Blood Demon King

The last day of the Deathmatch competition.

9:30 AM.

The semi-finals and finals are held in the morning and afternoon time slots.

It seems the organizers have prepared a lot for the final match.

There were more people wandering around the hotel and near the venue than before.

Walk with confidence.

I ignored the gazes I felt around me and entered the venue.

The intense gaze I felt the moment I entered with my team.

Unlike the previous day, the audience seats were packed.

The murmuring of the people was no longer noise.

,Hayun-isiyeo, do you see that? Our faces are on there.”

I turned my head following Ellie’s gesture.

There was a very large screen there.

It was in the center of the stadium, showing our 모습 as is.

Could there be a camera somewhere?

I quickly scanned the surroundings.

But there’s no way I could find anything by doing that.

The inorganic, cold lens of the camera, different from people’s gazes, was not caught by my senses.

I sighed as I looked at my 모습 on the screen.

My face, greatly enlarged.

My 모습 with my eyes lowered and letting out a deep sigh.

It was a 모습 so cute and pretty that anyone would admire it.

I understand the cameraman’s choice. His professional instinct must have told him to capture me in the camera no matter what.

But this place wasn’t just for me.

I wish they would show other players besides me…

I hid behind Sohee’s back to avoid the camera.

As I hid, the camera began to move.

Sohee’s cold-looking face was shown on the screen.

She was staring intently in one direction.

How long had it been?

The camera connected to the screen flickered momentarily, and the scene changed.

From a screen showing the players’ 모습, it changed to a screen looking down from above the arena.

As the audience who came to watch the competition tilted their heads in confusion, a staff member came and guided us into the 경기 booth.

I nodded, looking at the neat and quite plausible 모습 of the booth.

Instead of just dividing the space with tents, they had installed temporary booths made of plastic.

It seemed they put quite a bit of effort into it, being the final match.

,There’s a camera here too.”

Ellie, who was looking around the inside of the booth, approached the camera hanging in the corner of the wall.

Ellie stretched out her hand as if she wanted to hold the camera.

But Ellie’s small height made it impossible for her to reach.

,Huuht!”

What on earth does she want to do?

I shook my head, looking at Ellie’s 모습.

,Everyone, focus.”

The match will start soon.

Since I’ve decided to do it properly, I was going to diligently participate in the match.

That thought was no different for Ellie, Hayun, and Senior Seongshin as well.

,Everyone knows from yesterday, right? The composition of the opposing team.”

I said, looking at Sohee and Senior Seongshin.

The opposing team was a semi-finalist team. That means they’re good at the game.

Of course, it wouldn’t work against Ellie and me.

The problem in our team was Senior Seongshin and Sohee.

With their current skills, it was difficult for them to beat the opposing team’s players.

To put it bluntly, the win rate was very low, around 25%.

If Sohee could have chosen the job class of a magician, the story would have been different, but the event of this competition was VRS.

,I’ll do my best.”

The first player to compete was Sohee.

Unlike before, she chose a defense-oriented job.

The job chosen this time was Paladin.

With a heavy mace and shield, and thick armor covering her entire body.

A combination that would be difficult to damage with most bladed weapons.

The player who came out as Sohee’s opponent chose a knight.

Holding a heavy claymore in his hand, he rushed towards Sohee as soon as the match started.

Kaang!

A sword swung greatly.

Sohee’s kite shield, moving forward as if to counter it, deflected the sword.

Deflection that doesn’t directly absorb the impact.

Good judgment.

Sohee didn’t stop there and swung her weapon.

Buung-!

An attack flying in with a heavy sound of tearing through the air.

But the opposing knight retreated as if he had anticipated the attack, deflecting it.

Immediately after, the opponent changes the grip of his sword.

One hand, which had been holding the end of the handle, goes up and grabs the blade.

A stance for a quick and accurate stab.

Half-swording.

I was able to tell because I had obtained the opponent’s information in advance through videos.

The person Sohee was fighting this time had received professional swordsmanship training.

It looked clumsy to my eyes, but it didn’t seem that way to Sohee, who was directly facing him.

Kagagak!

Rapid consecutive stabs.

Sohee blocked the attack with her shield, but the opponent didn’t give her any distance.

As the standoff continued, the opponent seemed to make a decision and attempted to enter with a bold gesture.

I bit my lip.

A grapple will begin soon.

Sohee, who had only played as a magician her entire life, was not familiar with this kind of grapple.

Naturally, she was easily drawn into the fight initiated by the opponent.

Kwang!

A body check with added weight.

Being so close, Sohee couldn’t use her weapon properly.

Sohee flailed her shield and mace, but the opponent continued to close the distance while maintaining the half-swording stance.

The posture collapses in an instant as the grapple begins.

Sohee eventually dropped her shield and allowed the opponent’s stab.

A sharp sword pierces through the gap in the armor.

Red blood flows down the blade.

I know it’s a virtual game, but I didn’t feel comfortable watching Sohee getting hurt.

In the end, the first match became our defeat.

,Good work.”

,I’m sorry.”

I hugged Sohee as she came out of the capsule.

Of course, because I’m short, it would have looked like I was being hugged tightly in Sohee’s arms.

,I, I’ll be back!”

The next player to compete after Sohee was Senior Seongshin.

The opposing team didn’t suggest a consecutive match.

The opponent also connected the second player to the game.

The job Senior Seongshin chose was Paladin.

The equipment was also defense-oriented, just like Sohee’s choice.

The opposing player chose a samurai.

The equipment was a nodachi.

Choosing a samurai with defense-ignoring skills and a nodachi with high attack power.

It was a combination that showed a clear intention to slice up Senior Seongshin, who had chosen a paladin.

Thus, the second match began.

The opposing player seemed to have watched our team’s videos as well, starting with a rush from the beginning and pushing Senior Seongshin.

Since the opposing player wasn’t wearing a helmet, I could tell what he was thinking through his expression.

Confidence, an expression full of confidence that he could win.

The overflowing confidence was making the nodachi he wielded even stronger.

The opposing team gained momentum.

Since they were taking the initiative in the entire match, it might have been a natural result.

Kagagak!

Approximately 2 minutes and 30 seconds into the match.

The blade of the greatly swung nodachi pierces the shoulder and tears out the side as if ripping it apart.

The armor protecting the body was also torn.

The health has dropped.

In the end, Senior Seongshin fell.

[Aja!]

The cry of the one who achieved victory.

The victor’s right.

He was looking up at the sky and cheering, seemingly intoxicated by the situation.

,Ellie.”

Before Senior Seongshin came out of the capsule.

I call the next player.

Ellie, who was sitting in a chair, closing her eyes and meditating.

She jumped up from her seat at my call.

,I’ll be back.”

VR games are not games played with the body.

Moving the body in virtual reality is only possible with mental strength.

Therefore, what is needed is strong self-hypnosis.

Believing that one’s 모습 in virtual reality, not the weak body in reality, is real.

At this moment, Ellie had become Jupiter, the Knight of Light.

,I, I’m sorry!”

,It’s okay.”

Senior Seongshin, who came out of the capsule, bowed her head and apologized, but no one here blamed her for her defeat.

Senior Seongshin did her best. That was enough.

Ellie’s choice was, of course, a knight.

Investing in agility stats as much as the strength stat that couldn’t be raised.

The agile knight holding a claymore went to the battlefield.

[I’ll go all out.]

Ellie, who entered the circular arena, raised her sword towards the opposing player and declared.

It was a word to herself, and a word to me, who would be watching from the outside.

[Huu…]

A low breath flowing out.

The moment Ellie, who had half-closed her eyes, stopped breathing, the atmosphere changed.

The endlessly weak and soft-looking girl is gone.

What was in that place was a knight who had gone through countless battlefields.

The one facing Ellie was a Viking.

With his upper body undressed, he rushed towards Ellie with ruthless dual axes in his hands.

The camera that was showing the screen switches the scene.

The switched screen is the Viking user’s first-person perspective.

Rushing towards the small knight in front of him, he swung his hand greatly.

At that moment, their eyes meet.

Countless flowing time, a momentary world that arrives by dividing that time.

Ellie was now in that place.

Clearly, the Viking player’s attack came first.

But Ellie’s sword, moving belatedly, was blocking all of the Viking’s attacks.

Kang!

Kaang!

Kang!

A total of three.

The breathing Ellie used to get used to her current senses.

Immediately after, Ellie’s movement began to change.

Kaang!

Faster.

Predicting where the attack will come from before the opponent and attempting a counterattack.

Before the Viking player’s attack is even completed, Ellie’s sword occupies that direction.

What is needed to attempt an attack is a minimum distance.

Ellie didn’t give that distance.

The Viking retreats in embarrassment.

Ellie didn’t miss that gap.

A small body entering right away by chasing.

A shoulder tackle that started with a quick sprint.

Strong power is not needed. It’s an attack that only aims to break the opponent’s posture.

Kwang!

The opponent’s posture is successfully broken.

Ellie had already anticipated this situation and prepared the next posture.

The sword is pulled back.

Rotation to make up for the lack of power.

The moment white hair scatters in all directions, a sharp blow is fired from Ellie’s hand.

Shyugak!

The Viking user’s chest splits open greatly, and a fountain of blood erupts.

Thus, the third match became our victory.

I jumped up from my seat.

The fact that Ellie used that talent meant that she was in a discharged state.

She wouldn’t be able to do anything if she came out of the capsule.

My help was needed.

,Ellie!”

As expected.

Ellie, who came out of the capsule, lay down on the floor with a blank expression.

Ellie always carries medicine for times like these.

I rummaged through Ellie’s pockets and took out the medicine.

A white pill goes up onto my hand.

I reached out my finger and pushed the pill into Ellie’s soft, sticky mouth.