I'm the Only One With a Different Genre - Chapter 49

Chapter 49 – Ordinary Gag Resident VS The Strongest Swordsman

Phwoar—!

“..!”

That’s when it happened — involuntarily witnessing it. The sharp sword pierced through Lian’s abdomen, brutally splitting his upper body.

Iris, losing her senses, immediately tried to rush into the sparring field. She would have if it weren’t for ‘that sound’.
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“Monster… A monster!”

A slave screamed the word “monster,” and just like that, Iris’s feet stopped as if chained to the ground.

Zzzzing—.

A ringing in her ears, her vision turned white.

*’What an exquisite test subject! Such a monster doesn’t need any addition!’
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‘Get lost! Being around a monster like you will get me killed too!’
‘How are you still alive? Go away! Don’t come any closer! You— monster!’
‘Monster!’
‘Monster!’
‘Monster!’*

The relentless voices echoed in her head, gender or age indeterminate.

‘You are alone in this world.’
‘You can’t be saved by anyone.’
‘You are a monster -, that’s what you are.’
‘You’re just using Lian, aren’t you?’
‘You just don’t want to die.’
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‘You don’t deserve to wield a sword.’

‘You are you are you are -…’

Suddenly Iris realized she was hunched over, gasping for breath. Amidst the crackling noises around her, the thickening scent of blood brought her back to her senses.

“Ah…”

Iris lifted her dazed head, her eyes resting on the sight of Lian, bloodied and striding somewhere determinedly. Forcing strength into her trembling body, she managed to stand up.

Iris knew how to silence her footsteps to survive, not enough for the mighty but sufficient to elude the terrified slaves’ gazes.

Witnessing Lian leave a slave’s room, looking immaculate, left Iris frozen in shock with her mouth agape.

‘When did it start?’

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Lian’s side had always been warm and safe. It felt like all the cruel things she had endured were just a nightmarish dream.

From the moment she could remember, being used as a plaything in a brutal world, Lian was the first sanctuary Iris had found.

Just like any child would, Iris innocently considered Lian’s embrace the safest place, without any problems. But that was a foolish thought.

The arms that always held her tenderly, had been getting hurt in places unknown to her, hiding the traces while she was unaware, and all too familiarly at that.
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Iris, with a vacant expression, watched Lian approach, then fled back to her room like a runaway.
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And now.

Iris kept recalling what she had just witnessed.

‘I can’t do anything -…’

Because I’m nothing.
Because I’m a monster.
Because I’m useless.

The words, whispered to her by who knows who and for how long, were accepted by Iris as a matter of course. She lacked the strength of spirit to deny them.

“Iris, that…. there’s this really scary friend at Bianca’s place, you know? Bites like this. And without a muzzle, you could get bitten too. So—”

Iris listened quietly to Lian’s words before softly asking a question.

“How do you… know?”
“Huh?”
“About the biting… How do you know?”

How would he know that something in Bianca’s house could bite, could potentially wound? It’s something you can’t know unless you’ve experienced it.

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“Ah, that’s because…”

As Lian mumbled, trailing off his sentence, Iris clutched at another topic to discuss.

“Why were you… late today?”

Her trembling gaze met Lian’s face, and for a moment, confusion flashed across it. Although the emotion was quickly concealed, Iris caught it.

“Ah—… Well, on my way up, I met other gladiators, you know, the neighbors, so I thought to say hello. The ones who visited before Bianca came over.”

Lian went on, conveniently omitting facts about being bloodied, about having to change his clothes, talking about everything else.

Iris clenched her fists tight. A sob circled in her throat.

The fear of losing her sanctuary, her helplessness to act, and the hurt from Lian merely hiding everything overwhelmed her.

Torn apart by all these emotions, Iris chose to escape.

“You’re okay… right?”
“Huh? Of course, I’m okay.”

Responding to Lian, Iris nodded her head like a naive child. Her judgment did not matter. If Lian said it was okay, then it was okay. That was her method of escape.

***

Thanks to my convincing, Iris’s mood seemed to have returned to normal afterwards. But she spoke less than before. Although she would correctly respond to questions and chat, she initiated conversations far less often.

‘This place isn’t too bad to live in, eh?’

I found myself adapting to life in the arena. There were so many slaves that matches were infrequent. I spent my free time lounging or eating something tasty.

I had observed what the other gladiator slaves were doing, and most were busy with their training. Since I didn’t need to, I was content lying on the bed, a sword propped up against my thigh.

Initially, I planted it in my stomach… but it didn’t take long before the demonic sword begged to be pulled out, whining in disgust. It seemed my organs had much to complain about if it stayed in too long.

Iris also participated in two matches. With neat skill, she effortlessly sliced her opponents. From what I heard through the grapevine, it seemed like she was matched only with monsters she could overwhelm, to increase her worth.

Days passed lazily by, and then another match was scheduled.

“If you want to keep from dying, try hard.”

Jiso gave a significant smile as he spoke. Not sure what he meant, I shrugged perplexedly and inwardly called Gargandoa.

As a result, blood spurted from the back of my hand, beautifully curving like water manipulated by magic. The blood gathered in my hand, and in an instant, the silhouette of a bloody hue coalesced. The blood flowed downwards like falling water, and Gargandoa appeared.

From a mere debt to Gargandoa, if I think back to the transformation, my entrance had become quite glamorous.

[Heh, that’s right. Admire me, the great one! Look upon me with even more fear and awe!]

Gargandoa was… seemingly an attention-seeker. The serious demeanor was long gone.

‘It’s noisy but better this way.’
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Discussing how to make a more spectacular entrance was more enjoyable than talk of another blood festival.

Slush.

The sword now had the appearance of a flashy game item, with a crimson light dancing along its blade that made one marvel at its beauty with every slight movement.

[Hmm, once I gain more strength, I should consider making some clothing for my partner.]

As we talked about how to make more stylish appearances, Gargandoa began calling me a partner. Whether it’s called a contractor or a partner, it sounded the same to me, but to Gargandoa, the latter seemed to be of a warmer sentiment.

“Why clothes?”

[Because it’s not cool!]

True, the clothes I wore were pretty plain compared to Gargandoa.

“If you make them with a weird design, I won’t give you dinner.”

[Heh, nobody can deny the aesthetic prowess of Gargandoa. It’s the “strongest”.]

Where did it learn such phrases? Lost in those thoughts, I looked at the sliding iron bars announcing my entry to the arena.

“This match, is an exceptional fight between gladiators!”

“…?”

I expected the usual monster combat, but it appeared to be something different this time. I stopped mid-walk to the arena center and looked up at the announcer. Spouting unnecessary chatter, he finally mentioned the name of my opponent.
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“—… a prodigy among prodigies, with countless achievements, Bianca!”

“Kraaaak!”

“Keeeyaaak!”

“Wheeeek—.”

“Uoooooh!”

The cheering was so thunderous it shook the ground. Standing there with the demonic sword in hand, I casually scratched my cheek.

‘Urgh, this will be awkward with someone I know…’

With that thought, I looked over to where the iron bars had just opened. There Bianca was, strode into the arena, swaying her hips to seemingly emphasize her figure. Compared to the last encounter, she appeared to be in much better condition.

‘It’s good to see she’s recovered.’

Thinking this, I showed a welcoming smile to Bianca. As she made her entrance with confidence and caught sight of me, she stopped in her tracks.

‘Huh? Didn’t Bianca know?’

If she, like me, didn’t know who the opponent was until the match, her shock was understandable. Just as I was about to wave, I noticed Bianca retreating hesitantly.

***

“Is he, is he crazy… why is that monster here?”

Bianca shuddered, her face bleached with fear.

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‘It was meant to be an easy match!’