Chapter 75: Velator the Hero (4)

There is a chance to obtain a ticket on every floor.

At first glance, it might not seem like much, but not at all!

It was a tremendous benefit, worthy of the unique achievement of reaching a total of 200 stars.

It couldn’t be helped—no matter how low the probability, 0% means it was absolutely unattainable, which is fundamentally different.

Especially if that benefit applies solely to the Territory of the Republic of Korea.

That means, even if it’s not me, there’s now a way to obtain tickets.

In reality, the supply of tickets for the Republic of Korea was entirely dependent on me.

But what about the demons?

The United States, China, Russia, Japan, and so on—on top of the tickets each nation originally possessed, their supply had increased with the resurrection of the hero.

At this rate, we could be crushed by tickets before we even have a chance to properly fight.

But thanks to the benefit gained from accumulating 200 stars, I could ease that pressure, if only a little.

Of course, it’s not enough to let my guard down.

Even aside from the hero, the demons still have many cards yet to be revealed.

Salmora and the six legion commanders, and the Demon King.

At least Salmora’s outline has become clear, but unlike him, the others have left no trace whatsoever.

The same goes for the other legion commanders.

Besides the hero, there were still mountains of things I needed to keep an eye on.

Moreover—

‘Undead… Legion Commander, huh.’

A being other than myself: another Commander of the Immortal Legion.

Each one of them was a formidable opponent worthy of the title.

Of course, that’s by current standards.

If I grow stronger, if I can recover even more of my former power, the strong would become weak, and the weak would be no more than insects.

And what I needed for that was to keep climbing.

To obtain things like the one I held in my hands right now.

“Srrk.” I opened the Valdevron Brocia’s Package I received as a reward earlier.

At that moment—

Unlike the knight’s package, which had burst forth with brilliant light, a dark energy began to seep out slowly.

Like a deep, damp cave, it brought with it a primordial fear—its true nature, Magical Power.

If the Knight’s Package restored my aura, then the Demon King Legion Commander’s Package restored my Magical Power.

And a full 5%, at that.

That 5% was of a different class compared to before.

My recovered Magical Power had already reached 45%.

As with aura, the higher you go, the more you need.

At this point, 5% was a remarkable level of growth.

Thanks to that, my Magical Power had reached 50% of what it was in the past.

Which means—

‘I can do it.’

I could now manifest powers that had not yet matured enough to use.

And on top of that—

“Thud.”

Something popped out of the opened package.

Naturally, I had expected there to be something other than Magical Power.

What had fallen to the floor was a ticket.

Not enough to call it a bundle, but three tickets.

Among them was a ticket I’d never seen before, in a reddish-brown hue.

[Named Summon Ticket (Suprema)]

A ticket that could summon Suprema, one of the Eight Immortals.

The other two were familiar Purge Tickets.

‘A Purge Ticket.’

One Named Summon Ticket and two Purge Tickets.

That meant there was a floor that could be purged repeatedly.

Just like how I’d purged the 30th floor over and over to get plenty of rewards.

[You will purge the 40th floor.]

[You will receive rewards for the difficulty you conquered: Blood Sea Difficulty.]

The rewards from using the Purge Ticket for the 40th floor were—

Purge Ticket

Named Summon Ticket (Suprema)

A Purge Ticket and a Named Summon Ticket.

Of course, the Named Ticket was one that could summon Suprema, the gatekeeper of the 40th floor and one of the Eight Immortals.

It was—

“I’ve finally got enough.”

After using ten Purge Tickets, I’d finally obtained one.

And that meant I’d reached the number I was aiming for.

I took the tickets out from my clothes.

Ten Named Summon Tickets obtained after a hundred purges.

The extra tickets were prepared just for this moment.

Enhancement.

Ticket enhancement.

I had confirmed it earlier by enhancing a Knight Summon Ticket.

If you enhance a Named or Knight Summon Ticket, you can summon an even more powerful being.

Suprema alone was a corpse golem so strong it was called one of the Eight Immortals.

So how powerful would the summoned being be if I enhanced that ticket?

Of course, to summon the kind of powerful being I had in mind, I’d need at least an Enhancement++.

From past experience, I knew the minimum number of tickets needed to get such an enhanced ticket was ten.

“Fwoosh!”

A light appeared.

The golden glow was proof of success.

Well, with normal enhancement tickets, the chance is over 50%.

It’s not that strange to succeed.

Then, again.

“Fwoosh!”

A golden radiance.

An Enhancement+ Ticket was completed.

This time, I was definitely lucky.

Enhancement+ has a rather low probability, but I succeeded on the first try.

Maybe I’d save more tickets than I’d expected.

But I couldn’t relax just yet.

To make an Enhancement++ Ticket, I’d need Enhancement+ Tickets.

So, another try for a new Enhancement+ Ticket.

“Fwoosh!”

Success.

Success, and success again.

“Is this… my day?” I muttered without realizing.

Normally, through emotional restraint, I barely show any emotional changes but today was an exception.

My goal had been a single Enhancement++ Ticket.

I clutched the tickets in both hands.

It was the Enhancement++ Summon Ticket I had been aiming for from the start.

Named Summon Ticket (Mors)

Originally, it had been for Suprema, one of my Eight Immortals but the name had changed, so now it would summon a being called Mors.

That name was not unfamiliar because, just like Suprema, Mors had once been one of my subordinates.

‘One of the Four Evils, newly formed after the Eight Immortals.’

The Demon King’s Legion, the demons themselves, are inherently belligerent.

Through countless battles and wars, of course, some are destroyed.

That was the same for my own Immortal Legion.

After wars with the continentals, I lost many subordinates and was forced to reorganize my forces.

Of course, this reorganization happened after the Demon King’s Legion grew much stronger, so we gained subordinates far more powerful than the Eight Immortals.

Mors was one of the four captains under the legion commander.

His power was leagues above Suprema’s and now, I had two tickets that could summon Mors.

‘Is it possible?’

With an Enhancement++ Ticket, I could try one more enhancement.

Of course, the chances were slim…

“No.”

…They’re not.

Living through many long years, I’ve learned something.

Sometimes, I just feel it.

That the goddess of fortune is smiling upon me, that it’s my destined day.

A strange feeling, as if the universe is turning just for me.

On days like this, everything succeeds.

Realizing instinctively that today was such a day—

“Enhance”:I did not hesitate to try an enhancement.

Normally, it would take ten tickets just to get an Enhancement++ Ticket, let alone enhancing a Named Summon Ticket, which is so hard to come by.

“FWOOOOOSH!”

The combined tickets radiated an incredible light.

This was nothing like any enhancement before—so intense it seemed to swallow the whole room.

And I could see it.

The three-colored brilliance flashing—the sign of success.

Named Summon Ticket (Axen)

And now, it had changed to a ticket that could summon Axen.

“Axen……” I murmured the name softly.

Of course, it was a familiar name.

‘The Jeju army’s commander is not the Demon King, but the legion commander.’

He was the only demon who did not question my plan to kill the hero.

With the title of vice-commander, a being called my only true friend, even in death.

A faint smile crossed my lips.

In the past, Axen died in the decisive battle with the hero.

Even knowing it meant death, he chose to sacrifice himself for me.

To think that now I could summon that friend I thought I’d never see again.

No matter how emotionally numb I am, this good news stirred me.

Yet, in this moment of joy—

“KWAANG!”

Someone interrupted.

“B-big news!”

Flustered and bursting in.

There was only one person who could barge into this penthouse without permission.

Kim Chaun.

Even though he had risen to the high office of Minister (and was currently favored by the acting president), he still lacked any sense of gravity, panting breathlessly.

“What’s going on?”

He may act frivolous, but he’s not the type to show that kind of urgency in front of me without reason.

For him to be out of breath like this, it had to be something truly urgent.

“Huff, f-first, the broadcast, broadcast…!”

‘Broadcast?’

At first, I didn’t understand what he meant.

But then he produced a tablet from who knows where and held up the screen for me.

A familiar background.

It was a live stream on Freetalk, a site I often used.

[Can you see? These are the demons who tried to conquer the world.]

The person on the screen—his face was all too familiar.

‘Velator.’

A handsome blond young man, still with traces of baby fat.

[“Shaaak, shaaak!”]

He cut down the demons blocking his path, cleaving through those that surrounded him.

Amazingly, every time the trail of light moved, dozens of demons were obliterated.

And not just ordinary demons, but advanced, very powerful ones.

It’s only natural.

[“Wuuuuuuung!”]

What the hero held was none other than Luminaire, the Sword of Light.

The hero’s sword that eradicates all evil and negativity.

This was not the degraded version I’d seen a while ago, but the true Luminaire, imbued with the goddess’s power.

That sword of light was now in the hero’s hand.

As fate determined by good and evil—

[“Thud, thud!”]

It was only natural that the demons collapsed helplessly.

That was not something ordinary demons could withstand.

Unless you were the Demon King or a legion commander—a high-ranking executive of the Demon King’s Legion—it was an overwhelming power you could not endure.

But why?

Wasn’t the hero allied with the demons, with Salmora?

Why had he suddenly turned on the demons and started attacking them?

I watched the broadcast in silence.

And what I discovered was shocking.

The hero was not alone.

‘Urek, Chloe, Krowa Taro.’

His former companions, those whom I had personally taken care of, had gathered across time and space.

In some unknown dark place, full of danger, the hero pressed on.

[“Come, hero!”]

At last, he faced a powerful Demon King’s Corps Commander.

‘Kantamen.’

Once he was a human who became lich obsessed with Magical Power and magic research—a madman.

He was also once a subordinate of mine, holding one of the Eight Immortals’ seats under the Immortal Legion.

[“Haaaa!”]

And the battle began.

The match was not overwhelming.

It was like watching a well-staged play, with a dazzling exchange of attacks and defenses.

After a desperate fight that left you no choice but to root for the hero’s side—

[“It’s over!”]

The hero’s sword, the light blade Luminaire, pierced Kantamen’s chest.

[“roooar!”]

Kantamen’s life vessel shattered, and his body crumbled to dust.

Thus, after such a desperate victory, the hero—

[“Do not fear. I, Velator the Hero, will save all of you from the demons—”]

[“I promise you”]

To the countless viewers watching this broadcast, he was engraving himself, the hero—a being of justice—into their minds.