37 – Demon (1)

I figured there would be boos rather than cheers, considering how enthusiastically I’d beaten up the hero.

Famous, and popular too, he was.

-Waaah!

Contrary to expectations, however, the crowd roared.

Perhaps because a no-rank had thrashed the second-place fighter? Though it wasn’t the spectacle they anticipated, it must have been an interesting match in its own right.

Watching Johan being carried out on a stretcher, instead of exiting on his own two feet, the sharp tension that had gripped me slowly subsided.

‘What was that…’

I creased my brow, gently opening my hand.

The sensation of clenching it tight, as if wringing it out, faded.

Something was different.

Like my own emotions, yet with something alien mixed in. As if someone was whispering, urging me on…

I turned my head, intending to leave the arena.

That’s when it happened.

Instinctively, I craned my neck upwards.

To protect the audience from attacks originating from the arena, a powerful barrier was supposed to surround the perimeter.

A section of that barrier, however, was shattered.

A chilling intent trickled down my neck. Without hesitation, I leaped back three paces.

– *Kwang!*

At that very instant.

Something colossal slammed down where I had been standing.

The ground shuddered. Debris sprayed in all directions, and a shockwave pulsed outwards.

One step slower, and I would have been crushed.

A white form.

It was a man.

With a massive mace buried deep in the ground, he gripped the end of it firmly, staring at me.

Modified for combat, a unique piece of equipment of the Holy Knights directly under the Order’s command.

Without a word, the figure hoisted the mace once more. Its weight did not seem light, by any measure.

I knew who he was instantly.

One who protected and accompanied the Hero.

‘Crusader.’

Not one of those child’s play Crusaders Johan paraded around with back at Gaon, but a ‘true’ Crusader who purged the fiends on the front lines.

A collective existing for the hero, by the hero, their loyalty nigh uncontainable.

They followed only the God and the hero. Neither law, nor morality, nor the gaze of the world mattered.

Only then did I slowly open my mouth.

“…You have a peculiar way of descending.”

The brute stared at me in silence.

He glanced toward Johan being carried away, then slowly bowed his head in that direction.

And, turning back to me, he spoke.

“I will give you the same.”

His voice was low and weighty. At the same moment, the gigantic form vanished.

Instantly, the same killing intent pierced my entire body.

I hastily reached for my waist, but the spear was gone. Thus, I had only one choice.

Lowering my body, I crouched into a defensive stance.

-CRASH!

The moment the mace came crashing down, the impact rippled outwards. But something was strange.

I was still unscathed. The mace, it hadn’t touched me.

“…?”

A man’s form stood before me. A man without any armament.

He had raised one hand, and was blocking the descending mace with his bare hand.

-WaaaH!!

The cheers of the crowd erupted.

The paladin’s expression faltered.

He immediately retracted his weapon and retreated a few steps.

Meanwhile, the man who had blocked the mace casually brushed off his arm.

Then, he spoke.

“See a sparring match as just that. Wouldn’t you agree?”

A somewhat playful and relaxed voice.

The paladin before me, murmured a name.

“Park Gwang-cheol…?”

Park Gwang-cheol smiled lightly.

“Things get a little ridiculous if you interfere, don’t they?”

The knight’s brow furrowed at his words.

Combine a Crusader’s armor with their physique, and the size difference was roughly more than double.

Nevertheless, Park Gwang-cheol’s presence was slowly consuming the arena.

“This isn’t a matter for Vanguisher to involve themselves in. If you interfere further, it will be taken as a declaration of war against the Order…”

“Why isn’t it?”

Park Gwang-cheol chuckled, stepping back. Then, he casually placed a hand on my shoulder.

“We’re taking this one with us, yes?”

The knight’s expression twisted at his words.

“Vanguisher…?”

Park Gwang-cheol laughed once more.

“A declaration of war…”

He lightly pushed my shoulder, nudging me aside, then took a step towards the knight.

“You really want to?”

A low, languid voice. But the meaning contained within was weighty.

“….”

The arena grew so quiet, one could hear the sound of held breath. At that moment, the knight’s fingertips trembled almost imperceptibly.

Park Gwang-cheol smiled, lightly patting his shoulder.

“Just kidding.”

He turned back to me.

“Let’s go.”

I looked at Park Gwang-cheol.

“To get some food.”

His expression was playful.

*

Vanguisher had directly confronted the Order to take me.

This was not only antagonizing the Order, but also tantamount to a formal declaration of protection over me.

Thanks to that, I nearly got stuck in a barrage of flashes and questions from reporters as we left.

-Get out of the way!!

Of course, Park Gwang-cheol cleared them all away in front.

“But, is this really okay?”

I scooped a spoonful of the *gukbap*, then asked,

– *Hoo-roop*

Park Gwang-cheol, cradling the *ttukbaegi* with both hands, slurped down the hot broth.

Setting down the *ttukbaegi*, Park Gwang-cheol planted his spoon in the rice and said to me,

“Originally, I was just gonna watch from the sidelines, y’know?”

Then, as if recalling something, he chuckled softly.

“You… you’re far too popular, it seems?”

“So when I told the Old Man, he told me to bring you in, pronto.”

I set down my spoon and nodded.

Thankfully, it hadn’t been his solo venture.

If the Old Man ordered it, well… that was that.

Park Gwang-cheol said with a languid air.

“But Hae-in, what in the world have you been up to?”

I paused momentarily.

“The Martial Alliance, Arcadia… and what was that? The Yoo Family, too?”

I thought for a moment, then answered vaguely.

“Just… doing what needed doing.”

Park Gwang-cheol chuckled again, continuing.

“So who’s the opponent tomorrow? There’s only one match today.”

The first day only had the first round. Tomorrow, rounds two and three. Tomorrow, when the crowds would be the thickest, their assault would begin.

That’s why I hadn’t even bothered checking the list of who I’d be facing tomorrow. I was planning to forfeit anyway.

“Uh… I dunno.”

I activated my watch to check. It had been smashed, so I’d hastily bought a new one before coming into the restaurant.

But something else caught my eye first.

The first round of sparring had just finished. It seemed the organizations were starting to bid for the students.

[Bidding Status]

[Crimson Guild] → [Park Su-hyeong] Bid: 10,000,000 KRW

[Dominant Guild] → [Wilson] Bid: 14,000 USD

Bids were coming in from various guilds around the world.

And then.

[Arcadia Order] → [Johann] Bids 500,000,000 KRW.

“Whoa, half a billion?”

Park Gwang-cheol exclaimed, watching the screen of his watch.

“Still, it buoys the spirit, doesn’t it.”

I nodded in response. Consideration from the Order level.

A measure to protect Johann’s pride, and a declaration of their will to support him to the very end, one could say.

No bids had come in for me yet.

I slowly scanned the list of opponents for tomorrow. Unfamiliar names. Therefore, I made a rough estimate.

Park Gwang-cheol, seemingly finished with his meal, leaned back in his chair.

I rose from my seat and said,

“Let’s go.”

There were preparations to be made, now.

*

Harpé had arrived. I picked up the package left in front of the dorm room door and brought it inside.

“Ugh, this is heavy.”

Tearing open the box, a massive chunk of stone revealed itself.

“…It’s…large?”

The stone-forged sickle was larger than I’d imagined. A rough and coarse surface, a weighty heft like a boulder.

Less like a sickle, more like a broken pillar.

No energy, no divinity could be felt.

I set the stone block down and looked outside.

The sun had already set, the moon was rising.

A gentle night breeze drifted in, spreading a faint scent of grass.

I slung the stone sickle over my shoulder and headed out.

Straight into the forest. It wasn’t too late yet, so there were still many people around. Thus, a secluded space was needed.

The forest at night held an entirely different atmosphere than during the day.

Silence reigned. Not even the sound of wind could be heard.

I walked slowly between the trees, raising my head to gaze at the sky.

Countless stars were embedded in the darkness of the night sky.

What I had to do now was simple.

To attune this stone sickle… to the constellation Perseus.

That was, in essence, the condition for reclaiming the Harpe’s true form.

Before setting out, I’d struggled quite a bit, searching for the Perseus constellation online.

Now it was April.

Ordinarily, Perseus wouldn’t be visible at this time of year.

But this wasn’t reality; this was a ‘world within a game’.

If the setting dictated it, then that became law.

‘There.’

I adjusted my grip on the stone sickle and looked up at the sky.

The Perseus constellation.

Aiming precisely at it, I raised the sickle high.

My vision aligned perfectly with the constellation.

At that instant, light fell. A beam of azure descending from the stars.

The moment it touched the stone sickle, a shiver spread from my fingertips.

The surface of the sickle, made of stone, began to change in an instant.

The rough surface began to crack, as if something hidden within was awakening.

From the fractured fissures, the sheen of metal slowly emerged.

Not stone, but a mystical metal tinged with silver.

The heavy, dull rock had now become a blade with a curved edge, a divine implement.

I quietly grasped the Harpe nestled in my hand.

‘Light.’

It fit perfectly in my hand. Astonishingly natural.

This relic, descended from myth into reality…

‘The serpent-rending sword.’

The sword to judge Medusa.