Blood War at the Coliseum

Lambards were creatures usually used by lavish merchants to move their cargo. With their nearly inexhaustible stamina, absurd strength, docile demeanor and low maintenance, the reptile-like creatures quickly became the favorite method for transport although a single one was very expensive due the scarcity of the species. The said creatures could only reproduce a single offspring every ten years, making them an almost extinct species of monsters.

The group of students made the Lambards pull the colossal carriage that was capable of carrying an amazing amount of passengers. They’ve reconstructed the vehicle into a make-do house with humble beds made out of dried leaves interwoven together by basic craft magic.

“Raul, it’s time to exchange.” Taki said. He then walked towards the patched-up barouche and then seated at the bow front.

The group had decided to assign a coachman which would then be replaced by another every 8 hours. The Lambards were surprisingly very easy to manipulate that even an inexperienced person could expertly use them.

They had been travelling using the Lambards for about three weeks now. The journey so far had been surprisingly a peaceful one with no occasional monster attacks during the night.

“Hey guys.” Raul said nonchalantly as he pulled the barouche into a stop. “The only road’s blocked.” He then pointed towards a massive boulder in front of the group. The boulder blocked the only road traversable; at the edge was a steep cliff making it impossible to do a detour. The group got out of the carriage one by one and looked up at the massive boulder that spanned ten meters.

“I think it would be better to destroy it?” Kath said as she gripped her fist tightly. The girl had confidence in her physical enhancement magic.

“Hey think about it first you migh—” Taki’s statement was cut by a ~rumbling sound. Kath strengthened her fist and punched the boulder with inhuman strength. Series of cracks were formed upon the impact.

~BAM! BAM! BAM!

Kath kept repeatedly punching the massive boulder blocking their way. After a few minutes of struggle, the boulder still remained intact except for the additional cracks that decorated it.

“Huff* Huff* T-this is hard. Can’t do anything but go back and find another route huh?” Kath said as she grasped for air.

“Move.” Yuje said in a cold voice. The blonde panting girl immediately went out of the way by pure instinct.

~Slash

The boulder was decimated and reduced to nothing but dust after being hit by the crimson-like menace, creating a large smoke dust. After the smoke dust receded, the road beyond gallantly appeared as if welcoming the group. From a distance, they could see a grassy plain that was bisected by a flowing river.

“H-hey?!! You told us that you can’t use mana?!!” Raul said in an incredulous tone. His eyes bulged after the display.

“…………………..”

The grey-eyed man didn’t bother to reply at the stunned Raul. Instead, he calmly walked inside the barouche and resumed his meditation. He had been doing his usual meditation every day since they’ve left the village of the Carnivals. He determinedly dedicated all his time into overcoming the blood oath bit by bit.

A little bit more.

Yuje had grasped the principles behind the blood pact and the power that governed it. He had realized that it was not actually his mana that was restricted—it was his attachment to the mana that was bounded by the magic. Every person had its own ‘attachment’ mechanism that enables one to bend the mana inside their bodies to their own will. The ‘attachment’ mechanism of the body was a field not yet greatly studied, but one thing was for sure, the quality of the mechanism varied with each individual.

There were those who have very little or just an average amount of mana within their bodies but their ‘attachment’ to magic was so great that they could create high ranking magic with the least amount of mana possible. There were also those whose mana pool were astronomical but had poor ‘attachment’ to magic, rendering them able to do nothing but simple spells.

A magician or a warrior’s mana was useless no matter how massive it was if the user doesn’t have the ability to properly grasp it—the ability to properly control it. Without the inner grasp, great magic would be nothing but a big lump of mana.

Thankfully, with their acquisition of the Lambards, Yuje now had enough time to meditate and bit by bit destroy the magic that chained his ‘attachment’ to mana. After three weeks of continuous meditation, he had now demolished a portion of the magic created from the blood pact, enabling him to utilize around thirteen percent of his former mana.

After passing by the steep cliff, the group had finally reached the grassy plains bisected by a river. The river was small with a width of only three meters. Onesa created a low quality momentary road made out of her earth magic in order for the group to pass through the petite river. The travel inside the grassy plains continued for several days until they’ve reached a desolated area littered with peculiar torch-shaped stones that spanned several meters.

The innumerable black-silver headstones lined up the dried up ground. The dirt-patched road that was barely visible was blocked by an ominous broken wooden sign board. Engraved upon the board were words written in a different language. The group stopped to read what’s written.

“What’s this? It’s written on a language that I’ve never seen before.” Taki said. He then began to wipe of the dust that partially covered the fragile board. Thick dusts began to scatter afterwards.

“*Cough* Hey farm kid! Watch where you’re scatteri—*Cough* *Cough*” Raul covered his nose with the hem of his grayed garb. After taking a step backwards, he then glared at Taki.

“I-I can r-read it…I think.”

Everyone looked towards the direction of the owner of the voice. It was Onesa. With a blushing face, she casted her eyes towards the floor.

“Woah that’s awesome Onesa!” Raul exclaimed excitedly. He then began to wrap his arms around the meek girl and continued to shower her with praises.

“What does it say?” Mui asked in a casual voice with a hint of curiosity in it. Everyone guessed that it was probably words exclusively used inside the demon continent.

“It’s written in Deman, the language used by the minority in the demon continent…well…that’s what the professor said.” Onesa said as she scratched her cheek. “I-It says… This is the graveyard of the parade of the Demon Emperor Crestus. All I ask of those who see this is respect and—I can’t read the last words any more. It’s distorted beyond recognition.”

Everyone got chills flow down their bodies as they listen to the words depicted by Onesa. They had constantly heard from their history classes about Crestus, the Demon Emperor most feared by all. He was heralded as the cruelest emperor that had ever lived. He was the reason that the Great War 300 years ago resulted to the loss of seventy percent of the human population.

“C-Crestus…so this is where he laid in his eternal rest. Oh Gods.” Kath said as she embraced herself with her arms. With fear clearly emanating in her eyes, she began to glance back and forth at her surroundings, as if expecting for the ghost of the emperor to come out at any moment.

“Hah~ Interesting. Calm down guys, just like what the signage stated, the emperor is already dead. Relax.” Raul proclaimed towards the group in a smug tone. Raising his chin as if in superiority, he then pointed towards the patched road. “Let’s go.”

After those words, the group went back inside the grandiose carriage and continued with their journey. The headstones continued alongside the road in an array that seemed to enclose the perimeter. After a few more minutes of traversing the ominous path, they saw a peculiar tombstone that was darker than black. It was situated underneath a withered colossal tree that spanned a hundred meters in height. The appearance of the tombstone screamed of the word ‘important!’.

The group stopped the giant barouche and stepped outside towards the peculiar headstone. Upon arriving at the majestic headstone, they all instinctively looked towards Onesa. The words embossed with silver letters were written with the same language as before.

“Uhmm… It says… Demon Emperor Crestus of the Black Lightning.” Onesa said in an excited yet choked voice. The feeling of looking directly at the tombstone of the most feared Demon Emperor in the whole world sent chills down her spine. It was like this was the sole purpose of her life—to live and see the resting place of the eternal terror.

Everyone went silent after those words. They all knew that they were probably the only humans in the world who had seen the place where the former emperor of the west had lain in his eternal rest. The place they are currently at was not located anywhere in the map. They had only gotten through here due to the vague information Valcres had told them, making them take a detour in order to reach the next city faster.

“Demon Emperor Crestus.”

Kath said with tears flowing down her eyes. She had frequently heard of the stories about the emperor during her history classes. The overwhelming feeling of being able to actually touch the gravestone of the legendary being made her fall down into tears. Even the other students excluding Yuje had tears in their eyes. They all knew what kind of attainment they had just gotten after discovering the hidden graveyard.

“Hey look.” Mui said while pointing towards an inscription on the withered tree. Letters faded beyond recognition was embedded on the ancient colossal tree. Underneath the letters was a hole in which a notebook was neatly placed inside.

Mui took the notebook and handed it towards Onesa. The notebook was written with the same language as before.

“Onesa. This book seemed important. Can you read it for us?” Taki said. He then looked towards Onesa expectantly.

“S-sure…I-I’ll try!” Onesa exclaimed in response.

The content of the notebook shocked everyone that heard it.

My name matters not. As I am writing this, my life is slowly fading away.

I am nothing but a meek creature of the elven race.

I have lived a good life. I have no regrets except one.

A few years after this, My Master, the Greatest Demon Emperor that had ever lived will probably have his name strewed in mud.

It greatly shames me that I could do nothing to prevent it for I have nothing but a few moments left to live. I am bound by the will of the clan and am unable to leave this place.

My master Crestus had died five days ago. I will soon go to eternal rest with him. I can’t wait.

The War that happened almost three centuries ago was a lie.

It was not a war between humans and the demon continent.

It was a war between the Gods.

The Gods used my master. They made him do the unthinkable in exchange for the lives of those living in the demon continent.

I have learned a lot of important things from my years of trying to find the cure to my master’s curse.

The God’s are not immortal. It is possible to slay them.

The body of a mortal is the only one capable of vanquishing the existence of the beings called Gods. The Gods cannot kill each other. Only a mortal can.

This is the very reason why the Great War was orchestrated by the Gods. They wanted to wipe out the mortals that are capable of killing them.

My master Crestus was the strongest mortal that time. The Gods used his weakness—his love for his fellow beast men.

After the war, my master had chosen to seclude himself from society. The west was left with no emperor ruling it but I am sure they would be able to manage.

My master was in deep agony. He was in perpetual sorrow. He loved the humans, but his love for the beast men was greater.

Until his very last moments, my master had chosen not to eat nor drink. He had wanted to die but his unparalleled strength made him unable to die so easily.

Until his last moments, he repented in solace and in darkness.

We of the Taru clan had chosen to accompany him until his last moments.

All of my comrades had already gone down to their eternal rest to accompany my master in death.

I am the last one remaining.

As the sole Taru remaining in this world, It is my duty to pass down this knowledge that I had come across with. It is my…

The last few sentences of the notebook were faded by age. It was no longer possible for Onesa to read the words any longer.

An unbroken silence enveloped the group after the shocking revelation. They all looked towards the tombstone. This time, not with fear, but with reverence.

****

After passing through the hidden graveyard, the group was surprised to see the abrupt change in climate. From a barren and humid environment, they were suddenly welcomed by a gravid chilling winter accompanied by frequent hail storms.

Everything that the eyes could see was enclosed in freezing ice—the ground, trees, mountains. Even the monsters were frozen in place. It was definitely not a normal phenomenon.

“*Brrr* We’ll freeze to death if this continues.” Taki said while forcefully pulling his cloak tighter around his body. They had been traversing in such an environment for almost a week now. Every life form that they have encountered was frozen cold, as if someone deliberately made the climate as such.

“T-the L-Lambard-s…*Shivers*” Mui said as she took a peak towards the bow front wherein the current coachman was Raul. “T-they might fr-freeze to death.”

The Lambards closely resembled the reptiles but thankfully, their scaly carapace coupled with the thick skin underneath made them able to resist any climate. Even the scorching dessert was traversable by these creatures. They had an innate mechanism that enabled their bodies to adapt to the changes in climate.

“W-what a-are you s-saying! I-I might fr-freeze to death here!” Raul exclaimed as he tried his best to guide the Lambards along the freezing road.

They were now currently at the outskirts of the next city. According to the map, it’s a small city called Vera. It’s the city adjacent most to the Royal Capital of the west—Yaneshu.

The hailstorm had finally stopped, making the group sigh in relief, although the frozen environment was still something that they have to adjust with.

“Hey g-guys!” Raul shouted. His voice filled with fear was coupled with the cold, making it hardly audible. He then pointed towards the blocks of ice at the side of the road.

“T-that’s!”

“Oh Gods…”

Everyone was aghast at the scenery that greeted them right before they entered the city. Humans; men and women alike were frozen like meat products. All of them were facing the opposite direction—away from the city. Most were in running positions while some have stumbled upon their feet. Every one that was frozen had a look of extreme terror in them. They all seemed tried to run away from something.

Raul pulled the carriage to a sudden stop. He then entered inside from the bow front and looked towards everyone in the group.

“I don’t think we should enter the city.” Raul said with finality in his voice. His freckled face coupled with his disheveled hair in addition to his pale face added to the intensity of his horrified appearance.

Everyone was silent at the suggestion. Taking a detour would cost them an additional couple of weeks before they reach the Royal Capital. On the other hand, the scenery before them screams of the word dangerous. It was a surreal sight. Whoever made the phenomenon to occur was definitely beyond a monster.

“We need to vote.” Taki said as he stood up on his seat. He then brushed off the dust on his grayed cloak and then banged his hand on the metallic wall with a loud ~thud sound. “Who is in favor for a detour?”

Kath, Mui, Raul and Onesa raised their hands. It was a majority vote.

“No questions then.” Taki said. “We’ll take a detour from here!”

Raul immediately resumed his position at the bow front and guided the Lambards towards the right. The group began to traverse the freezing road away from the city. No matter where they went, everything was embraced by ice. The dark brown colossal barouche was glimmering with white patches of ice that continuously crept up its hard body.

“I wonder…what happened here.” Kath said in a subtle voice.

What ever happened at the city of Vera was a mystery that they would rather not find out.

****

After almost a month of arduous journey, the group had finally left the freezing road that lead to the city of Vera. The surreal experience was something they would never forget in their life. The phenomenon was without a doubt created artificially, with all the monsters in the surrounding areas frozen in agony.

“Wind Blade!” Taki shouted.

A series of sharp dagger-sized wind blades came out one after another. The wind blade then hit its target—a golem with a height of two meters which was made entirely out of sand. The spell successfully decapitated the target after the fifth strike hit it.

“Phew!” Taki sighed after that attack. He then fell down towards the sand ridden ground and wiped the trickles of sweat on his brown forehead.

“You’re becoming good at this.” Mui said as she patted the shoulder of Taki. Subtly smiling, the blonde girl squinted her eyes as she looked towards the colossal structure in front of her.

A city enclosed by a gigantic wall of sand that spanned a colossal height of 150 meters stretched as far as the eyes can see. The halo-like scorching sun above it scattered rays of light that in turn was reflected by the tiny sparkling dust-salts mixed with the dunes.  A towering structure that screams of the word royal palace was visible from a distance.

“The Royal Capital huh? After almost half a year of arduous journey, we are finally here!” Taki loudly declared for everyone to hear. Grinning from ear to ear, he then opened out his arms wide in presentation of the view behind him.

“So many things happened huh?” Kath said as she reminisced the day they first came at the detested continent.

“….yeah.” The group replied in unison.

Underneath the blazing sun, the group stared at the city of sand in front of them.

****

Yaneshu.

The Royal Capital of the west was highly famous for the coliseum located at the very heart of the city. The Triedge coliseum was a pyramid shaped structure spanning thirty stories height. With its colossal size, the coliseum could fit up to a hundred thousand spectators.

Triedge’s most sensational events include the annual blood war competition—the most famous event that was held inside the arena. The emperor of the west had promised to grant the winner of the tournament an astronomical amount of fortune. Of course, fame and power will be forever bound to the name of the one who wins the outrageously dangerous competition.

The Royal Capital had three cardinal rules that should be followed.

First: The Thanatos Council’s rules are absolute.

Second: No one shall taint the beautiful royal capital with blood. Any brutish actions inside the city are punishable by death. All conflicts shall be settled inside the arena.

Third: All laws are applicable only inside the royal city. Anything that happened outside will be overlooked and considered null.

Ironically, contrary to the violent nature of the current emperor of the west, the Royal Capital was a safe haven wherein the humans were self-assured of their safety due to the absolute rules imposed by the emperor. Due to this, a lot of merchants and business men purposely settled at the said capital making the city flourish a lot faster compared to the others in the west.

No matter what the conflict, the inhabitants rightfully settled their frictions at the arena. The arena therefore became part of the city’s everyday life. It became the outlet of all their suppressed emotions. Each fight was watched by thousands of inhabitants of the royal city, humans and beast men alike.

“STILL ACCEPTING APPLICANTS FOR THE BLOOD WAR! THE REGISTRATION WILL BE CLOSED IN AN HOUR!”

A midget boar-like beast man hollered from his tiny table. Piles of papers which appeared to be the identification sheets of the contestants were neatly stack up on his right. Wearing a tightly fitted garb, spurts of saliva escaped his mouth everytime he spoke.

An eyeball-like plant beside him projected a screen-like translucent light that televised the view inside the arena. The image projected multiple figures dressed gladiator-style while brandishing their weapons. An astronomical amount of spectators were seated in arrays and were evidently enthusiastic in watching the upcoming fights. A dimple shaped flower on top of the plant enabled those outside the arena to hear what’s going on inside.

“And now! To introduce our special bonus prize! It’s from the clan of the mighty beast men heralded as one of the strongest long ago! A creature from the Maudraga clan that was considered almost non-existent! Behold!”

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A slimy skeleton-thin creature with a bronze draping on his shoulder spoke towards the audience inside the arena. Pointing towards the silver dome-shaped cage at his side, he boastfully announced the prize.

“The Maudragas’ heart were said to contain an elixir that would extend one’s life by ten years! It was also said to be able to heal incurable diseases!”

The crowd roared at those revelations. Everyone was in frenzy.

“The clan was said to be almost extinct! And we have one right here folks! A true blood member of the clan!” The announcer added as he loudly banged at the cage beside him.

“This guy was quite hard to capture! The emperor of the west, our majesty, Demon Emperor Thanatos himself had to go just to capture this creature of the Maudraga clan! Imagine folks, that’s how strong this creature is—the heart will surely be as strong! One would probably get more than a decade of lifespan increase after eating the heart! And the winner will be able to eat it for free!”

The slimy creature perversely announced as he squeaked in his last statement. Crunching at his fingers, he then glanced from right to left repeatedly, savoring the cheers from the ecstatic crowd.

The video feed focused on the figure of the creature enclosed inside the cage. The black creature had its bodies bent all over and a chunk of meat at his abdomen was missing. With blood soaked all over its body, the creature was chained up in the air on both arms—creating a crucified appearance.

“Two hundred thousand gold plus the heart of a strong warrior from the Maudraga clan!” Smiling from ear to ear, the slimy creature boldly declared with his thin fists help up high in the air.

“WELCOME TO THE BLOOD WAR!”

****

The group of students went silent after watching the live feed from the arena. The prize for the contest was someone they knew very well.

It was the professor heralded as the strongest in the entire Grimfort Academy. Beaten to a pulp almost beyond recognition, the black creature was displayed like a market sale in front of everyone in the Triedge coliseum.

“T-that’s” Taki said in a confounded tone. He was too stunned at the scene shown to him by the projected image. Clenching his fist so tight that blood began to gush out from it, he turned towards the others and spoke.

“We’ll enter the competition…and—” He looked towards Yuje. Extreme rage exuded from his eyes.

“We’ll slaughter them all.”

****

Kia Maudraga was the goal Taki had aspired to become. During his time at the secluded village, he had heard of the rumors regarding the strongest professor in the entire Grimfort Academy. The said professor was regarded as a monster after completely annihilating an entire mob of monsters adjacent to the academy. Ranked as the strongest in Grimfort and the third strongest in the entire Ruan continent, Kia Maudraga’s name roared for everyone residing in Ruan to hear.

“You want us to enter the competition?” Raul asked. He was agape at the suggestion. Although he wanted to help professor Kia himself, he doesn’t want to enter a death match against thousands of opponents in an unfamiliar territory.

“Yeah. I’ll kill those bastards.” Taki replied. He was still enveloped by extreme rage that made his body shook like a maniac.

The video feed from inside the coliseum was still on going, televising the crowd that was still cheering after the prize. The slimy announcer deliberately showed the white pearls in his mouth and began to perform various stunts intended to impress the crowd. Even without the sound apparatus from the plant creature, the group could clearly hear the ecstatic crowd from their current spot.

“This isn’t like you to suggest such violent things…Taki.” Mui said in a worried tone. She had known Taki for quite some time now and there was never an instance when Taki suggested solving a problem with violence.

“Mui’s right. This isn’t like you.” Onesa said as she tried to buckle up her shaking knees. She knew of how strong professor Kia was. For the emperor to easily subdue the third strongest being in the entire Ruan continent—just the thought alone sent shivers down her spine.

“I…realized since coming here that there are just some things that can’t be solved peacefully.” Taki said as he looked towards the video feed in front of them. “We won’t survive this place if we are too keep too much of our…humanity.”

No one retorted against the surprising declaration from the usually calm Taki. All of them had experienced firsthand the cruel reality that was the demon continent. It was an altogether different world from before—just a single mistake meant death. In just the blink of an eye, one’s life could be forfeited.

“I’ll enter alone.” Yuje broke the eerie silence. The entire group turned towards the grey eyed man.

“But you’re still not able to use even half of your strength right?” Taki declared. He knew that Yuje is strong in his full strength, but right now, the Demon of Grimfort was unable to utilize much of his full power potential.

“It’s fine.” Yuje said with finality. He then pointed towards the Lambards that was tethered at the giant barouche. “Stay here.”

Everyone understood what the man meant. A lot of eyes had been constantly looking at their direction, particularly towards the Lambards that they brought with them. The creatures costs thousands of gold coins and there were five of them. Only the law that forbids bloodshed inside the royal city was what made them avoid any conflict as of now. They all knew that the moment they left the city, a lot of bandits and any other similar entities would attack their group in hope of acquiring the rare species.

Yuje walked towards the pig-man that kept filing stacks of paper one after another. The beast man had stopped trying to find last minute applicants since he deemed that no one would want to enter the competition anymore at such time.

“I’ll enter.” The black cloaked man in front of the pig man said in a subtle voice. The pig man dropped the files he was holding when he heard the absurd statement.

“Are you serious? A human?! I think it had been around ten years?” The pig man scratched his groin as he stormed his memories. He then sniffed at the used fingers and made a blissful face before he resumed talking to the applicant. “Yii. I think it’s been ten years since a human enter the competition. It’s nothing much since he was slaughtered immediately after a few seconds. Anyways…”

Clearing out the pile of papers on top of his petite desk, he then pulled out a quill and a parchment and handed it towards the grey eyed man.

“I don’t really care if you wanna die. Just fill out this one.” He then pointed at the handed parchment and made a smug face as if anticipating the death of the man. “The match starts in a few minutes.”

Yuje filled out the parchment and handed it towards the pig man. He used a pseudo name since the Gashka was quite famous even in the demon continent. The strength of the mythical clan was acknowledged even as far as the Valhalla Continent.

Name: Raul Thena

Age: 18

Gender: Male

“Ooh~ So you’re Raul huh? Sorry Raul but you’re gonna die—I mean, goodluck!” The pig man snorted as he handed Yuje his entry number. “Five thousand competitors this year. You’re number 5001.”

Following those words, Yuje entered the pyramidal coliseum.

****

The weapons room went into an uproar when they saw the last competitor that entered the blood war tournament. It was a rare sight that had never been seen fighting inside the coliseum since a decade ago—a human.

The weapons room was a massive hall-like structure with arrays of weapons piled up next to each other. Every competitor had his freedom to choose the weapon to his liking with no restrictions. Unlike the normal battles inside the Triedge coliseum during the blood war, the maximum weapons and armor limit was removed. This special policy resulted to massive amounts of competitors having themselves fully cladded in armors and weapons.

With blazing torches embossed on the bricked wall, a mob of armored beast men was what greeted Yuje upon his enter.

“A human.”

“Human!”

“A food decided to join! HAHAHA~”

“I will eat you till your bones! I can’t wait!”

A lot of murmurs and comments were thrown towards the man that entered the competition during the last minute. With drooling faces, the beast men began to jeer at the human while clanking their gears.

“Now guys. Let’s stop with the jeering shall we?” A beast man which seemed to be a tournament official declared. With the head of a lion and the body of a rhino, the bulky beast man began to write down something in the board he was holding.

“It’s time. Lord Selomar will explain the rules of the Blood War.” The tournament official said.

After a few moments after those words, someone’s voice began to resonate all throughout the entire Triedge coliseum. It was the same familiar voice before—it was the voice of the thin slimy creature.

“Yours truly, Lord Selomar is here to report on the events in this annual competition. Aaaannndd now! The one you have been all waiting for folks! THE BLOOD WAR!” The voice began to escalate into a shout. Series of cheers from the populace served as background.

“The rules are simple! Inside the arena, freedom is absolute! It is your freedom to kill. It is your freedom to slaughter. It is your freedom to choose who you want to be matched up with. Inside the arena, your choice is our command! HOW GREAT IS THAT?!”

The beast men inside the waiting room began to join the cheers of the crowd. Everyone was ecstatic of the soon to come bloodbath. More than a few beast men kept looking towards Yuje’s direction while licking their lower lips. It was a surreal disgusting sight that would make anyone lose their composure in an instant.

“One would be able to continue only if the opponent surrenders? NAH! Inside the Blood War, there is no such thing as surrendering to your opponent! One would win only if the other party is dead! It is entertainment at its finest! YEAAAAH!!”

Lord Selomar began to tap at the dome-shaped cage beside him. Opening his arms wide as if welcoming the cheers from the crowd, he then added.

“Let’s not wait any longer and start the first fight! The first to come to stage will be contestant number 4788!!”

A beast man resembling a mantis with its lower body enclosed in green-black carapace walked inside the arena. With its slit like eyes, it maliciously licked the scythe that was attached to its arm.

“Contestant number 4788! As per the rules of the Blood War, choose the number of opponents you wish to fight with. You could even pick a particular registration number! HAHA!” Lord Selomar said.

“The human. 5001.” The mantis-like creature spoke in a high pitched tone. The words that came out of the creature’s mouth silenced the cheering crowd. Afterwards, the cheers transformed into murmurs that enveloped the entire Triedge coliseum.

“A human?”

“Is this for real?”

“I’ve never seen a human join the Blood War before.”

“This is great! Exciting!”

The crowd was in uproar. The rare sight of a human fighting inside the arena was a sight they would love to see at any cost. The audience was actually composed of not only beast men but also by humans. Ironically, the human crowd also enjoyed the scenes of carnage that annually occurred during the Blood War.

“Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!”

“Human! Human! Human! Human!”

“Kill! Eat! Kill! Eat!”

The crowd in its frenzied state began to roar their intents out. Lord Selomar grinned from ear to ear from the loud cheers. Completely enjoying the euphoria, he then issued his orders.

“Very well! The opponent will be contestant number 5001! A human!” Lord Selomar said. The crowd’s cheer roared even further.  They awaited the appearance of the sole human inside the colossal arena.

Disregarding the constant jeers from the ecstatic crowd, Yuje, fully cladded in black cloak began to calmly walk inside the arena. With his grey eyes showing a glint of disinterest, his ash-brown hair fluttered from the humid wind.

Seventeen percent. Should be more than enough.

“He’s here folks! A human!” Lord Selomar said. The crowd made jeering sounds at the mention of the word human. “So let’s start. Figh---”

Silence.

The cheering crowd stared at the unexpected scenario in front of them. Beyond recognition, the mantis beast man from before was minced into smithereens. Only the splattered insides of the beast man were seen the moment the man stepped foot inside the arena.

“Wh-wha…The w-winner. Contestant number 5001! The human!” Lord Selomar stated in shock. He had seen what happened. In the blink of an eye, a crimson-black thing came out of the grey-eyed man and minced the mantis into pieces. In just a fraction of a second, the body was minced into a thousand pieces.

“What happened?”

“The mantis man was slaughtered in an instant. I didn’t even see what happened.”

The frenzied crowd was flabbergasted and confused on the scenario that had just occurred. It seemed that only Lord Selomar had the skills to see through the actions the man had just done.

“The human had won. Hmm... So your name is Raul. Raul Thena is it? It seems that you are quite strong. Choose your next opponent.” Lord Selomar eyed the man with interest. He had deemed that the man would make it towards the finals.

“Five thousand.” Yuje calmly said. Staring at the Lord in front of him he continued. “I will battle with everyone at once.”

Lord Selomar’s eyes widened at those words. It was absurd. It was never heard of before—someone challenging all of the competitors at once. He was repulsed by the idea. It was like an insult towards the annual Blood War.

“Is that a joke?” Lord Selomar said in a serious tone. He won’t forgive the human for sullying the competition.

“…No.” Yuje paused for a moment before he spoke.

By now, Taki and the rest should be quite far from here.

“Very well.” Lord Selomar said in resignation. He found the human interesting, but he deemed it proper to get rid of it if it wanted to sully the sacred competition. He was not a creature of great tolerance.

“Let all of the competitors enter the arena at once.” Lord Selomar pointed towards the steel gate that separated the rest of the contestants from each other. “It shall be a free for all.”

The crowd’s euphoria went sky high at the order. Free for all means more bloodbath. Their desires for carnage made them cheer with enthusiasm. The rest of the competitors eagerly went towards the arena. Their prides were wounded by the human that wanted to battle with them all at once. With every intention of killing the human, they briskly walked towards the center of the arena.

“And now. BEGIN THE CARNAGE!” Lord Selomar loudly declared.

~Shhhhwwwwiiiiinnnngggg

A crimson-black substance covered the vision of everyone in an instant. A nauseating presence made the crowd almost fall into unconsciousness. After the crimson-black substance receded, the scene that greeted them was beyond comprehension.

Five thousand.

All five thousand warriors were cleanly split in half. With the human being the sole creature standing, the winner of the Blood War was beyond obvious. With a stuttering tone, Lord Selomar announced the bewildering result.

“T-the wi-winner! R-Raul Thena—”

Everyone wasn’t able to process what had just occurred in front of their very eyes. It was a surreal sight, enough to make the ecstatic crowd become speechless. Only the sound of the humid wind was heard after the phenomenon.

In the blink of an eye, Yuje moved towards Lord Selomar’s position and casually went near the dome shaped cage.

“It’s your reward. Take it.” Lord Selomar said as he reformed his composure. He then handed Yuje the key to the cage. Upon opening, Yuje was greeted by the almost dead figure of Kia.

“And that’s it folks! We have our winner! Raul Th—”

Lord Selomar was unable to continue with his speech as his body was evenly split in half vertically. The crowd, from a stunned state became horrified. They all began to scurry out of the coliseum one by one.

“L-Lord Selomar!”

“M-monster!”

“R-Raul Thena!”

“Emperor Thanatos help us!”

“Stupid. The Emperor is not here right now!”

Everyone tried their best to leave the coliseum. Pushing and pulling at each other, they all forcefully made their way out.

They do not deserve to live.

With those thoughts in his mind, Yuje created multiple slashes towards the fleeing crowd. Thousands upon thousands were slaughtered with each strike from the man.

After a few moments, the voice of the hundred thousand spectators was reduced to nil. Opening the dome-shaped cage,

Yuje was greeted with a smile from the black creature that he had first met during his entrance to Grimfort.

“Young…man.” Kia uttered with effort.

“………………….”

Yuje, instead of replying, cut off the chains that bound the black creature. Grabbing hold of Kia before his body hit the ground; he then tried to carry him outside but was stopped.

“It’s useless. I am beyond healing.” Kia said. He knew right from the start that he would never recover from the wound that Thanatos gave him.

“I see. Any last words?” Yuje said as he summoned his blood sword. The grey eyed man intends to finish Kia with his own hands. He also knew that the black creature was beyond saving the moment he entered inside the dome shaped cage.

“Who would have known that I would meet my end like this? Heh~ they said that the heart of the Maudragas are capable of extending the life of mortals by a decade. For that reason, our clan was hunted into extinction.” Kia said. He then looked towards the azure sky that was brightly illuminated by the halo-like sun.

“Extend one’s life? What a load of crap. The only thing that is true is the part about the healing properties.” Kia looked towards the left shoulder of Yuje where the arm should have been attached.

“………………”

“That thunder dragon we fought—I think it’s still alive. It would probably take years for it to recover from the damage it took. But one thing is sure. It will surely come back to get revenge…At your current state..” The black creature was aware of the decline in strength of the man in front of him. A man of his caliber was able to grasp the massive change in strength. “Eat my heart.”

The last words the creature said took even Yuje by surprise. He knew the meaning behind those words, and the grey eyed man gratefully accepted it.

“Thank you.” Yuje said in a subtle but audible voice.

“Haha~ you seemed different from before…But…I’m glad.” Kia mustered his strength to reply. He obviously doesn’t have much left to live. He had noticed the change on the grey-eyed man before him. It’s not the change in hair color—it was the change in aura, in demeanor. Inwardly sighing in relief, he spoke.

“To become your strength…It’s not such a bad way to die. Listen.” Kia began to take on a serious appearance.

“Never fight the emperor of the west. Never fight Emperor Thanatos. That one’s beyond a monster. Even in your full strength, he might be stronger than you.”

Kia had fought Thanatos before. He had fought and lost one-sidedly. The emperor had fought him fair and square—as the loser of the fight, he respectfully accepted his fate.

Yuje listened to the speech of the dying man before him. He had heard of Emperor Thanatos before, from Valcres.

“My heart should be enough to regenerate your arm. Please. This is my dying will.” Kia said with resolve.

Following those words, Yuje pierced through the black creatures’ body. Grabbing hold of its still beating heart, the grey-eyed man began to devour the red-black meat. Little by little, tiny particulate black lights began to embrace the left side of the grey eyed man. Soon afterwards, the arm that was lost quite some time ago was renewed. As if it had always been there, the left arm seemed as good as before.

“I am glad.” Kia, while smiling said. Closing its eyes, the black creature entered its eternal slumber.

Yuje, in respect towards the black creature decapitated its entire body until nothing was left. Only the tiny pieces of what used to be Kia Maudraga were what left after Yuje’s strikes. The tiny remnants of the black creature were then carried by the wind, forever fluttering in the vast demon continent.

“Rest well.” Yuje said as he watched the black remnants be carried away by the humid wind.

That day, Raul Thena’s name resounded all throughout the entire demon continent.