My seniors were talking by the opposite wall. Riccardo needed to assess how Bobby and Achille fought. His shape-shifting weapon was the only weapon we had, but unlike Yehyeon, he couldn't turn it into a gun. Instead, he intended to make spears or swords sized to suit each person.

For all his harsh words, he really was diligent.

I watched my seniors absorbed in adjusting the weapons, then approached the elder and sat on the bench across from him.

"I doubt there's anything I can do for you."

"So you did hear about me before coming."

The man was young. So young that I wondered how he had managed to hold a place among the elders, however briefly. But the cold gleam in his deeply sunken eyes revealed that he was one of them.

The cause of all this.

"Aren't you the reason we're in this mess in the first place?"

"I'm doomed to die anyway. I might as well try something."

The elder answered readily. Fair enough, but that also meant there was nothing I could do for him.

He looked me up and down as I sat there blankly.

"Still, it's nice to see the subject of all those rumors in the flesh."

Is that so?

"Save me, Prometheus. Then things won't get any worse."

Standing by and watching someone die isn't easy on the conscience. But this man was an exception. For one thing, he was the root cause of our worsening predicament. For another, he had willingly staked his life, drawn his blade, and failed—even though someone in his position couldn't possibly have been unaware that once he drew it, he had to win.

I looked at his disheveled silver hair as I answered.

"I'm sorry, but I have neither the authority nor the ability to do that."

"I suppose the rumors about your memory loss were true."

The elder folded his arms and scrutinized me. Despite my lack of any particular response, he doggedly continued.

"Then have you forgotten how to tame them, too?"

Ah. Creatures.

He meant those who controlled them. That brief question brought up scattered fragments of memory, all in familiar voices.

Kyle really kept coming to mind today.

["They have no idea."]

My old comrade's voice resonated in my head.

["They couldn't even imagine it. Stop worrying. We have the upper hand anyway."]

["That ability isn't all-powerful."]

["But there's no denying it's powerful."]

There had been two abilities we kept hidden to the very end. One was the ability to "tame" creatures. Fewer people than one might expect were skilled at using that ability, which I could no longer remember exactly how to use. It didn't work on every living thing, and its usefulness varied greatly with the user's skill.

In other words, even back then, very few could tame a creature with enough precision to make it tap-dance. And as far as I remembered, I hadn't been particularly good at it either. I didn't think I'd tamed creatures much even before I forgot how.

"I'm sorry, but I have forgotten."

So perhaps it was only natural that I couldn't remember. I tried to recall how I'd once used that bizarre power, but failed.

"All the more reason I won't be of any help to you."

"Remember."

"I can't."

At least ask for something reasonable...

He grabbed me by the collar. I let him pull me toward him without resisting, though I could have. Perhaps he had been given a small dose of Green Dream too; his grip wasn't as strong as a Badger's.

The shadow of death hung over his face. In that darkness, his blue eyes glittered with madness.

"I have no intention of dying alone."

He would burn everything rather than cross over.

Why did Colton's words suddenly come to mind at a time like this? Perhaps it was the same eerie feeling peculiar to the elders. In any case, now thoroughly displeased, I pushed the man away by the shoulder.

"I know. Isn't that why you put us in this situation?"

I spoke coldly, roughly smoothing my crumpled clothes. His shamelessness and stupidity were almost impressive. Shouldn't he have been grateful that I hadn't punched him? He'd put us in this mess, yet here he was grabbing me by the collar and threatening me into saving him. A remarkable man in more ways than one.

I couldn't keep that thought from slipping out, though I muttered it so quietly that only he would have heard.

"You don't know your place."

I caught a glimpse of his eyes widening. He stared at me before answering.

"Well, look at that. You're just like the rumors."

I didn't ask what he meant. I wasn't particularly curious.

"You've been through a great deal."

I rose from the bench and politely bade him farewell.

"May your passing not be too painful."

The door opened as soon as I finished speaking. The match staff poured in. My seniors, who had been busy by the wall, whipped their heads around.

At the same time, the gray bars rattled.

CLANK!

The barred gate separating the arena from the waiting area began to rise slowly. With a mechanical hum, it lifted out of sight, opening up our view of the smooth arena floor.

The EDM stopped.

"Time to start."

The newcomers cut loose the explosive chains around the wrists and ankles of the illegal transplant recipient who had been taking drugs. Then they shoved him toward the arena at gunpoint. He staggered out onto the arena floor.

"Good luck."

THUD!

The barred gate dropped back down. As if on cue from the erupting cheers, a creature crawled out at the far end of the arena.

* * *

Had his passing been painful?

The elder who had lost to Colton was torn in two by a creature. There wasn't even time to consider intervening. He had gone last of the three remaining contestants, yet his match was shorter than the other two combined.

He seemed to have given up on life the moment he set foot in the arena. He willingly approached the ape-shaped creature, hastening his death. I felt no pity for him, but neither did I feel any elation. His death had little effect on me, though I watched his end in silence.

The fate of a man who had tried and failed to take the top seat.

A robot displaying a smiling emoticon whirred around the arena, sucking up the pieces of his corpse.

"If I pass my creature on... Achille, you can hold out against two, right?"

It was our turn now. Bobby watched the arena, gnawing at her nails. The Mafia members in the waiting area had just left after injecting me with more drugs.

Achille gave a curt nod. I craned my neck.

"Just pass them straight on."

Ignoring my spinning vision, I cut into their conversation.

"The best thing would be to pass them to me the moment you see what they are."

"When we get out, I'm definitely going on a different mission from you."

Apparently displeased with my response, Achille folded his arms and grumbled.

"I don't like your attitude."

"I'm sorry. Once we're safely out, I'll put my head to the floor and properly reflect on my behavior."

"No. We're going out for drinks as soon as we leave."

Bobby kept chewing at her thumbnail as she spoke.

"I'm going to drink myself to death on the company tab. I'll call Dad right away and tell him to set aside all the good stuff."

"Oh... Now there's something to look forward to."

Riccardo drawled, puffing hard on his cigarette. The acrid smoke masked the stench of corpses wafting in from the arena.

"Then let's see how much this cheeky new recruit can drink... Winter, I've made the spear as light as possible. Just don't drop it."

"Yes, sir."

Bobby turned sharply toward him, quickly reaching out both hands to accept the silver spear with care.

"Thank you. It's much easier to hold now."

The barred gate opened.

THUD!

It rose with a heavy sound. The chains around Bobby's wrists and ankles came loose and fell to the floor with a clatter.

They must have released her restraints remotely. It meant it was her turn to go out. An ominous message, but seeing my senior's wrists and ankles free of chains brought me a little relief.

At least she wouldn't be blown up now.

I looked from the fallen cuffs to my blond senior.

"Please, ma'am. I'm begging you. If you think you can't manage it, immediately..."

[Thank you for your patience!]

The emcee's voice drowned mine out.

[At last, the match you've all been waiting for!]

The cheering was deafening. The crowd's fervent voices were amplified, battering my ears. My dizziness suddenly worsened. Feeling stomach acid about to rise in my throat, I reflexively clapped a hand over my mouth.

That kept me from finishing. Bobby had already left my side and was walking toward the arena, tension plain on her face.

"I'll be back."

After a few steps, she turned to look at us.

"I'm not that good even at the best of times, but I'll do what I can."

"All right... Don't get too nervous."

"Forfeit immediately if you think you're in danger."

Achille's voice was stiff. I'd meant to say the same, but the drugs overwhelmed me, and I missed my chance to speak again.

"Ma'am..."

CRACKLE!

The moment Bobby was fully inside the arena, blue electricity in the shape of bars filled our view. Instead of lowering the gate, they had blocked us in with electrical bars. Presumably, this was to let them switch contestants quickly if someone forfeited.

My brow furrowed. Seeing our grimaces through the electrical bars, Bobby gave a stiff smile.

"I'll run around as much as I can and at least try to tire it out."

[Our contestant has finally entered the arena!]

The entrance on the opposite side opened.

[And here comes her opponent!]

Even through my scrambled senses, I felt the creature's presence. I perceived it through a sense different from sight, smell, or hearing. Despite the drugs muddling my senses, I could detect it spreading its wings and rising heavily above the arena.

A huge life-form that would normally have spent most of its time in the air. A flying creature.

The clanking of an enormous chain echoed through the arena.

[Now, everyone! Allow me to introduce the creature facing Bobby Winter. Place your bets!]

Spreading both its nail-pierced wings, it flew as high as its chains allowed. Wings large enough to cover a car. A human face between them.

Every eye converged on it. I, too, looked up at the life-form casting an enormous shadow across the arena. It stirred heavy gusts, blocking the lights. Despite the huge nails driven into it, the creature had no difficulty flying.

It beat its wings and hovered above Bobby.

"Fuck."

Riccardo swore quietly beside me.

"Level four."

[Our adorable pet bird!]

Level four. A life-form that even several heavily armed civilians would struggle to kill.

[It's Pepper!]