Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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>Translator: Vine
>Chapter: 33
>Chapter Title: Did I Get Him?
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Did I get him?
“You’re new. Shouldn’t you start with a greeting?”
A man with light-brown skin and slightly dull blond hair spoke to me, standing crookedly. He gave off the distinct air of a thug.
“Hello?”
“Not for me, it isn’t.”
At his words, the other slaves who had crept out of their rooms to stand by his side burst into laughter.
“Hey, what if you scare him so much he refuses to fight?”
“If he’s that kind of guy, he deserves to die here.”
I watched them chatter amongst themselves.
‘They’re all kids.’
They were tall as beanstalks and their faces looked weathered, but they still had a youthful air about them.
‘Middle schoolers, maybe?’
They seemed a bit too short to be high schoolers. As I was having these pointless thoughts, the man walked right up to me and sneered.
“Hey, hand her over, and I’ll let this slide.”
The bastard pointed at Iris and spouted his nonsense. If he had insulted me, I could have laughed it off, but I couldn't tolerate him insulting Iris.
“No.”
It was only natural that my words came out harshly. When I refused with a firm, displeased expression, the man’s face twisted.
“This little shit. I was trying to be nice and let you skip the hazing, and now you’re acting up?”
“I guess he wants to protect his precious family.”
All sorts of insults were thrown my way, but I didn’t care. The man cracked his knuckles and strode toward me.
“Looks like you need to be taught a proper lesson.”
It seemed this son of a bitch needed a true lesson from the world of gags. I glared back, refusing to back down, and the atmosphere grew even colder.
Just as it seemed we were about to start throwing punches.
“Pimax, get ready.”
“Tch…”
The man cracking his knuckles in front of me, Pimax, was summoned by a rat beastkin. The beastkin told him his gladiatorial match was soon and that he should head downstairs. The man bared his teeth and glared at me.
“Perfect. Hey, don’t touch this bastard. Let’s see if he can still look at me like that after watching me fight.”
At Pimax’s words, the eight other slaves burst out laughing and started chattering. From what I could gather, Pimax was a very capable gladiator slave whose fearsome skills would soon earn him a spot on the upper floors.
“Watch closely.”
I nodded silently at his snarled warning. Was it because I was a pushover?
No. I agreed so I could crush this son of a bitch. Inwardly, I smiled as viciously as the protagonist of Death Note.
After he left, the slaves led Iris and me to a lounge area overlooking the arena. As I sat in the middle of a long sofa, the slaves grinned and filled the empty seats around me.
Each floor had high ceilings, so the entire arena was visible at a glance. Down below, workers were cleaning up the corpse of someone who had been torn apart by a monster.
The slave sitting next to me tapped my shoulder and sneered, telling me I’d end up just like that. When another one tried to touch Iris, I had no choice but to have her sit on the floor in front of my legs, beneath the sofa.
Bastards.
“And now, for our next match! A rookie gladiator who is building a legend of undefeated victories! Piiiiiiimaaaaaax!”
“Woooooah!”
“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
A tremendous roar erupted from the crowd. Just as they’d boasted, Pimax seemed to be a fairly strong gladiator.
Pimax carried a gleaming sword and shield that were in a different league from the sword Iris had held or the weapons available in the passage. He wore a leather cuirass over his chest but seemed to have no other armor.
“His opponent is~! A Rekra, raised on the flesh of hundreds of humans!”
*Clang, clatter.*
With the sound of a metal gate rising, a crimson, bull-like monster charged out, snorting. Unlike a normal bull, its horns were truly massive, and it even had horns on its jaw.
The monster was enormous, at least the size of a single-story building. Yet even facing such a creature, Pimax moved with a relaxed gait.
“Kuuuuuoooooh!”
The monster let out a loud cry, lowered its horns, and charged at Pimax.
*Rumble!*
The ground shook with the force of its stampede. In a situation where anyone else would be terrified, Pimax calmly dodged the bull and slashed at its hind leg.
“Kuooh!”
He couldn’t sever it due to the thick hide and bulging muscles, but he left a deep wound. The monster became more cautious in its attacks, but it was no match for Pimax.
Pimax toyed with the monster before gutting its soft belly and bringing it down.
*Thud!*
The monster collapsed, spewing torrents of blood as its tongue lolled out. Pimax was victorious.
“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
“Whooo!”
An incredible cheer poured down. Pimax casually waved his hand, showing the composure of a champion. As I watched him silently, the slaves, thinking I was scared, snickered and patted my head mockingly.
I looked at the monster, limp and gushing blood from its belly and mouth, and said.
“Did I get him?”
As if a magic spell had been cast.
*Thump, thump.*
Miraculously, the monster pushed itself up. The gash in its belly had already healed, and the light had returned to its eyes.
“Huh?”
“Wh-what is that?!”
The guys who had been mocking me stared at the monster in shock. It let out a guttural growl and immediately charged at Pimax. Of course it did. A boss revived by the line “Did I get him?” is always supposed to get stronger.
“What is this?!”
Pimax, startled, hurriedly raised his shield to block. His body trembled from the heavy blow. He barely managed to deflect the attack and stared in horror at the monster, which was shaking its head to prepare for the next assault.
“The Rekra we thought was dead has risen again! Can Pimax secure victory?”
“Woooooah?!”
“Waaaaah!!”
Since this was an arena run by the Four Heavenly Kings’ Jiso, no one found the monster’s sudden revival strange. They just thought it was an unexpected event and roared even louder.
Pimax gritted his teeth and swung his sword.
Even if it had revived and grown stronger, it wasn’t strong enough to defeat him.
“Pi! Max! Has defeated the Rekra once again!!!”
A massive roar erupted as the monster, its neck half-severed, rolled its eyes back as if it were truly dead.
Pimax, wary that it might rise again, only relaxed when the cleanup crew rushed in to collect the carcass.
A pleased smile spread across his face as he began to exit the arena with a leisurely stride.
I crossed my arms, grinned, and said.
“Is it done?”
My magic words were cast.
*Thump! Thump!*
The even stronger monster’s eyes flashed as it rose to its feet. Its severed neck had reattached, and its horns had grown slightly longer.
“Wh-what the?!”
I could faintly hear Pimax’s panicked shout through the cheers. The crew that had run in to collect the carcass fled the arena in a panic.
“Dammit!”
Pimax’s face crumpled as he began to fight the monster again. Just as he’d claimed, he was very strong, but not strong enough to overcome the Gag Filter.
The moment Pimax defeated the monster.
“Is it over?”
The dead monster revived again.
“We did it! We finally took him down!”
The monster’s teeth became sharp like a shark’s, and its body grew larger. Pimax was growing exhausted.
Soon, Pimax started accumulating injuries, and the slaves around me began to subtly distance themselves.
Every time I spoke, the monster got back up. They seemed to think I was the one reviving it.
“We got him! We’re free!”
I uttered the spell of resurrection one more time with a wicked smile. I wasn’t even trying to hide it anymore.
How dare he lay his eyes on Iris? Let’s see you struggle until you die.
Pimax’s face was mangled, and he lost an arm and a leg. I could hear the curses of the countless people who had bet money on him.
“Did you really think you could touch my sister and get away with it?”
As I muttered with satisfaction, the slaves who had been looking at me with expressions of ‘Could it be…?’ fled in terror. The tension drained out of me, and I let out a small sigh, looking down at Iris, who had her eyes closed, her head resting on my lap.
‘…If they find out we’re not siblings, they’ll definitely separate us. It’s probably best to pretend we are for now, right?’
I was sure the kind-hearted Iris would understand my excuse. Nodding to myself, I took her back to our room.
The next morning.
A problem arose when Pimax, who had seemed destined for greatness, became useless. The match he was supposed to fight in was now open.
“The ones who will take Pimax’s place are you, you, and you.”
The rat beastkin’s finger pointed at me. He glanced at Iris and added.
“Oh, and just so you know, you can’t fight with that woman.”
Pimax was utterly useless to the very end.