Grid knew the most efficient way to break a group. The Seven Guilds, the Immortal Guild, the Eternal Kingdom, the Saharan Empire, the vampires, the Red Knights, and so on—he had struggled against so many groups that it would be sad if he hadn’t acquired some methods. Grid had been learning slowly but steadily. It wasn’t uncommon.

[You have put the Sweet Candy in your mouth.]

[All stats will increase by 30% for 5 minutes until the candy is melted.]

[Blacksmith's Rage has been used. Attack power has increased by 25%, and attack speed has increased by 40% for one minute.]

The moment the players entered through the door with a terrible sound—as if recreating the screams of the four heavenly kings—he brought out all of his power. Fear...

A group of people could easily collapse when their most primitive emotions were provoked. This simple and dishonest emotion spread quickly.

‘Pinnacle Kill.’

It was a skill that dealt 2,000% of his attack power.

“Death Penalty.”

It had a different name though. This was an example of the greatness of the power of language. Seuron hurriedly moved his sword when he saw the attack, but he couldn’t stop it. The Demon King’s sword turned in a direction that was impossible and pierced Seuron’s chest.

[Critical!]

The death penalty became a reality. Seuron made a disbelieving expression as he turned to gray, and Grid calmly received the doubtful gazes. Although Seuron would never know, this was an act of forgiveness from Grid. He would forgive Seuron for spreading the rumor about hemorrhoids. Grid was truly generous.

“...” His eyes penetrated through the people to someone in the rear. He could see Kraugel standing there with folded arms. The gazes of the two people met in the air.

“Crazy...!”

“Everybody stay calm! Surround him!”

The players surrounded Grid. It was shocking that Seuron, one of the key players, had died with a single blow. However, the players weren’t cowardly enough to fear a single death, nor were they loyal enough to feel angry. They just tried to be as impersonal as possible as they attacked the Demon King.

The link between shield and spear was precise as they prepared for a counterattack by setting up the shield. The Demon King was hit by a few moves and attempted to counterattack, but he escaped into the air when he was interrupted by the shields.

‘A fierce boss.’

‘This is the real deal...’

Gulp. It was a deadlock after a short engagement. The players looked up at the Demon King in the air and couldn’t help gulping. He had long black hair, three horns on the forehead, red eyes shining behind the grey mask, two wings, hands that were bigger than his face, and nails as sharp as blades. With an upright posture, the Demon King was both arrogant and intimidating. The mouth under his mask seemed to be smiling, and the players felt like they were being treated as insects.

‘The name is completely different.’

Most of the named NPCs in Satisfy had gold names. However, the name ‘Demon King’ was a deep red color with gold framing. It felt extraordinary while giving off a sense of oppression.

“Scatter!”

How many seconds passed by? The time it took to observe the Demon King wasn’t long, but could it be called only a moment? Rain started falling from the sky.

“....!” Chris’ shout unfroze the players’ stopped time. The astonished players moved backward. However, their distance to the Demon King was very close. It was difficult to open up the distance since they had surrounded the Demon King when he jumped into the middle of the enemy camp.

Suddenly, the Demon King descended and grabbed the face of a slow tanker. Then he whispered, “Storm of Slaughter.”

It was originally the field magic called Storm Demonic Energy Field. The strong wind and rain caused players to slow down, while lightning fell continuously toward the players who couldn’t escape from the area of the spell. The players tried to block the lightning with their shields or weapons, but it wasn’t easy because the lightning acted like a magnet that pushed or pulled the items.

“...” The players, who barely escaped from the area of the spell, stared at the battlefield with gaping mouths. The German representative, Weldon, was like a helpless herbivore as he was held by the Demon King. A series of lightning strikes whirled around the two of them, destroying dozens of players. Gray pillars rose amidst the raging screams and streams of flowing blood. The lava flowing on the ground produced steam, making the atmosphere seem much more dangerous.

“Weldon! What are you doing?”

“Steady yourself!"

The German players desperately cried out, but Weldon couldn’t come to his senses. Was it because the Demon King’s hand strength was so great that Weldon couldn’t move? No, this wasn’t the reason why. After all, Weldon was the 6th ranked guardian knight and had several skills to escape from physical strength.

Then was he shrinking back because of fear? This was hard to deny. It was a lie to say that he wasn’t afraid of the Demon King who had killed Seuron with one blow and lifted Weldon up with one hand. However, the basic character of a tanker was to ‘confront fear.’ If Weldon was a person who couldn’t confront fear, he wouldn’t have become a tanker. So, why couldn’t Weldon shake off the hand of the Demon King?

“Huung...”

It was because the fingers touching his forehead, cheeks, and neck conveyed a strange sensation to him. The sensation was close to pleasure, and Weldon didn’t want to miss this pleasure. He couldn’t escape from the hands of the Demon King. The rankers saw his heavy breathing and realized belatedly...

‘Is it bewitchment magic?’

‘An incubus type? He looked cool from the beginning.’

‘Shit, this is a headache.’

“Shit! Don’t be absent-minded and use your shields!” Outside the field magic, Goshar shouted to the magicians as he protected Weldon by covering him with earth. Then the confused people started to move in the same direction. The melee used their ranged skills on the Demon King, while the magicians overlapped several layers of shields on their allies being attacked by the field magic.

Still, it was too late. This was a storm created by the Grid who had eaten the candy. The rankers who entered the field for even a few seconds were already walking the path of death.

“This...!”

“What damage...!”

The number of gray pillars increased, and the magicians became impatient. They tried to find allies who were still alive, but their targets were burned to ashes every time. It was meaningless.

“Regas, stop.” Pon stopped Regas, who was about to fly into the Demon King’s field to rescue his allies, and looked at Jishuka. There was a huge firebird behind Jishuka.

“Fly Up!”

The red phoenix unleashed a rain of fire. The skill released from this myth rated Red Phoenix Bow was different from the skill of Grid’s reproduced legendary rated Red Phoenix Bow. It was much more powerful and had the ability to heal all allies within range.

“Wah!”

The players and spectators had already witnessed the scene where Jishuka’s red phoenix had killed the heavenly king and rescued her allies. They didn’t doubt that Jishuka’s red phoenix would save the players who were trapped in the evil Demon King’s field. Yet...

“Bah,” The Demon King scoffed and reached out toward the red phoenix. The huge red phoenix was sucked into the Demon King’s hand, disappearing without a trace. This was the Skill Deletion effect attached to Dark Bus’ Ring. Grid was prepared to bring out all his cards today. It wasn’t just for the compensation but for Yura as well.

‘You can’t go anywhere.’

The surprised players were frozen like stone statues after seeing the red phoenix disappear. Grid turned his gaze toward the camera, conveying his will to Yura who was watching the game.

*** 

『 No, what is this? Isn’t it a provocation? 』

『 It is obvious, no matter how I look at it. 』

The commentators were horrified when the camera zoomed in on the Demon King’s face. It was as if the Demon King was saying, ‘The heroes, whom you believe in and are cheering for, are just bugs to me.’ 

Grid would be sad if he knew this. Feeling conscious of Yura, he was displaying a smile that was as gentle as he could make possible, but the world thought of it as a rotten smile.

『 As soon as I spoke, the storm was lifted! 』

『 The power of the skill is strong, but the duration seems short. It should also have a long cooldown time. The players must aim for this time. 』

『 Players Regas and Pon are taking the lead! Ah! After Player Pon’s spear pierced the Demon King’s feet, Player Regas’ kick has raised his chin! What a pass! 』

『 Damian’s buff is concentrated on Chris and Jishuka! Player Chris’ sword tried to cut down the Demon King, but the Demon King avoided it! 』

『 The Demon King is very conscious of Chris’ attack. You can see that he is never getting hit. Ah! Even the Demon King can’t avoid Jishuka’s arrow! 』

『 Player Jishuka’s arrow pierced the Demon King’s chest, and he can’t swing his sword! 』

It was a really exquisite move. Jishuka was well aware of the fact that the Demon King had a higher defense and health than the four heavenly kings. Rather than attempting to hit a mortal wound, she attacked his right hand which held a weapon. It was to cause a physical constraint where he couldn’t use weapons. The Demon King tried to swap the weapon to his other hand.

『 Mei Xiao’s cloth is binding the Demon King’s left arm! 』

『 Katz’ bloody storm and Peak Sword are attacking the Demon King! 』

The 400-against-1 fight had started. The players, who had fought the four heavenly kings twice, joined forces to hit the Demon King thoroughly. The Demon King, who seemed like he would never collapse in his first appearance, was now being hit one-sidedly.

The players and spectators cheered. However, the Overgeared members knew the identity of the Demon King and got shivers.

‘It is a trap!’

There was a reason why the Demon King stood in place and maintained the disadvantageous fight. He would definitely be aiming for something but they realized it too late.

-Kuhahahaha! The sound of the Demon King’s laughter came from the other side. The players’ gazes naturally turned toward that direction. They were baffled. The thought that the Demon King who attacked them was just a clone and that the real Demon King was the one laughing filled the minds of the players.

Unfortunately, this was a false judgment. The laughter in the distance was just a trick that Grid set up with the Alarm spell.

“I will seal one eye.”

“...!?”

The players looked away from the direction of the laughter back to the Demon King. Then they saw it. The Demon King had escaped from the encirclement.

“Kneel Down.”

The skill was originally named 100,000 Army Blockade Sword. It dealt 20% damage to all visible enemies and had the ‘blockade’ effect for three seconds. Blocked targets couldn’t move, and their skills or magic would also be sealed off. The disadvantage was that it consumed fighting energy, but the Undefeated King’s swordsmanship exerted great power when facing a large number of people and it now neutralized all players. The melee fighters who were using skills and the magicians who were casting magic—they were forced to their knees simultaneously.

“...” The commentators, audience members, and viewers went silent. It was shocking to see hundreds of rankers kneeling before the Demon King.

“Kuek...! Kuoock...!”

The battlefield became calm like the previous fierce atmosphere was a lie. Some people couldn’t understand, some people trembled with fright, and some others were angry. Only one person...

“...” Only Sword Saint Kraugel was standing upright and watching the Demon King. Everyone’s gaze was on him. They wanted Kraugel to protect his colleagues from the Demon King. However, Kraugel didn’t meet their expectations. He just stood still.

“Let’s compete in the final showdown.”

This was the promise he had made with Grid last year. Kraugel didn’t want to ignore his promise with Grid, even if it led to defeat and criticism from the world.

‘We will fight one on one.’

Grid read the message in Kraugel’s eyes as he grabbed the neck of the Chinese representative Mei Xiao. His answer was, ‘Yes.’