Gyo-ha hid his expression as if he’d heard nothing.

Then a man cleared his throat and approached.

“Hold on. It’s normally not allowed, but I’ll ask—on one condition.”

The man held up three fingers.

Gyo-ha tilted his head, but Noh-sam did not.

“Pay triple, is it?”

“Take it or leave it.”

He folded his arms, as if he had nothing to lose.

Biting his lip, Noh-sam spoke.

“Double.”

The men’s brows twitched.

They clearly hadn’t expected haggling.

“Getting cocky, aren’t we…….”

One of them raised a fist.

Noh-sam flinched but didn’t dodge. Yet the man didn’t swing.

Because Gyo-ha was suddenly standing in front of Noh-sam.

If Gyo-ha had looked angry, the man might not have stopped.

But something was off.

His eyes were eager. He even craned his neck forward as if saying “go on, hit me.”

“……”

The unknown uneasiness made him lower his fist.

Gyo-ha smacked his lips, disappointed.

Seeing that, the man realized his decision had been right.

“…Just this once.”

With that, he signaled to a companion behind him.

The signaled man opened a tunnel entrance.

A passage leading underground.

A dim light glowed within.

The man who opened it stepped in without hesitation.

Soon he came back out and nodded.

The man who’d threatened Noh-sam held out his hand.

Noh-sam handed over the money.

Only a few coins were left in the purse.

The man counted it and produced a wooden board.

“Write your name here and stamp your seal.”

“This is…”

Noh-sam read the board.

It was simple: if you died during this contest, no one would be held responsible.

Below were the names and finger seals of others.

Seeing where he was looking, the man spoke.

“Families and martial halls keep coming for revenge, and it’s been a big headache. Think of it as prevention. No name, no entry. And no, you don’t get your money back.”

He gave a fishy grin.

Noh-sam glanced at Gyo-ha.

“It’s too dangerous. We should reconsider…….”

But before he could finish, Gyo-ha brushed his name down.

“Bold, I like it. Your seal goes in this ink, and…….”

The man swallowed mid-sentence.

Gyo-ha bit his fingertip and stamped his bloody print.

Shaking off the blood, Gyo-ha grinned at him.

“We can go in now, right?”

“Huh? Ah—yeah.”

Caught off guard, the man nodded.

Gyo-ha walked past them toward the tunnel.

Noh-sam hurried to follow.

But the men stopped him.

“Only participants can go in. Pay at the entrance to spectate—assuming your friend’s still alive by then.”

Laughter burst from the onlookers.

As he entered, Gyo-ha turned back and waved to Noh-sam.

“I’ll be back.”

Then he threw himself into the tunnel.

Noh-sam watched the spot where he vanished, worry in his eyes.

---

The tunnel was stale and damp.

After a long stretch, a shabby room came into view.

Strangely, it had bars instead of a door.

“Hey, don’t just stand there like an idiot.”

As Gyo-ha looked around, a bark came from the side.

A Black Path man jerked his chin forward.

“You’re late—move. The others already went.”

Unlike the man outside, this one seemed hot-tempered.

The room showed signs someone had just been there.

The barred door stood wide open.

“Want me to break something to get you moving, huh?”

Pressed by the Black Path man, Gyo-ha let out a small exclamation.

“Ahah.”

So it started right away.

It was anything but friendly, but he didn’t mind. He nodded and headed for the door.

Beyond the door stretched a long corridor. Strange sounds drifted from the far side.

Screams and cheers.

Sounds that didn’t belong together.

Not just the sounds.

The metallic tang of blood rising in the air, and another scent Gyo-ha knew well was mixed in.

Past the corridor lay a wide open space.

A massive iron cage.

The corridor opened into the cage.

Beyond the iron bars, crowds of spectators thronged.

Laughter rippled among those shouting with numbered wooden plaques in hand.

Each plaque bore a number.

“Uwaaa! S-save me!”

At the sudden scream, Gyo-ha turned.

Inside the cage.

It was another world.

Even now, killing was underway.

Men fleeing—and what hunted them was…

“So this is what they meant by a ‘trial.’”

Gyo-ha scratched the back of his head.

They were tigers.

Hungry tigers.

There was not one, but three of them.

One was already dead, and another was wounded.

The familiar smell was their rancid, musky reek.

Corpses lay strewn across the ground.

Only about ten still lived.

The plaques the crowd held were their bets on how many would survive.

---

As Gyo-ha stepped forward, two of the tigers chasing the survivors halted.

Both fixed their gaze on him.

Unlike martial artists, they sized up opponents by instinct, not qi-sense.

They recognized him as the most dangerous presence here.

“Grrrrrr.”

The tigers bared their fangs at him.

A raw, unrefined killing intent poured out.

Enough to make ordinary legs buckle.

Hunger had overridden even instinct.

Yet facing that killing intent, Gyo-ha smiled.

“You’re not the only ones starving.”

He was hungry too.

The hunger was not just in the belly.

He thirsted for a fight.

Glancing over, he saw that the door opened and several men were called.

They hurried out of the bars.

Others tried to bolt with them, but the Black Path men shoved them back.

This place wasn’t made to fight tigers.

It was just a sieve.

Were they good enough to send into the matches?

This was where their value was judged.

Those not chosen were simply killed by the tigers.

The spectators snickered at the scene.

If there’s a hell, it might look like this.

But—

‘Not bad.’

Watching the tigers creep closer, Gyo-ha’s lips curled.

“Ah. Almost forgot.”

He set down his pack and stripped off his clothes.

Savage muscle came into view.

And the heavy iron shackles on his limbs.

Just undressing changed the air in an instant.

“I’m nearing my limit anyway.”

His veins stood out red, muscles twitching.

Overflowing internal energy had his whole body aching.

It could burst at any moment.

These beasts could make him forget the pain.

As he settled into a stance, the two tigers sprang.

---

A tiger’s forepaw came flying.

Power that would shred a frail human like paper.

But Gyo-ha didn’t dodge.

He punched straight into the incoming paw.

Bang!

The result? He was knocked backward.

But the tiger wasn’t fine either.

Rolling across the ground, it limped on its foreleg.

Gyo-ha, by contrast, sprang right back up.

His skin was raked by claws.

He didn’t care.

The pain made him forget his current torment.

‘Yeah. That’s the feeling.’

It was different from men. The sense your life is being hunted.

He’d forgotten it for a while.

He leapt at the limping tiger.

At that moment—

Another tiger crashed into him from the side.

That was right. There wasn’t just one.

He caught the fangs going for his throat with both hands.

A tiger’s jaws could snap human bone with ease.

Their bodies rolled across the dirt.

But Gyo-ha rose first.

He twisted his torso and slammed the tiger down.

But it was a king of beasts.

It tried to reset immediately.

But Gyo-ha was faster.

Thud!

His iron shackle smashed its skull.

“Gkehng!”

The tiger tumbled away with a cry.

One side of its head caved in, yet it still rose.

Its killing intent thickened.

In that instant, Gyo-ha charged it.

It swiped its forepaw.

Clang!

But Gyo-ha’s hand stopped it. What followed was more shocking.

Gyo-ha yanked the foreleg in, and bit down.

“Kuh-huh-huh-heng!”

The shocked tiger snapped for his neck, but Gyo-ha was already gone.

Thump, thump, thump.

Gyo-ha backed away on light steps.

Blood and fur matted his mouth.

He chewed, then spat out a wad of fur.

The flesh and blood he’d already swallowed.

The tiger retreated.

What filled its eyes didn’t suit a king of beasts.

Fear.

Gyo-ha bared his teeth back at it.

“Eat or be eaten. That’s the law of the wild.”

In this moment, he saw neither Black Path men nor spectators.

The two remaining tigers crouched again.

As if to spring at once.

Yet they held back, baring fangs and threatening.

From fear?

No. If fear made them retreat, they wouldn’t be kings of beasts.

‘…Right. So it’s not just the two of you, huh?’

They were drawing attention.

Sensing the killing intent behind him, Gyo-ha smiled.

He felt so delighted he could burst out laughing.

---

As he turned, the limping tiger pounced.

They quickly rolled across the floor.

How to describe it?

It wasn’t man versus beast.

Beast versus beast.

A primal, wild battle.

A sight you wouldn’t see even between Murim fighters.

The crowd went even wilder.

Blood sprayed from the tiger’s swipes, yet he didn’t evade.

Instead, he drove in and tore at its nape.

“Kreuuung!”

The tiger thrashed, but Gyo-ha didn’t let go.

He burrowed in deeper.

Soon the tiger collapsed, and Gyo-ha rose over it.

The cheering spectators swallowed their breath.

Gyo-ha stood drenched in blood.

And more than anything, a great hunk of flesh hung from his mouth.

The two remaining tigers circled, glaring, but didn’t dare rush in.

A Black Path man, finally coming to, shouted:

“Y-you—out! Now!”

Of course, it was aimed at Gyo-ha.

“G-get out of there!”

“The trial’s over!”

Gulp.

Gyo-ha swallowed the meat and looked past the bars.

Black Path men beckoned to him.

After a moment, he turned his gaze back to the tigers.

As his eyes met theirs, they edged backward.

“……”

“……”

The two tigers and Gyo-ha locked eyes.

“…You’re not enjoying this, are you.”

He said it out of the blue.

A look of pity crossed his face.

“You want to go back to that time, don’t you?”

Gyo-ha took a step. This time, sensing something, they didn’t retreat.

Fear and hunger.

Within it, their wild instinct was waking.

Without so much as a cue, the tigers lunged together.

Gyo-ha’s mouth curled up.

“Right. I can’t send you back, but…”

Krrrnk.

Metallic sounds leaked from his clenching fists.

A blood-smeared face. Within it, eyes blazing fiercely.

“At the very least, I’ll let you die as beasts.”

“Kuh-hu-huuung!”

As if they understood him, both tigers roared at once.