Chapter 11. Mongrel
Quite some time had passed. Now the waiting room was packed with participants—eyeballing it, around four to five hundred. Naturally, herding a bunch of hot-tempered warriors into one spot sparked constant brawls. Some even tangled with the soldiers.
Suddenly, the door leading to the arena burst open without warning, revealing a long passageway. The soldiers barked at the participants to move their asses. The hundreds shuffled along the corridor, lined on both sides by heavily armed guards. The air thrummed with tension. Even the smirking bastards lost their grins. Ji-hyuk's lips curled into a deepening smile, though.
This is gonna be fun.
He recalled the blood-soaked frenzy at Palahino's fighting pit not long ago. The feel of it all lingered vividly in his senses. If forced to pick between good and evil, Ji-hyuk would choose good first—but if only evil was on the table, he'd embrace it without hesitation.
...And this place was exactly that.
If he had to kill, he'd kill. No need for pretense. No one here expected it anyway.
Ji-hyuk tapped his sword hilt with his index finger. His gaze drifted to the cracks between the stone walls, where slivers of outside light and scenery peeked through.
Waaaaah—
The roar hit like thunder, nearly deafening.
After a long march, they finally emerged from the tunnel. But waiting weren't open fields—instead, dozens of barred cells.
"Ten to a cell! Move it—!"
The participants split into random groups of ten and filed into the prison-like cages. Through the bars lay the arena: not just a flat battlefield, but a maze of trees, puddles, boulders, and stone walls. Artificially designed for varied scenarios, no doubt.
"Fuck..."
Someone muttered what everyone felt.
Soon all were locked in. Preparations complete. They waited for the arena gates to rise.
Waaaaah—
The spectators towering above numbered in the tens of thousands—practically the city's entire population. Ji-hyuk glanced at the cloudless blue sky.
...Perfect day for a fight.
Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong—
Bells clanged wildly. Cheers swelled. Soldiers by the tunnel pounded bars with weapons, bellowing at the top of their lungs.
"GET READY—!!!"
Grips tightened on drawn weapons. Everyone in these cells was a rival. Fights would erupt the second they spilled out.
Then a massive fireball streaked into the arena sky and BOOM—exploded. The signal.
All cage doors slammed up at once.
Uwaaaaaah—!!!
Participants howled and charged. As expected, spears and axes flew immediately. Blood sprayed everywhere. Spectators went berserk over the carnage. Drunk on the roar, fighters battled like madmen.
Ji-hyuk cleaved the head off a warrior lunging for his back with his cursed holy sword. The headless body crumpled. He strolled casually. No rush. Anyone charging got their head lopped off, no exceptions.
Trees by puddles already held corpses. Water ran red with blood. In moments, nearly a hundred participants lay dead, deaths as varied as they were gruesome. Some had allied early, hunting in packs. One such group—three humans, one orc—ran smack into Ji-hyuk.
One, two, three, four. Among the humans, a woman—muscular, head shaved bald, pecs bulging like tits. She'd pass for a man otherwise.
They surrounded him. The mace-wielder charged first. Ji-hyuk sidestepped the headshot and slashed upward from below, severing the guy's neck.
"You fucking bastaaard—!!"
Next, a brute with handaxes in both fists. Ji-hyuk blurred, bisecting him vertically. Then he skewered the orc's skull with his club mid-swing. Last, a diagonal slice through the woman's torso.
The alliance dropped in seconds.
Another hundred gone. Fights tapered into a lull. Now the staring contest began.
Then—clang clang—distant cage doors opening. Ji-hyuk, catching his breath in a dip, couldn't see what emerged.
Waaaaah—
Thunderous cheers. Something to rile them up. Chilling killing intent flooded the air.
Monsters released. Sur Alidan's nudge: fight harder.
Now participants faced rivals and beasts. Screams erupted instantly. Ji-hyuk rose and moved. Ruins-like area, floors slick with blood pooling from corpses. His boots squelched. The stench was thick.
His head spun. Excitement surged.
A panicked participant bolted toward him. Ji-hyuk readied a slash—but a black dog-like monster snagged him first.
"Save meeeee—!!!"
The guy begged Ji-hyuk. The beast pinned his torso with a paw and devoured his head in one gulp. Starved for the hunt, clearly. Still hungry, it leaped at Ji-hyuk, eclipsing the sky briefly.
Ji-hyuk swung calmly, shredding its body. Undigested chunks tumbled with the corpse.
He wiped blood from his blade on his forearm. The cursed holy sword gleamed silver again.
Where the hell's that hero kid?
Ji-hyuk searched for Gunda. No way he'd died already. Probably carving up foes somewhere.
Ruins teemed with traps: arrow-skewered, impaled on rising spikes, crushed to pulp under stones. Deaths galore.
Time dragged. Participants must've thinned out big-time, he figured.
Wooooh—
Spectators clamored for more. Sur held back, though.
Amid the chaos of men and monsters, Ji-hyuk kept hunting the hero. Rivals and beasts met merciless steel.
Where you hiding, you little shit?
He prowled like a stalking predator.
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Gunda stuck with the ragtag group, playing weak while biding his time. Everyone knew trust was a joke. But urgency kept the uneasy truce.
Passing a boulder-strewn zone, something streaked in, smashing the lead orc's head.
—!!
A woman rose from the body, face painted with bizarre blood runes. Slender, she yanked her spear free and glared fiercely.
Ah—
Suin. A stunning one. Gunda fell for her raw wild beauty instantly. It seared into his brain.
"F-fuck, kill her—!!"
Rat-boy swung his axe. Too slow. She struck another down in a blink. Rat-boy followed, spear through the heart.
Group wiped. Gunda stood alone. She eyed him like prey.
"Wai—"
Spear whistled before he spoke. Gunda parried with his own.
...No talking this out.
Spears clashed. Her style was unpredictable—freeform, rootless. Deadly sharp, though. One slip, and his head got ventilated.
Gunda steadied, matching her. She couldn't pierce his solid fundamentals. The suin gritted teeth, pressing with agile spear thrusts exploiting gaps. Close calls chilled him.
...She fought to kill.
Gunda stopped defending. One mistake, and he'd bleed out.
Hup—
Spears danced faster.
Ah...!
She faltered, pushed back. Gunda stayed calm; she grew desperate. Kill or be killed.
She hadn't expected someone this strong. Gunda found her tough too—unexpected skill here. Without seeing the others fall first, he'd have been skewered.
But the gap existed. Her endurance came from racial edge. Human? She'd lose quick.
They traded blows. Gunda held back—no killing intent. He was smitten.
"Ngh, grr, hngh."
Frustrated, she went berserk. Gunda knew it was time to end it. Stamina mattered; road ahead was long.
—!!!
Her eyes widened at his sudden speed burst. He cracked her arm with his shaft. She held the spear, but he yanked it away.
Spear tip to her chest. They panted, staring.
She closed her eyes, accepting death. But no pierce came. She peeked. He withdrew, backing off.
"Don't die."
Gunda planted her spear in the ground and walked away.
Mixed-blood suin Mahushu watched his retreating back.
...Why'd he spare me?
—Don't die.
The words echoed. Strange feeling.
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Gunda rampaged now, vowing to clear rivals fast—for her. She wouldn't die easy with those skills. Tough survivor.
After a breather, he hunted anew. Then—a sinister pressure hit his back. He flinched instinctively, whipping around. Chills raced his spine. Goosebumps.
What the hell...?
A blood-soaked man emerged from behind a crumbled wall. He grinned at Gunda.
"...Found you at last."
That smile chilled to the bone.