?”

“Wooooh?!”

“Wowwww!!”

As this was a fighting arena operated by the Four Kings, the sudden revival of the monster was not considered unusual. They simply thought of it as a sudden event and became even more enthusiastic.

Phimex swung his sword with a fierce expression.

No matter how much it revived and grew stronger, it was not enough to defeat Phimex.

Blood! Mac! Ssssssss! Once again, I have brought down Lecra!!!

A huge shout burst out, and the monster, with its neck half torn as if truly dead, rolled its eyes back.

Fearful that it might revive, Pimax cautiously watched the monster until he saw the retrieval team rushing to collect the monster’s body, then he relaxed.

Smiling contentedly, Pimax leisurely began to exit.

With arms crossed, I chuckled and said, “Did you succeed?”

My magical line was unleashed.

Thud! Roar!

The strengthened monster blinked its eyes and rose from its place. Its once exposed neck had healed, and its horns had grown a bit more.

“What, what?!”

Pimax’s bewildered voice was faintly heard amidst the shouts. Those who had rushed to collect the monster’s body were startled and fled the arena.

“Darn it!”

Pimax, with a heavily battered face, resumed fighting the monster. Pimax was indeed strong, as he claimed, but not enough to overcome the comedic filter.

Pimax terrifyingly brought down the monster.

“Is it over?”

The once dead monster revived.

“I did it! Finally brought him down!”

The monster’s teeth sharpened like a shark’s, and its size increased. Pimax grew increasingly weary.

At some point, Pimax’s wounds multiplied, and the slaves around me began to subtly distance themselves from me.

Every time I spoke, the monster would rise, as if it believed I was saving it.

“It’s done! We are free!”

Once again, I uttered the resurrection spell, laughing wickedly. I no longer concealed my laughter.

Dare to aim for Iris? Roll until you die once.

Pimax’s face contorted, and he lost one arm and one leg. The many people who had bet on him could be heard spewing curses.

“You thought you could touch my brother and get away with it?”

As I muttered in a cheerful mood, the slaves who were looking at me with a bewildered expression fled in terror. Relaxing, I looked at Iris, who had her face resting on my knees with closed eyes.

“Surely, if it’s revealed that we’re not siblings, we’ll definitely be separated, so it’s best to pretend to be siblings for the time being, right?”

Surely, kind-hearted Iris would understand my excuse. Nodding inwardly, I took Iris back to the room.

The next morning.

A problem arose as Phimex, who seemed to be doing well in the future, became useless. The match Phimex was supposed to participate in had fallen through.

“The one who will replace Phimex in the match will be you, and you, and you.”

Gui Su-in’s finger pointed at me. He added, glancing briefly at Iris, “Oh, by the way, you can’t go out with that girl.”

Phimex was absolutely no help at all.