Chapter 56 Meira, The Dark Elf

"She goes by the nickname colossal Assassin..." I stated.

But her real name is Meira Ulafina... And she's a dark elf, a lesser-known elf race.

Even though she is far from huge. She was given the nickname "colossal Assassin" because she uses Assassin techniques that allow her to assassinate even gigantic individuals or monsters before they detect her.

As she had accomplished it, in one of her earlier battles, which the gladiators found to be extremely entertaining.

Even worse, it was posted online, gaining her widespread renown and making her the target of bets from aristocrats.

She thus has to engage in combat more frequently as a result of the nobles challenging her with their own combatants.

"What!" Silvia exclaimed as I was thinking to myself.

"Is there a problem?" I queried.

"Of course, there is, you know who she is, right? " she reacted.

"A dark elf?" I wondered.

"Yeah, even that, but why do you think she became a gladiatrix, are you aware of that?" she inquired.

"Is it because she betrayed and murdered her adopted and raising father?" I indicated.

"Of course, you are aware. Even if you save her, what if she betrays you as she did to her father who raised her? In fact, I believe she didn't want to be saved at all." She inquired, her voice anxious.

What Silvia said was correct, for she did murder her father, who raised her, and she was well-known even among the gladiators as a result.

However I understand why she did it, as her past is pretty depressing, and even I became emotional while reading it in the novel.

Because the person who adopted her was a human assassin, and he was also the one who assassinated her parents when she was little and brought her in.

She stayed with him for around ten years, and they became quite close, almost like father and daughter, and she learned her assassin techniques from him as well.

As the saying goes, you may tell the greatest lies and wear a brilliant disguise, but you can't escape the eyes of the one who sees right through you.

So, while investigating the event that occurred when she was young, to exact revenge. She eventually discovered the perpetrator of her family's death.

Her world was turned upside down when she discovered that the person who murdered her prior family was her father, who had adopted her.

She then confronted her adoptive father explicitly, expecting him to protest and tell her that she was wrong.

However, the human assassin admitted his faults and expressed guilt for what he had done.

He did however state that he considers Meira to be his daughter.

But what good is honesty, when everything has already gone wrong?

And as soon as Meira heard him, she took out her dagger and stabbed him in the heart.

And the human didn't resist and died with a smile on his face, and his last words to her were an apology for what he had done.

Meira did not flee after killing him, instead crying her heart out while sitting on her knees.

As a result, she was eventually detained by authorities.

***

But her adoptive father was only performing his job as an assassin; the actual perpetrator is the person who hired him to assassinate her family.

And she had no idea about them, although... I do.

I can take that as my opportunity and persuade her to join me.

But then I had another thought; what if I win against her and save her life? And then offer her the vengeance she desperately desires?

What will she do after she has exacted her vengeance and no longer has a goal in life?

The answer is that she will live her new life solely for me, her benefactor because I not only saved her life but also granted her the vengeance she sought.

As I was thinking this, a large grin emerged on my face.

"Are you sure you're not planning something else?" Silvia inquired.

I ignored her query and spoke.

"Could you please verify it for me and tell me when her next game is?" I inquired.

"…."

Silvia was silent for a minute as if she understood exactly what I was thinking.

"Don't tell me you intend to participate in that game as well?" Silvia queried with an uneasy expression.

"Yes, I decided to participate in that game as well; you can make it happen, right?" I replied.

"Yeah, I can do that, but-"

Irethiel cut Silvia's sentence off before she could finish.

"Don't bother, he won't change his mind on something he's already decided."

"Oh, you've gotten to know me rather well in just a few days, haven't you?" I inquired Irethiel telepathically.

"Yeah, I've seen many demons like you before." Irethiel made a remark.

"…."

I disregarded Irethiel calling me a demon and spoke to Silvia.

"Yeah, she's right; I'm not going back on this." I approved Irethiel's statement.

*SIGH

Silvia sighed and responded after hearing me.

"OK, let me see what I can do." She stated it while calling someone on her phone.

After a little period, she hung up the phone and turned to face me.

"She will take part in today's evening game." She went on to say.

"First and foremost, you are aware of the gladiatorial games, correct?" She inquired.

"... Yeah, I know, sort of... I guess." I gave a reluctant response and diverted my attention from her.

In regards, I read about it in the novel, but it wasn't really detailed.

*SIGH

Silvia sighed once again and continued,

"Listen closely, I will explain to you everything you need to know about gladiatorial games," Silvia stated seriously.

When I saw how serious she was, Irethiel and I focused on her.

"Wait, Irethiel, why are you so interested in this?" I asked Irethiel a telepathic question.

"Oh, because it looks interesting." She responded.

"…."

Silvia, who could hear our telepathic discussion, shook her head and began explaining while I gave Irethiel a doubtful look.

"The Gladiatorial games begin with an elegant parade that includes the participants and is escorted by the games' sponsor, the chairman.; that is eventually my father, but if my father isn't available, it will be a high-ranking commander," Silvia explained before continuing.

"The parade and subsequent events are typically accompanied by music, drumming, blowing of the curved horn, and dancers.

It is frequently done to increase combatants' morale and battle spirit.

Today, however, is an exception, and no parades will be held.

And the morning's events either begin with battles between famed gladiators or scheduled conflicts between famous adventurers like this one."

'You don't have to go into such depth,' I pondered for a second before shaking my head and deciding to focus on her explanation.

"These would be followed by Monster demonstrations, with trained Monsters performing stunts on some occasions.

However, hunts in which increasingly infuriated Monsters were pitted against each other or chased and killed by a gladiator are more commonly conducted.

Moreover, during the lunch break, criminals who had committed particularly heinous crimes, such as murder, arson, treachery, or demon worshipers, are executed.

The public nature of the execution made it both humiliating and unpleasant, and it is designed to serve as a warning to others.

One type of arena execution is damnation with Monsters, in which the condemned were cast into the arena with vicious Monsters or forced to engage in "theatrical" reenactments of ancient tales such as being chained to a bull and slaughtered, burned alive, or stoned to death... and whatever else."

Silvia paused for a while after saying that, realizing if the church discovers their vampire identity, they might be treated in the same manner or worse.

She continued after coming out of her thoughts.

"Criminals may also be compelled to fight in the arena with no prior preparation; in such fights, death is a foregone consequence because the victim had to face more opponents until they die, as such criminals are not professional gladiators."

She then looked me in the eyes, and now got straight to the important point.

"The main event game, a battle royale that is held in a maze, will take place in the afternoon.

There will be roughly 50 criminals and slaves together, and only one will be able to come out alive.

And Meira is also be participating in that game.

So, if you wish to get her, you must both be the last people standing and you will have to defeat her.

As the defeated combatants' lives are left to those who defeated them, you can either kill them or spare them." Silvia concluded.

After listening to her thorough explanation, which was the polar opposite of Irethiel, I grasped the gist of it.

"Wow, you humans are nothing short of demons," Irethiel remarked excitedly.

"But aren't we vampires?" Silvia said to Irethiel with an innocent tone and a sideways inclination of her head.

"Irethiel is correct because gladiatorial games were invented by humans," I clarified to Silvia.

"Huh?"

"...."

"...."

***************