I didn’t want to do it, but I had no other choice. It was as clear as day that he was deceiving me, and that he would either try to kill me later or use me as a human shield when things went wrong. Either way, it wasn’t in my best interests.

So I had to get rid of him before he got the chance.

Clang!

The sound of metal striking metal echoed throughout the entire arena, and in the next instant, blood spattered through the air in all directions.

"Huff..."

My breathing quickened without me realising it.

I could see a number of people falling dead within seconds, whilst I found myself retreating to a nearby corner, watching the chaos that had engulfed the place.

Suddenly, I caught sight of the man with the strangely long eyelashes, which gave his features an unnatural appearance.

He was rushing towards me at full speed, his eyes fixed directly on me, whilst on the other side, another figure was advancing at the same time.

A man with a swollen, strange-looking face; he reminded me more of a human frog than a human being.

"Where on earth do they find these people...?"

I thought this as I took several steps back.

"I thought I was ugly, but compared to these two... I’m not that bad."

I kept backing up until my back hit an invisible barrier.

I gripped the hilt of my sword tightly, then delivered a direct downward strike.

Clang!

Sparks flew into the air the moment my blade struck my opponent’s, and the sound echoed around the arena.

I managed to push the man with the long eyelashes away for a split second, and in that very instant I leapt to the side, rolling across the ground.

Boom!

The ground shook beneath my feet as the giant hammer struck the spot where I had been standing a split second earlier.

Thanks to his unexpected agility, the man with the long eyelashes quickly regained his balance, then lunged at me with a sweeping side blow.

I had barely got to my feet.

I had no choice but to raise my arms to block it.

Thud!

Pain swept through my arms like a violent electric current, but I gritted my teeth and endured it.

I grabbed his leg and pulled him towards me with all my strength. He lost his balance and fell towards me.

Instead of trying to regain his balance, he twisted his waist in an almost impossible manner, then sent his foot towards my head in an attempt to crush it, whilst at the same time his sword was descending rapidly towards my chest.

"Ha!"

Without hesitation, I used telekinesis. My sword shot through the air before his movement was complete.

Slash!

The blade pierced his body from the exposed side.

Blood spattered over me, but I had no time to relax.

For the man with the frog-like face was charging towards me at full speed.

I pulled myself up immediately and grabbed the body of the man with the long eyelashes, who didn’t seem to be dead yet. Then I hurled him with all my might.

Wham!

The corpse struck the frog-faced man, who was momentarily disoriented, but he soon swung his massive hammer.

Crack!

The long-lashed man’s jaw was completely shattered, and half his face turned into bloody shards. I had already seized that moment.

I appeared right in front of him. And I drew my sword in a sharp arc.

Sssshhh!

A deep gash ran from his shoulder down almost to his lower abdomen.

The man staggered backwards, blood gushing profusely from his body.

Whoosh!

He swung his hammer in a last, desperate attempt... I shifted my body slightly and dodged it easily, whilst I plunged my sword straight into his heart.

A sharp, choked gasp escaped his lips. His eyes rolled back slowly, as if life were draining from him right before my eyes.

I pushed his body away with my foot before he collapsed on top of me, my breath coming in heavy, ragged gasps.

"Hah... hah..."

Thud!

I turned my head quickly towards the source of the sound.

Someone had plunged a dagger into the neck of a burly man, before being stabbed himself from behind with a long spear.

"Damn... How long is this going to go on? Should I carry out the plan now?"

I thought that, before my gaze suddenly fell upon four figures ahead, whose faces were hidden beneath black masks. It was strange, for anyone who came within a certain distance of them... their head would explode instantly.

Their skulls would shatter as if they were ripe fruit, and their bodies would turn into scattered fragments on the ground.

"What on earth is this...?"

If the strongest person here is no higher than Expert (D) rank, how can these people kill people so easily?

Unless their ranks are vastly higher than ours... and that can only mean one thing.

Something is wrong. Something that wasn’t supposed to happen.

"Should I do it now... before the situation spirals out of control?"

But before I could think any further—

Crash!

My arms shook violently as I parried a surprise blow that was about to split me in two.

And suddenly— a crack

"Hah—!"

I felt a metallic taste fill my mouth. Then my vision suddenly went blurry. I slowly looked down.

And there... A gleaming blade protruded from my stomach. For a full second, my mind couldn’t process what it was seeing.

I gripped my sword even tighter, whilst my opponent pushed me backwards with increasing force.

My fingers began to slacken. The sword started to slip from my hand.

I was moments away from being cut in two.

But I wasn’t ready to accept my fate just yet. I gathered what strength I had left.

Bam!

I struck the man who had stabbed me from behind in the face with my elbow. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

His eyes widened in surprise, and he lost his balance for a moment.

At that very moment, his grip on his weapon weakened.

I threw myself to the ground quickly.

Whoosh!

A sharp blade whizzed right over my head.

And in the next instant, that sword pierced the body of the man who had stabbed me.

I raised my trembling hand. Dancing blue sparks gathered between my fingers. I gripped my opponent’s leg tightly.

Crack!!

The electrical charge exploded through his body all at once.

The man let out a deafening scream as he writhed violently.

"Aaaargh!"

He staggered away from me before collapsing to the ground like a broken doll.

As my vision grew blurrier with every passing second, I felt a burning pain in my chest. A strange chill began to creep into my limbs.

"It... it’s going to be painful,"

I thought this as I reached my trembling hand towards my storage pouch.

With difficulty, I pulled out a healing potion, then drank it in one gulp without hesitation.

Only a few moments passed... and the pain began to subside gradually.

My vision regained some of its clarity, and the air returned to my lungs more freely.

I had to pull the sword out first. I reached behind my back until my hand touched the cold hilt embedded in my body.

I gritted my teeth.

Shh!

The blade came out in one go. A pain so intense it nearly knocked me unconscious swept through me, and blood gushed from the wound even more profusely than before.

My knees nearly gave way... I took several more doses and swallowed them one after the other.

I knew this was only a temporary solution, but it was better than death.

And suddenly—

Boom!

The whole arena shook violently, and a tremendous metallic clang echoed through the air.

The ground began to shake.

Huge circular cracks appeared all around the arena, before colossal pillars rose up from the earth.

Crash!

A massive black hand, covered in veins glowing a deep red, emerged.

It was followed by a roar that shook the very air.

"GRAAAAAAAHH!!"

I smiled slightly as soon as I saw it, then immediately pulled out the glowing, rectangular sphere covered in mysterious symbols.

Mana bombs.

It was time to carry out the second step.

The path leading to the power source had opened up before me, and all I had to do was move.

But...

Why can’t I move?

Move, you damn body!

I couldn’t move my body a single step.

Was it because I was injured?

No... that wasn’t it.

My instincts were screaming at me that if I charged forward now, I would die instantly.

It was only a matter of seconds before that strange sound echoed throughout the place.

But it wasn’t like the sound we’d heard a moment ago.

It was different... eerily calm.

"Hello, hello, can you hear me clearly? I apologise for interrupting your fun, but I have two pieces of news; one is good and the other is bad... which would you like to hear first?"

He paused for a moment, whilst the people upstairs began talking amongst themselves, in a heated manner.

"I suppose you’d prefer the bad news, wouldn’t you? Hmm... well, the bad news is that a strange group has managed to infiltrate us, and there are a great many of them; worse still, they intend to wipe us out."

"As for the good news, this place has been abandoned and will be completely destroyed, burying everyone inside without exception. Know full well that I made this decision after much thought. And unfortunately... this is your last night."

No sooner had he finished speaking than silence fell for a moment, and all that remained was the sound of the beast.

And suddenly—

BOOOOM!

A massive explosion rang out on the upper floor. Even from where I stood, I could see it.

I saw the terror etched on the faces down there.

It was only a matter of seconds before my instincts began screaming wildly.

Then—

BOOOOM!

Another explosion, even more violent than the last, rang out.

But this time... it came from the circular cracks.

I saw the ground crack before my eyes, then the entire arena exploded... along with everyone inside it. And me with them.