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The battle ultimately came to a close with that middle-aged male smashing that beast’s skull open in a bloody flower on the ground. From the end of his hammer, one could still see a viscous red fluid dripping onto ground with a splat. Such a grisly sight startled our resident timid girl, Jezsere, who reflexively ducked into my arms with a start. However, her shock didn’t last very long as something else soon caught her attention.

Now that his battle was over, the middle-aged male dragged his tired body towards the welcoming darkness of the exit tunnel. What awaited him at the end of this tunnel was rest that, while did not last all too long, was a guarantee that no other Dark Elf would come challenge him…

Suddenly, two scantily clad female Dark Elves jumped off the audience stands and into the ring, landing almost at the same time.

The two stopped the man in his tracks and seemed to be discussing some matter. After a short exchange, the human male nodded his head then retreated to the sides of the arena.

Following that, the two Dark Elves slowly walked into the center of the ring, five meters apart in what looked like your pre-battle preparation. On one hand, a female dual wielding a pair of daggers. On the other, another female wielding a shield and a longsword. Neither side had any intention of backing out now and the tension in the air was nearly palpable. Both sides were ready to strike in an instant; all they needed now was a signal.

Seeing that, the spectators immediately erupted in deafening cheers. Yet before I could even react to what was happening, Paliseth had begun explaining what had just happened. “This is one of our customs. When a slave gladiator triumphs over a magical beast, any Dark Elf who takes a liking to him may jump into the ring…”

So what she’s saying is that those who jump down into the ring when a slave wins want to have a go at it in the bed with said slave. Of course, they can say no too, just like Solar-sama.

At times like this, right after a slave’s victory, there would often be multiple Dark Elves who jumped into the ring, and there came a problem. The Dark Elves were particularly voracious in bed. Not just anybody who could satisfy them, whether men or women. Because of that, often only one Dark Elf would ever receive approval, so what happened to the rest then? Seeing as that single male couldn’t just be split into two, the only option left was to fight.

Having just explained this, the fight below started.

The dual-wielding female began circling her opponent slowly. On the flip side, the shield-bearing female adopted more of a wait-and-see stance. Wherever the dual-wielding female was, her shield would always be at the ready, one-meter tall body ready to take on any form of attack.

After a complete revolution, it was the assassin-looking female who lost her patience first. She sped up her movement but still maintained her circling stance. This time however, her speed had increased threefold.

The warrior-looking female wore a light set of armor that looked to be about 20 kilograms. It was made of a composite material consisting of some metal and bones. This armor covered the majority of her weak points, but the rest of the areas like the arms, the thighs and the stomach were all exposed.

Based on that alone, one could tell that this female warrior was more of a balanced fighter; neither too agile nor too strong. While she might not have had the advantage in any field, her balanced style meant that she had no obvious weaknesses as well. It was such warriors who often proved to be a headache for assassins seeing as they relied on exploiting their opponent’s weaknesses.

Her rectangular shield meant that she held a distinct advantage against the assassin-class who usually did not have very strong head-on attacks. Plus her relatively light armor meant that she was able to maintain eye contact with the circling assassin. Her speed wouldn’t lag behind the assassin by much either.

Even with the assassin’s faster circling, the female warrior still managed to keep her within her sights. For the assassin, this was the worst possible situation. A front assault was her weakest point. That was why she had no choice but to keep circling the warrior. At this rate, it wouldn’t take long before this assassin began to show an opening due to fatigue. After all, it was a lot more taxing to circle an opponent than it was to just turn around. Not to mention the fact that warriors tended to have more endurance than an Assassin.

Unfortunately, reality tended to play out in ways you would never expect: it was the female warrior who ended up showing an opening first. Because she was so busy maintaining eye contact with the female assassin, she failed to notice that her opponent had thrown a hidden weapon at her.

The assassin’s rapid circling meant that when she tossed out that knife at her opponent, the action was covered up by the blur of her running. This triangular knife darted towards its target like a typical kunai would in a ninja movie, yet it wasn’t aimed at the female warrior at all. Instead, it was aimed at the patch of ground beside her.

Because of this strange trajectory, the female warrior’s instincts did not immediately react to the attack. Yet the instant that triangular knife hit the ground, it reflected off the ground like how a laser would, abruptly flying in a different direction that so happened to be the waist of the female warrior.

By the time the female warrior felt the searing pain in her waist, her body had almost crumpled to the side. However, she forced her body up once more by using her massive shield as a support. With her right hand, she swung her longsword upwards, blocking the leaping attack of that assassin by sheer combat instincts.

At this point, there was either victory or death. With a powerful kick of her feet, the female warrior launched herself off the ground using her shield. At the same time as that, she lifted her shield and kept it ahead to prevent any further sneak attacks by the assassin.

While all that was happening, the female assassin was busy trying to finish off her opponent as well. Originally, she would have taken this opportunity to press her advantage, but that massive shield ended up foiling her two daggers once more. The moment that happened, the female warrior swung her shield with all the might she could summon, slamming it right into the belly of the assassin and pushing her into the ground. Then… with a stab of her sword, it was over…

A stab to end the battle… right down the throat…

“WOOOOOOO!!!!”

The stands erupted in cheers. Nearly everyone stood up in unison and began screaming at the top of their lungs. At the start, I thought they were all yelling at the warrior for being too vicious, but I soon discovered I was wrong. They were most definitely cheering. In some sense, this was what they were looking for, right? Blades against blades. A dance of life and death against a backdrop of blood…

“Ahh!” Just as the cheering reached its crescendo, Jezsere who had been beside me all this while practically jumped out of her seat in terror. She ducked into my arms once more and began shaking profusely, as if she was the one who got stabbed in the throat instead.

I hurriedly wrapped my arms around her tightly and comforted her. However, even I had to admit that the scene just now was too much for my liking.

Feeling a little parched all of a sudden, I swallowed down the saliva in my throat, but there was hardly any left to soothe my sore throat. I immediately grabbed one of the filled cups nearby and gulped it down. Unfortunately, no amount of honeyed drinks was going to wipe away the unpleasantness in my mouth right now. I furrowed my brows and sat there in silence for a good long while. Finally, I muttered in a low voice, “She’s dead…”

The Elves always gave off that elegant, refined aura. Yes, even the chaotic Dark Elves. That was why I had assumed that the fights wouldn’t end in death. They were of the same clan, after all. Yet…

“Your holiness… did you not enjoy the festivities?” Paliseth gave me a confused look at that point. Perhaps in her mind, us Devils all loved watching people fight to the death for our sheer amusement.

In truth, I wasn’t all that against gladiatorial fights or deaths in general. After all, I had been through several fights myself so I knew what the world was really like. It was a Devil-eat Devil-world out there, and the weak were only good as prey. If you wanted to have a better life, someone had to suffer for it.

Even amongst humans, there was a caste system. The only reason those in power were able to live in comfort was because of the slaves beneath them. Life wasn’t fair like that. As a person of power, I was naturally the beneficiary of this unfairness as well, and I deserved every bit of retribution that came with it. All that talk about abolishing slavery and freedom… that was too grand a stage for me. Of course, that didn’t mean I was going to overlook every bit of cruelty that came my way. It was just that this reaction was mostly limited to feeling bad or shock for their unfortunate fate.

All in all, my opinion towards gladiatorial fights were a nonstarter. Now, if there was a beautiful young girl somewhere that needed saving, I guess I could take the time to rescue her… As for middle-aged men… Oh, would you look at the time, I must be going now!

But the moment it was about two beautiful Dark Elves girls fighting to the death in a gladiator ring which even resulted in one of them dying… that was just such a waste.

Why did they have to fight to the death? What manner of reasoning would push them to such extremes? It clearly wasn’t for survival, nor was it for a better life. The only reason they even did that was because of a man. And this wasn’t some noble love story either, it was just because they wanted to do it… that’s all.

“If I have to be perfectly honest, such deaths don’t happen too often. They probably had some bad blood between them from the start.” Paliseth turned and smiled at me. “Your holiness, are you not feeling well?”

“I’m fine. I just feel it’s kinda a shame… after all, you Dark Elves have a long life ahead to live, plus…” At that point, I reached down and hugged Jezsere who up till now hadn’t dared raise her head yet. I gently stroked her hair and said, “you startled Jezsere.”

NOTE: Changes made after the point where the dark elf died. Paragraph rearrangement, line omissions and some minor changes in words used.

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Announcement: I’ve re-opened my Patreon in case anyone wants to sponsor more chapters. Every end of the month, those chapters in early access will be released for free for all to read. If you sponsored a chapter, you will gain permanent early access to these chapters. Essentially, everyone gets more chapters to read, but those who donated get to read earlier. More chapters will then be translated at the start of the month. Explanation on the Patreon itself.

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If you liked my work translating Devil’s Evolution Catalog, feel free to check out Song of Adolescence. Also, every comment is appreciated even though I might not reply. I do read them.

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“Since your holiness has no interest in visiting Arachne Cavern, how about we go to the colosseum instead?”

“The colosseum? Sounds good, that was exactly what I had in mind.”

Well, it’s not like I have anything better to do right now. I might as well go visit this wide-acclaimed colosseum of theirs. It is, after all, the place where Solar-sama rose to fame. And as Solar-sama’s diehard fan, it’s only fitting that I make a pilgrimage to one of the holy sites
where he worked his miracles.

Yet who would have thought that the moment we decided on this plan, Jezsere’s adorable little bunny head would suddenly show itself from around the corner ahead. As always, this timid little Dark Elf had her head down, lifting it up a little when she realised we were here. Her first reaction was to back away, most likely because our appearance startled her, or perhaps because Paliseth was a source of trauma for her. Either way, the moment she saw Paliseth, her body froze up, and a moment later, tried to turn around and flee.

Unfortunately, she hadn’t even gotten a step in before Paliseth called out to her.

Seeing her own daughter act like a mouse trying to flee from a cat, even Paliseth was a little miffed. “Jezsere, come greet his holiness.”

“Mast…master…” Caught like a bunny in a trap, Jezsere shuffled towards me uneasily first then glanced at her mother, though that only lasted a moment as she promptly lowered her head once more, ears beet red like she had been startled. “Mother… and master, how can Jezsere help you both?”

“What? We can’t look for you without a reason now?”

Unlike how she treated me, Paliseth was a stern matriarch to every other Dark Elf in her clan. With a simple glare, she could pressure any Dark Elf into submission. Jezsere could tell that her mother was displeased right now. Her body froze up once more and her face was a complete mess of confusion and terror. At this point, I would be surprised if she even remembered her name was Jezsere.

“That’s enough, don’t bully her too much.” I sternly chided Paliseth then reached out to grab Jezsere’s shivering hands. “There, there. Don’t be afraid, Jez, your master’s here now. I would like to see who dares to bully you now.” I said in the gentlest tone possible to comfort her.

Having said that, I quietly looked at Paliseth. If that old hag still had some wits about her, she would get what I was trying to say.

As I expected, she knew what I wanted from that simple gesture. “There, there. My little Jez, as long as you listen to his holiness, your mother promises to never scold you again.” She promptly switched her tone to match my own.

Man, that old hag sure changes her tone faster than she changes her clothes….

Jezsere did not answer her right away. Instead, she shuffled closer to me to the point where even her scent was now stuck to my body.

Speaking of which, exactly how much more insecure can this girl get? Whenever a person doesn’t feel safe, they would often use their hands to guard their chest, and that’s what I see her doing all the time. And that hair of hers… most people wouldn’t use their hair like a scarf… just that last point alone was proof enough.

One way girls like Jezsere expressed their severe insecurity was through their excessive kindness. Unhealthy though that may be, it was this trait that often elicited the feeling of wanting to protect them from others… Ahhh… no wonder you’re Solar-sama’s daughter… whether it’s your looks or your personality, they are all numba one! And that’s not just me saying so because I’m a big fan, she really is a girl I couldn’t bear to leave alone.

As Paliseth led us towards the colosseum, I quietly leaned in on Jezsere and chatted with her. Before that however, I made use of my special privileges to order Paliseth not to bully timid girls like Jez and especially not force them to do things they did not want to do!

“Jez, weren’t you looking after Reyage? What made you change your mind?” Because Paliseth had just mentioned that fact to me, I was more than surprised when we bumped into her along the hallway so soon. “Oh, and how is Reyage doing? Is he alright?”

“Brother is resting right now, he’s doing really well. By tomorrow, his wounds should be completely healed.” She answered while still grabbing onto my left arm. “That’s why I came out to find master…”

“Oh, what for?”

“Nothing…” Jezsere shook her head before biting down on her lips. “Jezsere just wanted to be by master’s side…”

“Oh…” Her current timidness was something I had to admit I liked. Naturally, if she were to be a little stronger, it wouldn’t be a bad thing either. With that in mind, I smiled gently at her and pulled out my trump card: the legendary head pat.

“It’s alright, you can always lean on me when you need to.”

“Master…” Jezsere’s eyes almost teared up at that moment. “Jezsere loves her master!”

Hearing her childishly confess her love to me, I couldn’t help but kiss her gently on her head. Having done that, I turned around to face a Paliseth that was giving me a conflicted look right now. My eyes narrowed sharply as I addressed this old hag that still retained the looks of a teenage girl. “Jez is mine, if you or anyone else tries to bully her… believe me, you wouldn’t want to deal with the consequences.”

Now that I was the godson of the Spider Queen, the entire Dark Elf race basically belonged to me. In some sense, whatever I said could be interpreted as the will of the Spider Queen.

Naturally, Paliseth wouldn’t dare show any disrespect to such a person. “Don’t worry, your holiness, I’ll make sure to look after her from now on…”

“You’d better remember what you said today. Don’t disappoint me.” I curled my lips to the corner. “If I ever find out that you bullied her…”

“Yes… I won’t disappoint you, your holiness.”

Time flew by in an instant and it didn’t take long before we found ourselves at the colosseum.

The structure itself consisted of a gigantic empty ring with towering audience stands on all sides. In fact, if one were to look carefully, one could make out what looked like VIP booths in the distance. However, whether it was the audience stands, the VIP booths, the tunnels or the stairs that led up to them, they were all carved out of the cave wall.

Honestly, I really had to hand it to these Elves. Putting aside all the rooms and halls I had passed by on the way here, this gigantic ring coming in at over one hundred meters must have taken considerable effort to dig out. Being as obsessed with beauty as one would expect any Elf to be, the VIP booths were also filled with all manner of intricately decorated furniture. Even the stairs that led to these stands were decorated with care. For example, on the back of every stone chair was a disturbingly lifelike spider carving while the tunnels were lined with dragons breathing fire. As for the stairways, they were lined with carvings depicting Dark Elven war history… In short, everything had to be beautiful for these Elves.

Under Paliseth’s guidance, we were quickly brought to a neatly carved out booth. Not long after entering this booth, a bunch of Dark Elven maids bearing refreshments entered the room as well. One by one, they laid down their platters until the table was full.

The food of the Dark Elves was a lot more varied than I had initially thought based on what they brought in. But this did not really surprise me much seeing as they often ambushed travelling caravans. The amount of loot they accumulated over the years was nothing to scoff at. In some sense, the region inhabited by the Dark Elves was akin to a Silk Road for the humans in the Western Human Realms. As long as the money was good, there would always be merchants daring enough to risk the journey.

The Dark Elves knew of this fact as well. That was why they would sometimes let some caravans through unharmed. By doing so, they would give the false impression that certain caravans were more successful than others, and then…

Honestly, everyone must have had that moment or two when they were young and thought that whatever they did was always right… till they messed up badly anyway…

Other than looting caravans, the Dark Elves also had their own farms and ranches. Amongst the races they kept captive, there was a lower-tiered race known as Duergars; they were the ones responsible for rearing the animals. The meats in the Underdepths were exactly what you would expect of a subterranean environment: dank. For example, one of the main sources of meat was the meat of the Rendworm, a creature similar to an extremely long earthworm but actually tasted great.

In terms of agriculture, the Duergars had more to look after. Whatever melons, seeds, shrooms and plants that could survive underground were basically tended to by the Duergars.

The Duergars were outwardly frail looking and resembled a Gnome. However, what distinguished them from a Gnome was their hair. A Gnome was bald while Duergars naturally had a mohawk.

The colosseums of the Dark Elves were open twenty four hours. Other than providing Dark Elves with an opponent of their choice to fight with, there were other forms of entertainment as well. At times, slave gladiators were pitted against starving magical beasts. Other times, they were set against other slave gladiators.

Right now, there was a thirty or so year old human male old facing off against a wolf-type magical beast that had to at least be 1.5m meters tall when standing.

This human was extremely muscular and wielded a gigantic hammer like a toy in the ring. With how fast he was swinging that weapon around, even water couldn’t break through his defenses.

His opponent was extremely quick, but it was no use. The wolf-like creature threw out multiple Windblades at the human but those were quickly smacked down by the spinning hammer. And with that gigantic hammer bearing ever closer to it, the wolf was slowly backed into the corner. Even so, it dared not risk that spinning hammer.

It had to be said at this point that this was quite a poor match for the agile wolf-type magical beast. After all, its forte was speed, not strength. And even with the notoriously sturdy hide of a magical beast protecting it, there was no standing up to a full-force swing of a strength-class Warrior.

Shameless Self-promotion

Announcement: I’ve re-opened my Patreon in case anyone wants to sponsor more chapters. Every end of the month, those chapters in early access will be released for free for all to read. If you sponsored a chapter, you will gain permanent early access to these chapters. Essentially, everyone gets more chapters to read, but those who donated get to read earlier. More chapters will then be translated at the start of the month. Explanation on the Patreon itself.

LINK HERE

If you liked my work translating Devil’s Evolution Catalog, feel free to check out Song of Adolescence. Also, every comment is appreciated even though I might not reply. I do read them.