"He's not suicidal, he's just incredibly, incredibly cheap!" Shion yelled from the wall, burying her face in her hands. "He'd rather die of heavy metal poisoning than spend fifty virtual coins!"
"Silence, demon!" Ayase called out, slicing a crab in half. "Kurosawa-dono is testing the limits of his physical vessel against the toxins! It is a legendary ascetic practice!"
Isabella looked at Ayase like she was insane, then looked back at Yuto.
The water was rising faster now, reaching their waists. The roaring crowd above threw down scraps of rusted metal and garbage, laughing at the struggling gladiators.
"Listen to me, surface-rat," Isabella snarled, grabbing Yuto by the collar of his wet shirt and pulling him close. Her fiery red eyes locked onto his, and the scent of the sea and copper filled his nose. "I don't care what weird cult you and your friends belong to. If you die here, your body becomes dead weight, and I am not dragging a corpse through this arena!"
[System Prompt: Aggressive Dominance Detected! Opponent: Isabella. Claim 15% Water-Affinity Bonus to relieve tension?]
Yuto's breath hitched. The poison burning in his veins, combined with the intense, aggressive proximity of the beautiful gladiator, sent a massive spike of pressure straight to his Vault. The red glow of his Stigma pulsed violently, illuminating the dark water between them.
Don't click it. Let it burn. The pain is just weakness leaving the bank account, Yuto chanted in his mind, his teeth grinding together.
"Let go of me," Yuto forced out, his voice a raspy, strained whisper. "I don't need your healing. I don't need your tokens. Just fight."
He roughly pushed her away, turning his back on her as he waded deeper into the toxic water.
Isabella stumbled back, clutching her chest. For a second, when she held his collar, she hadn't just felt his physical heat. She had felt the crushing, astronomical weight of the Vault inside him. It felt like standing on the edge of a black hole.
What is he holding onto? Isabella thought, a shiver running down her spine that had nothing to do with the cold water. That isn't just a stored token... that feels like a catastrophe waiting to happen.
Before she could process it, the iron grates at the far end of the Colosseum groaned and snapped open.
The crowd in the stands erupted into deafening cheers.
"Wave 2!" the announcer's magically amplified voice boomed across the arena. "Let's see how our fresh meat handles the executioners of the deep! Release the Siren-Serpents!"
Three massive, eel-like leviathans slithered out of the dark tunnels. They were sixty feet long, covered in razor-sharp scales, and their jaws dripped with neurotoxin. They let out a piercing, hypnotic screech that caused the water to ripple and violently churn.
Isabella's face went pale. "Three of them? Usually they only release one for Wave 10! Cassius is trying to execute us early!"
She gripped her twin blades, preparing for a desperate, likely fatal struggle.
But Yuto stepped in front of her. His veins were glowing green from the hoarded poison, and his right arm was radiating a terrifying, pressurized red light. He looked back at Isabella, his eyes bloodshot but eerily calm.
"Hey, fish-stick," Yuto rasped, mimicking Kurenai's nickname for her. "If I kill all three of those... do I get to keep all their tokens?"
Isabella just stared at him, utterly dumbfounded. "Yes?! But you're poisoned! You can barely stand!"
Yuto cracked his knuckles, a maniacal grin spreading across his face as the Vault pressure ticked up to 10%.
"Perfect," Yuto said. "I love a good return on investment."