The Arena (Part 4)

The hero and the debtor entered the arena…

"...?"

…and it was easy to see that there was something wrong with the debtor…

Many of the audience members knew the carpenter, so seeing him all pale and twitchy, looking around with bloodshot eyes full of anxiety while hugging his sides with his arms crossed, made a few of them change their bets.

"..."

The hero furrowed his brows in confusion as the carpenter wasn't a stranger to him either.

He was going to get easy on him in the first place as to his knowledge, the debt incurred wasn't all that big of a sum.

"Bets are now officially closed!"

It was clear that the croupier sensed something was wrong too, and he actually gave the audience a bit more time to change their minds before calling out and raising his arm.

"READY!?"

He called out while the audience went silent in anticipation.

"BEGIN!"

"GHAAAAJHIIII!"

"?!?!"

The announcer declared, waving his hand down, and the debtor began the fight by screeching like a madman and charging the utterly baffled hero.

"...guh…!"

Baffled, but not unprepared - the hero dodged out of the way of the lunatic and threw a quick jab that connected with the debtor's jaw and caused his eyes to spin while he stopped in place and swayed.

"Screw this. I'm putting you to sleep, Henry."

The hero John scoffed, sidestepping the swaying opponent and rushing in with his fists raised…

"Ghahaha~!"

"?!"

But it seemed that the carpenter was waiting just for that and when the hero went for a clean knock-out punch, the debtor dived under his arm and hugged him while laughing maniacally.

"BACK O…!"

*stab*

The hero growled and tried to push off the debtor, but unknown to him, something flashed in the debtor's hand, and the next moment that something pierced the hero's side to the gasps of the audience.

"FUCK…! What the…?!"

"Ghahahahaha~!"

The hero growled through his teeth while the giggling lunatic was stabbing something into his side time and time again without rest.

"FUCK OFF!"

"Gha-OUGH…!"

The hero howled, gritting his teeth and headbutting the maniac clinging to him, causing the crazed debtor to cry out and stumble back with blood spraying out of a burst eyebrow.

Judging by the fact that John's forehead was intact, it seemed that the Iron Head nickname was rather accurate.

"You… YOU FUCKING BASTARD!"

The hero took a few steps back, pressing one hand to his side, squirting blood like a faucet, and roared, glaring at the maniac wielding a thin, bloodied chisel he must have kept hidden in his sleeve.

"Nnn…? Gh… ghahaha~!"

"You're fucking dead."

The debtor shook his head, touching his forehead and staring and his bloodied head before bursting into laughter, causing the hero's behavior to completely change.

"...haha-GUAGH…!?"

The next moment, the hero charged the debtor, pinned him to the ground, and began wildly punching down, soon turning the carpenter's face into a bloody mess.

"...fghahaha…"

"!!!"

When his opponent continued to laugh despite the injuries, something seemed to snap in the hero - face twisted with fury, he grabbed the chisel dropped by the carpenter and…

*SQUELCH*

"!!!"

Stab it right in the middle of the debtor's forehead, causing a commotion in the audience.

"The battle is over! Now to make it clear…"

"Screw that! Give me a healing pellet!"

The announcer entered the arena but got interrupted by the furious hero.

"...go back to the waiting room, they will take care of you there…"

"..."

The announcer's face turned grim, and he spat through his teeth at the hero, who stood up, clenching his bleeding side, and stumbled out of the arena.

"Dead!"

The announcer checked the debtor's nonexistent vitals and declared what was already obvious - this time everyone in the audience let out an annoyed voice as the outcome was not something the seasoned gamblers accounted for.

It seemed that only those who didn't bet won this time.

"For the next fight…!"

As the cleaning team entered the arena, the next match and its odds were announced.

"..."

A couple of fights later, the gentleman with a cane was shifting restlessly in his seat. The only other bet he won was for John the Iron Head to win, non-lethal in the fight following the drastic encounter with the crazed-up carpenter, but the odds of that made him only one and one-fifths… which coupled with his initial win, even though doubled, still resulted in him losing more than he gained and it certainly was taking a toll on him.

Especially after he bet on Leon, certain that it will be another fight to the death, and the hero spared a thief after playing with him for a few minutes, making it entertaining but not lethal.

It was clear that his talk about entertainment and enjoying himself was just that, an empty talk.

"As for the next fight, the hero, Leon, will fight a debtor, Lucas! The odds are, one and three-fifths for Leon and triple for Lucas!"

"SEVEN SMALL GOLDS AND EIGHT BIG SILVERS ON THE HERO! TO THE DEATH!"

"!!!"

As the odds were announced, the clearly desperate man with the cane stood up from his seat and cried out, gathering the attention of everyone present.