The moment their challenge left their mouths, something changed.
The grin stretching across Two-Faced's ruined face widened until it looked almost painful. His black eye trembled with excitement while the hand gripping the axe slowly tightened. Around them, thousands of spectators erupted into cheers. Nobles rose from their seats. Merchants shouted. Gamblers slammed their fists against the railings as they demanded blood.
For the first time since entering the arena, Two-Faced looked genuinely happy.
"Good," he said quietly.
Then he disappeared.
The ground beneath his feet shattered as he launched forward.
Marna's instincts screamed. She immediately shoved Eira away while throwing herself in the opposite direction. A heartbeat later, the champion crashed between them like a falling boulder. The impact alone sent sand and broken stone flying across the arena. The shockwave struck both girls before they could regain their footing, throwing them backward several meters.
Neither had time to recover.
Two-Faced was already moving again.
His hand shot forward and seized Eira by the throat.
The crowd exploded.
Eira's eyes widened as her feet left the ground. Instinctively, both hands wrapped around his wrist while she desperately tried to pry his fingers loose. It felt like trying to bend solid steel.
Two-Faced stared at her for a moment before chuckling.
"My mother used to look at me like this."
His grip tightened.
The world immediately began darkening around the edges of Eira's vision.
"Like I was something disgusting."
Then he threw her.
Eira became a blur.
Her body smashed through one of the stone pillars surrounding the arena. The entire structure collapsed around her in an explosion of dust and rubble.
The audience roared with laughter.
Marna had already drawn an arrow.
The bowstring stretched.
Released.
The projectile shot toward the champion's exposed face.
It shattered.
Just like every arrow before it.
The invisible force surrounding him destroyed it before it could reach him.
Marna clicked her tongue and immediately reached for another.
Too slow.
Two-Faced appeared before her.
His forehead slammed into her face.
A sickening crack echoed through the arena.
Marna's vision exploded with stars. Blood burst from her nose as she staggered backward. Before she could recover, his knee drove into her stomach. The impact folded her body in half.
Air left her lungs.
Pain followed.
Then came the kick.
Marna was launched across the arena floor, bouncing across the sand before finally skidding to a stop near the remains of the collapsed pillar.
For a few seconds, neither girl moved.
Then Eira pushed herself free from the rubble.
Marna slowly forced herself upright.
Both were bleeding.
Both were exhausted.
Both were still standing.
The sight seemed to amuse Two-Faced.
"You two remind me of myself."
The champion casually rested the axe on his shoulder while walking toward them.
"Broken."
His smile widened.
"But refusing to stay down."
Marna spat blood into the sand.
"Fuck you."
The champion laughed.
The crowd laughed with him.
"See? That's what I mean."
His ruined face twisted into something strangely nostalgic.
"My father used to say that too."
The laughter suddenly stopped.
Not because the crowd had gone silent.
Because his had.
For a brief moment, something distant appeared in his eyes.
Something old.
Something ugly.
"My father hated me."
He continued walking.
Neither girl interrupted.
Neither girl lowered their weapons.
The champion seemed content to talk.
"He hated looking at me."
The fingers of his free hand slowly traced the melted scars covering the right side of his face.
"He said my face made people uncomfortable."
A chuckle escaped him.
"He wasn't wrong."
The nobles laughed.
Two-Faced laughed with them.
Then his expression darkened.
"When I was younger, they locked me inside whenever guests visited."
His voice remained casual.
Calm.
Almost cheerful.
"As if I were some dog."
The axe dragged behind him, carving a deep groove through the arena floor.
"My mother couldn't even stand eating at the same table as me."
Another chuckle.
"She said watching me chew ruined her appetite."
The audience erupted.
Many were laughing now.
Others looked fascinated.
Some looked disturbed.
But nobody looked away.
Nobody told him to stop.
Nobody cared.
They were enjoying the show.
Marna felt sick.
Not because of the story.
Because of the reactions.
Because these people were treating a broken life as entertainment.
The exact same thing they were doing to him right now.
The exact same thing they were doing to them.
Two-Faced stopped walking.
His gaze slowly drifted upward toward the noble stands.
For a few moments, he simply stared.
Then he smiled.
"Do you know what finally happened?"
His black eye widened.
"I got tired."
The smile became larger.
Sharper.
Wrong.
"So very tired."
The axe slowly rose.
"My father beat me."
A step forward.
"My mother hated me."
Another step.
"My brothers laughed at me."
Another.
"My sisters hid from me."
Another.
The smile stretched wider.
"So one day..."
The axe lowered.
His hand slowly reached toward his waist.
"I met Holwas."
Something about the way he spoke the name caused both girls to tense.
The champion's smile became almost affectionate.
"He was kind."
A laugh escaped him.
"The first person who didn't look away."
The audience remained silent.
Listening.
Waiting.
"He listened to everything."
The knife was now in his hand.
A simple knife.
Nothing special.
Nothing impressive.
Yet the moment it appeared, Marna felt a chill run down her spine.
"He told me something."
The champion stared at the blade.
Then began laughing.
Slowly at first.
Then harder.
Then harder still.
"He told me I didn't need to endure it anymore."
His shoulders shook.
"He told me I could make them understand."
The laughter became manic.
"He gave me a knife."
Silence.
The entire arena had gone quiet.
Even the nobles.
Even the gamblers.
Even the merchants.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody moved.
They simply listened.
The champion looked at the knife.
Then at his own reflection within the blade.
His smile became genuine.
The happiest expression either girl had seen from him.
"So I carved my father's face off."
The arena exploded.
Cheers.
Laughter.
Applause.
The crowd loved it.
They absolutely loved it.
"I carved my mother's face off too."
His eyes gleamed.
"Then my brothers."
A pause.
"Then my sisters."
The smile widened.
"They screamed."
His voice dropped.
"They begged."
His breathing became heavier.
"They cried."
Then he laughed.
A deep, ugly, horrifying laugh.
"And I enjoyed every second of it."
The nobles erupted into applause.
Some were standing now.
Others were drinking while cheering.
Several looked ready to burst into laughter.
It was disgusting.
Marna felt rage boiling inside her chest.
Not toward Two-Faced.
Toward them.
Toward every single person watching.
Toward the entire arena.
Toward the monster who had created this.
Toward Holwas.
Two-Faced slowly lowered the knife.
Then looked toward the girls.
His smile faded.
The excitement disappeared.
The madness vanished.
For a brief moment, only a single emotion remained.
Desperation.
Raw.
Naked.
Painfully obvious.
"What do you think of me?"
The question echoed throughout the arena.
Neither girl answered.
His breathing became heavier.
"What do you think of me?"
Still silence.
The axe slowly rose once more.
His voice became quieter.
"What..."
A step.
"Do..."
Another.
"You..."
Another.
"Think..."
The black eye trembled.
"...of me?"
Marna finally understood.
For all his strength. For all his madness. For all the blood on his hands.
He still didn't know. He genuinely didn't know.
Eira coughed blood before planting her spear into the ground to support herself.
The champion immediately looked toward her.
Waiting. Expecting. Hoping.
The desperation in that gaze made her stomach turn.
Then she answered.
"You're pathetic."
The arena froze. The champion froze. Even the audience froze.
Eira wiped blood from her lips and stared directly into his eyes.
"You got your revenge."
Silence.
"You killed them."
Another silence.
"You made them pay."
The grip on his axe tightened.
"So why are you still asking?"
The smile disappeared completely.
Eira pointed her spear toward him.
"You don't know who you are anymore."
Marna stepped forward.
"And Holwas turned you into a circus animal."
The audience immediately erupted into angry shouts.
Neither girl cared.
Marna's gaze never left him.
"Look around."
She pointed toward the crowd.
"They're not cheering for you."
The champion's eye widened.
"They're laughing at you."
Something cracked.
Not physically. Mentally.
The smile never returned. Instead, the expression twisting across his ruined face became something far uglier.
Far more dangerous. Far more unstable.
The hand holding the axe trembled. Then the entire arena shook.
A terrifying pressure rolled off his body. Sand exploded outward. Stone cracked beneath his feet.
The black eye widened until it looked ready to burst. And then... Two-Faced smiled.
Not the smile of a madman. Not the smile of a victim. Not the smile of a champion.
The smile of a monster.
"Good."
The single word echoed throughout the arena.
His grip tightened around the axe.
"Then let's see how long those opinions survive."
The ground beneath him exploded.
And this time— He came at them with the genuine intention of crushing them.