Necessary Cruelty

"Oenomaus."

"Oenomaus."

In Oeno's dream, he was carving Triumph Cords with several warriors, talking as they worked about the nobles who had just died.

In the midst of their revelry, everything around them suddenly vanished, and Oeno's dream changed.

Old Bear saw Qin Xa.

"This..."

"This isn't a dream."

Just as Oeno was about to ask, Qin Xa answered first.

"You know I'm a psyker. I can speak with you in dreams."

As he spoke, Qin Xa gestured for Oeno to sit.

The two sat facing each other within the dream.

Oeno was puzzled. Both he and Qin Xa were in the cave. Qin Xa could have simply woken him up to talk, yet he had used sorcery to converse in a dream.

But the experienced Oeno quickly guessed that what followed was not something the others could know.

"Why did you call me here?"

As Oeno pondered, another person appeared.

Kleist emerged from the darkness and sat beside the bonfire that had suddenly appeared before Qin Xa and Oeno.

The female Gladiator yawned, instinctively glanced around, and then realized she was not in the cave.

"Yes, you're dreaming. You haven't woken up," Qin Xa answered before Kleist could ask. "I merely pulled you into a dream. What comes next is something we need to discuss privately."

"What could be so mysterious?" Kleist immediately listened with a serious expression.

"Do you remember what happened during the day?" Qin Xa said. "Yochula was nearly killed by Skinner, and the Nusa Twins wanted to kill Angron."

Kleist and Oeno nodded at the same time. Of course they remembered.

"Next," Qin Xa said, focusing solely on Oeno, "you need to propose a no-killing principle to the others. As the name suggests, no Gladiator may kill another during ordinary bouts."

Oeno froze for a moment, then nodded earnestly. "I would be more than willing. But you're not the only one who has had this idea. I once called on the Gladiators not to kill each other in ordinary bouts, but they treated my words like wind. I don't have the influence or intimidation that you and Angron do."

"Precisely because you don't have it, I need you to bring this up." Qin Xa motioned for Oeno to listen first. "I need you to propose it. Then, after you do, you must ask for my opinion, and I will not take a position."

Confusion appeared on Oeno's face.

He did not understand. If they needed to establish a rule everyone had to follow, why would Qin Xa and Angron, who possessed influence and intimidation, not be the ones to propose it?

Qin Xa, who had suggested this to him, had even said he would not take a position when Oeno asked for his opinion.

"He isn't stupid. He's just too kind." Kleist patted Old Bear on the back. "This old bear Oeno looks as frightening as can be, but his heart is just as kind."

Oeno looked at Kleist with the same puzzled gaze.

To help Oeno understand, Kleist knowingly asked Qin Xa, "There will certainly be people who openly refuse to follow the no-killing principle Oeno proposes. What will happen to those who refuse?"

"Those who refuse to follow the no-killing principle will be killed," Qin Xa said casually. "Remember the ones who oppose it, then find ways to kill them during ordinary bouts or large-scale fights."

"Yes." Kleist held out her fist.

Qin Xa bumped fists with Kleist.

Oeno, however, was deeply shocked. "If the no-killing principle is meant to protect people, then why kill those who refuse to follow it?"

"It is indeed meant to protect people, but only those worth protecting," Qin Xa replied calmly. "A complete beast like Skinner must be killed even if he pretends to obey the no-killing principle. Of course, Kleist has already killed him. Well done."

"I never show mercy to those who deserve death, brother." Kleist smiled and pointed to her heart, meaning I understand you, then bumped fists with Qin Xa again.

She was clearly very willing to accept this proposal concerning the no-killing principle.

"If we single out and kill those who do not follow the rule, how are we any different from Skinner and the Nusa Twins? We would all be executioners." Oeno still refused to accept it.

Qin Xa watched Oeno.

His gaze did not turn cold because of Oeno's resistance. It remained respectful and kind.

"You are a kind man," Qin Xa said slowly.

He had remembered why the name Oenomaus had sounded familiar.

Oenomaus.

The kindest Gladiator in the Arena. When Angron believed every spectator was cruel, Oenomaus had told him, "Watching us die makes them feel alive."

If everything had unfolded normally, Oenomaus would have been killed by Angron after Angron was nailed to the cross.

"Your soul radiates light."

A layer of white light covered Qin Xa's eyes.

"Your birth in Nuceria is an honor for that cesspit called Nuceria."

"Anyone fortunate enough to know you is fortunate indeed, because they will receive your care, directly or indirectly."

"But..."

The psychic radiance in Qin Xa's eyes vanished.

"With kindness and justice alone, we can accomplish nothing."

Hearing this, Oeno lowered his head, feeling stifled.

"I don't want to kill anyone," Qin Xa said. "If I could, I would save everyone. I would save even those unworthy of being saved by me. But I am not a god."

"If I have to choose, I will choose those I care about and abandon those I do not."

"A sorcerer mentor once told me that people come in an order, matters have priorities, and relationships have degrees of closeness. So there is nothing shameful about making such a choice."

Listening to Qin Xa, Oeno lifted his head, drew a deep breath, and asked softly, "Can't we isolate those unwilling to follow the no-killing principle? Ostracize them, watch them... They're Gladiators. They're the oppressed, not nobles..."

"What we need to do is not merely protect ourselves in the Arena," Qin Xa explained. "We also need to escape. The slave masters may even encourage us to try escaping, but those who only want to remain in the Arena will actively sabotage us."

"The no-killing principle is merely a test."

"It only tests who can cooperate and who cannot, whether in the Arena or on the road ahead when we break free from our predicament."

After hearing Qin Xa out again, Oeno lowered his head once more.

He was not stupid. He knew Qin Xa had explained so much because Qin Xa cared about him.

Just like Angron and Kleist.

Otherwise, Qin Xa would not have said anything. At worst, he could simply kill this old man called Oenomaus as someone incapable of cooperation.

For a sorcerer, secretly killing someone was far too easy.

"In your eyes, am I a cruel and cold-blooded person? Is that why you're unwilling to accept this?" Qin Xa suddenly asked.

"No, but you are certainly not as kind as I am."

Oeno said this softly, his gaze gentle.

Qin Xa could read certain things from that expression: Oeno understood everything, but he was so kind and gentle that those moral qualities had become a hurdle his reason could not cross.

Oeno continued, "Having lived this long, I have already accepted rationally that kindness and a sense of justice alone can accomplish nothing."

"You are not as kind as I am, but you are far more rational and wise. You are far better at doing what is right. I believe that if you had taken my place as Oenomaus, I would not still be trapped in the Arena, brooding over my past mistakes."

"Reason tells me that you kill people, but you can save even more."

Hearing this, Qin Xa became even more certain that Oeno understood. Without anyone to persuade him, however, he found it difficult to cross the hurdle in his heart.

This conversation in the dream was not necessarily meant to make Oeno do anything. Qin Xa merely wanted Oeno to understand certain truths.

"Today, you helped me settle a question that had troubled me for a long time," Oeno said. "Thank you."

Qin Xa nodded lightly. "I merely had to explain this to you, Angron, and Kleist. It is not necessary for you to tell the Gladiators about the no-killing principle. Yochula could say it just as well."

"I will say it," Oeno answered calmly.

Qin Xa fell silent, withdrew from Oeno's dream, and prepared to enter Angron's dream, focusing completely as he did so.

Angron's mind was not so easy to enter. His resistance to psychic power was stronger than that of a certain thirteenth-ranked brother who liked blue, enjoyed duels, and had a bit of humor.