At last, there were the Titans.
Rash didn't know much about them and had spoken only briefly on the topic. But I couldn't blame him. From what little I had heard, very few people knew anything about Titans beyond the simple fact that they existed.
Titans could be described in a single sentence.
The strongest.
In essence, they are simply Beasts that have surpassed their own limits.
An Apex Beast—the strongest of its kind—can break through the boundaries of its species. When that happens, it becomes something entirely different.
A Titan.
They do not age like ordinary Beasts.
Their strength cannot be measured by the same rank system.
Only two distinctions exist for Titans.
Titans.
They are known.
Creatures, people have seen.
Creatures, people have even fought against.
And then—
Ancient Titans.
Beings straight out of fairy tales.
Nothing is known about them.
Not where they live.
Not what they look like.
Not how strong they are.
Not how old they are.
They are unknown behemoths.
That was everything Rash knew about Titans. Every question I asked was met with the same answer.
"I don't know."
And with that, Rash's lesson ended.
The information would not help me much in the arena, but at least I now understand what kind of world I live in.
***
The remaining time before our next fight passed just like before.
Training and duels.
My thoughts were occupied by the strange feeling that had begun to appear during our fights—the way my sword moved when I stopped thinking about it.
When my body moved first.
And when the sword followed that movement.
It didn't take long before the next beast fight arrived.
The fight wasn't difficult and felt much easier than the ones before.
Not because the beasts were weak.
But because we had changed.
Our group had found its rhythm.
We fought in pairs.
One drew aggro.
The other landed hits.
The beasts fell without struggle, accidents, or injuries.
Rash once again showed just how strong he was.
And strangely…
I found it reassuring to have him beside me.
Compared to the earlier fights where we had nearly died, this battle felt almost laughably easy.
All I could say was that our group of strangers had become a team.
***
Time passed.
I woke up.
I ate.
I walked to the arena.
I trained.
Rash appeared and asked for a duel.
I lost.
I bathed.
I slept.
Then it began again.
I woke up.
The days passed one after another.
Nothing seemed different.
Then—
One day, during our duel, something changed.
I held out much longer than usual. And for the first time, I landed a clean hit on Rash. It wasn't anything serious, but realizing that I had struck without thinking about my sword filled me with a strange satisfaction.
Rash stepped back and looked at me, arm hanging loosely at his side.
Then he grinned.
"Wanna go again?"
It was the first time he had asked for another duel on the same day.
I lifted my sword into position.
"Yes."
We dueled again.
I lost.
And another duel.
Another loss.
Again.
And again.
Steel cut through the air. My feet moved lightly across the sand as I dodged one strike after the other.
Clang.
Steel met steel.
The sound echoed through the arena.
It was just another duel.
But—
I was having fun.
For the first time since arriving in this world…
I had fun.
The feeling was strange.
I was still in the arena.
I was still shackled.
I was still a slave.
I was still fighting to survive.
And yet—
I was happy.
Even though…
I hadn't regained my freedom.
I hadn't gotten my revenge.
I hadn't found Lisa.
The feeling was surreal.
Everything else faded away.
And only my body moved.
Step.
Shing.
Dodge.
Swoosh.
Block.
Clang.
But—
Every moment ends.
Especially if it is a moment of joy.
Clang.
My sword was knocked aside.
Step.
Rash stepped forward in a smooth motion and pushed his sword forward.
Swoosh.
The tip stopped just centimeters from the collar around my throat.
Haah.
I let out a breath and lowered my sword.
Our eyes met.
For a brief moment, neither of us moved.
Then reality returned.
And our duel ended.
I felt almost sad.
But when I saw the wide smile on Rash's face, I realized something.
I wasn't the only one.
He had enjoyed it too.
Haah.
I let out another breath and dropped to the ground.
Thud.
My sword fell beside me as I leaned back on my arms, looking up at him while breathing heavily.
Haah.
The duel had been far more exhausting than I expected.
Rash's smile never faded.
He looked down at me for a moment before dropping to the ground beside me.
Thud.
Now we sat in almost the same position.
Leaning back, hands supporting us from behind.
Silence settled for a moment, only interrupted by our heavy breaths.
Rash broke the silence first.
"It was fun."
His voice was quiet, almost as if he were speaking to himself.
"Yeah," I said. "It was."
He smiled again at my words.
I didn't know what expression I wore, but I was probably smiling too.
We stayed like that for a while.
Then Rash spoke again.
"Aren't you curious?"
His question was strange.
I tilted my head, confused.
"Curious about what?"
A chuckle escaped him.
"About me."
Our eyes locked.
"Where I learned to fight. Why I look so different from the other teens. Who my teacher is. How I ended up here."
He took a breath.
"There are a lot of questions you could ask. But while everyone else asked at least one of them… you didn't."
Another quiet laugh escaped him.
"You just kept asking about beasts. The Path of Mana. Swordsmanship."
He leaned forward slightly.
"Almost like you want me to become curious about you instead."
Another chuckle broke out of him before he leaned back again.
"It wasn't important," I said finally.
That was the truth.
Yes, I was curious about him.
Yes, I wanted to ask him these questions as well.
But—
They weren't important.
What mattered were the things I had asked about.
Beasts.
The Path of Mana.
Swordmanship.
That was all.
Everything else wasn't important for now.
I still needed to survive.
To escape from this hell and find Lisa.
For that, I needed strength.
Not answers about him.
Rash burst into laughter.
"I see. It wasn't important."
He chuckled a few more times before calming down. Then he pushed himself up from the ground. When he looked at me again, his expression had turned serious.
"Then let me ask one question."
He paused.
"For how long have you been here?"
I froze.
That wasn't the question I had expected.
My lips parted.
Then closed again.
Answering wasn't difficult.
But it would mean telling someone something about myself.
The last person I had done that with—
Had died a few hours later.
Our next fight was scheduled soon...
Coupled with the memory, it made me hesitate.
I opened my mouth to speak.
But before I could—
"It's alright," Rash said. "You don't have to answer."
He smiled lightly.
"See you later."
And then he walked away.
***
Later that day, after resting in the cell, we were called again.
The fourth fight would begin.
It wasn't too difficult, but the beasts we fought were a lot stronger than the ones before, and our usual tactic of fighting in pairs began to fall apart.
There were simply too many of them.
Rash and I handled most of the beasts ourselves while the others worked together.
Like that, no one was overwhelmed by the beast as each team could help another.
The fight dragged on until everyone was exhausted.
Eventually, only three beasts remained.
I helped the girl and the short teen defeat theirs. Then they rushed to assist the two brothers.
Rash was fighting the last one.
But his battle took longer than usual.
Exhaustion clung heavily to him.
His movements slowed.
His swings became weaker.
And his dodges became desperate.
Blood flowed steadily from a deep wound in his right leg.
Rash stepped—and his injured leg gave way beneath him.
He stumbled and fell.
Thud.
The beast saw its chance.
Swoosh.
Its claws shot forward, aiming to rip him apart.