I was back in the arena.
But—
I wasn't really in the arena.
My head turned, looking down.
A familiar circle of sand stretched before me. Stone walls surrounded it, with four metal gates towering in each direction.
The arena felt small. Much smaller than when I had been the one standing down there.
From up here, it looked like nothing more than a patch of sand. But when you were the one fighting in it, it felt like your whole world.
I was sitting on a cushioned bench in the stands, looking down at the arena the same way the crowd had once looked down at me.
It was empty.
I was alone.
No crowd.
No guards.
No teens.
Then—
Thud.
The gate opened.
Step.
Two teens entered and walked into the arena.
One of them was blurred.
I couldn't make out his face or his number.
But the other—
Was sharp.
I could see the number on her shirt clearly.
[116]
The girl I had saved.
Her blond hair flowed down her back as her brown eyes drifted through the arena.
Both teens had already chosen their weapons and stood in the center with their swords raised.
I saw how the girl's hands trembled slightly around the hilt.
She was scared.
That was understandable.
But at the same time—
A mistake.
Fear could cost you your life.
There was no signal.
No shout.
Just—
Step.
They simply stepped forward.
The duel began.
Shing.
The boy attacked first, swinging his sword, aiming for the girl's left arm.
Clang.
She swung her sword wildly to the side and somehow blocked the attack. Their blades clashed for a breath before the teen pulled his sword back and attacked again.
Shing.
A downward slash.
Clang.
She barely blocked it, but the force made her skid back nearly a meter. Her legs swayed as she regained her footing again.
But—
Shing.
Another slash came before she could raise her sword into stance. She was too slow to react and barely shifted her sword in time.
Clang.
But—
"Argh!"
The force was too strong.
Thud.
She blocked the strike, but lost her hold on the sword, and it slipped out of her hand. The same force threw her backward, and she fell to the ground.
Thud.
Step.
The teen stepped closer and pointed his sword at her throat.
He had won.
Overwhelmingly so.
Seeing him draw his sword back as if to stab and kill her, I shouted—
"—"
But no words left me.
Not because I didn't want to speak.
Nor because I didn't know what to say.
I simply—
Couldn't speak.
My lips moved as if speaking, but no sound left me.
As if I wasn't allowed to.
That was when I realized—
I couldn't move either.
My body was frozen in place.
My eyes were helplessly locked onto the scene below, not able to turn away.
The girl started begging as tears streamed down her face.
"No! Please don—"
But the boy didn't care.
Shuk.
He plunged his sword into her throat.
"Gha!"
Slrrt.
Thick red blood gushed from the wound as he pulled the blade free.
She died instantly.
My eyes stayed fixed on her.
I watched as the blood flowed out of her, spreading into a small puddle around her body.
And then—
I blinked.
And everything vanished.
The teen.
The girl's corpse.
The blood.
Thud.
The gate opened again.
Step.
The same two people walked inside once more.
The same fight began.
And—
Thud.
It ended the same way.
The girl lying on the ground.
The teen pointing his sword at her throat.
She begged, tears running down her cheeks.
"No, please!"
Shuk.
His sword answered.
Slrrt.
She died again.
Blood spilled onto the sand.
Crimson on brown.
And—
Blink.
They vanished again.
Thud.
Only to step into the arena once more through the gate.
The fight ended the same way.
"Please!"
Shuk.
With her death.
I watched it all like an endless loop.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
…
Ten times.
…
A hundred times.
I couldn't move.
Couldn't shout.
Couldn't turn away.
Couldn't even close my eyes.
I could only watch in silence as the girl died again and again.
Thud.
The gate opened again.
But—
Something changed.
Step.
This time, the girl was alone.
No other teen accompanied her.
Then—
Thud.
The other gates opened.
My eyes widened as I saw the same pack of wolves I had seen in the cages underground rush out of the gates and into the arena.
Frostwolves.
Dozens of them poured out of the gates and surrounded the girl as she stood in the center of the arena.
But they didn't attack her.
They waited, watching her with their clear blue eyes.
Drip.
Saliva dripped from their fangs to the ground.
Drip.
Between one drop and the other.
"Why didn't you save me?"
Came her voice.
The girl had turned toward me now, ignoring the beasts around her, and spoke in a soft tone.
I couldn't answer even if I wanted to.
So I didn't try.
She continued just as softly.
"You saved me back in the cell."
"Why not now?"
Then she paused, turning her gaze toward the Frostwolves in front of her. Her head shifted back to me as she spoke again.
"Why did you feed me to the beasts?"
Her question hurt more than anything else I had heard or seen before.
Why had I thrown her into that cage?
I just did.
What else was I supposed to do?
There had been no other way.
I couldn't just tell Baldy that I didn't want to do it.
What should I even do with her corpse?
But even knowing that—
It still haunted me.
The memory of her corpse being devoured by the beasts, ripped apart, and eaten like some piece of meat.
It made my heart ache every time I thought about it.
And then—
Right in front of me.
Once again.
AWOO!
The beasts lunged forward and tore the girl apart.