“You killed three of them in a row?”1

That night, the old man’s voice pierced through the silence of slumber. Sitting in his cell, Suho turned toward the decrepit, aged demon. He was still lying with his back turned, obscured by the shadows of his cell.0

As Suho silently gazed at him, the old demon clicked his tongue. “There are demons like you who are receptive to the poison and thrive, but you’ll regret ignoring my warning about eating the food.”2

Suho had defeated three demons under the influence of the mad blood poison in quick succession. The astounding sight turned the arena into a cauldron of excitement. To the oppressed slaves, seeing a weaker newcomer defeat seasoned, formidable demons provided an intense catharsis. However, this wasn’t what the guards had hoped for. The organizers originally envisioned a cruel display of the strong mercilessly slaughtering and toying with the weak before consuming them. They wanted to etch a message into the slaves’ minds—the weak must submit to the...0