I Can Hear the Saint’s Inner Thoughts

79 – The Arena Fight Where You Can’t Die (2)

As I walked out into the arena, a torrent of insults and jeers rained down.

From the perspective of the spectators who’d come to watch the fight, I probably looked like some madman slaughtering demons and monsters. This kind of reaction was expected.

The hero of humanity – to put it another way, in the demon realm, he held the same meaning as a cruel butcher.

From the start, Ghraktar treating me kindly was the exception.

“Kill him! Kill him! Tear Astar Kaisa Ross to shreds!”

“Glory to Lord Ergosum! Glory to the Forsaken Hollow!”

Hearing the voices of demons and monsters mixed with resentment, I surprisingly felt like I’d lived my life correctly.

Because there wouldn’t be one among those shouting who hadn’t killed or eaten a human.

I hadn’t purposely touched innocent monsters or demons. The only ones I killed were those who’d threatened me first, or those who’d committed crimes, crossing the line in some way.

“…A mad mage, huh? Not exactly wrong.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at the Siren’s introduction. I *was* the kind of mage who’d endure madness to save others.

I’d spent my entire life researching magic, trying to ensure no one died in front of me again.

For this, I joined a hero’s party as a mage and even wrote a will. I feigned a romantic relationship with Victoria, the Saintess, going so far as to reject her sincere confession, the fool.

Anyone would think I was crazy if they knew I did all this while hearing Victoria’s innermost thoughts.

– That whoring b*tch, daring to belittle my beloved Astar! If only I could grab a hammer and wreck this arena…

Hearing Victoria’s thoughts from far away, I was struck by the thought that I absolutely couldn’t lose.

The Saintess, who was living on borrowed time because of the flower blooming on her body, who spewed venom to hide her true feelings, had now fallen in love with me.

“Astar-nim! Do your best!!”

Victoria, even in the heart of enemy territory, was shouting to cheer me on.

Because of the prior application of perception-blocking magic, only I and my comrades could hear her voice.

To respond to Victoria’s heart, I clenched my fist and raised my arm high towards the sky.

If I were to wave towards the direction of the voice, or even acknowledge it, Victoria and the others could be put in danger.

“The challenger to the Mad Wizard, Astal…! The phantom of the all-consuming desert, a legendary beast said to never have been subdued even once. It is… Sahat!”

Immediately after the siren’s introduction, my opponent appeared.

A monster that thoroughly blurred the vision that was just transparent a moment ago, bringing with it a sandstorm.

“Krrrreeeeeeeeeee─!!”

Sahat, resembling a giant antlion with several human arms attached, let out an ear-splitting shriek the moment it saw me.

* * *

The moment I saw the beast, I remembered what Glaktar had told me yesterday.

Ultimately, no matter what a living creature looks like, if you carefully observe its movements, you can predict how it will attack and defend.

And in order to win in this arena where no one can die, it’s crucial to render your opponent unable to move first.

“…Guess I have no choice but to try.”

The monster before my eyes was one I had never even seen before, despite surviving in the Demon Realm for a year.

Even if I were to use the Core Sword to cut the opponent and neutralize it, the fatigue or pain from the recoil could have a negative impact on the next battle.

“Human, tasty… eat! Chop into pieces with jaws!”

“You’re not even an Orc, and you talk so stupidly. Is all you can say weird howls and that?”

“No! Human, kill you!”

Watching Sahat clack its massive jaws together, creating a metallic sound, I immediately dismantled the magic circle and spread it all over my body.

I need to be most careful of those jaws, first and foremost. After all, this thing originally digs sandy pits called antlion traps to hunt its prey.

*Whoosh─!*

Perhaps enraged by the provocation, Sahat dove underground, showing its power by turning all the ground I was standing on into sand.

Judging by the flow of magic in my sight and the constant element conversion around his jaw, he’s not as physical as he looks.

‘The opponent is an earth magic user. And a high-level one at that.’

At least a Dragon-class mage, right below a Sage.

There aren’t many who can control space like this, summoning sandstorms and turning solid earth into a beach.

“No matter how much of a soaring mage you are, a human can’t escape my sand hell!”

Sheer slopes and swirling ground. The arena floor, now completely turned into grains of sand, was making it hard to even stand properly.

Sahat, spitting and showering sand with a grotesque motion using those human arms attached to his jaw and back, even throwing it into his own mouth.

“Ah─! Here it comes! Sahat’s signature move! ＜The Mages’ Graveyard＞! By scattering sand with various spell-disrupting abilities, he completely shuts down the magic of his opponents!”

Seeing that, Seiren and the audience cheered joyfully, supporting their champion. They seemed to think this method would undoubtedly kill a mage.

They seem to be unaware that magic nullification is only possible when levels are equal or lower.

That was why Bellamora and Dullahan saw through my perception-obstructing magic, and why Sahat can’t block my magic now.

The rules set by Odin, the main god who defined everything in the magical arts, including the levels of mages, and taught magic so that humans wouldn’t be eaten by monsters and demons anymore, were absolute.

Except for me, who can briefly surpass that level by combining various magic spells.

To counter him, I used the same thread-like magic circle I had wrapped around myself last time, and cast the Giant Transformation spell. Megamorph.

Instantly, my body swelled up like a giant from myths, towering over the audience in the highest seats of the arena.

“…Impressive. Megamorph isn’t supposed to make you this big. Did unraveling the magic circle like a thread cause a different effect?”

The jet-black knight, Dullahan, looked down at me from the upper echelons, chuckling. He simply seemed to find this spectacle amusing, not even sparing applause.

By unraveling the magic circle like a thread and wrapping it around my body, I could increase the range of the magic’s effect to my entire body or flexibly respond to an opponent’s attacks, as if wearing it as armor.

Thanks to growing so large, Sahat’s sand hell no longer worked, and I grabbed the jaw of the guy flailing between my feet and lifted him up.

Seeing Sahat struggling to break free from the sand, like a tree deeply rooted in the ground, I almost felt sorry for him.

“How could this be! The invincible technique that devoured so many wizards has been breached! Sahat, we’re in a crisis…!”

As I heard Siren recount his record, sensing something was off, I realized this b*stard had been devouring other humans.

“Hey, you moron! You should have hacked off his limbs before he could even use magic!”

“If you win here, you can burn the hero party alive, or have your way with the women and have fun!!”

“Sahat! Sahat! Sahat!”

Even in this situation, seeing the spectators, who were only thinking about violating and killing my companions instead of cheering for me, the hero party’s magician, I changed my mind.

As expected, only someone like the orc Grectar was the exception.

There was no way in this world that monsters or demons would ever repent of their sins or stop their evil deeds.

“Krririk! Let go, human…!! I’m going to kill you and rise to become one of the Demon King’s Four Heavenly Kings…! I can’t die here…!”

“Oh, really? From what I hear, the Heavenly King that’s here now begged the Demon King for his life and became a Death Knight…”

I cupped the entire sand hell where Sahat was with my hand and lifted it, opening my mouth. It was best to talk about these shocking facts when everyone’s attention was focused.

“Maybe if you die once and are reborn, you could become one of the Demon King’s Four Heavenly Kings, right? Though it probably wouldn’t be worth shit.”

With the sound of the air tearing apart, *thud*, *whump*, I slammed Sahat into the ground, and I gave a bitter smile as I watched him wriggle like an insect with his back already broken.

“I’m not, I’m not dead yet…! Continue the match…!! Soon I’ll be celebrating victory, drinking your lover’s blood and devouring her flesh─”

─*Crack!*

I was disgusted by Sahat, who was still roaring like that even after his defeat, so I trampled him underfoot, crushing him until he was gone.