Advent of the Three Calamities

Chapter 865: Leon’s struggle [1]

"Haa... Haa..."

Leon took several breaths, slowly recovering his stamina as he stared at the body lying before him.

’I did it.’

His fist clenched silently as he continued to stare at the body. A small part of him was excited, but at the same time, there was another part of him that felt the complete opposite.

’I won, but the fight was way harder than it was supposed to be. This should’ve been easy if I had my sword and gone all out. No, that’s not quite right...’

At some point, Leon realized he was starting to make excuses.

His opponent was weaker than him, yet he still managed to force Leon into a bitter struggle. It was this very idea that made his chest feel heavy. He also understood all too clearly the reason why his opponent was able to push him this far.

He simply wanted it more.

’No, I want it too.’

Taking a deep breath, Leon turned his attention toward the overseer, who walked over to the fallen body and stomped his foot down on its head.

BANG!

"———!"

Watching the man’s head explode before his very eyes, Leon’s eyes widened in shock. He stared at the overseer, who had already shifted his attention toward him. Without a word, the man pointed toward the main door of the room as it slowly began to open.

A low grinding sound echoed from the massive stone doors as they slowly opened. Several silhouettes appeared behind them, and the moment Leon caught sight of them, his entire body froze.

"Abba!"

"....A-bba!"

Two young children.

One looked to be a young boy no older than five, while the girl seemed only a year older. Both wore tattered clothes, their thin frames frail and gaunt. The moment they caught sight of the figure on the ground, they rushed in its direction, surrounded its body, and wailed.

"Abba! Abba!"

Leon didn’t know their language, but he could understand.

He understood it all as his world began to spin, his stomach churning, and his expression paling.

"Saran tual!"

It was the overseer’s loud voice that finally shook him out of that state, urging him to leave the room.

Leon’s lips parted, his bottom lip trembling as he stared at the children.

However, seeing the overseer still glaring at him, Leon said nothing more and slowly made his way out of the room. The children’s mournful cries echoed behind him as he walked, each sound making his lips tremble slightly.

His gaze eventually lifted and fell upon the figure waiting for him at the end of the hall.

"Everyone who fights here does so to survive. Those who join the Ranking Battles don’t do it for honor. They do it out of desperation. They fight because they need to provide for their children."

Leon felt something heavy press against his chest. The weight of it made it hard for him to speak. Yet as the muffled cries of the children continued to echo behind him, he found himself asking one simple question.

"T-the children. W... what...?"

"They’ll be kicked out of the city. Most likely, they’ll die in a few hours."

Anne replied coolly, and the heaviness in Leon’s chest grew.

"This all happened because you defeated their father, their only provider. And it won’t be the last time something like this happens. Most of the people you fight in the coming days will likely be in the same situation. They’re not here for the same reason you are. They’re not here to prove themselves. They’re here to fight for their family. For their lives. This isn’t a simple game. This is the reality of the Mirror Dimension."

Anne’s words struck Leon’s mind like a thunderclap. They echoed through his thoughts again and again, reverberating like the pounding of distant drums.

Before he even realized what was happening, the heavy pressure in his chest suddenly surged upward. His breathing grew uneven as he staggered toward the wall, reaching out to steady himself against the cold stone.

Hunching over, he gagged and then vomited.

"Urkhh—!"

Puke spilled across the ground as Anne watched him in silence. Leon’s face grew even paler, his body trembling slightly as more bile spilled from his lips.

Her words were harsh, yes.

But this was the reality of the Mirror Dimension.

She had to say all of this for him to understand. There was no mercy in this place. This wasn’t a world where someone as kind-hearted as he could survive.

She had to show him the reality of things so that he could face it.

’That being said, even though I’m used to this place, I don’t like the situation here. Even in the Remnant South, things weren’t this bad.’

Anne had already arranged a few things with An’as to take care of the children, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to tell Leon about it. In a way, he needed this. To force himself to confront the reality of this place and change his mindset.

This wasn’t a game. This was reality.

This was the Mirror Dimension.

One couldn’t simply come here expecting anything else but this.

"Uekrhg!"

As Leon continued to vomit, Anne glanced back toward the room he had just come out of. The doors were already closed. Shifting her attention back to him, she muttered, "Clean up when you’re done. Your next fight will be in a few hours."

To qualify for the Ranking Battles, one first had to defeat twenty opponents of similar level. Each match allowed only a few hours of rest before the next. It tested not only endurance, but also the sheer willpower of every contestant.

If Leon really wanted to go through with this, then he had to push himself to the absolute limits.

"There’s still time for you to stop. The fights are to the death. The deeper you go, the harder it becomes to walk away. You’ll shed a lot more blood, and more children will be left orphaned, which is no different from condemning them to die. I suggest you think carefully before stepping back in."

Anne didn’t say much more.

She understood there was no need to say anything more. Leon seemed to understand her words as he remained hunched over against the wall. Anne gave him one last look before turning and leaving.

’Hopefully, this should open his eyes more.’

*

"Ukh!"

Feeling the cold, coarse texture of the wall beneath his hand, Leon remained hunched over, leaning heavily against it. The vomiting had finally stopped, but his breathing was still uneven.

His vision remained blurry, the hallway around him swaying slightly as his head felt light and hollow. The sour taste lingered in his mouth, and the echoes of the children’s cries still rang faintly in his ears.

’W-what am... I even doing?’

Thinking back on everything that had just happened, Leon realized that Anne was right. The further he continued down this path, the more situations like this would unfold before him.

If he was already reduced to vomiting after the very first fight... what would happen after the next one? Or the one after that?

This wouldn’t be the first time a situation would occur.

He’d be naive to think so.

He knew that everyone who participated was in a similar situation. But what about him?

He wasn’t as desperate as they were. He didn’t need this as much as they did.

If he simply gave up... then maybe someone else could survive.

Maybe...

"....Shit."

Covering his lips, Leon glanced around before pushing himself away from the wall. His body felt heavy, and each step seemed heavier than the last as he began to walk without any real direction.

He didn’t know where he was going.

Still, as he wandered through the city, his gaze slowly began to drift over his surroundings. He looked at the people passing by, and at the worn houses lining the streets. He stared at the worn-out people, the bodies lying motionless on the ground, and the poverty that seemed to seep through every corner of the place.

He knew it wasn’t all like this. He understood that the higher levels of the city were far better. But the more he looked around, the more suffocating the situation began to feel, the despair of this place settling deeper into his chest.

’How... can anyone survive like this?

He watched as people scavenged through bodies and piles of litter. He watched them struggle just to find water. They were ragged and gaunt, their bodies covered in countless scars. Many of the figures looked like young children, their thin frames barely able to stand.

The more he stared, the more his stomach churned.

This place...

It truly felt like hell on earth.

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

Suddenly, Leon’s head lifted as a loud drumming sound echoed through the air. The deep, rhythmic pounding rolled across the city like distant thunder.

At once, every citizen stopped what they were doing. Heads lifted in unison, their eyes turning toward the same direction.

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

With each heavy beat, the ground itself seemed to tremble, the entire place shaking faintly as the sound continued to reverberate through the streets.

Already familiar with the process, Leon’s gaze shifted toward the projections that began appearing throughout the area. Moments later, two figures materialized within them. In an instant, the place quaked.

"Tarim! Tarim!"

"Ishma! Ishma! Ishma!"

Hearing the chants and screams rising around him, Leon’s gaze paused on the malnourished children and the people who had looked half-dead only moments before.

He watched as they slowly raised their weak hands, their voices hoarse as they joined the chanting, their hollow eyes fixed on the holograms floating in the air. They seemed to disregard their own conditions completely; their minds focused only on the fight unfolding before them.

Almost as if their life meant nothing before the fight.

’Ah, I see.’

Leon stared at everything in silence, his lips pressing together as he realized something.

This city...

It was not only the stone and streets that were broken—

The people were broken, too.

In a place where survival stood above all things, pity was a luxury the weak could not afford.

Only through strength could one be revered.

Only through strength could anything hope to change.

The more Leon watched, the more he realized where he was.

This was Karah Togh,

The lone city standing in the Land of Fire—