“There’s an odd one in the mix.”

Crimson’s gaze clung to Yuto’s back. Clammy and cold, it was a gaze he felt with his entire body. It could not have been more repulsive. Those eyes regarded him as though observing an insect. An urge surged through him to charge that monster, plunge his sword into her, and squeeze her throat shut. The mere touch of Crimson’s gaze had rekindled that inexplicable murderous hatred.

‘No.’

He crushed the impulse. Charging Crimson now would be suicide. That woman was on another level. She could erase Yuto like a speck of dust with a twitch of her finger. As he was now, there was nothing he could do to that monster.

So he would ignore her. Keeping his back to Crimson’s gaze, Yuto headed toward Gaon and Rugil.

The two were at their limits. With his field of vision narrowed by his missing eye, Rugil was barely managing to shove back a gladiator charging him. Gaon limped beside him, just barely holding his ground. Left like that, they would not last long. For two men who had yet to recover from their injuries, this chaos was nothing short of death’s doorstep.

SLASH!

The gladiator about to attack Rugil took a cut across his back and tumbled to the ground. The others preparing to attack the pair quickly abandoned the idea and backed away as soon as Yuto approached. Even the gladiators from other leagues, who had seen Yuto for the first time today, did the same. He had taken a jailer’s sword in an instant, then cut down other jailers with it. Everyone now knew that this boy was on a different level from the rest of them.

“Take these.”

Yuto handed Rugil and Gaon the swords he had taken from the jailers he had cut down before coming over.

“Don’t attack first. Stand back-to-back and hold out.”

Neither had recovered from his injuries, and neither was accustomed to wielding a sword. Going on the offensive would only expose openings. In their present situation, their best option was to stand back-to-back and devote themselves to defense. If they held out like that, lesser foes would not be able to kill them.

Evil glared at Yuto. Corpses lay scattered all around her. Even the upper-league gladiators were ultimately nothing more than slaves she had collected and trained. Unable to wield even magic, let alone the power of a constellation, they faced an absolute predator in Evil.

She had demonstrated that power. She had killed more than a dozen gladiators here alone. Yet she had failed to attract Crimson’s attention. She had rampaged to catch the eye of the woman she idolized, but those crimson eyes were watching Yuto instead.

‘Yuto.’

Evil ground her teeth. He had been a mystery in more ways than one. Despite claiming to remember nothing but his name, he wielded a sword with skill and knew how to send an arena crowd into a frenzy. Perhaps even his claim of amnesia was a lie, but Evil had never considered that a problem.

As long as he wore the choker, his life was hers to control, and he was a valuable commodity as a gladiator. All she had to do was make good use of him. But now, she could no longer use Yuto as she pleased. His very existence had become a tremendous obstacle.

Crimson was already watching Yuto instead of Evil. That made what Evil needed to do clear. Killing other humans or Evomon would not win Crimson’s attention back. Evil, too, was the owner of a colosseum. She knew very well how to steal an audience’s attention.

She simply had to kill the one they were watching. Their attention would naturally turn to the victor.

SPLASH!

Trampling corpses and the blood pooled on the ground, Evil approached Yuto.

A prickling sensation ran through him.

He sensed murderous intent. It was utterly base. Yuto turned toward its source. Evil was approaching him, her hair disheveled and her body covered in dirt, sweat dripping from her.

“How dare...!” she spat, her voice seething.

“How does something like you deserve her attention?”

Her voice was steeped in jealousy.

WHOOSH!

Scarlet fireballs rose behind her.

Gaon and Rugil backed away in terror, but Yuto adjusted his grip on his sword and assessed her calmly. Base murderous intent, anger, and jealousy. Evil was driven far more by emotion than reason now.

And so she had lost her composure. She was badly disheveled. Sweat dripped down her dirt-covered face, her breathing was labored, and she staggered as she walked. A constellation’s power and magic were not limitless. Both consumed stamina and aether. However superior one’s power might be, it became a double-edged sword if not wielded with a cool head. Even without an injury, exhausted stamina could leave a person unable to move.

“A mere slave!”

Evil screamed and swept her hand through the air.

WHOOSH!

A fireball hovering behind her shot forward. At the same instant, Yuto flung himself aside.

BOOM!

The spot where he had just stood exploded, throwing up a cloud of dirt. A blast of hot air brushed his skin. Without rising from his roll, Yuto hurled himself away again.

BOOM! BOOM!

Successive explosions snapped at his back.

‘Magic.’

She was different from his opponents so far. However fast a jailer’s sword might be, it was still swung with the body. The shoulder moved first, the center of gravity shifted, and the eyes turned toward the target. Reading those signs made it possible to dodge.

But magic was different. It manifested with a gesture, followed unpredictable paths, and its explosions engulfed even the places he dodged to. He could read her murderous intent to determine its direction, but slipping inside its trajectory as he would a sword’s was no easy task.

Besides, magic was not the only power Evil wielded. He could see blades of wind rippling around her body. If the fireball she had just launched was magic, those wind blades were a constellation’s power. A careless approach would leave him shredded by them.

Magic at long range, a constellation’s power at close quarters. Yuto rose from his roll. Evil burst into laughter as she watched him.

“Ahaha!”

Cackling, Evil raised both hands.

WHOOSH!

More fireballs formed. Yuto rolled across the ground and used other gladiators’ bodies as shields to evade the onslaught.

‘I can’t fight her head-on.’

His mind worked with cold clarity.

‘The magic is the problem. I need to drain her aether first.’

All those powers consumed aether and stamina. Evil had been rampaging without a break, killing gladiators, attacking Evomon, and now bombarding Yuto with magic. The moment when her power ran out was sure to come.

Rather than force an attack, Yuto began to flee. More precisely, he moved in a way that made it seem he was fleeing.

“Die! Die!”

Evil’s body floated into the air. She had begun making full use of her constellation’s power to pursue him. Flying swiftly through the air, she bombarded him with magic. Yuto dodged the attacks by a hair’s breadth—or made it look as though he did. Fireballs scorched the hem of his clothes, and wind blades sliced off strands of his hair. He could evade those attacks, too fast for his eyes to follow, through instinct alone.

In the process, Yuto became certain of something. He was skilled not only at fighting sword-wielding opponents, but also those who possessed powers like hers. How could this young body hold so much experience? He put that question aside for later.

‘More. Keep attacking.’

If he dodged with ease, Evil would grow wary and conserve her strength. But if she thought just a little more would let her catch him, then in her madness she would keep pouring out everything she had.

‘More.’

Rolling between corpses, Yuto counted silently. Twelve fireballs. Nine wind blades. Each time Evil’s magic manifested, its power diminished a little. The fireballs grew smaller, the blades slower. The intervals between attacks were lengthening too.

“Hah, hah...”

Evil’s breathing grew ragged. Gnawing at her lip, she spat out the words.

“Why... Why won’t they hit you? Why won’t you die...!”

The madness fell away from her face, revealing anxiety. Only now did Evil realize that her strength was draining away. Far from catching Yuto, she would run out of aether first at this rate. No—her aether was already running low.

And Yuto had been waiting for that moment. As Evil began forming her next fireball, in the very instant its manifestation lagged, Yuto kicked off the ground.

Evil’s eyes flew wide. The slave who had been fleeing until now abruptly changed direction and darted in with unbelievable speed. He was faster than anything he had shown so far. Only then did Evil realize that every narrow escape had been an act.

Her confusion delayed the spell’s completion even further. The forming fireball scattered uselessly in midair. Horrified, Evil propelled herself backward.

WHOOOSH!

Unlike the magic she shaped herself, her blessing was power bestowed by a constellation in the heavens. It activated faster than magic.

But it inevitably consumed more power as well. Her nearly depleted aether was wrung dry. The blades of wind she summoned around herself were not even a quarter as dense as before.

SLASH!

A sword slipped through the gaps between the blades and cut across Evil’s side. Blood sprayed. Breaking through had kept Yuto from cutting as deeply as he wanted, but Evil’s face went white. This kind of pain was unfamiliar to her.

“Aaaaagh!”

Evil screamed and twisted. She wrung out more aether into her swinging hand. The blades she had wrapped around herself for defense gathered in that hand, and a keen slash hurtled toward Yuto.

The wind was barely visible, but Yuto entrusted himself to his instincts. He ducked swiftly, and the wind blade skimmed over his head. Severed hair fluttered through the air as Evil’s eyes widened. At the same instant, Yuto swung his sword.

SLICE!

His sword severed Evil’s right leg.

“Aaah, aaaaagh!”

Evil tumbled to the ground. Her side was slashed and her leg cut off. Her mind went blank at the blood pouring out of her. Yuto fought to control his ragged breathing. He, too, was pushing himself. He had moved far too much to wear down Evil’s strength.

But he no longer needed to. Evil could no longer fight. Controlling his breathing, Yuto strode toward her. Sprawled on her back and unable even to stand, she dragged herself backward on her backside, sobbing through her groans.

It was over. He would kill Evil, the woman who had built and run this colosseum, forcing slaves to fight. There was no reason for Yuto to show her mercy. It was true that she had treated him favorably until now, but that had only been a master’s process of taming a slave.

His heart thumped.

As he approached Evil, Yuto felt his heart pounding. It was a strange sensation. He was the one with the absolute advantage now. Yet his heart was warning him not to approach carelessly.

‘Why?’

Experience was ingrained in his body, but he did not know what that experience was. All he had to do was approach and thrust his sword to kill Evil. There was no reason to retreat. And yet he did not ignore his instincts. Yuto stopped short, then took a step back.

It happened that instant. Pale green wind surged from Evil’s body. Her aether was already exhausted, and she had been mortally wounded. She should not have had the strength to summon that much power. Yet it was clear enough to see with the naked eye.

That was not Evil’s power. The constellation she had contracted with, the Deer That Runs with the Wind, had bestowed its blessing upon her. The reason such power had been granted to Evil, insignificant as she was compared with the constellation’s other contracted followers, was simple.

The constellation wanted to watch her struggle some more.

ROOOAR!

A vast gale erupted from Evil and swept toward Yuto. Its strength was beyond comparison with any attack she had unleashed so far.

It was too late to dodge. Gritting his teeth, Yuto held his sword upright. Somehow, he had to protect himself and endure it. But could he? Just as his face twisted—

“Raaaagh!”

Someone shoved him. The hand touching him was as hot as fire. As he was sent flying, Yuto looked toward it.

The Mad Fox.

Having shaken off the Evomon holding it back, it had raced across the colosseum in a single burst on its battered body and shoved Yuto aside.

CRUNCH!

Before Yuto’s eyes, the pale green wind shredded the Mad Fox’s body. The flames surrounding that small form died in the fierce gale, and blood spurted as its orange pelt tore open.

‘Why...?’

The truth was unmistakable. The Mad Fox had thrown itself forward to save Yuto. It had pushed him aside and taken the constellation’s blessing in his place. Covered in blood, the Mad Fox tumbled to the ground. With an Evomon’s tenacious vitality, it was still breathing. It barely managed to lift its blood-soaked head to look at Yuto. Those eyes, which had held nothing but anger, hatred, and madness, now possessed a lucidity absent before.

“Yu...to...”

The Mad Fox haltingly spoke his name. At its call, a powerful shudder ran through Yuto, as though he had been electrocuted. Just as Yuto knew the Mad Fox, the Mad Fox knew Yuto. This small Evomon remembered him and was calling his name.

“F...”

Yuto spoke without realizing it.

“Flokiro...?”

The Mad Fox.

Relief spread through Flokiro’s eyes. At the same moment, pale green wind surged once again from Evil’s body.

“Ah, aaah, aaaugh...”

Lying facedown, Evil’s body heaved. Her aether was already exhausted; there was nothing left to wring out. She had lost too much blood from her slashed side and severed leg. But she was still alive. If she had no aether, power could be squeezed out by burning away her ebbing life. The constellation was blessing her not to protect her, but to make her keep fighting.

Yuto gritted his teeth and kicked off the ground. Unlike before, the blessing was slow to activate and weak. Now he could break through. Reaching Evil in a single burst, he drove his sword down.

THUNK!

The blade pierced Evil’s heart. Her mouth opened wide in her deathly pale face. The pale green wind around her began to scatter.

“I... I, I...”

Evil stammered, her body twisting feebly. Her eyes barely moved, turning not toward Yuto, who had driven a sword into her, but toward Crimson in the VIP seats.

‘Ah...’

Crimson was beaming. It was a smile of enjoyment, but neither that smile nor her gaze was directed at Evil. Evil died in despair at the sight. To the very end, she had failed to win Crimson’s attention.

“Hah... Hah...”

Yuto planted his sword in Evil’s corpse. Her face, twisted not by pain but by the despair in which she had died, was hideously contorted. He felt nothing at the sight. Someone who needed to die had died. That was all.

“Flo...kiro.”

Yuto turned away from Evil’s corpse. Flokiro lay facedown on the ground, covered in blood and gasping for breath. Though still alive, Flokiro was gravely wounded. Yuto hurried over.

“Why did you...?”

Drawing close and dropping to his knees, Yuto struggled to speak. Perhaps Flokiro no longer had the strength to talk; the fox merely looked up at him. Those eyes held nothing but relief at having protected Yuto.

“Why...?”

His heart pounded faster and faster. An emotion he could not identify as sorrow or anger surged up into his throat. From beyond the blankness of his memory, he thought he could hear someone’s voice. A precious voice, almost within reach yet always beyond him.

Yuto carefully reached toward Flokiro.

CLAP, CLAP, CLAP.

The applause from the VIP seats stopped Yuto in his tracks. A chill ran through him as he looked back. Crimson Ringmistress had risen from her seat. Smiling as though genuinely delighted, she clapped at a leisurely pace.

“How entertaining,” Crimson said.

“I’ve seen something far more entertaining than I expected.”

She looked only at Yuto.

“A brat who hasn’t even contracted with a constellation put a noble in the dirt? Even after a constellation granted her power. And then an Evomon shields a human it hasn’t even contracted with. So many entertaining sights.”

Crimson picked up the bottle beside her and drained all the liquor remaining inside. Then she carelessly tossed the empty bottle away.

CRASH!

The sound of shattering glass rang out with an uncanny loudness.

“But you see...”

Wiping her lips with the back of her hand, Crimson tilted her head languidly.

“I don’t think I’ll see anything more entertaining than that.”

The laughter vanished from her voice.

“I’ve already seen the highlight, haven’t I? Everything after that is just tedious cleanup. The survivors fighting and killing each other... It’s all so predictable and dull.”

Continuing in her unhurried manner, Crimson raised her hand.

“So let’s end it here.”

A crimson storm swept through the colosseum.