The man was rather young, maybe in his twenties. He wore a green khaki military uniform and a matching cap.
He was undoubtedly part of an army — the Italian flag stitched on his arm made that clear.
His fists were clenched, the corners of his eyes red from tears that had only just stopped falling.
His voice was hoarse, broken by a grief far too deep to be hidden.
« Why? »
He uttered the word while staring straight at Victor.
Naturally, Victor understood perfectly what he meant.
« Because I didn't feel like it. »
Why would he help people he didn't even know?
One of the women standing beside the soldier glared at him from head to toe, her eyes filled with disgust.
« You're just a fucking monster, kid. We should be helping each other! With your strength, you could've stopped all this shit! »
She pointed at the terrified crowd, now reduced by half.
Parents sobbed for their children.
Women cried for their husbands.
Men wept for their lovers.
It was tragic.
« Not interested. »
A faint smirk curled Akane's lips as she listened to the conversation.
But Victor wasn't finished.
« Besides, you're still alive. So stop whining, the weak have no one to blame but themselves. »
He wasn't one to talk unnecessarily — but he wanted to test something.
That was the last straw for the soldier, who was already struggling not to unleash his rage on the boy before him.
He threw a vicious right hook straight toward Victor's face.
Victor saw the punch coming in slow motion.
Even if the man seemed strong, he was painfully slow.
Victor was about to react when a feminine voice cut through the air.
« Stop. »
It belonged to none other than Helene, the tall redhead standing beside him.
Her tone was domineering, absolute.
She didn't even look at the man — she wasn't facing him at all.
Yet for some reason, he froze mid-motion, suspended in the air, his fist hovering inches from Victor's face.
« We've decided to make him our temporary servant. Only we are allowed to touch what belongs to us. »
Victor raised an eyebrow.
This woman clearly had issues.
He did plan on teaming up with her, sure — but being her servant?
The soldier's two companions stood there, dumbfounded, until one finally snapped out of it.
She lunged toward Hélène, hoping to help the man in khaki.
But Helene still didn't look at her — she simply spoke two words.
Words that sent chills down everyone's spine.
« Kill yourself. »
The woman's eyes widened in terror as her hands began to move on their own — straight to her throat.
« No, please! I'm sorry! I beg you! My son is waiting for—»
Her words choked out as her fingers tightened around her neck like a vice.
Akane and Victor watched with growing interest.
That skill was no joke.
Moments later, a sickening crack echoed through the arena, drawing laughter and guttural cheers from the monstrous audience.
Those who had crept closer began to slowly back away, unsure of what they'd just witnessed.
Victor had assumed the organizer would prevent contestants from fighting each other outside of the tournament — but he was wrong.
As long as the crowd was entertained, nothing would stop the show.
A grotesque smile crept across his face as a terrifying thought struck him.
He turned to the two women at his side.
« What if we just—»
He stopped mid-sentence when he saw their expressions.
Akane wore the same twisted grin he did, while Helene's eyes gleamed with dangerous intent.
He realized they were thinking exactly the same thing.
« Hehe… sounds fun to me. »
« We agree. Our time is precious. »
Without another word, it began.
A true massacre.
Victor's cane morphed, reverting to the original form of the Symbiote, which split into three separate entities.
A low, menacing hum filled the air as they appeared.
At first, the onlookers stared in shock at the boy's strange power.
But their expressions soon twisted into raw terror when they understood his intent.
The three creatures buzzed their bladed wings and shot toward the crowd at incredible speed.
Each stopped before a different person, hovering for a brief moment — as if studying their faces — before, in perfect unison, they extended needle-like proboscises that pierced through their victims' foreheads.
Thud
The three bodies hit the ground.
[You have slain Human (lvl 1)]
« He's a monster! »
« Run! »
Victor stood still, watching in silence as his companion reveled in the carnage.
A strange feeling began to rise in his chest, making his heart beat faster.
Was it excitement? Happiness? Or something darker?
He couldn't tell.
In the stands, the creatures clapped and howled, pounding the stone with their fists, their inhuman faces twisted in gleeful madness.
Akane was radiant — delighted by the slaughter.
Some tried to fight back, but it was hopeless. The creatures were too fast, and when struck, they dissolved into a swarm of tiny black motes before reforming elsewhere, untouched.
« This is fascinating! I knew there was something off about that thing in your hand. What's its name? »
Victor raised an eyebrow to Akane's unexpected question.
« It doesn't have one. If you mean what it is, it's a Symbiote. »
Akane pouted.
« That's no good! You have to name your pets properly! »
Victor sighed.
« I thought you wanted to have fun? »
« Oh, right! Thanks for the reminder — I almost forgot. »
The next second, Akane dashed forward — her speed rivaling Victor's — heading straight toward a group of five people huddled in a corner, trembling.
Her fighting style could be summed up in a single word
Brutal.
Sometimes she tore off limbs like weeds being plucked from the ground.
Sometimes she crushed bones into dust.
She looked like a goddess of slaughter, dancing amid the corpses under a rain of blood — and all the while, her childlike laughter echoed through the arena.
She enjoyed it.
She loved it.
Only Helene remained still, her eyes calmly shifting between Victor and Akane, a faint gleam of realization in her gaze.
The situation suddenly changed, the Symbiote stopped their rampage, giving the survivors a momentary sense of relief.
But that relief didn't last.
They regrouped near their master, morphing into a long blade — over a meter in length — which Victor took in his right hand.
He approached the nearest person and, in a motion too fast for the eye to follow, cleaved their head clean off.
He'd had enough of standing still.
The spectators roared louder, the applause echoing through the Colosseum — the crowd in complete frenzy.
The five minutes the organizer had allotted were long gone, yet he made no move to stop them.
He was enjoying the unexpected twist as much as the audience — savoring it like the climax of a good film.
The man in khaki remained frozen, trapped by Helene's command.
He could only watch helplessly as men and women were butchered like cattle.
Tears rolled down his cheeks again as he recognized familiar faces among the victims.
Even if he could speak, what words could possibly exist for such horror?
The blonde woman beside him sobbed and vomited at once, unable to bear the sight.
Moments ago, she'd been cooking dinner for her youngest son — and now she was trapped in some hellish Colosseum.
It felt like a nightmare she couldn't wake from.
After several short but endless minutes, the massacre finally ended.
Akane was drenched in blood from head to toe, holding a freshly torn human spine in her hands.
Victor stroked the Symbiote, now reverted to its original form.
Hélène finally moved — her gaze lowering to meet the soldier's eyes.
« You caused this. Without your intervention, they'd still be alive. »
Cruel words — but true.
If they hadn't realized they were allowed to kill the other contestants, none of this would've happened.
Akane added.
« But don't worry — we probably would've figured it out eventually. You just sped up the process. »
Victor finished, his pitch-black eyes staring straight into the man's soul.
« Besides, most of them would've died to the monsters anyway. No point in feeling guilty. »
A faint whisper came from the blonde woman nearby.
« You're fucking monsters… »
Akane grinned.
« Yeah, sweetheart — and that's exactly why we're alive and why your head's off your shoulders. »
She was right.
The instant the woman spoke, Victor had already beheaded her, unwilling to waste any more time.
She remained conscious just long enough to hear the end of Akane's sentence before eternal darkness claimed her.
Only the man remained now, freed from Helene's invisible hold.
His eyes darted between the three monsters before him.
The fear he felt was primal — etched into his very genes.
A voice inside him screamed to Run. Get as far away as possible.
But another voice — heavier, crueler — spoke louder.
Guilt.
This was his fault.
If he hadn't interfered, none of this would've happened.
If he hadn't existed, they'd still be alive.
He had no right to live after what he'd caused.
He reached behind his back, pulling out a firearm he'd kept hidden in case things went wrong.
But instead of aiming at the monsters before him, he pressed the barrel to his own head.
And without hesitation, he pulled the trigger.
Bang
His body collapsed to the ground with a dull thud.