Green Life

Numerous additional conflicts took place between various species, and the survivors were forced to pay attention to their masters who were enjoying themselves while watching the entire spectacle from above.

This was a big opportunity for many angels to participate in this kind of event in order to not only prove themselves for the power they held, but also to get a chance to participate in the following invasion which was planned by the strongest angels in heaven. 

But why would angels want to show off their slaves in this kind of tourmanet? 

That is because a few angels who have demonstrated that excellent mortals may be used against demons will be given the opportunity to dwell in the highest kingdom of heaven, where they will be able to build their spiritual power even more in order to become more powerful than they ever imagined.

Additionally, in the same dimension where the competition took place, there were two particular people who didn't stick out much among the other angels or humans who were roaming the area.

Sofiel, together with a human boy on her side with plain dark clothes, were walking towards the stadium in order to register themselves as part of the challenges that would be given to her slave.

“You’re way too late to register in this contest! You should have come several days before if you wanted to show off that thing.” The angel that managed the registrations at the entrance of the stadium said after seeing the sole angels with her sole plain slave by her side.

“Well…. I think you can turn a blind eye for me, can’t you?” Sofiel softly smirked as she smoothly put a glowing green stone on the desk for his eyes only to see.

There were a few seconds of silence before the angel at the desk took the life crystal and wrote something on his paper.

“Welcome to the contest. I hope you’ll be one of the few winners.” The angel said with a poker face, ignoring the bribe which just happened right now.

Once both Sofiel walked away together with her collared human, a certain angel looked at the angel at the desk. “Was it really okay to let them in?”

“It doest really matter. She only had one human on her side, and it doesn't seem like she plans on trying to win the contest.” He let out a sigh as he continued staring into nothingness, not trying to think too much about the dumb angel that offered a life crystal in order to kill her own slave.

“There were other humans that participated in the contest, and from what I’ve seen so far, those humans were quite strong despite their past history.”

“I agree with what you say, but…. Do you really think that a sole human can manage to fight off a group of species who are thirsty for flesh and blood?” The angel let out a sigh. “What they're looking for is nothing else but death.”

Both Sofiel and Hatsuko were finally inside the contest, and from what could be seen, there were many other mortals that were either waiting for their turn, or groaning in pain from the injuries that they had taken.

While Hatsuko kept walking slowly with a hoodie over his head, covering his identity, Sofiel on the other hand, was slightly glaring as she watched all these species being treated like this.

It was unfair! Painfull! And unacceptable to treat another live being like this no matter what kind of appearance they had. But here they were, chained down to their neck, with nothing else but hope that someday they would be released from this sick show.

Seeing how Sofiel was acting, Hatsuko gently put his hand over her shoulder, bringing her senses back to normal.

“Ah, my lord! I’m sorry, I didn't mean to act rashly.” Sofiel apologized as she understood that she would have blown the cover away by glaring at the other angels who were just minding their own business.

Since they were already registered in the contest, Hatsuko tried keeping his identity as a human a secret since he didn't want to expose himself to the other angels. Another reason behind that was also because there was a chance that other angels could recognize his appearance from the stuff he had done back in the other districts. That was also another possibility that Hatsuko didn't want to test.

Right now, Hatsuko was waiting in a certain hallway together with many other species that were in the same position as him. But the only difference was that many of the species in here were much bigger in size, and all of them were releasing their own aura, trying to intimidate other opponents.

“Hahahahaha!! You all are going to die by my hands!” A certain monster looking being that resembled a minotaur, threatened as he was releasing a dark aura, frightening most of the species in here that simply were unfortunate to be in this kind of situation.

“What's wrong?! No one wants to challenge me?!”

But despite the boasting this minotaur was doing with its muscular big body, no one even dared to look at it.

‘You, look at me!’ The minotaur ordered after its eyes caught a certain elf that was simply standing by until it would receive further orders.

“Please don’t touch me. Mortals aren't allowed to interact with one another until they enter the battlefield.” The elf emotionlessly responded, hoping that this monster would understand.

But no matter what this elf would say, this minotaur simply popped a vein on its forehead at the kind of response he got.

“You think you can order me!?” The minotaur glared.

“No, that's not–” The elf tried defending herself.

“No one orders me!” The minotaur raised its massive axe in order to cut down the elf.

The elf, seeing what was going to happen next, tried running away, only to end up tripping herself and allowing the minotaur to do his execution much easier.

*Stops*

“Why was my axe stopped?”

Or that's what was supposed to happen until the minotaur noticed that his axe wasn't able to reach its target.

All of the other species were speecheles as they were able to see what happened within the split of that second. And that was the same with the minotaur once he looked down, only to see a humanoid being with a cloak that covered its entire form was grabbing the axe with his bare hands.

“W-what?!” The minotaurs eyes widened in shock as he was unable to understand why its axe wasn’t budging away from this being’s grip.

“Let go, you weakling!” The minotaur told as he tried pulling his axe away, only to end up pushing himself away once the axe was released.

The minotaur looked all confused as he couldn't understand how a small benign like that was able to hold onto the axe without a problem. That's why the minotaur tried giving another slash, only to end up freezing once he met the green glowing eyes of the hooded being.

“I, I’ll let you off just this time!! You weakling!” The minotaur said as he turned around so he wouldn't be able to meet the intense eyes that almost froze all of his muscles in an instant.

Once the minotaur walked away with its tail tucked between his legs, the hooded being looked down at the elf that was trying to get up.

“Thank you for helping me.” The elf thanked the strange being who helped her.

“.....” But he didn't give any reaction before going back to his seat, waiting for the angel that owned him.

The rest of the beings around this room didn't try to make any eye contact with this being as they knew that they held no chance against this being.

Sofiel came back to the hallway, finally giving permission to Hatsuko to stand up from there and follow him for his first match.

“I was just informed that a few slavery shops were located in this district!” Sofiel informed Hatsuko as they continued walking down the hallway. “Since most of the angels are focused on this contest, we’ll be able to free them before they will notice.”

“.....” Hatsuko gave a simple look at the angel beside him before continuing to walk forward. 

But while he was trying to walk towards where the path contiend, he bumped into someone who was almost as tall as him. 

It was another human being that had glasses on his face, and from behind him were 17 other humans that were following him. Tatsuya gave a calm look at the hooded being that bumped into him before continuing to move forward like it was nothing.

“Tatsuya, are you okay?” Hanna asked once he noticed how her lover wasn't saying anything.

“It's nothing. I’m simply a bit dizzy from the fight, that's all.” Tatsuya fixed the position of his glasses as he gave a soft smile at his girl.

“Then you should take a break! We don’t know where our turn is next, and if we lose you. I-I don’t know what I’m supposed to do!” Hanna responded with tears that were trying to reach her eyes. But she held back for the sake of her team who knew how powerful she was. They had high hopes for her, that's why she tried keeping a confident look on her face as the girlfriend of the person who was considered the strongest human of all times.

“There’s nothing to worry about.” Tatsuya tried calming down the girl before looking back at the hooded being that continued walking away from him, uncensored of who he was.

“Maybe you’re getting rusty.” Raiden tried teasing.

“Hahahahaha! You’re hoping for too much!” Tanaka laughed as he leaned on Raiden’s shoulder, annoying him for treating him like that.

“Don’t touch me.”

But a little further away from the group was a particular girl who, out of the blue, turned to face the man whose full identity was concealed by a cloak. 

It was Rei… 

Even though she was simply doing whatever she was told, her body forze for a second as she looked at that cloaked person’s back as it continued walking further away.

What was this feeling inside her? And why was she this sentimental while looking at something that she couldn't understand? 

“Oi! You bitch! Keep walking! We won’t wait for you.”

But before she could even understand her sudden experience she was feeling, she was called by her asshole wannabe boyfriend that no longer cared to show his hostility to the girl.

Further behind the group, there were several other girls that stuck together all the time. Their facial expressions were mostly the same as they didn’t want to show what they were feeling inside.

“Seems like, our opponents were not as dangerous as I thought they would be.” Chloe tried to bring the mood up after seeing the gloomy atmosphere around them.

””””””........””””””

But no matter what she said, it seemed like it wasn't just the right moment for a discussion about the fight. That's why they continued moving forward until Akemi noticed this certain humanoid being covered with cloak walk past them.

“Akemi is something wrong?” Ichika asked after seeing the dragon girl who was staring at the back of this cloaked person.

“N-no, it's nothing… I thought I felt the presence of someone familiar, but it seems like I was wrong.” Akemi said before turning arounding, walking with the group of girls.

“Don't be distracted. We don’t know when those angels might change their mind about us.” Lily informed the rest of the girls after seeing that they were getting distracted.

“No, they won’t change their minds about us fighting here. After all, they look down on us since in their eyes we are just humans.” Hina gave a response after seeing the tense bodies of her family that were full of rage within them just to find the person that killed their loved one.

The only thing that they had left was each other, and they knew that they had the choice of living their lives peacefully. But just the memory of Hatsuko getting killed by an angel, made their blood boil. They simply couldn't forget that forsaken day no matter how much they tried. And all of them were already aware that no one was going to pull away.

* * *

At the stadium, back at the VIP zone where some angels were staying, a certain angel sat down with her head high while trying to avoid the angels that were boasting about their captured slaves. Even though she held so much rage within her, she was reminded with her lord’s face in order to calm herself down.

[ Calm down. If they notice my intent, our plan will be blown away for nothing! ] She said to herself as a way of calming herself down.

“Hm? Is that Sofiel over there?” One of the angels inquired after noticing Sofiel who was trying to conceal her identity.

“That's Sofiel! What is she doing here?” Another angel asked after confirming who she was.

“What are you doing here? Weren't you supposed to be in the 15th district?” The same angel inquired.

“.....” There was no response as Sofiel knew that she could screw it up if her mouth slips away.

“Or did you perhaps change your mind from stopping this contest?”

“Haahahaha! Seems like she couldn't resist but join the contest herself.” 

The angels laughed as they saw Sofiel contradict herself from what she used to say. 

Stopping the whole contest? 

That was clearly impossible for a single angel, that's why they didn't bother with her. But the fact of seeing the same angel enter the contest just like them, made them smirk.

“So, what kind of mortal did you capture? I’m guessing some powerful ones? Since you do hold the power of life draining.” The same angels tried guessing, only to end up getting ignored once again.

“......”

“If you don’t wanna talk, then suit yourself.”

“Just because you’re here doesn't mean that you should ignore us.” The other angel calmly said as he gave a soft glare at Sofiel. “After all… you used to be the strongest out of us all.”

Sofiel’s eyes twitched for a moment before continuing to stare at the field, waiting for the match to begin. But deep down, her pupils have shrunken to dots after hearing what the angels beside her had to say. She knew that what they were saying was true, and she hated the fact that she used to be just like any other greedy angel that didn't care about the mortals.

Once the following monster got out in the field, there could be seen several minotaurs that seemed heavily armed with their axes that could even cut down an entire building with one slash. Their massive bodies that almost reached six foot tall also were intimidating, and most angels had high hopes for the following battle to death.

But on the other side of the field, a certain person covers its entire body with a simple cloak.

“Huh? That's it?” A certain angel from the vip zone asked in confusion to see that on the other side of the field was a sole humanoid being.

“Is this some sort of joke?”

“I don't feel any power from that mortal as well… maybe it's concealing its power….”

The angels argued as they were waiting for what was going to happen next between the intimidating looking minotaurs and the sole humanoid being with no weapons.

But within the same zone of angels, a certain female angel was smiling at the sight of her lord slowly walking towards the minotaurs without giving away his real powers.

While cautiously walking towards its oppontest, one of the minotaurs recognizes the features of this humanoid being with a cloak.

“YOU!” The minotaur glared after confirming that it was the same person that grabbed his axe with his bare hands

But this time, this minotaur wasn't scared. No, he was actually smirking. “This time, I’ll make you pay for making fun of me!”

This time the minotaur wasn't alone, that's why he was full of confidence that he was going to brutally kill this humanoid being that took his blow with ease.

The minotaurs couldn't wait any longer, that's why they charged towards the humanoid being that did not show any sign of fear. 

“Take this, you weakling!!” The same minotaur loudly said as he tried cutting down the humanoid being in one slash. 

But to his luck, the humanoid being simply jumped away, only to end up losing his cloak from the axe, revealing his features as a human.

“Thats…”

“A huaman…”

“Why is there a lone human?! Is this some sort of joke?!”

Most of the angels complained as they saw how their excitement faded away at the sole human. They already saw several humans overpower other races. But that was because they were not alone, and they seemed geared up to the teeth with their weapons. 

But this time, they simply refused to believe that a sole human would be able to even stand a chance against strong numerous massive minotaurs that were hungry for flesh.

“This is going to be quick.”

“END HIM ALREADY!!” One of the angels chanted death in hatred at the sight that this show wasn’t over yet. They weren't interested in anything that wasn't strong, that's why they were disappointed.

“What's taking so long!?!” The rest of the angels complained as they stared at the sole human that wasn't dead yet.

Despite the fact that most of the angels were angry at this, Hatsuko didn't flinch from being cornered by not only minotaurs, but also a bunch of angels that were chanting for his death.

The minotaurs were smirking as well as they knew that all of the angels were on their side. That gave them a huge boost since they didn't want to end up on the bad side of their owners.

“You’re done for!!” The same minotaur loudly stated as he charged once again together with his pack that were full of killing intent.

But despite that, this human with long hair and green glowing eyes, did not die. He actually managed to dodge all of the axes that came flying towards him from every direction.

“Stop playing around and end him!!”

“We’re getting sick of this!!”

But what none of the angels expected was that this human fought back by giving powerful punches, almost breaking the minotaurs’ bones.

“Gahhh!!”

“You weakling! Stop struggling!!”

The minotaurs, seeing how they were not understanding that they were being pushed back, blamed the human for moving too much and not accepting death.

The rest of the angels were left speechless as well since they couldn't believe that a sole human managed to survive this far. But their surprises were not over…. At least not yet.

“.....” Hatsuko, with his eyes that were full out glowing with its beautiful color of green, moved at mach speed and touched the bodies of each minotaur with ease.

“W-wha!?”

“L-life draining!?”

“But that's impossible?!!!!”

Three of the angels from the vip zone reacted in shock at the realization of what had happened to the minotaurs. 

The human had managed to paralyze those monsters by simply grabbing away a bit of their life force within them so they wouldn't die. Even though the battle was basically over, all of the angels were left with their mouths wide open at the fact that a human had acquired a power that even some angels don't have.

On the same vip zone, after the battle was over, the same female angel named Sofiel was smirking in confidence after seeing the shocked expressions of the same angels that were just making fun of her lord until now.

[ As expected of my lord. Not only did he managed to win the first battle, but also he made sure that none of the minotaurs were injured. ] Sofiel thought to herself, proud about the actions that her lord had done, which shocked everyone.

Once the battle was done, declaring that Hatsuko was victorious for the first round, he headed back to the same room where Sofiel was waiting for him.

“As expected of my lord!! You were incredible out there!! My heart was racing every time I saw you!” Sofiel excitedly spoke after seeing the calm looking Hatsuko on her side, thinking as he was sitting down.

While other mortals aren't allowed to watch other matches, Sofiel and Hatsko had acquired a certain scroll which made it able for them to see beyond the walls, creating a screen that showed them what they wanted to see.

They continued watching the matches, showing no sort of emotion on their faces as they saw how other beings were brutally killing each other. That sight angered Sofiel, that's why she clenched her fists in anger.

Each round that would pass by, they had to witness someone die pointless for the sake of entertainment.

And after waiting for a bit more rounds, it was finally time for Hatsuko to head back to the field once again. It hurt seeing how this wasn't ending. But the fact that Hatsuko was the one to go out there next, made Sofiel feel less anxious as she knew that he wouldn't kill anyone.

“My lord. I received more updates from the others, and it seems like we need a bit more time untill we free all of the captured slaves.” Sofiel calmly explained, her fist almost damaging her protection layer at her powerful grip. “That's why please drag the next battle for as long as you can!”
“.....”

Hatsuko gave a powerful glare as he understood the situation of the other angels and demons that were trying to not only free the slaves but also group them up somewhere safe. He knew that things weren't going to go smoothly, and somewhere near in the future, he would’ve had to fight the whole district.

But once Hatsuko got out in the field, he stopped after noticing some particular individuals that were going to be his oppontest.

“He’s human like us… right….” One of the opponents tried guessing after recognizing his features as a human.

Who was in front of Hatsuko…. Were the same people who gave him hell back in high school.

The strongest humans of Sakuru…. Vs the once called trash mixer.

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