Debuff Master

“I surrender.”

“Let’s stop this…”

“I give up!”

The Pandemonium Guild members surrendered with their arms raised.

“It seems that they've all surrendered. What do we do now, oppa?” Yong Seol-Hwa asked.

“Hmm… I want to spare them, but…” Siegfried replied, looking troubled.

“But what?”

“There’s a bit of a… situation on my end. so…”

“Huh? What do you mean by that?”

“Is there some special reason why–?” Yong Seol-Hwa asked, but she was unable to finish her question.

Bam! Bam! Smack!

Siegfried swung his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp at the Pandemonium Guild members who had just surrendered.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The Pandemonium Guild members fell one after the other, and they all sprawled out lifelessly on the ground.

Clink! Clink! Clink!

The items they dropped upon death littered the Hall of Decision.

“Kyaaah! Kyaaaah!”

The Three-Legged Crow appeared and swept up the items, depositing them into Siegfried’s Inventory before disappearing like a mirage.

“...”

Yong Seol-Hwa finally understood why Siegfried had told her that he couldn't spare them even if he wanted to do so. It was all about the loot. He could not show mercy because he wanted the items the Pandemonium Guild members would drop upon death.

“A-Aaah…!Hng…!” Siegfried let out a moan as he shivered from pleasure after gathering the loot, but he quickly regained his composure and turned toward the door.

As soon as he turned, he saw Chae Hyung-Seok leaning against the door, smoking a cigarette.

“Oh? Looks like that guy is still alive,” Siegfried said.

“Fuuu…” Chae Hyung-Seok blew out a puff of smoke and stared blankly at the ceiling.

He had been like this the whole time since Siegfried entered the Hall of Decision. All he did was cast buffs on his teammates and smoke without actually trying to get involved in the battle.

“Hey, what are you doing, Hyung-Seok?”

“Just kill me already,” Chae Hyung-Seok replied without even looking at Siegfried.

“No, that’s no fun. Tormenting you is the fun part, you know?”

“Hahaha…” Chae Hyung-Seok simply chuckled in response.

“Tsk…” Siegfried clicked his tongue, seemingly dissatisfied by the lack of reaction. Then, he lazily swung his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp at Chae Hyung-Seok’s head.

Pukeok!

Chae Hyung-Seok’s head was smashed open like a watermelon.

Woooong!

Surprisingly, a magic circle appeared around his lifeless body. Then, a bunch of demons emerged from the magic circle and dragged Chae Hyung-Seok’s remains away before vanishing.

“Huh? Where’d they take him to?” Siegfried muttered, confused by the sudden turn of events. Then, he quickly realized what had happened, ‘Oh right, he made a pact with demons.’

He figured that Chae Hyung-Seok had to have failed to fulfill his end of the contract, and he was dragged off to the demon world as a result. Ironically, the thought that he was the cause didn't cross his mind for even a second.

‘Tsk… Does that mean I won’t get to see him in the game anymore? Man, messing with him was one of the best parts of this game. Oh well, I guess I’ll have to let him go now. What a shame…’ Siegfried lamented the loss of his favorite plaything as he slowly opened the doors leading to the throne room.

Creak…!

The doors opened, and an ornately decorated throne at the end of the hall came into view.

— Han Tae-Sung!

— Here he goes! The king is walking toward the throne!

— The warrior who has achieved the impossible is now going to claim the throne!

The commentators regained their vigor, and they shouted until their voices grew hoarse as they watched Siegfried approach the throne.

Thud, thud, thud…

Siegfried walked across the crimson carpet while drenched in the blood of his enemies. The blood from the fallen Pandemonium Guild members stained the carpet as he walked on it.

Thud, thud, thud!

Finally, he arrived in front of the throne. He paused dramatically for about three seconds before sitting down. It was a truly epic moment, one that would be remembered for ages.

Thirty-two versus five hundred.

Siegfried had overcome the overwhelming odds of nearly sixteen to one difference in numbers and sat on the throne of the fortress. This was just the theme of the map, but it looked like a scene that heralded the birth of a new ruler.

— H-Han Tae-Sung!

— A new king… no, the new emperor has taken his throne!

— A legend is born!

The commentators elevated and glorified Siegfried as he sat on the throne.

Woooooaaaaah!

The crowd erupted in cheers from the stands, thrilled to witness the birth of a new legend with their very own eyes.

The impact of Siegfried sitting on the throne could only be described as monumental, and it was undeniably one of the most iconic moments of the year.

Ironically, things were a bit different, truth be told.

‘Oh? This seat looks kinda comfy,’ Siegfried thought after looking at the throne.

He did not sit on the throne for the sake of dramatic flair or to put on a show for the people. He was just curious whether the throne in front of him was as comfortable as his own throne.

Most kings would have the same thought whenever they saw someone else’s throne. Thus, he plopped down on the throne purely out of curiosity, but it ended up having tremendous effects.

‘It’s soft, but the backrest angle isn’t that great.’

His verdict on the fortress throne? Not the best.

***

After the match, Tae-Sung had to give several interviews before finally getting some free time. He left the V-Sports Stadium and headed to a party place he had reserved earlier to celebrate with his teammates.

He threw a celebration party for his teammates before returning home.

Upon reaching home—

[Total Donations Received: 18,417,763,000[1] KRW]

—Tae-Sung was shocked when he checked the total donation amount.

“W-Whoa…?”

It was a staggering eighteen billion won. The amount itself was already shocking, but what was even more shocking was the fact that this was collected in just two and a half hours.

The viewers had donated an astronomical sum after getting hyped up by the super plays he showed during the live match.

BNW was a game that had captivated the hearts of people from all over the world, so it was not surprising at all that Tae-Sung, who was the star of the match, had received such an immense sum of donations from his viewers.

However, that was not the end of it...

Tae-Sung’s value had skyrocketed as well, and sponsorship offers from multinational companies started flooding in. However, he did not want to think about that for now. He sprawled out quietly in bed and closed his eyes in a quest for sleep.

“Today was exhausting…” Tae-Sung muttered to himself as he drifted to sleep.

Maintaining peak concentration levels for two and a half hours had left him completely drained, both physically and mentally.

***

The battle between the Head Crusher Guild and the Pandemonium Guild became a common topic everywhere, and it also dominated the front page of G-Tube for quite some time.

Many G-Tubers even edited highlight reels from the battle, adding their own commentary and interpretations, which further spread other content related to the match.

G-Tube was flooded with videos of the match, and this, in turn, elevated the battle to legendary status. Adding to the buzz, the Pandemonium Guild trio also posted a video of themselves getting their heads shaved.

“Wow, Chae Hyung-Seok has a surprisingly nice head shape,” Tae-Sung said while watching the video of Chae Hyung-Seok getting his head shaved while looking like he had eaten something bitter.

Two days later…

“W-Where am I…?”

Chae Hyung-Seok logged back into the game after forty-nine hours, only to realize that the landscape before him had changed completely. He furrowed his brows and inspected his surroundings.

After having his head smashed open by Siegfried, he remembered seeing his body getting dragged away by demons, and this was the reason why he had logged in the moment his death timer ended.

[Demon World: District 7]

A notification informing him of his current location popped up in front of his eyes.

“No way… did I really get dragged to hell…?” Chae Hyung-Seok muttered, finally realizing his situation.

Creak…

A door opened, and a demon dressed in luxurious clothes stepped in just as he was starting to understand his situation.

“Huh?” Chae Hyung-Seok narrowed his eyes after recognizing the familiar figure.

[Baroque]

[The son of Demon Lord of Vengeance, Vernas, and the ruler of the demon world’s District 7.]

[He is the strongest candidate to become the next Demon Lord, and he is searching for the Demon Sword: Avenger.]

[Type: NPC]

[Level: 450]

[Race: Demon]

[Affiliation: District 7]

[Position: Prince]

[Note: He has a very bad relationship with his brother, Metatron.]

“Desire,” Baroque called out. Then, he cast a look full of disdain and said, “You’re truly an irredeemable piece of trash.”

“What did you say?” Chae Hyung-Seok growled in retort.

“I gave you countless chances, yet you couldn’t even retrieve my father’s sword from that brat.”

“T-That’s…!”

“I suppose you do know why you’ve come all the way to the Demon World, right?”

“...”

“You failed to uphold your end of the bargain.”

“B-But that was…!”

“And I don’t have to tell you what it means to fail a contract with a demon, right?”

“S-Shut up! I’m not going to be your slave!” Chae Hyung-Seok shouted.

“Hahaha!”

“Damn it! I told you to shut up! I’ll never agree to—!”

“Kneel,” Baroque commanded.

Woong!

The contract between the two came to life, and it seized control of Chae Hyung-Seok’s body.

“A-Arghhh!” Chae Hyung-Seok struggled with all of his might, but it was in vain, as a contract with a demon was absolute. He had already given his soul as collateral, so there was no way he could resist Baroque’s command.

Thud!

Chae Hyung-Seok collapsed to his knees, kneeling before Baroque.

“My servant,” Baroque said, placing his hand on Chae Hyung-Seok’s head. Then, he added, “You're a servant, so you can’t have a human body.”

“W-What are you doing…?!”

“I shall have you reborn.”

A stream of dark mana burst out of Baroque and melted into Chae Hyung-Seok’s head before spreading throughout him.

Sseuuuu…!

Chae Hyung-Seok’s body turned purple, and then he slowly mutated. He transformed into that of a demon, effectively becoming the first Adventurer to be reborn as a demon.

***

The next day, Siegfried logged in early in the morning and headed to a construction site in the Proatine Kingdom’s capital city, Preussen.

“Move that this way! No! The angle of the furnace is off!”

Quandt was busy overseeing the construction of what would become the new headquarters of the Bavarian Workshop.

“Quandt.”

“Hello, Your Majesty!”

Quandt rushed over when he saw Siegfried.

“How’s the construction going?”

“We should be able to officially open in two months.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“But why are you up so early in the morning…?”

“About that…” Siegfried said, opening his inventory and taking out hundreds of items. Then, he showed them to Quandt and continued, “It’s because of these…”

Quandt looked troubled as he began inspecting the items.

These items were the ones Siegfried had collected after killing the Pandemonium Guild members during the match.

In other words, they were the weapons crafted by Avant.

“I don’t really feel good about selling them. I mean, I could definitely sell them for an expensive price, but I think it’d be dangerous to release these kinds of artifacts into the world,” Siegfried said with a shrug.

The weapons made by Avant were truly efficient in terms of lethality, but the problem was that they were simply too brutal. Siegfried might be easily swayed and tempted by money, but he could not bring himself to flood the market with such demonic weapons.

Quandt stayed quiet for a few seconds before muttering, “Ashes to ashes… Dust to dust…”

“Hmm? Did you say something?” Siegfried asked.

“We’ll have to disassemble them and at least recover the materials used.”

“How…? Is that even possible?”

“Follow me.”

Quandt led Siegfried to a large rectangular machine that stood at least four meters tall.

“What’s that?” Siegfried asked.

“A disassembler,” Quandt replied.

1. Roughly fifteen million dollars ☜

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