novelraw Chapter 11 : The Heavenly Killing Star (2)
Chapter 11 : The Heavenly Killing Star (2)
The Sword Demon stood up and came towards our side. His face was full of determination, as if he were a martial artist going to a life-or-death battle.
"It is no exaggeration to say that the future of the Heavenly Demon Cult rests on your shoulders right now."
The nine of them, excluding me, were nodding their heads at the Sword Demon's solemnity, without even knowing the reason.
It was an elder speaking, not just anyone. To them, the Sword Demon probably looked like a god of war right now.
The Sword Demon, seeing the children's enthusiastic nodding, continued to speak with even more fire in his eyes.
"The Heavenly Demon Cult has always been the strongest. It was so in the past, and it will be so in the future. That will be the same today. You have been chosen as the best warriors who will bring glory to the Heavenly Demon Cult in the future."
"Wooooo!"
The Mad Demon, who was the simplest in the Heavenly Demon Cult, was the first to be incited by the Sword Demon and started to shout. Seeing that, the rest of the children followed suit and shouted.
"Wooooo!"
I looked at the Sword Demoness and the Demonic Brain. Fortunately, the two of them were quiet.
"Good! That spirit of yours! That dominance! That confidence! Let's crush the mongrels of the Blood Cult here today!"
"Wooooo!"
Now! Let's briefly compare the situation before and after my regression. There was definitely no such martial arts tournament before my regression. So why has it been arranged now?
I have narrowed down the reasons to three main ones.
First, the Blood Demon actively proposed this tournament. The basis for this is nothing special, just that the Blood Demon has always been a great man who shows passion for anything that involves defeating the Heavenly Demon Cult.
And I dismissed this first basis myself. This had happened before my regression, but it hadn't led to a tournament.
Then, the second reason.
I raised my hand.
"Who is it?"
To the Sword Demon's question, I replied.
"It's Yoo Jae-ha!"
"Oh-ho!"
"Oh-ho!"
"Oh-ho!"
The moment I said my name, I could hear the elders exclaiming in admiration from here and there. I, of course, couldn't know the reason.
The elders must have been bored.
They were old men whose hobby was to roll around with nothing to do, so they seemed to be excited now that there was a sudden tournament.
Should I just become an elder too? I was tempted for a moment, but the thought of having to see my junior sister again didn't make my lower body feel damp, but I remembered the memory of living like that for my whole life. A momentary choice almost sent me back to a life accustomed to dampness.
I once again recalled the preciousness of my current freshness.
"Yes, so you are Yoo Jae-ha. Why did you raise your hand?"
"Yes. Well, I was curious as to why the tournament was arranged. The Heavenly Demon Cult has always occupied the top spot, so I don't understand why you would take the words of those below you at face value."
"Wow!"
"Hear, hear!"
"He's something else!"
"I'm sold!"
Can't someone just shut the elders' mouths?
Unfortunately, I knew very well that the only person in the Heavenly Demon Cult who could put pressure on the elders was the Heavenly Demon, and that Heavenly Demon was currently quiet.
"Indeed, a very good question. Originally, it is highly likely that this duel would not have been arranged. However! I wanted to prove in this place that the Heavenly Demon Cult is superior to the Blood Cult, no matter what. That is why I, the Sword Demon, personally proposed the tournament to the Lord!"
The culprit is always at the scene! That old man with only a sword in his head was the culprit.
Come to think of it, the Sword Demon's condition was also quite different from before my regression. I remember that at this time, the Sword Demon, feeling skeptical about his stagnant martial arts, had gone into seclusion for training...
The way he was encouraging the children and boosting their morale, far from being skeptical, he was very passionate, as if he had regressed himself.
And every once in a while, when he made eye contact with me, he would nod his head with satisfaction, making it impossible to know what he was thinking.
I tried to recall if there had been any point of contact between me and the Sword Demon after my regression, but there was nothing of the sort.
Well, in the end, the tournament was arranged, and since the observers were none other than the Heavenly Demon and the Blood Demon, the conclusion was that I couldn't overturn this tournament no matter what.
Yes, when you think about it, this tournament wasn't such a big deal. In the end, the result of the tournament is already decided.
The young brats from the Blood Cult were already exuding a menacing aura, but I knew that they would be no match for the Sword Demoness, the very incarnation of talent on our side.
Besides, one of them on that side was gloomily sitting alone in a corner. Tsk tsk. At a glance, it felt like seeing the Demonic Brain before I met him. He was small, so the Blood Demon probably forced him to come, even though he was young.
In any case, a free win is confirmed.
"Let's begin."
At the Heavenly Demon's voice from the seat of honor, the Sword Demon bowed his head. Just then, the Blood Demon let out his characteristic cackling laugh and opened his mouth.
"Before that, I'd like to make a suggestion to make the tournament more interesting?"
Changing the rules here all of a sudden?
This didn't feel good.
"How about we use the winner-stays-on system?"
At this, murmurs began to spread here and there.
Just then, someone urgently pulled on my clothes. When I turned my head, it was the Mad Demon.
"Captain!"
The Mad Demon whispered in a small voice.
"What?"
I replied in my usual voice. Because it was obvious that whether I spoke softly or loudly here, those old geezers over there would hear everything.
"What's the winner-stays-on system?"
At times like this, I feel a sense of relief.
Mad Demon, thanks to you, nothing surprises me anymore.
The Mad Demon of identity!
You, at least, please stay the same as before my regression.
"It's a system where the winner continues to fight."
"Aha! I see! But why do they fight in such a complicated way?"
But I am sometimes surprised. When the Mad Demon asks such a sharp question. Of course, it's definitely not intentional.
"The winner-stays-on system is usually proposed by the disadvantaged side. The advantageous side has no reason to change the existing system."
"I see!"
Normally, one would think so. But the one who brought this up was the Blood Demon.
"And this is a very special case, but the winner-stays-on system is also proposed when you are absolutely confident of winning."
"Huh? Why change the system when you're going to win anyway?"
Thank goodness. I once again regained my peace from the Mad Demon.
"Because you can leave a very strong impression on the losing side."
For example, think about one person beating ten people.
This is not just a loss, but a complete and utter defeat. The losing side probably won't even be able to make eye contact with the winning side for the rest of their lives.
I looked towards the direction where the Blood Cult's children were. There were no figures that I remembered from before my regression.
"I accept."
The Heavenly Demon consented.
The tournament would proceed with the winner-stays-on system.
* * *
In the end, this situation was that we, the young ones, were dragged into the pride fight of the higher-ups.
One child from the Blood Cult was already on the tournament stage.
At this, the Sword Demon asked me.
"Who should I send out?"
I don't know why he's asking me, but as a mere Little Demon Academy student, I couldn't ignore an elder's question.
"I think it wouldn't be bad to show the difference in power from the beginning. Since the tournament format is winner-stays-on, we can send out our strongest to crush their morale in the early stages."
"Oh-ho! As expected, you think the same as me..."
"Seryeong would be perfect."
The Sword Demon tilted his head for a moment. Then he looked at me meaningfully and sent a telepathic message.
-Hiding your strength. It's a time when you like to play such games. I also enjoyed it.
When I looked at the Sword Demon as if to say, "What are you talking about?", he smiled again and said to the Sword Demoness.
'What is that old man saying?'
"You said you were from the Murong family."
"Yes."
"Although the Murong family has fallen, their blood flows in you. And I still haven't forgotten the bravery the Murong family showed. They were true martial artists, on a different level from those bastards who left only their sect leader behind and ran away with their tails between their legs. Go and show them. That their brave blood flows in you!"
"Yes."
And so, our first player became the Sword Demoness.
And the tournament began, and the opponent child was hit by the Sword Demoness's extended sword and was knocked out.
A situation that ended in an instant.
"As expected of a child of the Heavenly Demon Cult!"
"Isn't that the Demonic True Sword Art? To be able to perform it so perfectly just by looking at the sword path, even though he hasn't learned it yet, is amazing!"
I could hear the elders making a fuss. And I had predicted the Sword Demoness's victory.
The Sword Demoness looked at me for a moment. I smiled and gave her a thumbs-up. Then the Sword Demoness lowered her wooden sword again and looked down at the opponent's side arrogantly.
Next, the second child from the Blood Cult came up.
This time too, the Sword Demoness lightly ended the tournament with a single sword strike.
"Ahhhh!"
"I'm drunk!"
"I'm sold!"
Who is the elder who has been saying "I'm sold" since a while ago! Even before my regression, there were times when I was embarrassed even though we were on the same side, and it's still the same now. However, I felt that something was strange here.
Who is the Blood Demon? Isn't he the king of fuss, on a different level from the elders!
But to be watching the tournament so calmly with his arms crossed in this situation?
Based on my experience of facing the Blood Demon several times for political diplomacy on behalf of the Heavenly Demon as the Young Lord, the Blood Demon's current attitude was one he showed when he definitely had something up his sleeve.
Could it be that he used a foul in this tournament? Like poison.
That would be impossible with the Heavenly Demon watching directly.
And it's not like he set a trap on the tournament stage either.
The matches were already over for the third and fourth, and it was now the fifth.
In the process, the Sword Demoness was also getting tired, and although she was winning, the number of times she swung her sword was increasing, and her speed and accuracy were noticeably dropping.
Unlike before, after a battle of over a hundred exchanges, the Sword Demoness won the fifth match as well.
'Hmm... is this the limit of her current skill?'
I could see the Sword Demoness breathing heavily. A sign that she had reached her physical limit.
In the end, while trying to parry the sixth opponent's strike, she dropped her wooden sword and was hit in the abdomen by the opponent's wooden sword, and the Sword Demoness lost.
I thought she would sweep them all by herself, but the Blood Cult's skills were not bad at all, better than I expected.
Still, the Sword Demoness had defeated five people by herself. Everyone sent their condolences and praise to the Sword Demoness as she came down from the tournament stage. The same was true for the Sword Demon.
However, the Sword Demoness's expression showed that she was quite displeased with her current defeat.
The Sword Demoness came up to me and said.
"I couldn't live up to Jae-ha's expectations."
No. The Sword Demoness had more than lived up to my expectations. It was just that the Blood Cult was much stronger than I had expected.
But I couldn't say those words. Because the Sword Demoness, who usually didn't show tears, had teary eyes.
"Next time, I'll become stronger so I can live up to your expectations."
"Y-yeah. You did well."
I was genuinely surprised by the Sword Demoness's competitive spirit and offered my condolences. If it were me, I would have given myself a reward for winning five times in a row.
As expected, you have to be like this to become the youngest elder.
"Ung!"
The Sword Demoness, who had nodded briefly, came to my side. And I looked at the opponent who had defeated the Sword Demoness.
'As expected, the Blood Cult is the Blood Cult. That child was born with monstrous strength.'
If they had fought in a state of full stamina, the Sword Demoness would have won, of course, but in a state of near exhaustion, it would have been close to impossible for the somewhat small Sword Demoness to defeat an opponent three times her size.
For a moment, I made eye contact with the Sword Demon. I was worried that he might ask me to pick the next player again, but this time, the Sword Demon made the decision on his own.
The unreadable gaze was a bonus.
Our second player was the Fifth Elder's grandson.
Thwack!
He fought well, but he lost.
"He's strong. But my will will be carried on to the next."
He's talking nonsense.
The Sword Demon, as if he hadn't expected anything in the first place, didn't react much to the defeat. Of course, I hadn't expected anything either.
Still, although he lost, his tenacity in clinging on was praiseworthy. I could hear the opponent's rough breathing all the way here.
Our third player went up.
It was the Mad Demon. The opponent from the Blood Cult, who was almost out of stamina, was no match for the Mad Demon.
"Yes! I won!"
"My will has been carried on!"
Usually, when you lose, you lose your spirit, but that guy's spirit rises the more he loses. If that's a skill, then it's a skill.
Cheers erupted from here and there as the Mad Demon brought the flow back to the Heavenly Demon Cult's side. And the Mad Demon, riding the momentum, went on a four-game winning streak.
With this, the Mad Demon was just one win away from catching up to the Sword Demoness.
And the Heavenly Demon Cult was also just one win away from victory.
But the Blood Demon was still watching the tournament with a relaxed face.
What on earth is he hiding?
There was only one participant left on the Blood Cult's side.
In the end, the Mad Demon, who had run out of stamina, lost the fifth match and came down.
"Captain, I lost..."
The kid has a strong competitive spirit, he's about to cry after losing once, even though he won four times. I praised the Mad Demon for doing well. Then he smiles foolishly, as if he was never about to cry.
Then, feeling a gaze from one side, I praised the Sword Demoness as well.
"Seryeong did well too."
Only then did the Sword Demoness's gaze fall away.
"Hmph! This is why the riffraff are no good. I'll show you."
Just then, a voice came from the opposite side of our camp. It was a child who seemed to be the leader of the opposing faction. Of course, I didn't even know that child's name.
It seemed that child was next after the Mad Demon.
He was knocked out in one blow and came down from the tournament stage with his head bowed low.
To summarize the record so far, there are six players left on our side, including me.
On the Blood Cult's side, the child on that tournament stage is the last one.
No matter how you look at it, our side's victory was almost certain.
Leaving aside talent, facing six people alone is a matter of stamina.
'Well, it won't even get to me.'
I watched the tournament comfortably.
"Begin!"
The match began, and at the same time as a "Gak!" sound was heard, the nameless child flew through the air, fell outside the tournament stage, and fainted unsightly.
Huh?
* * *
"Begin!"
Swish! Swoosh! Whack! Thud! Gulp!
"Blood Cult wins!"
Huh?
* * *
"Begin!"
Swish! Swoosh! Whack! Gulp!
"Blood Cult wins!"
Huh?
* * *
"Begin!"
Swish! Whack! Gulp!
"Blood Cult wins!"
Oh?
* * *
"Begin!"
Swoosh! Swish! Swoosh! Swish! Swoosh! Swish! Swoosh! Swish! Swoosh! Whack! Gulp!
"Blood Cult wins!"
Oh? Even you, Demonic Brain, whom I trusted?
* * *
When I came to my senses, I was on the tournament stage.
Is this for real?
(End of Chapter)