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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: shyan
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It was a time when dark darkness had settled.
A figure wearing a black robe quietly crossed the road in Jerusalem and hid himself.
Immediately after, the place he arrived at was a dark basement.
There, including him, four people were secretly hiding and waiting.
They all wore robes, although the colors were slightly different, hiding their figures.
However, despite their appearance, the person who had just entered the room felt a deep sense of relief and carefully asked.
“Was everyone able to arrive safely?”
“Of course, I came in very cleanly without being chased.”
To the words of the person wearing the black robe, the person wearing the gray robe guarding the entrance locked the door and replied.
They were talking in hushed voices.
Although this place was a secret underground room surrounded on all sides, the four people were paying close attention to prevent their voices from leaking out to anyone.
“Thank you, I’m glad you made it here safely.”
“You’re the one who’s been through a lot on your own, it must have been difficult to gather information in the heart of enemy territory.”
“It’s all thanks to this item. Thanks to this guy, I was able to disguise myself as a demon whenever I was in danger.”
The colleague who said that lowered his voice and gave a slight smile.
Immediately after, the person wearing the reddish-brown robe, who seemed to be the leader of the group, cleared his throat slightly and continued speaking in a calm voice.
“Anyway, what happened to the investigation? I felt it on the way here, but I heard there’s some kind of event going on.”
“Yes, that’s right. Right now, this Demon King’s kingdom is busy with a contest to select someone called Narsil or Nasil. Especially since it’s right after a victory, the atmosphere is even more heated.”
“Narsil… I’ve heard of it. It’s said to be a kind of martial arts tournament to select the Demon King’s kingdom’s best warrior.”
The person wearing the blue robe in the group spoke in a serious voice, and the person wearing the black robe nodded and replied to this.
“Yes, that’s right. But it’s not just a martial arts tournament, it’s practically a festival. Right in front of us alone, there are stalls lined up, and high-ranking demons from other regions are flocking here for tourism.”
“I see… No wonder the security seemed so lax, there was a reason for it.”
“Of course, that’s only the story up to the city, and the security for our target has actually been strengthened even more.”
At the words of the person wearing the black robe, the others there nodded heavily.
And immediately after, the person in the reddish-brown robe, who was the leader of the group, said in a serious voice.
“But it doesn’t matter. As you all know, we are gathered here as the last hope of the entire continent. No matter what happens, we must succeed in our mission.”
“Of course. We must do so for the peace of the continent.”
“Even if we all die…”
“Following the will of the former Hero, Elron Savior… I will definitely cut off the Demon King’s head.”
They each said a word with determined resolve.
In response, the person wearing the reddish-brown robe nodded, then looked at the map of the city spread out in front of him and continued speaking.
“According to the information, the Demon King usually stays in this Demon King’s castle, which is heavily guarded, but I heard that during the tournament, he personally watches the games at the arena here. It’s practically the only opportunity for us.”
“But we have to be careful. Even if the security has become lax, the guards protecting the Demon King are said to be formidable.”
“Also, there may be monsters with abilities we can’t even imagine inside the arena. Depending on the situation, we may be caught before we even start.”
“So you’re saying this is a kind of gamble. A gamble to take the Demon King’s head at the cost of our lives…”
To put it coldly, the assassination attempt on the Demon King can be said to be a gamble with a particularly high degree of risk.
However, despite this, at this moment, they had already decided to go all-in on this dangerous game.
Now that the tribal alliance has collapsed and the atmosphere of civil war is clearly felt,
For them, who are practically in a situation where there is no turning back,
At this moment.
This was the only path they could choose.
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Numerous people gathered at the venue.
Watching the thousands of demons filling the circular arena reminiscent of the Colosseum, I started to feel a slight tension in my heart.
“This… it’s more amazing than I thought? The atmosphere is no joke, more than I heard in the stories.”
“Well, yes. It was originally one of the most important events in the Demon King’s kingdom, and the atmosphere is even more heated because it’s coupled with a victory. From that point of view, it definitely feels more heated than the last tournament 40 years ago.”
Elisia, who was talking about a very long time ago as if it were nothing, in a voice that took it for granted at my words.
Looking at this, I was able to recognize once again that her age was very high, unlike her appearance.
‘Well, even our Demon King is older than Elisia, but still, I can’t help but feel a little embarrassed every time I hear these stories…’
Thinking that, I started to look around at the demons filling the audience seats once again.
Honestly, at this moment, I had almost no worries or burdens about the game itself.
It was me now, who possessed combat power that could even beat the strongest in the Demon King’s kingdom, the Demon King.
Overwhelming strength and amount of mana. And from the moment I came to this world, to the technology and senses for combat that felt extremely familiar and natural.
Although the spirit contained in this body was definitely me, the software parts of combat were the same as those of the Hero, so there was almost no element for me to lose in this selection.
However, apart from these aspects, it was true that fighting while receiving the attention of so many people was bound to be burdensome in many ways.
Even on the battlefield, I had received the attention of many enemies, but this and that were completely different feelings.
Doing something in front of people who were sending me looks full of vague expectations and excitement was, in many ways, unfamiliar to me.
‘I’m not the type to be nervous about these things, but it’s still quite burdensome.’
However, apart from these feelings, I didn’t really have any intention of showing them a great match that would live up to their expectations.
Just swing the sword at the opponent in front of me with all my might.
Since I came to this place to show my strength and be recognized for it,
I didn’t have the energy to show off so-called ‘fan service’ or fancy ‘production’.
‘Well, in a way, showing overwhelming power might be fan service…’
Thinking that, my gaze turned to the special room located at the highest point of the venue.
Immediately after, the Demon King’s appearance began to come into my eyes.
She was wearing a veil like at the banquet the other day, and she was slowly looking around the stadium.
And, looking at her like this.
I began to reaffirm my determination for what was to come in my heart.
‘I have to show a great performance. As a lover… I will achieve a perfect victory that will not disappoint the Demon King.”
With that thought, I turned my gaze away from the venue.
At this moment, I started looking at the people behind me.
A group of warriors sitting in a place that could be called a waiting room.
Some of them, like me and Elisia, had already automatically entered the main competition with a certain amount of proven skills,
But a considerable number of them were people who had passed the preliminary rounds in advance and made it to this place.
‘There are a lot of guys who didn’t even have names in the original work. I can at least gauge the skills of the legion commanders and guards… I wonder what those guys are like?’
So-called hidden masters were bound to be everywhere, and this was a more prominent phenomenon in this world where individuals could exert thousands of powers.
While keeping in mind the possibility of such a one-in-a-million risk,
My gaze started to head to the place where the tournament bracket was posted on the wall.
“Let’s see… my first opponent is… a newcomer I’ve never seen before?”
Elisia was nodding as she looked at the name on the tournament bracket.
Certainly, even I, who knew almost all the names of the characters in the original work, was seeing her opponent for the first time.
“Me too, a newcomer… I wonder if it’ll be interesting.”
Immediately after, another person’s dry voice was heard right next to me, in a way that I couldn’t tell when they had appeared.
There, Legion Commander Samuel was looking up at the tournament bracket with a ●△● expression.
‘Do they give newcomers to the strong people on purpose? I wonder if there’s some kind of seed rule here too. Then maybe I…’
Thinking that, I kept looking for my name.
But then…
“Your first opponent is me. Hero.”
“…!”
The next moment, a woman’s voice was heard from behind me.
There, one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the elite guards, wearing the golden armor I had seen before,
Nyadan was standing there, emitting an imposing aura.
