Chapter 66
The coliseum was momentarily draped in silence.
The crowd was stunned as Blood Wind Sword Gu Ryun collapsed with a single blow, but soon they grasped the situation and erupted into cheers.
“W-what the hell! Blood Wind Sword went down in one hit!”
“Who was that guy again? Iron Fist Ian?”
“They’re offering 13 to 1 odds? No way! I should’ve bet on him!”
“One hit! This is incredible, Iron Fist!”
As the audience cheered wildly, all I could manage was a deep sigh.
“Hah…”
Silvia declared victory with a bright smile, shouting Iron Fist Ian’s name, but those words didn’t stir anything within me.
I could only think about how things had come to this point.
*
A few hours earlier.
Silvia suggested reopening the underground coliseum as a way to revive the stagnant Dark Alley.
“Reopening it, you say?”
“Exactly. Some crazy wizard set the arena on fire, and it’s been closed indefinitely ever since. Now that the repairs are done, I thought we could take this opportunity to attract customers back to the Dark Alley… but I need your help to do that.”
I nodded slightly, encouraging her to continue.
Silvia continued speaking.
“We need a fighter to boost the coliseum’s hype, right? Someone with overwhelming skill, and preferably an unknown rookie. If we keep showing the same familiar faces, audiences will become bored and we need fresh faces to keep them excited.”
“I see.”
“…Well, that’s just a facade, and my real goal is something else.”
I frowned playfully, sending her a look that asked what she meant, and Silvia crossed her legs and grinned mischievously.
“I want you to completely obliterate all the coliseum fighters. As overwhelmingly as possible.”
“Hmm?”
I wasn’t too familiar with how the coliseum operated, but I questioned whether having a sudden rookie take down all the established fighters would really help in the long run.
Even if I became the new champion, I had no plans to keep fighting. It seemed pointless to entrust this task to someone who would leave so soon.
Silvia seemed to guess my thoughts and shook her finger at me.
“Opening the coliseum for the promotion effect is a good idea, but it’s actually a business I’m not very related to.”
“That’s odd. Aren’t you the one in charge in this Dark Alley?”
“I am, but not the ultimate ruler. This is a bit of a long story… Do you want me to explain in detail? Or keep it brief?”
I shook my head lightly.
“Just the gist, please.”
“…Hmm. It’s harder to be brief….”
Silvia crossed her arms, pausing slightly before she spoke.
“Basically, there are four main players in the capital city’s Dark Alley. There’s me, the brothel operator; the beggar leader, Wang Cho; the drug dealer, Ulrich; and the loan shark, Bondman. The four of us manage the Dark Alley together.”
“I’ve heard that the Dark Alley is managed by one organization.”
“That’s partly true. We don’t exactly have a boss, but it’s true that the four of us form one organization. However, if you look closely, we spend our days busy fighting over our own interests.”
I didn’t need to hear more to understand what that meant.
They probably made some agreement not to fight in the open since clashing publicly wouldn’t do any good in the long run, but behind the scenes, fierce battles over interests must be happening.
With four powers gathered in this small area, that’s usually how it goes.
Silvia scratched her cheek awkwardly and said, “It’s a bit embarrassing to say this myself, but I try to manage my part of the Dark Alley with a relatively good conscience.”
I knew that. Just looking at the expressions and atmosphere of the women working below made that clear.
Of course, I knew that the phrase “conscientious illegal business” didn’t pair well together, but the women exuded a haunting atmosphere typical of sex workers, yet they didn’t seem forced to be working at all.
I didn’t know what it was like in the past, but at least since Silvia had started managing things here, it probably hadn’t been the case.
“But the other three are… since they were influential long before I entered the Dark Alley, they’re much more brutal and territorial. Plus, the coliseum has been a joint venture of those three for a long time, so it’s difficult for me to interfere.”
“Do you want me to smash that to bits?”
“Exactly. I want to shatter it completely. If the fighters they’ve built up for so long are destroyed, there won’t be anyone to send out for a while. If things go well, I could even take over the coliseum business.”
“Then the other three won’t take kindly to you.”
“We’ve never been on good terms. Plus, when you find out how many people are dragged away to die in illegal coliseums every year, I bet you’ll be shocked.”
“…”
Thinking back, the coachman I met back then testified that they sold the abducted races to the Dark Alley.
Silvia said she protected the people traded at her brothel and sent them back.
But what about those traded elsewhere?
What happened to those who were sold as experimental subjects to wizards or as gladiator slaves? Could Silvia protect them all?
Probably not. I started to wonder if her reason for wanting to take over the coliseum business was somewhat related to that.
Instead of asking Silvia and seeking confirmation, I just nodded lightly.
“You’re a bit too conscientious for doing business in the Dark Alley.”
“…Hmm, well. I’m not unaware of that.”
“Why not just run a business above ground instead? You could do well.”
Even though she was a wanted person, with her disguise skills, she could surely do better above board.
She didn’t have to take care of women or engage in illegal activities at a brothel; with her talents, she could live a good life somewhere else.
However, Silvia just twirled her hair and smiled shyly. It was a much more natural smile than the intentionally risky and alluring one she usually showed.
“Sorry, but this is my home and my hometown. I have no desire to leave.”
“…I see.”
In the end, I accepted Silvia’s proposal.
*
‘Blood Wind Sword Gu Ryun is a minion of Wang Cho. He’s infamous for his supreme strong body art and brutality. He’s popular among the audience for having torn apart 99 opponents in the coliseum… but most of them were forced to fight for the sake of Blood Wind Sword’s show.’
“Gah!!”
The jaw of Blood Wind Sword Gu Ryun shattered into dust with a solid uppercut.
Even if I took him straight to the temple, he wouldn’t be able to chew food with that mouth anymore.
“Blood Wind Sword Gu Ryun has fallen with just one hit from Ian! Victory for Iron Fist Ian! What a spectacular first match!”
“Woooooo!!”
*
‘Black Knife Zelen is the hitman for drug dealer Ulrich. He’s known for killing targets by any means necessary. When facing him, it’s wise to be cautious of poison and throwing knives.’
As Silvia explained, Zelen’s knife was coated with poison, and during the match, he sprayed a dangerous powdered toxin around.
“W-why…! That was enough to kill an elephant with three drops! Why isn’t it working on you!”
“Because it doesn’t affect me.”
“W-what kind of nonsense is that!?”
The throwing knife thrown by my opponent was caught in my hand. I crushed it in my fist and slammed a punch into Zelen’s gut.
“Ugh!”
Zelen collapsed, spitting blood from his nose and mouth, and didn’t get back up. Given the state of his shattered bones and organs, he’d need years to heal.
“Black Knife Zelen falls again with a single punch from Ian! Iron Fist Ian claims his second victory!”
“Wooooo!!”
*
‘Loan Shark Bondman’s brother, Thunder Dalton. He’s a 5th Circle thunder magician, capable of freely using thunder magic to roast all opponents. Never give him time or distance. Once he starts casting, the lightning won’t stop pouring down.’
Flash!
Boom! Boom! Boom!!
I strode forward, taking the onslaught of lightning strikes head-on.
Dalton backed away, pale-faced from the mana exhaustion, continuously making hand seals while spewing thunder.
“AAAH!! Don’t come! Don’t come! Why isn’t the lightning affecting you!”
“It stings a bit.”
“AAAAAAAH!!”
Just like I did to Blood Wind Sword, I slammed a punch into Dalton’s jaw.
He spun in the air a few times and crashed to the ground, lying still like a dead man, but he was barely breathing.
With his shattered jaw, he wouldn’t be able to chant spells anymore.
“Everyone, did you see! Even Thunder Dalton! Down with a single blow! Iron Fist Ian takes him down with one punch!”
“Wooooo!!”
“Iron Fist!! Iron Fist!! Iron Fist!!”
*
After all the matches concluded, Silvia clung to my leg.
“Let go.”
“Come on! No, big brother! Just one more match! Just one more! It’ll be a shame if we end it here!”
“I said let go.”
“Anyway, you’ll still need our information! I’ll give you a one-month, no, a one-year free pass for the brothel! Please, just one more match!”
I had to suppress the urge to kick Silvia away.
