Vika

It's been many years since I've seen Vika. At first, she was unwilling to reveal her true name. It was nothing personal — she had deliberately hidden her past, coming here under the guise of a new identity. Of course, she would not have returned were it not for me, and I'm not just saying that out of misplaced sentimentality. To be precise, we have a client-mercenary relationship. Before she came here, I experienced the greatest pain in my life, but it was precisely that pain that allowed me to meet such an... extraordinary person. Her actions may seem terrible to others, but to me, they were incredible. In those years, I was a successful gladiator in The Crimson Arena — countless challengers fell beneath my feet! I despised those cowards who begged for mercy, cowards like Randy. To think, that bastard is the reason I've gotten like this... The cruelty of The Crimson Arena is no secret. Countless fall in battle every day. Having tasted the sweetness of victory, I became arrogant. When Randy came to me and offered me a great fortune to lose to him in battle, I spat in his face. For a true gladiator, honor is more important than money, and I had no interest in colluding with someone like him! But I forgot about those that were backing him... They cared not about honor, only about manipulating battles to grow their fortunes. The state I'm in now, it's all a consequence of defying them. I lost my legs, everything I needed to survive, and even my family abandoned me... All because of Randy and those scoundrels backing him! From then on, I fell into a deep despair, doing little else with my days but drinking my sorrows away. But Randy refused to leave me any dignity, continuing to taunt and humiliate me with the winner's belt he stole from me. Those who ruined me from the shadows came to control more and more of the industry, making a laughing stock of the gladiator's determination to fight to the death! I was unwilling to give up... I hated them, but what could a cripple like me do? I could only write down my experiences and desires in letters, dreaming of a day when someone would come and help me. I don't remember how long it was until Vika came to my shabby home. Strangely enough, she was already a mercenary of some repute at the time. My lowly request shouldn't have interested her. I told her I would give up everything I had, but I couldn't afford her contract. If she was unwilling to accept the commission, I would not dare to complain at all. And yet, she just smiled, said not to worry, and told me about her crazy plan... That's right, she would go to the Hall of Victors and kill all those despicable bastards right there. I didn't expect her to know where it was, but she seemed very familiar with the Hall of Victors. Being a place where only consecutive winners of The Crimson Arena were allowed to enter, I didn't know if she would even have the right of entry. Speaking of which, I also almost... It was only later that I learned that access to this so-called Hall of Victors was simply a reward those manipulative scoundrels gave to obedient cowards. For gladiators who didn't know the truth, it was the greatest symbol of glory, and the winner's belt that Randy stole from me was the key to getting in. Soon after, Vika went to the Arena and challenged each gladiator one after another, as if she had already been doing so for many years. I had never seen anyone with her strength and fighting skills... Thinking back, my worries were laughable. Her strength won over the cheers of the audience, and she soon earned access to the Hall of Victors by overcoming all her opponents. Her success made me panic. I was worried that those scoundrels would offer her the same riches they had offered me... But Vika promised me that once everything was over, she would come to my home to collect her agreed-upon reward. After that, she took her cleaned weapons, a long whip and a spinning top engraved with strange totems, and set out for the Hall of Victors. I anxiously waited from dawn to dusk, until Vika finally returned, covered in filth. My first thought was that she had been heavily injured, but to my surprise, none of the blood was hers. Vika had succeeded in making Randy and those other bastards pay a heavy price. I was trembling with such excitement that I could barely hold onto the bag of money that I was trying to hand her. Vika did not accept my reward. Instead, she left all that she had won from her battles in the Arena on my table, then bid me farewell. After that, I never saw her again. It was only moments before she left that Vika told me her name. It was one I had heard before... She was a gladiator who once dominated The Crimson Arena, only to be seriously injured by a devious plot from her opponent... It was a story even more tragic than mine. Though she did her best to expose her opponent's despicable methods, no one believed her. Instead, they branded her as a lunatic who had been driven mad by defeat. Later, it was rumored that in order to cure their injuries, the gladiator disappeared across the seas to learn magic from a mysterious mage. Perhaps Vika was that gladiator, simply unwilling to speak of her past. After all, this blasted place once destroyed her, and the same scoundrels had prevented her from leaving the mark of a winner in the Arena. Though her strength now allowed her to defeat all who stood in her path and stand at the top of the Arena, all her honor had disappeared the day she fell victim to that malicious plot. Like me, she hated those despicable scoundrels. That's why she was willing to return... Not only for me, but also for herself. I would like to see her once more. It's said that her reputation as a mercenary has only grown since then, and her pickiness with commissions has prevented many from contracting her, no matter how deep their pockets. Perhaps she's gone far away, never to return. Speaking of which... When Vika returned from the Hall of Victors, she brought a gift back with her. I didn't open it until she left. Inside, I found the winner's belt Randy had stolen from me. This may have been the object of her greatest desire at some point in her life, but neither of us have any use for it anymore.

"You must be fairly strong if you can hire me! Take this as a reward, but don't count it as part of my pay."