◈ Chapter 57. Our Pride Match (1)

─Stop the demon summoning ritual. (Ongoing)

Defeat the Demon Corps Leader. (0/10)

You have completed your research.

A new quest objective emerged.

As I look at it, it’s starting to make sense.

‘There was a reason I was so desperate to stop them.

To successfully complete the Demon Summoning Ritual.

The demon army was desperately blocking my way.

Now that I knew that, I understood why the demon army had rushed forward.

They hadn’t expected their defenses to collapse so quickly.

“Is there any way to evacuate the survivors quickly?”

Harkon asked the Shadow Mercenaries.

“I don’t know.”

Well?

So there is, or there isn’t.

Kichi broke off from his thoughts and made eye contact with me.

He frowned, and then called someone urgently.

“…… Alkari. I need a portal, I needs a f*cking portal. Hmph.”

It was Alkari, the old man offering me a potion.

If he could manifest a portal, he must be a mage class.

“You seem to have a lot of skill in potion making.

The more things I can use, the better.

A little conversation wouldn’t hurt.

“I didn’t come forward because you were here, but if you need my help.”

Alkari looked at me, drawing on her magic.

“‘I didn’t step in because you were here, by the way.

You’ve clearly misunderstood.

“Of course, I can manifest.”

Even if it’s not as powerful as the portal in the tower.

I could manifest a portal, too.

No matter how much higher magic it is.

Just a moment of seeing.

I had Grandfell’s gift of realizing the process of exploration, interference, and manifestation.

With the right magic, manifesting a portal was not a difficult task.

But.

“I must save my mana.”

In the battle with the demon army just now.

I used up quite a bit of magic.

Who knew?

That there would be so many survivors, so few.

“…… Thank you. Knights.”

“No. We’re not in a position to be greeted.”

“Thank you again. Adventurers……?”

I looked at the girl who bowed to me.

……Please, be humble.

Don’t take my gratitude for granted.

I barely nodded my stiff head.

“‘Everyone else fought against the demon.’

The survivors in hiding were all old and weak.

Unable to fight properly.

We’ll need to get them to safety quickly.

“But we don’t need to add to the confusion.

The survivors hadn’t yet realized they’d landed on another world.

The survivors hadn’t realized it yet.

Somewhere safe and familiar.

Needless to say, there was only one place.

“I’ll set the coordinates to the Yusra Kingdom.”

Alkari summoned a portal with a glance.

The distance between the coordinates and the number of users of the portal were quite large.

It was taking a lot of magic.

Alkari drank the potion like water.

Harkon instructed several knights, including Yessica.

“You will join us once the survivors have stabilized.”

The movement of the survivors was swift.

I wonder if this too is measured in contributions.

I checked the glowing quest window.

──────

─Current Contribution: 32,700p

──────

……That was a huge jump.

Harkon spoke to me.

“My lord, I don’t know what you think. I think we need to band together quickly and rescue the other survivors. There’s no way they’ll stay this long.”

“I’m thinking the same thing.”

“Oh no, I didn’t say anything to my lord.”

I knew that doing good would bring me credit.

I didn’t have the slightest reason to object.

Of course, before you do that, you’ll need to quickly tie up…….

So you’ll have to finish slaying the demon.

“Demon summoning ritual.”

I searched my memory.

The words of the Akshan demon hunters flashed through my mind.

But nothing particularly helpful came to mind.

‘I don’t know if it’s just a demon, but a king.

That was over a decade and two years ago.

Different times.

But one thing was certain.

Every ritual requires a sacrifice.

Just as the [demon exorcism ritual] requires a demonic item.

Obviously, the demon summoning ritual would also require a sacrifice.

‘……Wait.’

As I thought that, I suddenly realized.

The streets looked different.

The streets were filled with blood and corpses.

I turned around and looked at the carnage once more.

It was a line of blood and bodies.

“……!”

That straight line led to the center of Frost.

“No way, these bodies and blood are sacrifices.”

I stopped thinking about it.

It was still just a wild guess.

But even if it turned out to be true.

it wouldn’t change my behavior.

I knelt down and closed the eyes of the dead.

Turning away from them.

There is no point in stopping a demon summoning ritual.

Yes, the pride in my heart told me so.

‘Besides, if my guess is correct…….’

It wasn’t me who was in a hurry, but rather them.

That’s right, this proud act of retrieving the corpse.

It wasn’t enough to interfere with the demon summoning ritual, it was nothing short of cheating.

I opened my mouth to speak.

“I’m sorry, but I’m not going to play along.”

F*ck you.

* https://pindangscans.com

AAU.

The branch was busy.

The arrival of the Demon Army.

It was certainly a different situation from the time of the Great Evil.

Sung Hyun-joon, Korea Branch, fumbled with his USB.

“Please. Please. Give me something……!”

Back when Arcana was just a game.

It was a USB used by Cosmo.

Maybe he had backed up some work files.

Sung began to search through the folders, hoping desperately.

“I’ve never seen or heard of a great evil, but a demon king is different.”

The senior, Yoon Soo-gyeom, did the same.

He too began to look through his work notes.

Suddenly, he found it.

“…… Cha, I found it, senior!”

“What? Let me see.”

“Not specific information, but a concept.”

“Yeah. That’s right. My memory wasn’t wrong!”

Demon King.

Boss monsters that would appear in Arcana in the distant future.

That was a long time in the future.

Even in the backup files I found, there were only basic concepts.

Still, where was this?

Back in the days of the finger-sucking beast.

“Yeah, the concept came from a real-life demon.”

Unless the concept hasn’t changed.

The demon in Frost is also real.

So it must be a demon that exists in legends and tales.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

“That’s good.”

“Of course not. So the question is, what kind of demon is he?”

“Ah, that’s what we need to find out……!”

Thud!

Sung Hyun-joon hit himself in the forehead.

At that moment, Yoon Soo-gyeom found something in his notebook.

“……I found it too.”

“Huh? What is it, senior?!”

“Demon King Raid Stage Configuration Concept.”

Stage configurations?

That was a piece of information that might be really helpful.

Yoon Soo-gyeom clicked his tongue.

“But it’s just a concept.”

“Still, you never know!”

“Yeah. If nothing else, there’s a high probability that this concept will remain.”

“Let me see, a demon summoning ritual?”

There was a reason Yoon Soo-gyeom was so sure.

There was a familiar word at the end.

Sung Hyun-joon’s eyes widened.

“……Contribution system! Senior, can this be true?”

“Yes. There is a contribution system for ongoing quests.”

“But that quest is about capturing Frost.”

“Yeah, but in the grand scheme of things.”

Yoon pulled up a map of Frost on his monitor.

Frost, a walled metropolis.

Yoon traced a circle with his finger along Frost’s walls.

“Maybe capturing Frost will be treated the same as stopping the Demon Summoning Ritual. Why, if you consider the entire city of Frost as a Demon Summoning Ritual site.”

“……Yes, what are you talking about?”

Sung Hyun-joon looked at Yoon Soo-gyeom’s notes again.

Then he realized that it wasn’t for nothing.

He cautiously opened his mouth.

“So, depending on the players’ progress in the Frost Recapture Quest, the Demon Summoning Ritual may or may not succeed, are you saying?”

“I’m saying that there’s a high probability.”

“What if the Demon Summoning Ritual succeeds……?”

“Like in the time of the Great Evil. We can only hope for a miracle.”

But miracles are called miracles because they don’t happen often.

Besides, unlike the beast, they knew the strength of the Demon King better than anyone else.

Sung Hyun-joon let out a sigh and mumbled words.

“I hope whoever is in charge will give us a good contribution.”

“So who’s the current contribution leader?”

“Well, among the public players, Heavenly Unification.”

Click.

Sung continued.

“Master of Heavenly Unification, Liu Zhunqun. Contribution 1,800.”

“……one thousand eight hundred?”

“I can’t get rid of the feeling that something is lacking, though I’m not sure what.”

Looking at the numbers, my anxiety somehow intensified.

Rattling.

Yoon Soo-gyeom’s legs trembled, then he asked again.

“So you’re estimating the number of players who haven’t revealed themselves?”

“……Then it must be Lee Ho-yeol, right?”

“Yeah, if it’s not Lee Ho-yeol, it’s a major bug.”

Lee Ho-yeol!

It was beyond explanation, even from a developer’s perspective.

He’s been able to tear down Frost’s incredibly durable walls in one fell swoop.

The Lionheart Knights and the Shadow Mercenaries.

Commanding forces that most players can’t even talk to…….

“How far have we come?”

Smoke rises from the Frost.

It was hard to get a good shot of Ho-yeol as he entered the Frost.

Even the VBC footage of Ho-yeol’s every move showed nothing but smoke.

Yoon shrugged.

“I don’t know. I don’t know.”

Just in case it helps a little.

We can only do what we can.

Yoon Soo-gyeom said, then continued.

“Let’s keep watching. You’ve got AAU prestige, shouldn’t you at least find out the identity of the demon king, how long can you listen to the salary lupin?”

“Still, if it’s Lee Ho-yeol, he should have won at least five thousand points… ah, is five thousand too much, even if it’s just three thousand points……?”

“Uh-huh. Is this the time to think about such things?”

*

If my guess is right.

As much as a steeply rising contribution.

──────

─Current contribution: 50,900p

──────

It meant that the demon summoning ritual would be disrupted.

Of course, it didn’t take long for my guess to be confirmed.

“…… Something big is flying over, and it’s really annoying.”

Well, that’s a nuisance.

Not the Shadow Mercenaries, anyway.

A group known for their skill, if not their personalities.

He couldn’t be wrong.

By the way.

‘…… flying?

I laughed inwardly.

“Yeah, you’re gonna get your ass kicked, aren’t you?

Not so much running as flying.

I’m guessing his demon summoning ritual was interrupted and he’s burning sh*t.

Well, that’s worth the effort.

That’s what I’m thinking……..

What the hell, that.

I thought you meant it was actually flying, not a metaphor!

Flapping!

The sound of flapping wings.

At the same time, the acrid smoke of the frost cleared.

It was a giant bird.

If there was a bird in hell, I wondered if it looked like that.

It was enough to give me an aviophobia I didn’t have before.

Its red pupils stared at me.

I could feel it in my gut.

That giant bird was the Demon Corps Leader.

Stop the demon summoning ritual. (Ongoing)

Defeat the Demon Corps Leader. (0/10)

The flashing quest window proves it.

So, I’m supposed to kill 10 of them?

I wasn’t the only one who noticed.

Everyone was waiting for the Demon Legion Leader to show up.

Harkon was there.

“Your Majesty, I will fulfill the mission.”

Gooooo─

Harkon’s sword began to emit sword energy.

Harkon’s sword glowed with a light that had never been seen before.

Sword energy.

It’s said that it grows stronger as it grows and takes on a unique glow.

“You’ve reached that level.

Grandfell’s gift.

Thanks to him, I was able to keep track of Harkon’s growth.

So, naturally, I felt relieved.

My comrade-in-arms is that strong.

Of course, the Hell Demon Corps leader was flying in the sky.

He’s probably waiting for an opportunity to come down.

But I had no intention of waiting.

I may not be able to give him wings.

I can make the stairs work for him.

But first, I needed to limit his movement.

I cranked up the power.

Just the right magic to break those wings.

But also one that would conserve as much energy as possible…….

I was selecting a spell.

Kurrrr-!

I heard a muffled sound.

At the same time, the sky darkened for a moment.

The flow of air changed.

Dark clouds gathered.

“…….”

A crackling electricity crackled in the darkness.

This was a magic I had seen before.

No, more accurately, it was a [skill].

I opened my mouth to speak.

“Jesse Hynes.”

As if in response.

A [Heavenly Punishment] struck the Demon Legion leader.

It landed on his head.

Jijijijijij-!

The power of the blow was different from Count Ascura’s.

It was as if he had a grudge against the Demon Corps Leader.

It didn’t even take into account the amount of magic it consumed.

It was an emotional and wild manifestation.

I shamelessly made an evaluation of the skill.

“You still have a lot to work on.”

……I’m not lacking anything.

It’s my level that’s lacking.

So I didn’t hesitate.

I have to do something……!

So I can pick up some food, even if it’s just beans.

I immediately manifested the stairs.

“My lord. I will return to fulfill your Majesty’s mission.”

Soon, Harkon stepped on the stairs and flew into the sky.