A person who was praised—there was no saying that was better used to describe Yura. She had a great background and talent that encompassed all disciplines. Yura wasn’t arrogant, and she had an upright character and an unparalleled beauty. Every innate element of hers made her shine.

Her achievements in Satisfy became her wings, and the responsibility she had shown by participating in the 1st National Competition alone while other Korean rankers had been absent made her a role model for others. Praise poured toward her constantly, and Yura had also been proud of herself. She had believed that she was doing well enough.

Yet these thoughts changed after she met Grid. Grid was a completely different type of person from Yura. He had lagged behind in luck and talent while suffering from countless adversities. He must’ve fallen down countless times from setbacks and accusations and fallen asleep with tears.

However, he hadn’t given up. Rather, he was tempered like steel. He had looked at the top of a hill when others were looking at the top of a mountain. While other people climbed 10 steps, he had taken one step. He hadn’t stopped while others rested. Instead, he had gone up slowly but steadily.

All types of misfortunes had grabbed at his ankle, but he had endured without giving up. He had achieved some good luck and continued working hard without being complacent about that luck. Ultimately, he had finally managed to reach the top.

Yura had congratulated him sincerely. Knowing how long and how hard the road that Grid took had been, Yura truly respected him. She couldn’t be the best even with her natural talents and knew better than anyone in the world how great Grid was.

On the other hand, she was ashamed of herself. She realized that no matter how hard she tried or how talented she was, she couldn’t stand side by side with Grid. Yura’s pride came crashing down. She couldn’t accept that she wasn’t the best, despite being born with better conditions than other people.

Thus, she tried and tried again. She had to get rid of this shame by proving herself. Then she would be able to face Grid. Still, in the end, she didn’t achieve it.

“...”

During the 4th National Competition, she wasn’t satisfied despite having won gold and silver medals. No, Yura’s eyes were shaking with despair as she watched the monitor. She discovered that the Demon King on the screen was Grid. Furthermore, Grid was in hell. He was facing hundreds of weapons, as well as humanity’s booing and anger, alone.

“Why...”

Grid was stabbed by the spears and swords and quickly became bloody. Every time he screamed, Yura felt her heart ache.

“...Why are you going so far...”

Yura didn’t know why Grid became the Demon King. It might be for wealth or honor. She just vaguely felt that he became the Demon King because he wanted something. Nevertheless, was it necessary for Grid to win to get what he wanted? Probably not. It was absurd to discuss victory in a 400-against-1 fight. Grid could get what he wanted without necessarily winning. He would have a contract with the S.A Group in the first place.

Yet Grid was now fighting to win. He couldn’t move his fingertips and was screaming through the blood, but he didn’t lose his fighting spirit and persisted. Yura could see the reason for it.

‘There will be someone fighting to protect you,’ Grid had clearly said so.

Since then, her grandfather no longer contacted her. The shrewd Yura knew what had happened behind her back. “Why...”

Grid managed to pass the crisis. He created a huge explosion and slaughtered hundreds of players. After that, there was another struggle. There were 80 survivors left, and Grid squeezed out his last remaining strength to fight them. In the process, he went through several crises and even lost his immortality.

In the end, he managed to knock everyone down. Once the last enemy’s health gauge emptied out, Grid stared into the camera before turning toward his old rival Kraugel. Beyond the broken mask, Grid’s eyes were clearly gazing at Yura.

‘Believe in me.’ He looked exactly the same as when he said this to her in the past.

Yura was very pained. She knew that it was an unusual thing for Grid to be fighting for her. Everyone else believed that she could do well on her own. It was because they thought she was a superwoman. However, Yura wasn’t a superwoman. She could do better than others, but she couldn’t solve everything by herself.

Her vision blurred as she formed fists. Yura didn’t know when Viola came over, but Viola patted her on the shoulder. Viola thought Yura was truly delicate.

***

“...”

“...”

The two men faced each other silently. Above their heads, the four swords and golden hands clashed tirelessly with each other. The people didn’t know it, but both players had extremely exhausted mental states. Kraugel had to concentrate on controlling the four swords. Simultaneously, Grid concentrated on reading Kraugel’s attack timing while creating a new item in his head. Both people were unable to achieve their normal levels of concentration.

The God Hands and the controlled swords collided exactly 89 times. One of the swords was hit by Magic Missile and fell toward Kraugel’s feet. Grid noticed Kraugel’s right shoulder lowering, and Kraugel pulled the sword out of the sheath. The moment the flash came in contact with Grid, he wore Doran’s Ring. However, he was late by 0.1 seconds.

[You have suffered 18,500 damage!]

[Doran’s Ring is equipped.]

The effect of Doran’s Ring wasn’t applied because the ring was worn after being hit.

“Kuek...!” Grid’s face distorted as he stepped back and raised the Enlightenment Sword. The sword was recovered, and Kraugel’s next swing at Grid was blocked.

[...The black flames have exploded!]

The flames struck Kraugel.

[The target has received 3,200 damage.]

Kraugel was already in the stage of communing with the Enlightenment Sword. The class effect of the Sword Saint saw through the Enlightenment Sword and reduced the damage of the black flames. He penetrated through the flames and kicked Grid. This was the moment when the effect of Doran’s Ring was wasted. Doran’s Ring only restored 900 damage from the kick.

At this time, Kraugel rotated in a diagonal line, and the White Tiger Sword rose from the bottom and aimed for Grid’s chin. Even so, Grid succeeded in evading Weapons Ascension. He was able to read the exact timing using his high insight and the power of the Slaughterer’s Eye Patch. The most important thing to watch out for when attacking a boss was an attack from the bottom. Grid was very strong against attacks from the bottom. He lightly twisted his head and tried to fight back with the Enlightenment Sword.

“...?!”

A stone pillar that followed the path of the White Tiger Sword had already risen and struck Grid’s abdomen.

[When attacked, there is a normal chance of ‘Pillar’ being released. The giant stone pillar has a blasting effect of up to five meters. The damage applied is 50% of the weapon’s attack power.]

This was the pillar effect attached to the World Crushing Sword of the Noble White Tiger. Grid was thrown back and smashed into the half-destroyed organ. He hurriedly shook his head and stood up, only to see the sharp tip of a sword. It was an attack aimed for between his eyes. It stimulated an instinctive fear. It was an attack that a person had no choice but to respond to.

The grim looking Grid tried to stop the blade only to change his mind. He wasn’t convinced that this was Kraugel’s most threatening attack. Just as it was about to pierce Grid between his eyes, the White Tiger Sword twisted its trajectory like Pinnacle Kill, only to be blocked. Grid’s Enlightenment Sword blocked the White Tiger Sword’s path.

“...” Kraugel’s gaze sank as his move was detected unexpectedly. He tried not to express it, but he had already been surprised a few times. Kraugel felt thrilled from the moment Grid used Fly whilst on his knees and when he avoided the attack from the bottom twice.

The man in front of Kraugel was no different from himself. Grid was no longer the Overgeared King who compensated for his lack of sense, judgment, and ability with items. The Hero King had grown after winning against several heroes and continued to raise his experience. He had a different sense of pressure from the Hero, an artificial intelligence who could display his abilities to an excellent level.

Grid’s current level threatened Kraugel’s innate senses and talent.

“Pinnacle!” Grid used the strength that was clearly superior to Kraugel and pushed back the White Tiger Sword.

“Tearing the Sky.” Kraugel counterattacked.

“Revolve!” Grid also responded.

However, Grid couldn’t shake off his uncomfortable feelings. Assuming that both players had one counterattack skill, the one who used it first would have the overwhelming disadvantage.

‘Did Kraugel create a new counterattack skill?’

A chill went down Grid’s spine as he was reminded that Kraugel could create new sword techniques.

“Quick Command.”

“...!?”

Black and white flashing wings appeared on Kraugel’s back, and he disappeared from Grid’s vision. The force of Pinnacle that was strengthened to the extreme from the two counterattacks cut the ground, and Kraugel reappeared on the cracked ground.

The White Tiger Sword was already cutting Grid’s shoulders. Three times the damage overlapped. This was the power of Quick Command which was classified as one of the three offensive passive skills. It was a skill that ignored physical concepts by evading ‘definite’ attacks. He would then return to his original position after four seconds, and his next attack would do triple the damage.

As the name suggested, it was a very swift skill with excellent utility. However, depending on the situation, the restriction of returning to the original activation point could become a great poison. This restriction also allowed him to destroy a player’s maximum strength skill by definitely evading one attack.

As a simple example, if he used Quick Command to avoid a wide range skill that lasted more than four seconds, he would return to the same spot after four seconds and wouldn’t be able to escape. It was incomplete, just like how Grid’s God’s Command had the fatal disadvantage of the ‘probability.’

Of course, if Kraugel took the side of the seven malignant saints, the constraints would be lifted and the story would be different. Despite this, he avoided belonging to certain forces. He didn’t stand on the side of the malignant saints or the gods. If he were to stand on one side, then he would’ve already joined a guild. Of course, there was only one guild that he ever thought of joining.

‘Mine is XXX.’ Grid didn’t know any of this and gritted his teeth. From his point of view, God’s Command was the best garbage skill. Grid had lost more than one-third of his health while Kraugel still only had minor injuries.

Everyone in the world held their breaths as the two men fought fiercely, not summoning any pets or drinking potions like they had made a promise. Even the bosses of the chicken stores focused on the TV without realizing that their phones had been ringing for a long time. The energy of Wave broke the ground while the force of Splitting the Sky swept into the sky.

The battlefield gradually became narrower. The gap between Grid and Kraugel shortened while the number of collisions increased. Grid borrowed the power of the Slaughterer’s Eye Patch to cut at Kraugel’s waist, while Kraugel relied on Super Sensitivity to save himself from a fatal injury and cut at Grid’s thigh.

Many people realized that Grid was in an unfavorable situation as the number of exchanges increased. Then Grid finished making the item and shouted like the protagonist of a cartoon, “Item! Production!”

『 ...? 』

“...?”

“...?”

Making an item during the battle...? The commentators, spectators, and viewers watching the game were sweating. It was so absurd that they were speechless. Regardless, it didn’t matter.

“Blue Dragon Sword Breaker!” Grid shouted, and a bright light burst from his left hand. This was the moment that the dark blue sword with an electric current around it appeared in the world. The blade part was made from the remnants of Great Demon Astaroth, and there was a deep groove in the blade.

Kraugel’s shaky eyes were captured by the camera, and all communities over the world were a mess.

-A sword breaker against the Sword Saint ;;

-Wow! A super cheap deadly move!

-That light...