Lennon was dragged by the currents toward the colossal gate – the same one, covered in symbols that twisted like living veins, pulsing in grotesque rhythm.
His eyes widened, heart racing.
"Here again? Why?"
The guardian hurled him inside with brutal force. Lennon tried to resist the fall, but his weakened body crashed against the hard ground, knocking the air out of him.
A voice cut the silence like a blade:
"Surprised!?"
The demonic guardian stood before him. Her face merciless, her eyes burning with vengeance.
Lennon felt his spine turn cold.
"Did you forget the humiliation you put me through?" – her tone dripped with venom.
"Or did you die so miserably that you need to relive it?"
With a snap, she materialized a black sword. The blade pierced Lennon's shoulder, tearing through flesh and muscle.
Pain convulsed through him, a scream trapped in his throat.
"I don't want to die again! No… no!" – his mind begged desperately, repeating like a broken prayer.
The guardian smiled at the terror in his eyes. A cruel smile, feeding on his fear.
"Look at him… the 'great hero' of the surface". – she sneered. " Out there, the world still calls him a legend, a living glory. But here… here he's nothing but a rat begging not to be crushed."
She stepped closer, her voice a blade of mockery:
" What delicious irony… worshiped in the world of the living, yet reduced to nothing before me."
She called for Lennon's guardian and, without ceremony, decreed:
" He will return to the Eternal Hunting Arena. This time, he must bring at least five essence fruits. If he fails… what awaits him will be far worse than death."
The ground slipped from beneath Lennon's feet. His mind shot back to memories of what he had endured – the sand sucking his body, the wounds, the repeated deaths. Terror gnawed at his insides.
The guardian laughed one last time, her laughter echoing like dragging chains:
"Did you forget your life is hell!? Hahaha!"
The guardian seized Lennon mercilessly, dragging him to the gate. His body trembled, eyes wide, no escape in sight.
With a single throw, he was cast once again into the darkness of the arena.
Lennon's body throbbed in pain. When he opened his eyes, he felt the wind slicing his skin like invisible knives. Still on the ground, he turned, trying to get up – and his heart nearly stopped.
One more step and he would've fallen into an endless abyss.
He fell backward, gasping, chest pounding.
"Shit"! – his voice shook.
The cliff before him seemed to swallow reality itself, so deep his eyes couldn't trace an end. Lennon crawled back on all fours, drenched in cold sweat, his body trembling.
He raised his eyes. The sky was clear, but empty. No sun, no moon, no stars. Only a washed-out white, suffocating.
His throat went dry.
"What do I do now? I can't die again… I can't…"
He forced his eyes to scan around. No forests, no life. Just barren ground, scattered with brittle shrubs.
That's when he noticed: on one withered plant, stuck in the middle, was a sword.
"At least… I've found something right away! " – he muttered, running toward it.
He yanked the blade free with effort. The steel was worn but still solid, an uneven edge gleaming faintly. Lennon gripped it tightly, as if it were his last anchor to sanity.
He breathed deep. Thought of the guide.
"If it answered before… it can answer again."
" Where am I?" – he whispered.
The words surfaced in his mind, immediate, dry, immutable:
[Eternal Hunting Arena]
Lennon's eyes widened, his stomach twisting.
"As I expected… the guide only acts this way when I'm being exposed…"
But there was no time to think.
Out of nowhere, a rustling sound filled the air. He looked up – and saw them.
Enormous rats, the size of dogs, emerging from the dead shrubs. Their pointed teeth gleamed, red eyes locked on him, rushing forward.
Dozens.
From every side.
Lennon's heart pounded. He adjusted the sword in his hands, body still trembling from the fall, but his mind exploding with a single thought:
"If I hesitate… I'll die here again."
The rats came first from the left, charging.
Lennon raised the sword instinctively and spun his body.
The rusted edge cut through the air and ripped into the first beast's flesh. It shrieked horribly, collapsed, and writhed until dissolving into dense smoke that condensed into something solid: a translucent fruit, glowing faintly.
"Hah… I did it…" – he murmured, incredulous.
Another rat leapt at him, but Lennon was already moving faster. His blade arced upward, slashing the creature's throat mid - air. Dark blood sprayed, and another fruit rolled onto the ground.
Shock rippled through his mind:
"This… is easier? It's not like last time… these monsters feel… weaker."
Three more advanced. Lennon, panting heavily, now moved with growing confidence.
A lateral swing, a quick retreat, then a thrust to the chest of the last one. Each time a beast fell, more fruits appeared around him, scattered across the gray ground like stolen stars from the sky.
When silence finally returned, Lennon collapsed to his knees, gasping.
"I must be in a region with weak monsters in this arena… That has to be it!"
The sword trembled in his hand, not from exhaustion – but from adrenaline.
At his feet, a pile of essence fruits glimmered, each pulsing as if with its own heart.
He stared at them, hesitant.
"They're forbidden… the guide was clear… prisoners can't consume the harvest."
His stomach twisted. The memory of the horrid soup from the mess hall surfaced.
But with it… another thought.
"The system… that screen… it said the pact with the demon was broken. That the restrictions were destroyed… could it mean… this too?"
His body froze with fear.
The thought gnawed at him:
"What if the guardian shows up? What if it's a trap?"
But then he noticed – every time his guardian had been nearby, chains bound him. Now… nothing. He was free, unrestrained in the wind of the arena.
He swallowed hard. Picked up one of the fruits.
Its glow seemed to push against his skin.
"Either I risk it… or I die here like cattle."
At once, the system tore across his vision, letters blazing before his eyes:
[Condition detected for strengthening: Essence Fruit collected]
[Warning: Each fruit consumed permanently alters body and soul, but grants greater physical and mental strength.]
Lennon's heart hammered wildly.
He shut his eyes, sweat dripping down his face.
"This is it. I have no choice."
He clenched the fruit tighter and slowly raised it to his mouth.