◈ Episode 377. A Familiar Role for Me (1)
I look at the message.
[??? : Battle for the Demon King: Proof of the Ten Thrones].
The quest format is clear…….
Why does it start with a question mark?
I had my suspicions, but I checked the content first.
Thanks to this, I was able to guess.
[You are the King of the Ten Thrones.]
Countless challengers yearn for your seat. Kneel at their feet, or take down another king looking on from above. The challenge, the proof, the choice is yours alone.
-Defend the 10th Throne. (Ongoing)
-Challenge the 9th Throne. (Ongoing)]
As if that weren’t enough, this quest was treating me as the new Demon King, the one who had taken Buer’s place as King.
‘Why would I be happy to be king?’
I was a true king from the Ten Thrones.
So it was saying it’s possible to take the throne regardless of race?
You’re surprisingly open-minded, aren’t you, Demon Kings?
I mean, the undead Lich, Discus or something.
I’d say he was aiming for Buer’s throne.
‘I can’t believe a human is a Demon King.’
I still couldn’t believe it.
It was written in a system message that never lies.
The challenge, the proof, the choice, was mine alone as king.
First, I blurted out.
“Checkmate.”
Not in front of a chessboard.
I didn’t even know how to play chess.
I just declared checkmate.
“……Checkmate, what do you mean?”
I can feel the stares around me.
Whether they know chess or not, everyone could guess what it means.
It meant the king was in danger.
‘It’s a big word, but it’s not wrong.’
Well, maybe it’s doubly true.
The fact that there are two quest objectives gives it away.
Yes, as the 10th Demon King, I could challenge the thrones of the remaining higher demons, but as the 10th Demon King, I would also have to prove my worth to the many challengers.
I muttered to myself.
‘There is no such thing as a dilemma.’
It was an honest sentiment.
The reason was simple.
I didn’t have what it took to defeat the Top Demon Kings yet.
It was Grandfell who killed Buer, not me.
‘The same goes for the Lich, Discus.’
If only all challengers were demons.
If a non-demon challenger showed up, I wouldn’t be able to rely on [natural enemy] anymore.
Back and forth, you could say it was like adding insult to injury.
However, my snout was not honest.
“Two birds with one stone.”
Eventually, my continued ramblings were questioned.
Chainwalker asked cautiously.
” Commander-in-Chief, has something happened to you?”
It wasn’t just Chainwalker.
Nam Taemin and other members of the Great Alliance were looking at me with serious expressions. Even my alter egos, Hiel and Diend, bowed and spoke.
“My lord, we don’t want to regret this again.”
I couldn’t help but look at them just as seriously.
The proof of the ten thrones is nonsense.
It was the 10th throne, the one that had been handed down from Buer.
I had never sat on a throne before, but I had a hunch.
This would not be a Demon World Quest for nothing.
It meant that there would be threats like never before.
This could be the beginning of a real war.
‘Everyone will be in danger.’
That was why there could be no hiding.
My stubbornness would not allow me to remain silent.
I spoke up, bluntly.
“Are you ready to go to war with me?”
I felt the weight of war upon me.
Many lives would be lost and won.
I may be the first to die on the battlefield.
Even Chainwalker, armed with dwarven equipment, may die in battle.
Not to mention Nam Taemin, Hisagi, Leonie, and Skal.
Even real players may not be immune to the threat.
So I wanted to make sure I had an answer.
I wanted to make sure I didn’t lose my footing.
But the answer came much sooner than I expected.
“What are you talking about, Commander-in-Chief?”
And with a roaring laugh.
Chainwalker was smiling with satisfaction.
“You probably haven’t forgotten why your title was Commander-in-Chief, right? If you forgot……. I might be the first to harbor feelings of resentment towards you!”
Title, Commander-in-Chief of the Holy War Alliance.
With those words, I realized.
‘That means they’ve made up their minds long ago.’
Was it……? Maybe I was the only one who wasn’t looking at the situation correctly. Everyone had given up their lives when they joined the Holy War Alliance.
It was from then on.
‘……Yes, Commander-in-Chief.’
The title of ‘Commander-in-Chief’ no longer sounded so creepy to me. Maybe it was the dark history, maybe it was the irony, maybe it was the pride.
I didn’t know why, but one thing was certain.
This was the beginning of a real Holy War.
Therefore, I did not hesitate.
“I, Lee Hoyeol, will honor your decision.”
I declared.
“As the Commander-in-Chief of the Holy War Alliance.”
……Even so, it’s still not easy to say it out loud.
*
Langerie, a small town on the outskirts of the Empire.
Liu Zunqun looked at the message from the lord’s castle.
At the same time, he examined the complexions of the Five Stars.
There was not the slightest change in their expressions.
‘This is a message that only came to me.’
Liu Zunqun’s gaze once again turned to the message.
[??? : Battle for the Demon King – Proof of the Ten Thrones].
[You are a usurper with the qualities of a king. The time has come for you to take your place as a true king. The new Demon King of the 10th Throne has proven himself worthy. This means your chance has come. Will you settle or take on the challenge? Choose, challenger.
-Challenge the Demon King of the Ten Thrones. (Ongoing)]
After the Cataclysm, Liu Zunqun was a top ranked player.
As the Guildmaster of Heavenly Unity, he had access to a great deal of information.
The knowledgeable player’s gaze fell on the first letter of the message.
It was a question mark.
‘Even the system doesn’t dare evaluate it.’
The value of this quest.
Liu Zunqun read the quest over and over again.
To summarize, it was simple.
There was a chance to kill the Demon Kings of the Ten Thrones and claim the throne.
‘Just like the new 10th Throne Demon King did.’
The 10th Demon King.
Liu Zunqun couldn’t tell who that was.
However, he could make a guess: …….
Similarly, the subject of the message popped up in front of him.
‘Grandfell.’
Someone who had embarked on a Myth Quest.
It could only be him.
In any case, it was still an unknown entity.
Liu Zunqun neither admired nor feared the unknown. All that mattered was that he possessed the qualifications of a challenger.
‘It is the quality of a king.’
Obviously, the [Monarch] class.
Liu Zunqun was the only [Monarch] among the players.
In the past, there had been players with the [Monarch] class.
Most of them had deleted their characters before the Cataclysm and created new ones at a higher level of difficulty. What happened to the [Monarch] who awakened as players after the Cataclysm?
Shhh.
Liu Zunqun’s gaze fell on the hilt of the Five Stars.
He killed them.
Every single one of them.
The reason was simple.
A class quest.
There was only one of its kind.
A class quest that could only be fulfilled by the Chosen One, Liu Zunqun.
To fulfill it for himself.
Didn’t the winds blow against him?
Of course not.
No one else noticed.
-[Monarch] player found dead in Sheodin Rift!
-Player is the likely culprit…….
-Dispute with Supernova? Suspicions are high.
Except for the Five Stars Liu Zunqun trusted no one in Heavenly Unity.
He wouldn’t be caught out by anyone.
The corners of Liu Zunqun’s mouth turned up.
Indeed, his judgment was not a mistake.
As the only [Monarch] player.
It was clear that he had to seize the opportunity to challenge the Demon King of the Ten Thrones.
‘Only.’
This was the Arcana continent. There was no telling how many people would possess the qualities of a king like himself. Therefore, Liu Zunqun did not intend to make the first move.
‘Opportunity will come.’
Moreover, it was a Demon King.
‘Maybe I can aim for the fisherman’s fortune.’
That’s right.
He treats demons like insects and hunts them down thoroughly.
Hadn’t Lee Hoyeol entered the Arcana Continent in earnest?
Liu Zunqun muttered.
“This might be the first time I’ll be able to benefit from you.”
Without even realizing that he was harboring a great illusion…….
*
Magic Tower.
Crystal Hall.
Marcelo looked at the rumbling crowd.
‘I see, you’re not happy, Sir.’
The new Tower Master still called his chief mage Sir. It was inevitable. Marcelo didn’t think he’d proven himself a vessel for the Tower Master.
‘Nevertheless, I will try.’
Only in that way could he share the burden Hoyeol carried.
Marcelo had merely assumed the role of Tower Master.
‘A battle for supremacy.’
He’d seen it once before.
72 thrones.
A battle for a throne to fill the vacancy left by a Demon King who had fallen to Hell.
But then the AAU spoke up.
“Demon Kings outside of the top 10 in the rankings have been removed for balance reasons. There has never been a discrepancy in the update details so far, so the throne referred to in this battle for the Demon King is the throne of a High Ranking Demon King.”
Senior Fire mage Bensch William twitched his lips.
“Hmph, I could say something like that. Beware of the High Ranking Demon King, it was Chief Lee who said that, not anyone else. The question is how to deal with such a High Ranking Demon King, isn’t it, Senior Vangrit?”
“That’s it, isn’t it……?”
“Exactly, the question is how do you deal with a High Ranking Demon King that’s going to go on a rampage, and not being sure where they’re going to come from right now, because the odds are stacked against us!”
At first glance, it looked like an argument.
Magic Tower and AAU.
The Arcana Continent and the Real World.
It was part of the process of two completely different worlds putting their heads together to come up with an 『Anomaly』 answer. Therefore, Park Minjae, the leader of the AAU Korea Branch, also spoke up.
“Senior Bensch William is not wrong, even from the perspective of the early days of the Arcana Continent, the chances of High Ranking Demon Kings going on a rampage have increased. This is true even when we look back at previous cases.”
Tadadak.
Park Minjae glared, and Yoon Soogyeom tapped on the keyboard of his laptop.
At the same time, a hologram floated in the Crystal Hall.
It showed the scene of the last battle for the Demon King.
Frost.
Star patterns drawn on corpses.
Pictures of Decarabia flashed by, one after another.
“Normally, summoning a Demon King requires a corresponding sacrifice, but it was different when the Battle for the Demon King was called. Demons strong enough to challenge for the throne poured out without much of a sacrifice.”
That was why Park Minjae went to Raymond Sean.
“It may be the same now, with the High Ranking Demon Kings requiring vast amounts of resources to become a reality without any restrictions, and the challengers to those High Ranking Demon Kings’ thrones won’t need any explanation.”
“…….”
For the first time, their heads butted together.
As usual, Raymond Sean threw out a problem that couldn’t be solved for now, because that was his way of communicating. Park Minjae’s words brought the senior mages into conversation.
“Do you think our Magic Tower can handle it?”
“If you give this Bensch William a decisive magic tool, I’ll burn the High Ranking Demon King or whatever……!!! Senior Vangrit, you know about my arcane magic from witnessing it, don’t you?”
“Yes, it was undoubtedly amazing, but aren’t the High Ranking Demon King even more formidable than dragons? Even Eunaxus, who was corrupted into an evil dragon,…….”
A fiercer foe than Eunaxus.
“Hmmm.”
Even Bensch was speechless at the thought.
The Crystal Hall was silent for a while.
In the uncomfortable silence, Sung muttered.
“……I hope we’re wrong.”
A High Ranking Demon King that could jump out without a sacrifice.
Wasn’t it too much of an unfair situation?
However, Sung Hyunjoon’s small wish was not fulfilled.
Ttogak─
“……!”
The sound of the footsteps was enough to tell.
It was Hoyeol.
Hoyeol had returned to reality from the Arcana Continent.
To the Magic Tower’s regular meeting. Attending the AAU’s general meeting without missing a beat.
He was even listening to the conversation.
As he strolled through the Crystal Hall, he opened his mouth.
“I must praise you for your strange investigations. You are correct. The Demons of the Ten Thrones, they require no sacrifice to manifest themselves on the Arcana Continent and in reality.”
Then, standing tall at the podium, he declared.
“Because I am a Demon King of the Ten Thrones.”
“……?!!”
A nuclear bomb.