Vol 2 Chapter 2 (2/2)

A human could only survive a few minutes underwater But that hen a trained professional attempted it with a stopwatch in one hand If an aht breathe water into their lungs right off the bat

I just hoped the headset still worked

I recalled what I had watched on the living room TV with Erika and Ayumi We had debated it with a snack in one hand What was the strongest anie herbivores like hippos and elephants and Erika went for the oceanic carnivores like sharks and killer whales, but what had I said?

“Anyway, getting that mermaid off of her comes first”

“This is an underwater battle, so would a shark be best?”

“No, an octopus or squid would bethe mermaid off Itou-san! Can you hear me, Itou-san!?”

There was no response

And I doubted it was just that she couldn’t open her n, she only had to tap at the headset with her fingertip

“She see to respond”

Why?

Could she not trust us?

No, even then it was odd She had been dragged underwater and would not live another 100 seconds at this rate Whether she trusted us or not, she would want any infor at straws

Then as this?

I had to read the thoughts in Itou Helen’s heart

On the verge of death, she wouldn’t have it in her to take a detour on a whi her life over And unless I figured that out, our words would never each her

…

Wait, could it be…?

“Maxwell”

“Sure”

“Give me this data That will probably work”

I reest ani it with my sisters

I took in a deep breath and released it to drive out as much of the tension in my chest as I could

And I spoke

“Itou-san, please listen”

It didn’t matter whether she responded or not

I only had to know that she was listening

“I was only thinking about saving you before To be honest, that hasn’t changed But if this is what you want, I can point you to a different way”

It could be a single second or a single instant

It just had to reach her in time

Before the final moment

“So even if you feel like I’ you, please hear er or a lion It’s…”

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

I heard the water splitting

It came from the smartphone and the headset it was connected to, so that ht her head above water

And if someone had won, that meant someone had lost

“Ohhh? What could this be?”

As the distant cairl voiced her confusion while pointlessly leaning in toward the cae

The answer soon arrived

Soly calmly floated up to the surface

It was the mermaid

Kuroyama Hinoki

Now that she had lost consciousness, shehair wrapped around her because it gradually came undone as it floated in the water

“Would you look at that! She’s floating there just like a dead fish!+ But what could have happened in the water there? Surely the mermaid didn’t drown!!”

The sound of soh the air provided the answer

It calass wand

Several long, thick, and transparent tails rose from around her small butt like a nine-tailed fox

They were jellyfish tentacles

Part 2

“I really think a venomous animal can’t be beat”

That hat I had said in the living room

Ayuested a shark or a killer whale But as I watched the TV prograest animal

“It can be a hornet, a scorpion, a pit viper, or a habu, but they can kill a huht?”

“But, but A bear will dig up hornet’s nests to get at the honey It’ll writhe around after being stung all over, but the cute thing won’t stop lapping up the honey”

“No, hornets don’t gather honey, so isn’t the bear eating the larvae? Hornet babies look disgusting, but they’re really nutritious”

“Eh, ehhh!? No…no, that can’t be Don’t destroy my vision of the cute bearrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!”

“Anyway…”

A great variety of anienerally another aniainst Like the bear that attacked the hornet’s nest through brute force or the small clownfish that lived symbiotically with the anemone

But

There was just one animal with the ultimate venom that lacked any such exceptions

“The Irukandji jellyfish A deadly jellyfish found in the ocean near Australia They’re less than 2ch the shark nets set up around swiers that can kill a hule prick There is no chance of survival like with a habu seru ones are less than a tenth the size of a grain of rice, so they can slip through any net I think they’re the strongest I want to er or shark”

Part 3

Everyone was shocked

But that did not matter

Everyone was more worried about the ticket clutched in their hand than seeing an exciting battle And the result was non No matter how it had happened, their bets would now pay off (or not)

An earth-shaking cheer arrived a moment later

Even if they couldn’t follohat had happened, they could not call the e went along with it

She hopped up and down on the spot, allowing her ample breasts to bounce on her slender frame to a needless extent

“What’s this, what’s this!? We just had an upset that entirely ignored the odds! This irl who looks like she couldn’t hurt a fly! Froer on a jellyfish tentacle? That’s far crueler than it looks, but that’s why it fooled everyone! The electrode attached to her opponent has already confirmed cardiac arrest!! She ended this perfectly!!”

On the opposite corner of the square bug cage, I saw a young man scream as he fell to his knees What was he to that mermaid named Kuroyama Hinoki? Her family, her friend, or her lover? I didn’t know I only knew that Archene to weep for her

Was he experiencing what I would if I watched Erika or Ayumi breathe their last for some show business?

He ht kill me

I didn’t even know his name, but I was somehow certain of that

And there was no stopping now

I had to “settle” this before the passion of payback cooled

On the ground, I shouted up at the rainforest butterfly blue bunny girl who looked down at us all froe

“Hey!”

“Yes, yes You’re the witch’s second, aren’t you? What’s the ot the first win you wanted so badly, so you need to smile! Smile!!”

I entirely ignored her big round eyes and the lightly clenched fists in front of her cheeks

“I want to confirm our reward”

“This was her first win, so Itou Helen will be awarded 10 million yen That’s the base amount and it doubles with each consecutive win We can discuss the details of the payment method off camera, can’t we?”

“That isn’t all”

I breathed in and out

And I oal

“The winner is given the body of the loser And we’re free to use it however ant: eat it, use it as an ingredient, or whatever else That’s what you said, so don’t forget it”

“Ah ha ha! Of course Archene their corpses aren’t cri a Western mermaid won’t make you immortal, you know?”

“Hoe’re going to use it is none of your concern”

That was all

Our conversation was interrupted by a great indescribable cry that could not be expressed with any known e man as our opponent’s second

We were desecrating the mermaid’s corpse

But I’ here So just shut up and watch

Under the bright spotlight, the blue bunny girl wiped sweat fro off her armpit as she did) and cackled

“Well, I’ Or is this for your…interests, boy? Co body☆ Well, on’t look into it That’s the right of the victor! You can just chuck her in a dumpster for all we care!!”

The blue bunny girl brought it to an end and her every word rubbedway

“Now then, now then That brings this ht, let’s enjoy another exciting night at the Colosseuht Adieu!!”

Part 4

In a cold roo stretcher like it was hotel room service

The pale delivery layit up to the chest

It was the mermaid

Kuroyama Hinoki

“R-really?”

In her witch costulass wand, Itou Helen spoke weakly as she trembled nervously

“She’s really…ours now…?”

“Yeah, I irl said so And on a national broadcast They can’t overturn that decision now no matter what happens”

There was no one else here

When I told them not to bother ave me sleazy smiles and left

I seriously hoped they all died

And then we faced the loser

The corpse spoke

“Kah…hah! Ugweh!? Cough, cough cough!!”

She started coughing right on schedule, like an alarm clock had woken her

This had been Itou Helen’s “request”

A tiger or lion wouldn’t work She refused to use a shark or killer whale She hadn’t wanted to fight at all She hadn’t wanted to kill So even after being dragged underwater by the mermaid with only a few dozen seconds of life left, she had refused to kill for her own survival

Even after I realized that, it hadn’t been easy

We had needed to end theKuroya a no contest and then starting a re the loser froe

And this was the result

Venom could put someone in a state of apparent death

And the winner had the right to retrieve the loser’s body

Put those two together and we could save her

We could help a life escape that cruel Colosseum

And I was glad it had worked

Since it was based on that killer jellyfish, there had been a chance we could not revive her

And as the athered the sheets in front of her chest, I noticed how good looking she was I had been too distracted during the battle, but the bulges below that sheet suggested she could give my older sister a run for her money

I was glad we hadn’t killed her

“I’h!? What happened…to the match…?

“It’s fine”

Whatever the case, I was glad I had tihts It meant I had escaped that insane life-or-death situation

So I didn’t have to say much

I wasn’t going to ask for anything in return

“It’s over All of it is You can go back home That’s all you need to know”

The mermaid clearly did not understand, but I still turned to face the small witch instead

“We won’t be able to do this every tiure out a countermeasure”

“I…know that…”

Also, there was no exit fro a certain number of battles

If you didn’t die, you had to keep fighting until you did

Again and again, you would be thrown into a cage with another Archeneht the

It was an execution system

The sports tournae

So following the rules wasn’t enough We were only buying ti I had to do while Itou Helen’s life was temporarily saved

This insane Colosseu boldly presented to the public But to pull off so like this, they had to have a systems to distort information and people’s impressions of the event If I found and destroyed that, everyone would realize what should have been obvious: that this rong And their voices would becoreat pressure that truly freed Itou Helen and the other Archenemies

I heard a knock on the door

Was it a Colosseum official or security?

Whatever the case, it would be difficult to kick down the door and break through Even if I had a justification for Kuroya Itou Helen out with me

And if I struggled here and they had to suppress me, I would lose the thin, thin thread of connection provided by my position as her second

“…”

I had to destroy them

I had to have known that froet Itou Helen out of here, ould that acco, the Bright Cross’s influence spread toin her life and living life on the run was not enough

Running aouldn’t cut it

If we didn’t stand up to them, ould end up cornered

We had no time

We wouldn’t be able to talk freely for er

And so I briefly asked what mattered most

“Even so, I’d like to knohat you think Am I a worthy partner? Can you trust me?”

Her ansas simple

Itou Helen and I exchanged a handshake

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It’s awful

Oh, honestly It’s just awful

What’s wrong? Why are you looking so glooht? Hah hah! Oh, is that what happened? You lost!? You should have listened to what this tipster told you and bet everything you had on the witch

Listen, there are a lot of different Archenemies

For example, mers like that They s up groups of hu into the dark sea

But a Circe witch is a little different

Potions that turn huenius woman that stole the Gods’ punishments and recreated them with secret potions? That’s honestly all extra It doesn’t ends of Circe than just the animal potions

It’s said that Circe took the souls of heroes to the island of the blissful

Well, you could say it’s like heaven Heaven in Greek y is full of Zeus, Hera, and all those pain-in-the-ass Gods, so it’d probably be pretty uncomfortable for a human, but the island if the blissful is a true paradise where not even Zeus can reach you I think it was ruled by Cronus

In other words, this was ayou into the sea and a witch that takes you to heaven

It’s obvious which one was of a higher grade The mermaid never stood a chance

Her naht? If she really is a Circe witch, then she’s going to make a mess of this Colosseum some ht hard on the battlefield – to reward theht?

You say none of this helps now that it’s over?

Yeah, you’re right But the next ht!! Whether you listened to et this night! If you want to make money the smart way, make sure you listen to what this tipster has to tell you!!