Among those two, the first was a tall, burly young man with shoulder-length red hair, a rugged face, and weathered skin. He possessed an unreadable gaze, making him the perfect picture of a natural strongman.
Where others had a dim, defeated light in their eyes and stared brokenly at the dirt, his vacant expression seemed to stem from pure boredom rather than anything else.
Even the gory, traumatic scenes surrounding them didn't seem to phase him in the slightest.
He stood out further by looking strangely uninjured among all the other captives.
Contrasting sharply with the sorry figure cut by his fellow sufferers, he didn't have a single speck of dust on his body, no tears in his coarse clothes, and he hadn't even broken a sweat.
In fact, if not for him being down there in the pit with them, one could easily have confused him with one of the spectators in the stands; the contrast was simply that staggering.
Even the scholar and the young woman, despite being relatively less involved in the direct physical struggles earlier, were looking rather worse for wear.
And he wasn't the only one standing out due to sheer strangeness.
The other unaligned captive was a handsome young man with healthy, sun-kissed skin—neither too fair nor too tanned.
Long black bangs fell casually across his face, obscuring his eyes and exuding a remarkably relaxed, slightly carefree vibe.
Though his clothes were somewhat dusty, he was entirely free of injuries.
He even had the peace of mind to casually hum a low tune beneath his breath, tapping his foot rhythmically against the blood-stained stone.
He didn't look like someone who had just survived a traumatic event; rather, if not for the horrific scenery, one would think he was simply taking a brief break after a pleasant walk.
The two, left idle in the aftermath of the chaos, ended up locking eyes for a moment despite being a fair distance apart.
Seemingly noticing each other's distinct peculiarity, the black-haired youth raised a hand and gave a blunt wave.
The other man stared at him for a moment longer before clumsily imitating the gesture.
Seeing this, the humming man chuckled light-heartedly, a good-natured smile gracing his lips.
After a moment's thought, he began to casually weave his way through the crowd toward the giant.
If Gil had been conscious, he would have instantly recognized these two as the exact outliers he had noted earlier when scanning the arena for hidden intent.
As things turned out, Gil's instincts had been entirely correct—neither of these two was ordinary by any stretch of the imagination.
After a while, the rest of the captives finally finished tending to the wounded, having done the absolute best they could with the meager resources on hand.
That was when someone finally noticed the duo.
Perhaps it was because they deliberately stood apart from the main groups.
Perhaps their entirely uninjured state rubbed the battered young man the wrong way.
Perhaps seeing the two looking so relaxed while everyone else was drowning in trauma acted as a catalyst.
Or perhaps, the youth just desperately needed an outlet to vent the suffocating emotions he had bottled up until now.
If anyone were to ask him, he probably wouldn't have been able to give a satisfactory answer himself.
Nevertheless, he ended up pointing a finger and shouting angrily:
"You two...! How come you look so... damn fine?! Where the hell were you even hiding during the fight?!"
His sudden shout instantly drew the attention of the others.
The survivors whipped around to see what was going on, some even snapping into a defensive guard, looking as if they expected to find themselves face-to-face with Lucius's beasts once more.
Upon seeing that there was no immediate monstrous threat on sight, they collectively heaved a heavy sigh of relief before turning their curious, strained gazes toward the two individuals.
And indeed, upon closer scrutiny, the duo looked to be in much better shape than anyone else.
Suddenly, the fragile peace that had begun to settle over the arena grew dangerously taut once more.
The red-haired giant tilted his head, looking entirely confused by the sudden shift in the air and the hostile looks he was receiving.
Finally, he hesitated a bit, opening his mouth to speak. But the sound that rumbled from his throat was...
"Ȁ̴̰̲̮͙̬̟̈̾̀̈́͆̕r̴̢̨̗̜̲͈̭̗͍̱̽͋͆e̷̫͓̝̣̒̑̒̎̈́̋͆͊̿̊̓̾̅͜͠͠͝͠ ̴̢̛̖͚͕͓͙͈̖͙̻̲̱̰̘̺̄͗̈́͌͐̋̍̃̽͝͠ỵ̶̧̃̂̊͊́͋̅͑͋͋͑̏̏͋̽̍ơ̷̢̧̰͇̯̼̩̗̲̩ͅư̸̭̽̍͊͑̇͐̈́͋̀̐͝͝͝ ̴̟̭̱̪͉̳͙͍̻͍͕̗̾̈̊̍̓̎͑̕͝ţ̴̛̛̜̼̹̖͕̮̪͉͚̣͍̾̃̃́̎͑̃̐̋͘̚͝á̷̻̗̩̫̜͉͚̟̱͚́͐̉̋̌̎̾̀̀̅͑͝ͅļ̸̢̞̙̳̱̗̠͖̪̀̈́͆̈̄̄̆̆́̊͒̐͐̅͘ͅḱ̴̬́̾͒̊͂̓́̅͊̂̚̚̚i̸̫̗̪͙̘͖͓̗̘̇͐͊̈̋̇̒̚͜͜͠ͅñ̵̯͇̟̺̒̿͆̇͋́͛͜g̷̱̤͉͔̺̖͚̫̲̟̞̽̇̇̒͐ͅ ̷̢̧̡̙͖͉͚̭͙̦̖̬͍̥̹͂́̔͌̒̿̉͐̔̽̚͜͜t̶̯͈͖̼̗̙̻̳̲̩͚͓̞̯̼̠̥̒̉͛͊̈́̑̈͋̈́̏͌̽͘͠ǒ̴͇̱̳̠̪̅̂̈́͌̿̑̋̈́̐̆̀͐͒͗͘̕ ̴̢̧͉͈̦̮̝̣͔͖̥̖̲̼̘͙͛̈́́̚͠ḿ̷̻͔̮̺̭̥̯̦̪̦̖̞̝̘̑̈́͝ę̵̧̻͈̮̤͋̿͛̔̐͘̚͝?̴̢͍̹̟̰̦̻̺̪̱͕̻̱̩͑̚͜"
A bizarre, foreign-sounding language echoed through the space, sounding unlike anything the youths had ever heard in their lives.
Though they couldn't comprehend a single word the giant said, it was completely obvious from his tone that he was utterly bewildered.
No matter how one looked at it, language barriers meant communication would be impossible.
Then, a melodious and clear voice broke the silence:
"They are talking about us two."
The second youth stopped his humming, responding unexpectedly to the giant's query in the exact same strange tongue.
".....—?!"
The giant blinked in profound surprise.
Looking eagerly down at the smaller speaker, his eyes lit up as he rumbled:
"Ẏ̴͔͙̲̯̮̬̖̲͔̱̞̍̄̀͐͝͝ơ̴͖̪̬̲̰̼̮̝͖̞̦͚̲̗̂̐̆̉͌͗͘̚͠u̴̟̩͈̘̜̪̅ͅ ̴̨̡̡̲̯̻͉̼̍̏͒̎̑͑͐̾̆͘͝͠͝ͅc̴̢̛͔͎̱̩̹̘͎̝̻͍̙̑̽͊̅̋̓͂̓́͂͐͆̇̎͐͘ͅǎ̶̡̨̛̳͔̗̤̣̖͙̠̬̓̈́͆̈́́̒̾͘n̶̼̯̹̥̖̲̑̈̅̾́̾̍̄̿̓̂̚͠ ̶̨̧͍̺̱̪̭̱͚̺̹̤̳̦͗͗̂̽̏̅͆̾̌̈́̃̀͑̋̚ͅu̵̢̝̲͙̦̞̳̦͌̂̀̒̓̆͌̈́͌̓̑́̉͂͝n̷̡̡̛̛̞̙͔̣͕̱͕̫͎̭̘̽́͛̅̒͐͂̓̃̀͘͝d̶̢̤͇̠̤͇͔͓̗̤͔̔͌͂̏͗͗̽̽̐̂̌̊͋͌e̸̱̘͇̖͕͕̘͋̈́̌̂̿́͊͂͛́̿͐͋̇̕͘r̷̛̲̠̯̺̺̱̘͈̗̯̀̑̓̐͗̆̅͊̓́͗̌̚͜s̸̘͓͉̣̊͝t̴̻̳̼̣͈͇̤̅̈́̅͆͋̏̀̀̒̾̋̇͛̅́͠͝ȧ̶̩͚̱͕̹͇͎̉́̂̽͋ṇ̶̨̢̛̞͇͔̬̗̱͓̆͗̌̉̉̄̑̾̔̍̚d̷̢̛̘̦̦͎̹̰̯̖̫̄ ̸̨̘̫̬̭̈́͒̅̏͌̂͜͜͝m̸̬̘͖̪̰͉̺̈́̽̉ͅe̷̡̯̬͍͈͎͈͍̠͈̮̥͈̣̗͗͜..."
The hummer smiled gently at him, responding patiently in their shared language.
"Yes, I can understand you." Pausing, he added with a soft, sympathetic tone,"It mustn't be easy for you, dealing with everyone else every day."
At those words, the rather intimidating giant's eyes instantly welled with fat tears.
Looking as though he were about to sob out loud, he tightly clutched the hummer's hands, gripping them firmly as if terrified the only person who understood him would vanish into thin air if he let go.
"F̵̢̠͙͍̘̙̱͇̿͆͂́́̓͐͜i̸̡̞̙̫̣̩͚̊̉̈́͝ņ̴̣̗͚̭̙͚̗̳̮̪̱̝̺̬͉̀̿̏̒̅͊͑̈̈́̓͜ǎ̴̭̣̼l̵̰̗̙̘̖̗̟͎͈̫̹͙͇̕l̸͔͓̈̅̋̒̑̄̈͗͛̏̑̎̒͒͒ý̶̘̈͝,̶̢͈̥̰̱̆͌͒̒́̏̚͘͝ ̸̜͚̼̝̊̓̀͆̓̀͂̇̕̕f̵̧̣̫̠̣͔͍͈̥̩̦̏ỉ̵̧̖̫̰̘̼̗̺͈͐̎͂̀̋̏͘͠͝n̴̢̨̧͉̯͛̓̊̈͆͗͆͗̋̌͂̈́̆͆͘͘ą̶̧̨̛̖͚͕̫͍̬̺̺̪̰̠͌̉̓̄͊̀̏̊̀̊͜͝l̶̢̧͕̫̱̯̤͙̺̖̱̬͔̦̊̈́͂̒̃̆̾̓̕͜l̵͕̟̹̜̜̬̜̠̬̬̖͕͍̝̥̹̅̍̃͂y̵͖̲̭̭̤̮͙̹̹͕̟̏̍͌͝ͅ,̷̛̘͉̄́̉̐̓́̎̃́͌͑̈́́̈͝i̵͙͇̻͈̣̟͍̺͓̟̺̰͓͒͑̋̓̚̕͜ͅ ̸̧̨̢̨̦͍̭̜͔̗̠͍̗̪̱͈̒̑̈́̎͗́̈́͋̒f̸̟͖̈́̋̉̊͐̓ỉ̶̡̢͔̣̠̩̮͚̓̆̽͛̽̽͌̏͂͌͛͝n̵̨̺͕̫̲̱̟̱̫̮̭̬̳̹̰̻͗̽̽̕͠a̴̡̘͔̼̠̬̭̯͗͑̾͊̀̌̓̾̉̈́͑̂͘͝͝͠͠l̴̨̧̧͍͍̞̼̼̱̥̝̓l̴̟̞̖̲̻͕̞̞̘̼̱̪̺̯̗͐͜y̶̥̻̪̰̰͔̭͈̗̯̹͔̅̽̑̾͘ ̴͚͖̦̼͎̼̦̥̞͈̪̉̊̎͋̇̌̇̅f̵̡̱̯̙̘͚͇͎̈́̅̿̌̈́͌̉̒͂̒̅̏̚͝͝͝͝ơ̸̹̦͔̠̎͂̓͠u̶͕͋̓n̷̬̦͑d̶̫̳̩̙̘̦̝̲̥͗̿̍͒̐͊̔̆̽̒̓͗̔̅͠ͅ ̷̧̩̰̰̙̦͎̘̮͖͉̹͈̫̻̳̃̔š̴̢̨̡̥͎͙̳̝̣͎̪͒̌̉̈̋̔̏̂̾̔̓͐̕̕o̸̡̳̟̗̳̰̖̮̦̰̹̹̬͇̖͇̫̓̍͑̇̀̔̏͊̉͑̈́̕̚͠m̵̧̨̡̛̺̺̳͔̼̲̲̉̏͋̕e̴̢͖̺̳̬͎̮̭̫̣̣̣̘̎͋̈́̑̆̋̑́̊̿͐͘̕͝͝o̶̧̳̝̩̳̬̺̅̌͜͝͝n̶̢̢̲̤͖̭͉̣̪̈̈́̐̔̓̀́͂̎͊̍̀̌͠͠ė̷̫̽̌̒͌̋̚̕ ̸̣̱̦͈͚̱́̌͘ẃ̴̯͕̫̲̦͚̰̗̱͈̟͈̱ĥ̸̢̤̲̙̓́̑̋͋̒̀͛́͜͝͠ǒ̴̥̹̲̦̫̈́̏̍̆̐̔̎͘͠͝ ̸̡̛̼̫̰̝̪̪̮͎̬̳̹͉̈́̓͋͆͊̓͌̀͝c̶̼̩̝̗͚̭̳̄̚͘̕͜à̶̻̞̣̗̯̤̮̻͈̜̖͉̩̦̲̇̀n̸͕͕̥͚̬͗̌̀̇͆͗̅̾̀́̋̌̀̔͘͝ ̷̨̨̱̳͎̲̬̏̐̊̔ŭ̶̯̹̒̓̄̐̎n̸̢̡̧͍̙̩̝̳͓͖̙͖̦̣̦̍͊͋͊ͅḑ̵̢̯͛́̋͗̃͐̒͐̃̀͝ḛ̸̼̑́͜͝r̴͙͖̆̏̌̐͝s̶̥̹̱͖͈͕̤̯̏̏͛́t̶̨̢̫̗̠̥̯̲̬͎͍̻̥͔̀̈́͛͘͜á̷̛̯̱̍̎͛͂͑̉̂͐̽̀͑̏̐̚͘n̵̙̺͔̩͎̱͐́́̽͗̓̈́̔̀̐̄̕d̷̨̙̝̦̠̟̥̰̗̩̄̀͋͌̕͝ ̸̛̤̮̦̜̱̯̟̦̥̞̽̒͊̆̌̿̾̚͜͜͝m̸̢̧̛̻̤͎̳͕̼̙̲͒̾͋̀̈́͘͘͝͠ę̴̡̛̥̫̣͎̩͙͛̀̐͌̆̊͊̐̕͜͠,̷͕̰͕̙̠̖́͘͝ ̴̲̩̪̔̈́̀̇̈́͌̽̈́̔͊̓̑̽̋͛ī̶̢̛͓̳͍̠̤̖̥͔̗̟̆̒́̈́͊̂͂͛̍̀̂͗̄̕͘-̴̛̺̙̦͈̓̇͒̆͂̇́͛͋į̶̧̯̭̱̻̗̭͙̳̰̝̲̳̜͉̬̌̽͂̒̅̓̆̚ţ̶̡͉͚̩̪̙̓̆̈́̇͋̐̓̇͘ ̶̛̟̊͗͗͂͗̃̇̏͋̚͝͝i̷͔͎͈̬̪͎͖͔̳̽̄̑͛͊̍͘͜͜t̶͓̖͙̰͔̤͆̀̀̉͗̈́'̶͔̼̠̆͛̏͐̈́͜͝s̸̢̊͆͐̾̔̚͝͝ͅ ̸̼̞̱̮͕͉͎̮̺͎̼͎̋̾̾̌̋̽́̅̇̎̈́̏̄͝h̴̘̫̻͉̖̹͚̻͍͔̥̝̝̓̓̀́̓̓͜ā̶̢̛̙̳̫̮͎͖͂͒͋͑̄̌͋͒͐̃̋͆̓̃v̴̡̛͓̟̳͈̳͒̕e̶̢͖̞͕̲͉̥̲̠̣̓͂͛̑͌̅̚ ̸̦̦̲̌́̔̈b̷̼̰͝ḛ̴̡̫͎͍̣͍̳̒̌̌̈͊̊͛̔̒̋́̊͝e̵̱͚̭̦͚͉̱̙̞̙̙͖͍͋͒̂̈́́̍͌̈́̎̀̉̕͠͠n̶̛̤̜͈͉̍̐͆̏͛͊͊̑́̈̇͝ ̷̡͔̟̫̩̺̯̟̆̎̆̓͂̔̓̕̕ṡ̷̫̥̻͕̝̻̤̻̺̺̱̞̿̓̇̃̔͒́̆̾͂̒ỏ̶̧͍̜̻̼̖͙̙̪̗̰̗̣͔̣̥̀͋̔̍̈́͗̐̑̓̐͗͗̄̆͐̔ ̷̡̘͚̩̠̤͈̯͚̅͌̈́̔͒̒͒̐̋͐͊̓̀̕͘̕͝l̵̛̖̫͒̉͐̾̈̈́̔̊͊̋͠o̷̪̖͈̤̎̃̊́́̽́́̄̎͒̈́̉̅̎̑̕n̶̡̢̧̹͕̫͈͈̬̹̤͔̹̫̤͋̑͐̔̔͜g̶̝̜̪̜̦͍̖̦̲͍̘͉͑͌͑̎͗̇̇̾̅̂̇̇̅͝͠͝.̵̨̠̭͎̬̘͙͇̞̦̄.̴̛̛̭̾͑̅̌̒͆́̈́̏͑̾͂́.̶̢̡͈̥̠̤͕͎̣̍́͋̅̕.̷̧̜̜̣͔̲̩́͛̀"
Saying this, he finally couldn't hold back his tears, his face crumpling as he gripped the other party's hands even tighter.
The hummer didn't mind the tight grip at all. He simply let the big guy emotional vent, offering a soothing, relaxed smile.
"There, there, big guy. Don't cry, or I'm going to have to start calling you a crybaby," he joked at the end, successfully managing to make the weeping giant let out a sudden laugh amidst his tears.
While the two were talking to each other without a single care in the world, the captives around them finally got over their initial shock and began to discuss the scene animatedly.
"What kind of tongue is that?" one asked in genuine wonder.
"I don't know either. I've never heard anything so weird in my entire life."
"Yeah, me neither. But the other guy seems to understand him perfectly."
The conversation drifted for a brief moment before the youth who had originally interrogated them couldn't take it anymore.
Pointing his finger at the duo once more, he snapped, "Don't try to change the subject! So what if he can't understand us? Humph, fine then—you tell me why you two look like you just had an after-meal stroll rather than a literal fight to the death, huh?!"
His aggressive words succeeded in stirring up the rest of the crowd.
The other survivors began to look at the two uninjured men with increasing suspicion and mounting hostility.
The young hummer looked a bit confused by the sudden flare-up, but he responded politely nonetheless.
"Wasn't the objective of the test simply to survive until a certain moment? I did exactly that, without troubling a single person in the process. And I am sure this big guy here did the exact same thing."
Pausing, he looked directly at the youth making all the fuss, his dark eyes fixing squarely on him despite the bangs obscuring his face.
"So... what exactly have we done wrong?"
"..."
Rendered completely speechless by the blunt question, and feeling strangely uneasy under the young man's calm gaze, the accuser faltered, no longer knowing what to say.
In truth, the root of the problem wasn't merely that those two were fine; after all, a few select individuals among the main groups had also escaped without severe injuries.
It was rooted in an old truth: people don't fear scarcity; they fear inequality.
Some people could easily find a sense of balance when everyone around them was suffering the same misery, but they simply couldn't handle it when their neighbors seemed to be doing significantly better.
Even if the subject of their resentment had never lifted a finger to bother them.
Before the accuser could compose himself, the giant had already wiped his tears.
Feeling the hostile looks directed at himself and his new companion, his expression instantly turned icy once more.
Stepping forward, effectively shielding the hummer behind his massive frame, he crossed his brawny arms and stared down at the crowd.
He exuded an almost tangible, crushing pressure that made several captives physically flinch when his gaze locked onto them.
He didn't say a single word, but his stance made it loud and clear: I dare you to try anything funny.
No one looking at him now could associate the image of the weeping man from moments ago with the stalwart, terrifying defender standing before them.
Even before the test, aside from his immense height, nobody had expected him to become so utterly imposing.
The youth who had initiated the confrontation deeply regretted his rashness now; he desperately wanted to back off, but he was too afraid of losing face in front of everyone.
Taking this chance, the scholar stepped in with a placating smile. Placing a conciliatory hand on the rash youth's shoulder, he said in a soothing tone,
"Now, now, friends. We are all still a bit... agitated. How about we stop right there? I am sure our friend here didn't mean any ill by his words."
The giant looked askance behind his shoulder, where the hummer gave a light shake of his head.
Leave it be.
Understanding the cue, the giant slowly lowered his arms and backed off.
Now possessing a valid excuse to retreat, the aggressive youth stopped trying to provoke trouble.
He gave a grateful nod to the scholar, whose smile grew noticeably wider as he waved his hand dismissively, as if to say it was nothing.
Good. Now, as for those two...
The scholar's eyes shifted back to the duo, clearing his throat to speak.
"I am truly sorry about that, my friends. How about—"
Tap. Tap. Tap.
He was abruptly cut off by the light, rhythmic sound of footsteps echoing across the stone floor, heading directly their way.
At once, every single captive snapped to alert, their eyes instantly zeroing in on the source of the noise.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Unknown to them as to how or when he had descended from the stands, one of the mysterious cloaked figures was walking toward them with casual, measured steps.
Faces immediately paled as pure terror reclaimed its hold over the crowd. Many began to sweat nervously, clenching their fists in sheer desperation.
The scholar tried and miserably failed to appear composed, his knees trembling slightly, while the young woman did her absolute best to suppress the violent shaking of her body.
The red-haired giant instinctively shielded the hummer again, his entire brawny frame tensing up, while his carefree companion finally ceased his humming, his expression turning entirely serious.
No one here had forgotten.
They hadn't forgotten exactly to whom they owed the nightmare of being thrown into this pit.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
They hadn't forgotten who had forced them to pass through this bloody ordeal, laughing and mocking their struggles from above.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
And they hadn't forgotten who held absolute, uncontested power over their life and death...
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Finally, stopping a short distance away from the huddled group, the cloaked figure came to a halt. He began to scrutinize the survivors one by one through the narrow slits of his mask, pausing momentarily on a few specific individuals.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, a long, weary sigh resounded from behind the mask.
"What a complete mess."