Chapter 253
Chapter 253
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 253
Chapter Title: Demon Legion Commanders
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Demons all had different appearances.
But that didn't mean they all looked grotesque.
Though they were regarded as another race under the name of demonkind, they possessed exteriors not much different from humans.
Just like the gods of Asgard.
Gods, humans, and demons.
The three resembled each other as if they had branched off from the same race.
That was why it was hard to recognize demons' uniqueness just by their looks, unlike other monsters.
However.
'That one...'
Gulp.
Pierre could pinpoint exactly who the legion commander was among the countless demons.
'The legion commander.'
Copper skin and black hair. A slender build.
And a man with thin, long fingers that stood out even from afar.
'He revealed himself on purpose.'
It didn't make sense for someone of legion commander caliber to fail to hide his presence.
Yet he was boldly emanating an unrivaled presence across this vast battlefield, flaunting himself freely.
It was probably because there was no need to hide.
"This one is called Iphrion."
A demon legion commander was an existence no different from a demon king to ordinary players.
Yet this legion commander named Iphrion politely bowed his waist in greeting to Lee Won-jae.
He looked like a courteous gentleman.
"And you are?"
"Lee Won-jae."
"Lee Won-jae... I've heard that name before."
"I'm grateful that even the legion commander knows my name."
This was Lee Won-jae's first time facing a demon legion commander directly. So he was surprised that Iphrion knew who he was.
"My apologies. As you know, we are demons. Rather than being forthright, we are cowardly, and rather than just, we are evil."
Cowardly and evil.
Legion Commander Iphrion calmly stated that fact.
"But understand this. Our values of good and evil differ from yours."
"What do you mean?"
"What you call good is our evil. The more evil, the more just we are, and the more cowardly, the more forthright."
Demons and humans.
They looked alike, and that was precisely why the two races stood in direct opposition.
They didn't fear death. They admired what was evil and cowardly.
Resembling humans yet standing at the opposite pole. That was the nature of demons.
And among them, Iphrion held the second-highest position after the demon king.
"Are you trembling?"
Swish.
Iphrion's gaze shifted behind Lee Won-jae.
Flinch.
The man whose eyes met his quickly looked away in shock.
And in that instant.
Bulge.
The man's body swelled up like a balloon.
"Then..."
Iphrion's slender finger snapped with a click.
"Die."
Pop!
Bang!
The man's body burst like a balloon.
But strangely, it wasn't all that gruesome.
Though it wasn't a real balloon, the exploded body vaporized and floated away on the wind.
It was safe to call it annihilation.
"N-Nakamura!"
"That crazy bastard..."
Just a finger snap, and a person's body exploded. Blue Zone's high-rankers recoiled at the sight.
Terror spread in an instant.
At that moment, Lee Won-jae saw it.
A thick smile formed on Iphrion's lips.
"Don't waver!"
Whoosh!
Mana flooded the area. Iphrion's demonic energy was instantly blocked, and his twitching fingers stopped as well.
"It's not really just snapping his fingers to kill! If that were possible, he'd be the demon king, not a legion commander!"
Twitch. Iphrion's brow furrowed for a moment.
"You're speaking out of turn."
What irked him wasn't just the comparison to the demon king.
Lee Won-jae's words pierced the core. No matter how much a demon legion commander, he couldn't explode a high-ranker's body with just a finger snap.
"Are you confident?"
"If you can, try exploding me first."
Lee Won-jae spread his arms wide, as if daring him, in a defenseless stance where his sword tip shook feebly.
But Lee Won-jae's body didn't explode.
"Can't do it, can you?"
"...I'll kill you first."
Iphrion's lip curled up. In his black pupils, something red flickered like flames.
"Go ahead and try."
Lee Won-jae gripped his sword without backing down.
"If you can."
The same time.
Blue Zone's rankers were holding a siege on the outer walls of the city.
"Tanks! Don't let them through inside—what are you doing!"
"Support over here!"
"This side's busy too!"
Defending a castle inherently meant protecting gates and watchtowers. The reason was that the castle terrain provided strategic advantages.
But in fights between rankers and demons, the castle terrain didn't hold much meaning.
Still, the reason they clung to positions encircling the castle was one.
Because if the defensive line broke and it turned into a melee, the demons' greater numbers would give them the advantage.
Roar.
Suddenly, the weather grew hot, and the darkened sky brightened.
The rankers, busy blocking demons, looked up.
"Damn... magic!"
"B-block it!"
"Too late—evade!"
Roar.
Hot spheres were falling from the sky.
Crude compared to a grand meteor from an archmage, but enough to obliterate an entire section of the wall.
Boom!
A section of the wall collapsed. No, melted was more accurate.
A spell with both scale and lethality.
Not from an ordinary demon. This was the work of an upper demon with high-ranker level power.
'This won't work.'
'We can't win like this.'
'The vice guild master and all high-rankers are away fighting!'
Lee Won-jae and the high-rankers were teamed up against the legion commander.
Player and demon wars weren't just about numbers. The presence of absolute powerhouses was just as, if not more, important.
Existences like heavenly demons, archmages, and demon kings proved that.
Numbers mattered, but the presence or absence of top-tier experts was irreplaceable.
Thanks to quickly scattering, casualties weren't severe.
But the formation broke. And through the gap, demons surged in.
"Don't panic!"
Then, a guild member shouted.
"The vice guild master will come soon! Just hold on a bit!"
It was a desperate attempt to rally spirits. But the cry vanished powerlessly amid the blood, fire, and screams of the battlefield.
Sprinkling a drop of water on a burning forest doesn't extinguish the flames.
No.
The flames blazed even fiercer, as if mocking the effort.
Splatter!
The body of the man rallying the guild members was torn by a demon's claws.
The demon licked the blood from its claws and sneered.
"Yet you couldn't hold on at all."
The sneer spread among the demons.
Their crimson-glowing eyes flickered with malice. They had come here solely to kill humans.
'This... is demonkind.'
Among the current era's rankers, few had experienced war.
Clashes between humans and demons were from long ago. Over ten years had passed without war between them.
Between war-inexperienced humans and demons, the advantageous side was demons.
They were innately淡薄 to fear and terror.
And to top it off.
The most terrifying existence appeared on the battlefield.
Thud.
A giant made of bones approached the wall.
But the rankers' gazes didn't go to the giant. They focused on the man atop its head.
Kyaaah!
Clatter, clatter.
True dragons circling the sky, skeleton soldiers, and the summoner of hellish demons.
"L-Legion commander..."
The man closest to the wall fell on his butt and tumbled backward.
Demon Legion Commander Daniel.
He looked down at the rankers from atop the giant's head, taller than the wall.
They began retreating one by one, hesitating.
Bone dragons and monsters blanketed the sky. Skeleton soldiers crawled the ground, and the corrupted earth crumbled dryly.
If hell existed, would it look like this?
No player here had the mental fortitude to stay sane before that sight.
Swish.
From atop the giant, Daniel's gaze swept the surroundings.
"Hiding like rats."
Who was he talking to?
Daniel, who seemed ready to charge with his hell-summoned minions, didn't move further.
"Come out."
With arms crossed atop the giant, he glared at one spot.
"You rats."
The moment the words ended.
Step.
Amid the players retreating in fear of the demons' malice and Daniel's army, two stepped forward.
"He says we were hiding—what do you think?"
"Might've looked that way."
"Looks like he's got it out for us."
"Me? Nah, you. You killed a ton over there, right?"
"...Did I?"
"Did I? Did IIII?"
Su-hyuk stretched the words in disbelief, then said firmly.
"You deal with it."
"Aw, crap."
"Everyone's really scared, huh."
"Yeah. Wasn't like that in our day."
"Quit with the 'back in my day' crap. You're just a kid."
"Guess I'm the old one then."
"Must be nice being young."
"Nice?"
Si-woo chuckled as Su-hyuk snapped back irritably. Annoyed, Su-hyuk groaned and shook his head.
In the battlefield darkened by fear, it was a conversation devoid of tension.
The spreading terror halted at the pair's reaction.
Terror wasn't the only contagious thing. Fearless courage spread just as quickly.
Besides, hadn't Blue Zone's rankers witnessed Si-woo's power up close?
"Y-You guys..."
The man who had collapsed under the legion commander's terror looked up at Su-hyuk and Si-woo.
His gaze stopped on Si-woo's face. It overlapped with a player he'd admired decades ago.
Identical.
The legend he'd long admired. The hero who'd last conquered the tower.
'Kim Si-woo.'
The man had joined Blue Zone out of admiration for him.
Time passed, he became a ranker, and his idol faded from memory.
But seeing Si-woo again, something long forgotten stirred in his heart.
Su-hyuk looked down at him.
The moment their eyes met, Su-hyuk felt this was a fateful turning point.
"Watch closely."
"W-What... do you mean?"
"The truth of your guild. Maybe you knew but turned a blind eye."
Su-hyuk's eyes saw Si-woo's back.
"If you have eyes, you'll see who they are. Me... well, you might not recognize even you lot."
A shadow fell over the man's face. Staring at Si-woo's back alongside Su-hyuk, old scandals clinging to Blue Zone resurfaced in his mind.
Most had been forgotten after Hwang Gyu-seong's death.
'That was just a rumor...'
He reflexively denied it, then froze.
Maybe they just wanted to believe that.
That it was all a misunderstanding.
"If you're still clueless, see for yourself and confirm."
Su-hyuk left the man behind and followed Si-woo.
"Which is the truth."