"A troll uh? This is the second time I've seen one."

"You know my kind, young human?"

"Only a half troll." Thanatos studied Uru’s body in detail. His muscles were trained by hundreds of battles.

This guy is not an amateur, and if he can regenerate, then it is going to be a problem fighting without magic.

"HAHAHA, I heard about your fight yesterday. You made quite a ruckus. The boss only asks me to fight when he wants to teach newbies a lesson."

"Really? What's the lesson I’m supposed to learn then?"

"He doesn’t like attention seekers. Don’t worry, it's not a fight to the death. The announcer is going to stop it when the boss sends the signal. He just wants me to beat you till you learn your lesson."

"That means I can still kill you, right?" He gave him a cocky smile and took a battle stance.

"UH! so prideful, don’t worry, I’ll have you vomiting on the ground in a couple of minutes."

"Then let the battle begin!" The gong sounded, and the two warriors didn’t move a single step.

Uru was studying him. He could sense his strength, but it was different. He didn’t have the aura of a warrior; his posture was also that of an amateur. He wasn’t a master swordsman. So why was he holding himself back by not using his fighting style.

"Could it be? You don’t think you need to use your real power to defeat me?"

"Sorry is nothing personal. But if you’re good enough, I may show you a fraction of my power, hehe."

"Very well." Uru sprinted forward and closed the distance.

He grabbed the great sword with his two hands and attacked with a fierce cut from above. The shield reverberated from the impact. Thanatos moved to the side and slashed his arm. The blood came out, and Uru kicked him. Once again, the shield blocked it.

Thanatos was sent back several meters. He had a smile on his face. The wound on Uru’s arm was still present.

"Aren’t you going to heal that?"

The wound closed in a few seconds and the arm was as good as new.

"HAHAHA. Do you think something so little is going to cause my problems? I can heal wounds faster than you can hurt me. Keep wasting your energy on pointless attacks."

He was confident in his healing capacity. No matter what wounds he suffered, few warriors could inflict enough damage to kill him. Uru was probably around the sixth or seventh strongest slave in the coliseum. His rank was so low because Rashaka gave him special treatment.

Uru was loyal and strong. He didn’t want to leave the coliseum. He was happy living here. In exchange for some privileges, he was allowed to stay in the low ranks as Rashaka’s pawn. The power and healing factor as a troll gave him an edge over so many others.

When opponents saw his healing factor, they either fell in despair or rushed to kill him quickly. That was another strain on their minds. He looked at Dead meat 44, but he didn’t sense any fear. In fact, he looked disappointed.

"Is that it really? I knew a half troll that healed that kind of wound in less than a second."

"What? less than a second. Are you trying to trick me?"

"You don’t know. Well, he was a freak of nature. His skin was like clay. If you can’t do that, then I have nothing to worry about. You said I can’t inflict enough damage. Then let me show you."

Thanatos vanished. He was beneath Uru. With a movement, he cut his leg. The troll attacked, but he was blocked again. Thanatos jumped back and stabbed him in the shoulder. Once he touched the ground, he dodged the hand trying to grab him and stabbed him in the gut.

"How?" Uru was surprised. Thanatos was darting around him like a cat. He was getting cut all over.

By the time the first wound healed, he had another six cuts. All his attacks were dodged or blocked.

Too fast, my regeneration can’t keep up.

He lost two fingers as the human passed above him. He tried to punch him, but Thanatos blocked it and then cut another finger before jumping away.

"AH…AH… You…!" He was wounded all over. He lost three fingers and was cut twenty times.

"See, if that is the extent of your regeneration, then I have nothing to worry about. Your boss is watching, right? I wonder what he’s thinking, seeing his warrior so hurt by a mere human."

Rage boiled over in Uru. He was humiliated. He couldn’t hear the crowd. They were silent after seeing those attacks. It looked like he could really defeat him.

"Impossible!" he exclaimed, forcing his fingers to regrow instantly. He could temporarily increase his regeneration by using more energy.

"You can do that? It seems it uses stamina. Should you really be doing it for some scratches."

"I understand now why he asked me to fight you. You’re strong, I’ll give you that. I shall fight you with everything I've got. I won’t hold back even if I end up killing you."

Uru closed the distance again and attacked. He was faster than before, but Thanatos saw his movements-

"[Acceleration]" Uru speed increased.

Thanatos was taken aback by the sudden speed. It was thanks to his reflexes that he raised the shield and blocked the attack.

"[Break]" a second special ability. This one was used to break the weapon or shield of an opponent.

The shield crumbled and Uru was still under the effects of increased speed. He launched a second attack, slashing Thanatos's chest from side to side. That was enough to change the flow of the battle.

Without the shield, Thanatos had to use the sword to block. He couldn’t defend and attack at the same time.

Uru was the better swordsman. They clashed ten times before Uru managed to get past his defense and strike him again.

"OOOOOHHHHHH!" The crowd was in full support of Uru. It was a textbook comeback.

CLANK, CLANK, CLANK...The swords clashed. Thanatos managed to inflict some minor cuts, but without defense he couldn’t push inside and risk being killed. Not only that, but the risk of losing his sword was high. If he went for a killing hit, it might end with the tables turning on him.

"[Acceleration]!" A series of attacks fell on Thanatos. He was in full retreat, backing away and blocking the attacks.

A faint left him exposed. The sword was coming down on his head. He put down the sword to save his head just in time. At the moment the swords clashed, Uru used his best combination.

"[Break] [Double strike]!"

Thanatos’s sword broke, and then a second attack faster than before slashed him from neck to waist. He would have died if he hadn’t used his arms to block the attack.

The blood poured down into the arena. It was deep. His arms were about to fall off. There was no way for him to continue fighting with those wounds and without a weapon. The fight was over.

***

"You should call it off now, boss. He’s not going to survive another attack like that." Alumi said to save the human life.

"Oh, that means you think it is good enough? I admit I was impressed by seeing him hurt Uru like that. If I stop the fight, what rank do you think is appropriate for him?"

"For the way he survived that deadly combination, he’s top 50. He was hiding his power, but he was forced to use it to save his life. What are you going to do, boss?"

Rashaka touched his long and beautiful mane.

"Having the first human in the coliseum's history to reach the top 50 would attract a lot of attention. He’s bound to gather fans after this fight, and we can make a lot of money by just throwing him in short fights." He stopped for a moment, then looked at his secretary and bodyguard.

"But humans aren’t to be admired. They are weak, pathetic, and easy to kill. I can let a human gain popularity or even insinuate that he’s stronger than us demi humans. This is a sacred place for our nation. The only thing a human can do here is die for our entertainment. Don’t you agree?"

"Of course."

"A dead human has more value than a hundred alive."

Beru Beru and Alumi agreed with their boss. Rashaka raised his hand and gave a thumbs down. That was the signal for the announcer to continue the fight.

"It looks like the owner is having too much fun. You, too, right? This fight is exciting. I want to see more, and so does the boss. He just declared it a fight to the death!"

The noise from the crowd reached its highest point. Only one of them would be allowed to leave this arena.

"Tough luck. You could have a nice future if you swallow your pride and learn your place. Now I must kill you." Uru was a warrior, so he didn’t hold onto rage or any petty grudges.

"Can you tell me your name before sending you to the spirits?"

"My name? sure I tell you but not now. I’m going to make sure this is the last thing you remember before your death."

"Still, uff, what a fool-"

"No Uru. Thank you, this fight was a good reminder to not get overconfident. I need to get stronger. That's the reason I’m traveling. As a parting gift, I’ll let you see a part of my real power." He took a battle stance, and the air around him changed.

Uru could feel it. This was the true fighting style of Thanatos.

A brawler or a hand-to-hand fighter? Why hadn't he used it before? He can’t move too much with that wound, and most of my wounds are healed. Does he have a special ability that only activates when he’s wounded?

Uru didn’t let his guard down. He tightened his grip and prepared for, SLASH…

What?

He could barely process what was happening. His legs were being cut at a tremendous speed. Thanatos had teleported and was slashing his legs with his bare hands.

How? Wait, are those claws?

He managed to discern the claws in the middle of the blood spraying everywhere. He lost his mobility and balance. He tried to back away, but his legs were stuck. His muscles were cut and torn apart.

"AAAAHHHHOOOOO!" he screamed and forced one of his legs to regenerate.

Thanatos was coming from his head. Uru raised his sword and...

"[Acceleration]!" He hit nothing. Thanatos dodged the attack and slashed his left arm.

"AAAHHH!" Uru panicked; his whole arm was cut. He held onto the sword with his right hand.

This wasn’t about a fight anymore. He was scared. He could sense his life was in danger more than ever before.

You are not a human! What are you?

Time slowed down; he wasn’t seeing a human or even a person. It was a dark memento of death coming from him.

"STAY AWAY! [Acceleration] [Double strike]!" two powerful blows on Thanatos, but neither reached him. He blocked them with his claws.

How could he block such powerful attacks with mere claws? What kind of special ability did he use? Uru tried to find an explanation, but death was in front of him.

He got closer to him, almost touching his face. He whispered in his ear.

"My name is Thanatos."

SLASH... Uru’s heart was crushed as the claws pierced his chest. That face was the last thing he saw before dying.

His legs and arms weren’t regeneration. The fight was over, and an ominous silence fell on the coliseum.