The Heavenly-Demon Grand War

"Cupid's Arrow."

A low hum answered the spell. Lee Do-ha, long since used to the incantation, stepped through the Gate and crossed over to Teliga, where Kavietta was waiting.

"Oh? You're here already?"

On the other side of the Gate, Kavietta was already preparing to open the tavern for the day. She greeted him with a bright smile.

"Yeah. Came because I missed you."

"My, my. You've been coming around an awful lot lately, haven't you?"

"Haa... It's monsoon season back home. The humidity is ridiculous."

"Monsoon? What's that?"

"Huh? Brispry doesn't have monsoons?"

"I've never even heard the word."

"Just think of it as a stretch of time when it rains a ton."

"Like Oratorio, then?"

"What is that supposed to mean."

Do-ha and Kavietta bantered as they finished opening preparations with the easy, practiced motions of people who had done this a hundred times before.

"Even if we're stuck in monsoon season, Brispry's been pretty lively lately too. What's going on?"

"Hm? Don't tell me you don't know? The Cheonma-daejeon is about to start!"

"...The Cheonma-daejeon?"

What kind of wuxia-novel name is that for a fantasy world?

Just from the name, it sounded like the Heavenly Church and the Demon Church were about to throw down.

"That's exactly it."

"It is? The Heavenly Church and the Demon Church are fighting?"

Out of nowhere?

No — the two religions weren't even on bad terms, were they?

"You think they'd actually fight for real? It's a festival. A festival."

"R-right? They're not actually fighting, right?"

"They do fight during the festival, but it's still just a festival."

"...?"

"Seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times. Come on!"

"W-wait, what about opening the shop?!"

"It's fine! There won't be many customers today anyway!"

The place Kavietta dragged him to was the World Tree — the living gateway that could send anyone anywhere in an instant. Elves were already thronging the base of the tree, as if the whole city had decided to take a group trip.

"All right! The Gate is opening — please move through in an orderly fashion!"

A god who looked to be of the elven race, serving as Teliga's Gate administrator, made a request of the World Tree, and the entrance of the Gate bloomed open.

The moment it did, elves streamed through in a cheerful, festive mood. Kavietta and Do-ha slipped into the crowd and crossed with them.

"Ugh... Where is this?"

The view beyond the Gate was one Do-ha knew well.

The very place where he had first set foot in Brispry.

The nation of the human race — the Shade Empire.

"Ten apples, please!"

"Here you go! One's on the house!"

"Yes! Thank you, mister!"

"Mister?! I'll have you know I'm only twen— Ah! Welcome, customers!"

"Hey! Another round!"

"Uncle Puff, maybe call it a day? That's already ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠your third cup."

"On a festival day like this, when else am I supposed to drink?"

"Hear, hear!"

"Hey, Puff! Look at you, saying something sensible for once!!"

"Hahaha! A round for everyone here..!"

"You idiot!! I sent you to help with the festival and you're just sitting here drinking?!"

"D-dear?? H-hey, someone help me out here.."

"Ahem! Come to think of it, were there any famous names among the hero candidates this year?"

"I-I should check the bracket myself."

"You traitors!!"

"You're the one who betrayed first. If you've got nothing better to do, go help with the housework."

The Shade Empire was every bit as loud and bustling as Teliga had been.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

The feverish energy of a festival just about to begin.

"Ah. So it really is a festival."

"I told you it was a festival. Ahem! You asked what the Cheonma-daejeon is, didn't you?"

"Yeah."

"The Cheonma-daejeon is a festival the Heavenly Church and the Demon Church co-host once every ten years. In Brispry, gods are so common that one might as well be living next door — people are used to the idea of them. Because of that, a lot of folks live without any particular reverence for the divine, and without belonging to any religion at all. So the Heavenly Church and the Demon Church needed a way to raise their profiles, and that way is the Cheonma-daejeon."

"Oh-ho."

"Even so, it's not that complicated. The Heavenly Church recruits 'Heroes,' and their job is to take down the Demon King of the Demon Church and all of his subordinates. On the flip side, the Demon Church's 'Demon King's Army' wins if they stop every last Hero. Apparently this tradition has been going for thousands of years already."

"Heroes, huh... Has recruitment already closed?"

"No? You can apply right up until the festival starts. Wait — you're not thinking of applying, are you?"

"Yeah."

"You might be strong among Earthlings, but this is Brispry. Even just the Four Heavenly Kings under the Demon King average in the high eight hundreds to low nine hundreds. How are you supposed to win?"

"Ehh~ I'm just doing it for the experience. If I miss this one, I won't get another shot for ten years."

If Kavietta was right, the Cheonma-daejeon made heavy use of the Duel Arena system.

Once the Duel Arena system was active, it didn't matter if someone died or something was destroyed inside — everything would be restored to its original state. No need to worry.

I don't know why hyung made systems like these, but they're not a bad thing. All I have to do is use them gratefully. Yep.

Offering a quiet prayer of thanks to Chang-shin — who was presumably back on Earth, enduring the long-awaited monsoon — Do-ha headed for the temple of the Heavenly Church.

Just as Kavietta had predicted, the temple was lined with powerhouses from every corner of the world, all waiting to apply as Heroes.

"Yes, you're registered. Next~!"

After about thirty minutes of waiting, Do-ha's turn ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠arrived.

"Name and average stats, please."

"Lee Do-ha. Average... uh... about 210?"

"Two hundred and ten?"

The clerk at the registration desk jerked her head up from the form, as if she must have misheard.

"Did you mean five hundred and ten?"

"No, two hundred and ten. Two-one-oh."

"...Are you applying in earnest?"

"Yes."

At the confirmation that Do-ha's stats really were only in the low two hundreds, the other hero candidates who had been chatting among themselves all turned their eyes on him.

"Two hundred? Is this a suicide application?"

"Not two hundred — two hundred and ten."

"Same difference."

"Besides, you don't even die. He probably just applied for fun."

"Lee Do-ha... Lee Do-ha... Hm? Is he an Earthling, by any chance?"

Do-ha's current outfit was the kind of thing you saw on any street — jeans and a short-sleeved T-shirt.

A year ago, that look would have been the exclusive domain of Adapters, and anyone would have known at a glance that he was from Earth. But once the Market system started operating on Earth as well, Earth clothing had poured into Brispry at a corporate scale.

Brispry had welcomed the influx of Earth goods.

Magic had advanced so far in Brispry that in many fields it outstripped Earth's mechanical engineering — but when it came to clothing, the world was still stuck at a medieval level.

Then Earth's clothes arrived, offering a comfort no one had known before, and they won over a great many of the human race.

It wasn't only commoners. The nobility had initially turned up their noses, muttering about dignity and propriety — but behind closed doors, they wore Earth-imported clothes just fine.

For that reason, Do-ha had seen plenty of people dressed like Earthlings on his way to the temple, and even here among the applicants there were several in outfits similar to his own.

Thanks to that, the only real clue that he was an Earthling was his name.

"Is there a rule that you can't apply if you're weak?"

"Well, no, but..."

"Don't worry about it. It's a once-in-ten-years festival, so I'm just trying it for the experience."

"If that's the case, then fine. Registration complete."

"Oh.. Thank you~."

"Yes~. Next~."

Registration finished, Do-ha started down the temple steps — and the other hero candidates around him called out their encouragement.

"Hey! Give it your best shot, Earthling!"

"It's not every day you get an experience like this — go hard!"

"Haha, thank you."

Not such bad people after all.

"Did you apply?"

"Yeah."

The moment they arrived in the Shade Empire, Kavietta had gone hunting for an inn for the night.

Thanks to that, the two of them spent the night in a fine room, and the next day they were able to attend the Cheonma-daejeon Opening Ceremony with clear heads and rested bodies.

"Thank you all for coming! I am the Pope of the Heavenly Church — Taivas!"

"Waaaaah!!"

"My, my, what fine voices you all have!"

Faced with a man he had never seen before in his life, Do-ha looked flustered — until Kavietta leaned in and whispered who he was.

"That man holds the highest seat in the Heavenly Church, second only to the Heavenly God and the Three Archangels."

"Oh."

Makes sense for a Pope.

In pure stats there might be beings above him, but high stats didn't automatically mean high rank.

His standing in the divine realm might not be the loftiest, but the position of Pope gave Taivas — a Mid-grade God — a solid justification for operating freely in the Intermediate World.

"After ten years, the Cheonma-daejeon has returned! At this very moment, Brispry stands on the brink of invasion by the wicked Demon King's Army of the Demon Church!"

Poke, poke—

Kavietta jabbed Do-ha in the side while he was listening to Taivas's speech.

He turned, wondering what it was, and found her streaming the Demon King's Army camp through the System for him to see.

"Even now, that den of hypocrites — the Heavenly Church — is whipping up public opinion and gathering Heroes to invade the Demon Church!! We of the Demon Church will not go down without a fight! We have raised a Demon King's Army — faithful of the Demon Church!! Join our Demon King's Army and stop these Heroes!!"

"Ah. So that's roughly the story."

Since it was a festival, they had clearly set up their own roleplay for the sake of entertainment.

Do-ha figured the occasional Earthling might get completely swallowed by the premise — but setting those types aside, the framing did a good job of heightening immersion in the event.

"Now go forth! The fate of this world rests in your hands!!" / "Depart! The fate of this world rests in your hands!!"

"Waaaaaaaaah!!!"

Cheers roared up from Heavenly Church and Demon Church alike.

After ten long years, the stage for every powerhouse in Brispry who wanted to make a name for themselves had opened once more.

"Demon Church spotted over there!"

"Tch. Hero bastards."

"Duel!!"

A transparent orange dome sealed off the Hero and the Demon King's Army the moment their eyes met, isolating them and the space around them from the outside world.

"Ooooh! It's the Cheonma-daejeon!"

"The real charm of the Cheonma-daejeon is the gambling! Fifty thousand gold on the Heroes!"

"I'm putting a hundred thousand on the Demon King's Army!"

Passersby who had been waiting for exactly this moment swarmed in, piling money onto the gambling feature — a side function of the Duel Arena system.

"How do you place a bet?"

"There should be a 'Gamble' button next to the Duel Arena system. Hit that and put as much as you want on either side. The duel starts one minute after the arena goes up, so you've got to bet before then."

Do-ha casually dropped a thousand gold on the Hero side — and the moment he did, the wall separating the two factions vanished, the one-minute mark apparently up.

The instant the wall disappeared, the two sides collided, and the shockwave seemed to ripple all the way outside the dome.

BOOM—!!

CRASH—!!

"Go!"

"Heroes! Don't lose!!"

"Go, Demon King's Army!! Kill the hypocrites!"

The spectators, fired up by the locked duel, shouted and whistled and roared their support.

"This is how the duels work. If the Hero team wins here, their renown goes up and the Demon King's Army's renown goes down. And vice versa. And when your renown rises..."

"...the renown rankings climb like this. Naturally, those who place high enough get matching rewards and prestige from their respective churches. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠The Demon King's Army has a ranking just like this one."

"Lee Do-ha.. Lee Do-ha.. Found it. Seven hundred ninety-five thousand, one hundred eighty-third? That's ridiculously low."

"I haven't done anything yet. For a full week, duels between Heroes and the Demon King's Army will break out all over the world. Then, one week from now, the final duel — or maybe I should call it a war? Either way, a war between the Heroes and the Demon King's Army erupts in front of the Demon King's Castle. That's also when the Demon King first appears."

"Who's the Demon King? Can't I just find him now and challenge him to a duel?"

"The Demon King is more like a character in a roleplay — you can't challenge him to a duel. You can only kill him in the final war. Oh, and don't worry. The war has the system applied too, so even if you die, you come back afterward."

"Is this reality or a game."

"...Huh?"

"Hm? What?"

"B-beh..i...behind!"

"What's behind..?"

Do-ha turned around — and found a giant roughly three meters tall, crunching away on a snack as he watched the duel between the Heroes and the Demon King's Army.

"The Demon King?!"

"Hm? You know me?"