Chapter 167 Hidaka Keiji ② (Sugita Group ⑩)
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
On the way to the arena, I ran into someone I didn’t expect to see.
”Oh? Well, if it isn’t Hidaka! Long time no see, Hidaka-kun!”
She had tanned skin and blonde hair that had grown out so much the black roots were showing-a classic “pudding-head”¹ look. It was the gal, Kodama Satomi.
”Hm? Oh, Kodama. It has been a while,” I said. “Though we didn’t exactly hang out much back then.”
”Heh, true enough,” Kodama giggled. “ni-shi-shi”
I hadn’t expected to stumble across a classmate in a place like this.
”So, where are you headed?” she asked.
”The arena. Thinking about signing up.”
”Hmm. Short on cash? Or just looking for a fight?”
”More the latter,” I replied.
The urge to cut something was always there, but more than that, I wanted to see exactly where I stood. Testing my mettle wasn’t a bad way to put it.
”Hey, hey, mind if I tag along?”
”Why? You signing up too, Kodama?” I asked.
If she was, there was a chance we’d face off. Classmate or not, I wouldn’t hold back. If anything, the desire to carve her up was stronger. But Kodama clearly wasn’t interested in that.
”No way! I’m just there to watch,” she said, waving her hands dismissively. “I hate pain. Besides, you know the deal, right? If a fighter dies in there, it’s on them. No compensation, no nothing. Most people wouldn’t touch that place with a ten-foot pole.”
She shook her head vigorously. It was true-most people would avoid a place where “death is your own responsibility.” Then again, that also meant killing your opponent wasn’t a crime. It was a shame I wouldn’t get to slash Kodama, but there were plenty of other targets.
One thing did bother me, though.
”Why are you alone, Kodama?”
If I remembered correctly, she had escaped with Yuki and Kijima’s younger sister. They’d all vanished on the same day, so they should have been together. Yet Yuki was missing, and Kijima’s sister had somehow become Sasaki’s Servitude². None of it added up.
”Oh, well, I wasn’t always on my own,” Kodama said as we started walking. “I was with Yuki-kun and Kijima-san for a while.”
As we walked, she filled me in on what had happened. To put it simply: they fought Sasaki and lost. Yuki was killed, and the girls were given a choice-become his slaves or endure “The Torture.”
”Wait, so you refused to be a slave? And you actually chose the torture?” I asked.
”I didn’t know!” Kodama snapped, her voice rising in anger. “I had no idea having a goat lick the soles of your feet was that much agony! I managed to endure it until he let me go, but my feet were absolute tatters. Narumi healed me, but the skin was gone all the way up to my knees. You could practically see the bone!”
She was fuming now, drawing looks from people nearby. I couldn’t help but be impressed by Sasaki’s cruelty.
”I’m surprised he let you go at all,” I noted.
”Yeah, well, most of his grudge was aimed at Yuki-kun. Messing with us was just a side project for him. But even though he let me go… I can’t even think about him without shaking.”
”Well, you don’t have to worry about that anymore,” I said flatly. “We killed Sasaki.”
I told her point-blank that he was dead. But she didn’t buy it.
”No. No way.”
”What do you mean? I saw him get beheaded right in front of me. He’s dead.”
”Sasaki doesn’t die just because you cut off his head,” Kodama insisted. “He comes back. We finished him off once, too, but…”
”He revived?”
Kodama nodded. I couldn’t dismiss it as nonsense. After we ‘killed’ him, his body had vanished. I’d only noticed it after looking at the blood-soaked Honoka. One moment she was cradling his head, and the next, there was nothing but blood on her clothes. The arm I’d severed, the torso-all of it had disappeared.
”And there’s more,” Kodama added. “He’s registered here as a gladiator. He’s going by the name ‘Seven,’ but it’s him. I know it.”
I went silent. Not only was he alive, but he was fighting in the arena? I was skeptical, but if it were true…
The corners of my mouth curled into a grin. This was perfect. I could cut him again. I could kill him all over again.
”If he really won’t stay dead, though…”
”That’s the thing,” Kodama whispered. “Maybe normal weapons and magic just don’t work. Like a vampire or a werewolf.”
”That makes sense,” I mused.
Sugita had been the one to deliver the final blow with Sasaki’s own claymore. It was a high-quality blade, but it didn’t have any special properties. If that was the case, I was the only one who could truly end him. Me and my Holy Sword³. The fact that he was in the arena was just a bonus-killing him there wouldn’t cause any legal trouble.
”Don’t worry, Kodama. I’ll finish him for real this time. I’ll use my Unique Skills⁴.”
”You promise? Then do it for Yuki-kun. Do what we couldn’t.”
”Yeah. Leave it to me.”
We reached the arena. It was a dead ringer for the Roman Colosseum in Italia⁵. I left Kodama and headed for the registration desk.
* * *
”Registration for Keiji Hidaka is complete, Sir,” the receptionist said. She was surprisingly well-groomed for a place so brutal. “Would you like to enter the roster immediately? Do you have any requests for your opponent?”
She reminded me again that the guild bore no responsibility for my death. I brushed it off. My Hero’s parameters⁶⁷ weren’t just for show. I asked about the matchups-apparently, they used both humans and monsters.
”I want to fight a guy named Seven,” I said.
”Seven? I’m afraid that’s not possible right away. He’s scheduled for the very next match.”
”I see. Then I’d like to watch.”
”Certainly. That will be one large copper coin for admission.”
They really charge for everything, don’t they? Well, the kingdom has to make money somehow, and a single copper was nothing to me. I paid the fee.
”Here is your pass, Sir. This allows you to come and go for the rest of the day.”
I took the wooden tally and headed for the stands. The place was packed, the air thick with the heat of the crowd. Down in the pit, a monster was already waiting. Even from here, I could tell it wasn’t a normal Ogre. It was a Blood Ogre-a massive, crimson beast far stronger and more violent than its lesser kin.
’Ladies and Gentlemen!’ a woman’s voice boomed through a magic amplification tool. ‘The challenger facing this Blood Ogre today is a rising star! He appeared out of nowhere three days ago and has left a trail of victories in his wake! Give it up for… SEVEN!’
The crowd roared as a man stepped onto the sands.
He had black hair and a long, blood-red muffler wrapped around his face in a way that looked suspiciously like a ninja. He wore green scale armor-not metal, but likely harvested from some beast. In each hand, he gripped a standard longsword.
’The match hasn’t even begun, but the Blood Ogre is charging!’
The monster didn’t care about rules; it just saw a meal. It lunged at Seven, trying to crush him, but he slipped away with effortless grace. He moved like a matador, reading every clumsy swing before the beast even made it.
’He dodges! Again and again! A single hit would be fatal, yet he dances through the carnage!’
The announcer was annoying, but the crowd loved it. Frustrated, the Ogre swung wide with a massive fist. Seven slipped inside the beast’s guard and, in a flash of steel, lopped its arm clean off.
The Ogre’s scream was drowned out by the roar of the crowd. Seven didn’t stop. He pivoted and sliced horizontally through the monster’s midsection, spilling its guts onto the sand. Then, with a final, clean stroke, he severed its head.
The head spun through the air as a fountain of gore erupted from the stump. The massive body collapsed.
’It’s over! The winner is Seven! Another brilliant victory!’
Seven stood in the center of the ring and held the Ogre’s head high. Then, he looked up. I felt his eyes lock onto mine. He flashed a predatory grin. He knew I was there.
I understood then. Seven was Sasaki. The way he killed that Ogre was a mirror of his own ‘death’-the severed arm, the spilled guts, the decapitation. He was showing off. He was mocking his own demise.
He tossed the head aside, bowed to the crowd, and vanished into the tunnel.
A chill ran down my spine, but it was quickly replaced by a surge of pure exultation.
Sasaki wanted to kill us? Fine. I’d return the favor.
I headed back to the receptionist and demanded a match with Seven.
—
Summary:
Hidaka encounters Kodama, who reveals that Sasaki is alive and fighting as ‘Seven’ in the arena. Kodama details the brutal fate of their classmates, including Yuki’s death and her own torture. Hidaka witnesses Sasaki effortlessly slaughter a Blood Ogre and decides to challenge him to a final duel.
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Trivia:
- Sasaki’s body vanished instantly after his ‘death’ in the previous encounter.
- Kodama was subjected to ‘goat torture’ where her feet were licked until the skin was gone to the bone.
- Sasaki’s gladiator name ‘Seven’ is likely a reference to the ‘Seven Sins’ in the title.
- Hidaka believes only his Holy Sword can kill Sasaki permanently.
- Sasaki intentionally mirrored his own death sequence while killing the Blood Ogre to taunt Hidaka
—
Character Insight:
Hidaka’s sociopathic tendencies are highlighted; he feels more desire to ‘slash’ his classmate Kodama than empathy for her torture. Sasaki demonstrates a theatrical, vengeful side by performing his own death on a monster.
—
Behind the Scenes:
The ‘goat torture’ (or honey torture) is a historical method where animals lick salt or honey off a victim’s feet, eventually wearing through the skin.
—
TL Notes:
Notes:
• Hidaka – A 182 cm, 79 kg man—muscular, once a member of the Sugita gang and Kendo club. Now a Hero-class warrior wielding the Holy Sword Ame‑no‑Murakumo‑no‑Tsurugi and the Unique Skill “Magic Sword.” Once a violent delinquent driven by sadistic urges and revenge, he now fights under a lingering curse, torn between power and madness.
• Kodama – Kodama Satomi—a tanned, bleached‑haired “gal” and self‑proclaimed fan of Chihiro. Skilled in Lightning Bolt sorcery with stats surpassing a Gargoyle’s despite low melee ability. Once an escapee with Yuki and Kijima’s sister, she suffered under Sasaki —whose female form later mimics her appearance, claiming to have “eaten” her.
• Satomi – A self-proclaimed fan of Chihiro. A bronzed girl with bleached hair.
• Sasaki – The protagonist, 168–171 cm and 57–59 kg, with a baby face hidden by black bangs. Once bullied and thought dead by the Sugita gang, he now fights as the gladiator Seven. Wielder of Snatch and Time Compression, he’s the hidden source of many curses and a shapeshifter. Dressed in green scale armor with a blood‑red muffler, he wields dual longswords.
• Yuki – Yuki Chihiro. Height 178 cm, weight 70 kg (Male). Natsumi’s childhood friend. A handsome, athletic top student in the soccer club.
• Narumi – Narumi Honoka. A member of the relief team with healing magic. Despite her cute, short, ‘transistor glamour’ appearance, she is cold-hearted and mocks Sasaki. Black hair, black eyes.
• Honoka – A member of the relief team with healing magic. Despite her cute, short, ‘transistor glamour’ appearance, she is cold-hearted and mocks Sasaki, now a bound slave to him.
• Sugita – Sugita Kazu. The leader of the Sugita gang and the primary bully of Natsumi Sasaki. His grandfather is the Superintendent General and his father is a Police Superintendent, so the two of them covered up all his crimes. Because of this, he does whatever he wants wherever he goes. He has a lean build, sharp features, and a calculating gaze. Possesses the ‘Steal’ (窃盗) skill and uses it to brainwash women.
• Keiji – Height 182 cm, weight 79 kg (Male). A muscular member of the Sugita gang and the Kendo club. While better than the other two, he still used Natsumi as a punching bag and joined in the sexual assault of Lieselotte Himesaki.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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