Hero of Darkness

Days passed, the surviving children were given a secluded training facility, more food to eat, but their spirits were at their lowest, knowing where their food came from.

And despite their indignance, they had no choice but to cannibalise because none of them knew who would survive in the finale. They all needed the strength to at least fight for their lives.

Besides, knowing that their food was from a fellow human being didn’t make it taste any different because they were eating it for at least a month, just oblivious about the real ingredient.

As reality would have it... they had no choice but to conform to their present circumstances with the hope that they would be the ones to win and get to live in the end.

But there was an underlying possibility that even the one who survived in the end would be put to the test in another similar battle where he would have to kill again to live for a few weeks longer.

So no matter who among them survived by killing each other... their ending would be the same.

And at the end of the day... they would be replaced by someone who was just as unfortunate as them, fallen victim to the same vicious cycle while the sick bastards who ruined their lives consumed their flesh and partook in all forms of degeneracy. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

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

On the day of the finale, during the morning training in the isolated grounds, the surviving children were exhausted, having fought against each other as individuals and as teams.

It was the much-needed experience for all of them to gauge each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Because no matter what, they all trained for only over a month.

Their harsh training and survival instinct helped them to adapt, but didn’t make them a genius martial arts master. And today, Morpheus also observed the pros and cons of all his competitors.

And the conclusion he reached was...

[I’m gonna die here!]

Morpheus returned to his cell and lay on the bed as he contemplated the training results from the past 6 days.

He concluded that he had no chance to win at all.

Because 3 children were much faster and great at adapting to the battle conditions. 2 were just purely stronger, who could take decisive hits but would definitely kill you after your energy was spent. The other 2 were just as strategic as Morpheus and actually had better reflexes than him.

Maybe it was because he was the youngest of them, he was severely lacking in many aspects... but it wasn’t going to make anyone sympathize with him in the arena.

He surely had the smallest frame among them, being only a 6-year-old, which allowed him to dodge a few hits easily. But there was no advantage over the opponents unless he was much stronger.

Thus, Morpheus concluded that regardless of how much effort he put in... he was destined to die a meaningless death and would be served to some of the richest people in the whole world.

But was that anything to be proud of?

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

As the evening arrived, the settlement was bustling with lights, the guests that arrived from various parts of the world, the tight security on every front with guards armed with automatic guns and bulletproof vests were stationed to ensure the security of these rich elites, politicians, conglomerates, and business tycoons while also making sure that none of the captives left the settlement alive.

The decorations, the music, and the overall atmosphere of this 5-kilometer-wide settlement were that of celebration, as if it were a cultural event, and everyone was joyously eager to participate.

Luxurious cars arrived, bringing honored guests wearing the most priceless jewelry, clothes, watches, and attire with vibrant colors as if this was the Hunger Games.

Their lavish lifestyles and grandiose display of wealth were enough to make even billionaires jealous, but it was such a common occurrence in this place that it just fit perfectly with normal standards instead of standing out.

There was even a skinny man on a robotic wheelchair, being escorted by young girls as he sipped on soda.

The long line of guests carried on as they were led to an open colosseum arena, this time instead of an underground one.

If Morpheus were present, he would recognize it as the same building he saw on the day he was brought here in those military trucks. But today, it wasn’t just a white grand building but akin to a stadium holding a K-pop band’s dance performance.

However, the performance held in this arena would be all about blood, carnage, and death.

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

An hour passed as the main events started one by one. Morpheus could only hear the loud cheers, and as the building, celebrating these mega-rich people, kept reverberating with vibrations and music from the loudspeakers.

"Aren’t they celebrating too early? We haven’t even started fighting yet." spoke Morpheus as he waited behind the entrance of a black door just like before.

"Hey, what is your name?" asked the boy from Morpheu’s adjacent cell, the one who had basically given hope of living.

"I’m Morpheus. Don’t remember my last name. What about you?" responded Morpheus.

"I am Neo," spoke the kid with a haggard countenance, with black eye bags indicating his sorry state.

"As for your question... we aren’t even the main course. We’re just the appetizer." he spoke.

"Umm... what’s an appetizer?" asked Morpheus with a confused face.

"Ah, shibal! Where did you even live, in the slums?" asked Neo with an irritated countenance.

"Yes." replied Morpheus with a poker face.

Sigh!

Neo sighed and responded with a worn-out tone...

"I mean, we are just the beginning. After us, grown-ups also fight, both women and men.

Just like us, many adults lost their families and were brought here for the arenas.

I once heard the guards talking that even those adults aren’t the main attraction.

Some powerful hunters are running away from the laws and governments of their countries, who fight here.

They are supposed to be the main attraction that gathers billions of money in bets." revealed Neo, who had a better grasp of the world since he was part of the main cities before the monster attacks.

Then, with a serious and grim countenance, Morpheus asked with a heavy tone...

"What’s a billion?"

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

Half an hour later... their turn finally came as the big black doors towards the entrance of the arena opened.

Creak!

Creak!

The rusty doors made loud creaks, and the blinding white light shone bright above their heads.

"Beloved guests, let’s welcome our first tournament’s candidate!" shouted the announcer as multicolored lights shone over the thousands of people in the audience.

This was less of a hidden event and more of a music concert at this point, given the crowd and the atmosphere.

Morpheus was too stunned to speak after watching the grandiose of this scene.

But soon, his eyes set on the arena in the middle, where a cleaning crew was mopping the floor and removing corpses of young girls around the same age as the boys’ group.

People were cheering and laughing as these helpless girls were forced to fight and kill each other, just like he was last week.

This made Morpheus lose the last bit of hope he had for humanity. If these people could, they would even drink a baby’s blood and flesh just for the thrill of it.

And it was right at this moment...

BOOM!!

BOOM!!

Outside the colosseum, multiple explosions happened out of nowhere, shaking the ground, and the tremors made hundreds of people fall.

WAAAOOOO!!

RINNGGGG!!!

Soon, sirens started ringing as loudly as they could, and the explosions continued as people got startled and terrified.

"What’s happening? Is this part of the show?" asked Morpheus.

Soon, loud noises intensified, and in the sky above, multiple flying helicopters hovered, their strong winds spreading across the entire colosseum and garnering everyone’s attention instantly.

Among them was a transport helicopter hovering at the center.

"Attention! You scumbangs of the world!

The World Hunter Association has arrived! Now be ready to face the wrath of god!" shouted an old man with a gray mustache while wearing a commando outfit.

He wasn’t even using a loudspeaker, but his voice echoed perfectly in everyone’s ears.

Shoot!

Shoot!

Soldiers on the helicopters started pointing their M134 miniguns, warning the crowd not to move.

BANG!!

BANG!!

"Do not worry... anyone outside won’t be coming to help you. All the prominent hunters across our branches have attacked this hellhole.

Not a single one of you sinners will escape this place if you try to resist arrest." shouted the old man.

The whirling blades of the helicopters couldn’t subdue his voice, and right behind him, walked another person.

Step!

Step!

A tall man with shiny golden hair, wearing pristine white and blue armor while holding a brightly glowing red sword in his hand, walked through the entrance of the helicopter.

The very next act this man did was to straight jump down from the helicopter with no hesitation.

BOOM!!

The entire colosseum shook as the man landed right in the middle of the arena, breaking the floor as his blue aura protected his body.

"That’s... that’s," spoke the announcer with a horrified tone.

"The strongest hunter in the world."