He had not cut deep.

He could have severed the arm entirely, but there was no need. Not much time had passed since the match began. Ending it already would leave the guests dissatisfied.

He could not allow that. What mattered in this first match was leaving a deep impression on the guests. He needed to leave the same impression on Evil, too.

A slave who obeyed his mistress's commands, and a gladiator who knew how to drive the guests wild. If he showed her that, even Evil would no longer be able to treat Yuto carelessly. She was the owner of the colosseum as well as its slaves, after all.

“Ghh!”

Gedrick groaned and staggered back. Only the skin of his shoulder had been cut. Blood dripped amid the sharp pain, but the wound was not enough to stop him moving his arm.

“You, you...”

As Gedrick stammered in bewilderment, Yuto spun the sword in his hand and planted it in the ground. Then he took several long strides back.

“...?”

Gedrick could not quite understand how Yuto had taken his sword. It had all happened in an instant, and his perspective was too limited to grasp it.

But this much he knew. His shoulder had been cut. His wrist had been wrenched. His index finger was broken. Along with the pain came a surge of humiliation and anger. Instead of continuing to swing the sword he had gone to the trouble of taking, Yuto had stuck it in the ground.

Gedrick did not understand why he had done that. Humiliation and fury outweighed the pain. With a wild cry, he charged forward to pull the sword free.

Yuto let him. The sword came free of the ground. Gedrick gripped it again and swung, but his attack was even simpler and clumsier than before. Yuto had already wrenched his wrist once and broken his index finger outright. A sword swung with that hand could only follow a ragged path.

Again, Yuto made no large movement. He merely stepped half a pace sideways, clearing the blade's path.

He did not take the sword. Instead, his fist slammed into Gedrick's cheek as the missed swing threw him off balance.

THUD!

Gedrick's head snapped sideways with the dull impact. Blood sprayed from his mouth.

“Gah!”

Gedrick reeled. Yuto did not stop. His hand shot out, seized Gedrick's shoulder, and pulled him into a rising knee that drove into his solar plexus.

“Urgh...!”

His breath caught, and sour bile rose from his stomach. His hand went slack, dropping the sword to the ground. Clutching his solar plexus, Gedrick stumbled backward before belatedly realizing he had lost it.

But Yuto did not pick up the sword. He merely raised his empty hands and stepped back a few paces. Gedrick's eyes trembled at the sight.

“A-aaargh!”

Gedrick hastily grabbed the sword and charged again. Half-mad with pain and fury, he swung wildly. The blade sliced uselessly through empty air. Yuto simply dodged without striking back.

After so many swings, Gedrick inevitably began to pant. Swinging a sword with all his strength drained his stamina quickly.

Cheers erupted from the stands. When Yuto first took Gedrick's sword and cut him with it, the spectators had murmured, unable to immediately comprehend and accept what they had seen. Now the match had progressed far enough for them to understand, and what they were seeing was extraordinary.

Sensing their excitement rising, Yuto stepped sharply inside Gedrick's reach, just after another ungainly swing.

THUD!

Yuto's elbow smashed into Gedrick's nose.

“Aaagh!”

Gedrick's nose caved in. Blood streamed from the broken nose. As he staggered, Yuto drove his fist into him again.

CRACK!

The punch landed harder than before, breaking Gedrick's teeth. In an instant, his face became a bloody ruin.

“I told you,” Yuto murmured.

THUD!

His fist drove Gedrick's chin upward.

“That sword's wasted on you.”

Gedrick's knees buckled. Before he could fall, Yuto kicked him in the abdomen. His body flew backward and tumbled across the ground.

“Woooo!”

The colosseum erupted. A barehanded boy was beating an opponent armed with a real sword, utterly one-sidedly. It was complete domination. The ordinary spectators rose and stamped their feet. Even the nobles in the VIP seats, who had been idly sipping their drinks, now leaned forward to look down into the arena.

Yuto felt their gazes. Common spectators and nobles alike were excited. His goal of making a strong impression was being amply fulfilled.

'Not yet.'

This was not enough. Merely overwhelming an opponent would not make him merchandise someone wanted to own. The colosseum's guests wanted something else.

Blood.

Cruelty.

The ferocity befitting a gladiator.

'I know what the guests in a place like this want.'

Once again, it was a certainty he could not explain. Yuto instinctively knew what thrilled those looking down from above.

“A-aaargh!”

Gedrick rose from the ground and swung his sword in what seemed a final desperate struggle. Yuto easily dodged the blade and snatched his wrist.

CRUNCH.

The wrist he had already wrenched once was completely crushed. The sword fell from Gedrick's hand. Yuto caught it smoothly before it hit the ground.

Yuto swept the sword horizontally.

SLICE!

This time, the cut was not shallow. He cleanly severed Gedrick's left foot at the ankle.

“A-aaagh!”

Gedrick fell forward with a scream. Blood gushed from the severed ankle, soaking the colosseum floor.

“Woooo!”

The colosseum seethed with madness. The spectators cheered like lunatics, stamping their feet, shouting, and waving both arms. Yuto approached Gedrick slowly. Clutching his severed ankle, Gedrick thrashed on the ground.

He could not even get out a word of surrender. Only animal screams escaped his mouth. Yuto gazed impassively down at his prone back.

SHUNK.

The sword plunged through the back of Gedrick's right hand. The blade pierced his hand and sank deep into the dirt beneath it, pinning him to the ground.

“Aaaaagh!”

Gedrick howled. He could no longer flee or stand. Only then did Yuto look away from him. Slowly, he turned toward the distinguished guests in the stands.

Yuto spread both arms high toward them. The spectators' cheers grew louder still. No one properly remembered his name, but that did not matter. A newcomer who had dominated his opponent barehanded in his debut, then cruelly pinned him to the ground. That powerful impression alone burned deep into their minds.

With his raised arms, Yuto urged the crowd to cheer even louder. Like a seasoned gladiator, he effortlessly whipped the colosseum into a frenzy.

'Even this feels familiar.'

He was accustomed to being cheered. That realization swelled into a question in a corner of his heart.

“I-I yield... I yield, I yield...”

Pinned to the ground, Gedrick stammered through streaming tears.

“Th-the match is over!”

Who could possibly have expected this outcome? The announcer shouted,

“The winner of today's opening match is Yuto!”

Once more, the colosseum erupted. Yuto slowly lowered his raised arms and looked up at the VIP seats.

The nobles sitting beside Evil watched him with keen interest. Some seemed to be asking her questions, and she answered them with a curious smile.

'That did it.'

Yuto murmured inwardly. He had created exactly the picture he wanted in his first match. A slave who obeyed his mistress. A gladiator who drove the guests wild. And merchandise that caught the nobles' interest.

All that remained was to use this impression as a stepping stone and seize a chance to get out of the colosseum. Yuto planted the blood-drenched sword in the ground and returned to the barred entrance through which he had come.

Behind him, Gedrick's sobs still mingled with the spectators' cheers.

“You—what the hell are you?”

As soon as he returned to the waiting room, Rugil and Gaon crowded around him. Gaon in particular gaped with wide, excited eyes, looking between Yuto and Gedrick as the latter was carried away on a stretcher.

“How on earth... N-no, hey, sorry for insulting you yesterday. Seriously. I was just trying to act tough, okay? You know what I mean?”

Gaon immediately put on a servile smile and watched Yuto's reaction. He was worried he might be matched against Yuto in two days.

“He won't make it to the middle league in that state. Surely you're not scared of a guy missing a foot?”

Yuto answered with a small chuckle.

“You... Don't tell me you took revenge for me...?”

The word revenge made his head throb. Puzzled, Yuto answered,

“It wasn't anything as grand as revenge. I just felt sorry for you.”

“C-can I call you big brother?”

“I don't even know how old I am. I'm probably younger than you.”

Not knowing his own age might have seemed strange, but Gaon did not ask further. Among slaves, it was not uncommon.

“You'll get meat with your meal today,” Rugil said, swallowing hard.

“Maybe they'll even replace your bed. You might get a weapon, too...”

“I-if you end up fighting one of us next time... go easy on us. A little cut is fine, but don't cut anything off. Please.”

Yuto shrugged.

The remaining matches continued. Gaon and Rugil put up poor fights, but both managed to win. Gaon bounced about on his injured leg, cheering, but the crowd's response was lukewarm.

It was the same for every match. Yuto's opening bout had raised their expectations too high. After a fight like that, the lower-league gladiators' bouts could only feel dull.

“Do the middle-league matches start once all the lower-league matches are over?”

“No. The middle league doesn't fight on the same days as the lower league,” Gaon answered, massaging Yuto's shoulders.

“And the upper league fights once a week.”

“How many gladiators are there?”

“I don't know exactly. Twenty fought today, but there are more than that in the lower league. Including the middle and upper leagues, maybe a hundred? More if you count the Evomon.”

“We can't watch the middle-league matches, but we can watch the Evomon fights.”

Rugil whispered. Just as he said, the iron doors across the empty colosseum began to open. Unlike this waiting room, separated from the arena by bars alone, the Evomon's waiting area was isolated behind thick iron doors. Beyond them, Evomon were confined in small cages.

The reason was easy enough to understand. Evomon were harder to control than humans. They were, by nature, a tougher race.

“That's the Mad Fox,” Rugil whispered.

The Mad Fox.

The mindless Evomon that had supposedly torn its opponent apart in its very first match, reducing it to an Evostone, was remarkably small compared with its savage record. It was an orange-furred fox standing on two legs, shorter than a ten-year-old human child. Chains bound its limbs, and a blindfold covered its eyes.

It did not look particularly ferocious, either, but its face was twisted like an enraged beast's as it panted harshly.

FWOOSH...!

Red flames mingled with its breath.

“It's small, but it's incredibly fast and strong. It can even use fire.”

Listening to Rugil's whispers, Yuto stared blankly at the Evomon. His heart pounded madly, and his head throbbed. He could not hear the announcer, the cheering spectators, or any other noise at all. Every one of his senses focused on the Evomon caged across the arena.

'What is this...?'

Yuto stood without realizing it. The moment he saw that little fox, something surged from deep within his chest. It was not anger or hatred. It was an indescribable feeling, infinitely warm yet simultaneously tearing at his heart.

Longing and sorrow.

'Why... does seeing that Evomon make me feel this way?'

This was Yuto's first time seeing the Evomon called the Mad Fox. At least, as far as he remembered. And yet his heart raced, as though he had finally been reunited with something lost long ago.

His throat grew hot. His nose stung. Without knowing why, Yuto was overwhelmed by the urge to cry.

'Why?'

Yuto gritted his teeth. To think he was on the verge of tears over an Evomon he had never seen before. He could not begin to understand where these feelings came from. His head hurt as though it would split. The elusive edge of a memory, almost surfacing but never quite emerging, was reaching toward that little fox.

'I know that Evomon.'

No name came to him. He could not remember when or where they had met. All that surged from deep within his heart was the certainty that this Evomon was profoundly precious to him.

“Hey, what's wrong? Your face...”

Rugil startled at the sight of Yuto's face. Without answering, Yuto stared at the Evomon. Its breath mingled with red flames, its face contorted in anger, its blindfolded eyes and chained limbs.

The sight made his heart ache.

“Nooow! It's time for the Evomon match you've all been waiting for!”

The announcer's booming voice rang through the colosseum. The spectators cheered. Evomon fights were far more thrilling and brutal than human matches.

“First, introducing our first Evomon! The Sticky Predator, whose soft body renders every attack useless—Glutton!”

Another cage opened. An enormous slime-shaped Evomon crawled smoothly out. Its sticky, gelatinous body glistened. The enormous slime lumbered toward the center of the colosseum.

“And! The Flame of Madness that tore its opponent to pieces in its debut—the Mad Fox!”

The announcer pointed at the fox's cage.

CLICK.

The lock on the fox's cage released. At the same time, the magical chains wound tightly around its body slipped free. Even the blindfold covering its eyes vanished.

The fox's eyes were revealed. Yellow animal eyes seething with emotion. Just as the announcer had called it madness, there was not a trace of reason in those eyes.

“Raaaagh!”

The instant the cage opened, the fox leaped out.

FWOOSH!

Its flame-wreathed body raced toward the opponent before it, moving almost too fast for the eye to follow.

The slime-shaped Evomon, Glutton, sluggishly turned its body to meet the charge with its gelatinous mass. That sticky body could absorb and repel all but the strongest physical attacks.

But...

BOOOM!

The flame-wreathed fox pierced Glutton's body. The gelatinous mass evaporated the instant it touched the fire. Glutton twisted in resistance, lashing out with tentacles like whips to catch the fox.

The fox snatched them out of the air, bit into them, and sliced them apart with sharp claws. What followed was utter devastation. The fire spewing from the fox evaporated Glutton's slime, and its slashing claws tore Glutton's body to shreds.

The colosseum fell silent. Barely any time had passed since the match began, and Glutton had already lost its original shape. Its mutilated body melted into a shapeless puddle, and a single blue stone dropped in its place.

An Evostone. Even after tearing its opponent apart, the fox could not quell its violence and howled.

THUD, THUD, THUD!

Stamping its feet, it whipped its head around to look at the stands.

“Woooo!”

The spectators went wild over the brutal, overwhelming slaughter. The fox did not respond to their cheers. It only growled, its yellow eyes continually scanning the crowd.

As it looked around, its gaze turned to the bars behind which Yuto and the lower-league gladiators stood. In that instant, its eyes widened.

“Raaaagh!”

With a wild roar, the fox kicked off the ground. The gladiators and jailers behind the bars panicked, never having imagined that the Mad Fox would charge toward them.

Just as it was about to reach the bars—

CLANK!

Magical chains bound the fox. The flames covering its body died out, and it tumbled across the ground.

“Even after tearing its opponent apart, the Mad Fox still thirsts for blood!”

The announcer shouted. Bound in chains, the fox could not even struggle. It barely managed to raise its head and look up at the bars. Its eyes met Yuto's. Without realizing it, Yuto rose and approached the bars.

Those eyes.

Yuto could feel the emotions within them. Deep despair, endless anger. And—

'Longing...?'

Just like Yuto's, the fox's eyes held that emotion. A jailer caught Yuto as he tried to approach the bars. On the other side, another jailer seized the bound fox and dragged it back to its cage.

'But why?'

Not a thought remained of finding a way to escape the arena. Only that fox filled Yuto's mind.

* * *

After all the Evomon matches were over, the gladiators returned to their rooms.

Yuto, too, was about to follow a jailer back to his room when someone approached him down the corridor.

It was the woman who had escorted him yesterday.

“The mistress has summoned you.”

After such an extraordinary showing in his first match, it was only natural that Evil would send for him.