Your First Opponent Is Me, Hero
Even if it meant we all died.
In the pitch-black darkness that had settled over the hour, a lone figure wearing a black robe quietly crossed the streets of Jerusalem and concealed himself. The place he reached immediately afterward was a dark basement. Inside, four people including himself were secretly hidden and waiting.
Though their robes were slightly different colors, every one of them had pulled up their hoods to hide their faces. Nevertheless, the person who had just entered the room felt a deep wave of relief at the sight of them and asked cautiously, “Did everything go smoothly for all of you?”
“Of course. We slipped in cleanly without a single tail.”
At the black-robed figure’s words, the person in the gray robe standing guard by the entrance answered while locking the door. They all kept their voices low and careful. Even though they were inside a completely sealed underground room, the four of them remained hyper-vigilant, constantly checking that no sound might leak out.
“You’ve worked hard to make it here safely.”
“You’re the one who’s been through hell. Gathering intelligence alone in the heart of enemy territory couldn’t have been easy.”
“It’s all thanks to this item. Because of it, I could disguise myself as a demon whenever things got dangerous.”
The comrade offered a small smile, voice still lowered. Right after, the apparent leader of the group—the one wearing a reddish-brown robe—cleared his throat lightly and continued in a calm tone.
“Speaking of which, how did the investigation go? On my way here I sensed some kind of event taking place.”
“You’re right. The Demon Kingdom is currently preoccupied with a massive tournament to select someone they call Narsil. On top of that, it’s right after their victory in the war, so the whole atmosphere is even more fired up.”
“Narsil… I’ve heard of it. It’s the event where they choose the strongest warrior in the Demon Kingdom. Something like a martial arts tournament, right?”
The person in the blue robe spoke seriously, and the black-robed figure nodded in confirmation.
“Exactly. But it’s more than just a fighting competition. You could call it a full-blown festival. Street stalls are lined up everywhere outside, and high-ranking demons from other regions are pouring in just to watch.”
“I see… No wonder the security felt unusually lax. That explains it.”
“Of course, that only applies inside the city itself. The security around our actual target has been reinforced even more heavily.”
At the black-robed man’s words, the others nodded with heavy expressions. Then the leader in the reddish-brown robe spoke again, voice grave.
“It doesn’t matter. As you all know, we stand here as the last hope of the entire continent. No matter what happens, we must succeed in this mission.”
“Of course. For the peace of the continent, we have no choice.”
“Even if it means we all die…”
“We will carry on the will of the previous hero, Lord Elan Savior… and take the Demon King’s head without fail.”
Each of them spoke with iron determination. The reddish-brown-robed leader nodded, then continued while looking down at the map of the city spread before him.
“According to our information, the Demon King normally stays inside the heavily guarded Demon King’s Castle. But during the tournament she is scheduled to personally watch the matches at the arena here. This is essentially our only chance.”
“We still need to be careful. No matter how lax the outer security has become, the royal guard protecting her are no pushovers.”
“Besides, there could be monsters inside the arena with abilities we never anticipated. We might get caught before we even begin.”
“So in the end, this is a gamble. A high-stakes bet where we wager our lives to take the Demon King’s head…”
Coldly speaking, it was an assassination attempt against the Demon King—one of the riskiest gambles imaginable. Yet despite that, they had already decided to go all-in on this dangerous game.
With the racial alliance collapsed and the clear scent of civil war in the air, they had nowhere left to retreat. At this moment, this was the only path they could take.
The arena was packed with a massive crowd. As I watched thousands of demons filling the colosseum-style circular stadium, I felt a faint tension stir inside my chest.
This… is way bigger than I expected. The atmosphere is no joke—far more intense than the stories suggested.
“Well, yeah. It’s always been one of the Demon Kingdom’s most important events, and with the recent victory layered on top, the excitement is through the roof. Looking at it now, it definitely feels even hotter than the last tournament forty years ago.”
Elisa answered in a completely casual tone, speaking about events from decades past as if they were yesterday. Seeing her like that reminded me once again that her actual age was nothing like her youthful appearance.
Well, our Demon King is even older than Elisa, but still… hearing it every time somehow never stops feeling surreal.
With that thought in mind, I scanned the spectator seats again, packed shoulder-to-shoulder with buzzing demons.
Honestly, I felt almost no worry or pressure about the match itself. At my current level, I possessed enough combat power to defeat even the strongest being in the Demon Kingdom—the Demon King herself.
Overwhelming physical strength and mana reserves. Battle techniques and instincts that had felt eerily familiar and natural from the moment I arrived in this world. Although the soul inside this body was completely my own, the combat “software” belonged to the original hero. With that combination, there was virtually no chance I would lose in this selection tournament.
Still, separate from that confidence, fighting in front of so many watchful eyes was inevitably burdensome. I had drawn plenty of enemy attention on the battlefield before, but this felt entirely different. Standing before a crowd whose eyes brimmed with vague expectation and excitement was not something I was used to.
I’m not the type to get nervous about something like this, but I can’t deny it’s still pretty stressful.
Even so, I had no intention of putting on some spectacular show to meet their expectations. I would simply swing my sword with everything I had at the opponent before me. Since I had come here to display my power and earn recognition, I had neither the time nor the inclination for so-called “fan service” or flashy theatrics.
Though I suppose showing overwhelming strength could count as fan service in its own way…
With that thought, my gaze naturally drifted toward the special VIP box at the highest point of the arena. There I saw the Demon King. Just like at the previous banquet, she wore a veil as she slowly surveyed the stadium.
Watching her, I renewed my resolve for what was to come.
I’ll show her a magnificent performance. As her lover… I’ll secure a flawless victory that won’t disappoint her.
With that settled, I turned my eyes away from the arena and looked back at the people behind me. A group of warriors sat in the waiting area. Some, like Elisa and myself, had earned automatic entry into the main bracket through prior recognition of their strength. Many others, however, had advanced through the preliminary rounds.
There are a lot of characters here who didn’t even have names in the original story. At least I can roughly gauge the legion commanders and royal guards… but I wonder about the rest of them.
Hidden masters existed everywhere, and in a world where a single individual’s power could rival an army of thousands, the phenomenon was even more pronounced.
Keeping the possibility of unexpected threats in mind, I shifted my gaze to the tournament bracket posted on the nearby wall.
“Let’s see… my first-round opponent is… a rookie I’ve never seen before?”
Elisa nodded as she examined the names. Even I, who remembered nearly every character from the original work, had never seen her opponent before.
“Mine’s a rookie too… This might be interesting.”
Right after, a dry, emotionless voice spoke from directly beside me. I hadn’t even noticed her arrival. There stood Legion Commander Shamyuel, staring up at the bracket with her signature ●△● expression.
Are they deliberately pairing the proven powerhouses with newcomers? Maybe there’s some kind of seeding rule here. In that case, maybe I’ll also…
While thinking that, I kept searching for my own name on the bracket.
But then—
“Your first opponent is me, Hero.”
“…!”
The next moment, a woman’s voice rang out from behind me. There, radiating an overwhelming aura, stood the golden-armored member of the royal guard—one of the Four Heavenly Kings. Nadan.