novelraw Chapter 34 : The Whole World is Against Me (1)
Chapter 34 : The Whole World is Against Me (1)
Now that it was the round of 16, only the real powerhouses were left in the Divine Demon Tournament.
The furthest I had planned to go in the Divine Demon Tournament was the quarterfinals. Any further than that, and my future dream might change from the youngest unit commander to the youngest grand commander.
The Orthodox Faction's plan to manipulate the tournament bracket and meet Yang So-pyeong seemed to have already failed, and it was a situation where I had to rely purely on luck.
-Good luck today too!
Even though I had ignored all his telepathic messages so far, the bald old geezer's friendly act was getting worse. Could it be that the Divine Monk's true identity was a perverted old man who felt pleasure the more he was ignored? It was a bleak future for the Orthodox Faction. I just couldn't understand the Orthodox Faction.
Ignoring the Divine Monk's Hwaegwang Heart Language and telepathic message again today, I went to the place where the tournament bracket was written, and the matchups were already posted.
Please! Yang So-pyeong!
My match order was the first again this time, so I could find it right away.
Yang So-pyeong! Let it be you!
Huh?
My opponent this time was not Yang So-pyeong either. Then, statistically speaking, it should have been one of the Five Heretical Factions, but my opponent was someone I didn't know.
Then what about my hyung-nim? Fortunately, it wasn't Yang So-pyeong. My hyung-nim's opponent was also someone I didn't know.
Well, my opponent and my hyung-nim's opponent seemed to be participants from minor factions.
I congratulated the unknown descendant of a minor faction who had struggled to get this far.
The goals of the participants from minor factions would probably be similar.
To make a name for themselves in the martial world.
Minor factions were most likely suffering financially, and there was a high probability that they would be completely liberated from that starting today.
Simply put, it meant that a honey-sucking life, not quite like that of a native honeybee, but at least like that of a foreign honeybee, was waiting for them.
To have come up to the round of 16 meant that they had already earned their graduation certificate to become a future powerhouse.
In the case of a merchant guild, they would be desperate for even one Peak realm master, so there would be a flood of people eager to establish connections.
The problem was not with the opponent, whose future was about to be paved with flowers, but with me.
If I win the round of 16, it's the quarterfinals.
The round of 16 was practically my last stage.
If I fail here too, the only way left was to secretly ambush the Flame Saber, Yang So-pyeong.
And so, the round of 16 began.
The opponent, as expected, was a disciple of a minor faction.
"Greetings. I am Mak-cheon of the Water King Palace. It is a lifelong honor to face a descendant of the Great Divine Cult."
Unlike anyone I had met so far, he was sincere, innocent, and pure.
The opponent's realm was the end of the first-rate.
The match ended with my victory.
"As expected, after only training in the mountains, coming to a place like the Great Divine Cult has taught me that there is a wider world! I will come back after more training next time!"
For some reason, the desire to step on a growing sprout, one of my habits before my regression, was slowly rising, but the regressed me was no longer a narrow-minded Young Lord, so I smiled brightly and sent him a cheer, saying, "Good luck."
And I also got a nickname.
They call me the Little Dragon. It means a small dragon.
It was probably because I was young.
When I get older and grow up, will I become a Middle Dragon, a Great Dragon? When I'm a grandfather, maybe a Super Dragon?
It was a truly terrible nickname.
And so, without achieving my goal this time either, I was wandering around, wondering what to do now, when I met my hyung-nim.
"Little brother!"
"Hyung-nim!"
Seeing my hyung-nim's refreshed expression, it seemed that he had also advanced to the quarterfinals.
If I were to meet my hyung-nim, let's just go with a clean withdrawal loss.
"Little brother! Congratulations on advancing to the quarterfinals! As expected, I believed that you would be able to advance to the quarterfinals."
"Haha! You also advanced to the quarterfinals, hyung-nim."
"No, I didn't."
Huh? What kind of nonsense is this, like a dog barking "meow" after choking on grass? What kind of conch is this? It just didn't make sense.
"You lost?"
"Yeah! I was just on my way back after being eliminated. Wow. What was it, the Thunder Sound Palace? It's a single-heir faction, but they were strong. I lost cleanly! Hahaha!"
'Hahaha! Are you laughing right now?' I almost blurted out such disrespectful words to my hyung-nim, but for some reason, my hyung-nim's reaction wasn't bad.
"You're not upset even though you lost?"
"I lost because I was weaker than my opponent, so what else is there to do?"
"You're the Young Lord. Surely, all sorts of people will take this defeat as an opportunity and plot against you to bring you down. That's not all. When the tigers move, the hyenas who were just looking for an opportunity will also join in the scheming. They will slowly bring you down like that."
"That might be so. But little brother."
In my hyung-nim's eyes, looking at me, I couldn't find any trembling.
I knew those who had such eyes.
The kind of eyes I had only seen on those who were willing to give up their lives to protect their beliefs even at the moment of death, beings who, although they were enemies, I couldn't help but feel a sense of respect for as a person.
Great people who ultimately follow through with their beliefs.
"You told me, little brother. That the Young Lord is not everything in this world. So I'm not swayed by such people anymore."
"You're not swayed?"
"That's right. From now on, I'm going to try to live the life I want, not the life that was given to me. Not as the son of the Heavenly Demon and the Young Lord, but the life of me, Hyeok Won-sang."
My hyung-nim is originally an adult, but it feels like he's become even more of an adult.
I, who am still a kid, couldn't understand what he was saying well. For now, I asked the most important thing.
"Then you won't be leaving the Heavenly Demon Cult either?"
"Why would I leave a place where I can live with a warm back and a full stomach? Little brother, you seem to have wanted me to leave the Heavenly Demon Cult since the old days."
"N-no! I hope you will stay in the Heavenly Demon Cult for a thousand, ten thousand years!"
"Hahaha! As expected, you say things in a fun way, little brother! But I'm a person too, how can I just stick to the Heavenly Demon Cult! I have some shame. When I find out what I really want to do, I will leave to achieve it. I also want to see the world."
Anyway, it meant that he wasn't leaving for the time being.
And looking at my hyung-nim now, he was completely different from the anxious-looking hyung-nim I had seen before my regression.
Then, the reason for me to participate in the Divine Demon Tournament anymore has disappeared.
'The quarterfinals, I can just withdraw!'
Then, from today, I'm going to enjoy the Divine Demon Tournament properly!
I can't drink all night... since I'm still a minor, but I'll eat all sorts of food, go to the night market with the Sword Demoness, and ride a boat with the Mad Demon. Of course, the money for all this can be paid by Gwang Se-hyeon.
What's the use of having an elder's grandson? You have to use them at times like this.
By the way, what happened to the Mad Demon's match?
As I had expected, the Mad Demon had the skill to easily advance to the quarterfinals.
The energy I felt from the Mad Demon was very similar to that of the Fourth Elder.
"Then, little brother! I'm going to go in early and get some sleep today. I didn't sleep well yesterday preparing for the round of 16, so I'm tired."
"Yes. Of course, you should."
"Besides, I can't hold on to my little brother, who has advanced to the quarterfinals, for long."
I wanted to say that it was over as of today, but if I said I was going to withdraw in the quarterfinals, my hyung-nim's nagging storm would surely follow, so I didn't bother to say it.
Of course, I was in a good enough mood to listen to a nagging storm right now. Still, I wasn't the type of pervert who would listen when I could avoid it.
I'll just see the results of the Mad Demon's match and then quickly go home and sleep.
Because I have to play all night!
After parting with my hyung-nim, I immediately headed to the match venue.
Just in time, the Mad Demon's match was coming to an end.
The crowd was all shouting the Mad Demon's name.
I felt proud for no reason.
The Mad Demon was steadily pressing his opponent. The chain of attacks, fist after fist, was so well-executed that even I was impressed.
Moreover, he was imbuing weight into every single punch.
Also, even while attacking, he was calmly stepping, so when the opponent attacked, he was perfectly dodging it.
The Mad Demon seemed to be trying not to show it as much as possible, but from what I saw, the Mad Demon was already at a realm where he could move his body freely.
He had surely entered the Peak.
He must have received the help of the Fourth Elder. He must have been fed some hidden spiritual medicine.
The opponent, who had been continuously pushed back, made a mistake with his hands for a moment and allowed the Mad Demon's attack. Naturally, his breathing was cut off, and the Mad Demon went for the opening in his breathing. After that, it flowed smoothly according to the Mad Demon's flow and he won just like that.
To be honest, I thought the Sword Demoness would advance to the quarterfinals. Because in terms of talent, the Sword Demoness was a step above the Mad Demon.
But luck is also a major factor in the Divine Demon Tournament.
The Sword Demoness had bad luck with the matchups.
Because the opponent she happened to meet was Yang So-pyeong, the winner before my regression.
By the way, is the Sword Demoness okay? I don't know. Her expression wasn't bad when we parted, but for some reason, the Sword Demoness's expression had been dark ever since the vacation ended, and I was worried that she would be upset after being eliminated in the round of 32.
"Jae-ha?"
The Sword Demoness I met on the way seemed to be fine, fortunately. Her expression also looked better than before. It seems I was worried for nothing.
I suggested to the Sword Demoness that we go to the night market at night. I did it, but I thought I would be rejected.
"How about the night market tonight?"
"Good."
The answer came in one second.
Right, the Sword Demoness would also want to play at least once.
After that, I met the Mad Demon and Gwang Se-hyeon on the way and decided to meet up with them later. I didn't tell the Sword Demoness separately, but she'll find out when we meet anyway.
And Gwang Se-hyeon, as if it were his own business, was talking with spittle flying about the Mad Demon, who had advanced to the quarterfinals.
He said it was all thanks to him.
It seemed certain that Gwang Se-hyeon had connected the Mad Demon with the Fourth Elder.
Even shit has its uses, and this is the time to use it.
Let me use that shit too!
I felt very good to be able to spend such a free time without any burden after a long time.
Right! This is the honey-sucking regression life I wanted!
I've been living too hard so far.
Now, I'll live even more lazily, with interest on top of what I've lived so hard for!
I'm already excited just thinking about withdrawing from the quarterfinals.
And so, after playing excitedly at night, a day passed, and the quarterfinals approached.
I didn't check the tournament bracket this time, which I had checked every time before a match. Because I would withdraw no matter who my opponent was.
However, from the quarterfinals, I had to wait in a personal waiting room, so I naturally knew what number my match was.
"Of all things, it has to be the very last one!"
They say that if you're unlucky, you'll break your nose even if you fall backwards. This is exactly that.
I went to the waiting room and lay down.
Perhaps because it was a personal waiting room, it was quiet and comfortable.
"If I had known, I would have brought a blanket and a pillow."
Since it was always the first match, the time passed quite slowly as I waited.
"I'm bored, should I go watch the duels?"
When I stuck my head out, the tournament stage was right in front of me.
The spectator seats were, of course, full again today, and it seemed that the first match was about to begin.
"Oh! This looks like it'll be fun."
There was the Mad Demon, who had inherited the true teachings of the Fourth Elder.
And perhaps because it was the quarterfinals, the opponent was also a powerhouse.
"The Mad Demon versus Soma..."
Normally, I would have expected Soma, who had learned the Blood Demon's martial arts, to win overwhelmingly, but I couldn't easily predict it because I didn't know what else the Mad Demon was hiding.
Still, wouldn't Soma win?
No matter how much he had inherited the true teachings of the Fourth Elder, his opponent was that Soma.
In terms of talent alone, Soma was above the Sword Demoness.
Soma's realm, at a glance, seemed to be beyond the middle stage of the Peak.
The judge announced the start of the match.
"You’re that uninteresting kid I beat back then. I'm not interested unless it's Jae-ha."
Anyone would think I'm your lover.
"Soma! After that defeat, I've been training, thinking only of this day!"
Wow! Look at our Mad Demon, so gallant!
Tears are about to come out. Wait a minute, let me wipe my tears!
"You're not interesting. Let's end this quickly."
Just then, the Mad Demon looks at the seats of honor. I also look, and as it's the quarterfinals, the seats of honor, which had been partially empty until now, were almost all full.
And the place the Mad Demon's gaze was directed at was the Fourth Elder, the Fist Demon.
The Fist Demon nods his head. The Mad Demon grins.
Then, the Mad Demon suddenly takes off his upper garment. And the Fourth Elder also takes off his upper garment in the same way.
What would a parent's heart be like, seeing their child going astray right in front of their eyes?
It was utterly miserable.
I had raised the Mad Demon as a child with a firm identity, but I had no memory of raising him as such a pervert.
"Pervert?"
Soma seemed to have the same thought as me. Just then, the Mad Demon threw the clothes he had taken off out of the tournament stage.
Thud!
Usually, when you throw clothes in the air, they flutter. Because clothes are light. But from the clothes the Mad Demon had thrown, a sound as if he had thrown steel was heard.
And looking at the clothes that had actually fallen, steel was hanging from them. And seeing that the place where the clothes had fallen was dented, it seemed that they weighed quite a bit.
After that, the Mad Demon also took off his shoes and threw them out of the tournament stage. Thud! The Fourth Elder, who was following him, did that. Fortunately, the Fourth Elder did not throw his own clothes. Instead, he was continuously shouting the Mad Demon's name.
"My kid! Go!"
Wait a minute, then the Mad Demon fought with those heavy things on?
I was surprised once that such an outdated and ignorant training method was still being implemented, and I was surprised twice that it was happening right in front of my eyes.
Fortunately, he himself didn't seem to think so.
The Mad Demon jumps up and down on the spot.
"Then, I'm coming."
Swish!
The Mad Demon kicks off his foot. Immediately after, the Mad Demon's figure momentarily disappeared.
Fast!
The place where the Mad Demon reappeared was to Soma's left. Soma turns his head to the left. The Mad Demon's leg whips like a whip and slaps Soma's cheek.
Slap!
Soma is hit and flies, rolling on the tournament stage.
At that moment, the Fourth Elder's shout was heard.
"How about that! You Blood Cult dregs! This is the Heavenly Demon Cult!"
I understand the Fourth Elder's loyalty to the Heavenly Demon Cult, but to do that in an official tournament where other factions are also present, even as a member of the same Heavenly Demon Cult, it was a bit much to see.
(End of Chapter)