The Accomplice of the Gods

A barren and abandoned land should make it difficult to find food or drink. Yet, this Northwest City held an unexpected secret: an underground fighting arena.

The arena was created for people to risk their lives, fighting with a blind, excessive passion. Residents from various races participated not just for fun, but to obtain Blood Crystals.

Blood Crystals, as the name suggests, were made of frozen blood. Winners of a 1v1 round would receive several blood crystals made from the blood of their defeated opponent. It sounded insane, but Mahendra participated in these fights several times without killing his opponents.

He obtained the blood crystals and traded them for food and drink. The existence of food and drink proved there was a way out. After confirming this with a city elder, Mahendra actually came to believe the opposite.

"Even if the way out doesn't kill you, I'm sure you all still want to spend the rest of your lives in this arena!"

This truth was undeniable. For a moment, everyone froze in shock. But soon, their expressions turned sharp and they attacked him again with all their might.

A human swordsman’s longsword swung quickly from behind. The smooth cut was deadly, as the user was aiming for his spine. A little blood trickled down his torn clothes. A few minutes later, the wound closed without a trace, as if Mahendra had never been hurt in the first place.

"How is that possible?!"

Panic seized the swordsman. He stumbled backward, suddenly a coward. But there was nothing he could do; he couldn't counterattack carelessly.

"A good sword," Mahendra praised. He then approached the swordsman, forcibly taking the weapon while kicking him to the ground.

More attacks came from all directions. Arrows were released one by one, nearly hitting his forehead. An archer used the last bit of time before Mahendra could reach him to think hard. But unfortunately for him, the archer was also taken down in the blink of an eye.

This time, an Orc and a thickly-furred beast race began to work together. The ferocious beast ran quite fast towards him. Mahendra instinctively changed his stance to a defensive one. As he dodged, a follow-up attack came from a Vampire race above. The vampire flew using black wings and attacked him with blood stabs.

"There are many hidden talents in this place."

Mahendra was quite satisfied with their combined attack, which had managed to corner him. But it still wasn't enough.

He was able to defend against dozens of sharp blood stabs with just his physical body. Mahendra smiled, looking at the vampire who had just attacked him. The vampire was shocked because none of his attacks had managed to injure him.

"He's not immortal, is he?"

"I'm not," Mahendra answered himself.

Before the same attack could come again, he borrowed the shoulder of a nearby orc as a foothold, jumping towards the flying vampire. With a single slash of his emerald dagger, the vampire’s wings were torn to shreds, and it fell to the ground, riddled with injuries.

One of the room's doors opened, and Ningsih emerged, yawning as she was about to step out. Mahendra quickly approached her and, without saying anything, closed the door, keeping Ningsih inside.

More than half of the people there had now fallen helplessly. They were seriously injured, but their lives were not in danger.

One by one, the water and ice magician fell in the blink of an eye as Mahendra devoured all their power. The thick-skinned orcs were no longer standing, let alone the very few vampires. Many human fighters had suffered the same fate; they were the first to fall.

Now, only a fighter with a large scythe, a few others using daggers or short swords, and a young woman with fangs remained.

"Oh, a vampire who doesn't have enough power yet. It turns out she's one of the twins," Mahendra said.

Sweat poured down, fatigue piled up, and the situation suddenly fell silent. After a few seconds, they watched each other carefully. As soon as there was a slight movement from the people hiding behind the large scythe, Mahendra immediately targeted them.

"Get out of my sight now!"

A row of ancient mantras: ꦲꦶꦣꦸ ꦥ꧀ꦝꦤ꧀ꦩꦠꦶ (life and death) in a dark red color appeared next to his face. The remaining humans received a warning from the depths of their minds to immediately dodge, then kneel and bow their heads. Fear overcame them as if the god of death had appeared.

The remaining vampire hid. The one with the twin face who had flirted with him yesterday now showed fear and hatred. Mahendra walked towards her, still standing near the destroyed wires. He then choked her neck and lifted her light body with a blank expression.

"You demon... I hate you the most."

A slight sound came from the stairs from a table that had been accidentally pushed, distracting him. Mahendra then threw the female vampire towards the source of the sound. He found the shop owner, who had been hiding behind the table that had fallen on the floor.

Seeing his servant fall helplessly, the man simply stared at him. It was only when Mahendra approached him with a terrifying expression that he reacted.

In Mahendra's view, the man before him now had a mix of bright and dark aura. Golden and murky black colors swirled around his body. The skull, no different from a human's, visibly trembled as it stared at him.

Fear was clearly evident. However, there was also an unusual smell. This scent was even more pungent than a corpse. The putrid smell made him nauseous, Mahendra fell silent for a long time, his thoughts difficult to read.

"I can't believe... you even dared to fight a woman."

"Huhh... really?" Mahendra let out a long sigh, his expression unchanged. "To me, you're all the same, but you're a little different," Mahendra said, pointing at the tavern owner.

"Hahaha... and? What are you going to do to me?" he asked, laughing softly as if he considered it all a mere joke.

"There are a few inconsistencies that need to be confirmed. First, you're a person who can give orders to anyone, ancestors not excluded. Is that true?"

"I haven't said it yet, but it's true."

"Second, the city's ancestors said there's a way out that they can't use to leave. Is this part of the city rules made by the gods?"

"Yes. Everyone here will die if they leave the city."

"Lastly, who supplies food and drink in this barren land?"

The situation fell silent again. The tavern owner slowly tried to get up. He carefully held onto a chair or a table, even the wall, to stand upright, though his body was still trembling.

After almost 2 minutes with no answer, Mahendra raised a long sword blade forged from fire magic. His red eyes stared intensely at the man with a strong and terrifying murderous intent.

"Forget it, there's no point in answering that last question. Because I... know that you are a pawn of the Upper Realm."

"You—!"

The blade of the fire sword pierced through his body, even puncturing the wall. The blood that came out evaporated due to the heat of the fire blade; the remaining drops of blood stained the floor, the wall, and some of the items there.

With what little consciousness he had left, he gripped the blade, saying, "I'm doing all this for the sake of atonement. I'm doing it so they can survive too."

He pulled the fire sword out of the man's body. Not stopping there, Mahendra grabbed his face and slammed it forcefully into the floor, completely extinguishing the man's remaining consciousness.

The bloodstains were only around the bottom of the stairs. The fire sword evaporated for a moment before disappearing. The red-eyed man tilted his head back, let out a sigh, and wiped the blood from the corner of his lips.

"Atonement? But I know you were laughing when you saw them killing each other in the fighting arena."