Kane entered the cage once more. This time, his opponent was…

An elf child.

The same race as Athera, except this one had slightly yellow skin. A very typical elf girl: blue eyes, blonde hair, small frame, and could be nice to look at if not for her malnourished body. Scars marred her silky skin, presumably from a whip. With hunched back, she dragged her feet into the arena.

The crowd was discussing among themselves. Vague chatters and whisperings filled the whole room, whereas there were cheers and jeers from his previous fight. Much less jovial when compared to before. Was it because the match hadn’t started yet?

Looking above with his peripheral vision, a rather tall man was accompanying Sharon. He emanated a faint yet intense and familiar aura. Death. His juvenile eyes hid many lives he had taken. Kane had to avoid encountering him at all cost unless it was inevitable; yet at the same time, he wished to exchange blows with that man to scratch his itch of battling strong foes.

Still, this left a question: how did Sharon get acquainted with such a monster?

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the second bracket of the tournament!”

A tournament? No wonder she wanted him to win without any losses. It all made sense.

“In the west corner, a lovely elf hailing from the elven forest, Fyithren. She is… Syllllphinaaa the Weak!”

“Now in the east corner, this wild, tender, fervent, and promising half-oni, has won his debut match, Kaaanee!”

---

“She looks very strangle-able to me,” said Ral. “Don’t worry too much, Sharon.”

“The problem is, she shares many similarities with me.”

“But, you both are nothing alike besides being a girl.” He cocked his head.

She kneaded her forehead, sighing. “Haah, forget that I said anything.”

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?” Ral snapped, but Sharon paid no heed to his words.

Sitting above the cage, the referee shouted, “Begin!”

Kane readied his stance. Suddenly, Slyphina leaped forward at great speed, causing him to step back. When he was about to counterattack, she prostrated in front of him. He halted his movement.

“What are you doing?”

“P-please spare me!” she begged. “I don’t want to fight!”

“How did you win, then?” Kane folded his arms.

“I… I was just very lucky! My opponent was a boy who…” She then rambled about how she managed to snatch a win. It was mostly a lie that she came up right on the spot.

Meanwhile, Ral yawned loudly, stretching his arms and rocking the chair. “Start the fight already!”

“It’s already begun.” Sharon fiddled with her luscious lips.

“Huh!? They haven’t hit each other yet, though?”

“I meant figuratively.” She sighed once again. “You need to use your brain more, Ral.”

While they were talking, Sylphina was still going on about her story. Kane then interrupted her, “Enough! I get it already. I won’t lay a hand on you.”

“You… you mean it?” She beamed a smile.

“Yes. I’ll think of something.” He turned around.

What an idiot!

Curling a wide grin, she pounced at his exposed back, aiming for the neck. The crowd erupted in an excited outcry as though they knew that this would happen. Sharon looked away and clenched her fists altogether while Ral stooped over the railing, grinning.

Out of the blue, Sylphina took a heel to the cheek. She spun around mid-air before crashing into the cage. The loud thud caused the steel bars to shake a little. The elf girl lay limp, blood dripping from her mouth; the kick displaced a couple of her teeth. At the east corner, Kane’s leg lingered above the ground.

The crowd became silent, agape.

“What just happened?” asked Sharon.

“He spun his body and delivered a kick without looking. Either he’s one lucky kid or…”

“Or?”

“Find out by yourself. Just use your smart brain!” he teased.

Pouting, Sharon tossed a small [Mana Ball] at Ral’s arm.

“Ow! What was that for?” He shrunk back.

“Nothing.” She sulked for a moment before continuing to watch the fight again.

Kane drew closer toward Sylphina. He stared at her, brooding over her. Her body was convulsing. Whimpering, she opened her mouth and murmured, “You said… you won’t lay… your hand on me…”

“I still haven’t, though,” he said nonchalantly.

“You bastard—”

Kane drove his foot against her face, knocking her to the side. He ambled toward her. “Deceiving your opponent is a good tactic. Nothing wrong with that. Unfortunately…”

Lifting one foot, he continued, “I’m very familiar with it. Too bad that you’re facing me.” He then stomped the back of her head repeatedly.

The spectators cringed with every stomp. When Kane finally stopped after seven times, one of them yelled, “Finish her, Kane!”

The others followed, gradually becoming a chant. “Finish her!”

“Finish her!”

“Finish her!”

Kane gazed at the pitiful Sylphina for a while. He decided to walk away. The referee then declared, “The winner is Kane!”

The crowd applauded, mixed with disappointment, either because he spared her life or they had lost the bet.

“You see, Sharon? I was right all along!” boasted Ral.

Sharon stood up. “I’m going to withdraw my earnings. You stay here.” She left him behind.

“Tch! Getting ignored again.” He clicked his tongue, then his eyes gleamed with a hint of deviltry.

---

Kane followed the warden into his cell while recalling the previous match. He yawned as a tear droplet formed in the corner of his eyes. It’d been a while since the last time he’d fought a female. Was he a bit too cruel back there? Perhaps, but it was necessary. Stomping the head was a countermeasure to cripple her, preventing any surprise attack and revenge in the future.

His main concern was Sharon discovering his true side. She might’ve become more cautious toward him, which wasn’t very desirable. Not to mention the man who sat beside her. Kane hoped that he was merely a passerby and not sticking around too long. At the same time, he wanted to find out his combat ability.

The warden unbound Kane’s shackle after he was inside. Closing the door, they suddenly collapsed, leaving the door half-opened.

“Don’t tell me it’s him…” He peeked outside. His hunch was correct. From the left, the man from before drew closer, emitting a fearsome aura and causing the warden along with the guards to faint. However, Kane felt nothing as if the man didn’t direct his intent at him.

“Kane, I know you’re there. Let’s play together!” he shouted. His childish tone contrasted his ferocious voice.

“Who are you?” asked Kane.

“I’m Ral, your biggest fan! I wanna fight you!”

“Get lost! I’m too tired!” he yelled back, baiting him to get here.

“If you won’t come out, then—” In a blink of an eye, Ral arrived in front of the door. He retracted his fist, directed at the door. “—I’ll just force you.”

Before he swung forward, Kane quickly kicked the steel door, causing Ral to punch nothing but air. The windblast swirled inside; it extinguished the lit candle. If not for his fast reflex, the door would be destroyed. What an enormous power! He didn’t even use vis.

“Ah, crap—” Ral tripped, falling to his knees.

Kane grabbed Ral’s wrists and stepped on his back, restraining him — until he stood upright, easily broke the clutch with sheer strength, and turned around to punch again. Not enough time to react, Kane raised both arms. The blow sent him flying backward and struck the stone wall.

With a maniacal smile, Ral pounced. Kane swerved, avoiding the punch to his arm.

“Hey! Don’t just run away!” cursed Ral. “Be a man and fight me!”

“No, you fight me,” provoked Kane.

Ral snickered as he threw a blistering jab. Kane parried it while giving a counter hook punch to the body. He missed as Ral bent before swinging a hammerfist with his left. Kane leaned backward; the fist hit the wall instead. Sidestepping, he held Ral’s arm and delivered a roundhouse kick to his knee, trying to trip him off. He didn’t even budge.

Kane backed away, maintaining some distance. They were staring at each other.

“What’s the matter, tired already?” taunted Ral. “Hm? You’re smiling. Could it be…”

Kane was silent, listening and recovering his spent energy.

“…is there something funny on my face?” He furrowed.

“You’re much dumber than I expected,” scoffed Kane before facepalming. He shouldn’t have said that, yet he still blurted that out. Old habit. As exciting as it might be, his life was the number one priority, so angering him when he possessed no weapon and was much weaker than the opponent was a stupid idea.

“Ah?” Ral’s vein popped. His face contorted in anger. “A mere half-oni dares to mock my intelligence. Only Sharon and others are allowed to do that!” In a blink of an eye, he was already in front of Kane.

Ral flailed, thrashing like a mad man. Narrowing his eyes, Kane swung his hands, parrying and dodging according to his opponent’s movement and tells. His barrages were predictable yet swift. Kane’s body barely kept up with the assault. As a result, Ral began pushing him back. Every attack he took, the more bruises he accumulated. If this continued further, his body would crumble.

Kane ran backward, creating a space once more. He was gasping for air, and his heart was pounding in his ears. The ceaseless offense wore him quicker than he had expected. Almost no time to breathe. To make it worse, he couldn’t use enough vis to guarantee his life. This fight could end him.

But that was okay. The more struggle he experienced, the more interesting the fight was. And the risk of death — the mere thought of it was thrilling. That was why he never wanted to meet Ral; Kane might lose sight of himself as the fight went on. Of course, he had to avoid dying for the second time before accomplishing his goal. Fleeing was always an option.

“You’re not half-bad, kid,” praised Ral.

“Same goes to you.”

“Hoo, does that mean I’m just ‘not half-bad?” He burst out laughing. “I’ll make you regret saying that!”

“Wait, I meant that as a compliment—” Alas, his opponent paid no heed to Kane’s clarification.

Massive red vis engulfed Ral. It grew almost two times larger than his body. Forget parrying and blocking, getting a mere glancing blow by that would kill him outright. Kane’s heart was pounding even faster.

Should he try to withstand the enraged Ral? Or escape as quickly as possible?