novelraw Chapter 26 : Preliminary Round (5)
Chapter 26 : Preliminary Round (5)
"Did Piram lose in the preliminary rounds?"
"Who was his opponent?"
"I've never seen him before."
The surroundings are noisy due to the unexpected turn of events from the very first match of the preliminary rounds.
I had roughly expected this scene. I knew that defeating Piram, who was practically a confirmed main tournament participant, would automatically draw attention.
I came down from the tournament stage, pretending to be calm.
After all, to achieve my initial goal, I had to go to the main tournament no matter what, and as I went higher, I would receive even more attention.
Since it has come to this, let's aim for the youngest position, not just a unit commander.
Looking at it this way, it feels like 'the youngest' has become my own identity.
I cast my gaze towards where the guy had been, pretending to look around. The guy had disappeared somewhere. I wanted to follow him right away, but unfortunately, I couldn't because it was during the preliminary rounds.
For now, I had to be satisfied with just having stepped on his tail. And since I had messed up his plan, there was a high possibility that he would come to mess with me again. My back feels uneasy, but I can just catch him then.
Perhaps because my victory was quite a shock, the commotion around me still hadn't died down. Moreover, another unexpected variable was approaching.
"Look over there! The Blood Demon's disciple is approaching that child!"
"So he wasn't an ordinary person after all!"
"Jae-ha! As expected, you participated too!"
Soma, sending me a bright, crazed gaze.
I knew he was crazy somewhere, but he seemed to be controlling it a little better than when I had met him before.
In any case, it meant that he was indeed a madman.
There's nothing good about getting involved with a madman, but if you're already involved, a quick break-up is the only answer.
"You've mistaken me for someone else. I don't know such a person."
It was a perfect rejection. At this point, if he had any sense, he would know that I didn't welcome him and would lose interest.
But I had underestimated Soma. Without even listening to my words, he looked at the Blood Twin Axes leaving the training ground and then started nodding his head by himself.
"He's not at that level."
After making his assessment, he grabs my arm as I'm about to leave and continues.
"Jae-ha, I'm going to defeat you. So you must not lose until then! The reason I participated in this tournament is to repay my defeat from last time."
If I pretended not to know even after he went this far, I didn't know where that madness would go.
"Can't we just say you won?"
"As expected, the only person who says such things to me is you, Jae-ha!"
As expected, conversation doesn't work with a madman. The good thing was that Soma had said what he had to say and left.
It was a very short conversation, but I was more tired than when I had a duel with the Blood Twin Axes.
At this rate, I might really fall asleep during a duel.
In the meantime, the interest in me was growing even more.
"The Blood Demon's disciple lost?"
"The Blood Cult's Young Lord lost?"
No! Don't spread false rumors.
Unlike the Heavenly Demon Cult, in the Blood Cult, one could learn the Blood Demon's martial arts even if they weren't the Young Lord.
Because the Blood Demon would share his martial arts with any child who had talent, regardless of their origin or status.
In fact, there were rumors that even the gatekeeper of the Blood Cult was learning the Blood Demon's martial art, the Blood Demon Divine Art.
Looking at it this way, one might think that the Blood Demon Divine Art is a martial art that anyone can learn, but it wasn't the kind of thing that just anyone could learn.
At the time when I had a duel with Soma, Soma's body and mind were dominated by the Blood Demon True Qi.
If the duel had continued, Soma's body would have been consumed by the Blood Demon True Qi, and he would have died after exhausting all his energy.
On the other hand, it could be said that Soma, who fought even in that state, was amazing. That's probably why the Blood Demon took Soma in.
In any case, looking at the current situation, although it's unofficial, it's true that Soma is the one closest to the Young Lord among the Blood Demon's disciples.
I had also heard that there was no one who could handle the Blood Demon True Qi like Soma, except for the Blood Cult's Young Lord, whom I had only heard about in rumors before my regression.
In terms of talent alone, he's at least at the trans-human level, but unfortunately, his mind has gone crazy... tsk tsk.
I could still hear people talking about me from the surroundings.
"As expected of the Heavenly Demon Cult."
"To think they were hiding such a secret weapon until now."
"Tsk tsk. Only the Green Forest became a scapegoat."
"Shh! Be quiet! If you keep talking like that, you might never be able to enter the mountain again!"
"My family has been in the seafood business for three generations."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"It seems a new match is starting over there!"
"Oh!"
Still, as time passed, the talk about me seemed to be roughly dying down.
"Shaolin's Wu-o wins!"
The only invited guest from the Orthodox Faction.
"The Orthodox Faction has really sharpened its teeth."
"I can feel the essence of Shaolin from his body."
People's interest had already shifted elsewhere.
"Flame Saber, Yang So-pyeong wins!"
The owner of the legendary Six Yang Divine Meridian.
"The Sura Cult Lord was boasting, and he's really drawn his sword this time!"
"He's a clear candidate for the winner!"
Another tournament stage.
"Blood Cult's Soma wins!"
The one closest to the unofficial Young Lord of the Blood Cult.
Of course, he is definitely not the Young Lord. I heard that the Young Lord has a taciturn impression.
"As expected, that wasn't just bravado earlier."
"Is that the Blood Demon True Qi? It gives me the creeps every time I see it."
And so on. The feast of talents who ran on the ground and flew in the sky continued.
The Sword Demoness, the Mad Demon, and Gwang Se-hyeon were also continuing their victories without much trouble.
My next opponent had much inferior skills compared to my first opponent, the Blood Twin Axes, Piram.
I also lightly won my second victory.
The guy who had left earlier was nowhere to be seen. Even after the third match ended a moment later, I didn't feel any particular sign, so it seemed that the Blood Twin Axes was the first and last thing they had prepared in the preliminary rounds.
Still, I didn't let my guard down.
As a black recognizes a black, if I were the opponent, I would never have ended it with just one.
Before long, it was the turn of the final match.
I was nervous about any possible variables, but for a final match, it ended rather anticlimactically.
The opponent, perhaps because he had already fought five matches, was not in a state to have a duel in the first place.
After winning lightly, I confirmed my advancement to the main tournament.
It was announced that the main tournament would be held in three days.
I thought I could finally rest now.
They wouldn't make me work during this period, would they?
If they do, they're not human.
The next day.
Screech.
The door opened and the instructor called me.
"Support duty. Get up quickly."
Could this also be that guy's doing?
* * *
At first, it was just a simple interest.
I thought it would soon fade, but the interest grew, and eventually, it reached the point of holding a council of elders.
And the strategist personally brought up the story about that child.
Originally, the target of this tournament was the Heavenly Demon Cult's Young Lord, Hyeok Won-sang.
The most powerful card to shake the Heavenly Demon.
A card easier to shake than the Heavenly Demon.
Furthermore, the best card to bring chaos to the martial world.
The Divine Demon Tournament was the golden opportunity they had been waiting for, and the perfect stage.
But a being that was thought to be a fly had suddenly grown to the size of a dragonfly.
So, this time, they conducted a test that wasn't a test...
To think he would really defeat the Blood Twin Axes, Piram.
He was entering a building within the Heavenly Demon Cult.
Although numerous warriors were guarding the main gate, no one stopped his steps.
Inside the gate, pavilions were lined up. When he arrived at the largest pavilion, he quietly bowed.
A voice came from inside.
"Come in."
When he went inside, the Second Elder, the Fighting Demon, was sitting there.
Screech.
After confirming that the door had automatically closed and that a qi barrier had completely surrounded the two of them, the two opened their mouths at the same time.
"May chaos befall the world."
"May chaos befall the world."
The Fighting Demon said.
"Yes, did the job go well?"
"The mission regarding the target has failed."
The Fighting Demon, who heard the report, had a rather interesting expression.
"Oh-ho! Is that so? Anything else?"
"It seems we need to raise the target's grade."
"Is that your personal assessment?"
"Yes, it is."
"The assessment of the Chaos Demon King's top disciple... Then, what is the appropriate grade you have in mind for the target?"
"Management."
"That's one level higher than the previous tracking stage. And it's the same grade as the other rising stars of the demonic path. Is he at that level?"
"If what I saw is all the target has, then I believe the original plan of eliminating the Heavenly Demon Cult's Young Lord is the right one, even after thinking about it a hundred times."
"But?"
"I felt an unknown sense of unease from the target for a moment."
"What was the reason the Chaos Demon King took you as his disciple?"
"Because I had good intuition."
"That's right. He accepted you, who had no abilities, for the sole reason of your intuition. Hmm..."
The ultimate goal of the place they belonged to was to bring chaos to the martial world.
To do that, they had to do something about this current stable state. From their perspective, the biggest obstacle at present was the Heavenly Demon Cult.
[Bring chaos to the false world.]
[Cover the false world with blood and slaughter.]
[When the false world is covered in blood, a guide will appear to lead to the true world.]
This was the prophecy of the place they belonged to.
And they thought it was the past Orthodox-Demonic War. The whole world was covered in blood. But the guide to lead to the true world did not appear. And the Orthodox-Demonic War was also something that the place they belonged to had started.
The world was still living in falsehood.
"Not the Young Lord, but a mere Little Demon Academy student."
"He's not just a student. He's a student that the Heavenly Demon Brain, Noe In-mu, is paying attention to."
"That's why I don't understand it even more. From what I see, there was nothing special about him."
"Then how about this? We proceed with the original plan and at the same time, confirm whether the target is a necessary or unnecessary existence for our plan."
"That's not bad. Can I leave it to you? Or should I step in?"
"I will do it. After the council of elders, Noe In-mu has strengthened the surveillance of all the elders. If anything suspicious is discovered here, it is better for me to be sacrificed than the elder. Because there are plenty of replacements for me."
"The Chaos Demon King has taught his disciple well."
The Fighting Demon handed over a pill.
"Isn't this a Hidden Blood Pill?"
"You should also have a trump card to use in a crisis. If the target is a being beyond your imagination, that is."
"I see."
"What is certain is that our mission is to make our Young Lord fall in this tournament and leave the Heavenly Demon Cult."
"Yes. As long as it's not the Heavenly Demon, it's a piece of cake to cook up such a person. Or, it's not a bad method to corrupt him through someone from the Blood Cult."
"Heheh. I wonder what the Heavenly Demon, who has lost his child, will look like. I'm really looking forward to it."
"Then, since my tail might be stepped on, this will be the last report. I will see you after the Divine Demon Tournament is over."
"Yes. You may go."
"Chung!"
* * *
A vast grassland unfolds.
It seems to be about 10,000 pyeong.
You want me to pull out all the weeds here by myself?
And you want me to finish it before the main tournament opens?
This was certain.
That bastard!
His eyes are slanted to the side.
His cheeks are sunken.
His chin is sharp and protruding.
That bastard who looks like a rat!
He was definitely trying to mess with me.
To be honest, I was thinking of just letting it go if he didn't touch me anymore.
But I decided today.
That rat bastard, if I catch him, I will definitely kill him.