"In the meantime, please put on a good show for us," Thello said with a wink as he left.
Once the archdemon was out of sight, I searched around my cell for anything that I could use to break out. I knew it was futile, but I couldn't just sit down and give up.
Then again, even if I broke free, how was I supposed to find Sakimi and Marigold?
"Ares," a voice said. It came from the turquoise-haired female guard outside my cell.
"What do you want?"
"Is it true that you're the Hierophant?"
"Yes."
"Good. I trust Thello's judgment," she said, sliding open a contraption in the bars that let her pass in a tray of food.
I reluctantly accepted my meal. It was a bowl of gruel with a side of coleslaw in a cup, and the drink on the side was murky water.
"Everything you need is in the coleslaw," the guard said.
"What?"
She left before I could ask anything else.
I took a spoon of the gruel to see that the top layer had solidified into a thin sheet of fat. Underneath, the liquid was mostly grey with some brown spherical things. As I churned the "food," it made a nasty sound as if it were wheezing.
"What in the fuck is this?"
I had no choice but to place a spoonful in my mouth. Surprisingly, it wasn't that bad. It was like eating watered-down rice. Still, it was bland as hell, and I didn't know what sketchy ingredients were used to make this dish. If I were in real life, I probably would have thrown up, but I didn't think that was possible for me in this world. Either that or I had a stomach made of steel.
After the gruel, I moved on to the cup of coleslaw. My hunger gauge was at about half, so I probably still had to eat more. When I munched on the vegetables, they weren't all bad.
Upon reaching the bottom, a soggy white sheet jutted out. I pushed aside the food and retrieved a piece of paper.
Somebody had hand-written a message:
"Break out tomorrow night. I'll take care of your companions. Once you escape, visit the Pink Pleasure Inn, and say the password: 'The devil is not as black he is painted.'"
The name "Typhon the Swift" had been signed underneath.
This paper is what the guard must have meant when she mentioned the coleslaw.
This was the best news I've heard in a while.
Typhon the Swift was a vigilante in Polsius who actively fought against Thello and his demons. In the original game, you could recruit Typhon and have him join your party. He was one of the strongest NPCs because of his powerful weapon and skills, and he could drastically reduce the difficulty when fighting the archdemon. In short, Typhon the Swift was a powerhouse.
Once I finished my meal, I went straight to bed. I wasn't sure what time it was, but my body told me that it was time to get some shut-eye.
Even though I only read a single note, it eased my anxieties to the point that I could get a good night's sleep.
***
When I woke up the next day, the guard treated me to another meal.
Well, I wouldn't say "treated." The meal was the same shit from yesterday night. This time, the guard left without another word.
When I looked through the food, there was nothing inside.
I assumed that the plan would be put into motion soon, whatever it was.
Soon after breakfast, the guard visited me again, and she opened the cell bars, letting me out.
"You will have two matches today. Watch out for the second one."
That must be when the break-out was happening.
"Alright," I said.
Then, the guard walked down the corridor. We followed the same path as yesterday, and we eventually made it to a blinding light at the end of the passageway. The guard released my cuffs, giving me free rein over my limbs once again. After cracking my neck, I entered the arena.
Once again, I was met with cheers. If this weren't a colosseum hosted by Thello, I would have felt quite proud of myself for being so loved by the fans, but I only felt contempt for everyone here. Most of the crowd consisted of rich individuals who probably didn't care about the citizens of Polsius. They only wanted bloody entertainment.
"Ladies and gentlemen, here comes the Hierophant once again!" Thello proclaimed.
More applause.
I made eye contact with Sakimi and Marigold, wordlessly telling them that everything was under control.
"Now," Thello said. "Our challenger for today is the greatest gladiator in all of Polsius, Hector the Annihilator!"
On the opposite end of the colosseum, a hulking man emerged, wearing only an armored skirt. He must have been almost a foot taller than me, and his muscles were monstrous in size. In fact, his biceps were the size of two cannons, he had a twelve-pack, and his legs looked sculpted from solid rock.
Hector's face was also just as chiseled as his body—the true epitome of a Giga Chad.
As icing on the cake, Hector wielded a sword so massive that it couldn't even be described as a claymore. One side was jagged, with menacing spikes jutting out, further increasing its intimidation factor.
Upon entering the arena, the man let out a "RAAAAAAAH!" hyping the crowd even more.
"Fight!" Thello yelled.
Hector slammed his sword on the ground, burying it upright. He then crossed his arms and stared at me, inviting an approach.
I'll end this as fast as possible.
With a burst of speed, I crossed the arena and lunged with my Laevateinn. In one moment, I clearly thought I hit Hector, but in the next second, he was gone. The massive gladiator had instantly sidestepped my attack. He could have followed up with his own strike, but he only stood there, looking down on my dumbfounded face.
I let out another swing, then I performed a thrust, but Hector weaved between my attacks like a dancing swallow, much more agile than he first appeared.
"Is that the full extent of your power, Hierophant?" Hector asked. "I thought that you were the one who was destined to topple the Demon King from his throne. It appears that you're just another imposter."
Anger welled up from the pits of my stomach, threatening to spew forth, but I took a deep breath and kept my cool. Hector was only taunting me.
As the most powerful gladiator in Polsius, Hector must have a tremendous amount of battle experience, making my skills seem minuscule. The fact that Hector was only dodging further proved that point.
When faced with an enemy of such a caliber, I couldn't rush in without any thought. Instead, I had to make safe pokes and find his habits.
While keeping a distance, I launched multiple thrusts. My attacks were fast enough that Hector couldn't dodge with his full body, and he instead redirected each strike with his bare hands. At the end of my assault, Hector's palms weren't even bleeding, and he had taken no damage.
Damn.
It looks like I'll have to get creative.
I sent another set of rapid-fire thrusts, and after the sixth strike, I launched a sweeping strike that forced Hector to duck. Then, I dropped my body and performed a sweep kick that knocked the gladiator off-balance.
It was my first hit, and it nicked the man's HP down to ninety-nine percent.
While Hector regained his footing, I followed up with a diagonal slash. Right as the enemy redirected my blade, I took out my default sword from my inventory and swung it downward. Hector didn't have enough time to deflect this attack, and it took his health down to ninety-two percent.
Man, the default sword was hella weak.
"Spatial magic?" Hector said. "Well done. You managed to land two hits."
He then picked up his sword from the ground.
"Now, can you keep up with my offense?"
At that moment, Hector disappeared, leaving behind a shallow crater of cracked ground.
No. He didn't disappear. He had moved so fast that I couldn't even comprehend his movement. Before I knew it, Hector was directly in front of my face, landing an uppercut that sent me flying.
Hector leaped and swung his sword, but I blocked it with my own blade. While the two of us fell, I used Angelic Blaze. In response, Hector held his massive weapon in front of himself, using it as a shield.
Fortunately, that blocked his line of sight momentarily.
I used this window of opportunity to flank Hector and land a thrust. The gladiator backed away, then he retaliated with a horizontal slash, a vertical strike, and finally, a roundhouse kick. I blocked every attack by using Holy Shield, but the final kick busted my defense.
Still, I had enough time to duck under the foot and grab it, using all my strength to throw Hector over my shoulder. The man struck the ground with immense force, causing the audience to gasp.
By now, Hector's health was down to seventy percent.
While I tried to catch my breath, Hector got back up.
His face had suddenly darkened.
As the man turned toward me, his mouth contorted into an abhorrent grin.
Hector's eyes had turned pure white, and ravine-like wrinkles lined his face's muscles, creating the most horrifying expression I had ever seen, almost like The Scream if it was rapt with ecstasy.
The fight had only just begun.