Chapter 9 : Balance Collapse

Letia Heter was in a rather foul mood.

The day before leaving for the battlefield, she managed to squeeze out some time to visit the arena.

Her purpose, of course, was to see Siyoon, who was participating in the tournament.

Half worried, half expectant, she waited for Siyoon’s turn to come, and finally, she saw him take the stage.

“I expected criticism, but…”

“Master, I recommend covering your ears.”

“I’m fine. I’m more worried about Siyoon than myself.”

Despite knowing he would face scorn, Siyoon participated in the tournament as an Imperial citizen.

The jeers directed at him went far beyond what could be considered normal.

Insults and curses could be understood, as the wounds inflicted by the Empire were deep and painful.

Letia, too, bore resentment toward the Empire.

However, some of the audience’s behavior crossed the line and was no different from the Empire she despised.

“Even if they resent the Empire, mocking someone’s parents is too much…!”

The insults extended to belittling Siyoon’s parents and even included shameless sexual harassment.

Letia worried that such vile mockery might shake Siyoon’s resolve.

Contrary to her concerns, Siyoon remained unbothered.

He even seemed to subtly enjoy the hostile atmosphere.

“I worried for nothing.”

“They say those who laugh in the face of adversity are truly exceptional.”

Letia placed a hand on her chest, relieved, and focused her gaze on Siyoon.

Though it was an individual competition, he commanded everyone’s attention and boldly declared his intention:

He would take down every participant by himself.

It was a proclamation of a direct challenge.

To the audience, Siyoon might have seemed arrogant, but Letia saw it differently.

“He seems to mean it.”

“Of course, Master. Siyoon is as much of a ‘weirdo’ as you are.”

“Zenith, what do you mean by that?”

“I’m saying you two are a perfect match.”

“I’ll let it slide this time.”

Old habits die hard, and Siyoon’s demeanor showed no sign of wavering.

His breathing was steady, and his composure was evident.

Most importantly, Letia had already assessed the abilities of the participants.

No one surpassed Siyoon in skill.

“At this rate, Master, the match you were most looking forward to will end anticlimactically.”

“It’s disappointing, but it can’t be helped. Siyoon is simply too exceptional.”

Letia and Zenith had already predicted the results of the preliminaries, and their predictions proved accurate.

Siyoon displayed overwhelming strength, taking down every participant without exception.

As the final contender fell, the previously roaring arena descended into silence.

In the stillness, Siyoon smiled brightly and returned the mockery he had endured to the disrespectful audience.

Then, with quick steps, he left the stage with ease.

“Pfft!”

Letia couldn’t suppress a chuckle.

Fortunately, her laughter was drowned out by the chorus of voices erupting from the crowd.

“You cocky bastard!”

“How could you lose to someone from the Empire? Do you even call yourselves human?”

“Exile all of them from the country!”

“Damn it! Have some shame!”

As the audience’s fury reached its peak, the arena seemed as though it might collapse under the weight of their anger.

When Siyoon entered, curses filled the air once again, but this time the arrows of criticism were directed at the defeated fighters.

Though occasional remarks called him arrogant, the outright rude comments had disappeared.

After all, as promised, Siyoon had defeated all the participants, and the process was nothing short of awe-inspiring.

Even Letia, who had been watching the match closely, found herself clenching her fists.

“He’s incredibly strong, making his missing arm seem irrelevant.”

“I can’t even imagine how powerful he’d be if he still had both arms.”

“If he had both arms, he might have been my greatest rival.”

“That works out in your favor, Master. At least the two of you won’t have to cross swords on the battlefield.”

“If you dare mention that in front of Siyoon, I won’t let it slide—even for you, Zenith.”

“As if I’d be reckless enough to spout nonsense like that in front of him.
Still, seeing you unable to tolerate anyone insulting your future husband shows you’re already a perfect wife, Master.”

“My future husband? W-well, if that were to happen, I wouldn’t complain…”

While Letia and Zenith laughed and joked, the VIP room—occupied by the Kingdom’s Knight

Commander, Prime Minister, and the arena’s owner—was drenched in a funeral-like atmosphere.

Their tournament, intended to inspire unity and provoke the Empire, was being utterly derailed by one rogue participant.

“What should we do now?”

“What about disqualifying him right now?”

“Doing so now would spread rumors that we were too scared of the Empire and fled. If we were going to revoke his eligibility, we should have done so before the preliminaries.”

“This is all your fault! You allowed him to participate, thinking it would humiliate him, and now look where we are!”

“What? Most of the participants were your disciples! If you’d trained them properly, this wouldn’t have happened!”

“Enough! This is not the time for us to fight amongst ourselves!”

The Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Loyr intervened, mediating between the Knight Commander and the arena owner, while enduring a splitting headache.

“Let’s calm down and find a solution. After all, only the preliminaries have concluded.”

“True, but judging by his abilities, he’s a strong contender for victory.”

“Unless we change the rules, he’s likely to win effortlessly.”

“Then what about persuading him? Convince him to abandon the setting sun and join the rising light of our Kingdom!”

“Do you really think he’d agree to defect?”

“Someone who entered as an Imperial citizen despite the backlash can’t be in their right mind.”

“But you’ve seen his skills! Even with one arm, he’s that strong. If we could recruit him, I’m confident he’d lead us to a golden era alongside our national heroes!”

The Prime Minister pushed for recruitment passionately, but the Knight Commander frowned, and the arena owner shook his head.

Their resistance was resolute.

“Accepting him into the Kingdom would be like drinking poison.”

“I agree. He likely entered to win and return to the Empire for recognition. He’ll ruin this tournament and demand a reward from their Emperor.”

“Very well, I’ll follow the majority’s decision.”

The Prime Minister clicked his tongue in disappointment.

He envisioned a one-armed knight bearing the Kingdom’s emblem, turning his sword against the Empire—a beautiful dream, now crushed.

His mood plummeted as the realization sank in.

“By the way, isn’t the next match supposed to be against non-human opponents?”

“Yes, it involves fighting and surviving against orcs or minotaurs.”

“Don’t you have a secret weapon hidden in the arena’s underground?”

“You’re not suggesting releasing that one, are you? No way! It’s not fully tamed yet and is far too dangerous!”

“Isn’t its untamed nature precisely why it’s perfect to ensure he’s killed?”

“And what if it keeps rampaging and endangers the spectators?”

“I’ll personally step in and ensure no harm comes to the audience!”

“Ugh… This is a bad idea…”

“If you want this tournament to be remembered as the worst in history, by all means, stop me!”

“Fine! Let it loose! But if things go south, don’t expect me to take responsibility!”

Thus began the execution of schemes to prevent Siyoon from winning.

Three days after the preliminaries, I returned to the arena.

Without delay, I was assigned to my first match and stood face-to-face with my opponent.

I tilted my head upward to barely glimpse my opponent and let out an honest comment.

“Oh, damn.”

A towering ogre over 10 meters tall, its single bloodshot eye glaring menacingly.

It exhaled thick, labored breaths, sounding as if it were enraged.

If not for the iron chains restraining it, the beast seemed ready to crush me on the spot.

“I figured they’d try to sabotage me to prevent my victory, but this is outright unfair, isn’t it?”

Scratching my head, I locked eyes with the ogre.

The longer our gazes met, the more agitated it became, its eye filling with madness.

It was as if it were shouting, ‘How dare a mere insect meet my gaze!’

But such an imposing attitude only made me chuckle.

“Gruaargh!”

As I let out a smirk, the ogre roared and began to thrash wildly.

The entire arena shook, throwing the spectators into a panic.

“Eek!”

“Is that thing even safe?”

“It’s not going to turn on us, is it?”

“The outcome is obvious! How could anyone win against that monster?”

Just a few days ago, the crowd was hurling insults at me.

Now, they pitied me, certain I had no chance of defeating the ogre and would die a gruesome death.

Their reactions, however, only fueled my excitement.

“Release the ogre’s restraints!”

“Yes, sir!”

Clink, clink!

The iron chains binding the ogre gradually loosened.

Before they fully unraveled, the beast snapped its cuffs apart on its own.

“Gruuaargh!”

Infuriated by my mockery, the ogre raised its massive fist high.

Its enormous size made its movements easy to read—it intended to crush me with a single blow.

Measuring the distance between us, I stepped back three paces.

As its giant fist came crashing down, I lifted my leg to meet it.

“Gruak?!”

“Big doesn’t always mean strong.”

With my leg enveloped in aura, I lightly deflected the ogre’s fist.

With just one leg, I effortlessly pushed back its massive arm.

Caught off guard, the ogre staggered, unable to comprehend losing a contest of strength.

Seizing the opportunity, I channeled aura into my wooden sword.

“Die.”

I raised the sword high and slashed it downward in a straight arc.

The blade didn’t even reach the ogre’s torso, let alone its legs.

But it didn’t matter—I had extended the range of my strike using aura.

A clean line split through the air, and blood began gushing from the ogre, spraying everywhere.

As the arena was drenched in a crimson rain, my body was soaked in the ogre’s dark red blood.

“I’m the real imbalance here, not you.”