A Firefly Before the Full Moon
"Even so, there's a limit! To summon a demon like Edaor, who rules over an entire layer of the Demon Realm!"
"If I'm going to show you, I have to show you properly. If I summoned some weak, scrawny demon, you would've just found some excuse to complain!"
"For Edaor to appear in the Magic Tower... What if he holds a grudge against us?!"
The Archmages grumbled incessantly, unable to fully refute him since he had caught them on their own words. Dealing with a powerful demon like Edaor was a burden even for Archmages. Noticing this, Tae-hyun spoke to them.
"By any chance, Archmages... you aren't scared, are you?"
The magic words! "Are you scared?", "Are you chicken?", "Are you afraid?"—the magic words that could be applied in any situation! The moment anyone heard these words, they had no choice but to blurt out, "No! I'm not scared!"
"What! What nonsense!"
"Even a demon like Edaor cannot defeat us here in the Magic Tower!"
Provocation successful. Speech skill has increased.
"As expected! I believed in you! No matter how strong Edaor is, compared to you great Archmages, he is but a firefly before a full moon! A puppy before a dragon! Sadiq before Akisus!"
"Ahem..."
- Master, that last comparison is one I've never heard before.
- Quiet.
The Archmages looked uncomfortable at Tae-hyun's words but couldn't deny them.
Realizing things were taking a strange turn, Edaor stopped attacking and tried to negotiate. Every demon had their own unique personality. Edaor was a cunning, insidious demon who had once hidden in a city to hatch conspiracies! Unlike other demons who would blindly charge regardless of the odds, Edaor knew how to employ clever deception.
- Mages! I have no grudge against you! My only grudge is with that rat of Akisus! If you do not interfere, I will leave quietly!
"What nonsense! You're a demon who disguised himself as a governor, slaughtered people, and burned down a city! Everyone, do not be deceived! He is lying!"
In truth, the one who had actively burned down the city and PK'ed other players was Tae-hyun. But that didn't matter right now. The loudest voice wins!
"Archmages! Surely you won't be swayed by the words of such a demon?"
"Hmm... indeed..."
"Y-Yes, of course."
Successfully persuaded the Archmages. Speech skill has increased.
- You foolish mages! Believe my words! I have no grudge against you... Keheck!
- Dark Arrow!
Tae-hyun started by planting an arrow right in Edaor's face. His 5,000 Wisdom stat was no joke; even Edaor stumbled, unable to ignore the impact.
"You wicked demon! Last time, you deceived the people and destroyed the city, but you won't get away with it this time!"
- You did it too, you hypocritical rat of Akisus...
Tae-hyun cut Edaor off.
"To think this demon is trying to drive a wedge between us! Everyone! Attack!"
You possess the Advanced Rhetoric skill. Edaor's persuasion has been blocked.
Kabaaaaaam!
- Wrath of the Phoenix!
- Advanced Lava Rain!
- Ice Cave!
- Frost Blade Cyclone!
Along with his words, a magical bombardment began. It wasn't from the Archmages, but from the spectating players.
"Let's get him!"
"Even just getting a single hit in will be a jackpot!"
The players, who had been blankly listening to the conversation between Edaor and Tae-hyun, finally realized what was happening. A raid on a powerful demon that they would normally never be able to participate in! Of course, if they were alone, they would have fled screaming. But right now, they had the Archmages and Tae-hyun on their side. Under these circumstances, no one thought they would lose.
- Kuuuugh! You insects!
"Look at him! He's showing his true colors! Calling the mages of the Magic Tower insects!"
Tae-hyun was diligently driving the wedge deeper. This was to prevent the Archmages from saying, "Well, this is between the two of you, so handle it yourselves."
Edaor flew into an absolute rage.
- Aaaaargh! I'll kill you all!
Edaor uses <Mana Backflow>!
Spell casting has been canceled. All affected targets take damage.
"Urgh!"
"Argh!"
"No!"
Screams erupted from all directions. Mages whose spells were canceled stumbled as they took damage. A few low-level players were forced to log out from that single blow!
- You rat of Akisus! I'll tear you to shreds!
Edaor ignored the incoming spells and began to charge. Naturally, he was targeting one thing: Tae-hyun's neck!
- Summon Undead, Summon Undead, Summon Undead, Summon Undead, Summon Undead, Summon Undead, Summon Undead, Summon Undead...
Tae-hyun stepped forward to face him head-on. His Luck stat was currently converted into Wisdom. In that case, he just had to utilize it accordingly!
Ruuuuuumble!
Like a cascading waterfall, a massive horde of undead wraiths materialized in the air. Thanks to Tae-hyun's astronomical Wisdom stat, each and every one of them was as powerful as a mid-boss monster in a dungeon!
- Go!
When combined with Tae-hyun's Advanced Tactics skill, it became a ferocious onslaught that even Edaor could not ignore.
Swish, swish, swish!
The undead wraiths swarmed Edaor's massive body, biting and tearing at him until he was completely obscured from view!
- Nuisances...!
Edaor thrashed in irritation, ripping the wraiths away with his bare hands. But the undead kept appearing. Tae-hyun's MP was practically infinite at this point.
Edaor realized he had to change his tactics.
- Come forth!
Thud!
As Edaor stomped his foot, magic circles manifested in the air, and writhing, serpent-like demons poured out.
"It's poison! Watch out!"
Seeing this, the mages panicked and began casting defensive barriers. Mages with low HP could be instantly killed if they took a direct hit from such poison.
- Let's see how long you can hold out. I'll slaughter every last one of you!
Edaor snarled. If Tae-hyun and the player mages were going to overwhelm him with numbers, Edaor would do the same. From what he could see, those mages weren't even that threatening. Push them hard enough, and they would collapse!
But Edaor was overlooking one thing. The players weren't the only ones he was fighting!
"I can no longer overlook this. How dare you cause such a ruckus in our Magic Tower."
"Edaor, no matter how powerful of a demon you are, you should have known where you were standing!"
The silent Archmages finally stepped forward.
- Eternal Flame of the Red Dragon!
- Aaaaargh!
Edaor, whose feet were bound by Tae-hyun's army of undead wraiths, took the spell directly to his back. He hadn't even fully recovered from the wounds he suffered when Tae-hyun forced his unsummoning earlier. A direct strike from an Archmage was bound to hurt.
- Kugh... You arrogant...
Edaor swung his arm.
- Hellfire Spear Barrage!
Dark black spears materialized in the air and shot forward.
Clang!
But even that attack was blocked in vain. A massive wall of ice rose from the ground, completely neutralizing the assault.
Tae-hyun's prediction was spot on. In the Magic Tower, with the Archmage NPCs in perfect condition, no demon—no matter how powerful—could win! Moreover, the fact that the summoned demon happened to be Edaor worked entirely in Tae-hyun's favor. He was a demon whose wounds hadn't even healed!
It's a shame I can't get his weapon, but this is more than enough!
The sudden Edaor raid inside the Magic Tower. Videos of the mage players and Tae-hyun pouring attacks onto Edaor were being uploaded in real-time. And the people watching this most anxiously were elsewhere.
[Angry_Slayer]: I thought you said you caught Kim Tae-hyun!! How do you guys handle your jobs?!
[Informer_K]: From what I looked into, Kim Tae-hyun had someone else take the fall for him.
[Angry_Slayer]: Do you call that an excuse?! Huh? Have you seen the forums right now? Half the posts are mocking us!!
[Angry_Slayer]: Go back and kill him right now!
[Shadow_Blade]: Right now? He's with the Archmages, and Kim Tae-hyun is on high alert. Won't it be difficult?
[Angry_Slayer]: Then are we just going to sit on our hands? We have to catch him while he's inside the Erangs Kingdom. Once he leaves, we won't even be able to touch him!
[Loot_Greedy]: By the way, what drops if they kill Edaor? Won't a demon weapon drop?
[Hopeful_Mage]: ...Can we join in if we go there now?
[Pro_Gamer_Fan]: More importantly, I heard they're holding a Pan-On pro player charity tournament in Korea. Can foreign players not participate in this?
[Info_Broker]: I heard all the players who participated in the last tournament were invited.
[RTS_Lover]: Even if they call it a Pan-On charity tournament, isn't it ultimately a Fantasy Craft tournament? How is that a Pan-On tournament?
[Money_Hunter]: Whatever it is, the prize money is huge.
[Su_Ning]: Shut up!! Save the nonsense for later. What's important right now is how we clean up this mess.
[Su_Ning]: Everyone currently in the Erangs Kingdom, gather up. We're entering the Magic Tower.
[Shadow_Blade]: What? Are you crazy?
[Su_Ning]: Listen well, you idiots! Do you know what will happen if Kim Tae-hyun finishes the Edaor raid and completes the Magic Tower quest? We will be laughed at forever. Gather up! We must disrupt the Edaor raid!
Su Ning roared in anger. These guys were still too complacent to grasp the severity of the situation. Tae-hyun rarely showed himself in public. Usually, he would clear major quests in secret before suddenly appearing! Now that Tae-hyun had shown himself in the Erangs Kingdom, his guild members were doing nothing but taking wild, useless swings.
Missing the opportunity was one thing, but the Guild Alliance's reputation becoming a laughingstock among the public was a much bigger problem.
Do these bastards have no brains?
If they kept being ridiculed like this, even if they managed to catch Tae-hyun in the future, people would just say, "Isn't that photoshopped?" or "Yeah right, they lied last time too..."
This will be an easy kill.
Tae-hyun thought as he finished his calculations. Edaor unleashed several powerful skills to push back the players, but other than those who were logged out at the very beginning, there were no additional casualties. It was all thanks to the Archmages stepping in to block him.
The Archmages were truly magnificent. Their estimated level was at least 300. Pouring out spells that seamlessly integrated offense and defense, they battered Edaor so relentlessly that he couldn't do a thing. Edaor, who had been desperately trying to attack Tae-hyun just moments ago, had now shifted entirely to a defensive stance.
- Kruaaaaaaaargh!
Edaor shrieked and thrashed. Ropes of fire wrapped tightly around his body, burning him alive.
"He's almost dead!"
"Keep pushing! Keep pushing!"
The players' eyes began to shine with increasing intensity. They could feel it too. They might actually kill a demon! Not just some low-grade demon, but a powerful demon who ruled over an entire layer of the Demon Realm. For Tae-hyun, this was just another Tuesday, but for the other players, it was a once-in-a-lifetime event in Pan-On.
If we can just kill him...!
I'll be bragging about this until the day I quit the game!
At that moment, new players began to appear from behind.