The Ashen Dominion Chapter 19 - The Opponent

As soon as I opened my eyes—

Fwip—

I grabbed my short sword.

And with it firmly in my hands—

"..."

Creak—

Thud!

I stepped out of my room.

...

...

"Ah, kid!"

Brock greeted the mont I erged from my room.

"Hello, kid."

"Yo!"

Khan and Jin were with him.

"Hello."

I replied to them simply, bowing slightly in greeting.

"It's finally your day, huh!"

Brock exclaid with a grin.

"Yeah."

I responded quietly, my voice low.

Then—

"Are you nervous?"

He asked, studying with a raised brow.

And at his question—

"Hmm?"

I glanced down at my hands.

And in that mont, I asked myself—

Am I nervous?

Am I scared?

I thought about it.

"..."

I was silent.

Then, after a brief pause...

Fwish—

I looked at Brock, eting his gaze.

And parting my lips—

"No, I don't think so."

I replied to him with calm, indifferent eyes.

After all...

'The worst thing that could happen is I die—then this cursed second life of mine ends.'

That's what I told myself.

"..."

Brock, Khan, and Jin were speechless after hearing my answer.

They were doubting my words.

"..."

The three of them stared silently, observing my expression.

And after seeing the seriousness in my eyes—

"Kid, you're really odd."

"Yeah, definitely sothing else."

"Crazy..."

Brock, Khan, and Jin muttered in turn.

Their eyes filled with disbelief.

'h.'

I just shrugged at their comnts.

Then, at that very mont—

BAM! BAM! BAM!

Three loud knocks echoed against the gate.

Fwish—

"...?"

We all turned toward the sound.

And there—

We saw a guard stood waiting.

"Kaiser, it's ti to head to the waiting area!"

He called out.

And hearing that—

"Looks like it's ti."

I muttered, glancing at Brock and the others.

"Haha, we'll be watching your fight, kid."

Brock replied with a grin.

And before I could even ask what he ant by that—

"Gladiators are allowed to watch the events from a special spectator section. The boss thinks watching will fire us up and make us fight harder."

He explained casually.

"Is that so..."

I mumbled.

"Good luck out there, kid."

"Do your best!"

Khan and Jin added.

"Hmn."

I gave them a firm nod.

And with that—

Tap—

I stepped forward, heading to the gate.

"Huh? You're Kaiser?"

The guard asked as I approached, visibly confused.

And without hesitation—

"Yeah."

I replied to him, expression steady.

*****

Tap- tap- tap—

"..."

I followed silently behind the guard.

He was holding onto my short sword for now so that I wouldn't try anything stupid.

'Not that I could win against him even if I tried...'

I casually thought.

Anyway, after walking for a couple of minutes—

Tap—

We ca to a stop in front of a beat-up wooden door.

"We're here."

The guard said, then held out my weapon.

"Here."

"..."

Fwip—

I took it from him with both hands.

"Go inside and wait. You'll know when it's your ti to co out."

He instructed.

"Okay."

I nodded.

And with that, no further ado—

Creak—

I stepped into the room.

Thud—

...

...

...

It's been half an hour since I entered the room.

There's only a wooden bench inside, and an iron door on the other end—probably leading to the arena.

"..."

I sat quietly, waiting for whatever fate awaited .

'I guess this is it.'

I thought, eyes drifting to the short sword resting in my hands.

I already know it.

I can't fight.

I'm not strong.

I have no experience.

In this fight...

I'm bound to lose.

This whole thing is probably arranged to kill .

Will I even try my best in this fight?

I don't know.

The thought alone is exhausting.

"Will I really die this ti?"

I asked aloud.

"Or will I reincarnate again?"

I muttered after.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Loud thuds echoed from beyond the iron door—it's been going on since I got here.

I turned toward it.

'I wonder what's happening out there.'

I thought.

And just then—

"LADIES AND GENTLEN, THE WAIT IS OVER!!!"

"Hm?"

A booming voice announced.

"Is that my cue?"

I muttered under my breath.

"WITHOUT FURTHER ADO—LET'S BEGIN THE EVENT!!!"

The voice roared with energy.

'Yeah... it's starting.'

I said internally.

Fwish—

I rose to my feet in silence.

And monts later—

"FOR OUR FIRST FIGHT, LET'S WELCO OUR FIRST FIGHTER!!!"

The announcer's voice thundered.

"IT'S HIS DEBUT MATCH, SO GIVE HIM A WARM WELCO!!!"

He followed up.

And imdiately—

"HE'S JUST SIXTEEN YEARS OLD, AND THIS KID ARRIVED ONLY THREE DAYS AGO!!"

The annoucer started introducing

"ONCE A BEGGAR, A STREET RAT WHO SURVIVED BY STEALING WHATEVER HE COULD!!"

"AFTER GETTING CAUGHT TRYING TO ROB A BAKERY, HE WAS SOLD OFF TO PAY HIS DEBT!!"

"AND NOW—HE STANDS HERE, READY TO FIGHT FOR HIS LIFE!!!"

The annoucer exclaid with passion.

And much louder that his previous voice—

"LADIES AND GENTLEN, PUT YOUR HANDS TOGETHER FOR—KAISER!!!"

He called out my na.

And as soon as he did—

BAM!

The tal door swung open, revealing a blinding light beyond it.

"..."

I stared at the doorway for a few seconds.

Then, without saying a word—

'What a cheesy introduction.'

TAP—

I stepped through it.

SWOOOOSH~!!!

A strong gust of wind slamd into as I crossed the door.

"Ugh..."

I squinted, the sunlight nearly blinding.

And after my eyes adjusted—

"..."

I saw the vast open space before .

I was standing in the center part of the coliseum.

And all around —

"HAHAHAHAHA!!!"

"GOOD LUCK, KID!"

"DON'T DIE TOO QUICKLY!!"

"GIVE US A SHOW WORTH WATCHING!!!"

—were thousands of spectators, seated in the stands that surrounded the arena.

They were shouting all kinds of things.

And not a single one of them believed I'd win.

"..."

I stayed silent and ignored their jeers.

"THAT'S ENOUGH LAUGHING, EVERYONE!"

The announcer's voice cut through the crowd.

Then—

"IT'S TI TO WELCO HIS OPPONENT!!!"

He followed up.

I focused on his voice, hoping to at least learn sothing about who I'd be facing.

"THIS IS HIS THIRD FIGHT ALREADY!!!"

'Bruh.'

All hope drained from at that one line.

"HE TOOK HIS TI KILLING HIS FIRST TWO OPPONENTS!!!"

The announcer kept going—and my frown only deepened.

'Is this even survivable?'

I asked myself.

"HE WAS A DEATH SENTENCE INMATE—BOUGHT BY THE BOSS TO FIGHT HERE INSTEAD OF ROTTING IN A CELL!"

The intimidation continued to pile up with each word.

But just then—

"CONVICTED OF MULTIPLE COUNTS OF CHILD SEXUAL ASSAULT AND MURDER—AND PROUD OF IT, ACCORDING TO HIM!!!"

The annoucer announced that.

And hearing that—

"..."

Silence fell over my mind.

The frown vanished from my face.

The light in my eyes dulled.

And at that mont—

"LADIES AND GENTLEN, A BIG WELCO FOR—UMAR!!!"

The announcer roared his na.

From the opposite side of the arena—

TAP—

A man stepped into the light.

A long scar stretched over his left eye.

SHIING—

He was wielding a massive, battered battle axe in both hands.

He was lean, nowhere near as big as Brock or the others, but...

"KEHEHEHEHEHE!!!"

He let out a manic laugh, tongue out, licking his lips with disgusting delight.

His eyes locked onto .

And with a twisted grin—

"THEY WERE YOUNGER THAN YOU!!!"

He shouted proudly.

And at his words—

"..."

My expression darkened further.

"UMAR! UMAR! UMAR!"

"KILL HIM, JUST LIKE THE OTHERS!!!"

"DON'T HOLD BACK JUST BECAUSE HE'S A KID!!!"

"IDIOT! UMAR DOESN'T CARE WHO HE'S KILLING, HAHAHAHA!!!"

The crowd was fully on his side.

"KEHEHEHEHE!!!"

And Umar acted like he was so beloved icon.

Seeing this scene—

FWIP—

I tightened my grip on the short sword with both hands.

And while staring at my opponent, Umar—

'Maybe I'll actually try my best in this fight.'

I declared that in my head.

Anger and disgust rising from my body.

And then, just a mont later—

"WITHOUT FURTHER ADO—LET THE FIGHT START!!!"

The annoucer exclaid that.