"Sorry to keep you waiting, everyone. Next, I'll explain the rules of the fight."
At the sound of host Gates's voice from the platform above the Corrida Colosseum, cheers rose from the audience below.
"As always, this match will follow elimination rules.
The rules are simple: defeat everyone else in the arena.
Fall out of the arena and you're disqualified. Die during the match and you're disqualified too.
In the sea outside, the colosseum's specialty, Fighting Fish, await anyone who falls into the water.
Inside or out, it's hell. That's the Corrida Colosseum.
Now, let's welcome our contestants into the arena!"
After explaining the rules, Gates gestured to the staff below to send the contestants out.
He had worked the crowd into a frenzy. The bloody contest was about to begin.
But strangely, a long time passed without anyone entering the arena.
"What? What's going on? Are they afraid of our colosseum? Where are our brave contestants?"
Gates found it strange too. By now, the arena should have been full of contestants.
At last, after Gates and the audience had waited and waited, a contestant appeared.
To everyone's astonishment, there was only one.
He held a long white staff and wore a black coat. Its hood hid his face, leaving only the lower half faintly visible.
Gates breathed a sigh of relief when he saw someone enter, but even after a long wait, no one else appeared.
Then a Corrida Colosseum staff member ran up behind him and whispered a few words in his ear. Gates's eyes widened.
"What? Everyone else was beaten? The backstage area is full of dead and injured contestants?"
At Gates's outburst, the once-excited crowd fell silent. What was going on? They had paid for tickets, and this was all they got?
Gates realized he had