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Chapter 216: A Sheep In The Woods

Chapter 216: A Sheep In The Woods

Some time has passed. In the arena, fights followed one another, offering a spectacle of death to the harshest of suns.

Iris and Morgiana remained silent, worried about Lilith next to them, still in a bad mood. Suddenly, a man came out of a corridor and walked towards the center of the battlefield.

On either side, Mercy and the mysterious gladiator stood, the girl doing her best to keep calm.

He took out a piece of paper and prepared to read it, already acclaimed by the public apparently familiar with this type of event.

"The next scene will pit a new warrior against the night fox. The challenge having been declared by the new warrior, it is she who will decide the condition."

Mercy swallowed, clutching her fist to her chest, she gathered all her courage and spoke in the deepest voice possible.

"I challenge yeh to a battle against the Nameless warrior! Righ’ her’ righ’ no’!"

In the stands, murmurs gradually rose in reaction. The munerator looked at her intrigued, making her very aware of a mistake she may have made.

"...Did I say that wrong?"

"Warrior, you can’t bet on Nameless, he’s already booked for tomorrow."

Mercy blinked several times, her gaze growing more and more troubled. In the corridor, Dora frowned.

"... Booked?"

An amused laugh erupted a little further away, coming from the gladiator in the wolf mask.

"Well, well, are you going to watch that? Poor girl dared me to fight someone who is very popular with the public, it’s terrible."

"What’s wrong? Why is this a problem?!"

"Oh girl..."

He took very slow steps towards her, his voice becoming high.

"It’s simple, the Nameless One is very popular, so people want to see him in big fights against growing warriors. He’s already expected to fight tomorrow, and now everyone is waiting for him... Do you think they would risk him dying in a stupid bet?"

The red mist rose, shaking the audience whose voices grew louder. Mercy’s legs slammed together, her teeth dancing against each other.

"I... but there is no rule... It’s... I..."

"I told you there was a rule, and unless you were very stupid you would understand that this rule alone is enough to keep him from fighting. You should have waited for my explanation, little thing."

He moved closer to her, and so her legs moved her away from him. The cheers of the public multiplied, and the space seemed to be distorted. Mercy continued to back away, slowly forgetting how to speak.

"Now... Your bet doesn’t matter, the warrior you chose can’t fight, so that means I win."

"Why?! N-n-no! I-I-I’ll choose someone else then! I-I-I choose Li-"

The red mist rose, shaking the audience whose voices grew louder. Mercy’s legs slammed together, her teeth gradually dancing against each other.

"I... but there is no rule... It’s... I..."

"I told you there was a rule, and unless you were very stupid you would understand that this rule alone is enough to keep him from fighting. You should have waited for my explanation, little thing."

He moved closer to her, and so her legs moved her away from him. The cheers of the public multiplied, and the space seemed to be distorted. Mercy continued to back away, slowly forgetting how to speak.

"Now... Your bet doesn’t matter, the warrior you chose can’t fight, so that means I win."

"Why?! N-n-no! I-I-I’ll choose someone else then! I-I-I choose Li-"

A sickle hit the ground next to her leg, frightening her to the point of making her fall. The man’s shadow fell over her.

"This is the Coliseum, here we fight to the death, with honor and respect the code of blood. You challenge every day, you kill, you survive, you see another day. You fail, you burn and your story ends. Why did you come here if you couldn’t understand this? You think you’re going to change the way we’ve lived for ages because you don’t like it? Do you think you can challenge someone to fight a monster and be safe if he survives? Keep that in mind woman, here crying won’t help, begging won’t help, pleading won’t help. You asked for a battle where I would be at a disadvantage? Prepare to face the consequences of making me lose my daily fight."

The audience exploded into more violent screams of pure rage. Iris grabbed her sword, ready to jump to the scene, but then a strange scene happened next to her.

Lilith grabbed her head, moaning as if in great pain, her eyes glowing red. Morgiana trembled, pressing her hand to her chest.

The pressure increased, as did the madness of the people. On the ground, paralyzed, Mercy felt like she was about to show off her bodily fluids again, but perhaps in the most shameful way this time.

The man took off his helmet, and she saw a disturbing face crossed by a wide smile dripping with saliva.

He whispered in a voice that only she could hear at that moment.

"Thank you, now everyone will be on my side...And now the fun begins."

He turned to the spectators, shouting loudly.

"Since this is my victory, that means I can decide her fate! So here is my punishment. For flouting our honor, I will teach you to respect the world you live in. My brothers, let’s discipline this fool who has insulted us!"

At these words, the audience exploded into new cheers, the pressure increasing to a fever pitch, and then, in an instant, many gladiators jumped onto the battlefield.

Mercy screamed a little, but it was the most her body would allow her to do. Around her, about 9 gladiators had joined them.

Her mind was racing, forbidding her to even think, but she could recognize the gladiator helmets that had emerged after her discussion with the man in the wolf helmet.

The realization didn’t need her to think to understand, she had fallen into a trap.

Her legs couldn’t move, her mouth couldn’t speak, her brain couldn’t stop. The spectators’ cries added fuel to the fire of her distress and then, she expressed all her emotion in a single cry piercing the air, but it was already too late.

Face down, she realized she was stuck, one gladiator on her back, two holding her arms, and their disgusting laughter engulfed her.

The man with the wolf helmet squatted in front of her and easily ripped off the back of her top, revealing her back to the sun, a sign of her ominous destiny.

"I was planning on making this a private show but... looks like you prefer it this way?"

The young girl closed her eyes in tears, then, clenching her fist, raised her head to look him straight in the eyes.

"DAMN YOU! DAMN YOU ALL!!!!"

Her insults echoed with the laughter of the gladiators, tearing off the remains of her top completely, the man licking his lips with pleasure.

"...That’s why I like beginners so much...I’ll enjoy breaking you again and again until I’m completely tired of you...but with this face and this body, don’t hope that it’s going to happen anytime soon."

He laughed, his foot reaching for her head to pin her, then only half of his leg touched her.

"... Uh..... HUH?!"

To his surprise, the part from his leg to his knee had disapeared, as if clinically cut.

He failed to regain his balance and fell to the side. The others gladiators watched in surprise when the two holding Mercy’s arms got struck and emportes togetther by one single object, crashing in a wall, revealing it to everyone: a morning star.

The public’s eruption redoubled, and from the corridor emerged the boy, his eyes bloodshot, his mouth exhaling a red mist.

The gladiators turned to him, the one with the wolf helmet groaning on the ground as the pain finally began to set in.

Dora walked slowly, keeping his eyes fixed on the gladiators he had just crushed, still alive.

"Slightly..."

He rotated his arm sideways, releasing the deadly ball from the wall and sending it across the entire width of the field. The gladiators quickly realized the danger and sprinted towards him, chasing after the morning star’s trajectory.

Suddenly, the death ball changed its course, veering towards him. It spun and sped towards him, striking his helmet without causing fatal harm, only shattering the protective gear and turning his face into a masterpiece.

"...A little..."

The 7 gladiators reached Dora, jumping on him, and as their feet touched the ground, their screams pierced the air.

"... A lot..."

Their arms were tied together, like ropes, the disturbing bulge of their broken bones serving as an anchor point to improve fixation.

The public burst in euphoria, and the morning star regained its original size, next to its master who now walked toward the man with a wolf helmet.

"... Beyond."