Win or Survive

  The Spine groaned with ghosts.

  The air itself remembered every scream that had ever passed through it.

  Sunlight broke through fractured rafters in cold, splintered spears, carving the arena into a cage of gold and ash. Dust drifted through those bars like the souls of the ones who’d lost here before.

  Then Hellick’s voice cut the stillness.

  Serene. Sharp. Surgical.

  “Instead of going directly to the third location...”

  She stepped forward, boots crushing gravel and memory.

  “This is your world now,” she said. “Run. Fight. Hide. All previous rules still apply.”

  Her head tilted slightly, a smile ghosting her lips. “Still have 10 minutes. Still need to subdue or defeat. No killing unless permitted.”

  The words hung in the air like a death sentence and Dozai’s eyes darted all over, taking it all in:

  The holes in the rafters.

  The slope of the debris.

  The tremors in Kota’s stance.

  His mind was already moving, thoughts branching like frost.

  Kota was a force built for destruction, a boy whose every breath promised violence.

  They’d have to divide him. Overwhelm him before he built rhythm.

  Or—

  Could we escape?

  The thought came quick and stayed long.

  The arena now stretched into the whole camp. Paths, corridors, blind corners, all of it fair game.

  If they timed it right, maybe they could slip out before Hellick’s eyes caught on.

  Dozai’s gaze flicked upward towards Hellick.

  She was already watching him.

  Smiling.

  Like she’d heard every syllable of his thought.

  “Also,” she said sweetly, “you can try to escape if you want...” Her smile widened, cold and gleaming. “...but I wouldn’t advise it.”

  The idea died right there.

  That tiny flicker of rebellion, snuffed out under her gaze.

  Dozai exhaled, slow.

  Right. One option gone. One less distraction. Focus.

  Hellick lifted her arms, her voice carrying like silk over razors.

  “Since the official matches are over,” she said, “all hunters, guards, and workers, return to your daily tasks. You’ve all had a long enough break.”

  Some obeyed immediately. Others lingered, drawn to the spectacle even as instinct begged them to leave.

  Hellick’s hand rose again.

  “Delnora. Lucious. Rizaru.” Her finger pointed them out one by one, unblinking. “You three stay. You’re important pieces. You should watch how this ends.”

  Up in the stands, Rizaru leaned forward, elbows on her knees, eyes sharp and unblinking. Her hands worked at the bandages on her wrists, twist, tighten, release, repeat. A ritual born of tension she didn’t know she had.

  Delnora inclined her head politely, her gaze bright with the hunger of a scholar about to witness a theory tested in blood.

  Lucious said nothing, his silence heavier than the noise.

  Down below, Kota’s shadow rippled. His lips moved, muttering, voice thick with restrained laughter.

  Hellick raised her hand once more.

  “What will you show me this time?” Her eyes stopping on each individual, then her hand came down sharply. “Begin.”

  It felt like wind changed. Alive, restless, circling, pulling at their clothes like the world itself was inhaling.

  Kota stepped forward.

  Slow. Deliberate.

  Each step thundered through the ground like the heartbeat of something vast and buried.

  Mana flared, gold and red burning off his shoulders like light from a cracked furnace. His body radiated heat and hunger.

  “Your luck’s run out,” The words came out low, cruel, steady. “You made it far for rats.”

  He stopped, head tilting with a predator’s ease.

  “As a reward…” His grin split wider. “I’ll give you a hint.”

  The air pulsed.

  His aura surged outward in perfect rhythm. Like a boxer wrapping his hands before the bell.

  “My attacks can get disorienting,” he said, pointing at his head. “Although… You'll probably lose consciousness with just a few hits.”

  Then he noticed the whispering.

  Dozai and the others had formed a tight circle.

  Low voices. Barely breathing.

  Roi’s jaw locked tight.

  Nobu nodded once, eyes sharp and restless.

  Rei steadied her breathing, her fingers trembled faintly.

  Kenny flexed his hands.

  Kota frowned. “You think planning is going to help yo—?”

  Dozai’s voice cut him off, a spark catching dry grass.

  “Red.”

  They moved.

  All at once, like glass exploding outward.

  Rei and Roi bolted right, frantic but with a clear goal in mind. Nobu darted left behind Kenny, her steps almost soundless.

  Dozai reached down, grabbing something from the debris and sprinted left as well. He saw at the corner of his eye that Roi was strapping something to her arm as well, acknowledging that Roi is thinking ahead just like him.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  Kota’s grin faltered. “...Tch.”

  The ground shook as his mana spiked.

  From the corner of his eye, even as he moved, he could see Rizaru on her feet in the stands...

  Rizaru's hands stilled on her bandages. Her eyes, sharp and unblinking, tracked not the fight, but Dozai.

  The way he moved wasn't like a fighter; it was like a man adjusting pieces on a board only he could see.

  A cold, fierce pride tightened her chest.

  The Sound of Refusal

  They all didn’t run towards Kota. They fled away.

  Kota’s laughter cracked like thunder on iron. ““This is your plan? Running?” He vanished, a blur of white-hot speed, “You know I’m faster than you all, right?”

  And just like that, he was right in front of Dozai.

  Dozai didn’t flinch. He flung a burst of sand into Kota’s face, all from the debris he grabbed.

  Kota didn't flinch either, committing to his punch while simutantiously lowering his head to dodge most of the sand.

  Dozai’s instincts screamed, his Maho stretching time enough for him to barely twist his head away. The blow grazed his shoulder that still made his eyes widen in pain and shock.

  The force was enough to make Dozai hit the ground, scrambled up, and continue running behind, catching up to Kenny and Nobu, breath sharp in his lungs.

  “You okay?!” Kenny shouted, glancing at the bruise from Dozai’s shoulder.

  “...We might have to change the plan again,” Dozai muttered, eyes dark.

  Kota hissed, rubbing the sting from his eyes. “Annoying little…”

  He stepped forward—

  BOOM!

  The ground beneath him burst upward.A trap Dozai pressed while picking up sand, a mine from the Sero fight, finally igniting.

  Dust swallowed Kota, but when the smoke cleared he stood there unwounded.

  His gaze swept the arena. He was alone in The Spine now.

  Rizaru had darted right, chasing after Roi and Rei. Delnora had tailed the other three.

  Kota flexed his jaw.

  His eyes locked on the crooked chair where Master Hellick sat, her smile tender and cruel.

  Approval dangled, just out of reach.

  He could almost hear it in her silence.

  “I was giving them a chance,” he muttered. His fists clenched. “I’ll end it now.”

  His pulse climbed. Then he was gone, kicking off the stone, a streak of white dust and fury.

  Roi and Rei were already halfway to the Heatbox, lungs burning, legs scraping earth.

  If they could just reach it, if they could draw him in, they could gain an advantage.

  The path narrowed into a slope of jagged stone and tangled roots. Grass thinned into brittle patches that cracked underfoot. The forest around them hissed with wind and the whisper of bending trunks. Sunlight fractured through the canopy like broken glass, flickering across their faces.

  “Shit,” Roi muttered, glancing back. “Dozai predicted wrong.”

  The forest convulsed behind them. A tremor ran through the ground, branches snapped in rapid succession, Kota moving far too fast.

  “He chose us,” Roi hissed, voice raw. “He’s gonna catch up! What the hell are we going to do?!”

  Rei looked ahead.

  Through the shimmering air, she saw it, the ridge, the metallic glint of the Heatbox’s shell.

  Close enough to see. Too far to reach.

  Her body screamed to keep running. But she stopped.

  Her boots skidded, dirt and roots tearing under her heel. Breath tore through her throat as she spun back, facing the tremor coming through the trees.

  Roi almost didn’t notice, until Rei’s absence left a hollow space beside her.

  “What are you—?” Roi stumbled to a stop, eyes wide. “Rei! What are you doing?!”

  Rei didn’t answer. Her shoulders trembled, chest rising and falling in a jagged rhythm. Sweat slicked her jaw, hair clinging to her cheeks. She looked back once and somehow smiled.

  “…I’m doing the Sacrifice Formation.”

  Roi froze. “No. We said we weren’t doing that!”

  Rei reached out. Her hand found Roi’s arm, grip unsteady but deliberate. It wasn’t command, it was a plea.

  Her fingers shook, but her smile stayed.

  “You have to get to the Heatbox,” she said, voice cracking. “If you don’t, we all lose.”

  The air felt like it went quiet for a moment.

  Just heartbeat. Breath.

  Roi’s expression broke, anguish and defiance fighting for her voice, but Rei’s unwavering smile cut it short. Roi’s jaw locked, teeth grinding as she swallowed the words and stepped back.

  “Stubborn. Just like Kenny... I’ll put down a flare,” Roi whispered. “Please, be—”

  Suddenly, a roar of wind and splintering bark devoured her words.

  Kota emerged unleashed.

  The forest bent around him, air warping from the force of his momentum.

  “Aw,” his voice cut through the chaos, smooth and cruel, “Girl talk? Without me?”

  Before Roi could react, Kota’s leg swung his boot landing squarely in her ribs.

  The sound was wet and deep.

  Her body folded around the impact, launched sideways into the denser forest on the right. She crashed into the dirt, skidding through brittle grass until she struck a rock. A strangled gasp escaped her lips. Her hands twitched, trying to push herself back up.

  “ROI!!” Rei screamed.

  She quickly pivot towards, fists clenched, nails digging into her palms, vision tunneling. Her legs coiled and launched at Kota's jaw before fear could form.

  Only instinct, the blinding need to make him stop.

  The kick connected clean, square against his jaw.

  But he didn’t flinch. Not even an inch.

  “Really?” he murmured, amused.

  His hand blurred, a backhand landing with casual precision.

  Her head snapped sideways, feet leaving the ground, as she collided with a tree hard enough to rattle its trunk. She slid down the roots, coughing blood, vision blurring.

  Kota dusted his wrist, sighing like a bored instructor.

  “Let me guess,” he said, as he walked to Roi. “You’re luring me to the Heatbox? All your cute little toys waiting there?”

  He loomed over her, a shadow stretching across a dying sun. “You thought I’d head to Dozai first, huh. I’m not that predictable.”

  Roi looked up, meeting his eyes. Pain in every movement, but her gaze stayed sharp.

  “Blah blah blah,” she croaked. “You gonna hit me again or just stand there admiring yourself?”

  Kota’s brow twitched and then a thin smile. Without a word, he raised his fist and dropped it down like judgment towards Roi's arm.

  When the attack landed, instead of bone, a metallic snap echoed.

  A sound box under Roi’s sleeve shattered, gears breaking, then a shriek like a dying siren tearing through the clearing, ringing loud enough to make Kota pause.

  That heartbeat was all she needed.

  She bolted backwards, pushing off of Kota's frame. She clenched her arm, even though the mechanical sound box dulled the attack, she could still feel the sting of the attack. She didn’t look back, having no choice but to stick to the plan.

  “REI! PLEASE…. PLEASE STAY ALIVE!” Tears welled in her eyes as she quickly placed down a flare, a signal for the others, and continued running towards the Heatbox.

  Kota rubbed his ears, still slight ringing and as he stepped forward, ready to sprint again, Rei was there infront of him again.

  Her arms were out, like she was holding the air itself back.

  “You gotta get through me fir—”

  WHAM!

  Kota’s punch landed clean on her shoulder. No hesitation.

  She flew backward, toward the direction Roi had been running, hit the dirt hard, skidding until she stopped near a tree stump.

  Kota didn’t even look at her. He was already moving forward, boots pounding, dust bursting around his feet as he sprinted past her fallen body, eyes locked on Roi’s path.

  But then his foot jerked mid-stride, something yanked him down.

  He crashed forward, shoulder-first, momentum shredding into gravel.

  When he looked back, a hand was clamped around his ankle.

  Rei’s.

  Her knuckles were bleeding, but her grip held.

  “…You stubborn—” Kota hissed, shaking her off and surging upright.

  He watched Rei with snarled look as she slowly circle to block his path again. Arms wide again and knees trembling.

  “I said…” her voice broke, raw but loud. “…YOU’RE NOT GETTING PAST!!!”

  The words rippled through the dirt and the air.

  Through whatever line separated courage from madness.

  Kota stared at her, something sharp flickering behind his eyes.

  Like her defiance reminded him of something. For a moment his fist unclenched slow before tightening even harder again.

  He exhaled, quiet and tired.

  “…Fine,” He stepped forward confidently, each step heavier, “Don’t blame me for what happens next.”

  The sound that followed wasn't a punch, or a scream. It was the heavy, breath-stealing impact against Rei’s ribs as she refused to fall.

  The sound of refusal.