Chapter 22: Black Market (2)

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"Phew. I've finally gotten a win. I thought that I might not get one at all today." Caellum commented lightly as he crossed out a name and scribbled notes beside another, the adjacent one.

It was the second-to-last match in the fighting pit, the longest fight so far, and one of the few that had ended in a death.

On one side of the pit below him, a large, burly man covered in wounds and lying with his head tilted at an unnatural angle was being dragged away, leaving a bloody trail on the white sand. 

On the other side, a cord-thin man covered in even worse injuries, including both hands dangling limply and a savage cut from his chin down to his torso, received cheers and boos from the spectators as he was rushed into the tunnel.

"Yes, well, upsets such as this happen from time to time. That's why we're running the tourney as fairly as possible, to give the fighters and betters a fair chance. Although…" Red paused as he stared down at the pit before clicking his tongue in annoyance and continuing, "By all metrics, Dugger should have beaten Elias. He has more training, more experience, and he's stronger and faster."

Since a person who should have won lost, the house lost some money.

"Well, in a fight, strength, training, and experience are one thing, but when people enter a life-and-death situation, you never know what kind of fire will be ignited in a person," Caellum responded contemplatively.

'And that's why Dugger lost. He got too cocky and confident while Elias struggled until the end.'

'Nobody should ever be counted out of a fight until the body stops moving and the limbs are chopped off.'

'And even then, since this was a world with magic, the remains should be cremated just in case.'

"Exactly! The greatest joy of life is seeing whether that flame burns brightly like a volcanic eruption visible across the world or like a pathetic candle that will be snuffed out in the harsh wind. Watching people succeed in keeping their flame alive amid turmoil, despair, and destruction or burn down into ashes is truly what makes life worth living! I knew I had found a kindred spirit in you!"

As Red gave him a crazed smile while grasping both his hands and shaking them enthusiastically, Caellum's smile immediately froze.

'…..eh?'

'I think we're talking about two different things right now?'

'Why are we talking about volcanic eruptions visible across nations and people struggling through despair while burning down to ashes?'

'Actually, what do you mean by that, and why do you suddenly sound like a crazed maniac?'

Alarm bells suddenly began ringing in Caellum's head as he stared at the man in front of him.

"You agree with me, right, Morte?"

"Sure."

'Let's agree with the crazy person and let's not ask too many questions. Let's focus on this fight.'

'Yes, let's watch the fight in peace and serenity. Collect our money. And investigate later if we need to.'

Gently patting Red's hand and disentangling himself from it, Caellum watched as the fighting pit workers ran in, raking the ground until it was smooth and wheeling the collected bloody sand out quickly in preparation for the final match of the night and the end of Round 1 of the tourney.

And as other spectators ran to go place their bets or to get drinks and snacks, Caellum glanced down at his sheet, reading the names quickly.

Reigning Champion Kanaan the Ignorant Barbarian vs Hollow.

"Ignorant Barbarian? That's quite rude, isn't it?"

"Not at all. He comes from one of the barbarian tribes in the Southern continent, and I assure you, the title is quite apt, as they're basically savages over there. He's the winner of the last four tournaments, Kanaan the Barbarian, and the heavy favorite. You mentioned looking for strong warriors to act as servants, and while he's not for sale, there are quite a few from his bloodline who are strong warriors as well. He'll give you a proper demonstration of his skills tonight and show you why he's the heavy favorite to win," Red explained proudly.

Kanaan was the pride and joy of the fighting pit. A stupid savage whose only strength was fighting and breeding, and who could be mollified by good food, alcohol, and an unlimited amount of women.

Just as Red was going to continue driving up the price of Kanaan's offspring-

Thud!

Thud!

Thud!

Thud!

The sand in the pit seemed to vibrate repeatedly, as if something huge were running across it.

Then suddenly-

GRAAAAHHHHH!

Charging out of the tunnel below, Caellum saw a man who deserved to be called a giant.

He was to put it quite simply, humongous. 

With a height of at least 230 cm, broad shoulders, a full chest, and thick, meaty, muscular arms and legs on full display, as he wore only a shaggy fur loincloth. Combined with his long, unruly brown hair, a full beard, and a giant wooden club that might as well be a tree, Caellum had to admit that he absolutely looked like what he would consider a stereotypical barbarian.

Standing in the center of the pit, Kanaan dropped his club to the ground, sending up a cloud of dust while he began pounding on his chest and roaring like a savage animal.

And as the crowd screamed in excitement and began chanting Kanaan's name, Caellum wondered which poor smuck had the unfortunate luck of fighting him tonight and getting used as a demonstration of Kanaan's prowess.

His eyes drifted over to the other, watching to see who would come out of the tunnel.

And seconds later, out walked the person who was supposed to take on Kanaan the Barbarian.

The person going by the name of Hollow.

When he came out of the tunnel, walking slowly and unsteadily, Caellum saw that it was a young man.

Standing around 180 cm with a thin build and dressed in dirty rags with no shoes, he had dirt-covered caramel skin and long, shaggy, black-blue hair that hid his facial features.

Unlike the previous fighters who had a variety of weapons from sharp swords to whips, pickaxes, and now a giant club, Hollow held a small wooden sword which looked like a toothpick in his hands, and paled in comparison to the tree-like club that was being easily swung around by the roaring Kanaan, who ignored Hollow and continued showboating.

Staring at the huge disparity between the two fighters,  Caellum turned to Red incredulously.

"Did you say the fights were organized as fairly as possible?"

'How in the world was this fair?'

'It looked like a child fighting an adult, and they hadn't even bothered to give him a real weapon?'

"Just like a flame, Lady Luck is a fickle mistress, as fair as she is cruel. Hollow seems to have run into her cruelty today, and unfortunately, your luck has run out as well." Red replied with an enigmatic smile.

"Is that so? Well, like I said, you never know what might happen. In the face of life and death, anything can happen." Caellum replied ambiguously, even though in his mind, this fight was definitely over and his money was gone.

While Caellum wasn't one to judge by appearance and completely rule anyone out, right now, it seemed there was a disparity in height, size, and equipment that would be tough to overcome.

Especially because Hollow seemed to be confused as he stood there with his head facing the ground, even while Kanaan prepared to fight.

'Well, it seemed like this would be another loss, so after this, it would be best to head back to the castle since there was nothing more to accomplish today.'

All things considered, Caellum still rated his night a success.

He had recouped a bit of his losses with one win; he had met someone who, although he was definitely crazy, was also one of the organizers of the black market and had an interesting exchange while sending out feelers for different things he wanted, and he had spotted a few talented fighters that he was considering recruiting.

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

As the horn signaling the fight rang out, Caellum focused his attention back on the pit, watching as Kanaan the Barbarian roared before charging at Hollow, who stood still without moving while swinging his club laterally.

THWACK!

The club smashed against Hollow's sword arm, launching him sideways, and the much smaller man rolled and tumbled in the sand.

ROOOOOOOAAAAAARRRRR!

As the crowd roared in excitement, before Hollow had even come to a complete stop, Kanaan charged towards him, his foot lifted high before he viciously stomped down on Hollow's torso, forcing him to scream and curl up in pain.

Without even a smidgen of hesitation, Kanaan shoved his gigantic feet underneath Hollow, kicked him into the air, and with a speed that belied his size, swung his club, squarely hitting Hollow as if he were a ball.

Boooom!

Hollow flew through the air and slammed into the wall right below Caellum before falling to the ground and lying still.

The spectators were silent for a moment before they began roaring and chanting Kanaan's name.

Kanaan himself cockily leaned on his club while gesturing for the crowd to get louder.

He seemed to think the battle was over, and judging by how Hollow didn't move, it might as well be.

From the force of those hits, if Hollow's bones weren't all broken, at the very least his neck was.

"Apologies, Morte, it seems you've lost this round as well. A shame he didn't last longer. You didn't get to see the full extent of Kanaan. How unfortunate."

"I guess so."

As Caellum looked over the railing, wanting to verify that Hollow was truly dead, instead of a still, heavily injured body, he met hazel eyes that glared up at him while the owner's lips moved.

"Ah? You lived through that? How surprising~." Caellum muttered in surprise, and it almost seemed as if Hollow heard him because his glare looked even more resentful.

"Adesso basta, figlio di puttana!" (That's it, you motherfucker!)

As Hollow yelled before leaping to his feet and waving his wooden sword that somehow survived the barrage of violence, Caellum's eyes widened in shock.

'Hmm?'

'What the hell did he say?'

'Although the accent was a bit old-fashioned, did he just hear someone curse in Italian, or was he simply hearing things?'

'Was this a person like him, forcibly dragged into this world? Or was he like the 12th prince?'Was there someone like this in the original story? The name Hollow didn't sound familiar at all. Was it a pseudonym or was something else going on?'