Chapter 69: Old Friend (1)

“Click! I knew this would happen.”

The man staring at the monitor clicked his tongue.

“Isn’t it obvious there would be a trap? Honestly. If he had any sense at all, he wouldn’t have barged into the Demon King’s Castle like that. This is why muscle-head idiots are the worst.”

On the monitor in front of him, a live broadcast was airing.

Number of viewers: 2,290,899

But that viewer count was extraordinary.

A staggering 2.2 million.

No matter how popular internet streaming is, it’s rare for viewership to surpass a million.

Especially for a live broadcast; it hardly needs to be said.

And those viewers weren’t just from one country.

United States, Russia, China, United Kingdom, India, Japan—viewers from nearly every country had gathered.

Just what kind of broadcast was this?

Anyone would know if they looked at what was being streamed right now.

“I need these ingredients in order to become my complete self!”

The Demon King’s Castle.

And right now, the scene was set just before a battle against the powerful Harbinger of Famine.

With the tension so high.

Number of viewers: 2,510,033

In an instant, the viewership ballooned past 2.5 million.

“It’s over.”

The man who had been watching the whole time pronounced the end.

Then, he darted into the Awakened Bamboo Grove. 

“Tap tap tap!”

He began hammering away at the keyboard with incredible speed.

ᅳ Didn’t I tell you? God Si-won? God my ass. Seriously, how does he just crawl into a tiger’s den knowing exactly what it is? Is he really this brainless, or what?

He was what you’d call a troll.

From the start, he had relentlessly spewed hateful comments about Kim Si-won.

It was only natural.

‘How can a guy like this be the savior?’

He was acting out of a sense of inferiority.

It was a kind of persecution complex.

His trait was Agitator.

He could persuade others with his words and writing, even induce certain actions.

At first glance, it sounded like a formidable form of brainwashing.

But not at all.

At most, he could sway the flow of conversation a little, but with his trait still undeveloped, he couldn’t cause any significant changes.

So, despite being an Awakener, all he really did was post jealous, hateful comments.

Of course, because of this trait, his toxic posts often made it to the best comments, and thanks to that, he was enshrined in the Bamboo Forest Hall of Fame, a named troll.

And lately, his target had been Kim Si-won.

He envied Kim Si-won’s outstanding ability and incited others with all sorts of slander.

It was the same now.

He ridiculed the brainless, muscle-bound Kim Si-won for barging into the Demon King’s Castle, where a trap was obvious.

Naturally.

ᄂAgreed. For someone with such a big role in Korea to waltz in there is just insane.

ᄂHe stirs up all this trouble and now just heads in like this? Damn it, this isn’t right!

ᄂYeah. He should just die there. That way, before things get even worse, he’ll end up on the Demon Clan’s side.

ᄂㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Really. Because of this bastard, I can’t even side with the Demon Clan without feeling self-conscious.

Comments supporting his posts started pouring in.

He was already a named troll, gaining people’s recommendations and support, but when his agitation trait activated, he could draw even more reactions.

“This! This is it!”

He felt a rush of pleasure as the comments racked up.

Reactions, comments, likes, recommendations.

Before he knew it, these had become the reason he lived.

It was his lifeblood, in a way.

He couldn’t escape from this Bamboo Forest, even for a moment.

Only inside it did he feel like he was truly himself, living a real life.

“Tap tap tap.”

Just as he was about to join his followers in trashing the witless moron—

“What…?!”

Something unexpected—a miracle—began to unfold.

The Demon Clan’s trap.

They expected the Harbinger of Famine, empowered by thousands of absorbed demons, would crush the muscle-headed fool.

But what was this?

It was Kim Si-won, not the Harbinger of Famine, who absorbed the demonic energy gathered for the trap.

In an instant, he altered the path of the magic circle to benefit himself.

[How can this be!]

“No way, this is insane!”

The Harbinger of Famine and the man exclaimed at the same time.

Everyone watching the broadcast must have been shocked.

A human absorbing demonic energy?

No one even knew that was possible.

[Thank you.]

Kim Si-won closed his eyes, savoring the energy, and expressed his gratitude.

[Thanks to you, I was able to recover a part of the time I lost.]

Kim Si-won murmured something cryptic as his transformation began.

Black energy, like tendrils, began to envelop him.

At that moment—

“Chill!”

The man felt a cold shiver, as if a chill had swept through him.

‘Is this… even possible?’

It was a broadcast.

Yet, it was as if the chill Kim Si-won emitted was seeping through the screen.

That dark energy, hinting at the unknown, transformed Kim Si-won into something else entirely.

It was jet-black armor that covered his whole body.

A Knight of Darkness, radiating with a blue gleam.

“H-h-h-Dark Knight?!”

The man screamed in shock.

It was only natural.

The Dark Knight was, in fact, someone he supported, unlike Kim Si-won.

ᅳ Proof the Dark Knight is superior to Kim Si-won.

ᅳ Compilation of the Dark Knight’s exploits.

ᅳ What Korea needs right now isn’t Kim Si-won, but the Dark Knight.

It was typical of him to bring someone down by comparing them to another.

But this time, it was different.

The man genuinely believed the Dark Knight was more needed, more superior than Kim Si-won.

Unlike Kim Si-won, who was just muscle and no brains, the Dark Knight appeared in critical moments and solved problems just when they were needed most.

That’s why he felt the title of Korea’s savior should go to the Dark Knight.

But all that effort was for nothing.

The Dark Knight he had worshipped so devoutly turned out to be none other than the Kim Si-won he had criticized so harshly.

He had never imagined the two were the same person.

No, maybe deep down he’d suspected, but he hadn’t wanted to believe it.

[If you’ve received a gift, you ought to return the favor.]

Despite the man’s shock, the broadcast continued.

“Whoooooosh!”

A sudden wind began to blow.

A biting wind so cold it seemed to chill you to the bone just by watching.

But the air current was different.

In the center, it swirled like a vortex, creating a disturbance around a focal point.

Looking closely at the center, one could spot something like a tiny grain.

At first, it was the size of a fingertip, but as time passed it quickly grew, becoming a giant snowball.

No, it wasn’t a snowball.

[Crystal of Frost]

It was the origin of cold, known as the Crystal of Frost.

[Where do you think you’re going!]

The Harbinger of Famine panicked.

He hadn’t been able to devour the prepared “ingredients,” but he wasn’t weak enough to be taken down so easily.

One of his powers was absorbing the strength and vitality of any opponent just by touching them.

As long as he could reach out, he could swallow the power of even the strongest foe.

So he attempted to turn the tables, but never got the chance.

[Hngh!]

The entire hall was seized by the biting wind.

Because of the cold, his movements dulled.

The Harbinger of Famine’s actions slowed as if in slow motion.

[It’s pointless. You’ve already stepped into my domain.]

They didn’t call it the Crystal of Frost for nothing.

The source of cold slowed all movement, and those with weak resistance would freeze on the spot.

[“Crack, crack!”]

He struggled to move, but his body gradually slowed, and finally, it began to freeze over.

Not even the highest-level demons with resistance to all elements could escape.

[N-no, it can’t be…]

Yet with tenacity, the Harbinger of Famine drew near.

Just one more reach—if he touched Kim Si-won, his absorption power would kick in and drain the energy inside him.

But that never happened.

[Pathetic!]

The air current vanished.

The massive sphere of ice, the enormous Crystal of Frost, was now complete.

[Fwooooosh!]

It crashed to the ground, causing a disaster like an avalanche.

[Boom boom boom boom boom!]

The cold energy spread in all directions.

In an instant, it swept through the hall.

Everyone, except for Kim Si-won—the caster—and the Knights under his protection, was frozen solid.

The Harbinger of Famine, who tried to absorb his life at close range.

And—

[Crack]

Even the hidden demons, lurking in stealth and ready to strike at any moment, were frozen.

“What? Others were hiding there too?”

The sight after the Crystal of Frost exploded was a snowy plain.

Amazingly, it wasn’t just the Harbinger of Famine who was frozen.

Enemies, hidden from everyone (except Kim Si-won), had been lurking, waiting for a chance to exploit any opening.

Those secret weapons were reduced to frozen snacks by the Crystal of Frost.

Someone, mistrusting the Harbinger of Famine, had prepared this trap as a backup.

[Your schemes are as obvious as ever.]

Kim Si-won spoke, as if guessing the mastermind behind the ploy.

He had completely dealt with all enemies on that floor.

[Thud, thud, thud!]

With that, a secret staircase leading up to the next level descended, connecting the floors.

At last, the secret space was revealed.

Kim Si-won moved forward without hesitation.

The man, who had been watching it all unfold.

Just a moment ago, he’d been composing another post to criticize Kim Si-won.

“Crrrck.”

He pressed backspace and deleted all his hateful words.

It was as if the fog over his vision had finally lifted.

ᅳ All hail God Si-won!

***

The troll who had cursed and ridiculed Kim Si-won was now his devout follower.

Physically, the staircase was short.

But no matter how far he walked, it didn’t end.

Because it was enhanced and warped by various spatial distortions.

He climbed for a long time.

And then, at last, he arrived.

That place was—

‘What…?’

His composure wavered slightly.

No wonder—the top floor of the Demon King’s Castle, which should have had six stories, was now exposed.

‘This isn’t a complete Demon King’s Castle.’

He’d suspected as much.

The Demon King’s Castle couldn’t be completed so easily.

Even if it were, without the Demon King’s presence, it wouldn’t truly be the Demon King’s Castle.

But the Demon King didn’t exist now.

If he had, the brand engraved on his soul would have reacted.

And the fact that he wasn’t here.

It meant the castle itself was incomplete.

Thus, the structure of the castle would naturally appear flawed.

He shifted his gaze.

In the distance, not far ahead, was the throne.

It should have belonged to the Demon King.

But the one sitting there was neither the expected Demon King, nor Commander of the Plague Legion, Salmora.

“Welcome.”

The one who spoke.

He, too, wore blue armor that covered his entire body, and his voice betrayed unmistakable ennui.

“So it was you, after all.”

Salmora was not one to step forward directly.

But to sit upon the throne of the Demon King’s Castle—an ordinary demon could not achieve that.

Only one with enough presence could defend that seat.

The likely candidates: Salmora, and—

“The Harbinger of Death.”

One of Salmora’s personal guards.

But he was incomparable to the greenhorns encountered before.

He had lived far longer than the Demon King.

The one who upheld the absolute law of death.

And—

“My old friend.”

In the Demon King’s Army, and even across the Gritia Continent, he was the only one worthy of being called a true friend amidst a world of nothing but enemies.