Chapter 50
Chapter 50
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>Translator: Vine
>Chapter: 50
>Chapter Title: The Strongest Swordsman (That Was)
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After devouring Rian and getting a taste of comedy, Bianca had been half out of her mind, tormented for a long time. Daily life had become impossible.
They say time heals all wounds, and after more than a week, Bianca finally managed to pull herself together. But she hadn't fully recovered.
‘Just one more match. I’ll fight one last time and then retire.’
Slaves who reached the top floor were presented with various options. They could stay on the top floor and enjoy a life of power, or they could join Jiso’s army as a rank-and-file soldier. Alternatively, they could have their slave status removed and become free. However, that meant leaving everything they owned behind.
Until now, Bianca had chosen to remain on the top floor, aiming for the champion’s title. She was a woman of endless growth, and she believed that with enough time and the right opportunity, she could certainly seize the championship.
If she could just become the champion, she would be able to stand by the side of Jiso, the man she loved so dearly. The shock of swallowing Rian was so profound that it made her abandon her long-held goal in an instant.
She scraped together what little sanity she had left and planned her escape from the arena, a place where the terrifying being known as Rian lurked.
“What do you say? You only need to participate in one match.”
“I’ll do it.”
Her price was incredibly high, so hardly anyone ever put in a request for her. That was why, the moment she heard Totogen’s offer, she thought, ‘This is my chance!’
She planned to retire after this one last match, then build up her strength by devouring powerful fighters on the outside before entering Jiso’s service.
Thinking hopeful thoughts helped her regain her composure more quickly.
That was, until she came face to face with Rian in the arena.
‘What… what in the world is going on? Why is that monster here?!’
Bianca felt her legs trembling. She felt like she would wet herself if she let go even for a second. Tears welled in her eyes as she averted her gaze from the brightly smiling Rian.
Rian’s smile felt like that of a devil. Goosebumps erupted all over her skin.
‘Run. Yes, let’s run. I just have to turn around and go back in.’
Bianca broke out in a cold sweat and staggered backward. She wanted to dash back into the passage she had just come from.
‘Then I won’t have to face that monster. Right, so—’
The moment she took another step back to save herself.
“Booooooooooo!”
“Why aren’t you fighting?!”
“Scared of the newbie?”
As Bianca hesitated to fight, a torrent of insults rained down on her. Startled, she reflexively lifted her head. In all her previous matches, she had always won by an overwhelming margin, so this was the first time she had ever been jeered at.
“...!”
Her gaze turned toward where Totogen was staying. Her incredibly sharp senses picked up on the stare boring down on her.
‘If I run away now, I’m finished…’
Rian was strong. But not strong enough to contend with the gladiators of the top floor. The beings who resided on the top floor were beyond being called mere monsters.
This was a fight she absolutely could not lose. If Bianca were to surrender in such a match for no apparent reason, she would get on a lot of people’s bad sides.
First, she would be on bad terms with Totogen, who had commissioned her, and the countless spectators who had bet on her would curse her name. For Bianca, who planned to retire and operate on the outside, it was a terrifying penalty.
On top of that, some arrogant high-rollers might see her as conceited and try to deal with her. She wouldn’t die, but she wouldn’t be living either—that was the only future she could see.
‘This can’t be happening.’
She gritted her teeth and strode forward as much as she had retreated.
‘I can’t keep cowering in fear of that man forever. I have to overcome this.’
Bianca thought of a line that sounded like she was about to awaken, just like a protagonist in an anime or novel.
If this were a shonen manga, her resolve might have worked out quite well. But this was a dark fantasy world, devoid of dreams and hope.
All that awaited her was.
“Kyaaaaaaah!”
Despair, in the very form she dreaded most.
***
*Swoosh—.*
I ducked, startled by Bianca’s attack that instantly split my body open.
‘I thought she’d at least say hello before attacking.’
As I had this casual thought, I heard the demon sword roaring in anger.
[Partner, what are you doing!? Why are you wasting precious blood! Dammit, every last drop of your blood is mine!]
I listened to the demon sword’s strange obsession as I looked down at my stomach.
“Ah.”
For some reason, only the skin of my stomach was split open; my organs were completely unharmed. It looked like it would heal quickly if I just held it closed.
“Kyaaaaaaah!”
Before I could even close the wound, a high-pitched scream pierced the air.
*Clang!*
Bianca had thrown down the sword in her hand and collapsed to the ground.
*Drip, drip.*
Her pants were turning a slightly darker color.
‘No way...’
I immediately looked away. If I stared intently at a beautiful woman’s moment of shame, I might get sent flying by a super-charged punch.
“Hiiieek!”
I clearly wasn’t doing anything, yet Bianca shrieked. Wondering what was wrong, I stole a glance at her face.
Her face was deathly pale as she stared intently at my stomach.
‘She’s the one who wounded me, so why is she so shocked?’
And also… why did she suddenly wet herself? The question prompted me to look down at my own stomach. I understood the situation immediately.
*Wink, wink.*
Among my organs exposed through the gash, my ‘liver’ was repeatedly winking at her. Every time the liver blinked, she let out a wild scream.
The liver, which had been winking at the woman it fancied, puckered its lips and made a small sound.
*Mwah—.*
The liver pressed its lips together and blew a kiss. The visually shocking scene was finally enough for Bianca to…
“Grrrk…”
Her eyes rolled back, and she fainted.
“Uh… uhh? What… is this… situation…?”
The announcer, faced with an unimaginable outcome, stammered, unable to form proper words. It was understandable. Bianca, the top swordsman of the highest floor, had seemed to be attacking well, only to suddenly scream, wet herself, and faint…
“Gargandoa, patch me up.”
[Ugh… I didn’t even get to do anything cool…]
Gargandoa grumbled as it covered my wound. It was only as effective as wrapping a bandage to prevent further injury, but for someone like me who healed automatically, there was no better first aid.
“Good thing I ordered clothes in advance. Otherwise, this would’ve been a disaster.”
Remembering the clothes I had ordered and received beforehand, I turned my back on Bianca. The demon sword immediately began to hum.
[W-wait, are you just going to leave the blood on the floor? Really? Are you leaving that precious stuff behind?]
Even though the demon sword drank an enormous amount of blood every day, it still lamented the drops spilled on the ground.
“I’ll give you some when we get back, so let’s just go. It’s too loud here.”
[Hmph…]
“Booooooooo!”
“You lost without even putting up a real fight?!”
“Get lost!”
Those were the more tolerable insults. The rest were so vile they would make my ears rot if I listened.
‘Well, it's not my fault.’
Bianca had struck first, and she had fainted all on her own from shock. There was no need for me to feel responsible for this situation. I exited with light steps.
***
After the fight with Bianca, a strange rumor began to circulate. An absurd rumor that I was so strong I could wield an invisible power.
‘What the f—’
Before the word could even form in my mind, I heard the demon sword whining.
[When in the world is the next match! I can’t show off the upgraded version of Blood Wave!]
Gargandoa sucked on some blood and whimpered. It seemed quite disappointed that it couldn't do anything during the match with Bianca.
“One will come up soon enough. Be quiet when I’m eating.”
[Do you think I’m human? I don’t have to eat with my mouth, you know!]
“Then why did you do it last time?”
When I had taken the demon sword out from the back of my hand after a long time, it had made some rather crude, mouth-like eating sounds. I was sure of it.
When I asked, recalling that moment, the demon sword played dumb.
[I-I-I-I have no i-i-idea what you’re talking about.]
Muttering something as if it had something to hide, the demon sword finally fell silent. As usual, I lay sprawled on my bed with the sword, transformed into a thin needle, stuck in my thigh, and thought.
‘I wonder how Noah and the others are doing.’
Now that my life here had become quite stable, thoughts of Noah suddenly came to mind.
‘They’re probably fine. It’s Noah, after all.’
I yawned and buried my head in my pillow.
***
“*Sob, sniffle…*”
“It’s okay. It’s okay now.”
With a pale face, Noah wrapped a bandage around the child’s hand. The child’s ring finger had been severed halfway.
‘Rian…’
Thrown into the cruel land of the Demon King, Noah once again thought of Rian, barely holding on to her crumbling sanity.