Demona's Defeat
Thud thud thud!
Demona raced toward the first floor.
This was the golden opportunity Chris had created. To protect the quest item, the Blood Jade, from Rebellion, she had to escape the auction house.
6th floor. 5th. 4th. 3rd. And then the 2nd.
Among the captured people, there were faces familiar to Demona.
“Hey! Over here! It's me! Me me me!”
It was Amy, tied up just like the civilians with ropes. Her mana sealed by the penalty, she didn't even have the strength to untie herself.
“I... I seriously think the blood isn't circulating in my arms...”
Demona glanced back and forth between Amy and her own Blood Jade. Leaving them merely tied up meant Rebellion had no intention of killing civilians. And this was a virtual gate anyway—just disqualification if they died.
Sabers always choose the optimal path.
Guided by her academy's teachings, Demona made her decision in an instant. She ignored Amy and shot straight past her.
“Hey! Wait! Ya! Yaaaah—!”
Amy wailed, but Demona didn't spare her a glance as she bolted to the first floor.
“Th-that way only...”
A parched voice, cracked from dehydration.
To Demona right now, such discomfort was irrelevant.
Thud thud thud!
Demona finally reached the entrance on the first floor. A massive boulder blocked it, but that was no issue. She pocketed the Blood Jade and drew her magic tool.
Shaaak.
A beautifully glowing green stigma.
Demona's magic tool, the halberd, emanated ferocious mana. One strike to shatter the boulder, and it would all be over. She recalled Chris's final moments.
Did I mention it before? That I wanted to give it a shot once?
With those words, Chris had flicked her right on the forehead.
Thwack.
Dead center.
Demona couldn't pin down Chris's personality at all. But one thing was clear: his care for his comrades was so genuine, even she—not in his party—could feel it.
She finally understood why Chris placed his faith in Zien. A reliable comrade was a massive pillar of support in a gate like this.
…Chris Arun.
Demona etched his name in her heart. Her expression hardened with resolve as she kicked off the ground.
Whoosh!
And then, putting her full weight behind it, she swung down at the boulder.
“...Ah!?”
No—she tried to.
Just before Demona's halberd touched the rock, it tore free from her grasp and stuck fast to the innocent wall. Then, from the stairs she'd descended, someone came down.
“Did I startle you?”
Iruka, executive of Rebellion.
He approached the entrance with a smile. But unlike his mouth, his thin, squinting eyes weren't smiling.
“I simply couldn't stand by and watch. The Blood Jade belongs to our boss. You'll need to return it if you want to leave the auction house.”
Even to Demona, far his junior, Iruka used polite speech throughout. But it wasn't a sign of deference.
“Otherwise, I'll have no choice but to recover it by force.”
Iruka reached out into empty air.
The halberd embedded in the wall flew to his hand. Gripping it, he continued in the same even tone.
“If things get rough in the process... I might end up recovering it wrist and all.”
It was impossible to tell if Iruka's words were sincere or a jest. But Demona could sense he had the skill to back them up. The power emanating from him was at least 5th rank.
…Can I win?
Demona stared at Iruka. Unlike her usual impassive face, anxiety flickered across it. But her conclusion was singular: even knowing defeat, there were times one had to fight. This was that moment. Every second she bought raised the party's clear rate. With that thought settled—
“No response, I see.”
Iruka said curtly.
His trait was Telekinesis. He could manipulate any object within his mana limits. Stealing a halberd was child's play. He could even hurl objects at foes.
“Very well.”
Shwooo!
Iruka pointed his index finger at Demona. Debris scattered around the building hurtled toward her. Even for Demona, dodging it all was impossible.
“Gah!”
She cried out as a flowerpot slammed into her back. But the real attack came from rebar jutting from the shattered outer wall.
Thud!
The impact left Demona dazed. Her concentration shattered from the back hit, she couldn't even coat herself in mana. Iruka approached slowly and loomed over her.
“Listen well, little miss.”
To ensure she couldn't resist, Iruka stomped down hard on her arm with his shoe.
“Aaaah!”
“Whatever goal you're chasing... it means nothing to me.”
Demona screamed, but Iruka didn't stop. Emotionless even now, he continued as before.
“What matters...”
Demona no longer resisted.
Her sprawled body didn't even twitch.
“...is who is stronger.”
Iruka peeled the pocket band from her wrist.
“The weak can't protect their goals, their convictions... or anything precious.”
He manipulated the pocket and extracted the Blood Jade. Demona glared daggers at him. This was the chance Chris had made. If even one attack landed, the outcome wasn't certain. Whether he sensed her thoughts or not, Iruka muttered while eyeing the jade.
“In that case...”
His eyes narrowed further.
“Better to seize than be seized, wouldn't you agree? Us hunters, that is.”
Iruka had given Demona an opening. In his own way, it was persuasion. But—
This guy... dropped his guard.
Demona reverse-summoned her halberd. The magic tool dissolved into motes of light. Now, resummon and swing—that was her chance for victory.
But—
“Foolish child.”
Kwang!
Iruka, having noticed, kicked her with full force. The impact against the wall sent Demona crumpling.
“That's why I can't stand kids.”
Iruka dusted off his hands casually.
A veteran 5th rank hunter—Demona wasn't even a proper opponent for him.
“...Hoo.”
With a sigh, Iruka paid her no further mind. His gaze shifted beyond the glass to the outside scenery.
“My, my...”
No sound penetrated, but rain poured from the sky in a deluge that could swallow the city whole. Iruka murmured quietly at the sight.
“Fine weather, isn't it?”
On the auction house's second floor—
Amy, arms and torso bound tight with rope, had nothing to do but chat with her viewers.
“Seriously? Demona lost?”
Shocked by the viewer chats, Amy kept engaging regardless of the cameraman's stares.
Faced with the sharp viewer question, Amy answered cautiously.
“B... b-broadcasting?”
But the viewers didn't let it slide.
The barrage of viewer attacks left Amy speechless, even if she had ten mouths. She'd tried her best, but the results made her look like comic relief.
“No... I'm One Number, you know? Don't you know my magic tool? My whip skills!”
Amy protested her innocence, but the viewers didn't buy it.
No matter what she said, it twisted into an excuse. Amy felt utterly defeated.
“Sniff. If the party leader was here, I wouldn't suffer this humiliation...”
But Zien was in just as dire straits, protecting Yume from a Rebellion executive. If Sin Ha-seong hadn't volunteered as bait, they'd have been in real trouble.
And Amy had heard all about her teammates' predicaments through the viewers.
“So, to sum up what I heard earlier—only two enemies left, right? The telekinesis guy and... the boss? Kinda old-school. What's with 'boss' anyway.”
Two enemies remaining.
But her team wasn't much better off. Chris and Demona were out, just like Rita before them. Lucia had poured all her mana into Bruno. In the end, only Zien, Isabel, and Kua remained as combat-ready members.
“Ha, three's way too few...”
Amy's mutter set off the chat again.
Amy narrowed her eyes at the reactions—her tell when annoyed.
“Wow, you say that like I can't do it? Fine! I'll crawl then! I wanted to fight anyway!”
Hologram chat window.
Camera drone hovering in the sky.
Saber-cum-streamer Amy.
With these three elements combined, the broadcast had devolved into something far from a proper gate clear.
Wriggle wriggle.
Amy inched toward the stairs like a worm. That's when someone thudded up from the first floor.
“Uh...”
Embarrassed Amy, and Iruka looking down at her. She quietly averted her eyes.
Thud. Thud.
Iruka ignored her completely and continued up the stairs, utterly natural as if nothing happened. Amy muttered sadly.
“So embarrassing... I just wanna die.”
Oddly, her quest was tanking, but viewer numbers kept climbing.
Amy, her energy drained, giggled at the chat.
“Heh, heh heh heh...”
Truth was, she had no way to contribute to the clear. The most she could manage was—
“I'll just put my faith in the party leader!”
Cheering him on.
My Previous Life was the Strongest Sword God