Ch.187182 – The Demon King’s Dream

“Do you know how the power hierarchy in the Demon Lord’s army works? East Asha is first, her maid Luri is second, and the Great King Al-Zahab is merely third.”

Back then, I thought it was just a joke the demon army prisoners were making.

Hero Klaus groaned in agony as he crawled desperately across the ground.

Dark red blood from the large wound in his abdomen soaked the earth.

A shadow fell over him. Through his blurry vision, he saw a girl in plain clothes.

Black hair, black eyes. If someone ordered you to find a criminal with such a generic description, you’d punch them first—even if they were the Emperor—because it was so lacking in distinctive features.

“So it’s true that the hierarchy in the Demon Lord’s army is determined by power… *cough*!”

“You seem to know me.”

Strangely, the girl’s lips didn’t move.

Klaus frowned intensely at the unpleasant sensation of mana-formed language being forcibly hammered into his brain.

The mysterious magic this girl was casting had completely wiped out the Anti-Dark Elf Extermination Unit.

Around Klaus lay the bodies of elite soldiers in black uniforms.

“You… how old are you?”

“Fifteen.”

“Too old to be called a hatchling. Sylvia and Remilia must be dead by now… so I’m the last one?”

“Mother ordered me to kill you and then take my own life here.”

“Your mother is insane… I like how you all have no blood or tears. Huh?”

“…”

Luri quietly approached the gasping Klaus and knelt beside him.

She brought her face close to his ear, and for the first time, her moist lips parted.

The whispered truth struck his eardrums one by one.

“…!”

At that moment, the air grew heavy, and Klaus’s eyes trembled like those of a young deer.

Luri swallowed her tears and continued speaking calmly.

“And Mother isn’t as strong as you think. She’s certainly not cold-blooded either.”

“She enjoys silly jokes and pranks, and can’t resist meat dishes and sweet desserts.”

“She loves swords and magic, and especially loves sparring skin-to-skin, but if I shed even a drop of my blue blood, she worries so much she can’t sleep that night.”

“She jumps with joy at even insincere compliments, and when she hears gossip about herself, she doesn’t know what to do and just bottles it up inside…”

“Is she really the person you all hate so much?”

Klaus’s mouth remained shut.

What shocked him most was that this pure-blooded dragon girl was now crying.

Seeing Klaus’s dumbfounded expression, Luri lost her patience and roughly grabbed his neck.

“That’s why you were abandoned, Klaus Banaport. How I wish Mother had taken me as her first disciple instead of a traitor like you!”

“Kagh…! Kuk!”

Black scales emerged on the back of her hand, greedily sucking in the surrounding mana.

Despite Klaus’s desperate attempt to protect his neck with an aura barrier, it shattered with a crash.

“By the way, Mr. Klaus. Mother said she once wanted to live a life like yours. Did you know that?”

Klaus looked at Luri with disbelief.

“The Master wanted to be a hero…?”

A princess of a nation, now allied with the demon army, wanted to be a hero like me?

But Luri rolled her eyes and shrugged.

“No, not a hero exactly… more like an attention seeker? A celebrity? Same difference, I guess. Thanks to you, that’s now just a futile dream.”

“Kuhak!”

“Well then, goodbye…”

* * *

The sword at my waist emitted a deep resonant sound.

The colorless steel radiated an intense blue light, announcing its presence.

Everyone, friend and foe alike, stared with wide eyes, seemingly forgetting what to do next.

[NoName has vanquished Ro Dante.]

Feeling self-conscious under the gaze of eleven people, I drew my sword and recited a line I’d heard somewhere before.

“Ah, this cool yet heavy sensation. How many years has it been?”

“Woooooow she stole it! Kill them all!”

“She took it! She actually took it! Let’s go, go, go, go!”

“How did you steal that?! You’re insane, NoName! You’re seriously the best!”

The early stages of World of Arsheria multiplayer progress as a low-power fantasy story, but once playtime reaches 20 minutes, or in extreme cases 30 minutes, things change dramatically.

It transforms into a supernatural battle that simply ignores the laws of physics, with attacks flying everywhere that can be fatal with just a graze.

And now.

Defeating “Ro Dante,” who appeared as the third objective, grants the victor easier parry success judgments and the ability to trigger the “Mirage Strike” passive, dealing 1000% of spell power upon successful parries.

My spell power is 6450, as I chose the extreme healing tree to create Kariri’s tank-healer.

This means that if I succeed in parrying, I can expect at least 60,000 damage, even against enemies wrapped in magic resistance or armor.

In other words, I’ve become a super hedgehog that can melt even tanks in a single hit.

Under the admiring gazes of Kariri and Han Yong-cheol, I chased after the enemies who were fleeing for their lives.

“We’re almost there! We’ve won!”

“Kill them all! Make it a 3-0 in the finals!”

“No, no! It’s not over yet! Focus, focus!”

Brownie and Shimmyman were confident of victory.

Meanwhile, Han Yong-cheol, who desperately wanted to win, kept urging his teammates to stay focused, but his lips were already curled up to the heavens.

“Make way! The invincible Double Blory team is coming through! Let’s go, Namei!”

With five sharp nails pointing toward the majestically rising Yggdrasil, Kariri shouted in ecstasy.

“Phew. Back in the day, people used to tremble just at the sight of me drawing my sword.”

A past that remains only in memories.

I briefly felt the omnipotence I had when living as Estasha, then kicked off the ground and dashed forward.

All the spectator cameras and spotlights in the sky focused intensely on me.

I guess even the observers sensed the game was coming to an end.

I tried to imagine the audience watching from beyond the lenses.

After the fourth set ended, I confirmed we had 460,000 viewers. Have we surpassed 500,000 now?

It was an unimaginable number.

In my previous life, I think the Britannia Republic had about that many citizens. It’s chilling to imagine an entire nation watching.

It was an unfamiliar sensation.

I wanted to end the game quickly and physically feel the cheers and applause from the crowd.

Initially, I joined this tournament just to attract attention, but the problem was that the game became increasingly fun.

Perhaps because of my strong Korean blood, playing with others was much more thrilling than playing alone.

A life where name, status, and past are all erased to start anew from the beginning.

The teammates beside me now felt so precious that I almost teared up, but…

This wasn’t the time for that.

The trumpet sound announcing the start of the final battle echoed.

Let’s all enjoy this moment together.

Nothing reminds us of the preciousness of everyday life better than turning the present moment into the past tense.

Right now, I am rushing toward the enemy base with my companions to seize victory.

At that time, I rushed toward the enemy base with my companions to seize victory.

And then, a feeling that was either joy or sorrow—or perhaps both—surged from deep within my heart.

[Are you satisfied?]

Suddenly, a nostalgic voice came like an auditory hallucination riding on the fierce wind.

Whose voice was it? Niobe? Sylvia? Luri?

Whoever it was, the answer would be the same.

‘Not yet.’

Seol-ah’s daughter deserves better than this.

Caressing the beautifully shaped hilt, I raised the sword high into the sky.

The blade, reflecting the vivid sunset, served as a figurehead for a ship setting sail to discover a new continent.

“UOOOOOOOOHHHHH!”

“Whoa!”

“What was that?”

Just then, cheers erupted from the NPC soldiers following us.

The periodic cheers that occur when leading a large army coincidentally matched our timing.

“The heavens are on our side today! Don’t you think?”

Kariri was right.

There are days when it feels like you can do anything.

Like when surviving a dive with Sylph, or when hitting consecutive hellish fifty-fifty choices during a duel—the momentum in this battle was entirely on our team’s side.

All conditions aligned perfectly.

All that remained was to swing the sword.

My feet left the ground in an instant.

Using a skill, I spun my body halfway in mid-air to add momentum.

With precise technique enhanced by physics-defying power, my speed was formidable.

Facing the enemy firmly gripping his shield, I prepared the Kaizen-style swordsmanship with 400 years of history.

[Kaizen-style Wrist Slash]

[system: Mittlehauw judgment]

BOOM-!

A violent explosion brushed past my ears.

The enemies, thrown back by the strong impact, opened their eyes in shock.

As the hazy dust settled,

My Schiavona had already precisely pierced through his chest.

“Good job.”

Thinking you can block a strike embodying a nation’s essence with just a shield is arrogant.

Only Luri would know how many cities have fallen because of that.

I’ve been thinking about Luri a lot today.

She was a poor child who deserved a hundred apologies for meeting someone like me.

“NoName! Hurry, say that line!”

“Huh?”

“Namei, do that thing!”

“Quickly! The game’s about to end!”

“That thing, you know! Hurry! The voice chat’s about to cut off!”

A camera flew in front of my face.

Through the lens, I could see a huge tree breaking behind me.

All its leaves had burned away, and black ash covered the soil, turning the area into ruins.

The line reserved only for World of Arsheria finals winners.

Whether it’s the Champions Cup, ACK, or the Twissy-hosted tournament, the eternal truth in the world of World of Arsheria is that there is always only one “Yggdrasil.”

Our tree remains intact.

What about the other one?

Clearing my throat, I pointed my index finger at the camera.

“Ahem… Sign right now! Your Yggdrasil is just a big tree!”

* * *

The afterglow of victory would feel long in the context of a day, but short in the context of a week.

What’s certain is that the audience who watched the match that day couldn’t leave their seats easily.

“Woooooooah!”

*Clap clap clap clap*

The winning players from each game category emerged one by one from their games into the virtual reality set prepared for the awards ceremony.

The first standing ovation erupted for the team that achieved a “loss-loss-win-win-win” comeback in LoL.

The champions consisted of four members from the PleaseIBegYou clan.

They were a team initially expected to dominate, yet also underestimated for not having a single professional player.

After sweeping through the tournament undefeated and establishing themselves as overwhelming favorites, they surprisingly lost the first two sets due to the opposing team’s mysterious pick-ban phase, leading to mixed reactions of “I knew it” or “How is this happening?”

But the storytelling always prevailed.

NoName’s spectacular Asteria plays that bordered on magic tricks. The Stellar Destroyer’s overwhelming firepower scorched the battlefield, leading to criticism about whether it was necessary to unleash a girl blinded by revenge.

And then the decisive 5th set.

By showcasing a 0% pick rate ADC Irelia against opponents who had prepared specifically for Asteria, they achieved both a comeback victory and a reverse sweep, perfectly culminating in what truly deserved to be called the “Fall of the Mighty.”

-Huh? NoName’s not there?

-Why only 4 people?

-Maybe coming out with the WoA team later?

-Seems like it lol

-One person can’t have two bodies

-Make two NoNames!!! No, make six and have them all participate!

-lolololol

The audience, noticing NoName’s absence, tried to return to their assigned seats in the stadium.

“Next up is the 2051 Season 1 Twissy Tournament ‘World of Arsheria’ championship team! Theeeee Blory! Please welcome them with a big round of applause!”

The caster didn’t give them any time to settle.

NoName, who had shown the most definitive and impressive performance among 179 streamers, finally appeared.

-WHAAAAAAAAAAAA lololololol

-NONONONONONONONO

-OMGGGGG lololol

-Nothing but beasts here lololololol

-Looks like everyone from LoL, WoA, and streaming forums showed up lol

-Is this a public place or a garbage incinerator?

-NoName is absolutely insane

-Is this even human?

-I love you NoName!!!!!

└ Whoa…!lol Then me too lol

└ You guys are crazy

-If NoName doesn’t get Final MVP I’m launching a DDoS attack!

-NoName’s viewers are suspiciously well-educated lol

-Starting with the streamer herself lol

-The streamer only finished elementary school though?

└ Oh really?

└ Elementary school lol that’s right lol

After the highlights and MVPs from each game were introduced, the moment everyone had been waiting for finally arrived.

“The highlight of the 2051 Season 1 Awards Ceremony sponsored by Letterbox, Intel, and Almighty! The Total MVP who shone brightest in these historically fierce competitions! Amazing player! Is it who you all think it is? The Total MVP is! Yes, let’s go straight to it! No! Name! Congratulations from the bottom of my heart!”

-YEAAAAAH

-Bartender, pour the drinks!!!!

-NoName!NoName!NoName!NoName!NoName!NoName!

-Monster vegetable appears! Monster vegetable appears! Monster vegetable appears!

-First person to win MVP in two tournaments? My heart is swelling with pride!

-This kid should just be locked in a room and made to play games lol

-Does NoName like kimchi dumplings?

-You guys have no filter with this kid lol

-Please go pro, NoName!

-So cuuuuute!

-There is a god in this world and that god’s name is NONAME.

-Nameamen

-Nameamen

-Nameamen

-150,000 foreigners out of 550,000 viewers wow

-Aren’t these all people who came just to see NoName?

-The ripple effect is insane lol

-This tournament was so fun

-If it weren’t for NoName, wouldn’t Kariri be MVP?

└ Resonance ended too anticlimactically

-Kariri did well but Total MVP? Not sure

-All the finals were legendary

-Wow NoName is jumping onto the stage

-Someone add a boing sound effect lol

“Yeaaah! Today we saw people flying in both WoA and LoL! It was insane! So who is our Total MVP again?”

Name took the microphone.

Her consistently expressionless face gradually softened.

The aegyo-sal under her eyes rose, and suddenly you could see a child with a bright eye-smile.

“Hello. I’m… wait a moment.”

Name retied her loose hair into two under-twintails.

“Hello. I’m NoName, who streams games on Twissy.”

As the attention of 550,000 spectators focused on her, her neatly closed pink lips moved.

“My name is No Na-me. Nice to meet you.”