A New Low

Larian awoke from a cage. His vitality felt drained and he was alone.

"...Star?"

No voice came back.

Laying in the metal cage Larian tried to recall his last memories.

Of how he continued fighting against the impossible odds.

'I'm still alive after that huh?'

If he had fought until he died but remained alive, there was only one answer.

"Adam, are you there?"

Larian spoke silently.

From within the voice replied.

"What a mess to come back to. What are you thinking? Dying off like that, you might as well have taken my offer back then."

Larian laid sheepishly. 

"I was looking for an answer."

"That even if I lack talent and experience. All that is left of me, is just my persevering hatred. I will never rest until Shinon is dead."

There was a pause as Adam didn't expect such an answer from Larian. He was sure Larian would continue trying to break the rock with an egg when he clearly didn't have the means to do it.

He expected Larian to give up and hand over everything to him.

"Admirable, but you still lost."

Staring at his empty hands, Larian thought awhile before he answered.

"Yea…I know I lost again. But I gained something."

Remembering his final strike, Larian grasped his hands. 

'Shinki Style.'

Larian imagined the Sword Style in his head. Of Shiro, his master who had once taught him and demonstrated the sword art on the wooden hut in the forest.

But now, her attacks were fierce. Her graceful movements are now swift and direct. Every action would be a mask that hides the true killing move. 

It was unlike anything Shiro ever stood for, her grace and elegance she always emphasized to Larian was nonexistent now. She was the only one Larian acknowledged and it was who he would learn from. Imagining the sword style, he combined everything he had seen into the form of Shiro.

1… Shiro blurred for a moment and a flash of light burst forward, cutting forward before he could react.

2…  As the blade reached its target, it spun and twisted like a mythical serpent and slipped through every shield and defence, right into the heart of the enemy.

3… Then with a sweep, the entire battlefield turned into bright snow petals, each petal felt razor sharp.

4…  In this mess a bright light illuminated her blade. Slashing outward, the blade flew far and wide. Covering miles in an instant the blade disappeared into the horizon

5… Shiro cut the world in half and she split into two. The image wobbled and took form, turning into a doppelganger.

6… With both her blades at the ready she swiped around herself. The attack carried with it the air that controlled the petals .

Slowly the illusions turn real and the petal's flew like a hurricane, cutting down everything around Shiro.

7… Within this congregated beauty of flowers, Shiro held her blade forward and still, a swift shift in her body weight and the blade turned as heavy as a mountain.

As she smashed down, the blade struck true with the might of the earth that mimicked the Elder he from Shinon Castle

An eight hit combo which gradually picks up in strength and energy.

In this torrent of blades, she shifted her form blood red energy enveloped her.

Shifting her legs to the side, the world turned with it. The red energy controlled the entire space and swung down with her blade with the weight of a falling meteor. It was explosive and sudden as it fell.

When it hit, the blade is unpredictable and twists around any defenses to find the weakest area to unleash this devastating energy.

The energy exploded like a bomb and the dust formed a cloud with Shiro at it's center.

It was devastating and elegant at the same time.

The forms encompassed everything Larian had experienced in this life. The stealthy element as its base, the fierce tempo it brings and the explosive hit as its finale.

This was the complete Shinki Style which Larian never had the chance to learn. 

'Interesting.'

Adam replied with one word and retreated into the dark space within Larian's foundation.

Sitting up straight Larian focused and replayed the technique in his head.

He sat for a long while.

Eventually, he heard the clanking of metal and a haggard voice spoke out.

"I can move by myself. Get off me!"

The sound of a cage door slamming could be heard.

"Fuck! How unlucky to face the devil right after that insane lad tore some of my armor. Mad Doe, I hate to admit it but you were right all along. This newcomer was insane for coming here by his own volition."

But there was no reply from the darkness.

"Huh? Where'd he go?"

He only heard a grunt from the person next to him. Larian imagined him as the armored spearman who accompanied the man with the haggard voice, the swordsman who he had last fought

"Still in the arena? Well fuck… no one else here talks properly."

Larian who was meditating decided to speak up.

"I'm still here."

There was a sudden jump in the adjacent cage and the man in it stood up in surprise as he recognized the voice.

"What! How are you still alive?"

The haggard knight was confused. As an experienced swordmans he was sure there was no medicine in the world that would save a person from such grievous wounds, especially ones that he inflicted to Larian.

It should have been a death blow.

'Conversing with the person who killed me in the arena. What an irony.'

Larian knew it was meaningless to dwell on his loss. He couldn't get mad at the knight even if he wanted to. They were all forced to fight out of their own volition.

"Maybe I have an unnatural vitality? Who knows."

The knight scratched his chin with his gauntlets.

"No wonder you were crazy enough to keep fighting. I thought you really decided to die that moment."

Larian sighed, would have loved to share his past, but it involved sensitive subjects that might put his future plans in jeopardy. It was better to steer the conversation elsewhere.

"You mentioned a devil? I saw him when I entered, who is he?"

"Ahh the oldest contestant. That devil is a demon said to have been the very reason this coliseum existed in the first place. Legends has it that he was originally under servitude to Lilith herself, but he eventually betrayed her and paid the price for it."

"Now he is forced to fight and bleed eternally to pay for his transgression."

"He is so strong to the point where they have to cage him up to suppress his power. And even then most would lose to him every fight."

'That explains the metal bindings I saw on him.'

"He is one of the possible fifth contestants everyone has to beat to be qualified to be part of the competition every month."

"The devil is said to possess unnatrual vitality… just like you! I've heard of a case where he was beaten unconscious three times in a day. There have been many attempts to kill that monster but everyone has failed."

Unknowingly the knight started to continue his talk about the past of the devil and his past experiences with the monster.

Larian who had nothing else to do sat and listened to the knight's tales.

It seems that besides advancing in the fights he must have craving to talk to someone else. Perhaps that was a part of the reason he had wanted Larian to give up peacefully.

A haggard knight that turns into a chatterbox was a nice company in this solemn dungeon where there was nothing to do but wait.

Larian learned a lot from listening to the knight. He talked about his time before being captured.

The knight's name was Migel and was a commander part of the human army that maintained the defensive line against the demons of the Ashlands.

Surprisingly Migel was a criminal before enlisted. He was a bandit that had been captured and sent to be part of a suicide squad that fought against the demons.

But under the command of an amazing captain, they survived and were cleansed of their infamy of being a band made entirely of criminals.

Under their capable captain, they constantly fought demons until Migel eventually got promoted by the officials due to his contributions.

It sounded like a tale of redemption if not for the fact that their entire squad got defeated and sent here.

Here the team of 14 survivors eventually dwindled until the current 3. The third was surprisingly Mad Doe, the madman who kept laughing about Larian.

The time in slavery had taken a toll on his faith and hope. He lost trust in the system and was pessimistic in their situation. It might have been a reason he was not with the rest of the group of survivors.

Funnily enough, Mad Doe had been right about his first impression of Larian. 

But from the group, only the captain and his right-hand man managed to escape.

So there are only 5 survivors remaining. Nearly two thirds of the crew had perished in this cursed place.

Maybe Mad Doe's pessimism is not entirely unfounded.

Larian took a break from listening to Migel and spent the rest of his time completing his visualization of the completed sword art in his head.