Arc 7, Chapter 69 (nice) "Coming from the Imperial Capital"
--Three days have passed since the day of both the second "Sparka" and the big feast afterwards, although it's unsure which one would be the main event.
In the meantime, nothing of note has happened on the Gladiator Island.
What was also disappointing to Subaru was that the third "Sparka" was not held with a new prospective gladiator from the outside, and the normal death match was never set up either.
A normal death match is a kind of practice match where the gladiators don't lose their skills in preparation for the show.
However, a practice match is still something that could result in deaths if you're not careful, and even if you're not careful, there are still dangerous people who could cause deaths.
And unlike "Sparka", it seemed difficult for Subaru to interfere with that death match, even if he was punished for it, so to say that he was saved would be an understatement.
"The guards are very tense. Maybe they're scared of us and the brothers."
Is what Hiain said, which is a nice interpretation of the atmosphere on the Gladiator Island the past few days.
The lizardman, who seems to have been very happy to have helped his friends in the second "Sparka", has since become much more familiar with Subaru.
It was Subaru who called him brother first, but he's treated like a brother from that side too.
"Well, I don't feel bad at all."
While he's appalled at his cash character, from Subaru's point of view, Hiain's attitude is very welcome.
It is better for everyone to be at ease with each other than to be tense with each other. The softening of Hiain's attitude is very impressive, but there was also a change in Weitz and Idola's attitude.
Weitz is treating Subaru with a firm trust and Idola is treating him with some respect.
And such a change in attitude is spreading to the island's gladiators in a positive way.
So--,
"Hey, Schwarz, you're looking good today!"
There's a lot of fight in you, man!"
"The guards are complaining. They are lamenting that they'll run out of gladiators if they don't do something!"
At this rate, the number of people who cheerfully and friendly talk to Subaru has increased tremendously.
This was the same as his impression of Hiain, and from Subaru's point of view, it was very welcome. The more people he can talk to, the easier it will be for him to gather the information he wants.
For the time being, they can forget about Gustav's warning against the 'curse rule', the information that Subaru wants the most is--,
"--The drawbridge control tower."
How to operate the drawbridge, the only means of connecting the island to the outside world, and how to enter the control tower.
That's the information Subaru wants most right now.
"The control tower itself is in plain view of everyone, but you can't get in......"
The control tower itself stands proudly on the side of the drawbridge on the island side.
There's no particular guard standing guard, but the entrance is locked with a very fine lock, and you can't open the big metal door without getting that key.
He's been trying to find out where the key was for the past few days, but it seemed that Gustav was operating the drawbridge himself, so there was a good chance that he was carrying the key with him.
"Well, it's not a good time to go toe-to-toe with Mr. Gustav."
As a matter of fact, Gustav's strength was quite unknown even to Subaru.
He looked like he had four arms. In addition, since he is in charge of the administration of the Gladiator Island, as long as he is in a position to control a rough set of gladiators, they won't think he is weak.
Of course, once you fight, you can see whether Gustav is strong or weak, but--.
"I don't want to get into trouble with Mr. Gustav in the first place......"
From a standpoint, Subaru and Gustav have a confrontational relationship as the Gladiator and the Administrator, but Subaru personally doesn't hate Gustav.
On the contrary, in the Empire, where there were many people with whom he could not communicate, he had never raised his voice against Subaru, and he had a good impression that he was a valuable person who could speak properly.
At least it's a lot better than the fake Cecilus that hovers on the border between friend and foe.
So the ideal direction is to sneak away and steal the key from Gustav.
"Though I wouldn't want to be hanging around Mr. Gustav like Cessy."
Now that the binding regarding the curse rule has disappeared, in a sense, it can be thought that Gustav, who is faithful to his duties, is no longer a dangerous opponent for Subaru. Even so, Subaru is not so brazen that he can be so careless as to go around openly looking for or asking about the whereabouts of the key.
The worst thing that could happen to Subaru was that Gustav, who thought we were an eyesore, would lock us up somewhere on the island and prevent them from doing anything.
If that happens, Subaru will have to resort to the last resort behind the back teeth.
So--,
"We'll just have to keep digging."
As he scratched his head, Subaru grumbled and bent his lips in anticipation of the future.
In order to get information about the drawbridge, Subaru is probing the people on the management side - in other words, the guards who are keeping an eye on the gladiators.
The guards who follow Gustav at the top are fewer in number than the island's gladiators, but their atmosphere is that of a strong Imperial soldier, with little room for weakness or intrusion.
Gustav's guidance and education seems to have been well received, and even when the child Subaru speaks to them, the guards' vigilance seems to tighten up rather than relax. He feels that the precedent of the fake Cecilus, a child even more unattractive than Subaru, has had an influence on this.
Anyway, it is very difficult to get information from the guards.
He wonders if Gustav has also told them the story of what Subaru is up to, and he wonders if he'd failed a bit as their stern stares are directed at him wherever he is.
Even though it was to get to the bottom of the curse rule, it caused Gustav to be wary.
"If I'd been punished for something else, I'd have...... no, I wouldn't have said anything."
Remorse is important, but regret doesn't create anything like this.
Regret is all he wants to do. Unfortunately, Subaru doesn't have time to feel sorry for his own stupidity. Every minute shouldn't be wasted.
If you're dumped by one guard, you only have to attack ten or a hundred.
"Yes, a great man once told me that picking up girls is a number. Not pickups, though."
With his fists clenched, Subaru reassured himself with the help of a professional in a different field.
As it is, hr's just trudging around the island, trying to make the guards in the other area hate him.
"You're a restless bastard, Schwarz......"
"What do you mean, Weitz?"
It was Weitz who spoke in a low voice to Subaru as he walked around looking for the guards.
The location is near the passageway connected to the gladiatorial arena. However, the gladiatorial arena is not open except for the timing of "Sparka" and death matches, so the passageway has an iron fence down.
In other words, nothing is just a dead end road today.
"What are you doing here? Playing hide-and-seek?"
"I don't know what that is, but maybe not...... a bit, I came to see what's going on in the basement......"
"Basement...... oh, there it is."
Subaru glanced over at Weitz, who shrugged his chin.
Right next to the passageway to the gladiatorial arena is a door that leads to the basement of the island. As you know, the island floats on a lake, so the basement doesn't lead anywhere.
It's connected to the outside world, but it's not--,
"He said it's just a direct line to the lake, and the whole point is to dump the bodies."
"The swordfighter and the gladiator who died in the fight to the death...... and we put them together....... If we had lost, we would have been fish food as well......"
"It's chilling."
By fish food, he means the aquatic magical beasts that live in the lake.
The most common cause of death on the Gladiator Island is a fight to the death, but the second most common cause of death is falling prey to a demon beast, whether it's an accident or an escape.
Subaru, too, will have no choice but to become food for that magical beast if he can't use the drawbridge.
"Are you listening...... to the story of the gladiator who escaped from the island before......"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, I've heard. Because of what happened to that person, the previous administrator was fired, and Mr. Gustav was chosen as the new administrator."
"The poor conditions have improved...... but the gladiator's position has become unshakable...... what do you think......?"
"What do I think......"
"Should we...... be content to be in the position of the gladiator, or in the position of being ruled......?"
"----"
At Weitz's words, Subaru couldn't help but check to see if there was anyone else around.
Weitz's statement just now was a pretty last-minute statement as the gladiator of the Gladiator Island. If a guard with a bad character heard it, it would be enough of an excuse to give him a warning.
Even if that wasn't the case, Weitz would probably be looked at more harshly than the other sword guys because he was in the same 'union' as Subaru.
"Well, Weitz, I don't think you should be too circumspect. It's okay with me, but sometimes I wonder what people will think."
Without that, Subaru tries to correct Weitz's thoughts.
The next "Sparka", if it was only Subaru that was involved, there would be ways to deal with it. But when Weitz is added to the mix, the level of difficulty goes up dramatically.
But then Weitz continued, "Schwarz......" at the thought of Subaru.
"Why do you think I came underground...... to give you a hand......?"
"--uh"
"You're going to get out of here...... and I'm going to go with you...... and I'm not going to spend my time here as a gladiator....... I owe you one......"
With that said, Weitz slowly stands up in his place.
Then he turned his serious eyes to Subaru, his face covered in tattoos. Being stared at with that gaze, Subaru gasped and froze.
It's not a mood that can be fooled around with.
"Weitz, I..."
"I know what you are......"
"Eh"
"But it doesn't matter...... not with the well-tempered Hiain...... I'm not interested in the crown you wear...... only in helping you. Remember that......"
The hairs on his body stood up when Weitz told him that he knew who he was. But what Weitz said after that made Subaru's whole body go numb even more.
Even if Subaru was anything but, Weitz said he would pay his debt and lend him his strength.
It's so--,
"......Reassuring, Weitz."
"fn......"
Subaru gave him a thumbs up and laughed, but he looked away and snorted. Subaru also takes it favorably that the response was very much in the vein of Weitz.
The reason why Weitz came to investigate the underground was to help Subaru to find a way to move the drawbridge - to find a way to get out of the building.
In the end, there's nothing here that looks like it, and it seems to conclude that the only way to get out after all is to come back the first way, which is the drawbridge.
And that was the moment Subaru concluded in that way.
"--, the shaking!"
"The drawbridge......"
There was a wobbling, a quaking motion and a low sound, and Subaru and Weitz looked at each other with the same conclusion.
The only other two places they can think of where there are big devices that could shake the entire Gladiator Island are the gladiatorial arena and the drawbridge.
"Also, new people are......"
Coming, which also means that the next "Sparka" is about to begin.
Weitz looked at Subaru who muttered while experiencing a thirsty sensation in his mouth. Subaru smiled at the look in Weitz's eyes.
As if to reassure him that he doesn't need to worry.
"--. We're going to see......"
He doesn't know if that smile had any effect or not on Weitz's feelings as he turned his back on him. However, following behind him, who did not say anything unnecessary, Subaru and the others went up from the lower level of the island to the middle level, and then to the high ground overlooking the drawbridge.
"I'd like to see the entrance to the tower open and close if I could, but......"
"Mr. Schwarz, this way."
"Tanza."
The girl's voice to Subaru, who is wiping the sweat from his chin as he runs up the stairs, his breath bouncing. Tanza, who was on the high ground earlier, is waving her hand, and Subaru and Weitz join her.
Tanza was looking anxiously at Weitz,
"You were with Mr. Weitz."
"I happened to meet him downstairs and we had an embarrassing talk. Where were you?"
"......I was looking at the tower. As I thought, the key seems to be in Mr. Gustav's possession."
"Ugh, I knew it."
Tanza also knows that all she needs to do to escape the island is to operate the drawbridge. They also share the curse rule, so it's a form of deviousness between the two children to get off the island.
However, then Weitz came in and pinched his face,
"If you want to take the key...... do you want to set it up with a number......?"
"That's a too short-sighted strategy! You'll get hit by the curse rule even if you try something reckless like that."
"--huh"
"Yeah......"
Weitz's shortsighted suggestion was dissuaded by Subaru using the curse rule as a shield.
Tanza rolls her eyes when she hears this, so Subaru puts a finger to her mouth to quiet her down.
He hasn't confided in anyone but Tanza yet about the fact that he doesn't really have a curse rule. Of course, the fake Cecilus who was there knows, but on the other hand, the fake Cecilus doesn't have any friends to talk about it with, so there's no worry about it spreading there.
However, Subaru believes that this is a truth that is very scary to spread.
"I've been keeping the gladiators quiet, partly because of the Curse Rule."
No major complaints about the treatment and a curse rule that will take your life if you disobey.
That's why the gladiators in Ginunhive are so maturely ruled by Gustav. If it turns out that there is no curse rule, some people will think like Weitz.
If that happened, an all-out war would start between the gladiator's side and the Administration side.
In terms of numbers, the gladiator's side might win, even if there are casualties, but--.
"All the guards have hexenbiests with broken horns, so they can do a hell of a lot of damage."
The guards themselves are not only strong, but they also have demonic beasts with them, which is the trouble with the Gladiator Island guards.
The gladiatorial beasts that you fight in "Sparka" are all magical beasts kept by the guards, which means that there are still plenty of lions and rats waiting in the wings that Subaru and his friends have had a hard time defeating.
So he's in trouble if Weitz has a temper tantrum here.
"But I don't think it's a very realistic plan to wait for Mr. Schwarz to defeat all the gladiators in 'Sparka'."
"The first thing you need to do is...... to make sure that you have a good plan."
"If......"
"I have a lot on my mind, don't worry. You don't have to believe me, but you can trust my feeling that there's someone you definitely want to meet."
Tanza shushed Subaru when he said that, including hiding things from Weitz. She lowered her eyes slightly, then continued, "I'd like to meet with you."
"Your family?"
"Yeah? Well, the people who matter to me as much as my family do, and I like her, too."
Subaru answers the subtly tricky question with a tilt of his head.
The first time she heard this, Tanza's lips still moved as if she wanted to say something. But before she could say anything else, Weitz said, "Look......" and pointed below him toward the drawbridge.
The drawbridges from this side and that side, from both sides, have been activated, and the new inhabitants of the Gladiator Island are on their way here.
"What kind of people are these new people......? You don't mean to tell me you know Weitz and Idola this time, do you?"
"I don't care if everyone I know dies......"
"Don't be scared and don't be a little sad--"
He was about to say, "Give me that," when he clearly sees a carriage coming across the drawbridge.
The carriage was pulled by a black gale horse in armor, but there was something a little different about it from the one three days ago: the difference in the maturity of the people riding in the carriage.
Last time, Hiain's friends, the Orsons, seemed to be riding quietly in the carriage, but this time they weren't. --There is someone standing on the roof of the carriage.
On the roof of a rocking carriage, a woman with brown skin and a thin body - a woman--.
"--huh?!"
As soon as he saw the face and the outward features, Subaru stifled a scream in the back of his throat and hurriedly crouched down in place. He hid behind the railing and made himself smaller.
MHis heart was beating at a tremendous rate and the sound of blood flowing was exploding in his head.
"Schwarz-sama? What's the matter, all of a sudden like that......"
"Ah......"
"Ah?"
"That, woman's, in trouble."
Next to Subaru, who crouched down, Tanza, who also crouched down, rolled her eyes.
But Subaru can't afford to care about such a surprise from Tanza.
"Is she...... that woman......?"
Hearing Subaru's mutterings, Weitz, leaning on the railing, looks towards the drawbridge. It seems that even Weitz's eyes could see his counterpart on the roof of the incoming carriage.
Weitz didn't seem to know who the woman was, but Subaru knew who she was. He knew, and he thought it was the worst possible timing.
That carriage, or at least the woman on the roof, is not a candidate for the next "Sparka".
Because that's what she is--,
"--The name doesn't come to mind, but it's one of 'The Nine Divine Generals'."
Because she was an overly strong woman with silver hair and an eye patch who had gone on a rampage in Guaral before.
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"'It seems that the visitor this time is not a gladiator, but a messenger from the Imperial Capital."
Which was Idola's report that he had heard the spill from the guards.
Subaru and the others were watching the carriage arrive from high above, but the shock of the woman on the roof - an unorthodox enemy - was too great.
"That woman just spotted me and looked at me......"
Next to Subaru, who had crouched down on the spur of the moment, he watched the carriage finish its journey over the drawbridge, shaking his voice as he saw something incredible.
It was probably about a hundred meters away, but it was monstrous to feel their gaze on him with that. Since he said he saw Weitz's direction, Subaru was right to crouch down.
Of course, even if they saw Subaru now, he's sure they wouldn't be able to tell.
"He's a half-breed dog-man, one of the 'Nine Divine Generals'...... probably the first general Arakiya, no doubt."
"Tanza, you know?"
"......She was one of the people who targeted Yorna-sama in Chaos Flame before. I didn't see it with my own eyes, but I heard that she covered an entire city block in flames."
"Y-you're not joking around. Right?"
Hiain tried to laugh off the seriousness of Tanza's voice. But there was no one here who could laugh it off.
In particular, the shock Subaru has received is considerable.
"It's the ones who are just plain strong that bother me the most."
If there is an opening to take advantage of, or an opponent that can be managed with some ingenuity, Subaru has a chance to win.
But when it comes to opponents who are simply too far apart in ability, there is no strategy. Because they are strong. Against a strong opponent, no tricks will work.
It's the prerogative of a strong man to stomp it all out and kick Subaru's preparations to the curb.
"Mr. Schwarz, please don't be too pessimistic. The actuality that they are the emissaries of the imperial city, so it shouldn't be that they are going to do something about us. It's not like we're enemies."
"It's too early to tell, right? Yeah, yeah, it is. That's true, but......"
"----"
"I can't help but...... think of the worst case scenario."
Hugging her thin arms, Subaru replies to Tanza who encourages him.
Tanza's feelings were glad, and she herself wouldn't want to think of making an enemy of the 'Nine Divine Generals'. To put it mildly, she was in a position to be as strong as or stronger than Yorna.
She's trapped on an island like this, and she can't fight against such a powerful level opponent.
'B-but why are the brothers so worried about it? If the other party is from the Imperial City, then......"
'Don't you get it, Hiain? The empire is split in two now."
"What?Oh, ohh! Shit, that's what you're talking about......!"
Beside Subaru who is thinking about it, Hiain and Idola are also discussing with a serious look on their faces.
The flow of their conversation was a flow that Subaru didn't quite understand, but he didn't have time to worry about that.
In fact, it's more likely than not that Subaru is overthinking things.
"For now, it's just me and Tanza with that woman's......"
"The Lord Commander Arakiya."
"I don't think it's going to serve Arakiya's purpose."
It is hard to believe that Subaru, which is somewhat conspicuous on the island, is well known outside the island, and this is what they are known for.
It would be unnatural for them to see that as a problem. Olbart couldn't think of any reason to care about Subaru or Tanza, even if he wanted to do something about Abel.
"Then what was the purpose of the messenger from the Imperial Capital to the island?"
"Can you think of any possible purpose...... island entertainment......?"
"Entertainment...... this is the original role of the Gladiator Island."
Weitz and Tanza come up with a plausible possibility as to the reason for Arakiya's visit.
The island's entertainment, which is the original role of the Gladiator Island Ginunhive, is to provide a spectacle for spectators who come from elsewhere to watch gladiators fight each other to the death.
It's in poor taste, but he hears it helps to curb the imperialists' disgusting desires.
"If it's a show, well, they're going to make us fight again...... but with the rebellion going on and things being so hectic everywhere, why would they do it at a time like this?!"
"The reason for this is because of times like these. The purpose is to reinforce the idea that it is precisely in times of imperial turbulence that the people of the empire should remain strong......"
"Is it the Emperor's thoughts......"
There was a flipping of Hiain's voice, a persuasive Idola's thoughts, and a grave Weitz's mutterings, and each of their gazes turned to Subaru.
It was as if he was expecting Subaru to know the answer, but Subaru doesn't have that answer either. He can only shake his head.
"I think both Hiain's and Idola's ideas are possible. It's just......"
"It's just?"
"How about the fact that the Emperor really cares about this place......"
The emperor who is giving orders in the Imperial City, Subaru knows it's a fake.
Both the real and the fake were in Chaos Flame, and with the rebellion happening, it was unlikely that Abel had returned without Subaru's knowledge.
The most important thing to remember is that the emperor is not the only one who can think like Abel. You see, it is hard to think that Vincent, the fake emperor who can think almost as much as Abel, would waste his time.
"There's got to be a reason."
That's the reason why he sent the "Nine Divine Generals" to the island in the windy lake that was left behind in such a world, instead of Abel, who was supposed to be the real emperor at this time of the year.
"This is General Arakiya, but she didn't barge in with a large group of people, did she?"
"Oh......"
"I only saw them from a distance too, but it was a single carriage that came. The most prominent one was a single carriage. The only one that stood out was the general herself."
"Oh, really?"
Eyes downcast, Tanza stumbles over the same as Subaru, unsure of the other's purpose.
It could be said that she's overthinking things and that she should just keep her head down and wait for the storm to pass, though that's one way to look at it.
"How about, on the contrary...... you hide in the carriage that the messenger rode in and leave the island......."
"The hiding in the carriage trend, I thought we'd already done that in Chaos Flame."
"I'm sure you don't mind if we do it the same way, as long as it works over and over again......"
Weitz's suggestion was taken seriously by Subaru and Tanza. But Hiain, who was listening to the three of them, raised his voice and said, "Wait, wait, wait!"
The grey scaled skalengeck turned to face him in a loud voice, and told them,
"You're insane to leave the island!! You're gonna die!!"
"If you stay here, you'll eventually die fighting something, you lunkhead......"
"But we're not talking about today or tomorrow! You've got our brother...... Schwarz!"
"I don't plan on staying here forever either. I mean, I'm not going to stay here forever."
Shaking his large mouth lined with small fangs in a wince, Hiain exclaimed at Subaru's policy. From Hiain's point of view, perhaps it's easier to live inside the island than outside.
It's not an overstatement to say that once you get past "Sparka" and become a gladiator, your life is safe outside of mortal combat. He can understand why he'd want to say that.
"Chibi! Idola! You guys are......"
"Like Mr. Schwarz, I have my reasons for not staying here longer."
"I-I'd like to...... get out of here if I can, but,"
The two of them were not happy about the situation.
He couldn't believe that Hiain could do that.
"T-there's a limit to how daredevil you can be......!"
"I'm sorry to bother you, Hiain. But I want you to think about it Whether or not I should stay here forever."
"----"
Hiain is looking at Subaru and the others with eyes like he's looking at something terrifying.
But don't stop to think, and if you think hard enough, you'll understand Hiain. That the security and safety they get here is just a stepping stone after sacrificing so many things.
"......Even if you're leaving, what about the curse rule?"
Stopping the mindless denial, that was the next thing Hiain did.
The invisible chains that bind the gladiators of the Gladiator Island, the biggest reason why the gladiators are smoldering here, that is what Weitz was told as well.
He doesn't want to say that it has already been able to neutralize it until the very last minute. But while they're on the lookout for it, Hiain will continue to doubt the sanity of Subaru and the others.
So at the very least, Subaru thinks about letting his guard down a bit.
"I'll deal with the curse rule too. In fact, I've got a clue how to do that too."
"--huh?! D-dealing with that?"
"Ah"
Subaru nodded with a confident look on his face, saying that it was not a good idea to be wasteful here.
Not only Hiain, but also Weitz and Idola couldn't hide their surprise at that answer. Only Tanza, who already knew that there was no curse rule, watched the scene quietly without saying anything.
He can't tell them the truth, but Subaru's chest out here will be the power to release the anxiety of Hiain and the others. Then, he can't show them that he's not confident.
Even though Arakiya's purpose as an emissary remains unknown--.
"I'm gonna find a way to get us off this island. So--"
He'd like their help. --Yes, he was going to keep going.
But Subaru's words couldn't go on.
It no longer makes sense to continue to do the right thing.
"--kah"
And then there was the sound of a snatched breath leaking out, and Hiain collapsed, his eyes bloodshot.
"----"
Wobbly, pupil-thin eyes bleed, and Hiain's large body falls to the side.
The sudden, unheralded event left Subaru unresponsive and unable to support the topping Hiain.
"Hi, ain?"
With a heavy thud, Hiain's body collapsed limply to the floor of the communal room. Hiain's body falls limp to the floor of the common room with a heavy thud. He only twitched and his arms and legs twitched.
He felt like a cicada. Like a cicada flipping over on the road in the middle of summer.
Dying, moving like a cicada, Hiain is.
--Hiain wasn't the only one.
"......ah"
The sound was light, light compared to the sound of Hiain's fall, and Subaru turned around, stunned.
Then, they collapsed. The three people who had been talking to Subaru, Idola, Weitz, and Tanza, collapsed on the spot, shaking and trembling in the same way.
"Tanza?"
He doesn't know the meaning behind this. He couldn't react because he didn't know too much.
He crouched down beside Tanza, who had collapsed right beside him, and turned her supine body over. Tears of blood flowed from Tanza's eyes as she fell limp and head down.
Blood was also running from his eyes, nose, and ears, and it was dripping onto the floor in a trickle.
"hee"
And then Subaru's throat rumbled and he dropped Tanza's body.
He rushed to check the other three. All of them were bleeding from their eyes and noses and had stopped moving.
"What......"
A voice in his head begins to make a tremendous noise in my head, wondering why.
Subaru's head whirled and whirled, filled with questions, and his ears rang at a tremendous volume, as he couldn't make sense of the scene before him.
The illusion of a cracking head was about to engulf Subaru--,
"No, way......"
Holding his own head, Subaru looked up.
The pain was so strong that Subaru's nose started to bleed. The ear ringing in his ears also did not stop, and there was also a sensation of blood welling up in his mouth.
The order is different. Subaru has the same pain, although it is slower than Tanza and the others.
It was, and this is what it was.
"This is, strange......"
With his hands on the floor and the wall, Subaru managed to stand up. Standing up, he went out into the hallway to see what was going on.
In the room, Tanza and the others were no more. And it wasn't just the Tanza and the others that were no more, it was everything else.
"----"
The communal room next door, the passageways here and there, the great hall, the drawbridge embankment, they were all no good.
With a limp, flashing eyes, and the contents of his head seeming to melt out of his ears, Subaru looked around the island, his clothes covered in blood.
They were all dead. Everyone, everyone, all dead.
They're all dead, bleeding from the eyes, nose, ears. They were dead.
"Why?"
All of a sudden like this, the gladiator, the guards, they're all dead in an indistinguishable wind.
Everyone, suddenly, dead.
"Why?"
There was no one there. Suddenly, out of nowhere.
He can't believe it, he can't accept it, and he has to listen to it falter.
To whom? The sky. If not the sky, then the water.
"What--"
"--Hey."
Suddenly, someone answered Subaru's voice that no one was supposed to answer.
Suddenly, without warning, he was suddenly left on an island where everyone had died, and he himself was bleeding from nose to ear, and Subaru was worried. He was scared.
So, at the sound of someone's voice that seemed to give him an answer, Subaru turned around, and.
"--What are you doing here?"
There stood a man who instantly froze Subaru, who felt saved.
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"As you can see, I thought the guy on the island was rooted to death......"
As he said this, a man wearing a black bandana snapped the bones in his neck.
A slender silhouette with bright orange hair, a red-lined bandana, and dressed as an Imperial soldier.
At a quick glance, he seems to have a friendly face. But that's a terrible misconception. It's a big mistake. Don't be fooled.
The face that looks kind, the voice that sounds friendly and therefore, is all fake.
The name of that man who is made of make-believe--,
"--Todd."
It was a name that Subaru, whose memory drawer must be getting harder and harder to open, had put in a place so important that he could easily pull it out.
And why is the name so important?
"--. How do you know my name?"
The man who changes his attitude and closes the distance with a single call is a dangerous man.
The man - Todd - walks toward Subaru with big thighs and strides.
Soon his back caught up with him and Subaru's body was roughly pushed against the wall.
"You were......"
"I don't recognize you. I don't forget a face once I've seen it, but I don't know you. --No."
His face was pressed against the wall of the building and a rough feeling was on his cheek. Subaru struggled with the pain that was not being taken care of, and Todd put his nose close to his hair.
As it is, Todd sniffs and smells Subaru's hair.
"You smell just like that scary guy I knew."
Subaru is horrified when he is told in a low voice who he is talking about. It's a combination of feeling as if they're talking about you and your dislike for Todd.
A face he never wanted to see again, if possible, and yet, somehow, here he is on the island.
"W-why......"
Is this where Todd is, the man who was supposed to have escaped from Guaral?
Speaking of which, Todd took Arakiya when he was captured and ran away with her. He should have known. If Arakiya was there, then Todd might be there too.
That's stupid. Just because they ran away together doesn't mean they'll definitely be together in the next place.
Why, why, I don't like it, I'm scared, why, is Todd, here.
"Why did you kill......"
"Everyone? I won't answer that. I'm not going to answer that. I'm more worried about you surviving. Well, maybe it's just a matter of time before I let you go."
"--ugh"
"I don't like throwing things like time and coincidence into the mix."
Todd's voice whispered in his ear and he felt something cold against his neck. It was the cold blade part of the large knife Todd had pulled from his waist.
A knife that looked like it would be used to skin a large animal, and if it was pulled a little too hard, Subaru's head would fall off, not just cut off.
And that Todd wouldn't hesitate to do it, even if the person he was dealing with was a child.
It's just--,
"----"
In case, there was a chance.
The possibility of Todd not killing Subaru - no, not killing him here, but putting him off. The possibility that he'll try to get something out of Subaru. If he does that, we won't be able to get him back.
The possibility of being irretrievable and despairing.
So, he's just going to--,
"Wait."
"--"
His head hurts and his nose won't stop bleeding.
In the feeling of wandering consciousness due to the lack of blood, Subaru somehow managed to probe his back teeth with his tongue in an attempt to use the last resort.
The next thing he knew, Todd was twisting his finger into Subaru's mouth.
"--ah"
Subaru was forced to bite hard. The contents of his stomach began to flow backwards. But Todd didn't care about anything and continued to move his fingers.
Then he pulled it out, along with the rice that was being spit back up.
"......What the hell is this? Don't tell me it's poison?"
"----"
"Hey, hey, what kind of kid does that? What kind of kid goes to all the trouble of putting poison in his mouth so he can kill himself when the shit hits the fan? What kind of kid takes his life in vain?"
Todd said this in a very cool manner as he wiped his dirty fingers on Subaru's clothes.
But it doesn't feel like he's joking around. It's a serious attitude, like he can't believe Subaru's idea.
As if suicide was a stupid idea.
"I don't want you to suffer. I'm not trying to make you suffer. You can use it."
"T-that's......"
"Yeah, I don't care if you kill yourself if you're dead. I wouldn't have to get my knife dirty either."
As proof, Todd shrugged and put the 'pill' back in Subaru's mouth.
It's carefully placed over the back teeth, in a position where if you bite down hard enough, you can tear the wrapper. And he knows that.
"I don't care either way. As long as you're dead."
He grabbed him by the shoulder and turned him around.
Todd was right in front of him and Subaru's back was pressed against the wall. The most important thing to remember is that he can't just take a chance on a new person and expect to be able to get away with it.
Slowly, the same "death" as Tanza and the others is consuming Subaru.
He doesn't know why it comes slowly, slowly, but it does.
"Time runs out, suicide, knife."
"----"
"Choose."
When the destination was the same, Todd held up three fingers and pressed Subaru for an answer.
It was very, very quiet and Subaru hated Todd.
Tanza, Hiain, Weitz, and Idola are dead.
Orson and the others, Old Man Null, the guards, they're all dead.
Why is Todd alive? Why is Subaru dying too?
"--tsk"
Subaru chewed his molars hard, savoring the feeling of having his chest scratched so hard.
The wrapper is torn and the 'pill' inside leaks out. It slowly flows into the crevices of his tongue and teeth, flowing in and out, and then--.
"--Bwah!"
He spit out the large amount of blood that flooded back into his mouth as fast as he could at Todd in front of him.
He didn't mean to take him on the road. He was just trying to get even, get his clothes dirty. But Todd had good instincts. The moment Subaru prepared himself, he flew to the side.
It didn't cost him any blood. Just vomiting blood, Subaru collapsed.
He fell, fell, and then, and then, and then--.
"Ah, ugh, ah, ohhhhh......"
His whole body is freaking out and shaking, and the poison is turning at an incredible rate.
Blood poured out of his nose and ears with more force than ever before, his eyes swelled up so much they looked like they were going to burst, and all the flesh and bone in his body began to roar in unison.
No, it sounds like a roar. His whole body was screaming.
"Ii, gh, guhh, gyyyyyyy......"
Hot like burning blood. Hot like he'd been plunged into a boiling pot.
His whole body is boiling over, it's like he's been skinned and smeared with wasabi or mustard or something spicy, like he's had a mountain of needles poked into him, like his whole body has been grated with a grater, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch.
The pain alone makes me want to die.
Just the pain makes me want to die.
"You're out of your mind."
Jumpy, flailing around like a fish being fished to death.
Such as that, while watching Subaru drowning in a sea of blood, Todd was muttering something. What it is saying, Subaru does not know, does not know, and will never know.
I don't know anything anymore. I don't know, any, thing--.
"--Normally, if you're going to poison yourself to kill yourself, you'd want something that doesn't hurt."
The voice, so far away, the consciousness, flying towards the white, towards the white.
Still, until the end, until the very end, until then, the pain, the painfulness, the blood, the blood the blood the blood, blooood blood blood blood blood, bLoOdBlOOdBlOOdbLoOd, BlOod--.
There was a bang, and then blood, and then eyes, and then, uh.
△▼△▼△▼△
"I know what you are......"
"----"
"But it doesn't matter,...... not with the well-tempered Hiain...... I'm not interested in the crown you wear...... just lend me your strength. Remember that......."
There was burning, burning, grinding all over, the pain.
Subaru was in the chilly, cold air when he thought that such pain was suddenly interrupted.
And--,
"Ah, ah......"
"Schwarz......?"
"AAAHHH--!!"
Hugging himself on the spot, Subaru opened his mouth wide and exclaimed.
He screams and screams, trying to expel the poison from his body. He tries to expel the poison that shouldn't be in his body anymore. He feels like it's still there, the poison that's killing him.
A deadly poison that will torment and torment Subaru and make sure he dies.
No matter how many times he tastes it--.
"G-ghhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaa......!"
The 'death' brought about by that pill was the guardian of the last fortress that Subaru must never escape from, reminding him that there is no easy way to die.
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--Three days have passed since the day of both the second "Sparka" and the big feast afterwards, although it's unsure which one would be the main event.
In the meantime, nothing of note has happened on the Gladiator Island.
What was also disappointing to Subaru was that the third "Sparka" was not held with a new prospective gladiator from the outside, and the normal death match was never set up either.
A normal death match is a kind of practice match where the gladiators don't lose their skills in preparation for the show.
However, a practice match is still something that could result in deaths if you're not careful, and even if you're not careful, there are still dangerous people who could cause deaths.
And unlike "Sparka", it seemed difficult for Subaru to interfere with that death match, even if he was punished for it, so to say that he was saved would be an understatement.
"The guards are very tense. Maybe they're scared of us and the brothers."
Is what Hiain said, which is a nice interpretation of the atmosphere on the Gladiator Island the past few days.
The lizardman, who seems to have been very happy to have helped his friends in the second "Sparka", has since become much more familiar with Subaru.
It was Subaru who called him brother first, but he's treated like a brother from that side too.
"Well, I don't feel bad at all."
While he's appalled at his cash character, from Subaru's point of view, Hiain's attitude is very welcome.
It is better for everyone to be at ease with each other than to be tense with each other. The softening of Hiain's attitude is very impressive, but there was also a change in Weitz and Idola's attitude.
Weitz is treating Subaru with a firm trust and Idola is treating him with some respect.
And such a change in attitude is spreading to the island's gladiators in a positive way.
So--,
"Hey, Schwarz, you're looking good today!"
There's a lot of fight in you, man!"
"The guards are complaining. They are lamenting that they'll run out of gladiators if they don't do something!"
At this rate, the number of people who cheerfully and friendly talk to Subaru has increased tremendously.
This was the same as his impression of Hiain, and from Subaru's point of view, it was very welcome. The more people he can talk to, the easier it will be for him to gather the information he wants.
For the time being, they can forget about Gustav's warning against the 'curse rule', the information that Subaru wants the most is--,
"--The drawbridge control tower."
How to operate the drawbridge, the only means of connecting the island to the outside world, and how to enter the control tower.
That's the information Subaru wants most right now.
"The control tower itself is in plain view of everyone, but you can't get in......"
The control tower itself stands proudly on the side of the drawbridge on the island side.
There's no particular guard standing guard, but the entrance is locked with a very fine lock, and you can't open the big metal door without getting that key.
He's been trying to find out where the key was for the past few days, but it seemed that Gustav was operating the drawbridge himself, so there was a good chance that he was carrying the key with him.
"Well, it's not a good time to go toe-to-toe with Mr. Gustav."
As a matter of fact, Gustav's strength was quite unknown even to Subaru.
He looked like he had four arms. In addition, since he is in charge of the administration of the Gladiator Island, as long as he is in a position to control a rough set of gladiators, they won't think he is weak.
Of course, once you fight, you can see whether Gustav is strong or weak, but--.
"I don't want to get into trouble with Mr. Gustav in the first place......"
From a standpoint, Subaru and Gustav have a confrontational relationship as the Gladiator and the Administrator, but Subaru personally doesn't hate Gustav.
On the contrary, in the Empire, where there were many people with whom he could not communicate, he had never raised his voice against Subaru, and he had a good impression that he was a valuable person who could speak properly.
At least it's a lot better than the fake Cecilus that hovers on the border between friend and foe.
So the ideal direction is to sneak away and steal the key from Gustav.
"Though I wouldn't want to be hanging around Mr. Gustav like Cessy."
Now that the binding regarding the curse rule has disappeared, in a sense, it can be thought that Gustav, who is faithful to his duties, is no longer a dangerous opponent for Subaru. Even so, Subaru is not so brazen that he can be so careless as to go around openly looking for or asking about the whereabouts of the key.
The worst thing that could happen to Subaru was that Gustav, who thought we were an eyesore, would lock us up somewhere on the island and prevent them from doing anything.
If that happens, Subaru will have to resort to the last resort behind the back teeth.
So--,
"We'll just have to keep digging."
As he scratched his head, Subaru grumbled and bent his lips in anticipation of the future.
In order to get information about the drawbridge, Subaru is probing the people on the management side - in other words, the guards who are keeping an eye on the gladiators.
The guards who follow Gustav at the top are fewer in number than the island's gladiators, but their atmosphere is that of a strong Imperial soldier, with little room for weakness or intrusion.
Gustav's guidance and education seems to have been well received, and even when the child Subaru speaks to them, the guards' vigilance seems to tighten up rather than relax. He feels that the precedent of the fake Cecilus, a child even more unattractive than Subaru, has had an influence on this.
Anyway, it is very difficult to get information from the guards.
He wonders if Gustav has also told them the story of what Subaru is up to, and he wonders if he'd failed a bit as their stern stares are directed at him wherever he is.
Even though it was to get to the bottom of the curse rule, it caused Gustav to be wary.
"If I'd been punished for something else, I'd have...... no, I wouldn't have said anything."
Remorse is important, but regret doesn't create anything like this.
Regret is all he wants to do. Unfortunately, Subaru doesn't have time to feel sorry for his own stupidity. Every minute shouldn't be wasted.
If you're dumped by one guard, you only have to attack ten or a hundred.
"Yes, a great man once told me that picking up girls is a number. Not pickups, though."
With his fists clenched, Subaru reassured himself with the help of a professional in a different field.
As it is, hr's just trudging around the island, trying to make the guards in the other area hate him.
"You're a restless bastard, Schwarz......"
"What do you mean, Weitz?"
It was Weitz who spoke in a low voice to Subaru as he walked around looking for the guards.
The location is near the passageway connected to the gladiatorial arena. However, the gladiatorial arena is not open except for the timing of "Sparka" and death matches, so the passageway has an iron fence down.
In other words, nothing is just a dead end road today.
"What are you doing here? Playing hide-and-seek?"
"I don't know what that is, but maybe not...... a bit, I came to see what's going on in the basement......"
"Basement...... oh, there it is."
Subaru glanced over at Weitz, who shrugged his chin.
Right next to the passageway to the gladiatorial arena is a door that leads to the basement of the island. As you know, the island floats on a lake, so the basement doesn't lead anywhere.
It's connected to the outside world, but it's not--,
"He said it's just a direct line to the lake, and the whole point is to dump the bodies."
"The swordfighter and the gladiator who died in the fight to the death...... and we put them together....... If we had lost, we would have been fish food as well......"
"It's chilling."
By fish food, he means the aquatic magical beasts that live in the lake.
The most common cause of death on the Gladiator Island is a fight to the death, but the second most common cause of death is falling prey to a demon beast, whether it's an accident or an escape.
Subaru, too, will have no choice but to become food for that magical beast if he can't use the drawbridge.
"Are you listening...... to the story of the gladiator who escaped from the island before......"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, I've heard. Because of what happened to that person, the previous administrator was fired, and Mr. Gustav was chosen as the new administrator."
"The poor conditions have improved...... but the gladiator's position has become unshakable...... what do you think......?"
"What do I think......"
"Should we...... be content to be in the position of the gladiator, or in the position of being ruled......?"
"----"
At Weitz's words, Subaru couldn't help but check to see if there was anyone else around.
Weitz's statement just now was a pretty last-minute statement as the gladiator of the Gladiator Island. If a guard with a bad character heard it, it would be enough of an excuse to give him a warning.
Even if that wasn't the case, Weitz would probably be looked at more harshly than the other sword guys because he was in the same 'union' as Subaru.
"Well, Weitz, I don't think you should be too circumspect. It's okay with me, but sometimes I wonder what people will think."
Without that, Subaru tries to correct Weitz's thoughts.
The next "Sparka", if it was only Subaru that was involved, there would be ways to deal with it. But when Weitz is added to the mix, the level of difficulty goes up dramatically.
But then Weitz continued, "Schwarz......" at the thought of Subaru.
"Why do you think I came underground...... to give you a hand......?"
"--uh"
"You're going to get out of here...... and I'm going to go with you...... and I'm not going to spend my time here as a gladiator....... I owe you one......"
With that said, Weitz slowly stands up in his place.
Then he turned his serious eyes to Subaru, his face covered in tattoos. Being stared at with that gaze, Subaru gasped and froze.
It's not a mood that can be fooled around with.
"Weitz, I..."
"I know what you are......"
"Eh"
"But it doesn't matter...... not with the well-tempered Hiain...... I'm not interested in the crown you wear...... only in helping you. Remember that......"
The hairs on his body stood up when Weitz told him that he knew who he was. But what Weitz said after that made Subaru's whole body go numb even more.
Even if Subaru was anything but, Weitz said he would pay his debt and lend him his strength.
It's so--,
"......Reassuring, Weitz."
"fn......"
Subaru gave him a thumbs up and laughed, but he looked away and snorted. Subaru also takes it favorably that the response was very much in the vein of Weitz.
The reason why Weitz came to investigate the underground was to help Subaru to find a way to move the drawbridge - to find a way to get out of the building.
In the end, there's nothing here that looks like it, and it seems to conclude that the only way to get out after all is to come back the first way, which is the drawbridge.
And that was the moment Subaru concluded in that way.
"--, the shaking!"
"The drawbridge......"
There was a wobbling, a quaking motion and a low sound, and Subaru and Weitz looked at each other with the same conclusion.
The only other two places they can think of where there are big devices that could shake the entire Gladiator Island are the gladiatorial arena and the drawbridge.
"Also, new people are......"
Coming, which also means that the next "Sparka" is about to begin.
Weitz looked at Subaru who muttered while experiencing a thirsty sensation in his mouth. Subaru smiled at the look in Weitz's eyes.
As if to reassure him that he doesn't need to worry.
"--. We're going to see......"
He doesn't know if that smile had any effect or not on Weitz's feelings as he turned his back on him. However, following behind him, who did not say anything unnecessary, Subaru and the others went up from the lower level of the island to the middle level, and then to the high ground overlooking the drawbridge.
"I'd like to see the entrance to the tower open and close if I could, but......"
"Mr. Schwarz, this way."
"Tanza."
The girl's voice to Subaru, who is wiping the sweat from his chin as he runs up the stairs, his breath bouncing. Tanza, who was on the high ground earlier, is waving her hand, and Subaru and Weitz join her.
Tanza was looking anxiously at Weitz,
"You were with Mr. Weitz."
"I happened to meet him downstairs and we had an embarrassing talk. Where were you?"
"......I was looking at the tower. As I thought, the key seems to be in Mr. Gustav's possession."
"Ugh, I knew it."
Tanza also knows that all she needs to do to escape the island is to operate the drawbridge. They also share the curse rule, so it's a form of deviousness between the two children to get off the island.
However, then Weitz came in and pinched his face,
"If you want to take the key...... do you want to set it up with a number......?"
"That's a too short-sighted strategy! You'll get hit by the curse rule even if you try something reckless like that."
"--huh"
"Yeah......"
Weitz's shortsighted suggestion was dissuaded by Subaru using the curse rule as a shield.
Tanza rolls her eyes when she hears this, so Subaru puts a finger to her mouth to quiet her down.
He hasn't confided in anyone but Tanza yet about the fact that he doesn't really have a curse rule. Of course, the fake Cecilus who was there knows, but on the other hand, the fake Cecilus doesn't have any friends to talk about it with, so there's no worry about it spreading there.
However, Subaru believes that this is a truth that is very scary to spread.
"I've been keeping the gladiators quiet, partly because of the Curse Rule."
No major complaints about the treatment and a curse rule that will take your life if you disobey.
That's why the gladiators in Ginunhive are so maturely ruled by Gustav. If it turns out that there is no curse rule, some people will think like Weitz.
If that happened, an all-out war would start between the gladiator's side and the Administration side.
In terms of numbers, the gladiator's side might win, even if there are casualties, but--.
"All the guards have hexenbiests with broken horns, so they can do a hell of a lot of damage."
The guards themselves are not only strong, but they also have demonic beasts with them, which is the trouble with the Gladiator Island guards.
The gladiatorial beasts that you fight in "Sparka" are all magical beasts kept by the guards, which means that there are still plenty of lions and rats waiting in the wings that Subaru and his friends have had a hard time defeating.
So he's in trouble if Weitz has a temper tantrum here.
"But I don't think it's a very realistic plan to wait for Mr. Schwarz to defeat all the gladiators in 'Sparka'."
"The first thing you need to do is...... to make sure that you have a good plan."
"If......"
"I have a lot on my mind, don't worry. You don't have to believe me, but you can trust my feeling that there's someone you definitely want to meet."
Tanza shushed Subaru when he said that, including hiding things from Weitz. She lowered her eyes slightly, then continued, "I'd like to meet with you."
"Your family?"
"Yeah? Well, the people who matter to me as much as my family do, and I like her, too."
Subaru answers the subtly tricky question with a tilt of his head.
The first time she heard this, Tanza's lips still moved as if she wanted to say something. But before she could say anything else, Weitz said, "Look......" and pointed below him toward the drawbridge.
The drawbridges from this side and that side, from both sides, have been activated, and the new inhabitants of the Gladiator Island are on their way here.
"What kind of people are these new people......? You don't mean to tell me you know Weitz and Idola this time, do you?"
"I don't care if everyone I know dies......"
"Don't be scared and don't be a little sad--"
He was about to say, "Give me that," when he clearly sees a carriage coming across the drawbridge.
The carriage was pulled by a black gale horse in armor, but there was something a little different about it from the one three days ago: the difference in the maturity of the people riding in the carriage.
Last time, Hiain's friends, the Orsons, seemed to be riding quietly in the carriage, but this time they weren't. --There is someone standing on the roof of the carriage.
On the roof of a rocking carriage, a woman with brown skin and a thin body - a woman--.
"--huh?!"
As soon as he saw the face and the outward features, Subaru stifled a scream in the back of his throat and hurriedly crouched down in place. He hid behind the railing and made himself smaller.
MHis heart was beating at a tremendous rate and the sound of blood flowing was exploding in his head.
"Schwarz-sama? What's the matter, all of a sudden like that......"
"Ah......"
"Ah?"
"That, woman's, in trouble."
Next to Subaru, who crouched down, Tanza, who also crouched down, rolled her eyes.
But Subaru can't afford to care about such a surprise from Tanza.
"Is she...... that woman......?"
Hearing Subaru's mutterings, Weitz, leaning on the railing, looks towards the drawbridge. It seems that even Weitz's eyes could see his counterpart on the roof of the incoming carriage.
Weitz didn't seem to know who the woman was, but Subaru knew who she was. He knew, and he thought it was the worst possible timing.
That carriage, or at least the woman on the roof, is not a candidate for the next "Sparka".
Because that's what she is--,
"--The name doesn't come to mind, but it's one of 'The Nine Divine Generals'."
Because she was an overly strong woman with silver hair and an eye patch who had gone on a rampage in Guaral before.
△▼△▼△▼△
"'It seems that the visitor this time is not a gladiator, but a messenger from the Imperial Capital."
Which was Idola's report that he had heard the spill from the guards.
Subaru and the others were watching the carriage arrive from high above, but the shock of the woman on the roof - an unorthodox enemy - was too great.
"That woman just spotted me and looked at me......"
Next to Subaru, who had crouched down on the spur of the moment, he watched the carriage finish its journey over the drawbridge, shaking his voice as he saw something incredible.
It was probably about a hundred meters away, but it was monstrous to feel their gaze on him with that. Since he said he saw Weitz's direction, Subaru was right to crouch down.
Of course, even if they saw Subaru now, he's sure they wouldn't be able to tell.
"He's a half-breed dog-man, one of the 'Nine Divine Generals'...... probably the first general Arakiya, no doubt."
"Tanza, you know?"
"......She was one of the people who targeted Yorna-sama in Chaos Flame before. I didn't see it with my own eyes, but I heard that she covered an entire city block in flames."
"Y-you're not joking around. Right?"
Hiain tried to laugh off the seriousness of Tanza's voice. But there was no one here who could laugh it off.
In particular, the shock Subaru has received is considerable.
"It's the ones who are just plain strong that bother me the most."
If there is an opening to take advantage of, or an opponent that can be managed with some ingenuity, Subaru has a chance to win.
But when it comes to opponents who are simply too far apart in ability, there is no strategy. Because they are strong. Against a strong opponent, no tricks will work.
It's the prerogative of a strong man to stomp it all out and kick Subaru's preparations to the curb.
"Mr. Schwarz, please don't be too pessimistic. The actuality that they are the emissaries of the imperial city, so it shouldn't be that they are going to do something about us. It's not like we're enemies."
"It's too early to tell, right? Yeah, yeah, it is. That's true, but......"
"----"
"I can't help but...... think of the worst case scenario."
Hugging her thin arms, Subaru replies to Tanza who encourages him.
Tanza's feelings were glad, and she herself wouldn't want to think of making an enemy of the 'Nine Divine Generals'. To put it mildly, she was in a position to be as strong as or stronger than Yorna.
She's trapped on an island like this, and she can't fight against such a powerful level opponent.
'B-but why are the brothers so worried about it? If the other party is from the Imperial City, then......"
'Don't you get it, Hiain? The empire is split in two now."
"What?Oh, ohh! Shit, that's what you're talking about......!"
Beside Subaru who is thinking about it, Hiain and Idola are also discussing with a serious look on their faces.
The flow of their conversation was a flow that Subaru didn't quite understand, but he didn't have time to worry about that.
In fact, it's more likely than not that Subaru is overthinking things.
"For now, it's just me and Tanza with that woman's......"
"The Lord Commander Arakiya."
"I don't think it's going to serve Arakiya's purpose."
It is hard to believe that Subaru, which is somewhat conspicuous on the island, is well known outside the island, and this is what they are known for.
It would be unnatural for them to see that as a problem. Olbart couldn't think of any reason to care about Subaru or Tanza, even if he wanted to do something about Abel.
"Then what was the purpose of the messenger from the Imperial Capital to the island?"
"Can you think of any possible purpose...... island entertainment......?"
"Entertainment...... this is the original role of the Gladiator Island."
Weitz and Tanza come up with a plausible possibility as to the reason for Arakiya's visit.
The island's entertainment, which is the original role of the Gladiator Island Ginunhive, is to provide a spectacle for spectators who come from elsewhere to watch gladiators fight each other to the death.
It's in poor taste, but he hears it helps to curb the imperialists' disgusting desires.
"If it's a show, well, they're going to make us fight again...... but with the rebellion going on and things being so hectic everywhere, why would they do it at a time like this?!"
"The reason for this is because of times like these. The purpose is to reinforce the idea that it is precisely in times of imperial turbulence that the people of the empire should remain strong......"
"Is it the Emperor's thoughts......"
There was a flipping of Hiain's voice, a persuasive Idola's thoughts, and a grave Weitz's mutterings, and each of their gazes turned to Subaru.
It was as if he was expecting Subaru to know the answer, but Subaru doesn't have that answer either. He can only shake his head.
"I think both Hiain's and Idola's ideas are possible. It's just......"
"It's just?"
"How about the fact that the Emperor really cares about this place......"
The emperor who is giving orders in the Imperial City, Subaru knows it's a fake.
Both the real and the fake were in Chaos Flame, and with the rebellion happening, it was unlikely that Abel had returned without Subaru's knowledge.
The most important thing to remember is that the emperor is not the only one who can think like Abel. You see, it is hard to think that Vincent, the fake emperor who can think almost as much as Abel, would waste his time.
"There's got to be a reason."
That's the reason why he sent the "Nine Divine Generals" to the island in the windy lake that was left behind in such a world, instead of Abel, who was supposed to be the real emperor at this time of the year.
"This is General Arakiya, but she didn't barge in with a large group of people, did she?"
"Oh......"
"I only saw them from a distance too, but it was a single carriage that came. The most prominent one was a single carriage. The only one that stood out was the general herself."
"Oh, really?"
Eyes downcast, Tanza stumbles over the same as Subaru, unsure of the other's purpose.
It could be said that she's overthinking things and that she should just keep her head down and wait for the storm to pass, though that's one way to look at it.
"How about, on the contrary...... you hide in the carriage that the messenger rode in and leave the island......."
"The hiding in the carriage trend, I thought we'd already done that in Chaos Flame."
"I'm sure you don't mind if we do it the same way, as long as it works over and over again......"
Weitz's suggestion was taken seriously by Subaru and Tanza. But Hiain, who was listening to the three of them, raised his voice and said, "Wait, wait, wait!"
The grey scaled skalengeck turned to face him in a loud voice, and told them,
"You're insane to leave the island!! You're gonna die!!"
"If you stay here, you'll eventually die fighting something, you lunkhead......"
"But we're not talking about today or tomorrow! You've got our brother...... Schwarz!"
"I don't plan on staying here forever either. I mean, I'm not going to stay here forever."
Shaking his large mouth lined with small fangs in a wince, Hiain exclaimed at Subaru's policy. From Hiain's point of view, perhaps it's easier to live inside the island than outside.
It's not an overstatement to say that once you get past "Sparka" and become a gladiator, your life is safe outside of mortal combat. He can understand why he'd want to say that.
"Chibi! Idola! You guys are......"
"Like Mr. Schwarz, I have my reasons for not staying here longer."
"I-I'd like to...... get out of here if I can, but,"
The two of them were not happy about the situation.
He couldn't believe that Hiain could do that.
"T-there's a limit to how daredevil you can be......!"
"I'm sorry to bother you, Hiain. But I want you to think about it Whether or not I should stay here forever."
"----"
Hiain is looking at Subaru and the others with eyes like he's looking at something terrifying.
But don't stop to think, and if you think hard enough, you'll understand Hiain. That the security and safety they get here is just a stepping stone after sacrificing so many things.
"......Even if you're leaving, what about the curse rule?"
Stopping the mindless denial, that was the next thing Hiain did.
The invisible chains that bind the gladiators of the Gladiator Island, the biggest reason why the gladiators are smoldering here, that is what Weitz was told as well.
He doesn't want to say that it has already been able to neutralize it until the very last minute. But while they're on the lookout for it, Hiain will continue to doubt the sanity of Subaru and the others.
So at the very least, Subaru thinks about letting his guard down a bit.
"I'll deal with the curse rule too. In fact, I've got a clue how to do that too."
"--huh?! D-dealing with that?"
"Ah"
Subaru nodded with a confident look on his face, saying that it was not a good idea to be wasteful here.
Not only Hiain, but also Weitz and Idola couldn't hide their surprise at that answer. Only Tanza, who already knew that there was no curse rule, watched the scene quietly without saying anything.
He can't tell them the truth, but Subaru's chest out here will be the power to release the anxiety of Hiain and the others. Then, he can't show them that he's not confident.
Even though Arakiya's purpose as an emissary remains unknown--.
"I'm gonna find a way to get us off this island. So--"
He'd like their help. --Yes, he was going to keep going.
But Subaru's words couldn't go on.
It no longer makes sense to continue to do the right thing.
"--kah"
And then there was the sound of a snatched breath leaking out, and Hiain collapsed, his eyes bloodshot.
"----"
Wobbly, pupil-thin eyes bleed, and Hiain's large body falls to the side.
The sudden, unheralded event left Subaru unresponsive and unable to support the topping Hiain.
"Hi, ain?"
With a heavy thud, Hiain's body collapsed limply to the floor of the communal room. Hiain's body falls limp to the floor of the common room with a heavy thud. He only twitched and his arms and legs twitched.
He felt like a cicada. Like a cicada flipping over on the road in the middle of summer.
Dying, moving like a cicada, Hiain is.
--Hiain wasn't the only one.
"......ah"
The sound was light, light compared to the sound of Hiain's fall, and Subaru turned around, stunned.
Then, they collapsed. The three people who had been talking to Subaru, Idola, Weitz, and Tanza, collapsed on the spot, shaking and trembling in the same way.
"Tanza?"
He doesn't know the meaning behind this. He couldn't react because he didn't know too much.
He crouched down beside Tanza, who had collapsed right beside him, and turned her supine body over. Tears of blood flowed from Tanza's eyes as she fell limp and head down.
Blood was also running from his eyes, nose, and ears, and it was dripping onto the floor in a trickle.
"hee"
And then Subaru's throat rumbled and he dropped Tanza's body.
He rushed to check the other three. All of them were bleeding from their eyes and noses and had stopped moving.
"What......"
A voice in his head begins to make a tremendous noise in my head, wondering why.
Subaru's head whirled and whirled, filled with questions, and his ears rang at a tremendous volume, as he couldn't make sense of the scene before him.
The illusion of a cracking head was about to engulf Subaru--,
"No, way......"
Holding his own head, Subaru looked up.
The pain was so strong that Subaru's nose started to bleed. The ear ringing in his ears also did not stop, and there was also a sensation of blood welling up in his mouth.
The order is different. Subaru has the same pain, although it is slower than Tanza and the others.
It was, and this is what it was.
"This is, strange......"
With his hands on the floor and the wall, Subaru managed to stand up. Standing up, he went out into the hallway to see what was going on.
In the room, Tanza and the others were no more. And it wasn't just the Tanza and the others that were no more, it was everything else.
"----"
The communal room next door, the passageways here and there, the great hall, the drawbridge embankment, they were all no good.
With a limp, flashing eyes, and the contents of his head seeming to melt out of his ears, Subaru looked around the island, his clothes covered in blood.
They were all dead. Everyone, everyone, all dead.
They're all dead, bleeding from the eyes, nose, ears. They were dead.
"Why?"
All of a sudden like this, the gladiator, the guards, they're all dead in an indistinguishable wind.
Everyone, suddenly, dead.
"Why?"
There was no one there. Suddenly, out of nowhere.
He can't believe it, he can't accept it, and he has to listen to it falter.
To whom? The sky. If not the sky, then the water.
"What--"
"--Hey."
Suddenly, someone answered Subaru's voice that no one was supposed to answer.
Suddenly, without warning, he was suddenly left on an island where everyone had died, and he himself was bleeding from nose to ear, and Subaru was worried. He was scared.
So, at the sound of someone's voice that seemed to give him an answer, Subaru turned around, and.
"--What are you doing here?"
There stood a man who instantly froze Subaru, who felt saved.
△▼△▼△▼△
"As you can see, I thought the guy on the island was rooted to death......"
As he said this, a man wearing a black bandana snapped the bones in his neck.
A slender silhouette with bright orange hair, a red-lined bandana, and dressed as an Imperial soldier.
At a quick glance, he seems to have a friendly face. But that's a terrible misconception. It's a big mistake. Don't be fooled.
The face that looks kind, the voice that sounds friendly and therefore, is all fake.
The name of that man who is made of make-believe--,
"--Todd."
It was a name that Subaru, whose memory drawer must be getting harder and harder to open, had put in a place so important that he could easily pull it out.
And why is the name so important?
"--. How do you know my name?"
The man who changes his attitude and closes the distance with a single call is a dangerous man.
The man - Todd - walks toward Subaru with big thighs and strides.
Soon his back caught up with him and Subaru's body was roughly pushed against the wall.
"You were......"
"I don't recognize you. I don't forget a face once I've seen it, but I don't know you. --No."
His face was pressed against the wall of the building and a rough feeling was on his cheek. Subaru struggled with the pain that was not being taken care of, and Todd put his nose close to his hair.
As it is, Todd sniffs and smells Subaru's hair.
"You smell just like that scary guy I knew."
Subaru is horrified when he is told in a low voice who he is talking about. It's a combination of feeling as if they're talking about you and your dislike for Todd.
A face he never wanted to see again, if possible, and yet, somehow, here he is on the island.
"W-why......"
Is this where Todd is, the man who was supposed to have escaped from Guaral?
Speaking of which, Todd took Arakiya when he was captured and ran away with her. He should have known. If Arakiya was there, then Todd might be there too.
That's stupid. Just because they ran away together doesn't mean they'll definitely be together in the next place.
Why, why, I don't like it, I'm scared, why, is Todd, here.
"Why did you kill......"
"Everyone? I won't answer that. I'm not going to answer that. I'm more worried about you surviving. Well, maybe it's just a matter of time before I let you go."
"--ugh"
"I don't like throwing things like time and coincidence into the mix."
Todd's voice whispered in his ear and he felt something cold against his neck. It was the cold blade part of the large knife Todd had pulled from his waist.
A knife that looked like it would be used to skin a large animal, and if it was pulled a little too hard, Subaru's head would fall off, not just cut off.
And that Todd wouldn't hesitate to do it, even if the person he was dealing with was a child.
It's just--,
"----"
In case, there was a chance.
The possibility of Todd not killing Subaru - no, not killing him here, but putting him off. The possibility that he'll try to get something out of Subaru. If he does that, we won't be able to get him back.
The possibility of being irretrievable and despairing.
So, he's just going to--,
"Wait."
"--"
His head hurts and his nose won't stop bleeding.
In the feeling of wandering consciousness due to the lack of blood, Subaru somehow managed to probe his back teeth with his tongue in an attempt to use the last resort.
The next thing he knew, Todd was twisting his finger into Subaru's mouth.
"--ah"
Subaru was forced to bite hard. The contents of his stomach began to flow backwards. But Todd didn't care about anything and continued to move his fingers.
Then he pulled it out, along with the rice that was being spit back up.
"......What the hell is this? Don't tell me it's poison?"
"----"
"Hey, hey, what kind of kid does that? What kind of kid goes to all the trouble of putting poison in his mouth so he can kill himself when the shit hits the fan? What kind of kid takes his life in vain?"
Todd said this in a very cool manner as he wiped his dirty fingers on Subaru's clothes.
But it doesn't feel like he's joking around. It's a serious attitude, like he can't believe Subaru's idea.
As if suicide was a stupid idea.
"I don't want you to suffer. I'm not trying to make you suffer. You can use it."
"T-that's......"
"Yeah, I don't care if you kill yourself if you're dead. I wouldn't have to get my knife dirty either."
As proof, Todd shrugged and put the 'pill' back in Subaru's mouth.
It's carefully placed over the back teeth, in a position where if you bite down hard enough, you can tear the wrapper. And he knows that.
"I don't care either way. As long as you're dead."
He grabbed him by the shoulder and turned him around.
Todd was right in front of him and Subaru's back was pressed against the wall. The most important thing to remember is that he can't just take a chance on a new person and expect to be able to get away with it.
Slowly, the same "death" as Tanza and the others is consuming Subaru.
He doesn't know why it comes slowly, slowly, but it does.
"Time runs out, suicide, knife."
"----"
"Choose."
When the destination was the same, Todd held up three fingers and pressed Subaru for an answer.
It was very, very quiet and Subaru hated Todd.
Tanza, Hiain, Weitz, and Idola are dead.
Orson and the others, Old Man Null, the guards, they're all dead.
Why is Todd alive? Why is Subaru dying too?
"--tsk"
Subaru chewed his molars hard, savoring the feeling of having his chest scratched so hard.
The wrapper is torn and the 'pill' inside leaks out. It slowly flows into the crevices of his tongue and teeth, flowing in and out, and then--.
"--Bwah!"
He spit out the large amount of blood that flooded back into his mouth as fast as he could at Todd in front of him.
He didn't mean to take him on the road. He was just trying to get even, get his clothes dirty. But Todd had good instincts. The moment Subaru prepared himself, he flew to the side.
It didn't cost him any blood. Just vomiting blood, Subaru collapsed.
He fell, fell, and then, and then, and then--.
"Ah, ugh, ah, ohhhhh......"
His whole body is freaking out and shaking, and the poison is turning at an incredible rate.
Blood poured out of his nose and ears with more force than ever before, his eyes swelled up so much they looked like they were going to burst, and all the flesh and bone in his body began to roar in unison.
No, it sounds like a roar. His whole body was screaming.
"Ii, gh, guhh, gyyyyyyy......"
Hot like burning blood. Hot like he'd been plunged into a boiling pot.
His whole body is boiling over, it's like he's been skinned and smeared with wasabi or mustard or something spicy, like he's had a mountain of needles poked into him, like his whole body has been grated with a grater, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch.
The pain alone makes me want to die.
Just the pain makes me want to die.
"You're out of your mind."
Jumpy, flailing around like a fish being fished to death.
Such as that, while watching Subaru drowning in a sea of blood, Todd was muttering something. What it is saying, Subaru does not know, does not know, and will never know.
I don't know anything anymore. I don't know, any, thing--.
"--Normally, if you're going to poison yourself to kill yourself, you'd want something that doesn't hurt."
The voice, so far away, the consciousness, flying towards the white, towards the white.
Still, until the end, until the very end, until then, the pain, the painfulness, the blood, the blood the blood the blood, blooood blood blood blood blood, bLoOdBlOOdBlOOdbLoOd, BlOod--.
There was a bang, and then blood, and then eyes, and then, uh.
△▼△▼△▼△
"I know what you are......"
"----"
"But it doesn't matter,...... not with the well-tempered Hiain...... I'm not interested in the crown you wear...... just lend me your strength. Remember that......."
There was burning, burning, grinding all over, the pain.
Subaru was in the chilly, cold air when he thought that such pain was suddenly interrupted.
And--,
"Ah, ah......"
"Schwarz......?"
"AAAHHH--!!"
Hugging himself on the spot, Subaru opened his mouth wide and exclaimed.
He screams and screams, trying to expel the poison from his body. He tries to expel the poison that shouldn't be in his body anymore. He feels like it's still there, the poison that's killing him.
A deadly poison that will torment and torment Subaru and make sure he dies.
No matter how many times he tastes it--.
"G-ghhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaa......!"
The 'death' brought about by that pill was the guardian of the last fortress that Subaru must never escape from, reminding him that there is no easy way to die.
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