Chapter 15 “To be or not to be, that is the question.”

A fierce battle unfolded in the coliseum. With his staff filled with mana collected from the reactor machine created by the Alchemist, Yzak can now shoot many flying fireballs and chase the young man who avoided his attacks from the start of the fight.

Although the young man did not know how to use magic or channel his mana and life force into his magical circuits, he possessed a highly athletic body for someone his age. Even the young man's previous body would not have been able to become this athletic if he had not worked hard to obtain it.

“Hahaha! Is this all you've got? How does it feel to be someone who can't use magic? Painful, isn't it? Pitiful, isn't it? You'd better surrender, and I'll stop embarrassing you like this!” said Yzak.

“Hah! Do you think I'll give up just like this? So funny. Please don't compare me to someone as easily discouraged as you,” replied the young man, who continued to effortlessly evade all of Yzak's attacks.

“Hmm... It seems I underestimated you a bit.”

On the other side, the audience felt disappointed because they were presented with such a boring fight. Since the beginning of the battle, Wallace had only been evading Yzak's attacks without making any attempt to counterattack.

“Booo! Boring!”

“Give back our money!”

“Hit him, Lord Yzak! Show your power to that cruel knight!”

“Hey! We came here to see a fight! Not to watch a circus performance!”

“Come on, Lord Wallace! Burn that disrespectful Alchemist!”

Complaints, insults, jeers, and protests filled the entire stadium. The spectators in the stands were running out of patience. They all wanted blood, explosions, and a fierce battle.

Hearing the complaints of the supportive spectators, Yzak gladly stopped the fireball attacks that had been continuously avoided by the young man.

“Hey, Wallace? Aren't you tired of running like this?” asked Yzak.

“Of course, I'm tired. What do you think I am? A robot?” replied the young man.

“Robot? What's that? Whatever. Hey, Wallace, let's raise the tempo of this fight a bit so it doesn't feel boring for the audience,” said Yzak.

“... I don't care about them; all I care about is how I can defeat you,” replied the young man.

“Defeat me? You think you can defeat me with just that toy sword and shield? Huh, how funny. Maybe you're underestimating me; do you forget that I am a member of the seven strongest knights in this country?” said Yzak.

“I haven't forgotten, and just for your information, I also haven't forgotten that behind all your elixirs and runes, you are just an ordinary human without any special powers like me.” countered the young man.

Hearing the young man's words, Yzak then fell silent and pondered for a moment.

“Wallace, just so you know, I've always been sick of standing under your shadow. You are admired by many people, you are loved and respected by everyone, and you are founded by people your age. You got your strength, your wealth, your popularity, and even your intelligence without having to work hard like me. That's why all this time I wanted everything that was yours. Like a Hyena I will keep waiting to take everything from you. But unlike you who are despicable because you get everything instantly, because I will get everything with all the results of my hard work that I have gone through. Therefore, surrender and I will give you freedom from all your burdens, O Wallace, the Former Hero of Prophecy.” Yzak said.

“Huh, don't be kidding. Even though your goals and desires are noble, don't expect me to hand everything over to you! My God chose me, sent me to this wrong world so that I would strive to fix it. Caste, wealth, friends, and happiness! Everything He has given me, I must use to correct this wrong world! That's why... I will defeat you, even if I have to kill you right here!” exclaimed the young man, who then ran with all his might and attacked Yzak.

“Are you joking? With a frontal attack like that, you won't be able to hurt me.” said Yzak, who then threw a small glass bottle containing blue liquid to the young man.

Seeing Yzak's attack, the young man immediately raised his shield to deflect the small bottle that thrown at him.

“BOOOM!”

A massive explosion of blue fire occurred, propelling the young man to the far side of the arena. All the spectators were shocked and cheered joyfully as they witnessed Yzak, the knight they supported, unleashing the legendary blue fire.

The young man was in pain and bewilderment, realizing that his shield in his left hand had now shattered and turned to dust.

“Damn! My left hand feels extremely painful! What kind of attack was that? It was just a tiny bottle; how could it cause such a powerful explosion!? Is that the blue fire everyone talks about!?” thought the young man.

“Hmph, it seems my Blue Fire bomb is still not as powerful as your blue fire, huh? Disappointing.” said Yzak as he walked towards the young man lying on the green grass.

With all his strength, the young man tried to stand up again. Now without a shield, he thought hard about how to fight against the Alchemist, who was approaching him. After a few moments, he came up with a brilliant idea to defeat him.

“Huh! A mere imitator! Do you really have to keep copying me?” taunted the young man to Yzak.

“Hah!? Imitator? Shameless! Just so you know, I'm not trying to imitate you at all! Right now, I'm just trying to be the hero of prophecy. And with this blue fire, I will...”

“Praised by many. Huh, a pathetic kid who only seeks attention in his life. Maybe if for just one second, no one paid attention to or noticed you, we might see you crying and die from your loneliness.” mocked the young man.

“Take your words back! I became a knight like this not to seek attention! I did it so that everyone who, like me, lacks mana and magic, can become better knights than all of you!” snapped Yzak.

“Wow, a beautiful and commendable goal from someone who turned out to be two-faced.” said the young man.

“You... Wallace! I've been fighting you slowly like this because I'm still holding back not to hurt your body too badly! But if you keep insulting me and resisting, I won't hesitate to finish this fight immediately!” threatened Yzak.

“Wow, why do I suddenly feel scared?” said Wallace, who had prepared himself again by assuming a stance.

Even though his left hand was still trembling and very difficult to move, the young man still didn't give up on his determination. He wanted to win! He wanted to change his life! And he also wanted to save the woman who had once saved him.

This was his vow! This was his destiny! And this was his determination!

In this world, he was the hero everyone hoped for. That's why he had to win! He had to win and change all the wrongs in this country from their roots.

Because now, he wanted to fulfill the hopes of his two parents who wished for him to become a knight exemplary to all knights and admirers.

“I've decided! Since I gripped that sword and shield, I've long decided! I will become a holy knight in this corrupted city! I will bring peace and equality to this land. Because surely that's the prophecy everyone talks about. Because they all hope for a hero like me to save them from this injustice!” thought the young man.

“There's only one chance. Remember, there's only one chance for me to make this attack. This will be the decisive attack for my fight!” thought the young man in his mind.

Seeing that Wallace still didn't want to give up, Yzak then took out one of his red elixirs and drank it.

“Hey, Wallace. Do you still remember when you asked me about the elixir I was creating?”

“Yeah?”

“Let me show you the elixir I'm actually creating for you. I named this elixir 'Elixir from Earth.' Do you know why I gave it that name? It's because this elixir will increase my physical strength and endurance tenfold compared to a normal human! And because this elixir comes from the horned demon that once ruled this world! Hahaha!” laughed Yzak.

“......”

Although after hearing the explanation and seeing Yzak drink his created elixir, the young man still maintained his stance and prepared to wait for the one opportunity he anticipated. And then...

“SWOOOSH!”

Suddenly, Yzak darted forward and stood in front of the young man, ready to strike.

“What!? How can this be! It's too fast!” thought the young man, who then quickly leaped backward.

But even with his athletic body, the young man was still not fast enough to avoid Yzak's punch.

“Ghaak!”

Yzak's punch hit the young man's abdomen.

Instantly, the young man was sent flying forward, right in front of the entrance where the fighters entered, where Kalina and Cecilia were standing and watching.

For clarification, between the entrance for the fighters and the Colosseum arena, there was a transparent barrier shaped like a sphere that was very strong. This barrier was typically used to prevent gladiators, wild beasts, or dragons from escaping the Colosseum arena.

“Big Bro! Stop it! Surrender! You won't be able to defeat him!” yelled Kalina from behind the transparent barrier.

However, the young man couldn't hear her. Not because Kalina's voice was obstructed by the transparent barrier, but because the pain he was experiencing felt incredibly agonizing. He was willing to bet that this was the most painful sensation he had ever felt in his entire life.

“Khhk! Damn! What was that! He's just an ordinary human, right? Why does he have such immense physical strength!?” thought the young man.

“Hahaha! This feels so enjoyable! So this is what it's like to have such great physical strength like you guys, huh? Hahaha! How fun! Hahaha!” laughed Yzak, looking somewhat mad.

“I have to stand up again. Once more! Give me one more chance! I just have to thrust my sword into his body! Come on, body! Stand up once more!” yelled the young man in his heart.

However, no matter how strong his desire was, his body still refused to stand. Meanwhile, Yzak was now standing beside the struggling young man, who writhed in pain like a worm exposed to the scorching sun.

“Damn! Can't I do anything!? Was I born into this world just for others to keep saving me? God! Help me! If I can't save others, at least let me succeed in saving myself!” prayed the young man in his heart.

Then, with all his strength, the young man gripped his sword tightly once again and immediately thrust it into one of Yzak's shoes.

“PTAANG!”

The sword broke.

“Hahaha... HAHAHA!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? Are you really serious about it? Hahaha! You're quite amusing! Hahaha!” laughed Yzak, mocking the young man.

Seeing the ridiculous and embarrassing attack, the spectators joined in laughter, ridiculing the young man's helplessness.

“Hahaha! What kind of attack was that? Shameful!”

“See for the sake of victory our honorable knight made a dishonorable attack and it all ended in vain!”

“Hahaha, how ridiculous! I'm even sure my newborn could execute a more dignified attack than that!”

“HahaHAhahaHA!”

“WAhahahahHAHAHA!”

“hAHhahHAHAHahahaHAHAHA!”

The laughter of the spectators echoed and resounded throughout the city.

“This is embarrassing! God! why did you make my attack end in failure!?” thought the young man.

With the pain from the wounds on his body and the pain in his heart, the young man felt that he would rather die than endure such shame.

“Big Bro! Listen to what I'm saying! Please surrender! Forget all this meaningless fighting! I swear to you; I will protect you! So stop this!” shouted Kalina.

“Surrender? Right now, I've lost everything! I just wanted to be the hero you all hoped for, but look! Failure after failure continues to follow me. Even you all don't understand that right now, I'm trying to save you all. Damn! It seems like in any world, humans will remain the same. It seems true that humans are created just to laugh at the failures of other humans. Maybe one day, if I'm to be reborn, I'll ask to be born as an animal.” thought the young man.

“Hey! Wallace! Get up and stand! Our fight is not over yet!” said Yzak.

“I... don't care anymore,” said the young man with a voice full of disappointment.

“Hah!? So funny! Hey, spectators! Listen! He says he doesn't want to fight anymore! What do you think! What do you want me to do to him!?” asked Yzak to the spectators in the stands.

“Torture him!”

“Avenge him for what he did to us!”

“Burn him! Show that ordinary people like us can defeat knights like him!”

“Yes! Punish him!”

“Punish! Punish! Punish!”

After the laughter that previously filled the Colosseum, the arena now echoed with cheers full of hatred and curses. All the spectators were delighted to see the fall of their 'Hero' who had once oppressed them. They all cheered happily, asking for justice to be served through the hands of their 'Hero' who had many similarities to them.

This was the bitter reality forgotten by the young man.

A hero is not one who sacrifices but one who is chosen. We cannot instantly become a hero if we are not chosen to be a hero by those whom we have saved or will save. This is an undeniable fact.

Hearing the roar of cheers full of curses and hatred, Cecilia scratched her head and murmured.

“Wow... I didn't expect it to turn out this bad.” murmured Cecilia.

“Look! This is all your fault! If you didn't influence him, big bro wouldn't have done something stupid like this!” scolded Kalina to Cecilia, who stood not far from her.

“Hmm? What are you talking about? There's no way I influenced him. Besides, who do you think I am to want to deal with your bastard brother? Whatever, I'm leaving. I'm too lazy to get involved in all of your affairs,” said Cecilia who then walked away, leaving Kalina still staring at her brother.

Cheers continued to echo for the two fighters who had now stopped attacking each other. Just by looking, everyone must have realized that this... no, this one-sided assault had truly come to an end.

Now, the spectators were waiting. Waiting for the young man to do what had been promised to Yzak, the Alchemist.

“Really boring. This is very embarrassing,” said Yzak to the young man.

“......” The young man still lay limp.

“Look at them. They don't care at all why we fought each other. Just because you once oppressed them, they forget your good intentions and only remember the bad things about you. How pitiful. Wallace! As you can see, our fight has been decided! From the beginning, it was impossible for you to defeat me. Without your power, intelligence, and selfishness, you've already lost. Look, just because of your weakness, you have now failed to become their hero. You've even failed to become a hero for yourself,” said Yzak.

“......” But the young man remained silent.

“It's over. Surrender, show me... No, show the world where you stand right now.”

“......” Then, slowly, the young man stood up, ignoring all the pain in his abdomen and ribs.

The gaze of the young man was sharp but full of surrender. His eyes were empty but filled with disappointment.

He stood and observed everyone who paid attention and cursed his weaknesses. He observed and realized his foster sister in this world, who continued to plead for him to surrender.

“I will fight him.” muttered the young man.

“Are you still not willing to surrender? So stubborn! Can't you see that now no one expects you to win in our fight!?” asked Yzak.

“Even if no one expects me! Even if no one believes in me! And even if destiny continues to hinder me! That's not the issue! Because I still expect myself to win! I won't let my second life end in vain! Because right now, I'm sure that my steps will be the ones to change this world! FORWARD! I will lead you all to my world!” shouted the young man with all his strength.

Suddenly, the voices of humans that previously echoed throughout the Colosseum disappeared. Everyone was silent, everyone was fearful, and everyone prayed.

“O Emperor, our god, please don't return his power.”

“Let him suffer, and let him feel our pain.”

“Hopefully, all of this will be a good lesson for him.”

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