The Demon's Arrival
The undead was a demon. In the underground passage where Woo Suho had departed, the siblings embraced each other and experienced a true reunion.
“A body freed at last……” Eve patted Adam’s back as he held her, savoring the fact that she had been released from the shackles of a gladiator. She could hardly believe it. After being sold by her father and forced into a gladiator’s life, she had never been able to picture a future where she would be free.
Separated from her kind older brother, Eve’s life as a gladiator had been hell. She was the property of the arena master, a slave in status. The arena meant endless battles, nothing but days of wounds and pain. She had to kill others in the same wretched position just to survive. She had to fight against beast-like men who tried to overpower and rape her. Though her talent for magic kept her from being easily defeated, the more she struggled to live, the more miserable her situation became. The more gladiators she defeated, the stronger her next opponents became. Even crueler, more savage foes bared their fangs at her.
The day she killed with her own hands the first friend she had made in the arena, Eve had considered giving up on life. She had lost too much to dare hold on to hope. Even when her brother, who had never abandoned her, disguised his status and sought a way to save her as an arena employee, she had not dared to expect much—because she was already exhausted. Eve had let go of everything. She had simply been waiting for the day Jason would kill her.
Yet she had obtained her freedom. Far too suddenly.
‘No…… perhaps not so suddenly after all.’
It was because her brother, who was now sniffling as he embraced her, had never stopped trying. Unlike her, who had given up, her brother had refused to surrender until the very end. That was why hope, long sunk beneath the abyss, had finally come to her in this moment—in the form of a man named Woo Suho, an enigmatic stranger.
“I’m so glad……” She hugged her brother’s back as he wept endlessly. Even as her heart, once frozen cold, began to warm from her brother’s love, her nose stung. It would be better to postpone this emotional reunion for a little while. There were too many questions she wanted to ask right now.
“Brother.”
“Yeah.”
“So who exactly is this Woo Suho? Why did he help us, and how did he convince the arena master to let him fight Jason?”
Their benefactor. The one who had made their reunion possible. A man who spoke an unknown language yet radiated an extraordinary aura. Eve was curious about everything that had happened between her brother and Woo Suho.
Adam released Eve for a moment.
“I don’t really know either.”
“What?”
“Eve, do you think there could really be someone in this world who can return from death?”
Eve grew increasingly confused. No one despised the Holy Light Church more than her brother. So why was he now saying the kind of thing their so-called saint would say?
“I know it sounds absurd. But you heard it too, didn’t you? Suho speaks a language different from ours, yet we can understand its meaning. And it’s the same for him.”
Eve had been startled at first as well. The language Woo Suho spoke was one that did not exist in this world.
“Suho possesses a mysterious power. The most special among them is the ability to return from death. Just what is he? He’s far too alien to be called an ordinary human……”
Eve’s eyes began to spin like whirlpools.
“W-wait a second, Brother.”
Eve could no longer follow the conversation. What on earth was her brother talking about? Had he hit his head during the short time it took to rescue her?
“It’s hard to believe, isn’t it?”
“Yes, honestly……”
It felt as if she were looking at their father, completely absorbed in the Holy Light Church.
“I’ll show you proof.”
“You have proof?”
Adam led Eve forward. At their destination lay a corpse. It was the body of the man named Woo Suho that Eve had seen earlier.
“!?”
“Don’t be surprised. Suho is alive.”
“Alive……?”
Eve stopped trying to imagine every possible way Woo Suho could have died in the short time since he left. Just as Adam had said, Woo Suho was alive. There he was in the distance, casually tearing into a piece of bread.
“What kind of magic is this……”
“I don’t think it’s magic. If anything, it’s closer to something from religion……”
“It resembles divine authority.”
The siblings nodded at each other. Both possessed extensive knowledge of magic. Yet the miracle unfolding before their eyes was something that had never been described or even mentioned in any grimoire or history book. If they had to find a similar case, it would only be the absurd tales found in religious scriptures.
The siblings looked up at the sky blankly, their hearts filled with both doubt and curiosity toward Woo Suho.
***
In the Solis Kingdom, there existed a religion called the Holy Light Church. It was a dubious cult that claimed human mana and circuits were blessings from God, and that the more faith one offered to God, the stronger one’s mana and circuits would become. To professional mages, its doctrines sounded utterly nonsensical, yet the cult’s power was so great that even the royal family could not ignore it, thanks to its fanatically devoted followers.
Here, a priest of the Holy Light Church was making her way to the barbaric arena. Her name was Diane. A sincere woman and priestess of the Holy Light Church, she possessed a fanatical faith. As one of the arena master’s major patrons, she was reading a newspaper.
Several newspapers had published articles about this arena match. The promotion was far too extravagant for a rookie gladiator’s debut. Not only Sunflower Town, but newspapers from other cities had also covered the event. It showed just how much money the arena master had poured into promoting this match.
Diane’s eyes lingered on the phrase “revives after death.” She made her way toward the arena where the savage battles took place.
“Revives after death.”
Diane shook her head. Such an absurd magic did not exist in this world. As always, it was most likely just another one of the arena’s notorious publicity stunts. Even the saint chosen by God could not perform the miracle of returning from death. If this man truly could, then he would not be human—he would be a demon straight out of the Holy Light scriptures.
“Quite the interesting claim.”
Still, being deceived once in a while might not be so bad. The match could provide a welcome distraction for her weary mind after years of missionary work. Diane enjoyed battle. The arena, where people risked their lives for their goals, was her favorite pastime.
Diane took a seat in the stands. She had chosen her spot without the arena master noticing because she wanted to watch the match quietly. That greedy old man would surely pester her for more gold coins. Whether the Undead’s promotion was real or fake, she would confirm it with her own eyes.
The stands were unusually packed. Like Diane, the spectators watched the arena with eyes full of anticipation.
“Just what kind of gladiator is this Undead that the master is pushing him so hard?”
“Who did you bet on?”
“I put my money on Toma, Kamu, and Gavin. I’ve been betting on them for a while now.”
“You idiot. I bet on Undead. There’s no way the master’s favorite loses.”
Undead’s opponents were the most vicious and cruel gladiators in the arena. All of them were criminals who had discovered their true calling as popular fighters after arriving as slaves. Each possessed the skills of a third-rank mage or higher—none were easy opponents.
Diane looked toward the arena.
“How should we teach this arrogant rookie a lesson? Anyone got any good ideas?”
“The master said we can do whatever we want. How about cutting off his limbs first?”
“Rookie, just wait right there. We’ll come to you personally.”
“Don’t talk down to me.”
The voices were hard to hear clearly, but judging by their shouting, trash talk was in full swing. If he truly was a demon, he could easily slaughter them all.
“The match begins now!”
With the announcer’s declaration, the match started. Diane and the spectators waited in anticipation. Regardless of who won, they were curious what kind of magic the rookie gladiator Undead would use, how he would fight them, and how the battle would unfold. Would he really secure victory as the promotion claimed and earn the right to face Jason?
“Undead, win!!”
“Kamu, I bet on you again today!!”
The crowd roared, but the noise vanished in an instant.
Bang!! Bang!!
Two gunshots drowned out the cheers. When Undead pulled the trigger, one of the gladiators who had been standing confidently moments ago collapsed limply. The remaining fighters stared at Undead in stunned silence, clearly bewildered by what had just happened.
“Wh-what?”
“What just happened?”
Bang!! Bang!! Bang!!
Gunshots rang out again in the now library-quiet arena. Only two fighters remained standing. Having already dealt with two of the three, Undead spoke to his last opponent with a thoroughly bored expression.
“Ready to die?”
Diane, a priestess of the Holy Light Church and a skilled mage, could only frown at the scene before her.
‘There was no trace of magic.’
Unlike other mages, no circuits had ignited. No signs of magic activation had appeared either. Yet a miracle had occurred. With a thunderous roar, the gladiator had fallen.
“Look over there!”
Undead let out a grotesque sound.
“Grrraaah……”
It had all happened in an instant.
‘Good heavens.’
What on earth had just occurred? She hadn’t seen it. It had been over in the blink of an eye. Diane hadn’t even blinked. She hadn’t lost focus. Yet she hadn’t been able to react at all. What she saw was Undead snapping a gladiator’s neck in one swift motion, tears of blood streaming down his face. Just like before, there was no trace of magic.
‘It’s not magic?’
Then how could this miracle be explained? Could it even be explained? A series of incomprehensible events that shattered Diane’s common sense. Amid the repeated shocks, one word—like a spell—flashed through her mind.
‘Demon!’
The evil beings spoken of in the Holy Light scriptures. The great evil that rebelled against God and sought to harm humanity. The scriptures said they wielded mysterious powers beyond human understanding.
Crack.
Undead snapped his own neck.
“Wh-what? He really died!?”
“Wh-why did he suddenly break his own neck!?”
“I-I don’t know! What just happened!?”
The entire crowd fell into panic. But Diane’s gaze was fixed elsewhere. From the gladiator entrance, the Undead who had just died was calmly walking back into the arena. He grabbed the voice-amplifying artifact and spoke to the panicked spectators.
“■■■■ ■■ ■■■■■.”
‘I’ve come for Jason’s head.’
It was an incredibly mysterious voice. Though the language was different, the meaning came through—a phenomenon that could only be called a miracle. He had truly returned from death and reached Diane with that mysterious voice. A fanatical hostility seeped into Diane’s eyes, weary from years of missionary work.
“That thing is a demon!”
Diane shot to her feet. There was no time to waste. She had to report this to the church immediately. A demon had descended upon this world.