Though it might appear that IQ120 had lost his mind completely after Miret dove underground, that impression was only for those who were far away or beneath the soil—those unable to see his expression. In reality, IQ120's face remained focused, a widening smile plastered on it. His ears were pricked, alert and ready to pounce at any location from which Miret might emerge.
Miret, however, had been deceived. He assumed that IQ120 had gone mad from him diving into the earth and was solely focused on the hole he had entered. Yes, the hole widened with each of IQ120's attacks, but Miret was no longer there. Instead, he planned to create additional entry points through other craters, filling the entire arena with holes. From these hidden vantage points, he could attack and retreat into the soil, wearing down IQ120.
His strategy was simple: keep attacking and escaping until IQ120 grew exhausted, then deliver the finishing blow to end his life. As Miret approached the next crater, IQ120 stopped and jumped. Now he was certain of the craters Miret was targeting, using his acute hearing to pinpoint Miret's location.
"Boooommmm!!!" The ground erupted, sending sand, dust, rocks, and stones flying. IQ120's right hand plunged deep into the soil up to his shoulder. "Tsk." It seemed Miret was even deeper than IQ120 could reach.
"Grr." IQ120 grunted as he raised his hand, blood and fur staining it. He had hit Miret, but he miscalculated how deep Miret had burrowed. With Miret nearing the next crater, IQ120 expected him to be closer to the surface.
Bringing his hand to his lips, IQ120 tasted the blood. "Haa, that was tastier than I expected," he said aloud, surprised by the sweetness. It wasn't on the level of humas blood, but it ranked high on his list.
He shouted into the hole he'd created, "Since I can't drag you out from the earth, I'll wait until you emerge. Then I'll end this façade."
Standing upright, IQ120 glanced up at the arena wall. His observer and Miret's observer stood side by side. He wondered, "How deep did they make this arena? Surely there's a limit to how far he can go." He turned away, peering once more into the hole, before moving to sit on the ground near the very door through which he had entered this gladiator prison.
…
"Will Miret be able to continue?" IQ120's observer asked.
"That attack from IQ120 surely took a toll on him," she continued.
"I don't know, but his starter still seems to have faith in her partner," Miret's observer replied, glancing at Kiko. She was also on the wall, positioned directly above the door where Miret had entered the arena.
"No, I didn't believe he could win this battle from the start… but I am impressed he managed to land a blow on IQ120."
…
"Ddaammmnn you, IQ120. That hurts, like hell," I screamed in my mind as I cradled myself in the small underground hole I'd dug.
"Tstsss." The pain was sharp as I touched my wound.
"I really thought he had lost a bit of his mind there," I reflected. "I guess that acting wild was just to deceive me, and it was going so well."
I can't believe I forgot about his superb hearing—he who could hear my faintest whispers clearly from the deepest part of my cell. Those stupid claws of his penetrated cleanly right into my back. Luckily, I hadn't dug too high up, and my body acted quickly to resume digging deeper down, immediately freeing myself from his grasp. Otherwise, this injury would be way worse; I could have even lost my entire back skin.
"Daammnn, this pain," I muttered as my blood flowed, staining my fur red. "Could I continue like this?" I wondered.