Rats Caught Aflame

  Rizaru stood over Glova’s broken body, chest heaving, blood drying across her skin, arms trembling from exhaustion.

  Then her legs buckled.

  And she collapsed.

  From everything.

  She fell to her knees, hands to the dirt, then her chest hit the ground like the fight had finally let her go.

  Dozai watched and that was the moment he moved.

  His plan was simple.

  Acknowledgement.

  He stood straight, wiped his hands against his filthy shirt and leaned forward so the guards and the master just above could hear him.

  “That,” he said, loud enough for Hellick’s lieutenants to glance down. “That wasn’t luck.”

  His voice cut clean through the dust, direct and lean.

  “That was something more.”

  Some guards laughed nervously.

  One muttered, “No. No. That was just a fluke. A good fluke, but still...”

  Dozai tilted his chin.

  “You saw what I saw. She had no prior combat experience and yet, she was still able to win. A genius or something deeper.”

  He gestured to Glova and Splitjaw’s unmoving bodies.

  “They were trained. Hunters. Rizaru was a worker. Do I need to say more?”

  Silence. Murmurs.

  Then, bets, already being renegotiated.

  Rizaru was still on the ground, but now people were looking at her like a prize instead of a mistake.

  Dozai continued, voice slow and persuasive.

  “I think this proves that some workers can become more than you guys thought. Maybe not at the same degree as Rizaru, but with her will, possibly. Let us train too. Prove ourselves.” He took a deep breath and then jumped down into the arena. “You get a show. We get a purpose.”

  Then he glanced toward Hellick.

  “Or are you going to brush this aside like it's nothing?”

  A few guards chuckled, but Hellick hadn’t moved.

  She just rubbed the scar along her lip with a gloved thumb, watching Dozai closely.

  We’re close, Just one more push...

  Then it hit.

  A single voice. Sharp and pissed.

  “This is BULLSHIT!”

  The shout echoed across the arena walls like thunder cracking against steel.

  Dozai froze. So did the other workers. Dust shifted in the air like something cold had passed through.

  A figure dropped into the arena, landing in a squat near Glova’s unconscious body.

  Kota.

  Warm-toned skin. White hair, the tips stained dark with dried blood. And eyes that burned fiery orange—until they caught something worth hunting. Then they shifted. Red bled into them at the edges, slow at first, then spreading like embers catching wind.

  “She beat two nobodies. That’s all. They weren’t real Hunters. They were useless trainees.”

  Two more shadows dropped beside him, Lucious, the tall, silent specter of a boy with a green ribbon tied to his around his neck, who said nothing but stared like he was watching something already dead.

  Number 3.

  And then Delnora.

  Number 1.

  A red ribbon tied at her ankle. Slim. Dark skin. Unblinking.

  She landed on her feet with no sound, hands behind her back like she was bored by gravity.

  Her hair was tied back in a high ponytail; her presence made your chest tighten.

  That empty, predatory smile on her lips stayed fixed.

  Dozai’s heartbeat thumped once, slow and hard.

  And now the top three hunters were present, Dozai knew this wasn’t going to be easy but this was something else.

  Like he was standing in a place that he hasn’t earned.

  Kota shouted again, pacing in front of Rizaru’s fallen body like a lion in a cage.

  “You think that means anything?! They barely had any experience either. Trash. That’s what they were. Should’ve been cleaned out weeks ago.” He kicked Splitjaw’s body. “This isn’t proof she’s strong. This is proof they were weak.”

  He looked up at Master Hellick.

  “You think letting a worker rise without Maho won't make the rest of them get ideas? They'll think they're our equals!”

  Dozai got himself together, this wasn’t the time for him to overthink. His voice still calm, but heavier now. “You’re afraid.”

  Kota snapped toward him.

  “What?!”

  “A worker with no Maho, beating a hunter with Maho is still a huge feat.” He eyed Kota. “And she beat two of them. You can’t undermine what she achieved, You—“

  “Shut the hell up!” Kota snapped. “You don’t know anything. You think I don't know what you're doing? She's an exception. You're spinning this into something it's not!"

  Lucious didn’t speak. But his gaze shifted to Dozai.

  And Delnora, wasn’t even looking at Dozai.

  She was watching Rizaru.

  That little smile still on her lips. That same slight tilt of the head.

  Like she was waiting for someone to take the wrong step.

  Dozai's confidence wavered. Only for a second. But enough.

  Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  Enough for the guards to stop nodding. Enough for the mood to shift. Enough for momentum to stall.

  He looked over at Kota in a slightly urgent expression. Talking just loud enough for him to only hear.

  “What’s your problem, asshole. We’re all slaves here. If we work together—”

  Kota was in his face in an instant, yanking a fistful of hair.

  “What was that?!” he said angered. “First you say we're afraid, now you want to talk? Stop messing with me.”

  Dozai gritted his teeth. He got ahead of himself, thinking that he could reason emotion into the argument.

  The world held its breath again.

  Balanced on the edge of three monsters and a broken girl in the dirt.

  Thud.

  Nobu dropped down into the pit, walking towards Dozai without a word. His feet hit the dirt with a low impact, but his presence was sharp.

  Immediately after, another thud, Kenny landed beside him, a few paces back, a bit less graceful, brushing dust from his pants.

  Kenny looked around, clearly feeling the weight of the tension but talking anyway.

  A part of Dozai warmed, a larger part froze. They too just painted targets on their own backs.

  “Ah, this is so scary…” his voice tremored, eyebrows raised, hands flexing to calm himself. “Was this something you guys planned all along?” He gave a half-smile, more surprised than mocking. “Didn’t know you were so smart, Dozai. But…”

  He glanced around at Kota, and then on Rizaru on how each inhale a ragged, painful sound. “Kinda feels like it backfired, yeah?”

  He was smiling but it was more nervous than usual. His fingers twitching slightly with each step.

  Kenny took a few steps forward, eyeing Kota with faint disgust, then suddenly grabbed his arm.

  “Let go.”

  Kota flinched at the touch, his face snapping toward Kenny with feral eyes, as if swatting a fly.

  “You rats really don’t know your place,” he hissed, the words leaking hate.

  And then...

  The air changed.

  Kota’s Abyssal Pressure starting to leak out.

  The arena shuddered beneath their feet, dust rippling off the ground.

  A low hum, like the sky was tightening. Then Kota’s Maho began to flare, rising around him in a crackling haze.

  His eyes burned red and his hands trembled, from how hard he was holding back.

  “I should’ve personally beat it into you all…” he growled. “Should’ve reminded every one of you what happens when you talk back.”

  It was going to happen.

  A fight.

  A massacre.

  Dozai could feel it, Kota wasn’t just angry. He was ready to burn everything in his path.

  His mind raced through every possible outcome.

  He'd been wrong. The plan wasn't shaky—it was suicide. Only Rizaru had a chance, and she was on the ground, barely breathing.

  Dozai’s gut twisted. He’d gotten caught up. Blinded by that one flicker of victory. He let it feed a hope that shouldn’t have existed..

  He clenched his fists, trying to will himself to speak.

  To fix it. To call it off.

  Apologize. Swallow it. Take the loss. Say something. Anything.

  But before he could breathe a word.

  "That’s enough."

  A voice.

  Not loud.

  But it cut through everything like a dagger through silk.

  Master Hellick.

  Kota flinched at the sound.

  Lucious jolted in his place.

  Delnora’s eerie smile grew.

  The pressure dispersed instantly, his aura folding back into him like smoke vanishing.

  Hellick stood now. At the edge of the arena. Pale hands resting over the railing. Her white jacket gently swaying in the still air.

  Eyes sharp. Voice cool.

  “I am pleased,” she said slowly, “that my slaves are working so hard… to prove their worth.”

  She smiled, soft, elegant, almost kind. But her eyes were anything but.

  Then her tone shifted, syrupy with menace.

  “And those two…” she gestured toward the fallen, unmoving bodies of Glova and Splitjaw, “...were weak.”

  A pause.

  “What do we do with the weak?” Her voice floated, asking the question gently. “Who remembers?”

  The silence that followed was suffocating.

  But Dozai already knew the answer.

  He could feel it coming like a scream just under the skin.

  Kota stepped forward, his rage gone. His gaze locked on Hellick like a student awaiting instruction.

  He pushed Dozai aside, barely acknowledging him anymore.

  Then, in unison, Kota, Delnora, and Lucious said it,

  “Disposal.”

  Hellick grinned.

  A finger lifted to her lips in a hush gesture, light, playful.

  Then it happened.

  Glova’s body convulsed.

  Splitjaw followed.

  Their limbs twitched, eyes bulged, mouths opened in silent screams. Blood poured from their noses, their ears, then their mouths.

  Then nothing.

  Dead.

  Dozai’s eyes widen and so did everyone else.

  He felt it at the pit of his stomach, the cost of everything finally settling in.

  Glova’s and Splitjaw’s Maho were incredible.

  But Hellick’s Maho was something else entirely different.

  And Dozai was now starting the grasp how strong Maho could really be.

  The silence that followed was pure horror.

  No one breathed. No one blinked.

  Not even the guards.

  Hellick stepped down into the arena like she was walking onto a stage. Her jacket trailed behind her, her boots clicking softly on the stone.

  “I’m a woman of opportunities,” she said, each word polished and cold. “I like this boy’s idea.”

  Her eyes slid to Dozai, black, cold and unreadable.

  “Proving worth is the most tempting thing you could offer me.” She smiled and looked at him with intrigue. “Continue to convince me. Don’t back out now.”

  Dozai’s mouth was dry. His heartbeat felt like a drum in his throat. The first time he’s ever felt fear like this.

  Being seen.

  But still, he straightened his back and pushed down everything he was feeling.

  He couldn’t tremble now.

  Not after everything.

  “The plan was to give you something worth betting on,” he said. “Something worth watching. Workers who claw their way up. Desperate. Proving themselves for better opportunities.” A pause. “If you want spectacle, you’ll get it. If you need better Hunters, you’ll get that too. You need them urgently, don’t you?”

  She blinked, analyzing Dozai's face a moment longer before the smile grew more coldly as if he just hit a nerve.

  “What makes you think I need them urgently?”

  Dozai’s eyes narrowed, his breath getting calmer.

  “Isn’t there trouble happening outside? Supplies are thin. Knights rustling about and you need more bodies because of Crow's mess...”

  A gamble.

  His heart was pounding out his chest while his face remained calm.

  For the first time ever the top three hunters looked at Dozai, genuinely surprised.

  Kota's eyes narrowed. "How the hell does a worker know about—"

  Hellick raised a hand, cutting him off.

  “Observant, are we? That could be a good thing…” Hellick tilted her head. Her expression never changed, like she was weighing a corpse, not a boy. “Or a bad thing.”

  There was a small pause before anyone said anything.

  Finally, she nodded once.

  “I like it,” she said. “The fear. The desperation. The gamble. This could be interesting.”

  She turned back toward the crowd of guards above, most of them now shifting in their seats.

  “This one’s a dreamer,” she said with a grin. “But even dreams can feed the system.”

  Her voice darkened.

  “What’s your name?“ Hellick asked.

  “Five-Six.”

  “No. Your name.”

  Dozai gulped. “Dozai Kagumi…”

  “Do you have Maho?”

  “No…” A strategic lie.

  His eye couldn’t help but twitch just a fraction.

  Hellick's gaze lingered on him for one second too long.

  Then she smiled. "Interesting."

  Dozai's bite down on his inner cheeks to keep his composure. His mind already thinking she's suspecting something, but said nothing.

  That was somehow worse.

  “We’ll hold another match. Two weeks from now. Workers versus The Hunter. If they want a shot, they’ll earn it.”

  Dozai’s ears rang.

  “Two weeks?” Dozai asked.

  Master Hellick answered with a chilling smile.

  That wasn’t time to plan, to train.

  This was more a death sentence than an opportunity.

  But he forced himself to nod.

  Hellick looked at the three top Hunters.

  “Kota, Delnora, Lucious, you’ll oversee the next matches. Pick a hunter to represent yourselves. If your chosen hunters win… maybe you’ll earn something, too.”

  Kota smirked at that, rubbing his jaw as if already imagining how brutal he could make it.

  Lucious didn’t move, but his stare stayed locked on Dozai like a riddle he wasn’t done reading.

  Delnora didn’t blink. Her smile was faint, almost maternal.

  "You batch of workers are all so... inspiring," she whispered, as if describing a interesting insect collection.

  Hellick turned her back on them, walking toward the exit ramp without another word.

  As she passed Rizaru, she paused for just a second. Then gave a light, elegant tap of her boot to Rizaru’s side.

  “You’ve earned your place. For now. After you recover and these matches are over, you’ll be a Hunter.”

  Then she walked away.

  The guards started murmuring.

  Louder.

  Then roaring.

  Cheers. Bets. Jeers. Laughter.

  The show was back on.

  Dozai looked around.

  Kota had already stepped away.

  Lucious and Delnora followed, saying nothing.

  All following Hellick as they left.

  Kenny sighed in relief that it was over for now.

  Nobu crouched next to Rizaru, who was barely breathing.

  Dozai felt something collapse inside him. The cheers of the guards sounded like they were coming from underwater. All he wanted was to get trained, so they had a chance to fight back.

  This is worse. Way worse.

  His knees buckled and the world tilted. Kenny caught him, seeing the exhaust in Dozai’s eyes.

  It had worked.

  It had almost worked.

  Rizaru opened one eye, just barely. But for half a second, her gaze met his.

  And in it, something clearer than gratitude flickered.

  Resolve.

  The fire had started.

  Now they had to learn how to burn in time.