Chapter 92

Before long, a vast, imposing structure appeared before Suho. It was the colosseum, surrounded by high walls in grotesque shapes that might have been demons or skeletons.

“Get in.”

The overseer handed Suho over to the colosseum’s jailers and headed straight back to the labor camp.

CLANG!

As the heavy iron door closed, Suho raised his head to look at the new demons before him.

[Demon Jailer]

'Demon jailers, huh...'

The first thing Suho did upon seeing them was assess their strength. Their orange name tags indicated they were fairly strong, but they were not opponents he had no chance of beating.

The demon jailers taking custody of him were sizing him up, too. They looked him up and down and began talking among themselves.

“It’s been a while since we got a decent one.”

“A shame he’s so small, though.”

“That makes him even better. Don’t you know even gladiators need a gimmick these days?”

“True. That single horn is unusual, too. Good to have something distinctive.”

“Let’s call this one One-Horn from now on.”

Suho acquired a nickname on the spot, with no say in the matter.

[“Pfft. One-Horn...”]

He could hear Esil trying not to laugh.

[“Congratulations. You’ve got a name now. Demons with names are actually pretty rare.”]

CLANG!

“Stay put and behave.”

“Cause any trouble, and we’ll kill you on the spot, match or no match.”

The demon jailers shoved Suho into a solitary cell enclosed by dingy black iron bars.

The moment they were gone, Beru’s face popped out. He ground his teeth, his eyes murderous.

[“Kieek! How dare those insolent wretches! Young Monarch, just give the order, and I shall tear them limb from limb...!”]

[“Stop making a scene, you stupid ant.”]

[“What! How dare a lowly honeybee call me stupid!”]

[“I’m telling you to read the situation. Master must have a plan. And I’m not a honeybee...”]

Suho pressed down firmly with his foot, then twice more.

[“Glrrk...”]

After trampling Beru and Quay, who were bickering with only their faces poking out at his feet, he turned his attention beyond the cell.

The demons already imprisoned here were watching him with interest from the darkness.

“Hee-hee. A newcomer?”

“One damn ugly bastard. Only one horn?”

“How long will this one last?”

Sinister voices whispered about Suho.

Suho, meanwhile, was studying the dingy black bars confining him.

TING.

He flicked one with a finger and felt an odd resistance pushing back.

'Doesn’t seem to be ordinary iron.'

[“This cell is made of hell iron. It’s a tough metal steeped in demonic energy, mainly used to hold demon prisoners.”]

'Demonic energy?'

An odd smile appeared on Suho’s face at Esil’s explanation. Demonic energy was the energy of demons, wasn’t it?

'Then could this work, too?'

His eyes gleaming, Suho gripped a hell-iron bar. Then:

[The buff effect of ‘Title: Demon Slayer’ activates.]

CREAK.

The bar bent under the force of Suho’s hand. The Demon Slayer buff, which increased all his stats by 40% against demons, worked just as well on hell iron infused with demonic energy.

“What?!”

The demons watching from the other cells stared with wide eyes, aghast. They were thrown by the small, one-horned demon’s display of strength that defied all common sense.

“How can he bend hell iron so easily...!”

“Doesn’t that mean he can escape whenever he wants?!”

“H-hey! If you’re breaking out, open my cell, too!”

Suddenly, the demons watching Suho began shouting at the tops of their lungs.

But not everyone was simply astonished.

“Tsk, tsk. Pathetic fools. You think we stay locked up quietly because we can’t do that? Escape from here, and the jailers outside will only eat you.”

At the sound of someone clicking his tongue in a corner, the nearby demons glared that way and ground their teeth.

“What? Who are you calling pathetic?”

“You’re a half-dead old fart with nothing left but bluster!”

“Anyone can do that, you say? Then I’ll bend your neck like that!”

Now the prison erupted in a clamor of curses.

“You’d better pray you don’t face me in your next match!”

“One day, I’m going to chew up that all-talk old bastard.”

But the old demon who had clicked his tongue dismissed their abuse with a casual dig in his ear, then leisurely turned his back and lay down.

Suho gave him a curious look.

'... Was that advice for my sake?'

CREAK.

Suho bent the bar back into place. He had only been testing it out of curiosity, after all. He had no intention of escaping.

[“What? Were you always this strong? I don’t think you were this strong even when you fought that intermediate demon earlier...”]

Suho merely chuckled at Esil’s startled voice.

'That confirms the title’s effect.'

Perhaps that was why he showed no sign of tension despite having been brought alone into a den teeming with demons. If anything, he regretted meekly moving from the labor camp to the prison.

'Would killing all the demons at the labor camp have earned me much experience?'

But he would have to hold back for now. If he had caused a disturbance there, he would not have gotten here so easily. Besides, the slaves at the labor camp were pitiful even by lesser-demon standards. However hard he hunted them, they probably would not offer much experience for the effort.

'But this place is different.'

From the moment Suho set foot in the prison, his Perception stat had been sending him prickling warnings. It wasn’t because of the loudmouths nearby. The real threat was much farther away.

'Taking down one big target is worth more than hundreds of small fry.'

A faint smile played on his lips. The colosseum... Something to look forward to.

But why was this happening?

His heart had been pounding for a while now.

No, he shouldn’t confuse the two. To be precise, he had been feeling a strange trembling from Vulcan’s Horn attached to his forehead. As though it were a living creature.

'What’s this about now?'

This place was intriguing in more ways than one.

* * *

“One-Horn, come out.”

The jailers returned for Suho. The cell door opened, and he obediently followed them.

But as he passed the cell of the old demon who had warned him earlier:

[“... If you want to live long, don’t eat the food the jailers give you.”]

'Huh?'

At the voice suddenly sounding in his ear, Suho turned his head. The old demon was still lying with his back turned.

Suho mulled over the old demon’s words.

'Don’t eat the food?'

Sure enough, a little later, the jailers set a dish of roasted magic beast meat before him.

“Eat. It’s a special meal only newcomers to the colosseum get.”

“It might be your last supper, so don’t leave anything.”

The jailers snickered meaningfully.

Suho gazed down at the steaming magic beast meat. It did not look like much, but it smelled good. Had he been an ordinary labor-camp slave, that smell alone would probably have driven him wild and made him devour it ravenously.

Just then, someone sleeping in the faraway World of Repose quietly opened her eyes.

[The Queen of Insects, the Monarch of Plagues, smacks her lips at the Frenzied Blood Poison mixed into the food.]

'Frenzied Blood Poison?'

A curious gleam entered Suho’s eyes. Querehsha, the Monarch of Plagues, had discovered the hidden poison and awakened from her slumber. An information window appeared before Suho, who had acquired the Blessing of Plagues by devouring countless poisonous insects belonging to her.

DING.

[Poison: Frenzied Blood Poison]

A poison that temporarily amplifies strength by making the blood boil when ingested.

However, it has a fatal side effect: each use of mana causes excruciating pain and consumes blood, gradually shortening the user’s lifespan.

'Frenzied Blood Poison... So this was what that old demon warned me about.'

When Suho merely stared at the magic beast meat without touching it, the jailers began urging him on.

“What are you waiting for? Eat.”

“Not much of an appetite, since he’s so small?”

“You need to eat now if you want your strength, you know.”

Then Suho reached out and grabbed a chunk of magic beast meat. A sinister gleam flashed in the jailers’ eyes. Paying them no mind, he began chewing the meat without hesitation.

'Not bad, actually.'

For Suho, who had eaten even Querehsha’s poisonous insects, this level of bizarre food was nothing.

DING.

[You have ingested ‘Poison: Frenzied Blood Poison’.]

[Detoxification beginning.]

[Detoxifying...]

The blood inside Suho’s body suddenly grew hot, then cooled in an instant.

[Detoxification complete.]

[You have acquired ‘Poison: Frenzied Blood Poison’.]

Unperturbed, Suho continued eating the magic beast meat. The reason they fed Frenzied Blood Poison to newcomers at the colosseum was obvious.

'They’re squeezing out every bit of strength to make the fights fiercer, whether it shortens the slaves’ lives or not.'

The problem was that the properties of Frenzied Blood Poison closely resembled something Suho knew very well.

'It’s similar to Stardust. This can’t possibly... be a coincidence.'

Stardust, developed by demons in the factory, was also a drug that temporarily amplified power.

Suho addressed a question to Querehsha, who was watching him.

'Querehsha, do you know about Stardust?'

A moment later, a response came.

[The Queen of Insects, the Monarch of Plagues, scoffs, saying that stuff is merely a crude poison developed by demons.]

Then a new information window appeared.

[Poison: Stardust]

An incomplete poison that compensates for the shortcomings of Frenzied Blood Poison.

By sacrificing human suffering and death, its creators succeeded in eliminating all the side effects of Frenzied Blood Poison.

Like Frenzied Blood Poison, it temporarily amplifies mana when ingested, but has the drawback of a short duration.

'Those sick bastards.'

Suho’s expression hardened frighteningly as he read the information window.

There was just one part of the Stardust manufacturing process Suho knew well: burning living humans in the mana fuel called Mist Burn. Their excruciating agony and boiling blood as they burned to death in that living hell were offered as sacrifices, resolving Frenzied Blood Poison’s side effects in advance. The result was Stardust.

'Utterly demonic.'

To push all the suffering onto humans just to increase their own power.

A quiet fury began to boil within Suho. Sensing his ominous killing intent, the demon jailers flinched.

“Wh-what? Why’s the drug working so well on him?”

“It shouldn’t kick in until he actually starts using mana.”

“Ahem. Anyway, if you’re done eating, get up.”

At that, Suho quietly rose to his feet. At that very moment:

[Activating ‘Poison: Frenzied Blood Poison’.]

Frenzied Blood Poison flowed out of Suho and spread stealthily in every direction. As he let the formless poison gradually seep into the demon jailers’ bodies, cold killing intent flashed in his eyes.

'I’ll give it right back to you.'

And you, too, can die in agony as your blood burns from within.