I’m Here to End This Fight

Chapter 51: Special Sale Store (3)

‘Oh wow…’

Gulp.

The sound of someone swallowing echoed in his ears, snapping Yuri back to his senses.

‘They… didn’t hear that, right?’

Fortunately, it seemed that only he could hear the sound.

The couple, who appeared to be lovers, were still lost in a passionate kiss.

No, it seemed like they were just getting into it, as they were now exploring each other’s lips even more intensely than before.

For a boy about to turn sixteen, it was an incredibly stimulating scene.

But it only lasted a moment.

Smooch, smooch.

As the sounds, which tickled his nerves, continued, Yuri looked up at the sky in vain.

His eyes showed a hint of realization, taking on a wise, contemplative look.

‘…The mercenary uncle was right.’

The older man had once said,

“Kids are born even in the midst of war.”

‘If kids are being born in the midst of such chaos, it would be stranger if a place full of hot-blooded youths didn’t have at least one romance brewing.’

Young, fit, and full of life.

And on top of that, they were men and women from powerful families, all gathered in one place.

Honestly, even if they were fighting for their lives with swords, it wouldn’t be surprising if one of them suddenly went, ‘Oh my! I’ve never been stabbed like this before!’ and ended up falling for the other.

‘That must be what they call the true law of nature.’

Yuri’s eyes took on a deeper sense of enlightenment, as if he had realized something profound.

Smooch, smooch, smooch, smooch.

The provocative sounds continued, and by the time he started to wonder, ‘Won’t their lips be shredded by now?’ the two finally pulled away.

“Haa…”

“……”

There was no conversation between the lovers.

Only the sound of their heavy breathing and the deep, intense gazes they exchanged.

After staring at each other for a long time, they finally held hands again and began to walk away.

Once they had left.

Thump.

Yuri, who had been perched in a tree, jumped down and watched the couple disappear into the distance, a mischievous grin spreading across his face.

“…That was a good show.”

He awkwardly rubbed his nose with his index finger, wiping the grin off his face as he refocused himself.

“Time to go.”

There wasn’t much time left until dawn.

He needed to move quickly and find a hiding place before then.

So, Yuri moved his legs diligently.

And not long after, the sun began to rise in the direction he was heading.

December 31st, 5:30 PM.

Fifteen hours after Yuri had moved towards the rising sun, he was now facing away from it.

Yuri turned briefly, gazing at the slowly setting sun.

Finally, as the sun disappeared completely and darkness fell, he stretched.

“Time to start moving again.”

Yuri had taken a break after watching the sunrise.

As a result, he still hadn’t left the third-year territory.

Fortunately, no one had discovered him yet.

‘I have about six hours left? It’s a bit tight… but I think I can make it.’

According to Jerry’s explanation, the northern region where the first and second-year cadets lived was the largest.

It would take hours by carriage to get from the northernmost point to the central area.

The other upper-year territories were smaller in comparison, so considering his current pace and that it was his first time traversing this route, the timing should be about right.

‘Of course, I shouldn’t make assumptions and should keep moving as quickly as possible.’

He didn’t know what might happen or where.

If he wasted time on the wrong thing, all his efforts so far could be for nothing, so Yuri remained cautious.

He sharpened his focus and ran through the forest.

He leaped over rocks and streams.

At times, he clung to vines, climbing cliffs and trees.

Paths that were impossible for horses and carriages posed no problem for Yuri.

Even his speed was several times faster than an ordinary person running on flat ground.

As Yuri rapidly crossed the shortest distance due east, his movements suddenly halted.

‘People.’

Quickly scanning the surroundings, he climbed up a nearby giant tree.

Perched on a branch, Yuri held his breath.

Not long after, two people appeared.

It was a couple walking hand in hand.

‘…Huh?’

Just as Yuri tilted his head, sensing something strange.

Smack.

The man suddenly grabbed the woman’s wrist forcefully and shoved her against a tree.

And it just so happened that the tree he pushed her against was the very one Yuri was perched in.

Watching what happened next, Yuri’s expression shifted moment by moment.

The man leaned one arm against the tree, lifted the woman’s chin, and aggressively pressed his lips against hers.

‘Huh?’

At first, the woman seemed a bit startled, but soon she accepted the kiss and wrapped her arms around the man’s neck.

‘Huh?!’

Yuri’s face went blank as he watched the whole scene unfold.

‘What’s this… déjà vu?’

The scene of the man and woman appearing and then kissing.

It felt like something he’d seen not too long ago.

As he looked down in a daze, Yuri’s eyes twitched.

‘Wait, that man…?’

For a moment, Yuri thought he was mistaken.

But his sharp eyes didn’t lie.

‘That guy with the bruised-looking purple hair!’

If his eyes weren’t deceiving him, the man passionately kissing below him was the same guy he had seen a few hours ago.

Although he couldn’t see his face clearly, the green epaulet and slightly curly purple hair were undeniable.

But there was one problem.

And that was…

‘The woman is different!’

The woman he was kissing was not the same as before.

The woman Yuri had seen a few hours ago had brown hair.

But the one now passionately kissing the bruised-looking purple-haired guy was a blonde.

‘Did the woman dye her hair in the meantime?’

Yuri, more than anyone, knew how ridiculous that idea was.

The brown-haired woman and the blonde were clearly different people.

‘Even their epaulets are different.’

The brown-haired woman had a green epaulet.

But the blonde woman had a blue epaulet.

‘Green is for third-years, the 48th class, and blue is for fourth-years, the 47th class…’

So the conclusion was obvious.

‘He’s two-timing!’

The man was seeing two women at the same time.

He was even seeing his own classmate and a senior from the year above him at the same time.

Smooch, smooch, smooch, smooch.

Yuri shook his head at the passionate sounds coming from beneath his feet.

A moment later.

“Haa…”

“……”

The couple exchanged a lingering gaze, held hands again, and walked away.

Thud.

Landing where the couple had stood, Yuri clicked his tongue, thinking of the guy with the bruised-looking purple hair.

“Tsk… what a playboy.”

Clicking his tongue briefly, Yuri started moving again.

It didn’t matter to him whether someone was two-timing or not.

What mattered to Yuri now was getting to the central area by midnight.

With that in mind, Yuri began to run again.

Tadak, tadak (the sound of running).

As Yuri ran through the dense darkness, his legs gradually came to a stop.

After hours of intense movement, his breathing had become quite rough.

Huff, huff.

Calming his breath, Yuri stared straight ahead.

Overgrown grass, a dense forest path.

And beyond that, a faint white light.

Yuri’s expression brightened.

‘I made it in time.’

There was no need to check his watch.

Yuri’s internal clock told him that he wasn’t late yet.

As he walked slowly, exiting the forest he had tirelessly run through, his eyes widened at the sight before him.

“…My god.”

He had once asked Jerry how to find the circular arena in the central area.

Jerry had chuckled at the question.

[How do you find it? You don’t need to try. If you miss it while you’re nearby, you might as well be blind. You’ll probably feel it the moment you see it. Ah, so this is why they all talk about the Dragon’s Cradle, you’ll think.]

Those words were true.

‘Indeed… you’d have to be blind to miss this.’

Yuri knew what a circular arena was.

A blood-soaked arena where gladiators fought to the death.

The circular arena where he had briefly worked was one of the largest on the continent, capable of holding thousands of spectators.

But the “circular arena” before his eyes wasn’t just that large.

The white stone outer wall, which was clearly made of high-quality materials, stood at least 50 meters tall.

And the entire structure was too large to see in one glance.

It wasn’t built to hold thousands, but tens of thousands, maybe even more.

It was the largest building Yuri had ever encountered.

But what shocked Yuri the most was…

‘Are those… all luminous stones?’

The precious luminous stones were embedded in the outer wall of the circular arena at intervals of several meters.

It seemed as if every luminous stone in the world had been gathered and stuck onto it.

As a result, the area around the circular arena was bathed in a white light, as if under the glow of the moon.

‘Hah… so this is why everyone calls it the Dragon’s Cradle.’

Yuri knew that the Dragon’s Cradle was an artificial island made of gold.

But so what?

Even though he had heard they used gold like water to create the artificial island, it was hard to grasp just how much until he saw it for himself.

However, the building in front of him was different.

He could somewhat estimate how much high-quality stone it took to build such a massive structure.

And also how many luminous stones were embedded in it.

Now that he could vaguely guess, he finally realized the scale of the Cradle’s wealth.

Yuri stared blankly at the circular arena, as if hypnotized.

It was at that moment.

‘…?!’

Yuri snapped back to reality as he sensed people approaching.

His head turned to the right.

Hundreds of meters away, several people appeared under the light of the luminous stones surrounding the circular arena.

Yuri’s eyes flashed with recognition.

‘They’re all wearing green epaulets… the 48th class.’

They wandered near the circular arena for a while before entering it.

The implication was simple.

‘Midnight is approaching.’

The people who had just arrived were probably gathering to use the special sale as well.

Yuri quickly began to move.

‘There was a clock tower above the entrance the 48th class went into. If that’s the west clock tower… then I need to head this way.’

Jerry’s voice echoed in Yuri’s mind.

[The store for first and second-year cadets can only be accessed through the northern entrance. There’s a clock tower in each direction—north, south, east, and west—so it should be easy to find.]

[Huh? What happens if you go through an entrance in a different direction? How would I know? I’ve never done something that crazy. If you go through the east or west entrance by mistake and run into the 48th or 49th class… who knows what might happen? Just don’t go anywhere near those places.]

[…What does the clock tower look like? Oh, stop asking! You’ll figure out that minor detail yourself… Ack! Fine, I’ll tell you! Just get those cursed ants away from me!]

According to Jerry, the store for first and second-years could only be accessed through the north clock tower.

‘North… North clock tower.’

Yuri kept repeating “north” in his mind as he headed north along the outer wall of the circular arena.

After a considerable amount of time passed, finally.

“…Here it is.”

A clock tower jutted into view.

It was the first clock tower he encountered after heading north from the west.

It was clearly the north clock tower.

Unlike the west clock tower, where people were beginning to gather, the entrance to the north clock tower was deserted.

After confirming that there were no signs of people around, Yuri looked up at the clock tower.

10:56 PM.

‘That was close.’

Despite moving as quickly as he could, he had barely made it with an hour to spare.

If anything had gone wrong, he might not have made it on time.

Feeling slightly relieved that he had arrived safely, Yuri immediately entered the entrance.

Before long, he came across a fork in the path.

[After entering the entrance, you’ll come to a fork. If you’re looking for the first-year store, take the left path. The second-years are currently using the store on the right.]

Recalling Jerry’s advice, Yuri took the left path without hesitation.

Just as he exited the left path and began to relax, thinking he was almost there, Yuri suddenly came to a halt.

At the same time, a trembling voice escaped his lips.

“…Damn it.”

Yuri’s pupils shook as much as his voice.

He muttered in a drained voice.

“Jerry… you didn’t tell me about this.”

As he spoke, Yuri’s head slowly tilted upward.

0°.

30°.

45°.

60°.

90°.

As his line of sight rose higher and higher, Yuri’s head tilted further back, but the end of the spiral staircase above him was nowhere in sight.

It wasn’t until he arched his back that he finally managed to see the ceiling.

Yuri’s gaze slowly descended from the ceiling.

As he did, he caught sight of several dark entrances scattered throughout the staircase.

These were clearly the stairways and entrances leading to each floor.

Yuri quickly counted them.

‘Even at a glance, there are more than 10.’

That meant the circular arena was divided into at least 10 floors.

And also…

“I have to find the store somewhere up there, don’t I? Haha… hahaha.”

Yuri let out a laugh of resignation.

That laugh soon turned into a sigh.

“Haaaa… damn it.”

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Yuri tightened the slightly loosened strap of his points box.

And then.

Clench.

“Alright, let’s do this!”

He gritted his teeth and dashed forward.

‘I’ve come this far; there’s no way I’m giving up now.’

In that case, he just had to keep moving.

There was no time to waste complaining.

It was better to search one more floor instead of wasting time!

“Let’s go!”

With a short shout, Yuri immediately rushed towards the nearest first-floor entrance.

At that point, there was only one hour left until midnight.

With at least 10 floors to search.

Yuri’s desperate struggle had begun.