The Heavenly-Demon War
"Demon King?!"
"Hmm? You know me?"
Creak—
Lee Do-ha's neck swung toward Kavietta with a metallic screech, like a tin can that hadn't seen oil in hundreds of years.
He said he'd appear at the end!
As an enemy, yes! The Demon King isn't some doll—did you really think he'd just sit still on the throne of the Demon Castle waiting? Until the Final War, even the Demon King goes around sightseeing.... This is the first time I've actually seen him, though.
Is that right?
The Demon King needs to know the heroes' level if he's going to counter them properly.
Isn't the Heavenly-Demon War being a little too friendly to the Demon King?!
It's not like the Demon King is actually going to destroy the world, so of course!
"Ahem. Leaving me out of the conversation like that is a bit disappointing, even for someone like me."
"Ah—uh, well. I'm sorry."
"Haha, no need. Come to think of it, it would be stranger if you didn't know me, so I'm the one at fault for asking."
At the Demon King's considerate reply, Lee Do-ha clapped a hand over his mouth and shed a few tears.
The Demon King is so damn nice! He's the very image of a middle-aged gentleman from the movies!
Lee Do-ha wanted to punch his past self for looking at this gentleman with even a moment of disrespect just because of the words "Demon King."
"Are you a hero as well?"
"For now, yes."
"Oh? No matter how I look at you, you seem like a human male in his early twenties. Your stats must be quite high, then?"
"Well... only in the low two hundreds."
"Haha! At your age, that level of stats is high!!"
"Ah... actually..."
Somehow, Lee Do-ha didn't want to lie to this gentleman.
"Most of my stats were raised with spiritual elixirs."
"And what of it?"
"Pardon? Well, they're stats I raised through a fluke rather than training..."
"I don't know what a 'fluke' is, but taking the easy path when one is available instead of forcing yourself down a hard one is the foolish choice. Besides, even if not the stats, didn't you raise your proficiency yourself?"
"Th...that's true, I suppose?"
"In the first place, many people raise their stats with elixirs early on. I myself, as a descendant of high-ranking Dark Elf nobility, raised my stats to three or four hundred with elixirs from a young age. Being so humble over a mere two hundred makes me look bad by comparison. Haha!"
"Ah, I didn't mean it that way."
"Hahaha! Don't make yourself so uncomfortable. We may be enemies in the future, but for now we're just spectators watching that duel."
Just then, the duel between the Demon King's army and the hero camp came to an end.
The result was a victory for the hero camp by an extremely narrow margin.
"That was a good fight!"
"See you at the Final War!"
The true intention of the Heavenly-Demon War was precisely that warm conclusion.
Whether Demon King's army or heroes, accepting the result without holding grudges. The scene of two forces who had just been pointing swords at each other sharing habits and areas for improvement, helping each other grow, was a clean and amicable finish.
"Well, well, looks like I lost."
Ting—
"Unfortunately I didn't bet any gold on the gambling system. Take this instead."
The gold the Demon King tossed had 1M engraved on it.
"A million gold?"
"A gift from a senior to a junior advancing toward godhood. Well then—see you at the Final War."
"Wait! What's your name!"
"...."
At Lee Do-ha's question, the Demon King stopped in his tracks, turned around, and grinned.
"Logan Damons."
"Oh..."
Sounds pretty cool.
Leaving only his name behind, the Demon King departed for elsewhere—probably to watch other duels.
"...What kind of person becomes the Demon King?"
"The Demon King? I'm not entirely sure, but from what I remember, high-ranking priests take on the role."
"Priests?"
No matter how he looked at him, the man only seemed like a warrior.
"The Demon Church relies more heavily on martial force than the Heavenly Church. So most high-ranking priests train their bodies like that."
"You know quite a lot."
"I mean I don't know the details."
"...I want to try something myself soon."
"Then why not travel with us?"
"Ah, that sounds goo— Who are you?"
From behind Lee Do-ha, a man with a body every bit as massive as the Demon King's earlier placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Hmm? You don't remember me? Didn't we meet at the temple yesterday!"
"...Ah!"
"Hey! Give it your best, Earthling!"
"That guy from back then!"
He was clearly the one who had cheered him on, telling him to do well.
"I'm about to go hunting the Demon King's army! I'll take you as a comrade!"
"Pardon? My stats are low, so I'll only be a hindrance."
"It's fine!! This is experience too! And I was low back in the day as well!"
For about ten minutes, Lee Do-ha tried to convince this man that he was completely useless—but faced with the man's unwavering insistence that they simply go together, he had no choice but to accept the proposal.
"Then what should I call you from now on?"
"Just call me Captain! Hahaha! Now let's go!!"
Five days later.
Lee Do-ha had to travel all over Brispry with the Captain.
Unfortunately, Kavietta had to run the Morning Sunshine Inn, so she only traveled with them on the first day before returning to Teliga. After that, only Lee Do-ha and the Captain fought against the Demon King's army.
"Hey, Captain! Dragging another newbie around again?!"
"Hmm! You must be! Subordinate Number Twelve!"
"Puhaha! Haven't heard that nickname in thirty years."
"Why are you with the Demon King's army?"
"It's an event, an event. It's not like we're actually destroying the world, so might as well try out various experiences."
"Uwahahaha!! That's true enough. Next time I should join the Demon King's army myself!"
The advantage of the Heavenly-Demon War was precisely that free transfer between sides.
Of course, once the event started, transfers became impossible—but in the next Heavenly-Demon War, someone who had been in the hero camp could join the Demon King's army, and someone from the Demon King's army could become a hero candidate.
Perhaps for that reason, sometimes while walking the streets you could see people teasing their comrades from the previous Heavenly-Demon War with a full-blown traitor act. Seeing it in person felt a bit like street performance.
Whether hero candidates or Demon King's army members playing the traitor, when children watched with sparkling eyes from the side, they would truly act like a traitor and their former comrade meeting again—just like the two in front of Lee Do-ha right now.
"Subordinate Number Twelve! Why did you betray us!"
"Because I felt disgust for this rotten world filled with hypocrisy!"
"Kugh!"
"Captain, didn't you just say you'd join the Demon King's army next time too?"
"Shh. We're acting. Hiyah!! I can never forgive you! I'll execute the traitor!"
"If you can, try it!"
Kwaang—!!
The swords of the man called Subordinate Number Twelve and the Captain clashed, spitting sparks.
What Lee Do-ha had realized over the past five days traveling with the Captain was that the Captain was no ordinary person either. Even roughly estimating, he seemed to have stats in the seven hundreds.
Kkaang—!!
The Captain brought the greatsword he had raised overhead crashing down on the traitor(?). The traitor hurriedly twisted his waist to dodge sideways and thrust his sword, but the Captain lightly redirected the blade's trajectory with the gauntlet on his hand and blocked it.
"What kind of lunatic blocks a sword with a gauntlet?!"
"As befits a traitor, your body and mind must have weakened!"
"Damn it!"
Kkagagagang—!!
The trajectories their swords carved through the air intertwined and intertwined until it began to look as if a single flower had bloomed in empty space.
"Hiyah!"
"Ugh!!"
Kagak—!
Just then, a comrade of the traitor from the Demon King's army attacked Lee Do-ha.
"How underhanded, attacking while I'm watching!"
"Spectating is for the audience outside the dome—you're inside the dome! Once you've joined the duel, don't let your attention wander! Advice from a senior."
"How very kind of you..!"
Paaang—!
Though he was pushed back in strength due to lower stats, as he fell he planted one hand on the ground and extended his leg, kicking the self-proclaimed senior's chin upward.
"Aagh! I bit my tongue!"
"I'll give you some advice too. It's better not to talk too much when fighting."
"Advice from a junior... I'll take it to heart!"
Kwaang—!
A sole shot toward Lee Do-ha's head as he lay on the ground from the recoil of his kick. He barely twisted his head to avoid a direct hit, but the aftermath of the powerful kick that drove the foot into the earth sent stone fragments flying in all directions, embedding themselves in Lee Do-ha's arm.
"Kugh!"
The fortunate point was that Lee Do-ha's opponent was a martial artist.
Sseuk—
To gain an advantage in attack range against his opponent, Lee Do-ha pulled the Golden Staff that Chang-shin had gifted him from his Inventory.
Looking at its appearance alone it was a staff made of gold, but according to Chang-shin it wasn't ordinary gold, so he didn't need to worry about it breaking. A gift—or rather a bribe to hide his identity... well, since he'd received it, he'd use it gratefully.
Hunghunghunghung—!
When Lee Do-ha spun the staff through a full three hundred and sixty degrees with a move that looked familiar from somewhere, his opponent smirked at him.
"What's that supposed to be? Gold? You think you'll block my fists with such a weak metal?"
"You won't know until you try."
"Then go ahead and block this!"
Kuuung—!
The enemy's straight punch struck Lee Do-ha's staff dead-on. From the impact, Lee Do-ha's body not only floated up into the air but flew all the way back and eventually crashed into the dome's barrier, while the enemy repeatedly clenched and opened his fist as if the result was unexpected.
"This... hurts quite a bit? That's no ordinary gold, is it?"
"Yes, well. So I've been told."
"Can you tell me where you got it?"
"I heard it was made somehow through alchemy, but I don't really know either."
"Alchemy, huh... I'll have to ask an alchemist acquaintance of mine."
Peok—
Seizing the opening, Lee Do-ha spun the Golden Staff and thrust it with all his might toward the enemy's chest.
"Kugh... A cowardly sneak attack..."
"You're the one who taught me not to let my attention wander. And don't make such a fuss. You blocked it, didn't you?"
"..You noticed?"
At the sight of his opponent—who in that brief moment had not only sensed Lee Do-ha's sneak attack and slightly twisted his body to dodge, but even caught the staff between his armpit and arm—Lee Do-ha let out a wry laugh.
"Hup!"
The opponent lifted Lee Do-ha into the air along with the Golden Staff he was still gripping. Lee Do-ha held the staff tightly so as not to lose his weapon, but the opponent who wouldn't leave it at that shook the staff this way and that, trying to shake him off.
"Hey! Just give up!"
"...Do you know what my role is?"
"...?"
He wondered what nonsense this was all of a sudden, but being unable to contain his curiosity, the opponent lent an ear to Lee Do-ha's words.
"It's precisely... 'stalling for time.'"
"What do you me—"
Kwaang—!!
A fist-shaped mark caved into the face of the opponent who had been focused solely on Lee Do-ha, and he went flying to the far side.
"A bit late this time, Captain."
"Hahaha! It was a reunion after so long, so I got carried away without realizing! My, my, it took some time!"
"Hup!"
Lee Do-ha thrust the Golden Staff toward the side of the Captain, who was scratching the back of his head a bit sheepishly. As expected of a master, the enemy who hadn't fallen even to the Captain's fist had been trying to ambush him.
But making Lee Do-ha's attack seem pointless, the enemy easily dodged his staff and drove a fist into the Captain's abdomen.
Peok—!
A powerful impact sound rang through the dome.
..Thud—!
Then came the sound of someone collapsing to the floor. However, the one who fell was not the Captain but the enemy who had thrown the punch.
"How foolish... I'm a swordsman."
The Captain had drawn his sword and stabbed before the enemy's fist could reach his stomach. Considering the range, a sword naturally has a longer attack reach than a fist—so it was the obvious result.
The Hero Camp has won!
Hero Candidate (2)'s Fame has increased.
Demon King's Army (2)'s Fame has decreased.
"Haa, I still can't beat the Captain."
"Hahaha! You've grown compared to before!"
"Of course. Twenty-five years have passed. I still don't understand why the Captain hasn't become a god."
"It must mean my training is still insufficient! Hahaha!!"
"Insufficient my ass... Hey, newbie! Stick close to this guy. Despite how he looks, there's something to learn from him."
"Yes. That's what I've been doing."
As it was, over these five days the Captain had given Lee Do-ha various pieces of advice, and he had been busy absorbing them into his daily life.
"Is that so? Then good. Captain! See you later at the Final War!"
"Haha! See you then!"
Having successfully finished this duel as well, the two began walking in search of other members of the Demon King's army.
"Captain, what's your name?"
"My name? Why are you curious about that."
"We've been traveling together for five days and I still haven't heard your name."
"My name, is it! I'll tell you once you've grown well! For reference, that fellow just now never managed to find out my name either."
"So I still lack the qualifications? Just you wait. I'll find it out within ten years—no, five years."
"Looking forward to it!"