The Demon King’s death.
Of course, the one I had just struck down was not the actual Demon King of reality.
It was merely one of the remnants of the past, arbitrarily manifested by the Tower.
And that meant…
[You have achieved the Three Star Objective for the 41st Floor on Very Hard difficulty (Nightmare > Penance > Blood Sea) for the first time.]
[By passing the Very Hard difficulty, you have gained dominance over the 41st Floor of South Korea’s Tower.]
I had successfully completed the Tower’s challenge.
[You have successfully swam through the Blood Sea for the first time.]
[An additional star is awarded for the amazing achievement of making it through the Blood Sea.]
[The calculation of rewards is being delayed…]
I expected the rewards to be given immediately, just like before.
But no.
I was experiencing an unfamiliar situation where the reward was being delayed.
‘Reward… delayed?’
I could infer a fact from the word “delay.”
Perhaps killing the Demon King was an outcome that even the System had not anticipated.
Otherwise, a delay would not have occurred.
Of course, it was not a bad result.
No, rather, it could be called an incredibly good result.
If my performance exceeded what the System had planned for, the reward would undoubtedly be massive.
How long did I wait?
[A new difficulty is being added due to your unanticipated performance.]
[You have completed the Three Star Objective for the Very Hard difficulty (Nightmare > Penance > Blood Sea —> Abyss) for the first time.]
[To you, who has waded through the Abyss, a realm no one has ever looked into, the Bundle of the God of Victory is granted.]
“!!”
This time, even I couldn’t help but be surprised.
I had anticipated getting the bundles for the Knight and the Legion Commander.
But a Bundle of the God of Victory?
‘I can recover the Status of a God?’
Status of a God — where does that power come from?
It originates from the faith of the people.
Because of that, I hadn’t even expected a reward like a bundle or anything else that could grant me the Status of a God.
But what was this?
I received the Bundle of the God of Victory, something I hadn’t expected at all.
“Thud.”
The bundle fell to the floor.
It wasn’t the leather bundle I had received until now.
-Flash!
A pouch that seemed woven from light itself was boasting a brilliant radiance.
As if possessed, I reached for the bundle.
I picked it up and as soon as I untied the string of light sealing the bundle, a
five-colored light erupted from within.
It wasn’t just a simple light.
‘Hummmm!’
Something dwelled within me.
It was the Status of a God.
It wasn’t a temporary form built through faith, but something that took root deep inside my soul.
[You have embraced the Status of Victory.]
[You can take the form of a God through your current Status.]
[However, your Status is too weak.]
[The duration you can maintain the Divine Form is very short.]
[Once a day, you can transform into the Divine Form for 10 minutes.]
I had obtained a Status.
It wasn’t a consumable form like I had used before, but something I could maintain continuously.
However, the duration was short.
Only once a day, for a mere 10 minutes, could I take the form of a God.
However…
‘An unexpected harvest.’
Ten minutes?
That alone was satisfying.
In fact, the reason I was able to take the form of the God of Victory before was because of the worship and faith I had gathered from people.
But I had consumed all that faith just to take that form once.
That was why I had tried not to play my final card unless absolutely necessary.
However, the opponent I faced this time, the Demon God, was a being that couldn’t be dealt with unless I assumed a Divine Form.
Thus, I had no choice but to use it, and I thought I had lost one of my cards…
But through the Bundle of the God of Victory, I gained the benefit of being able to transform once a day for 10 minutes.
And that meant…
‘As I climb the Tower and obtain rewards, the cooldown will decrease and the duration will increase.’
This wasn’t the limit.
As I climbed the Tower — though I would have to clear the Abyss difficulty — I would naturally be able to upgrade it.
I nodded, satisfied with having obtained a permanent Status of a God but that wasn’t the end of the rewards.
“Thud.”
After all the energy was absorbed, something else popped out of the bundle.
That was…
“…It’s been a while.”
Words of welcome escaped my mouth involuntarily.
It was a sword.
Unlike the swords I had received as rewards until now, it was worn-out and rusted.
The blade was even broken in the middle.
It was a broken sword that probably wouldn’t even be worth anything at a local junk shop.
But despite its appearance, that sword was a treasure more valuable to me than anything else.
***
The Demon King’s declaration.
If there were those most swept up by it, they would be South Korea and the Awakeners.
In particular, that agitation was explicitly revealed in the online communities.
Places where people could vent the filth they wanted to hide, leaning on their anonymity.
In a crisis, the communities, specifically the Awakened Bamboo Grove, were essentially a place for such venting.
— It feels like the moment of choice is approaching. What is everyone planning to do?
– What do you mean, “what”? The answer is already decided, isn’t it?
– Is there a need to beat around the bush? We should honestly say that the era of God Si-won is over.
— Let’s all be honest. Yeah, God Si-won? He was great until now. Honestly, it’s no exaggeration to say he led South Korea alone. But what about now? Because of that bastard, we’re about to face the focused fire of the Demon King. We were even robbed of the chance to stand on the side of the Demon Clan!
– These are facts. Fuck, just because we have the same nationality as Kim Si-won, we’re going to get ganged up on by the Demon King and the Demon King’s Legion.
– Didn’t I tell you? I knew his cockiness was suspicious. I knew he’d fall into the abyss eventually.
– It’s not important that he falls. The problem is whether we live or die.
– You foolish mortals. Who threatened you with a knife to ride the Si-won coin? You should have ridden the Demon King coin early like me.
– Fuck, I’m jealous. I should have ridden the Demon King coin earlier too.
– To the moon with the Demon King coin!
– Don’t come here and flex, go back to your Demon Clan community!
– LOL. Upvote if you’re jealous of the Si-won coin!
The public opinion that had once hailed Kim Si-won as “God Si-won” had shifted 180 degrees.
It was inevitable.
That was how threatening the Demon King’s power and the subordinate forces of the Demon King’s Legion felt.
No, it wasn’t just a threat.
For South Korea and the followers of the God of Victory, a crushing defeat by the Demon King’s Legion was already seen as a foregone conclusion.
It had to be.
The Demon King’s Legion, which had been relatively quiet until now, and the Demon Clan, which had conquered 70% of the world, had specifically declared they would destroy them.
Of course, the same went for other countries, not just South Korea.
But South Korea’s situation was different.
The deadline the Demon King gave them was only one day, and he had expressed his will to destroy the Order of Victory and everyone associated with Kim Si-won.
Unlike other countries that had a bit of breathing room, South Korea’s situation was turning urgent.
Naturally, the decision was almost predetermined.
Oppose the Demon King and the Demon Clan just by believing in Kim Si-won and the God of Victory?
That was impossible.
They had been able to survive because a full-scale war hadn’t broken out until now, but once a total war involving sacrifice and damage was declared, they had to make the inevitable choice.
— Since things have turned out like this, what if we strike Kim Si-won first to earn the Demon King’s favor?
– Oh! That sounds like a reasonable method.
– Yeah. Since we’re going to die anyway, this might actually give us a chance to survive.
– Why did I get possessed by the Order of Victory or whatever? If we’re going to die regardless, it’s right to lean toward the chance of survival.
– Looking for party members to catch Kim Si-won (1/10,000,000).
It was around the time when all public opinion was spiraling into resentment toward Kim Si-won and the Order of Victory.
In the Freetalk section, where even the BJs and the number of visitors had almost vanished due to the urgent situation, someone started a live broadcast.
The title of the broadcast by the all-too-familiar ID, KSW, was: [Demon King Hunting]
Only four words.
However, those four words were enough to grab people’s attention more than any other clickbait.
[Viewers: 5,153,200]
It showed an incredible impact, bringing five million viewers to a Freetalk section that hadn’t had even a single viewer.
***
I raised my head and gazed into the distance.
It was something I could see even without focusing my ocular power.
It was the majesty of the endlessly spread Demon Clan — the Demon King’s Legion.
The place I was currently at was the border of South Korea and China.
No, now it should be called the border of South Korea and the Demon King’s Legion.
Among many countries, China was the place where the Demon Clan was most active.
The Demon King’s Legion stationed near the border was exuding a threatening aura as if they would trample South Korea at any moment.
It was natural.
There was less than 1 hour left until they would attack South Korea.
Out of the 24 hours the Demon King had declared, 1 hour remained.
In exactly 1 hour, the Demon King’s Legion, under his orders, would march to devastate South Korea.
But that won’t happen because I intend to strike first before they move.
“Are you ready?” I spoke while still gazing forward.
“Give us your command!”
“We will sweep away that crowd of demons who dared to rebel against His Majesty.”
Standing behind me were two people.
One was Blansia Bellamin, one of the Knights I had summoned previously.
“Vroooom!”
And a middle-aged man with a cross-shaped scar on his face, exuding an even greater aura than that.
[Blansia Sewell]
He was the ancestor who established the Blansia Family, Blansia Sewell.
I had prepared many things for this battle.
I had secured a Blansia Bellamin Summon Ticket using a Purge Ticket and, through enhancement, obtained a ticket to summon the family’s ancestor.
The Blansia Family was a family that had been in charge of sieges for generations.
And Blansia Sewell was the person who directly created the system and techniques for humans to succeed in a siege.
“Begin.”
As soon as my command fell…
“Understood!”
“Understood!”
The two people, who had been bowing deeply, stood up.
-Hummmm!
Soon, they began to spread their energy.
Before long…
“Rumble!”
Something decorated the sky at the border.
Casting a shadow over the ground was the Great Siege Weapon, Grandis, which had been shown once before.
This giant sword, passed down through the Blansia Family for generations, was falling toward the Demon King’s Legion.
However, the Demon King’s Legion stationed at the border was not composed of ordinary demons.
Since high-ranking demons and executives were also stationed there by the Demon King’s order, a defensive barrier was deployed to block Grandis.
No matter how much Grandis was a weapon for sieges, it was impossible to penetrate the layers of protective shields.
But neither Blansia Bellamin, who had deployed Grandis, nor I were flustered.
Because Grandis was merely a signal flare to announce the start of this war.
“Crash!”
As expected, Grandis disappeared uselessly without being able to penetrate the shield deployed by the Demon King’s Legion.
However, that wasn’t the end.
“Rumble!”
Another sword followed, decorating the sky.
It was much larger than Grandis and was emitting an enormous amount of energy.
As I had explained before, Grandis was merely an imitation of a certain sword.
A degraded version of the giant sword Moglay, which was now descending to the ground according to Blansia Sewell’s will.
The giant sword Moglay, which had been lost for ages because there was no one capable of using it…
“KABOOM!”
It fell right in the middle of the Demon King’s Legion.
A shield?
Where Moglay fell, there was only destruction; it couldn’t be blocked by layers of shields built by mere executives of the Demon King’s Legion.
-Whoooooosh!
Welcoming the subsequent aftershock and the strong wind I picked up the sword.
The worn-out, rusted, and broken sword I had obtained after successfully raiding the 41st Floor.
“It’s been a while.”
I was referring to the sword Anus, which had been with me at my end and during my golden age in the past.