Chương 3: A Body That Remembers

"Jackie," Yuto said, after gazing at the interface briefly. He glanced at the boy who had just attacked him.

"What is this?" Yuto asked, pointing at the words. Jackie blinked, confused.

"Wh-what are you talking about? I don't see anything there," Jackie said. Jackie could not see what Yuto was seeing. Yuto frowned.

"It's telling me to escape," Yuto said.

"Wh-what?"

"Don't you see this?" Yuto asked again. He tried to tap on the interface, but he realized he could not actually touch it. Jackie grew even more bewildered. He felt his aching chin and got to his feet unsteadily.

"Are you seeing things?" Jackie asked.

"Seeing things?" Yuto asked.

"Yes!" Jackie said, and lunged at Yuto again.

"Hallucinating!" It was meant to be an ambush, but Jackie did not manage to touch Yuto this time either. Yuto just stepped away slightly, and Jackie's kick hit nothing. Jackie fell to the floor again, as he had before.

"God f*cking damn it!" Yuto didn't even spare a glance for Jackie and stared at the interface. Apparently, it was something that only he could see. Quest...? He didn't know what it was exactly, or why he was the only person who could see it, but the content was easy enough to understand. It wanted him to escape. He looked around him. Proper food, a bath, and a bed. The vague sense of camaraderie that had formed while sharing the same cell had vanished.

The boys were as impoverished as they could be, on the edge of losing their minds.. Having been locked up for so long in that dark, stinking cell, they were more than willing to attack each other for what the woman promised them. Yuto stared at them silently. He didn't really feel that they were his friends or companions either, but he didn't want to join in the fighting. Was it because he was not as starved as they were?

He had only woken up in the cell three days ago, so it was technically true that he hadn't endured as much. But that's not the reason. There was a different one. He just didn't like this. He looked up at the woman with blonde hair who stood and leaned against the railing. Dressed in her pretty clothes, she was enjoying the sight of the boys in their free-for-all. Her eyes and face made him realize something.

He didn't like any of this: the way she looked down at them, and the way the boys went at each other as if willing to kill. The boys' desperation was only a game to whoever was up there. He winced with pain in his head. He gritted his teeth and clutched it. This unpleasant situation had nudged something in his lost memories. I'm familiar with stuff like this. How could that be possible? As he stood there, confused and in pain, Jackie snuck toward him. He hadn't given up yet.

He was too small to be the last survivor, but if he could take down at least one other boy, maybe his bread would be softer today, at least. That was what Jackie wanted. When Jackie grabbed Yuto by the ankle, Yuto came to his senses. He looked down, and their eyes met. Something in Yuto's eyes made Jackie gulp. Yuto had woken up three days ago and remembered nothing but his name. He had had a lot of questions, but he had always followed the rules of the cell. He would sometimes clutch his head, lost in thought.

It was impossible to tell what was going on in his mind. But the eyes were so cold and terrifying now. Jackie shook with fear and was forced to let go.

"Don't try anything," Yuto whispered. Jackie hiccuped and nodded. Yuto looked around him again. Around half of the fifteen boys had already fallen. [Escape from this place.] He still didn't understand that message, but he wanted to get out of here. How would he do it? He looked around him calmly. The high walls, the guard with the sword in his hand, and the woman near the railing all made it impossible for him to get out immediately. That much was clear to him, but he still thought about what he would do next.

For now, surviving is the priority. The woman had said that she would give those benefits only to the last boy standing. If he could become that last boy, at least he could plan for another day. He didn't like the idea of doing as she wanted, but if he didn't do anything at all, he would just be sent back to the cell. It was at this point that a slave boy yelled and lunged at him. The eyes were desperate and frantic. A fist flew through the air.

Oddly enough, it didn't feel dangerous to Yuto at all, and he didn't try to avoid it. The attack felt so clumsy to him. Before he realized it, his body was already moving. He took half a step forward, and as the fist traveled past his shoulder, he swung. His palm struck the slave's chin. There was a dull noise as the boy's head snapped back. The whites of his eyes showed and his knees weakened. A single blow had been enough to knock the slave boy out. Yuto was confused by what he'd just done.

He hadn't put any thought into it at all. The moment he saw the fist flying at him, he reacted automatically. His body, not his mind, remembered where to strike to knock a person out cold. I know things like this. It was proof of a past he couldn't remember right at his fingertips. His mind might be empty, but his body was holding on to something. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"Son of a b*tch!" Other slave boys rushed at him, one from each side. I don't just know these things. Yuto slipped to the side, grabbed one of the boys' arms, and twisted it without interrupting his momentum. The boy could not fight his own speed or Yuto's grip as he was pulled to the side. I'm very good at it. The boy whom Yuto had grabbed collided with the other boy, and the two of them tumbled to the floor. Yuto didn't bother with them anymore since they were busy fighting each other.

Only the final survivor would receive a reward, and that gave these slaves tunnel vision. Everyone was an enemy. Yuto didn't have to defeat all of them by himself. He could just let them fight with each other and deal with only the ones that made a move against him. He slowly backed away from the center of the fighting. Another slave boy came at him, yelling and swinging his arms.. As before, Yuto noticed how clumsy it seemed. This boy might be coming at full speed, but he wasn't using his strength efficiently.

Yuto was different. He let the boy's blows slide right past him, and just as the boy's balance was disrupted, he rammed a fist into the boy's body. It was as though he was fighting with his sword. A sword...? The word stuck with him. He wasn't carrying anything in his hand, but he almost felt like he could still feel something pressing into his palm, something familiar, heavy, and sharp, something that had been part of his life for a very long time. His head hurt again.

He gritted his teeth and pushed the pain away. This was no time to explore memories, if any came back to him. Now every boy was down except for Yuto and one other slave. The other survivor was the boy who had been kept in this cell the longest and was the most desperate, the same one who had started the fight. Every other boy was on the ground. The slave ran at Yuto with bloodshot eyes.

"Aaaah!" he screamed. It was a mad scramble for survival. He opened his arms so that he could grab Yuto and fall to the ground together. Sometimes desperation made the impossible come true. But unfortunately for the boy, that was not the case this time. A nonchalant foot tripped him, and just as he fell, Yuto slammed his hand into the boy's back. The boy crashed to the ground. He gasped, the breath knocked out of him by the impact. Even though he was choking, he tried to get back up.

Yuto bent over and put a hand on the boy's head, pushing down softly. It forced the boy to settle back down against the dirt.

"Enough," Yuto said quietly.

"You're not getting back up." Despair filled the bloodshot eyes slowly. His struggling stopped, and he lay there, limp. Now Yuto was the only boy standing.

"Bravo!" Applause came from above, behind the railing.

"Wow, you really are something! Who even are you?" It was the woman with blonde hair, leaning over the railing excitedly. Her eyes glittered as she studied him.

"I thought you weren't in your right mind? You seem accustomed to fighting. Where did you come from?" Yuto stared at her without answering her. The guard's eyebrows twitched when he saw this. When a mere slave dared to be so disrespectful, it was usually the guard who was punished. He tried to walk toward Yuto to beat him, but the woman raised her hand to stop him.

"No need. A little bit of sass can also be part of his value," she said, and leaped over the railing. A soft wind wrapped around her body as she fell from above. She landed without a sound, then beamed at Yuto as she moved toward him. That power... Yuto had noticed the wind. He found himself clenching his fists without realizing it. She didn't have a single weapon on her, but she felt intimidating. His instinct warned him not to try to fight her right now.

"Ugh. You're too dirty and smelly for me to touch," she said. She stopped at a distance from him and frowned as if disgusted. She slowly scanned him and then nodded before turning away.

"But a promise is a promise. Come with me." He stared at her back briefly. If he took her down and made her a hostage, would she become his ticket out of here? Moments later, he decided it was impossible. The kind of power that she had was not something he could fight right now. In the end, he followed her without a word. A metal door opened that was different from the one Yuto had come through. As soon as he left through that doorway with the woman, another woman who had been waiting outside grabbed Yuto.

"Bathe him and give him a new change of clothes. Then bring him to my room," the blonde woman said.

"Yes, Mistress." The other woman bowed politely. The blonde woman waved without looking back.

"You don't have to eat, do you, kid? I'll see you later," she said. As soon as she had gone, the second woman took Yuto away. She did not say a word to him and only followed her orders. After he was washed clean and new clothes had been put on him, his eyes were covered. He was made to walk down the corridor, led by the woman, for a long while. Then she finally stopped.

"Mistress, I have brought the slave," the woman said.

"Come," said a voice from inside. The door opened and Yuto's eyes were uncovered only after he was inside. He gulped and looked in front of him. There, inside the fanciful room, sitting on an expensive-looking desk, was the blonde woman from before. Behind her were some guards with no emotion on their faces.

"I liked your appearance earlier, but now that you're clean and wearing some proper clothes, you look even better. You're going to be popular, kid," the woman said with a grin.

"Your name is Yuto, correct? My name is Eville. If you haven't noticed yet, yes—I own you." Yuto chose silence, thinking about what he could say to her. Just as the woman's eyes were about to turn cold, he bowed to her.

"All I remember is my name, nothing else," he said.

"But you can speak, apparently. I'm glad to hear it. I was going to pluck out your tongue if you didn't say something soon," Eville said. She warmed up again and grinned.

"Now, I'm not entirely sure I can trust that claim, since you fought very well for someone who remembers nothing but his name."

"My body moved before I knew what I was doing."

"Hmm. Is that so? Well, it doesn't really matter in the end whether you're lying or not. Here's what's essential for you to remember: I own you. I am your master." She got down from the desk.

"Oh, and you don't need to worry. It's true that you are a slave right now, and one that belongs to me, but it's not going to stay that way forever. Depending on your actions, you may be able to escape slave status." Eville went around back, opened a drawer, and pulled a golden seal out to show Yuto.

"Do you know what this is? It's a tool that I use to mark my possessions. But I didn't mark you. Why do you think that is?"

"I don't know," he replied.

"It means there's a chance you can attain your freedom at some later point. The brand doesn't come off easily once it's on your skin. I was being merciful with you." Eville snickered, then opened a different drawer. It contained a black choker.

"That aside, I still need to control you, so you'll be wearing this while you remain my slave. It's nothing major. I can't allow my slaves to attack me, you know?" She handed the choker to one of the guards standing behind her. The guards were also wearing the same chokers around their necks. She noticed him staring at the guards and laughed out loud.

"These men, you see, were unable to gain their freedom. You, though, I think, might make it. I'm not lying. I really mean it." The guard who had received the choker approached Yuto. The eyes contained no hatred for the woman. They were completely broken in, the eyes of a slave. Yuto did not resist as it was put on him.

"What can I do to gain my freedom?" Yuto asked.

"Oh, you have drive. I like that about you. I guess I haven't told you what this place is yet. This is the Colosseum," she said. The choker clicked into place around Yuto's neck.

"I am your master and also the owner of this place. Slaves like you fight here every day. You asked me how you can get your freedom. It's rather simple. Just keep fighting and keep winning. Eventually, when you run out of people to beat, that's when you will receive your freedom." Yuto bowed, despite recognizing this as a blatant lie.

"I will do my best," he said.

"Your best is not good enough. Remember that you are my slave first and foremost—before you are a fighter. And a slave must obey his master in all things." Eville's red lips formed a smile.

"So take off your clothes."