[129]
‘…I’ll have to flip the table anyway.’
Yuri briefly touched his lips, then wrote additional requirements to Edgar and sent a reply.
He didn’t tell Chris about Meredith’s visit.
There were several reasons for this.
First, it was because of Meredith. Before leaving the room after her one-sided announcement, she left a final threat.
“If the fighter finds out before the match, it won’t be fun.”
“He would gladly step into the ring if he could kill me, wouldn’t he?”
“You’d threaten him with that precious Guide of his. Right? Let him lose on his own.”
Meredith said in a chilling voice, “We’re always watching. Always. If you tell the fighter the truth in any way and pressure him… it will become very uninteresting.”
Yuri agreed.
After that, he deliberately reduced contact with Chris. The watchful eyes didn’t follow Yuri when he was away from Chris.
Yuri seized this opportunity to contact Peter and created a special gift for the Colosseum using information squeezed out of the broker.
In some ways, it was fortunate. Honestly, Chris wasn’t good at acting. So Yuri had come along and induced immersion by mixing in appropriate amounts of truth.
‘…With his personality, he would definitely destroy the arena.’
Yuri understood Chris too well.
Chris normally had an incredibly high flash point. But when Yuri was involved, that flash point dropped drastically.
The bigger problem was that once the fire started, it was difficult to put out.
‘This is a card that can’t be played unless you’re willing to bulldoze the entire Colosseum.’
So Yuri quietly watched as Chris assessed his potential opponent.
It was honestly entertaining to watch Chris worry about whether his opponent would be Obl or Tasha.
How many thoughts ran through his mind despite his stoic face.
Looking at that golden back of his head, full of complex conjectures and concerns, evoked a strange sentiment.
Chris had originally been someone who just did what Yuri told him to do and never questioned anything. At least that’s what Yuri thought. Because of that, he had no idea about Chris’s worries or decisions until he left on his own.
Knowing someone is like possessing them.
Name, origin, hobbies, personality.
Weaknesses, strengths, relationships, likes and dislikes.
Hopes, desires, despair, ambition.
Through these, you grasp an individual and persuade them. You gauge when and where you can use the person you’ve drawn in, and you command them.
Ignorance inevitably leads to loss and betrayal.
In that context, Yuri had never properly possessed Chris.
His thoughts deepened.
Thanks to this, Yuri could face the special match day without having to act separately.
To Chris, he made an excuse about going ahead and entered the waiting room assigned to him.
While pretending to load the gun Meredith had given him, he naturally slipped out the bullets. It might not be a proper weapon. But if it was the Colosseum, they wouldn’t let Yuri be one-sidedly defeated. The more intense the match, the more fun it would be.
Even as he was removing the bullets, he didn’t feel particularly afraid.
Even if they searched his body, they wouldn’t find them.
‘Soon they’ll be busy with other problems anyway.’
Yuri was someone accustomed to drawing out maximum output during the given time.
‘Peter Garrett should have entered by now.’
Since the match had started, Peter Garrett, who had obtained a ticket, would be moving.
When he opened the “door,” what Yuri had prepared would pour down from above.
However, to open doors in multiple places simultaneously, preliminary work was necessary. For this, he had to participate in the first half of the match without complaint.
When Yuri stepped onto the arena, he faced Chris who was looking at him with a bewildered expression.
His blue eyes, unable to hide his turmoil, rippled. Like waves crashing without rest.
It was difficult to remain completely composed under that gaze, like foam breaking apart.
He was aware that he had acted without communicating with his dog.
But now that he faced the consequences, he didn’t feel as comfortable as he thought he would.
Despite having no idea how tangled the situation was, Chris’s gaze toward him didn’t express betrayal. It only contained worry and desperation. It resembled a dog that returns no matter how many times you abandon it.
Yuri composed his expression and whistled.
“Nice new collar.”
Yuri noticed the unnatural object Chris was wearing around his neck.
He didn’t express anger because he was in the middle of preparing to plunge them into mud.
‘I thought I had hidden it well.’
Was it the fact that he had shared a bed with Chris a few days ago that bothered them? Or were they simply thorough in preparing for everything?
Vowing not to kill Meredith and the Colosseum associates too mercifully, Yuri began a small game with Chris.
“Shall we try it like before?”
Yuri, having drawn attention, whispered.
“Like when I was taming a disobedient dog.”
Chris probably understood.
His slightly widened eyes returned to normal. His somewhat rough breathing steadied.
Unlike Yuri, who had put on someone else’s skin, Chris maintained his true appearance.
And that fact brought a light pleasure to Yuri.
Combat is similar to bodies colliding on a bed.
The desire to understand the opponent thoroughly and dig deeper is the same. The heat that makes your heart race is the same, and the moment when you focus solely on your enemy is the same.
Yuri persistently pursued Chris. He was certainly a beautiful prey.
At the same time, he was also a beautiful hunter.
When claws grazed the nape of his neck, when blood spurted unintentionally, an equal excitement followed.
The desire to live and the desire to become intensely entangled with that man were engaged in a rough tug of war.
Yuri moved, half-surrendering to that impulse.
It’s clear that even a small mistake could lead to a major injury in a moment of carelessness. But isn’t it too precious a moment not to enjoy?
‘I probably won’t even dream of this for the next ten years or so.’
His dog is cautious and loyal. It was obvious that he would desperately try to avoid situations where he would “inevitably” have to fight Yuri in the future.
Sure enough, when Yuri defenslessly burrowed into Chris’s arms, he froze in surprise. His body, startled by the touch that stroked his thigh under the guise of an attack, was elastic.
Vitality overflowed from the entire body of the man who pretended to be docile, pretended to be tame, and lay flat before Yuri. The killing intent that he barely kept in check surged.
The tension that tightened the skin. The desire for survival. The longing to recapture “his own.”
Only in the moment when he could most vividly feel that he was alive could he delve into his honest emotions.
As Yuri savored these detailed layers, he even felt regret at the fact that the first half was coming to an end.
– First round over! We’ll be back after a break.
Yuri could see Chris with his lips tightly shut. His gaze, endlessly cast toward him, was filled with unmistakable desperation.
‘He’s disgustingly honest.’
He wouldn’t need to hide it anymore.
Yuri, who had gone down to the rest area, found Meredith.
“You were doing quite well.”
“I don’t think you’ve graced us with your presence just to offer praise.”
Yuri’s choice of words was significant. Meredith narrowed her eyes.
“Well. You’re holding up too well, and I’m worried.”
“Worried?”
“Thoughts like… what if our champion’s heart softens and he loses.”
“Haha.”
Yuri laughed.
The naivety of firmly believing that nothing would go wrong with the match was amusing.
“Do you think a dog that’s been leashed all its life will just run away when given freedom? He’s the type who sits when told to sit, and bites when told to bite.”
Playing along with her misconception wasn’t that difficult.
“That’s why. I came to prepare for the worst.”
Meredith said with an expressionless face.
“Let’s say he committed suicide. That he took his own life out of fear of the second half.”
“Ha…”
She seemed to really underestimate him.
‘Well.’
All John Doe had done after entering the Colosseum with an indebted Esper was hang around with gamblers. He even engaged in match-fixing through a broker later on.
“That’s a good idea.”
Yuri said in a kind tone.
“But it’s only something you can talk about when you can actually execute it.”
“What?”
There was no need for a signal.
The floor collapsed, and Meredith fell.
Yuri looked down at the black mouth that had swallowed Meredith, then slowly got up.
‘Peter Garrett did well.’
He doesn’t enter a place where he might die without any preparation. If he had put his neck on the line, he definitely moved with the intention of gaining a commensurate benefit.
He absolutely detested losing deals.
Although he had to move more radically than his initial goal, it would be fine.
There was endless information to be gained from Meredith. She was a high-ranking official of the Colosseum, after all.
There was also no reason to drag things out because of persuasion.
‘Plus, Fortuna recently found a way to bypass the Thorns Order’s ban.’
– The match will resume.
A booming sound was heard through the speakers. Yuri imagined tearing out the tongue of the invisible speaker.
The floor slowly began to rise.
Meredith’s timely visit had actually been helpful.
Now, even if the Colosseum realized she was missing, they couldn’t immediately pull Yuri down.
There were too many watching eyes.
And while they hesitated to make a decision, Yuri would overturn this game.
He could see Chris standing across from him in the arena.
His clothes were in disarray, and Yuri unconsciously frowned. It was because Chris had repeatedly used partial transformation of just his arms and legs, then returned to normal, rather than transforming his entire body.
His face, having made some kind of determination, was very resolute. The atmosphere around him was turbulent. The commentary that had been loudly chattering had stopped.
‘That’s to be expected.’
The energy Chris had drawn up was probably causing the waves within the arena to churn chaotically.
But Chris wouldn’t need to do anything.
Yuri gave the signal. From the tightly closed ceiling, a rain of paper began to fall.
“What… is this?”
Chris, picking up one of the fluttering papers, moved his lips with a blank voice.
Despite not being the type to enjoy showing off, Yuri found the astonishment in those eyes pleasing.
“Well, do you like it?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
