Chapter 117. Angels and Demons (2)
『Jo, Jonathan? What on earth is going on?』
『Michael, that’s the question I want to ask more than anyone else!』
Two men watching the Platinum Debut Tournament.
Jonathan and Michael seemed almost stunned by the spectacle.
It was no exaggeration.
『The demons suddenly knelt before Kim Shimun, the player!』
『Even the high-ranked demon, Marte, knelt? Faust’s face is twisted in astonishment!』
『Poor Faust. He must be feeling just like us!』
As the two men mentioned.
“What, what is this!”
Faust’s face was not just astonished but utterly shocked.
“Marte knelt at a word from that guy? Just like that?”
To think that he was a high-ranked demon who needed a party of a Diamond Rank player in order to raid. This was clearly an unreasonable situation. However, this unreasonable event was unfolding before their eyes.
Was Marte, the one in question, also finding it unbelievable?
“This, this can’t be….”
Perhaps due to his massive stature. His disbelief was strikingly evident in his trembling. Contrary to Faust’s expectations. Marte’s trembling was not due to merely kneeling before a human being.
“How could a human… wield his magic….”
As a high-ranked demon dominating the Diamond Rank arena. Marte did not utter a word. Seeing such Marte, a slight smile formed on Shimun’s lips.
“Does that matter?”
A brief question. But with that alone, all of Marte’s doubts were dispelled.
“It, it doesn’t matter…”
Struggling, Marte’s words caused Faust behind him to widen his eyes almost to the point of bursting. Faust asked in an incredulous voice.
“L-Lord Marte, what are you saying right now…?”
The doubt was unmistakable.
“You dare show respect to mere humans like that!!”
Formal language. Under the law of the strong ruling all through power, demons always looked down upon the weak human race. Naturally, even those who wield magic like Faust were no exception.
Indeed, Marte never once uttered the name of Faust, who summoned demons at the cost of his comrades. He was simply known as a dark mage.
Or a parasite. That was how demons viewed humans. However.
“Answer me!”
Yet the High-ranking demon Marte, encountering a human he’s never seen before in his life showed respectin the Platinum Debut Tournament?
Kneeling may have been due to despicable magic or trickery.
“Lord Marte!!”
Isn’t formal language applied in these cases?
Even amidst Faust’s outcry akin to a scream.
“….”
Marte remained unfazed, bowing his head towards the handsome man in front of him without flinching. His attitude of complete subservience to the man before him, while he disregarded whatever Faust thought, stirred up anger within Faust. Of course, that rage.
“You!”
Facing the composed young man, Shimun spoke nonchalantly.
“What kind of petty tricks are you playing! Perhaps, do you possess Divine Energy?”
Divine Energy, opposite to Demonic Energy. If Shimun possessed Divine Energy, it would somehow make sense of this situation. No, it had to make sense. What kind of existence was a high-ranked demon! What kind of being did he summon!
“Well, I guess there’s no need for an answer. That’s how we are, right?”
The Divine Energy and the possessor of Demonic Energy. Although their relationship was not as intense as that of angels and demons. Players also had their own level of favoritism depending on their stats.
The closer they got, the farther away the angels and demons who would give them interest and support became. This ultimately led to a decrease in combat power. On the contrary.
“You vile slave of angels! I’ll tear you apart and save Lord Marte and the other demons!”
If the possessor of Divine Energy and the possessor of Demonic Energy were to kill each other. Naturally, the likelihood of receiving interest or support from angels and demons would increase. Therefore.
“Scream in agony, darkness!”
If he could rescue them from the malicious user of Divine Energy. Not only would he surpass as a high-ranked demon, he would even receive overwhelming support from the Demonic Realm.
With such certainty, Faust raised his mana and began casting the spell on the magic circle. At the same time.
“Dark Ambition! Black Fire!”
The dark magic spells were shot towards Shimun. The double casting was done so neatly. Moreover, immediately unfolding the magic. Continuing another casting while already executing a double casting required considerable technique.
“Truly Faust.”
Indeed, he had skills enough to participate in the Platinum Debut representing Germany. Shimun, who was impressed by him, surprisingly did not take any action.
Keeing!
His common left eye just flared more intensely and flickered with mana. In fact, being a dark mage. It was easy to tell just by looking at his common left eye that Shimun was not the possessor of vitality, but the strict obedience of a high-ranked demon easily masked such common sense of Faust.
“Haha! Giving up, are you? No, you must be unable to move because of maintaining that vile trick!”
Whatever!
If many demons, including superior demons, were to kneel like this, there had to be penalties! Thinking so, Faust burst into laughter. But soon his laughter subsided.
“What, what is this?!”
Astonishment with mouth wide open replaced his laughter. Of course.
“My magic!!”
The two magics aimed at Shimun. Dark Ambition and Black Fire, the moment they reached him.
Ssshhh.
They melted away like sugar in water.
“Magic nullification? No, it can’t be….”
It was so shocking. Faust, frozen even in the casting of a 6th-grade magic, stared at Shimun with his mouth agape.
‘Magic nullification is definitely not it!’
In the realm of magic at this level, experiencing magic nullification was an occurrence that happened occasionally. Faust himself had faced opponents who had buffed their dark elemental immunity several times, so he was well aware of it.
Therefore, what had just happened to Shimun was definitely not magic nullification. Instead.
“Yeah, it felt like the magic had unraveled on its own.”
The phrase “unraveled on its own” seemed fitting. As if the magic itself had a defensive intention and unraveled. However, there was a huge flaw in this theory.
“Does magic have its own intentions? Is that even possible?”
For high-level magic, I’m not sure. The magic I just cast was a 4-star dark magic spell using Memorize, not a 6-star dark magic.
Even if the 6-star dark magic I was casting had its own intentions, it would be hard to believe. Just a mere 4-star dark magic having intentions?
There was no time to confirm that. Absorbing the dark magic with his bare body. No.
“Marte.”
The dismissive command.
“Subdue.”
“Yes.”
As he casually summoned an unimaginable event.
* * *
Thud.
Faust lay motionless on the gray floor.
Whether it was because Marte once again obeyed Shimun’s command or because he was overwhelmed by overwhelming violence with his fragile body, Shimun didn’t know.
“……”
He was quietly pinned to the ground without a scream or resistance. His painfully thin body pinned in Marte’s hands was the only thing visibly convulsing.
-Isn’t that monster the one that the top-ranked German, Faust, summoned? Why is it listening to that guy so obediently?
-Aren’t we told he’s a high-rank demon? Why is he obedient to him?
-Faust is a dark mage, right? Faust summoned it, right?
-Shimun, who steals everything from body to mind to demons, is just too greedy!
-Are you kidding me? It’s not the time for jokes.
-Enough with the jokes. This situation is serious.
The chat window, unusually quiet compared to usual. It wasn’t surprising. Although Shimun had shown an unconventional side, devouring a diamond-rank demon, let alone a high-rank demon, was simply unreasonable.
-Did Mr. Kim’s eyes suddenly change? It could be related.
-Didn’t Kim always have a special ability in his eyes?
-Even if he did, the current situation doesn’t make sense. That’s a top-rank demon.
-What’s going on? Is Kim also a dark magic user? But Faust is already at a platinum level in dark magic.
Endless questions pouring into the chat window. Indeed.
-It’s not a situation where we can simply determine if he’s a dark mage or not.
-Agreed. Even summoning a demon, unless it’s diamond-rank, dark mages are always subservient to demons.
-Even diamond-rank dark mages form a partner relationship with lower demons; such a master-servant relationship is impossible.
Although many of them appeared to be dark mages, even those who seemed to be dark mages could not provide a proper answer.
-What kind of ability is this?
-I really want to see his status window.
With a considerable influx of top players due to the pre-debut match. The chat window was filled with a serious and scholarly atmosphere unlike usual. However, for Shimun, who usually didn’t pay much attention to the chat window during arena matches.
“Hmm….”
He glanced at Faust with the same indifferent gaze as before.
“I was originally considering killing all the demons and even the one Faust summoned.”
In the chaos of the debut match, with a limited number of 516 players, where killing was allowed.
Given the nature of the Chaos Realm map, with two races, Angels and Demons, appearing. Dealing with them could have brought significant additional achievement points.
It was expected, given the appearance of diamond-rank species in the beginning of Platinum-tier MMR. Therefore, I should’ve used Lemegeton to wipe them all out.
“『The demons summoned by the power of the Constellation Baal belong to you.』”
The high-ranked demon Marte, kneeling before him, and the message window that appeared before Shimun completely changed his thoughts.
“‘Belong to me… In other words, it means the kill count of demons is on my side.'”
Perhaps due to the sudden appearance of angels and demons. The current situation almost halted the battles among the players. It was a fact that could be seen just by opening the arena board.
Shimun carefully assessed the situation. There was no need to delve into the details.
‘If I kill the demons to gain achievement points, it’s not the right move; I need to make the most of them.’
He didn’t want to just rack up kills like Faust at the beginning of his debut match.
“No matter how skilled I am, facing an equal number of angels is too much.”
The angels were now so close that their forms were visible. Surely a high-rank angel akin to the high-rank demon Marte had been summoned.
Killing demons while only focusing on achievement points was akin to killing the goose that lays the golden egg.
“Let’s deal with the angels alongside the demons first, then sweep away the remaining players.”
Ultimately, whether they were angels or demons made no difference. They both provide additional achievement points, don’t they?
At that moment.
『The Constellation Baal nods approvingly at your profound deliberations.』
『The Constellation Baal frowns slightly while looking at the angels.』
『The Constellation Baal entrusts you with a mission.』
The Constellation Baal presented a mission.
『Mission』
-The Constellation Baal does not welcome the appearance of angels at the ‘Ruins of Gluttony’ where his legacy rests.
Exterminate the angels that have appeared and obtain his legacy.
Reward: Baal’s Legacy, Achievement Points 5,000
Shimun’s eyes widened slightly. Achievement points of 5,000 were certainly a sweet reward, but…
‘Baal’s Legacy?’
The ominous phrase “Baal’s Legacy” caught his attention.
‘I’m not sure what that is, but I have to get it first.’
As the top-ranked demon in the Demonic Realm and a high-ranked Constellation, Baal. His legacy was definitely not something mundane. Moreover, to register him in the title of 『Chosen by the Constellations』, which belonged to the top-ranked Constellations…
He had to at least complete one of his missions. Shimun accepted Baal’s mission. And then…
Boom.
With a small groan. A point was marked below, outlined like a territory in a conquest game.
“So that must be where Baal’s legacy is located. Huh?”
As Shimun followed the outline downward, his gaze twisted. The outline steadily curving like a whirlpool. And considering the location below.
“Could his legacy be within a dimensional anomaly down there?”
The likelihood of his legacy being in a dimensional vortex below, open wide, seemed high.
“Well, being a part of a mythic-grade artifact, it’s only fitting that it’s placed there.”
It wasn’t surprising that even in his past life as a high-ranker, Faust couldn’t find it. Shimun let out a hollow laugh and shook his head slightly. And then.
“We found you! You dirty demons!”
“This is not a place for you losers to be!”
“Siblings! It’s time for judgment!”
A solemn and thunderous shout rang out. The angels were drawing near. Watching them silently, Shimun…
“Marte, summon everyone. Bring in all the nearby humans as well,” Kim Shimun commanded, directing his words towards the high-ranked demon, Marte.
“As you command,” Marte replied, closing his eyes momentarily.
A small ripple of energy emanated around his head, a unique form of communication among demons known instinctively by Kim Shimun, who possessed the demonic eye. Then, Marte picked up Faust that had been buried in the ground.
“This is outrageous… unbelievable,” murmured Faust, seemingly losing his mind.
Kim Shimun, along with the others, including…
“Noble one, they have been gathered here,” Marte announced.
“Ugh!”
“Ack!”
The demons who had gathered around snatched up the five players they had captured.
“Is this all of the survivors?”
“Yes. Besides them, there are no more humans in this area,” Marte calmly responded, causing Kim Shimun to nod in approval.
“Faust! You lunatic!”
“Why are the demons suddenly targeting us?”
“Hey, Faust! What is going on?”
The players cried out in fear, all seeming to recognize Faust.
‘They all seem to be from the same European group. Good,’ Kim Shimun noted, realizing the players’ affiliations.
Kim Shimun gestured to Marte after recognizing the players’ affiliations, and one by one, the European players, who seemed to have lost their minds in fear, were thrown towards Faust’s side.
“What are you going to do!”
One of them bravely shouted, causing a smirk to appear on Kim Shimun’s face.
“… Well, I’m simply going to return the favor, just as you did,” Kim Shimun explained.
“What?”
The European player looked bewildered, then suddenly realized something.
“You… You wouldn’t!”
As the player caught onto Kim Shimun’s intentions, their eyes widened in horror.
“Originally, it would be impossible without a dark mage, but with some assistance, it’s a whole different story, right, Marte?”
As Kim Shimun gestured casually, Marte raised his massive arm and pointed towards the European players.
The moment he did…
Screams echoed throughout, as if they were being burnt alive. The European players were engulfed in a sudden surge of dark magic. Their screams quickly subsided.
“How can someone not even a dark mage perform a sacrifice ritual!”
Was it because he was a dark mage?
“It’s unbelievable! This is unbelievable!!”
Finally, Faust, expressing disbelief and astonishment until the end. With a flicker, behind Kim Shimun, a dimensional rift opened.
And from there…
Roaring sounds filled the air!
Dozens of black beasts poured out.