(At the same time Rumi was carrying out the massacre in the refectory)
At that exact moment, while Rumi was fighting the twenty gladiators, two people were standing at one of the exits of the refectory, watching everything.
Those people were William and Cristina, who had secretly entered the coliseum just a few minutes earlier.
The sounds of flesh being cut and bones being broken could be heard from where they stood.
Watching all of that, Cristina felt her stomach twist. She had seen people die before, but this was brutal.
"Young master, I think we should leave before that woman sees us and attacks us too," Cristina warned, sounding a little anxious.
But her words fell on deaf ears, because William was focused.
He was completely focused on watching Rumi kill the gladiators one by one. Then suddenly, his eyes shone with a golden color.
His gaze followed Rumi from side to side, and he could see a small light around her that only he could perceive.
Finally, he spoke.
"This is incredible. I can't believe I found someone with a special physique," William said, clearly excited.
"Coming here today must be fate. I need to recruit her."
Cristina looked at him and asked, "Young master, what is a special physique?"
Now finally listening, William turned to her.
"A special physique is like a unique ability that a person is born with. But it is extremely rare. According to the books I read in my father's library, someone like that only appears once every million people," William explained.
"So it's like your special eyes?" Cristina asked.
"Yes. My eyes are my own special trait — [THE EYES OF WISDOM]. They allow me to see other people's talents and even their weaknesses," William stated.
"And that girl… what is her trait?"
"Well, knowing exactly what it is is a bit difficult, but I can get an idea just by watching her fight."
[THE WAR MAIDEN]
"A body that is born with an almost nonexistent amount of mana, but when that mana is used to enhance the body, the enhancement becomes nearly ten times greater than that of an elite mage," William explained.
Cristina looked shocked.
"That strong?"
"Yes. But it seems her physique is only at the beginning of its awakening," William said.
Only at the beginning and she's already this strong? Cristina wondered to herself.
While they were talking, they didn't notice that the fight had already ended. At that moment, Rumi was talking to a woman holding a baby.
[Inside the Refectory]
Amid the sea of bodies and blood, Rumi now stood stunned because of the woman in front of her.
The reason was simple.
She was holding a baby.
Many questions rushed through Rumi's mind, and one of them kept repeating: why was there a baby in a place like this?
For Rumi, who was going through a moment of anger toward the world—and even toward herself—she simply couldn't understand how a place that was even worse than the Black Zone could have a child in it.
At that moment, Rumi took a step back and looked at her hand, which was covered in blood.
What am I doing? she thought. I'm becoming just like those people in the Black Zone who kill without thinking.
An image of Mike appeared in her mind.
I'm glad he's not here to see me like this.
Suddenly, she felt something rise in her throat and vomited.
Now that she had finally calmed down, her body could no longer handle the overwhelming smell of blood.
"Are you okay?" Mia asked, trying to approach her.
But Rumi stopped her by raising her hand.
"I'm fine. Don't come any closer," Rumi said, taking another step back.
Mia stopped.
"Are you still suspicious of me?"
Rumi looked at her and replied, "No… it's not that. It's just…"
She looked at her hand again.
"I'll dirty you and the baby."
Mia smiled.
"You don't need to worry about that. I'm already used to blood. And as for my little Mira, she was covered in blood when she was born, so she probably won't mind," Mia said as she slowly approached.
"Alright…" Rumi replied.
She was still in an emotional storm and didn't know how to behave in such a strange situation. As someone who had been born in the Black Zone, she was used to always seeing a trace of malice in other people's eyes.
The first person she hadn't seen that in was Mike.
But now she was seeing another person with the same look.
A look of kindness.
Because of that, she felt a strange sense of familiarity with Mia, and it made her uncomfortable.
I think it's better if I go back to my cell, Rumi thought.
"Well… I'm leaving now," she said.
Rumi turned and started walking toward the exit, but Mia's voice stopped her.
"What is your name, girl?" Mia asked.
Rumi turned back and answered,
"Rumi."
"I think I'm even more certain now. Even after everything you did here, you really are a good girl, Rumi."
Rumi looked surprised.
"How can you be so sure? Just look around. I killed at least twenty people without hesitation."
"Don't ask me. I just know. I can see your heart. You're a kind girl who is simply hurt… a heart that has been wounded."
Mia walked toward her.
"You're angry. You're sad. You're lost. I'm sure you've been through many things."
"You don't know what you're talking about!!" Rumi shouted, as if trying to deny everything.
"I know it's strange to hear this from a stranger," Mia said calmly, "but I've suffered like that too. Do you know how I ended up in this place?"
She looked down at the baby.
"I was sold by my husband while I was pregnant with this beautiful princess."
Mia gently stroked Mira's face.
"I'm not feeling any of that!!" Rumi said while shaking her head and stepping back.
"Then why do you have that look?" Mia asked, staring deeply into her eyes.
"The same look I had when I first arrived here… the look of someone who has already given up on everything."
"I…" Rumi stammered.
"But do you know what gave me hope to keep going?" Mia said.
She lifted Mira and showed her to Rumi.
"The smile of this child. She showed me that even in the worst moment of my life, I still had a reason to keep going. And I'm sure you have one too, somewhere in your heart."
Those words struck Rumi deeply.
They made her remember Mike's last words.
[Live. Live for the both of us.]
At that moment, without even realizing it, tears began to run down her face.
Then she started crying like a child.
Mia approached her, embraced her gently, and said,
"It's alright. Let it all out, my dear."
After that, Mia stayed there with her for a few minutes until Rumi stopped crying.
Then she walked with her, accompanying her back to her cell.
...
[The Following Days — Coliseum]
The following days in the Coliseum were strangely different for Rumi.
The massacre in the refectory had changed many things. Many gladiators started avoiding her, and those who once looked at her like prey now looked away whenever she walked through the corridors.
Some even whispered.
"That's the girl…""The one who killed twenty in the refectory…""Don't go near her."
But Rumi didn't care about any of that.
She had other things on her mind.
And one of them was Mia and little Mira.
The day after the massacre, Rumi returned to the refectory in the morning. The place had already been cleaned in a hurry by the coliseum's slaves, but there were still dark stains on the stone floor.
She looked around for a few seconds.
Then she heard a voice.
"Good morning, Rumi."
Rumi turned her head.
It was Mia, sitting on one of the broken tables while holding Mira in her arms.
The baby looked completely calm, playing with her own fingers.
Rumi stood still for a few seconds before replying.
"…good morning."
She slowly approached.
Mira then looked at Rumi.
Her big purple eyes shone with curiosity.
And then, suddenly—
The baby stretched her tiny hands toward her.
"Da!" the child made a small sound.
Rumi froze.
"I think she wants to go with you," Mia said with a smile.
"I... I don't think that's a good idea," Rumi replied, a little nervous.
"Why?"
Rumi looked at her own hands.
Even though they were clean, she could still imagine the blood on them.
"I'm not someone who should be holding a child."
Mia simply laughed softly.
"Rumi, you killed people who were trying to kill you. That doesn't make you a monster."
She then lifted Mira a little closer to her.
"Go on, try."
Rumi hesitated for a few seconds.
But Mira kept stretching her arms toward her.
Finally, Rumi sighed.
"…just for a moment."
She carefully picked up the baby.
As if she were holding something extremely fragile.
Mira immediately grabbed a piece of Rumi's hair.
"Hey—!"
Mia began to laugh.
"Looks like she likes you."
Rumi tried to keep a serious expression.
But something inside her felt… lighter.
Over the next few days, it started happening again and again.
Whenever Rumi finished training or came back from a fight in the Coliseum, she ended up going to where Mia usually stayed.
Sometimes they talked.
Other times they simply sat in silence.
Mira was always there, making small sounds or trying to grab anything that was nearby.
One day, Mira managed to grab Rumi's knife.
"HEY!" Rumi said quickly, taking the knife back.
Mia laughed.
"Relax, she was just curious."
"That's a weapon," Rumi replied.
"For you."
Mia looked at Mira.
"For her, it's just something shiny."
Rumi stayed silent for a moment.
Then she put the knife away.
Mira started hitting the table with her small hands.
"Ba! Ba!"
"I think she's asking for food," Mia said.
Rumi looked at the child for a few seconds.
"…she's noisy."
"She takes after her mother."
"I noticed."
As the days passed, something began to change in Rumi.
She still fought.
She was still feared.
There was still blood in her battles.
But when she was with Mia and Mira…
It was different.
It was quiet.
Calm.
Human.
One day, while Mira was sleeping in Rumi's arms, Mia looked at her and said:
"You've changed a little."
Rumi looked down at the sleeping child.
"…I'm just tired of fighting all the time."
Mia smiled slightly.
"No. That's not it."
She pointed at Mira.
"You smiled."
Rumi frowned.
"I didn't smile."
"Yes, you did."
Rumi stayed silent.
She looked again at little Mira sleeping in her arms.
The baby was holding one of her fingers tightly.
As if she were afraid to let go.
Rumi sighed.
Then she murmured quietly:
"…children are strange."
But even after saying that—
She didn't let go of her finger.
...
[The Next Day — Arena Corridor]
At that moment, Rumi was leaving the arena after winning another fight. She was already preparing to go meet Mia and Mira when suddenly a young boy stepped in front of her.
The young man was wearing a long cloak that hid most of his body, and only his face and blond hair could be seen.
Who is this? I've never seen him around here. Especially since he looks way too clean to be in the Coliseum, Rumi thought.
Cough, cough.
The boy cleared his throat and then spoke.
"Are you Rumi?"
Even though I already know, this is a better way to start a conversation, the young man thought.
"Yes, that's me. And who are you?"
The young man smiled and said,
"My name is William, and I came here to find you!"
"And what do you want with me?"
William extended his hand toward her and said,
"I want you. I want you to become one of my followers. I promise I won't treat you unfairly, and I'll pay you a good salary. I'll also get you out of this place. So, what do you think?" William exclaimed as his eyes began to glow.
Rumi looked at him calmly and replied,
"No. I'm fine with my life here. And it's not like I have anything to do out there anyway."
Then Rumi walked past William, leaving him standing there with his hand still extended.
After Rumi passed him, William smiled and said in a low voice,
"Alright. If it were that easy to recruit you, it wouldn't be fun. But that doesn't mean I'm going to give up," William affirmed.
...
In the following days, a routine began to form in Rumi's life inside the Coliseum.
Every morning she was taken to the arena to fight. The battles were always brutal, but they rarely lasted long. Many gladiators already knew who she was — the girl who killed twenty men in the refectory — and that made some of them hesitate before the fight even began.
But in the end, the result was almost always the same.
Rumi won.
After the fights, she would clean the blood from her body and walk through the corridors until she found Mia and little Mira. That moment became the only peaceful part of her days.
Mira was always excited whenever she saw Rumi arriving, stretching her arms toward her. At first Rumi felt awkward, but over time she started getting used to holding her.
Sometimes she and Mia talked. Other times they simply sat in silence while Mira played or tried to grab something shiny nearby.
For a few moments, the Coliseum no longer seemed like such a cruel place.
But there was something else that also became part of that routine.
William.
Every two days, almost always after one of her fights, he would appear trying to recruit Rumi.
Sometimes he showed up alone in the corridors, waiting for her to pass.
"Rumi, have you changed your mind?"
"No."
Other times he appeared accompanied by Cristina, who usually stood a few steps behind him, observing everything.
"Young master, she has already said no about ten times…" Cristina would say with a sigh.
"That's called persistence," William would reply with a smile.
Even after being rejected every time, he never seemed discouraged.
Rumi always walked past him as if he were nothing important.
But as the days passed, it became something… normal.
Fighting in the arena.Spending some time with Mia and Mira.And, from time to time, running into William along the way as he tried to convince her once again.
And even though Rumi would never admit it…
She was already starting to expect it.
And that had become Rumi's quiet routine inside the Coliseum.
But what she didn't expect… was that it was about to come to an end.
...
[In Rumi's Cell] ( Year 327 after the Revolution )
"What? What do you mean, Mia?" Rumi asked.
At that moment, Rumi and Mia were talking inside her cell.
"It's just like I said, Rumi. Tomorrow I'll have my first fight in the arena. I think the organizers won't delay it anymore. They were only postponing it because I was pregnant, or because Mira was still in the breastfeeding stage. But now she's already one year old, so they scheduled a fight for me."
"But you don't know how to fight," Rumi said.
"Yes… and that's why I probably won't survive tomorrow."
Mia's eyes filled with tears. Rumi looked deep into her eyes.
"There must be a way to stop this," Rumi said.
"There isn't. And that's why I need to ask you for something, Rumi."
"What?" Rumi tried to remain calm, even though deep down she was thinking of a way to stop it. But she also knew there probably wasn't one.
"Promise me you'll take care of Mira, please."
Mia held Rumi's hand and continued,
"That's the only thing I ask of you, Rumi."
"Don't worry. I'll do it," Rumi replied.
Mia smiled as her tears ran down her face.
"Thank you… thank you so much, Rumi."
…
[The Next Day — In Front of the Arena Gate]
The next day, Rumi accompanied Mia to the entrance of the arena.
They said goodbye with a hug.
Soon after, Mia entered the arena.
Even though she didn't believe in superstition, Rumi clasped her hands together and began to pray. Even if the chances were low, she wanted to believe in a miracle.
She wanted to believe that when she heard the cheers of the crowd, Mia would walk back out through that door.
But unfortunately, a few minutes later the roar of the crowd could be heard.
And Mia did not return.
Understanding the situation, Rumi quickly placed a hand on her chest and tried as hard as possible to hold back her tears. She didn't want to cry. She knew Mia wouldn't want her to do that.
Then, before even turning around, she spoke.
"William. I'll accept your offer… but only on one condition," Rumi said.
Surprised that Rumi suddenly spoke to him, William took a moment to respond. Then he said,
"Yes. What is it?"
Rumi turned to face him and looked directly into his eyes, making William take a small step back.
"I want to take one more person with me."
William listened and then replied,
"That's fine with me."
William then extended his hand toward her.
Rumi stepped closer and shook his hand.
Looking at that, William smiled and thought,
Finally… I did it.