Chapter 63: The Weight of a Name — Monster

The jeers made the humans who had been subduing the bird turn around.

Only then did they realize that Bel had been standing with her arms folded, simply watching them.

The bird wasn’t dead yet, but several men who had been fighting it stopped mid-action.

Two of them began walking toward her.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Bel tilted her head slightly, thinking they had come to offer thanks.

Any human with working eyes would have noticed why the creature had cowered in fear and had its movements restricted.

The reason they were able to bring it down so easily was because the beast had been frozen by Bel’s presence.

Since she was in their group, fortune had allowed them to pass the preliminaries with little effort.

Bel recalled the dice games she played with Lema and said calmly,

“Luck is also a skill.”

“That’s not something someone like you should be saying!”

Apparently, they weren’t perceptive enough to realize the truth.

“So while we’re busting our asses out there, you’re just standing back doing nothing and still plan to advance past the preliminaries?”

The whole purpose of standing on this stage was to pass the preliminaries.

The result was the same, so why were they so bitter?

Bel didn’t understand.

“Some of us are putting our lives on the line, and you’re just leeching off us!”

Bel tilted her head again.

“Really? You risked your lives?”

What they had done was nothing more than gang up on a beast already trembling in fear, unable to resist.

Perhaps they had enough shame to feel their faces flush red at her words.

“You crazy b*tch, if you’re gonna coast off us, at least show some gratitude!”

The noise grew louder.

Bel stared at them, expressionless.

Noisy. Should I just kill them?

Maybe humans like this never changed, no matter the age.

Did they really believe they had bested the creature on their own?

They should have expected to struggle—and yet, when fortune smiled, they chose to use that surplus to belittle others.

“If you’d just thanked me, I would’ve let it go! Maybe the others let it slide because you spread your legs, but this is different!”

The filthy look in the man’s eyes made her annoyance deepen.

Truthfully, Bel had been in a sour mood for a while now.

Lema had said it was best if no troublesome incidents occurred until preparations were complete.

The pursuit of the Holy Empire and the Apostles would be the greatest nuisance.

Until she found the summoner, it was better to avoid drawing attention.

That was why she had sought information in secret.

This tournament had seemed like a convenient way to discreetly dispose of troublesome humans, but being pitted against beasts rather than people felt like a waste of time.

“Hey, is now really the time to fight among ourselves?”

“That’s what a team battle’s about! Don’t tell me you’ve always pulled your own weight!”

“Let’s just finish this already! This thing’s scary as hell!”

The ones still struggling with the bird looked over in disbelief.

“That’s nonsense! We’re the ones risking our lives here!”

The man jabbed a finger in Bel’s face, trying to intimidate her.

He was much taller and heavily built—to an ordinary woman, he might have seemed threatening.

Bel cocked her head.

Boldly lying to her face, trying to twist things for his own gain.

Did he think she would nod along just because he insisted loudly enough?

If they had stayed quiet, they would have left with the reward they had earned.

But the moment the crowd stirred, they had come over to squeeze something more out of her.

That disgusting greed was revolting.

“Then risk your life for real.”

Bel glanced briefly at the bird, which was barely clinging to life.

With nothing more than a blink, the situation changed in an instant.

Screeeech!

The monster, which had been lying half-dead, suddenly sprang up.

“Wh-what the hell? It’s getting back up!”

“I told you to finish it! Argh—!”

“Guh!”

The bird spun once, flinging nearby fighters through the air.

This was nothing like the weakened beasts the earlier groups had faced.

It bounded across the arena, fixating solely on the man who had been shouting in Bel’s face.

“What the—what is this?!”

He swung his sword as he fled, but the beast’s movements were uncanny.

Its speed and strength were impossible for something that had just been lying prone.

Clang!

His blade barely caught the creature’s talons.

“Damn it!”

This wasn’t a beast’s attack pattern—it fought like a trained warrior.

“Surround it! Get it together!”

The group closed ranks, trying to contain it.

But the monster only wanted that one man.

He rolled desperately across the dirt, the ground gouged where the talons struck.

He had shouted earlier that he was putting his life on the line.

Now, his words demanded to be proven true.

“Ghhk!”

While fleeing, his gaze flicked to Bel, who still stood calmly with folded arms.

A chilling realization crept over him—the true terror here wasn’t the monster, but the girl.

Every time the creature’s movements shifted, her pitch-black eyes flicked toward it first.

It had to be a coincidence.

…No. Again. She nodded slightly, and the beast moved.

And again.

Clang! The monster hooked his ankle, tripping him.

Staggering, he looked back at her in panic.

Only now did he realize the link between her gaze and the monster’s attacks.

“Guhhh!”

The beast’s talons ripped across his chest, hurling him into the air.

Blood sprayed, but thanks to the monster’s weakened state, he survived.

“Ughhh…”

It was a gruesome sight, enough to make the others tense and grip their weapons tighter.

Now, finally, they looked ready to fight in earnest.

“Hmph.”

But Bel was already done.

Controlling a beast was easy.

But this had already grown tiresome.

Tap.

She leapt above the creature, drawing the blade at her hip.

Lema had begged her to use this sword whenever she had to kill someone.

Slash!

With a single stroke, she severed the bird’s head.

Then, with the tip of the blade, she flicked the jewel embedded in its forehead free.

The gem arced into the air.

Shhhhk!

A moment later, a fountain of blood erupted from the stump.

Bel spun lightly in the air and landed gracefully on the ground.

Her sword, unstained by a single drop of blood, slid back into its sheath.

Clink.

She caught the falling jewel in one hand.

“Uwaaaahhh!”

This time, the arena thundered with cheers—very different from before.

But Bel remained unimpressed.

Why pit me against beasts? They should send out men I can kill instead.

The Fifth Arena.

Preliminaries complete.

“Lema. What are monsters?”

“Eh? Monsters?”

After the morning matches, Bel rejoined Lema and entered a dining hall.

As he laid the best food on her tray, his hand faltered.

“Don’t tell me you fought one in the Fifth Arena?”

“Mm.”

“Unbelievable. Even if Lusilonia’s surveillance has weakened, this is reckless.”

Lema Valkyte had just finished his own matches in another arena.

But the format there was different—multiple fighters entered, and only one remained until the rest surrendered or were thrown out.

He had, of course, won easily.

“Typically, monsters are unidentified lifeforms that originate outside the order of Luxlon. They carry magic stones in their bodies.”

“Is that so?”

They were all massive, aggressive, and dangerous to humans.

The key trait: only humans could kill them.

“They weren’t always so numerous, but after the Dark Continent erupted like a hellgate, they poured out in droves. One kingdom collapsed under the flood, and even the Dark Continent is said to be overrun with them.”

“Hm…”

Bel rolled the jewel in her hand, thoughtful.

“And you didn’t know this? You’ve never seen one before?”

“No. In the old days, they weren’t called that.”

“They existed back then too?”

“Yes. And the idea they come from ‘outside Luxlon’s order’ is nonsense. They existed even before Luxlon did.”

“…Whenever I speak with you, Master, I realize how much the history I know diverges from the truth.”

“…”

“Regardless, their numbers have lessened. Still, they’re culled regularly by Apostles, sometimes by Holy Knights. I never imagined they’d be dragged into an arena like this. If one devours a human, it becomes stronger. I can’t fathom how they plan to handle that.”

But Bel knew this wasn’t just a matter of beasts.

These were relics, carried forward from the distant past.

Though, to this age of humans, they may well have no real purpose.

“…By the way, Master.”

Lema’s voice pulled her from her thoughts.

As she turned to reply, the dining hall doors opened.

Normally she wouldn’t have cared, but for some reason, her head turned.

A man entered.

From head to toe, he was wrapped in black.

Long hair spilled from beneath the coverings.