“Wahhhh!” The shouting never ended. The crowd was excited about the feast of techniques as the jade light sword and the bullets eliminated the buffs. Yura’s strange power that neutralized Damian’s strength caused many people to feel astonished. Others were astonished by Damian’s control as he responded to the rapid-fire bullets.
『 Player Yura’s fighting power is equal to Kraugel in last year’s drawing the sword event. I felt it at the time but her one-on-one talent is remarkable. Why hasn’t she been playing in PvP? 』
『 Isn’t South Korea lacking players? It was particularly worse one or two years ago. Every medal is necessary so she needs to avoid appearing in the same events as Grid. 』
『 Grid’s absence is a chance for Yura. 』
『 We must revise our evaluation of Yura and South Korea. Grid is absent but South Korea is still 6th in the medal rankings. The number of silver and bronze medals is low but they got six gold medals. 』
『 Incredible. Now nobody can think of South Korea as a weak country. If Yura gets a gold in PvP and the others play a role in the demon king subjugation, won’t they be able to take third place? 』
“Cough...!”
Damian eventually lost all buffs and was stabbed by the sword. Damian coughed up blood, blocked an incoming bullet with the shield and swung the sword hidden behind the shield. It was a fast-paced battle. Damian had interlocked their swords when he saw Yura’s heavy eyes. As he blocked the muzzle aimed at his abdomen with the shield, he asked with a worried expression.
"You look agitated.”
The probability of getting a gold medal was high if Damian and the other powerhouses entered events with low competition. However, the reason they participated in PvP was because they enjoyed it. It was a field where they could duel without fearing physical penalties. There was no reason not to be happy.
Then why did Yura looked troubled? She seemed to feel anxiety and pain instead of enthusiasm and joy. This desperate appearance... it was hard to watch. She looked like a person standing on the edge of a cliff.
"Please tell me if you are having a hard time.”
“...?”
“Grid’s friend is my friend. If you need help then I am willing to offer it.”
Damian was reluctant to use the skill Holy Sword Deployment that he acquired before the National Competition. He was reluctant to bring it out against Yura, whose state wasn’t right. Of course, he wasn’t looking down on her. Yura was so strong that he couldn’t guarantee victory even if he used the skill. He just felt worried.
For the first time, a smile appeared on Yura’s face. The smile was beautiful enough to be fatal. It made everything in the surrounding scenery black and white, apart from Yura herself.
“Thank you but I’ll take care of it.”
Swordsmanship of Light. It had higher attack power, accuracy rate and critical hit rate than the normal Weapons Mastery skill. It was the strongest mastery skill that removed a buff or even gave a debuff when consuming a ‘great demon’s sins’. The jade light around Yura’s sword symbolized the inherent magic power of a Demon Slayer and gave the ‘weakness’ debuff after striking Damian’s sword.
"Fight me with all your strength.”
Yura had to win. She only needed results. Nevertheless, what was the point of a false victory? Could she confidently feel pride in it? Yura wanted Damian to stop hesitating and her heart was communicated to Damian.
"I understand.”
Damian’s left hand held the shield and started to light up. It was a white light that was like blazing flames.
“Holy Sword Deployment.”
Damian overflowed with holy power as he shot toward Yura with full force.
***
“Ha...”
Grid couldn’t take his eyes off the confrontation between Yura and Damian. Damian had grown rapidly in the past few months while Yura was strong enough to be worrying. The confrontation between the two of them was as brilliant and fierce as the confrontation between Kraugel and the Hero. They weren’t inferior to the candidates to win this year’s PvP. Even Grid’s blood was boiling. He had a desire to fight properly with them. It was unfortunate that Yura wasn’t participating in the demon king subjugation.
“...Um.”
The fight lasted for 15 minutes before it ended. Damian was greatly weakened after the holy sword ended while Yura’s concentration increased. She exquisitely used Hell Leap to make Damian’s shield meaningless and succeeded in piercing his weak spot.
Yura was left alone on stage. It was victory after a fierce battle but she still looked bitter and lonely. Of course, it was an expression that only Grid noticed. Yura was smiling and most people interpreted that she was happy. Grid had been with Yura for a long time and could glimpse the shadows in her smile.
“What is going on?’
Should he call her? No, he couldn’t. They might be colleagues but it was strange to call her just because he was worried...
’Our relationship isn’t that special. She might feel uncomfortable that I can tell just by looking at her face.’
She might laugh at him like Ahyoung. Even so, he couldn’t stop worrying...
He hesitated while holding his phone.
“Youngwoo-ssi, let’s go!” Then Team Leader Yoon Nahee opened the door of the waiting room and prompted him. He had to make an appearance as the demon king. It was a sort of showcase for the demon king. Participation in the showcase was a clause stipulated in the contract signed by Grid.
“I’m going.”
Grid had delayed it by saying he wanted to see the confrontation between Yura and Damian. Now he hurriedly rose from his seat.
***
The S.A Group was placing great significance on the demon king subjugation.
A world made by players. The demon king subjugation event contained the ideal that Lim Cheolho was pursuing. In addition, the nature of the event meant it had high commercial value and was highly anticipated. It was no surprise that many investments were made before the demon king subjugation even started.
“What?”
It was after the round of 8 was completed for PvP. The 100,000 excited spectators started to feel confused. The billions of viewers were embarrassed as well. The stage for PvP was suddenly swallowed up in darkness and a new stage appeared. It was a plains area with a towering castle.
“What is happening all of a sudden?”
"Is the stage changing for the semi-finals?”
People showed great interest. The spectators were unable to leave to go to the toilet and viewers couldn’t turn the channel. Now there were only important games left so people’s attention and concentration were at the maximum. That’s why the S.A Group had the demon king appear at this time.
“...?”
Music started to play. The grand, arrogant and provocative melody overwhelmed people, making them feel excited. There were people who noticed the identity of the musical instrument making the melody.
"A pipe organ...”
The final image of the National Competition’s opening video rushed into people’s mind. A young man leaned against a huge organ with thousands of pipes and arrogantly beckoned with a finger.
“Heok...!”
The organ, an enigmatic figure, the one event left and the demon king. All types of puzzle pieces aligned in people’s minds.
“Demon king...?”
"Demon king!!”
The correct answer popped out everywhere. Thunder appeared in the dark sky.
“Kukukuk.”
Someone appeared on the plains. It was a man wearing a grey mask. His head had one big horn and two small horns. The eyes underneath the mask were red, there were two wings on his back, his two hands were larger than his face and blade-like nails stretched out from his fingers.
He was the demon king.
***
Regas was an ace of the Overgeared members and one of the favorites to win PvP. He won against famous powerhouses and suffered a setback in the quarter-finals. The opponent who knocked him down was Zibal. Zibal made a brilliant comeback. He was happy to shake off the stigma of being a punching bag for two years but this joy was short-lived.
“Tsk. They are doing everything these days.”
Zibal’s dissatisfaction was huge at the moment. It was because the attention of the people was focused on the appearance of the demon king instead of him.
"What is so great about the demon king?”
Originally, Zibal’s talent was in raids. He was proud of his unique ability to analyze the patterns of boss monsters and efficiently manage the party until he was pushed by Grid’s items. Now he had a hidden class and was confident in more than just raids. He was unhappy that the organizers were highlighting a ‘fake’ boss monster.
The minds of the other players were similar. The 400 participants of the demon king subjugation event. Many of those who joined the two minute show, the Demon King’s Appearance, weren’t pleased. In particular, those who were just eliminated from PvP were sensitive.
“Yoho! Do you want to play?” The 1st ranked earth magician, Goshar. After dropping out in the round of 32, he sat in the waiting room until he participated in the emergence of the demon king. Now he started casting spells. The participants were free to do whatever they wanted in the Demon King’s Appearance. There was nothing wrong with attacking the demon king who stood alone.
It happened when Goshar was about to cast spells at the man with the name ‘Demon King’ above his head.
[From now on, the audience will start voting!]
[If you make an impression and gain many votes in this event, you will receive a reward equal to a gold medal. However, the medals tally won’t be affected.]
“...?”
The players in this event weren’t aware of the voting beforehand. The annoyed players were motivated as soon as they saw the notification window.
Goshar laughed. “Yohohohut! The crowd’s votes are mine!”
The person who acted first would leave a strong impression on the audience! Goshar cast magic before the others and considered the group voting system to be a blessing.
“Giant’s Haaaand! Yohohoho.”
The moment that Goshar cast the spell, the ground turned to sand and the sand turned into a huge hand shape. At the same time.
[The magic spell has been discovered by the Demon King. The magic spell has been cancelled.]
[The demon king has duplicated your magic spell!]
"...H-Hiik?”
Goshar’s eyes widened and he became as hard as stone. The giant hand disappeared and a new one was summoned, the new hand fell toward Goshar’s head.
“...”
Goshar was crushed like a worm. The spectators and players couldn’t understand the situation and their mouths dropped open. Silence fell.
“Why don’t all of you come at once?” The demon king made a provocative remark. He waved his hand like the opening video.
"...This guy doesn’t know who he is facing.”
“He is a sad bastard.”
Some aggressive players acted. The magicians were forced to calm their temper but not the warriors. They pulled out their weapons and rushed at the demon king. He was an opponent they had to fight anyway. It was better to figure out the power of the demon king as much as possible during this short event.
Rain poured down from the thick clouds. In the rain, the demon king lightly tapped his fingers. A storm blew and dozens of thunderbolts fell from the sky. Dozens of players were hit and turned to rags.
"K...Kuoock...”
"F-Field magic...”
It destroyed magic and didn’t allow them access. The demon king’s dignity was beyond the expectations of the people. The tense players started to feel fear while the commentators were silent. The spectators and viewers were focused on the screen without leaving their seats.
At this moment, the whole world was watching the demon king. The demon king was a person familiar with being watched by people. It was because he had experienced it dozens of times. He spoke calmly, "If you don’t come then I will go to you.”
In the rain, the demon king pulled out a weapon that could either be a spear or a sword and flew toward the players.
[The Demon King’s Appearance event has ended.]
The message rose stating that the two minutes had ended and the demon king’s body disappeared into the black fog. The remaining players were silent. Only a few rankers like Zibal, Seuron, Damian and the Overgeared members had shining eyes. However, one person was different.
‘Grid...’ The person who knew the identity of the demon king trembled. It was electrifying. The man noticed that the Demon King Grid was several times stronger than the Hero Grid.
A new notification window popped up.
[The audience voting has ended.]
[The winner of the most votes is the Demon King.]