Welcome to Hell!

s distance from me, her eyes fixed on me with wariness.
Despite our inadvertent collaboration in the fight, I was a creature of a different species, not even human, and incapable of communicating with her.
It was clear that she had no reason to trust me.

I could understand the warrior’s sentiment, but I wasn’t bothered by the fact that a stranger like me couldn’t be trusted.
I turned on my heel and tried to distance myself from the two of them.

“Please wait,” the young female called out.

“Young lady?” the warrior was taken aback.

“Thank you for helping me, even if it was by chance.
I will never forget this debt,” the young female said, gracefully bowing towards me.
She seemed like an unusual noblewoman, younger than the slain slave.

Although there was no need to feel indebted since there was no opportunity to repay it, I decided to accept her gratitude.
I turned my back to the two and began to walk away.

Now, how should I escape from here? I had three choices.
The first was to destroy all obstacles in my way and flee the city.
Although this was the fastest way, it would undoubtedly lead to discovery and conflict.
I preferred to avoid this option if possible.

The second choice was to travel underground, turning the ground into sand as I went.
This was less likely to be discovered, but it made it difficult to see the situation above ground.
It was possible that I could emerge in front of the enemy, thinking it was safe.
While my senses were sharp, they were not omnipotent.

And the third option was to quietly move forward on the ground, while concealing my presence, and make my way out.
The roads were difficult to navigate due to the large mansions, but I had been taken to the arena many times before, so I knew how to get out of the noble district.

On the other hand, I had no idea what lay beyond the arena.
That was the only concern, but well, I would deal with it somehow.

I concealed my fighting spirit and spiritual power and ran through the shadows of the noble district, being careful not to make any sound.
As usual, there were intense clashes of fighting spirit and spiritual power in various parts of the district, causing chaos and damage all around the area.

However, I had no obligation to get involved in the conflicts of the human species.
I had already avenged my benefactor, and dealt with the encounter that I couldn’t escape from.
There was no need to risk my life any further by fighting.

(And there it was, visible beyond the turn…the arena…is it really that big when seen from outside?)

I proceeded cautiously and finally arrived at a position from which I could see the arena.
The massive sculptures of warriors on either side of the entrance were majestic, and the surrounding walls and pillars were finely decorated.
Although I had only seen it from the inside before, as a scorpion, it was still an impressive building.

(Let’s aim for that place first and move forward.)

However, just as I made up my mind, I sensed multiple presences from inside the arena that began to rapidly increase.
Before I could even fathom what was happening, a sudden explosion rocked the interior of the arena!

(What was that?!)

It was a tragic sight to see the arena crumble, but multiple creatures emerged from beneath the rubble.
Each one was not only large but also incredibly strong, with a fighting spirit and spiritual power far beyond those of the typical battle beast.
They were on par with the creatures brought in as my opponents.
The source of the strong presence that had swollen up in the arena was undoubtedly them.

There was also an unsettling feeling that could be felt even from a distance, a strange sensation as if multiple spiritual powers were seeping out of a single entity.
I knew the true identity of that sensation, having encountered it many times in the arena.

(A synthetic beast? Why would something like that be in the arena? They’re only brought in on the day of the match… Ah, I see.
They must be involved in this chaos.)

It was decided long ago that battle beasts would be brought into the arena on the morning of the match.
In the past, they used to accept them the day before, but the manager explained that there had been incidents where the beasts were poisoned while in captivity, causing them to fall ill.

I wasn’t particularly interested in the history of the arena, so I just brushed it off at the time.
However, I remembered this one fact.
That’s why there shouldn’t be any battle beasts in the arena late at night.

On the day when the incident occurred in the noble district, a battle beast that shouldn’t have been present in the arena had gone berserk? I didn’t believe in such a coincidence.
It was obvious that they were somehow connected with the attack.

Those synthetic beasts began to move out radially from the arena.
They weren’t just moving; they were advancing while destroying both buildings and residents.
They were making quite a scene… I wondered how the attackers intended to put an end to this chaos.

“For the sake of justice, we help the people! Charge!”

“For justice!” 

It was the holy knights clad in white armor who challenged the synthetic beasts.
They bravely charged towards the beasts, with impeccable coordination that was nothing short of amazing.
They moved together as if they were one organism.

Truthfully, there was no hesitation in their movement.
They didn’t seem to be trying to figure out what kind of attack to use or searching for an effective attack. Their movements seemed as though they knew everything.

Actually, they probably did know everything.
They were the ones who caused this chaos, after all.
It was their own creation, so it was best to assume that they knew its weaknesses and everything else about it.
I didn’t understand why they were doing this, but it was their problem.
I should make my escape quickly.

“Gyuiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!” 

“Don’t let them escape! Chase them!”

As I was in deep thought, a particularly large synthetic beast started running towards me.
Hey, if you keep going straight, you’re going to crash into the grave I just made with all my efforts, you know?

I really did seem to have bad luck.
Oh well, I readied my pincers and prepared to fight if necessary, waiting for the creature to approach.