The sudden, deafening roar of the monster accompanied its leap forward, launching a barrage of spit that splattered onto Ren before he could react. Panic gripped him momentarily as his body stumbled over its own feet, but in a desperate move, he rolled over his shoulder at the last moment, narrowly avoiding the creature's deadly claws. Sand sprayed everywhere as those claws swiped the air where Ren had been just a moment ago. He regained his footing quickly and bolted away from the charging ape.

The audience gasped with relief as Ren narrowly escaped. Satoru, in the stands, was on the verge of jumping into the arena, driven by his anxiety, but he stopped when he saw Ren's successful escape.

Ren came to a halt, skidding on the sand, while the beast turned lazily to approach him again. His mind raced, a storm of thoughts demanding he regain his focus. He realized the monster was fast, and he needed to gather himself, or the next attack could be fatal.

'Focus, you stupid idiot! Cut it. Slash it! Make it bleed. Slowly and methodically. It's weakened, you know it!'

The surge of thoughts snapped him back to the present, and to the astonishment of the audience, Ren began to approach the ape. Growling in defiance, he met the beast's bloodshot eyes with fury, baring his teeth in a primal display of aggression.

The monster decided to rush forward, its hand outstretched, poised to rip Ren apart. He reacted unexpectedly, leaping forward, diving belly-first into the sand, narrowly avoiding the beast's claws. He bounced off the ground, pushed up with one hand, and sprang back to his feet, launching himself into a sprint. An acrobatic stunt he would never be able to perform in his old body, but the new one had no problems with such moves. With a strike to the monster's leg at the knee, he spun around before transitioning smoothly into a full sprint.

The ape retaliated, swinging its hand after him. It appeared to miss, but the jagged claws brushed against Ren's back, tearing his kimono open and leaving three deep scratches. Blood splattered on the ground, and he gasped, more from shock than pain. It hurt, but surprisingly not as much as he expected.

Ren zig-zagged, changing directions several times, and the ape, in its almost acrobatic attempt to grab him, stumbled and fell onto the sand, kicking up a small cloud of dust before quickly righting itself.

'Fuck!' Ren exclaimed in his mind. 'That hurts! One mistake, and I'm dead! Get your shit together, Ren!'

He halted, sliding on the sand to observe the situation. The creature struggled to its feet, and Ren began circling around it, searching for an opportunity to strike. The stadium fell silent for a moment, with many spectators even standing to get a better view of the intense battle unfolding in the arena. While Ren's escape had earned him a few loud cheers, most remained cautious, knowing that the fight was far from over.

Ren and the ape engaged in another intense standoff, their glares filled with tension reminiscent of their earlier encounters in the tunnel. The creature bared its teeth, growling in preparation for another rush. It leaped forward, arms outstretched, attempting to grab Ren. However, Ren's anticipation allowed him to evade the attack with ease. He briefly considered striking during his escape but lacked the experience and skill to do so effectively.

He managed to put some distance between himself and the beast as it crashed into the sand, sliding a bit in a cloud of dust before regaining its footing and swiftly turning to keep an eye on Ren.

'Patience!' Ren reminded himself. 'It's already bleeding. One hit, and you're dead! Focus on defense, strike when there's an opportunity! It's like those challenging games you've played. Roll your way to victory!'

For a moment, the arena calmed down, but it didn't last. The monster growled once more before attempting another charge. This time, to the creature's surprise, Ren rushed back at it, lowering himself as much as possible and charging with his blade almost touching the ground.

The creature clearly didn't expect this move and, before it could react by properly charging back, Ren closed the gap too quickly for a good strike of the monster’s long limbs. He swiftly struck both of its shorter arms, then moved to the side, delivering two more strikes to the already injured leg. Afterward, he spun and escaped, leaping forward and rolling on the ground to transition smoothly into a full sprint.

A loud roar of pain announced Ren's success, and the force of the ape’s own attack caused the monster to fall again, slamming into the ground and raising another cloud of dust. It quickly picked itself up, but there was a significant change in its movements; it now limped on one leg.

Ren allowed himself a brief smile, but it disappeared just as quickly. 'Not yet! You haven't won yet! Focus!'

The ape growled before beginning to move, attempting to walk toward him. However, there was still plenty of space between them, and Ren maintained distance by moving to the side, trying to circle around the monster once more, his blade ready to strike. He barely even felt the burning in his back from the injury.

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Unfortunately, the creature's long strides slowly closed the distance, and a confrontation was inevitable. Ren knew it and prepared himself, closely observing the monster's body, just as he had back in the tunnel. He knew its gait and muscle structure, so he also knew when it was about to strike.

As a roar erupted from the monster's mouth, it charged again, this time avoiding the mistake of overreaching. It attempted to catch him, but Ren saw through its tactic. He feigned escape before suddenly moving closer, sticking to the monster's leg and brushing against it as he spun around, slashing behind the knee. The ape reached to grab him, expecting him to retreat, but Ren moved straight back, darting between its legs and striking again, drawing more blood.

The shorter arms reached for him, and one even grabbed his shoulder, its sharp nails digging deep into his flesh. With a burst of strength and determination, Ren forced himself out of the grasp, sprinting away desperately. He leaped at the last moment as a heavy, clawed hand fell from the sky, just behind him, slamming into the ground, and spraying some sand over his body.

The injured leg of the ape couldn't withstand the weight of its body, causing its last attack to fall short and saving Ren's life. He didn't attempt to get up; he crawled on the sand on all fours, desperately increasing the distance. The pain in his shoulder was excruciating, but he had endured worse when he first arrived in this new world, so he pushed through it, eventually picking himself up.

The ape needed slightly more time to rise from the ground. Its limp had worsened, and more blood marked its blue fur and the sand.

'It's bleeding out,' Ren thought, feeling a twinge of happiness in his heart.

With a trick in mind that he improvised on the fly, Ren decided to rush forward. There was enough distance between them, and his moves were transparent, so the monster reacted, trying to tear him apart with its claws. However, Ren stopped at the carefully measured moment, sliding on the sand to avoid the attack that plowed the air in front of him, and then he accelerated forward.

The ape reacted in time and backhanded him with terrifying force, sending him flying and spinning in the air. His blade fell out of his grasp, and for a moment, his vision left him, stolen by the impact. It returned just in time for him to fully experience slamming into the sand and rolling due to the force behind the attack. The ape tried to follow but fell on its face as the injured leg gave way under the weight of its body.

Ren picked himself up, but as he did, a burst of blood erupted from his mouth with a single cough. He wiped it away with the sleeve of his arm, feeling how this single strike had weakened him significantly.

'Sword... Where is the sword?' he thought, scanning the vicinity while keeping one eye on the growling creature, which was baring its teeth as it struggled to get back up.

The blade was not too far away, stuck vertically in the sand. He moved toward it, prompting the creature to stumble in his direction, ready to finish him off. However, since he could use both of his legs, albeit much weakened, and the distance was shorter on his side, he reached the weapon first, picking it up immediately and preparing to fight.

His legs trembled, and he didn't have much strength left to muster. 'Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!' His positive thoughts had abandoned ship like rats, making room for grim visions. Fortunately, he didn't have much time to dwell on them as he focused on the approaching danger.

'Fuck it! Now or never!' he decided, charging with a smirk on his lips, locking eyes with the creature and challenging it.

The beast accepted, mustering enough power to push through the pain. It reached out, stretching its arms to tear Ren apart just as he stopped again, sliding on the sand.

The creature stretched out, slamming into the ground and raising a cloud of dust, obscuring its vision and Ren's. Just as the dust settled enough to see the outline of the massive arms, Ren jumped forward, right above them, landing heavily but managing to stay on his feet. He sprinted forward with a loud scream, jamming his blade straight into the monster's eye and pushing with all his might, all the way to the tsuba.

When the dust settled in the arena, all the people in the stands, including Satoru, were standing, trying to get a better view of what had happened. The sight that greeted them was unclear. The ape lay lifeless on the sand, and on his knees, leaning against the monster’s head, was Ren, appearing lifeless as well.

He took a moment to catch his breath before he pushed away from the creature and turned to face the crowd. The entire audience erupted in loud cheers. Satoru couldn't contain himself and jumped over the railing, landing heavily on the sand. Ignoring the pain in his legs, he ran to Ren, lifted him up, and spun around with him. The stands roared even louder in celebration.

People were going wild, laughing, screaming, and whistling. The celebration lasted for a few long seconds before Satoru put the hero of the event down.

"You're injured, we should go," he said, guiding Ren toward the gate as soon as he realized how bad it looked.

The young warrior had no strength left to resist, even if he wanted to. As they reached the tunnel, they saw Ryota waiting for them in the shadows. He was holding something in his hands—a leaf, the same green leaf that adorned the hedge around Haruki's house. The fact the fingers, which held the leaf, had slowly begun to swell only further confirmed it.

"I know what you did," Ryota said with a deadly serious expression.

"Let's go," Satoru urged, accelerating as he continued to guide Ren away.

"So what? I won," Ren responded to the accusations.

"They won't see it this way," the old man hissed.

Ryota didn't bother responding but turned around to keep an eye on them.

They were the first to exit the stadium, and they didn't wait for anything or anyone, quickly leaving the district as if they were fleeing.

"Who cares how I won?" Ren asked at some point.

"Those of the Tachibana clan care about honor and fairness of the fight. They are fools living in a realm of dreams. It doesn't matter how you won; it matters that you did," Satoru pointed out. "You did great, but they won't see it this way. We need to get out before the news spreads because they might want to beat you up or even kill you."

This rendered Ren silent.

As soon as they reached the inner part of the city, Satoru let out a chuckle, and his pace slowed. The sudden happiness of the old man infected Ren, and they both laughed together, although not for long, as the pain in the young warrior’s chest was too much, but he knew he had succeeded.