Colosseum of Nightmare (3)

"Fourth contestant, step forward."

Three individuals had walked forward by now and all three of them had been brutally butchered. Now, it was one of the two muscular youths. Unlike the dark-haired one standing to Reed's right, the one pushed forward looked more prominent in his presence. Long brown hair tied into a sleek pony while he wore jet black jogging outfit. A pair of sunglasses swept up over his hairline but right now, the guy who would be the center of attraction in any other location had a worried expression.

Unlike the last two youths, the one who bragged of his family's position and the one who inadvertently bragged about his status as an orphan— given the situation, he stayed silent and stood with clenched fists. No weapons could be seen over him.

*Thump*

*Thump*

Soft thumps echoed before everyone except for the blue-haired youth next to Reed paled.

Now, their thoughts were really changed.

After all, who, or what, walked out was neither a demon, a parent, or a pet. It was a little child. He wore a blue cap and had a light-blue uniform over him. His eyes swelling as he sobbed and continuously wiped his nose with a dirtied handkerchief.

"N-no... hey, Oi! Please, Junior, stay right there!" The bulky youth shouted and the small child hurriedly wiped his eyes and blinked. His nostrils scrunched and his brows folded in confusion.

"Bro? W-where am I?" The young boy's expression soon turned for the better as he began jogging towards the bulky youth with the small legs of a toddler.

"Junior! Listen to me! Stay. There." The youth growled before raising his hand, "Or I'll smack you!"

"Ah!" the toddler hurriedly stopped in his tracks.

"B-Bro, I'm scared..." the toddler's eyes grew watery once again while the youth himself had a twisted expression. His forehead was soaked in sweat as the youth slowly spoke up.

"Hey... do you remember my birthday party this year?" The youth opened up while every other contestant frowned. If this method was possible then...

There really is hope!

"Birthday party?" the toddler grew confused before shouting, "Bro, I don't know what's happening! I'm scared... please! Don't smack me... I'm going to come over!" He began walking while taking peeks at the opposite entrance. Soft, guttural growls escaped from the entrance as the toddler's expression grew fearful and his legs swifter.

"I will really hit you!" the youth clenched his jaws while his arm seemed to have swelled slightly. Veins bulge across his arm from his biceps to the back of his slowly clenching fist.

'He couldn't...' Reed felt that he knew what was going to happen and he didn't like the direction of it. His glance fell over the golden screen. Maybe it was a coincidence but the words— Only one will survive— seemed to be etched on it once again. Meanwhile, Reed found himself being stared at. A tangible feeling, this time. As if something absolutely chaotic was stripping him with its eyes.

*Crunch*

It happened in an instant.

With a pale face, Reed hurriedly tried to look away but once again, his neck was positioned and his eyelids were forced to open by a mysterious power.

In the middle of the arena, the bulky youth had his fist smashed into the boy's skull.

Splashes of blood smeared the youth's face as he looked at his own fist in a daze.

"N-no... you aren't j-junior!" the youth hurriedly retreated, his legs entangling with themselves in a fluster and making him fall on his butt. His lips trembled as he continued to slowly tumbling corpse of the little boy. His head caved in and his face completely disproportionate. Grey matter leaked from the corpse's ears alongside his blood as the youth shouted at the golden screen.

"Hey! Enough man! Turn him back into the monster he is!" the youth demanded while referring to the green-scaled lizard monsters that have already killed three of the participants.

"Congratulations. You survive. Takes a big man with a physical gift to kill his own younger sibling."

The words flashed on the golden screen as the youth's eyes widened.

"Liar! He isn't my brother! He would have answered what I was asking about!"

"You're right. A little boy who is kidnapped and placed into deathmatch would be calm enough to understand your own moral and mental dilemmas. Congratulations. You win this argument. I hope you survive your current birthday."

Invisible energy pushed the youth from the ground and back to his position.

"No! NO! Brother! He isn't... no! NO!" The youth glared and roared while waving his fists however, his mouth was soon shut and his body straightened as he continued to glare towards the screen and then the corpse but as a demon was released from the other end... everyone felt that something strange was going on.

'Usually, the dead bodies disappear... no, only the contestant's enhancements disappear into light,' Reed gulped.

The moment the reptilian monster reached the boy's body, it opened its large mouth wide while the body of the bulky youth trembled tremendously.

'No... no... please... no...' he prayed with widened eyes but as the monster bit on the boy's deformed head, easily swallowing the skull in a single gulp, the fourth, surviving contestant fell into despair.

'Oh, God... what have I done...' the youth's gaze dimmed down with not a single flicker of anger being able to reform once again.

"Fifth Contestant, step forward."

Like a reaper, the flashes of words on the golden screen made everyone's heart cold.

---

The fifth contestant wore a black suit and slightly cheap shoes. Reed would know since he owned the same pair.

The fifth contestant, like his predecessor, did not have any weapons in his hands. He didn't look physically well-off either but Reed didn't know how much of a boost the physical enhancement could provide. He was sure that the fourth one took the physical boost and even if it helped him survive, Reed couldn't possibly imagine the trauma he would be suffering at the moment.

He stood silently.

Once again, from the dark entrance, a figure slowly emerged. She was a young girl. Unlike the brunette youth, the girl had long silky dark hair. Even her skin was extremely pale and smooth. She wore a blue sundress and her glittering dark eyes gazed at the youth.

"It's good to see you again, brother," the girl's voice was soft and extremely pleasing.

But the fifth contestant blinked before speaking loudly.

"Everyone, listen to me. I chose to enhance my mind, which turned out to be a bad bet. But not for you guys. I'm certain I will die," he looked back and gazed at everyone while the young girl moved slowly and calmly.

"I still don't know the motive of this game," the youth began while slowly retreating, matching the girl's pace.

"And yes, there is a possibility that your relatives might be real. Like the boy last time. But you have to be the first to strike if you want to survive. If I'm not wrong, should any of your opponents actually turn into monsters, you will die. The first and the third faced them. No weapons or strength would probably work."

"Brother, if that is the case, kill me," the girl giggled but everyone's expression was strange.

"I can't. And I won't. Not again."

The youth replied coldly before rushing away. The Arena was quite big so there was plenty of space to move in.

"There are certain rules in this space that the golden screen... no, its name is Miracle. I think that Miracle is a totem beast but if it is controlled by a warlock or not isn't a certainty. It is not certain that we all will live either. The first rule is that Miracle always keeps his words. Until now, no evidence suggests otherwise.

The second rule is that the boosts provided to us are permanent. I inquired Miracle in my own time. But whether these enhancements can help us in the tests is not know and given my situation, I'd say that it's random.

That's it. That's all I know.

One last thing, the person or animal walking out of that door may or may not be alive. It is true, I killed my sister due to circumstances but... it is highly likely that Miracle can access our memories and chooses targets that would induce the greatest guilt in us by making us kill them."

The youth hurriedly rushed away, trying to explain everything he had concluded but before he could complete, his body was torn into two halves as the girl mysteriously appeared behind him.

The girl stood there silently. Her strength had shocked everyone. Both her hands and her dress were drenched with blood as she raised her head and glanced at the golden screen.

"Well done. You won. Take care and live a long life this time."

The words on the screen changed and the girl nodded. A soft beam of light erupted from the screen. It was like a holy grace that slowly covered the girl. Her face and bloodied body were cleaned. Color returned to her face as she basked in the golden glow.

She spared no glance towards the corpse of her brother or the other contestants before disappearing slowly.

And just like that, the being named Miracle seemed more mysterious than ever.