Nash spat the blood that had accumulated in his mouth, wiping off his face with his sleeve. He glanced at the gladiator's corpse, before shamelessly looting him. He winced as he pulled the leather equipment off the body, trying to ignore the emotion settling in his heart.

A minute later, he was covered in leather equipment, weighing the trident that had gone through his guts moments earlier. It was still covered in his blood, a few drops dripping down on the red sand. Nash planted the trident in the ground, mindlessly getting rid of the blood. The crowd was still silent, the King nor the Crier able to say a word. It seems like no one in the Arena had expected him to survive that fight, nor how it ended.

"I...I killed a man..." Nash muttered as he looked down at his hands and the blood covering them. They were shaking slightly, despite his best efforts to try and force them still. The young man felt the guilt grip his throat, squeezing like how he squeezed that gladiator's head, crushing it like it was nothing.

He, Nash Dularfell, was a murderer. Killing a man was nothing like slaying a monster, like the previous goblin. The latter was mindless, with the hunger and mind of a beast, barely able to think smartly. It probably didn't have any family, or story behind it, it was just a monster.

That prisoner was different.

A mother had birthed him, and he experienced life, reaching a point at which he met Nash.

And he died.

At his hands.

Nash's breath accelerated as he clenched his fists tightly, unable to stop looking at the corpse he had just looted, headless and naked.

'No. It was no man.' A thought suddenly crossed his mind as his expression darkened, becoming as cold as the metal of the trident he held.

'I've seen those eyes. Those hungry, bloodthirsty eyes...No, this wasn't a man...' Nash gritted his teeth, his guilt replaced by a cold fury that stemmed from his bloodlust. He wanted to kill Aethon, the fucking bastard responsible for all that pain he went through, that fucking piece of shit that sent the gladiator to kill him...

'This gladiator was a monster, a monster that tried to kill me...' The young man coldly looked up at the wordless audience, his eyes skimming over their faces.

No, he was just there to get rid of the garbage. Monsters were garbage, and Aethon was a monster, like that mad gladiator. And if Nash had to, he wouldn't be too bothered making it his mission to clean out the trash.

'I'll fucking rip this old bastard's brain out of his skull...!' Nash raged silently, before pointing his trident at the King, earning a few gasps of surprise from the public.

"Send the next one, Aethon. Unless he was already your strongest one?" The young man spat with bloodshot eyes, the ember of insanity burning ever so slightly in them. Aethon gritted his teeth, before rattling his throat.

"Hrem...Incredible, it seems like that trident wasn't as sharp as it looked!" The King laughed nervously, his right eyelid trembling as he understood his plans had deviated slightly. He clapped his hands slowly, before sending a glance at one of his aides.

"That was the second fight, and look at you...Don't you want to give up already?" Aethon questioned, a graceful expression on his face, "...You could keep your life, even though it would be spent in my prison," He proposed while glancing at the public whose opinions seemed to shift ever so slightly.

Nash sneered as he stepped over the gladiator and planted the trident in front of him. He crossed his arms over his chest, clear in his intent that he had no interest in giving up. The young man waited patiently, his thoughts running at full throttle while the crowd whispered silently.

'The crowd's favor...It's turning...Are they not fanatical followers of Aethon? That's good...' Nash remarked, the corners of his lips lifting slightly as the steel gate opened again, the King and the Crier refraining to hype the crowd anymore, just in case Nash would win again. They all doubted he would be able to, but again, the Foolish Prince just received a mean stab in his belly, and he was able to stand back up like everything was fine.

It was better to be careful and not regret it, instead of being uselessly cocky.

Nash pulled his trident out of the ground while picking up one of the two leftover swords, sliding one into a belt he had stolen from the gladiator's corpse. The gate creaked open, letting a huge creature in, shrieking and resisting as it was pushed into the arena, chains wrapping its body. The young man paled as he recognized the creature, its thin eight legs, and its huge, black hairy body eerily similar to the ones of the spiders he had fought on his way up the Citadel.

The spider saw him standing by himself and pulled on its chains, the soldiers holding it forced him to let go of the creature. It charged at Nash frantically, who anxiously rose his trident. A goblin? It was practically an easy fight. A professional fighter? He almost died, but almost wasn't enough to kill him.

A car-sized spider?

That might be a little too much for him to handle.

The spider shrieked, making everyone's head ring painfully. Nash scowled and hurriedly covered his ears, his eyes half-opened as he carefully watched the spider. It charged toward him, its eight legs digging into the ground and projecting sand at each stride. The young man huffed and held his trident in front of him, ready to pierce the spider.

'Shit...Should I kill myself?' Nash suddenly thought, seeing the impossibility of the fight. He'd much rather die painlessly by his own hands rather than by being lacerated and eaten by a giant spider. A red window suddenly appeared in front of his eyes, with a large triangle warning.

[Give up? YES/NO]

Nash frowned, before shaking his head and pushing the second option. Even if dying was freakishly painful, he had to use every second he could to better himself, to grow and become stronger. He would never succeed if he just gave up at the first sign of difficulty.

The young man pulled his arm back, aiming for the spider's countless eyes. He waited and waited, the spider running frantically toward him.

'The closer it gets, the more chance I'll have to...Hmm?' Nash pinched his lips, relaxing despite himself his hold over the trident. The spider was running toward him, yes, but what he saw in the creature's eyes was nothing like what was in the goblin's or the gladiator's. There was no bloodlust, no hunger or desire to rip him apart, no, there was...happiness?

The spider suddenly stopped a few inches away from Nash, hissing and heaving heavily. The young man didn't dare to move, his arm frozen behind him. Slowly, he pulled it back, planting the trident in the ground while the spider silently watched.

"This is freaky..." He mumbled, his eyes refusing to let go of the massive spider. Finally, he pushed through his reluctance and extended a hesitating hand, patting the spider. The creature shrieked softly, before lowering its body to the ground, its head touching the ground.

Nash gasped in disbelief, chuckling in awe.

"I can't believe it..." He shook his head, before slowly climbing on the spider's back. It was hairy but soft, and he could feel powerful muscles under the thick skin. This was an absolute beast, and for some reason, it was submitting to him.

'What could have possibly...? The egg?' Nash rubbed his chin, unable to find another reason that might be linked with the spider's sudden friendliness. Perhaps he did get something by eating the Sky-silk Weaver's egg, something that made spiders consider him to be their superior, something they had to obey.

'I ate the biggest and worst spider's egg, perhaps that gave me a trait that only spiders can sense...But then, why didn't it appear in my status window?' Nash pondered for a second, before shaking his head dejectedly. Of course, anything that egg did on him wouldn't appear, since that fucking System was half-broken anyway because of the SYSTEM_LOCK Curse.

Nash felt conflicted as he installed himself comfortably on the massive spider, who seemed particularly happy by how the young man treated it. The King, who was barely able to gather his emotions back after the incredible comeback Nash made earlier, paled even further when he saw the young man riding the beast he sent after him. The crowd, entirely silent in even deeper shock, watched Nash as the spider strode into the arena.

'I feel like...I can control it somehow...' He thought as he pressed both of his hands on the beast's skin. He closed his eyes, his heart slowing down until it beat with the same speed as the spider's. Their hearts synchronized naturally, and suddenly, Nash could feel it.

"Patriarch!" The spider's thoughts entered through the link Nash had created, its emotions following close behind. The spider was excited and happy, but most of all, extremely proud that the respected Patriarch gave it a ride. Nash flinched and cut off the connection, his eyes flashing open. The King was screaming at someone among his aides, probably something about sending two beasts at once, but he couldn't care less.

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"I...Shit, this is so weird..." He muttered, before closing his eyes back once again and connecting back with the spider.

"You. Scared?" The spider asked, worried. Nash chuckled in awe, before shaking his head as he patted the spider gently.

'I can understand it, so it can probably understand me. Let's try this...'

"No, I'm just a little surprised. Thank you."

The spider shrieked happily, its eight legs tapping on the ground while raising a small cloud of sand. Nash tried to open his eyes while keeping the connection between the spider and him open. It demanded quite a bit of concentration from him, but it wasn't that hard. It was more like he had discovered for the first time a muscle he never knew existed before. He just had to train a little and it would be fine.

"Do...Do you have a name?" Nash asked curiously while smiling wickedly at the King, mocking his efforts. So far, this life was going much better than the previous one, if he disregarded the fact that he had killed a man—no, two monsters. Even though he was fighting for his life for the entertainment of others, it felt like he had a bit more control over what was going on.

The spider hissed confusedly, seemingly unable to understand what Nash meant by a "name". The young man sighed and smacked his lips, before shrugging.

"Alright, you sound male, so how does...hmm, Fang sound?" He proposed. The spider stopped moving, before sending a wave of happiness and excitement through their link. Nash chuckled, patting the spider's back as he spoke.

"I'll take it as you like it. Well, Fang, I'm sure we'll have a fun time together!" Nash grinned as he heard the steel gate open once again, letting the fourth fighter enter. It was also a chained creature, only it was a humanoid one this time, almost as tall as the steel gate. It had a muscular body with a large loincloth to cover its lower body and bore a single, central eye.

"A Cyclope...Should I take it myths and legends are real...?" Nash muttered as he grabbed his trident, sending his attack plan to Fang through the mind-link. The spider shrieked in agreement, before rushing toward the Cyclope with rapid strides. The young man breathed calmly, concentrating on the giant and the round eye embedded in the middle of his face. It was a two-on-one fight, it should be bearable, even though the opponent was an even more massive creature than the one he was currently riding.

That's only when he got that thought that a second creature stepped in, another Cyclope, only it was a female one this time. She wasn't chained, in contrast to the male one, and was holding small trees in each hand while projecting a hateful gaze toward Nash. The young man felt a chill run down his back but didn't stop the spider from running, instead inviting it to accelerate further.

'If I can use the momentum given by the acceleration...!' The chained Cyclope roared as the steel gate closed behind him and his female counterpart, the chains holding him in place coming off. The monster wrapped the chains around his left hand while taking a tree off the other Cyclops' hands. Nash ignored both of those facts and pointed his trident forward, preparing Fang to act when he told him to.

The Cyclope swept the ground with the chain, aiming to break the spider's legs, but Fang jumped over the attack, knocking directly into the Cyclops' chest and pushing him back. The Cyclops fell on his back as Nash held for dear life on Fang's back. The plan hadn't gone exactly like he had imagined it, but that would have to work.

"Fang, take care of the other one!" He shouted before jumping off the spider's back, aiming downward to plunge his trident into the Cyclops' eye. The giant frowned with a single brow and began moving his arms to put them in the way, but it was too late. He closed his eye reflexively, but the trident pierced straight through the thick lid, hurting the eye behind it. Nash roared as he pushed with all his strength half the trident inside while pinning the lid to the eye definitively.

He roared painfully and brusquely stood up, throwing Nash off him. The young man flew through the air before landing in the sun, the breath taken out of his lungs. He rolled himself up, gasping for air as he carefully watched the Cyclops struggle with the trident, trying his best to try and pull it out, but the creature's hands were too massive to do so. Nash drew a breath before pulling his sword out of his belt, and rushing back at the wounded Cyclops. He used the occasion to glance at Fang's fight, almost stopping in shock when he saw that the spider was missing four legs while having somehow managed to rip the female Cyclops' left arm away.

'I don't have the time to think about that,' He thought, before slashing at his own opponent's right leg. He tried to chop the heel off, but his sword bounced back, not sharp enough to pierce through the thick skin. The Cyclops, having felt something trying to attack his foot, hurriedly swooped with both his chains and his tree to try and hit his opponent. Nash remained close to the Cyclops' foot, heaving as he jumped over the chains or rolled under the tree.

The young man then changed tactics, and instead of trying to cut into the heel, he jumped to the foot's side and used his blade to pierce straight through it. The Cyclope roared in pain again, falling to the ground as he became unable to stand on his wounded foot. He kneeled, leaving his back open to Nash, not that the young man had great utility for it.

Or did he?

Nash gritted his teeth and used his Steel Grip passive to climb on the Cyclops' back up his neck, carving into the flesh barehanded. The creature cried in pain, blood flowing from his eye, heel, and back and soaking the sand redder. Nash drew a deep breath and, while using a hand to still himself, pierced through the Cyclops' neck with his hand, digging into it and grabbing the spinal column. He roared and pulled with all his strength, the Cyclops going limp and falling on his back. The spine snapped as a huge chuck was successfully ripped out of the monster's neck, killing it assuredly.

"Hah...Hah...I can't believe it worked...Hah..." Nash heaved as he threw the chunk of bone away. The cost in stamina for what he just did had been huge, and his whole body was aching, covered in bruises and scratches. All of those disappeared as his flesh mended away and his strength came back to him, his muscles bulging as the Arena fed him with the strength of the now-dead Cyclops.

Nash drew a deep breath of fresh air, enjoying his body filling with strength magically, before remembering there was another fight going on. He turned around just in time to see Fang being thrown away to the other side of the arena, the spider's body crumbled up with half of it being ripped apart in a bloody massacre. On the opposite, the female Cyclops was stumbling forward, her eyes bloodshot as she helped herself using her tree as a massive walking stick. Her left leg was twisted, broken bloody with big holes in the flesh revealing the bones under, while her left arm was gone.

'...I'd probably have ended up dead had they sent those two directly from the start...I can only thank Aethon for sending me Fang...' Nash bit down on his lips before pulling the trident out of the dead Cyclops' eye and charging at the last enemy remaining. The female Cyclop tiredly turned toward him, before hurling the tree violently, aiming to crush him with it. Nash jumped to the side, the tree hitting his left leg and breaking it, filling him with immense pain.

'Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it!' Nash grunted, glancing desperately at Fang, the spider still curled up, seemingly dead. The young man shook his head angrily and planted the trident on his left side, using it to support himself. The female Cyclops almost seemed to sigh when she saw that Nash was still alive, but she couldn't help but fall on one knee as she lost her only support for her wounded leg.

The two stared at each other, handicapped and in pain. Only, one was slightly larger than the other. Nash glanced at Fang again, before clenching his teeth and limping toward the spider. The Cyclops cried painfully as she dragged herself forward, using her hands and her good leg to continue to advance. The young man soon arrived in front of Fang and he hurriedly checked if the spider was still alive, trying to connect with it.

He flinched as he felt the connection, the pain of the spider transferred to him through the mind-link.

"Pa...Triarch..." The spider let out a last rattle, seemingly content with having his precious Patriarch accompany him in his last moments. Nash smiled gently, before cutting off the connection and stepping in front of Fang's head. He gritted his teeth, and with a firm hold over his trident, pierced right through the spider's skull. With a rageful throe, he twisted his trident and managed to rip the head off the corpse, killing the creature once and for all.

'...I killed the only being that had been friendly to me in this world...' Nash thought, but he got rid of that thought. That was the best course of action, as the surge of strength in his body and the mending of his left leg bore witness to it. He slowly turned away from the spider, already forcing himself to forget it as he faced the female Cyclops, who was staring at him with a fearful gaze. Nash stumbled forward, feeling his heart growing increasingly colder with each step.

He had killed a man.

He had killed a Cyclops.

He had killed an ally.

Each step he took made a bit of sand fly into the air, the surrounding noises in his ears dull, almost filtered. The only thing he could see was the fear in the Cyclops' eye, the sound of his heart beating through his temples with a clockwork regularity. His clench over the trident tightened, and suddenly, without any warning, he threw it violently toward the Cyclops' eye. She tried to move her hands in the way, but the pain in her leg disequilibrated her. She was unable to defend herself as the trident pierced through her eye, straight and true, digging into her head until the hilt had completely sunk into her skull. She fell on her back, hitting the ground loudly as her blood joined the one from many others, feeding the Arena, and feeding Nash.

The young man felt himself growing stronger, strong enough to rip steel apart with his bare hands if he needed to.

How many were there left?

Five?

The crowd exploded into cheers, chanting a new name. Nash looked at the public, finding this insane spectacle of people cheering for the death of others particularly disturbing.

"The Iron-Blooded Prince!! The Iron-Blooded Prince!! Prince Nash, Prince Nash, Prince Nash!!!" They shouted, raising their fists as the soldiers moved in to try and stop them from cheering for the King's enemy. Aethon's complexion was pale, so pale it seemed like all the blood on his face had disappeared away. His lips trembled as he couldn't help but stare in awe and fear at the young man standing alone in the Arena, covered in blood as he waited for the next opponent.

"...FUCK!" Aethon cursed before taking a nearby cup of wine and throwing it on the ground, the sound carrying into the Arena. Uncaring, the King grabbed his nearest aide's collar and whispered a few words into his ears. The aide paled a young man who probably wasn't even of age, with soft skin and charming brown eyes. He looked back at the King hesitantly, before running away to do whatever the King commanded.

Nash smirked sadly as he sat on the female Cyclops' corpse and looked at the open sky above him. He wasn't hungry, his satiety taken care of by the Arena 'feeding' him, and he wasn't tired whatsoever. He felt great physically, like he could do anything he wanted, filled with a strength he knew shouldn't be given to humans.

And he liked it.

Being strong, so strong it inspired fear in others; this was the pinnacle of excitement, making him feel more alive than ever.

And yet, on the inside, he felt awful.

Dirty.

Horrible.

A murderer.

A betrayer.

"...Haha..." Nash chuckled with a hint of madness as he pushed his hair back, his eyes stuck on the steel gate opening to reveal his new opponent. He stood up on the female Cyclops' corpse and walked to the eye, digging into it to get his trident back. With a squishing sound, he recuperated his weapon covered in blood and slimy goo, with all three blades bent up and half-broken. Nash snorted and threw the thing to the side, before cracking his fingers and neck.

He jumped to the ground, drawing a deep breath as he coldly watched the five armored figures enter the Arena, their steps heavy and loud, barely muffled by the sand. The clinging of steel against steel, the rustle of mail chains, the heaves behind the metal helms, all came together in a deadly symphony.

"If that's what it takes to get her back..." Nash muttered, slowly closing his hands into fists, his heart as still as a lake.

"...Then so be it."