novelraw Chapter 31 : An Upset Always Happens in an Unknown Place (2)
Chapter 31 : An Upset Always Happens in an Unknown Place (2)
A dark room with not a single ray of light.
Twelve figures wearing demon masks are sitting around a round table.
The one wearing the ox demon mask opened his mouth.
"The Fighting Demon King is dead."
As if everyone already knew this fact, there was no particular reaction.
The one wearing the snake demon mask, sitting opposite the one with the ox demon mask, opened his mouth.
"Tsk tsk. I told him to stay neutral for a while, but he didn't, and in the end, he died. You foolish bastard. Then is that guy the new Fighting Demon King?"
At the question of the one wearing the snake demon mask, the one wearing the monkey demon mask nodded his head.
At this, the one wearing the snake demon mask clicked his tongue once more.
"Tsk tsk. A newbie just nods his head."
Goooo!
The snake's huge energy fills the cave.
Despite the pressure that tightened his whole body, the one wearing the monkey demon mask did not waver at all.
The energy in the cave is withdrawn in an instant.
"Oh-ho! If you weren't qualified, I was going to kill you on the spot, but you are qualified. So, who was the one who recommended that guy?"
The one wearing the ox demon mask, after confirming that the simple greetings were over, continued to speak.
When a seat is empty, a new person comes in and fills it. This was the rule of this round table conference. And at this time, there was another rule: there had to be a recommendation from three of the existing members of the round table conference.
"Including me, it's the rabbit and the chicken. Snake. If you still doubt his qualifications, you can check for yourself on the spot."
"Hmph! Why should I do that troublesome thing? Just get on with it."
"Alright. With the death of the (former) Fighting Demon King, our influence on the Heavenly Demon Cult has been somewhat reduced. Previously, our influence on the Heavenly Demon Cult extended to the council of elders, but now, our influence is only up to the military units below it. Moreover, with the death of the Fighting Demon King, the Heavenly Demon Cult has also begun a large-scale purge."
The one wearing the sheep demon mask, who had been listening silently until now, opened his mouth.
"You mean we should cut off the path to the Heavenly Demon Cult for the time being."
Judging by the thin voice, it seemed to be a woman, but no one knew whether the person inside that mask was a man or a woman.
It had been 40 years since the sheep had participated in this round table conference.
The ones who had recommended the sheep were the previous sheep, the previous tiger, and the previous rat, and all three were dead.
According to the principles of the round table conference, one was supposed to share information only with the one who had recommended them.
The same went for the monkey, who had been newly recommended and was participating in the round table conference.
But except for the three who had shared the information, no one knew who was inside that monkey mask.
This was also a rule of the round table conference.
In other words, there was no one in this place who knew who the sheep was.
However, judging by the thin voice and way of speaking, everyone was guessing that it was a woman.
Though she was probably a grandmother by age.
"As expected of the old hag. You're sharp. Age doesn't go anywhere."
At the snake's repeated provocations from a while ago, the sheep slowly turned around.
The ones in this place now were all top masters who had long surpassed the Demonic Zenith and Profound Realms.
If given just a blink of an eye, they could all kill each other.
If left like this, one of the two would surely die.
But no one stepped forward.
"Alright. Tch! Old hag, getting angry just because I said something."
Because they knew that the snake would back down first.
The snake had often made such provocations since the old days.
"Phew... I'll continue."
The ox, who had let out a sigh, took over.
"As the sheep said, touching the Heavenly Demon Cult now is like poking a beehive. Moreover, as long as the whereabouts of the Heavenly Demon Cult's Grand Elder are still unknown, it is right to be prudent for now. Surely, no one here wants to encounter the Grand Elder. Including the tiger."
For a moment, the tiger grabbed a handful of the round table in front of him.
Crack!
Then, the round table, which was known to have the strength of iron and was made of blue steel stone, crumbled where the tiger had grabbed it and was torn away.
"Whew. Look at that ignorance!"
Seeing this, the snake said another word.
It was natural for the tiger to show such a reaction now. Because the previous tiger had been killed by the Grand Elder.
And the one who wanted to find the Grand Elder, whose whereabouts were unknown, the most among those here was undoubtedly the tiger.
The tiger said in a low voice.
"The Grand Elder is mine. I will kill anyone who gets in my way, no matter who they are."
"Yes, sir! Yes, sir!"
The snake's taunting was still there.
"Phew..."
The ox, who had let out another sigh, said.
"For now, I'll assume that we will all stop all our activities until the Divine Demon Tournament is over. However, let's keep the existing plan."
"Heheh. I wonder if the Heavenly Demon will be able to hold his head up stiffly even when the Heavenly Demon Cult's Young Lord is corrupted! By the way, what is the definite reason for the Fighting Demon King's death?"
The one who was sneering was, of course, the snake, and at the question, the ox answered.
"The Fighting Demon King's last report before his death was the manipulation of the tournament bracket."
"It's obvious that he tried to drop the Young Lord, and the Heavenly Demon, who was pissed off by that, killed the Fighting Demon King."
"Well, I can't be sure because I don't know the subsequent situation, but I'm assuming that's the reason."
Just then, the rabbit opened his mouth for the first time.
"Our child is also participating in this Divine Demon Tournament, so I'll let you know if anything happens."
The snake looked at the rabbit as if curious.
The place where the rabbit was assigned as a spy was the Sura Cult.
Unlike the Heavenly Demon Cult, where what one could do was limited, there were quite a few things one could do in other places.
To give a simple example, shall we say something like intervening in the succession structure?
"Huh? What are you going to do if you're eliminated?"
At the snake's sneer, the rabbit's expression was not visible due to the mask, but he said in a confident tone.
"Our child will win this Divine Demon Tournament."
The dragon, who had been watching this silently, opened his mouth for the first time.
"It won't be easy."
The place where the dragon had infiltrated as a spy was the Orthodox Faction.
The rabbit looks at the dragon. The snake was looking back and forth between the rabbit and the dragon with interest.
"Fight! Fight! Fight!"
He said, sneering the same words.
Of course, everyone ignored these words.
"The Orthodox Faction has really drawn its sword this time, even breaking the taboos between them. The Little Divine Monk is strong."
The rabbit immediately retorted.
"What's so great about the Orthodox Faction! Our child is a child who has been almost confirmed as the next rabbit."
"The Six Yang Divine Meridian, you mean."
"Hmph! Are you jealous?"
"I have definitely given you a warning."
Just then, the sound of a chair being dragged was heard. The tiger had stood up from his seat.
"I'm not interested in the kids' fight. If the meeting is over, I will continue to track the Grand Elder."
The tiger said what he had to say and left. And so, the meeting was adjourned.
The one wearing the rat demon mask stayed in the cave until the very end and left after saying a word.
"Variables always appear unexpectedly. Just like 100 years ago."
* * *
I woke up feeling good, and this morning, there was a letter next to my bed.
For a moment, the fact that someone had come while I was sleeping sent a chill down my spine, but as soon as I remembered that if that someone had intended to kill me, they would have killed me long ago, my spine warmed up again.
Because the conclusion was that that someone had no intention of killing me.
And after checking the letter, I was even more confused.
[Failed. The deal is off. May there be only endless glory before you.]
The only deal I had made recently was with the Divine Monk. In other words, this letter was sent by the Divine Monk, but it seemed that the Divine Monk had not succeeded in changing the tournament bracket.
Right. I understood up to this point. Since he couldn't fulfill my request, the deal between the Divine Monk and me was canceled.
But why would the Divine Monk, who was practically the head of the Orthodox Faction, send a greeting that could be misunderstood by others to me, a growing sprout of the demonic path?
"Could it be a high-level stratagem of borrowing a knife to kill?"
That would make even less sense. Because this letter could also be another piece of evidence.
If that's the case, he should have just killed me right away while I was sleeping.
"I don't know."
What was certain was that the Divine Monk had no intention of killing me.
And that I had come back to square one.
"I guess I have no choice but to rely on luck. Or I have to hope that that guy will set me up against the Flame Saber, Yang So-pyeong."
I could do something more here, but getting involved with the military affairs department would bring me more losses than gains at this point.
If the connection with the Divine Monk were to be discovered, an order to kill me on the spot might be issued.
I decided to withdraw from the tournament bracket.
* * *
As expected, my opponent in this round of 32 was not the Flame Saber, Yang So-pyeong.
'By the way, is that all he's got?'
Slanted eyes. In a word, he looked like a gigolo. I knew that his face was naturally one that smirked, but even knowing that, from the perspective of the one looking, I wanted to give him a good punch in the face.
That's also a talent if you think about it.
"Nice to meet you. I am the Divine Wind, Cheon-eung of the Underworld."
Unlike the opponents I had met so far, he was the best in terms of manners. However, the opponent, unlike his appearance, would not be an easy one.
Because the Underworld is one of the Five Heretical Factions, and the Divine Wind, Cheon-eung, is its youngest branch manager.
I don't know if I'm going to end up fighting all of the Five Heretical Factions at this rate.
"Fighting you, who defeated the Blood Twin Axes and the Falling Shadow, has a much greater risk of losing than the benefit of winning."
Since it's a group that deals with information, they speak in a difficult way. Should I just start with a first strike? As I was contemplating.
"I do not fight losing battles. Therefore, I will withdraw."
He turned around and went down from the tournament stage.
What's this? Is this a new customer acquisition method? If so, I just got the intention to go to the branch where Cheon-eung is at least once.
Of course, I will not discount a single penny for the information fee.
I advanced to the round of 16 by a fluke.
Unexpectedly, I had some free time.
What should I do? Should I go back to my room and sleep?
I did have trouble sleeping because of the letter today.
-Your face looks good. That was my small gift for the failed request.
A telepathic message that suddenly came.
Judging by the voice, it was definitely the Divine Monk.
I quickly looked around, but everyone had a full head of hair.
-It's the Hwaegwang Heart Language, so you can't see my appearance from your position.
So he says. I just went on my way. But why is he being so friendly?
-Then, have a great day today! This old man is just getting more garrulous. Amitabha!
I could never figure out what the Orthodox Faction guys were thinking, and today, I became even more clueless.
What was certain was that with the telepathic message just now, the slight anxiety that the Divine Monk might try to kill me had all disappeared.
Before I go to my room and sleep, let's find out what happened to the Flame Saber, Yang So-pyeong.
And so I arrived at the tournament ground.
The match was just about to start.
The heat of the tournament ground was one of the hottest I had ever seen.
It was probably because my round of 32 match had ended so anticlimactically, and the fact that if you just pass the round of 32, you're in the round of 16, was also a reason.
Because from the round of 16, your name goes on the list of rising stars.
In other words, if you just win this one match, you can become a rising star representing the demonic path.
So, everyone would surely fight with all their might. Rather, the case just now could be said to be very exceptional.
I went and sat in an empty seat.
And I opened my eyes wide, looking at the tournament stage.
The Flame Saber, Yang So-pyeong, was holding a huge red saber, and on the other side, the Sword Demoness had drawn her sword.
Before my regression, the Flame Saber, Yang So-pyeong, had killed a total of two people in the tournament.
One of them was the Little Divine Monk of the Orthodox Faction, whom he had met in the finals.
And the other one, I wasn't particularly interested, so I didn't know that far.
Before my regression, the Sword Demoness does not die in this Divine Demon Tournament. But at the point where a variable called me has intervened, I couldn't know what would happen.
"Begin!"
The match began.