When the others had charged forward instantly, Red's expression didn't waver one bit.
Quickly grabbing the knife of his third prey, he prepared for the toughest moment of his life.
Not that he hadn't been ganged up on before, just this time around, it was different. This group consisted of the toughest bunch that had survived their own gruelling trials and made it to this final spot.
They weren't just gonna throw their life after coming this far.
The first to arrive was meant with a wide slash on his face, which he barely evaded. At the same time, a searing pain exploded at Red's back, just inches away from his neck.
Dammit!
Gritting his teeth, he swung his knife in a wide arc, slashing his assailant across the face. He didn't have time to complete the job as another was already upon him, perfectly timing his attack.
His knife soared through the air and landed on Red's raised shoulder.
With a cruel grin, he dragged the blade down, tearing through his flesh.
Letting out a soft grunt, Red held his knife in reverse grip and with one savage swing stabbed it right at the corner of the guy's head.
He was quick enough to evade another attack from the corner, the knife skimming through his face, just leaving a slight cut on his eyebrow.
Blooding dripping down his eyes, Red let out a faint smile before leaping forward.
"Hell!"
"Anyone in their right sense is supposed to use that chance to get a brief respite." One of them said in shock.
Yet, Red had charged forward.
His sacrifice wasn't in vain as another fell from his brutal onslaught.
In return, two more fresh wounds were added to his existing injuries.
Hands tightened on his knife, he fought wildly, slashing furiously at whatever was before him, impervious to the injury he got in return.
Blood sprayed across the ground of the arena as more bodies fell on the ground, their lives fading away.
The crowd yelled in excitement, their laughter and chatter echoing over the arena.
Red fought like a wounded predator, tuning out the pain, his knife hungrily drinking the blood of its opponent until disaster struck.
An attacker terribly panicked, charged forward, weapon raised high in the sky, abandoning reason.
Red responded with a quick slash at her exposed neck, ending her life.
At the same time, a hand shot forward, too fast for Red to react.
The knife plunged into his stomach and was twisted brutally.
Falling to his knees, he drew in a sharp, painful breath, heart trembling madly.
"Haha. You're just a human like us, after all." The cold, mocking voice of Jared echoed in the arena, his towering frame standing before the collapsed Red.
The crowd paused, causing a deadly silence to encompass the arena.
The Great Red. The arena's conqueror was... defeated?
Red stared at the smiling face of Jared, vision beginning to blur.
"So this is it."
He let out a deep cough with blobs of blood staining the ground.
"I vowed on finding them... those bastards that brought me into this world... I swore I'll fucking kill them." Red barely muttered, clenching his fists weakly.
One of his eyes was already slashed, blood still dripping from it. Just above the other was a cut bleeding into his only good eye.
Jared, enjoying the moment, brought his face closer with a grin etched boldly and whispered in his ear.
"In the end, the smartest one gets to live."
Gripping the handle, he twisted the knife and planned on pulling it out only to feel a vice grip holding his hand in place.
"The smartest? Don't make me laugh. If you were smart enough... You would've aimed for the neck."
"That mistake... is gonna cost you your life," Red said with a strained chuckle, staring at the wide-eyed Jared.
Then, as if a wire had snapped in his head, Red closed the distance between their faces and bit down.
Arghhhh!
A wail escaped into the atmosphere, followed by a sickening rip.
Jared staggered backwards, blood flowing freely from his nose which had been torn open.
Red slowly pulled the knife from his stomach and dug it into Jared's abdomen. Without wasting much time, he pulled it out and stabbed his neck, then again, and again, before allowing him to fall to the ground, lifeless.
The crowd was in a frenzy. Their roars reverberated across the arena.
Red struggled to his feet, the rush of adrenaline keeping him afloat.
"Red!" "Red!" "Red!"
The audience chanted his name, their roar reverberating over the area.
"I did it." He thought, staring down at his fist.
His victory was cut short, though.
A great explosion rocked the area, causing the ground to shake.
The grand entrances above were blown apart as scores of men flooded in.
Things went haywire in an instant. The sound of gunshots and screams of the crowd echoed over the area as both parties began a brutal gun fight.
Caution was thrown aboard as everyone struggled to escape.
Red found himself fighting his way through for an escape. His body yelled for him to stop and take a rest, yet he continued forward with sheer will.
Why wait when freedom was staring right at him?
And so he continued, even when his blood painted the ground with each step he took.
It didn't take long for him to find himself before one of the few entrances that hadn't been taken over by the foreign force.
Forcing his battered body forward, he ran toward the entrance with all his might, only to stumble as another explosion rocked the area causing him to land hard on the ground.
"Urghh!"
"Come on! Move you damn body!" He yelled, crawling forward. "Why... why now of all times!" When... when freedom was just right before him.
"Arghhhhh!" He roared at the sky. Cursing his damn luck and whatever god dwelled above.
The strain of his fight was finally catching up. His body was already growing numb yet he continued to crawl forward. Just as he pulled his body through the ground one more time, he caught sight of a strange red object streaking down from above.
"What's that?" He murmured, only for his eyes to widen a few seconds later.
The strange object wasn't just any object! It was a sword. A massive red blade descending straight towards him!
"Fuc–"
The sword struck, cleanly piercing through his back without any slight resistance.
Red felt the world melt away, getting consumed by darkness in return.
"Maybe... this is freedom too...?" He managed to say before breathing his last.
The conflict and infighting continued around the area, all impervious to the red glowing sword piercing through a young boy, the once acclaimed king of the arena.
...
Death was a strange thing.
No one truly knew what came after it.
Reincarnation?
The Afterlife?
Oblivion?
Red found only darkness. He couldn't hear anything. He couldn't feel anything. Just the chilling comfort of the darkness.
He had been in this state for so long his identity began to fade.
In the darkness, a little light–too dim and weak to even brighten the dark world-seemed to be fading away.
This continued for a long time until a change occurred in the darkness.
A golden light flared brightly, driving away the cold darkness and coiling around the little light.
It wrapped around it before vanishing away in a flash.
...
Red jolted back into awareness, only for the last moment of his life to come in full force.
He winced loudly, trying to hold his head only for his hands to pass through it.
"Dammit! What in the seven hells...?" He thought, slowly realising something.
He was... alive? How? What kind of miracle was this? Or is it magic?
No, he didn't believe in miracles or magic. To him, both were the same, illusions created to trick humans into believing in a higher existence.
Yet, he was witnessing something crazy, mind-blowing even... happening to him right now.
He remembered the scene vividly. He was just mere inches away from his freedom when his world flipped only for his last sight, a blazing crimson sword which fell on him.
"Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! Curse my damn luck!"
Life had never been fair to him. That he knew. First was being sold into a crazy orphanage home to compete every day of his life just to survive.
Now this?
Just as he was on the verge of going crazy while attempting to find a theory of his supposed existence, he heard a soft chuckle.
That was when he realised he wasn't alone. Hell, he was so worried about how he ended up alive, he failed to check his surroundings.
"Are humans this... funny?"
A soft voice echoed in his mind. A voice so soft it soothed the unease and raging storm in his head.
His gaze fell on the figure before him. A beauty no less. White impeccable skin, a waterfall of golden hair cascading down and flowing freely in the air. She hovered above a pristine marbled floor.
Her golden whirlpool of eyes fell on him, with a smile hanging at the corners of her mouth. A lustrous white robe adorned her body, bound at the waist by a golden cord.
Even Len, who had never spared his attention to the feminine race, was momentarily stunned by her beauty.
"Ahhh. Finally got your attention." Her melodic voice drifted over the area.
With a delighted smile and pride lacing her tone, she spread her arms wide.
"Welcome to my abode, mortal."