Vol 2 Chapter 2 (2/2)

A human could only survive a few minutes underwater. But that was when a trained professional attempted it with a stopwatch in one hand. If an amateur was pulled underwater without warning, they might 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 animal? Ayumi went for the large 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 be more efficient for getting the 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 mouth underwater. If all she had to do was send a sign, she only had to tap at the headset with her fingertip.

“She seems to be refusing 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 information she could get. Like a drowning man grasping at straws.

Then what was 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 whim. This had to be something worth risking 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 remembered what I had proposed as the strongest animal when discussing 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’m deceiving you, please hear me out. I can only submit one option to you and it isn’t a tiger or a lion. It’s…”

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

I heard the water splitting.

It came from the smartphone and the headset it was connected to, so that meant Itou Helen had brought her head above water.

And if someone had won, that meant someone had lost.

“Ohhh? What could this be?”

As the distant camera zoomed in toward her, the blue bunny girl voiced her confusion while pointlessly leaning in toward the camera, tilting her head, and emphasizing her cleavage.

The answer soon arrived.

Someone else silently and shockingly calmly floated up to the surface.

It was the mermaid.

Kuroyama Hinoki.

Now that she had lost consciousness, she must have lost control of the long, long hair 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 fis.h.!.+ But what could have happened in the water there? Surely the mermaid didn’t drown!!”

The sound of something whizzing through the air provided the answer.

It came from Itou Helen, the witch with a gla.s.s wand.

Several long, thick, and transparent tails rose from around her small b.u.t.t like a nine-tailed fox.

They were jellyfish tentacles.

Part 2

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

That was what I had said in the living room.

Ayumi suggested a hippo or an elephant while Erika suggested a shark or a killer whale. But as I watched the TV program, I suggested a different candidate for the strongest animal.

“It can be a hornet, a scorpion, a pit viper, or a habu, but they can kill a human several dozen times their size, right?”

“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 animals were venomous, but there was generally another animal that their venom was useless against. 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 2cm long and can slip through the shark nets set up around swimming areas, but they’re covered in venomous stingers that can kill a human with a single p.r.i.c.k. There is no chance of survival like with a habu serum. They’re transparent, so they can’t be seen. And the young 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 meet one them even less than a tiger 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 now known. 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 follow what had happened, they could not call the match off now. The blue bunny girl atop the bug cage went along with it.

She hopped up and down on the spot, allowing her ample b.r.e.a.s.t.s 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 match was conquered by Itou Helen, the small animal of a girl who looks like she couldn’t hurt a fly! From the looks of that, did she use a venomous stinger 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 Archenemy also had someone willing to weep for her.

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

He might 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 pa.s.sion of payback cooled.

On the ground, I shouted up at the rainforest b.u.t.terfly blue bunny girl who looked down at us all from above the bug cage.

“Hey!”

“Yes, yes. You’re the witch’s second, aren’t you? What’s the matter? You got 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 made myself a monster to achieve my goal.

“The winner is given the body of the loser. And we’re free to use it however we want: 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. Archenemies aren’t human, so abandoning and damaging their corpses aren’t crimes. And the Bright Cross keeps its promises. But, but. Eating a Western mermaid won’t make you immortal, you know?”

“How we’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 emotion. Needless to say, it came from the young man who was our opponent’s second.

We were desecrating the mermaid’s corpse.

But I’m sorry. You lost, so you have no right to do anything here. So just shut up and watch.

Under the bright spotlight, the blue bunny girl wiped sweat from her brow (showing off her armpit as she did) and cackled.

“Well, I’m sure the witch can use it for something. Or is this for your…interests, boy? Come to think of it, she does have a pretty tempting body☆ Well, we won’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 rubbed me the wrong way.

“Now then, now then. That brings this match to an end! Whether you won or lost money tonight, let’s enjoy another exciting night at the Colosseum next time!! Okay, everyone! Have a good night. Adieu!!”

Part 4

In a cold room, “that” was delivered on a rolling stretcher like it was hotel room service.

The pale delivery lay motionless on its back with a white sheet covering it up to the chest.

It was the mermaid.

Kuroyama Hinoki.

“R-really?”

In her witch costume and holding her gla.s.s wand, Itou Helen spoke weakly as she trembled nervously.

“She’s really…ours now…?”

“Yeah, I made sure that bunny girl 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 me because I wanted to have some fun, the officials all gave 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 the match without killing Kuroyama Hinoki the Mermaid. We couldn’t have them declaring a no contest and then starting a rematch. We had to definitively end it while also freeing the loser from that bug cage.

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 mermaid gathered 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’m…cough!? What happened…to the match…?

“It’s fine.”

Whatever the case, I was glad I had time for those more unnecessary thoughts. 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 time. Once the Bright Cross catches on, they’ll figure out a countermeasure.”

“I…know that…”

Also, there was no exit from the Colosseum. There was no rule releasing you after winning 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 Archenemy and made to fight them to the death. That system made sure no one survived for long.

It was an execution system.

The sports tournament format was nothing more than camouflage.

So following the rules wasn’t enough. We were only buying time here. I could walk freely outside, so there was something I had to do while Itou Helen’s life was temporarily saved.

This insane Colosseum was being boldly presented to the public. But to pull off something 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 was wrong. And their voices would become a great 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 Kuroyama Hinoki, I couldn’t bring 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 from the beginning. Even if I did manage to get Itou Helen out of here, what would that accomplish? Even if she gave up her home and went into hiding, the Bright Cross’s influence spread to more than 100 countries. Even abandoning everything in her life and living life on the run was not enough.

Running away wouldn’t cut it.

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

We had no time.

We wouldn’t be able to talk freely for much longer.

And so I briefly asked what mattered most.

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

Her answer was simple.

Itou Helen and I exchanged a handshake.

[Search Engine] The Red-Faced Sage [Absolute NOAH]

It’s awful.

Oh, honestly. It’s just awful.

What’s wrong? Why are you looking so gloomy on such a cheerful night? 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, mermaids are a symbol of s.h.i.+pwrecks, death at sea, and things like that. They swallow up groups of humans by dragging the living into the dark sea.

But a Circe witch is a little different.

Potions that turn humans into monsters? A genius woman that stole the G.o.ds’ punishments and recreated them with secret potions? That’s honestly all extra. It doesn’t matter. There’s more to the legends 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 mythology is full of Zeus, Hera, and all those pain-in-the-a.s.s G.o.ds, 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 a mermaid that kills you by dragging you 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 name was Itou Helen, right? If she really is a Circe witch, then she’s going to make a mess of this Colosseum some more. After all, Circe fished up the heroes – those who fought hard on the battlefield – to reward them. She’s perfect for a Colosseum, right?

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

Yeah, you’re right. But the next match awaits you! Now, that’s all for tonight!! Whether you listened to me and won big or ignored me and regret it, don’t forget this night! If you want to make money the smart way, make sure you listen to what this tipster has to tell you!!

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