Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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>Translator: Vine
>Chapter: 36
>Chapter Title: The Power of the Demon Sword
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*Grrrr.*
The monster's name was Minotaur. It had massive horns, stood well over five meters tall, and possessed the head of a bull, the body of a man, and the hooves of a cow.
It was so massive that its shadow swallowed Rian and all the other slaves whole.
The announcer’s voice shouted something over the roaring cheers.
*Clang.*
Amidst the chaos, some dropped their swords in terror.
"Th-there's no way we can b-beat something like this!"
"We're all going to die, I tell you! I don't want to die!"
The two terrified slaves screamed and started running back toward the tunnel they had come from. The Minotaur, which had been glaring at Rian at the forefront, snapped its head up.
Turning your back and fleeing from an excited predator was no different than asking to be killed.
*Thud! Thud!*
The Minotaur stomped its feet lightly and then shot into the air in an instant, as if it had springs on its hooves. Leaping as high as the colossal arena walls, the Minotaur landed in front of the frantically fleeing slaves.
"Hyaaaargh...!"
"S-save m—..."
*Crunch, splat!*
The double-bladed axe in its hand tore the two slaves to shreds. In an instant, they were split in half and killed.
*Thump.*
The chestnut-haired boy, who had managed not to flee and was holding his sword with trembling hands, collapsed to the ground. The large slave, shield in hand, also wore a dazed expression.
"H-how are we supposed to... beat that? It's impossible!"
Terrified by the fact that death was imminent, the chestnut-haired boy shouted in a voice filled with rage.
Humans, when terrified, often become filled with anger as a survival instinct. But while this function existed for survival, it was utterly useless now.
"Krhung."
The boy's shout only served to provoke the Minotaur, which was already excited by the sight of blood. The Minotaur's gaze landed squarely on the chestnut-haired boy.
"Hiiiek?!"
The boy let out a shriek and tried to crawl backward. But his body was so tense that he just ended up flailing on the ground.
"Booooo!"
"Puhahahaha! Kill him! Kill him!"
Boos at the slaves who died so quickly and cheers from the crowd to toy with the remaining one before killing him echoed through the arena.
"Throw him! Throw him high!"
"Khahaha! Rip his head off!"
The torrent of shouts from all around made the boy feel like he was suffocating. It felt as if the entire world was trying to kill him.
*Thud, thud.*
Snorting steam from its nostrils, its eyes bloodshot from drugs, the Minotaur slowly approached. It seemed to be planning to toy with its prey, which couldn't even run away.
*Ah. I'm going to die.*
Just as the same thought crossed the minds of the chestnut-haired boy and the large slave, a calm voice was heard.
"That gets censored, but my body doesn't? Ah, is it because of the organ with the eye?"
Rian walked past the chestnut-haired boy and stepped forward. Rian’s figure, walking willingly toward death, was so composed that he looked as if he were out for a stroll.
"Woooooah! Don't kill that scrawny one! Sell him outside so he can be put to use!"
"Grind that smooth face of his into the dirt!"
As Rian, who looked younger than the other slaves and had a beautiful face that seemed destined to make many women cry, walked toward the Minotaur, all sorts of vile shouts echoed through the air.
Shouts to sell his body were the baseline, with some even cruelly demanding his face be skinned. Every spectator in the arena anticipated Rian's gruesome death.
"Ah, could you quiet down? I'm about to try it."
Rian paid no mind to the surrounding jeers, busy muttering to himself as if in conversation with something.
When he was close enough for the Minotaur to barely reach him by stretching out its arm, Rian raised the sword in his hand.
"Let's see... like this?"
Rian casually swung the sword through the air. It was a gesture devoid of any technique, a half-hearted motion like playfully swinging a flashy, light-up sword from a toy aisle.
"Grrr!"
The Minotaur snorted at its foolish prey’s action and raised its axe. Or rather, it tried to.
*Shlk.*
A thin line appeared on the Minotaur's upper body, a clean cut as if a box cutter had sliced through paper.
"...?"
The Minotaur stared blankly at Rian, its eyes wide. Had it been struck? Its vision was tumbling along the ground.
"That was a bit clumsy."
With Rian’s mutter, the Minotaur’s breath ceased, its tongue lolling out.
"..."
Witnessing the unimaginable scene, the arena spectators were left speechless, their mouths agape.
*Sploosh!*
The Minotaur's torso, cleanly sliced at a diagonal, spewed blood, revealing the cross-section. The Minotaur’s head, shoulders, and arms lay limp on the ground.
The metallic scent of blood announced the Minotaur's defeat.
"Waaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!"
A tremendous roar, so loud it seemed to shake the very ground, erupted from the crowd. The announcer, finally snapping out of his stupor, spoke with a trembling voice.
"Th-the youngest gladiator has felled the Minotaur in a single strike! A new star is born!"
As the announcer’s excitement-filled voice rang out, the cheers grew even louder. So loud that they drowned out the announcer's voice.
"You won't grow big if you're a picky eater, you know."
Rian, completely ignoring his surroundings, patted the demon sword, which was whining that the Minotaur’s blood tasted bad.
[ This is all because your blood is too delicious! ]
The demon sword vibrated, its blade humming with complaint. To this, Rian tilted his head and said.
"Uh... thanks?"
[ Grrr...! ]
Rian ignored the demon sword’s whining and looked toward the tunnel he had come from.
*'I need to get back to Iris quickly.'*
The match ended sooner than expected, but you never knew what could happen.
Someone might have been bold enough to try and assault Iris in the meantime, or she might have gotten hungry, gone to the dining hall, and started eating whatever she could find.
To Rian, Iris was no different from a newborn baby left by the water's edge.
"Now, then, an interview with the miracle gladiator—..."
The announcer, his voice filled with unconcealed excitement, headed toward Rian on a wondrous flying carpet.
Rian, his mind completely preoccupied with worries about Iris, didn't notice the approaching announcer and walked past the Minotaur toward the tunnel.
"Hey? Y-you can't just leave now?"
He heard the announcer’s flustered voice from behind but ignored it. It’s only natural for a resident of a gag world to dash straight toward their goal once they fixate on something.
And if you try to block a rushing gag resident.
"Uwaaaah!?"
You end up flying away, just like that announcer.
*'Didn't something just fly by?'*
Rian thought a thought befitting a resident of a gag world as he passed through the tunnel. Perhaps because of his incredible performance, no one stopped him.
***
*Bang!*
"Iris!"
"...!"
Iris, who had been sitting with her head bowed on the bed, shot her head up, her eyes wide. After confirming it was me, she sprang up from the bed and scurried over.
I immediately reached out to take Iris's hand.
"Sorry, I'm la—..."
Before I could finish, Iris threw herself into my arms. I froze, my hand still outstretched.
"Uuuu..."
Iris rubbed her face against my chest, making a crying sound. The sound jolted my petrified mind back to its senses. I urgently grabbed Iris's shoulders and pushed her away.
"I-Iris, are you crying?!"
There are certain beings in this world you should never make cry. The first is a child, and the second is a woman. And if you make a pretty woman cry, diving off a cliff is the better choice for your future well-being.
Iris is a pretty girl. Which means she is a terrifying existence. On top of that, she's the protagonist of the original story!
Making such a being cry was the same as saying death was just around the corner.
*'Was Iris... an assassin?'*
With that thought, I set Iris aside, walked to the center of the room, and knelt down.
"Mother, your son departs first."
I brought the sword in my hand to my neck, shedding a single, dew-like tear. To escape the brutal cliché that might unfold, I had to show this kind of performance.
"...?!"
With an expression I had never seen before, Iris instantly rushed over and snatched the sword from me.
[ Ooh! Finally, in the hands of a proper human—... Kraaaaaargh! I-is this... divine power?! Let go! Let go of me! You dog of the gods! Kuaaaaargh! ]
The demon sword, which had been thrilled to be in the hands of a proper human unlike the abnormal Rian, let out a scream.
Thinking I might lose a useful weapon if this continued, I held out my hand to Iris and said.
"Good girl, Iris. Now give that here, quickly."
But Iris hid the sword behind her back and shook her head vigorously.