episode_0064

Special match.

This match was a stage prepared only for selected individuals. There were audiences, but due to the protective screens, the stadium was not clearly visible. Most of the audience considered this a break time and left their seats.

“I never… imagined this.”

“I did imagine it, but I didn’t know how to put it on stage.”

In response to Toto’s feeble words, Angshu retorted with annoyance.

“Yeah, it seems like that’s what happened…”

Toto looked down at the arena with a vacant expression.

“You should have seen this scene.”

“Why are you recalling a stupid dead guy? Don’t make tasteless remarks when there’s an interesting stage in front of us.”

Toto nodded his head at this. Ban Suk, who had tried to torture and brainwash Lian several times, was half out of his mind. He wasn’t completely insane, but he acted weakly like an elderly man of his age.

Seeing the foolish Ban Suk, who had been mentally shattered by horrific torture and brainwashing, and who had played the role of his right arm, Lian regained his senses one night and cruelly killed him before fleeing.

There is no death more shameful than dying at the hands of a slave one raised. Angshu didn’t even want to mention the foolish Ban Suk. The past where they were bound together as “brothers” was embarrassing.

“This is the difference. The difference between him and me. In the end, I created the greatest stage, and he stupidly lost and died.”

Angshu insulted the deceased Ban Suk, showing a more bitter expression than ever before.

“Now, let’s leisurely watch the stage.”

“Yeah. That sounds good.”

Thanks to Lian, Toto’s voice, which seemed to have aged overnight, regained its vigor.

And so the match began.

***

“What’s this?”

“Hmm? This fog is definitely Rediaholson.”

‘Rediaholson? What’s that?’

As I silently threw the question to Magam, the answer came back immediately.

It’s one of the common poisonous mists found in the demon realm. If you inhale it, it makes everyone around you perceive them as enemies, even if they are allies.

“It’s extremely dangerous. But why is this here anyway? After all, we’re enemies with each other. There are no allies.”

“Indeed, that’s true.”

“Doesn’t it have any other functions?”

“Well, a bit of an excitement effect? It induces an awakened state, making it easier to get excited and rush at the opponent.”

“Ah, I see.”

“It’s also excellent at obscuring vision.”

“Indeed, I can’t see a thing right in front of me.”

While conversing with the demon sword, I stepped outside with the sword drawn. Then something the size of a fist flew above my head and buzzed. It’s said to serve as a kind of camera.

I was warned not to break it as it’s extremely expensive. Although there are several layers of defensive magic, my sword’s power is so strong that I’ve been warned several times.

“Whatever the enemy is, let’s just cut them down and go in.”

As I muttered those words, the demon sword shook its body. Naturally, my hand also trembled.

“No! It’s not a stage, and it’s been a while since I appeared in a match! Not like this! I can’t do it! At least let me shout out three skill names, and also lines…!”

In an instant, throwing away the solemn image, the demon sword became a child lying on the ground throwing a tantrum.

“Oh, okay. I’ll do it then, right?”

“All three skill names, shouting lines…?”

“Of course!”

As I answered as if I would oblige, the demon sword floated up. I became someone holding the sword properly.

“Okay, calm down a bit now that I understand.”

With that said, the demon sword shrank. It seemed to be pleased, trembling softly.

“It’s definitely been a long time since I’ve been in a match.”

The demon sword was clearly upset, saying, “What’s the point of drinking blood to my heart’s content when there’s nowhere to use it!”

“Let’s be careful not to make any mistakes.”

Thinking that, I headed towards the center of the arena.

Kuwung, kung, kuwoong!

The mention of an exciting effect seemed to make my heart beat faster, as if I had consumed too much caffeine, and I slowly blinked my eyes.

I felt something approaching from a distance.

“Alright, hand over the reins, partner!”

In response to MaGeom’s excited tone, I immediately handed over control, and my body automatically adjusted its posture. It was different from when I had collapsed the window a while ago. The sword in my hand was a longsword.

“Hehe, I’m here!”

When he first appeared, he said he would try all sorts of lines, but he seemed so excited that he just blurted out anything, which made me laugh. I thought about pointing it out, but I decided to just let him play around.

“Alright, who are you, enemy! Come out at once and face the might of Gargantua -…”

Swish!

Before he could finish his sentence, a light flashed before my eyes. In an instant, my body moved, and MaGeom blocked the attack.

Swish, clang –

Amidst the swift exchange of attacks and defenses, Lian confirmed the opponent’s face.

“This crazy…”

As I shaved, I noticed the stubbly chin, eyebrows like centipedes, 3cm long eyelashes stuck to the eyes, and thick, red lips painted with bright red lipstick.

Clearly a wig, with blonde hair, a jawline close to a square shape, and a round figure that looked like a dumpling, almost making one cry like a tearful octopus sibling.

The “Hwalyongjeomjeong” was a brown coat that reached down to the knees, revealing hairy legs.

Curses rose to my throat.

“Why is that crazy pervert here?!”

A cross-dressing man.

The being in front of me was a pervert who used to appear occasionally when I was in high school. The school I attended was co-ed, but his target was always a boy.

The opposite sex’s body is pixelated, but the same gender’s body isn’t. What’s up with that?

“I thought I’d definitely take care of that bastard.”

“Ah, my eyes!” the days of old flashed through my mind. The thing he was holding and chuckling at was a long, purple branch.

In that moment, I lost my senses.

“Gargandoa, kill that bastard quickly!”

“What? But… that’s ▉▉, is it okay?”

“What did you say?”

“I said, is it okay even though it’s ▉▉?”

“I can’t hear the front part.”

Chae-ang-, chae-jjaeng.

Although it was so dark in front of my eyes that I couldn’t see, I could continue the conversation casually because what was moving was a demon sword.

“Oh, is it mental interference? Or is it because of Lediaholson? Wait, you wouldn’t just fall for a mere Lediaholson, right? Strange things are happening.”

The demon sword muttered to itself and told me to wait for a moment. At the same time, the area around the demon sword began to shimmer with a crimson light. The crimson light moved from the sword handle and back of the hand to my whole body.

“Huh?”

At the same time, the pervert in front of me changed.

“Iris?”

“Yeah, I asked if that guy is your younger brother, is it okay?”

“Gasp, then it’s not right! Don’t kill him, no matter what!”

“Well, that’s about it.”

If it had been a demon sword that had fallen here not long ago, it would have been easy to subdue Iris for the demon sword that had consumed hundreds or thousands of people’s worth of blood every day.

***

Iris noticed that her body felt heavier than usual. She thought the dense fog around her might have had some effect, but it wasn’t because of the fog.

Iris raised her sword for Lian, and the warrior’s bloodline responded, allowing her to harness a vast amount of divine power. However, her sword was now aimed at Lian.

Even if she didn’t realize it, the divine power that had given her immense strength when reaching out to protect the being she intended to guard was no longer functioning properly.

Because of this, she was completely ensnared by the fog.

“Whoo, hoo…”

Struggling to catch her breath, Iris glared fiercely at the person in front of her.

A man in a bland shirt, leather armor covering his chest, thigh-high boots, and loose pants was viciously laughing with a drawn longsword.

…He used to be a merchant in a slave shop where he unleashed cruel violence upon the slaves, not stopping his fists and kicks until his own anger was relieved. He did not stop there.

He dragged children who seemed close to him and squeezed them in front of others. He would ask if their close friend would take the beating for them, and if they agreed, he would beat them until they were near death.

The reason the merchandise remained intact despite being so damaged was that the slave trader was the son of a powerful figure, and the dying slaves were given cheap potions to cling onto life.

Later, when other slave traders took care of the slaves, there were cases where the effects of the potion wore off and the slaves died in piles. In such cases, the responsible slave trader had to answer for it, so there were hardly any cases where the vagabond slave trader had to answer.

Iris hadn’t been there for long, but she remembered the dreadful days vividly. Even the being she could call her “friend” who she first befriended died at the hands of that man.

If her sanity had been functioning properly, she would have realized that the ‘man who had died’ couldn’t appear before her. But Iris’s sanity was more than half paralyzed due to the poisonous fog.

An eerie heat filled her mind, and her breath became erratic. Her bloodshot eyes glared at the man’s sword.

“I’m going to kill you…”