Chapter 28: The Arena?

The corridor was so silent it felt almost lifeless, with only Ye Mi's own footsteps echoing through the passage, each step stretching her nerves taut with tension.

She stopped abruptly, her flashlight beam wavering across the walls. At some point, a vast expanse of mottled murals had appeared along the stone. Slowing her pace, she used the beam to examine the patterns, faded as they were, still discernible enough.

The first mural depicted a warrior clad in armor, hurling a spear with all his might into the compound eye of a monstrous, grotesque insect. The creature’s segmented body writhed at impossible angles, as if struggling desperately.

Another mural showed three fighters besieging a beast that was part dragon, part lizard. Its limbs were unremarkable, but it bore dragon’s horns and wings. In its gaping, blood-red maw, a man had already been severed at the waist, half his body still dangling between its teeth.

“What is this…” Ye Mi narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing the architecture around the murals—the rising tiers of seats, the swaying heads of a gathered crowd. The layout struck her as oddly familiar.

What could it be…? Warriors fighting monsters, an audience surrounding them…

A sudden jolt ran through Ye Mi as the answer, long elusive, leapt into her mind.

An arena!

As she pondered and continued forward, a flash of warm amber light, distinct from her flashlight’s white beam, pierced her vision. Narrow windows had appeared along the passage without her noticing. Peering out through them, Ye Mi saw the audience stands depicted in the murals now brought to riotous life—countless bronze creatures were filing into their seats in an orderly fashion, the air alive with noise and excitement.

So these were the same frenzied figures that had surged through the passageways just before? They’d trampled their own kind in a mad rush, all to come here and be spectators?

Ye Mi imagined a theater crowd so desperate for a show they’d flatten each other just to get in. She couldn’t help rolling her eyes.

Absolutely deranged.

“So what am I doing here? Am I a spectator? A contestant?”

No one answered. Muttering to herself, Ye Mi pressed on. Her instincts told her she’d reached the end of this labyrinth; everything would become clear if she just kept moving forward.

Just as she expected, a stone chamber bathed in dim yellow light soon blocked her path ahead, casting away the darkness.

As soon as she stepped inside, there was a sharp click.

Two bronze figures emerged from the shadows to her left and right. They looked much like the other bronze beings she’d seen outside, clad in what seemed to be standard armor—movements stiff, but their intent unmistakable. One carried a bronze helmet and a breastplate, the other bore sets of limb guards, and both strode directly toward her.

Ye Mi was caught off guard by their sudden appearance. Her hand trembled, but she quickly suppressed her fright. Instinctively, she stepped back half a pace, her back pressing against the stone door.

The door had closed at some point!

With no way to dodge, her gaze hardened. Without hesitation, she seized the initiative—pulling the dagger from her side and thrusting it into the left eye socket of the figure on her left, then slashing hard to the right.

Nothing but empty air.

Perhaps not expecting her attack, the bronze figure faltered. As they tried to react, the other moved to seize Ye Mi from behind, but she anticipated the move and nimbly leapt aside.

She unleashed her Rust Tide; black threads snaked out, twining around the joints of both bronze figures like tendrils.

The metal was vulnerable—her corrosion could consume it.

With the Rust Tide’s devouring power and her swift, decisive action, it was a simple matter to dispatch them.

Only then did Ye Mi have a moment to properly survey the chamber.

To the left stood a row of long benches for resting. On the right wall, several sets of bronze armor and swords hung. On the wall before her, a dark red arrow pointed toward a shadowed passage lit by oil lamps.

The two bronze figures now lay dismantled, scattered across the floor in a jumble of parts.

Just ordinary bronze, nothing of use to Ye Mi any longer. She had absorbed plenty of common metals by now; such scraps could no longer help her advance.

In fact, she hadn’t sensed any particular malice from the two bronze figures. Judging by the way they’d approached carrying armor, and recalling the arena she’d glimpsed outside, it wasn’t hard to guess their purpose.

She must have wandered into a corridor leading to the contestants’ preparation room. Most likely, these two were some kind of arena staff… though she had no idea how extraterrestrial arenas operated.

Resigned, Ye Mi sighed.

“…Sorry, I’m just not used to being touched. Not even by bronze.”

Though her words were apologetic, there was not a trace of regret in her tone.

But then again—could this arena itself be part of the gods’ trial?

It was very likely. If that was the case, would victory in the arena come with some kind of reward?

As she pondered, she moved to the wall and selected a set of armor and a longsword.

There was no turning back; battle was her only choice.

The faint clatter of armor echoed in the stone chamber as she quickly donned the pieces. She swung the longsword a few times—the blade sang sharply as it sliced the air.

A good fit.

Finally, she placed the bronze helmet atop her head. Then she paused, and black threads surged from every part of her body, flowing over her like living water. Any part not covered by the armor now gleamed with metallic sheen.

She used the Rust Tide to shroud her entire form, concealing her true body.

Beneath the bronze armor, her electronic eyes glowed coldly. No one would recognize her now.

Just then, from the depths of the passage, the sound of a horn echoed—deep and resonant, yet strangely melodious.

She would have to face the arena’s adversary.

Ye Mi tightened her grip on the sword and strode down the passage, where a heavy portcullis awaited.

Sensing her approach, the gate slowly rose, and a blinding light forced Ye Mi to squint.

It had been a long time since she’d seen such dazzling light.

The instant her feet crossed into the arena, the portcullis crashed shut behind her, sending up a cloud of dust.

As the dust settled, she saw the creature waiting at the center of the ring.

It was a bronze scorpion the size of a truck, its body cobbled together from twisted metal wreckage—broken swords fused into pincers, its tail formed by three spears braided together, the tips dripping a viscous, dark green fluid that ate smoking pits into the sand.

Ye Mi glanced around. She was alone in the vast arena.

Which meant she would have to face this monstrous foe on her own.