Chapter 74
The roar of the crowd was deafening, as if it would shake the entire stadium.
In the midst of this frenzy, the Demonkind team and the Academy team returned to reality.
“Aaaaah!! How could we lose this!!”
“Ughhh! This makes no sense!”
“This is impossible! We were winning!!! Aaaghhhhhh!!!”
The victory that slipped through their fingers.
The Demonkind team stomped and raged in frustration.
On the other hand, the humans were in a festive mood.
The audience was chanting Denian’s name, and the Academy team members were embracing each other in celebration.
Amidst it all, Denian, the hero of the victory, was quietly smiling.
“The winner is the Academy team!”
-Wowwwwwwwwwww!!
The audience erupted in cheers.
Everyone was united in showering praise on the Academy team.
Among the cheers, occasional voices insulted the Demonkind.
“Shortly, we will have the awards ceremony and closing event. Let’s give a big round of applause to all the players who worked hard!”
A brief intermission for the award preparations.
The Demonkind team and the Academy team stepped off the stage.
Behind the stage, the excitement was just as intense.
Even the eliminated human teams were cheering for the Academy team.
“…This feels disgusting.”
“So annoying, somehow.”
“Yeah…”
In the midst of it all, the Demonkind stood as complete outsiders.
The gazes directed at them seemed to scream, “We’ve defeated you!”
Although the Demonkind were humanity’s enemies, they had never faced such looks before.
After all, they had never communicated with humans in any way other than war.
The Demonkind felt an unexplainable discomfort.
Then came the awards.
“Next, we will hear from the runner-up of COL, the Demonkind team.”
After the automatic chess awards, it was time for the Demonkind team.
In war, there is no second place, but in Championship of Legends, even the defeated could claim the honour of being runners-up.
Of course, the humans didn’t cheer for the Demonkind’s second place.
Feeling subdued, Lumia stepped in front of the amplified voice magic device.
“Greetings. I am the Demon King.”
Once again, the Demon King Lumia forced a smile as she began to speak.
At first, the humans, murmuring “That’s the Demon King?”, now listened silently to her words.
Of course, their gazes still contained disdain.
“We, the Demonkind, are grateful to the Empire for allowing us to participate in COL. It was truly, truly enjoyable.”
At that point, Lumia’s words paused momentarily—or rather, for quite a while.
An uneasy stillness.
Lumia gazed at the audience with an indescribable feeling.
Humans, filling the seats like countless ants.
Lumia had once been human, abandoned by them.
Once, she had wanted to belong among them.
Now, she knew she could never be a part of them again.
And yet, still.
Even though she trusted no one, what Lumia hoped for—
“…The Demon King is actually very old. By human standards, hundreds of years old.”
At her sudden confession, the audience began to stir.
Among them, a few humans gasped, “Could it be…!” in shock.
These were mostly viewers of Lumia’s previous broadcasts or those who had recently become her fans but dared not show it due to her identity as a Demon.
“And originally, the Demon King lived in the human world. Because half of the Demon King’s blood is human.”
Lumia spoke plainly about herself.
How she was born a half-demon in the human world.
How she lived as an adventurer, only to be rejected by humanity and forced into the Demon World.
How she became a Legion Commander for the Demonkind, only to be betrayed by them.
And how she rose to become the Demon King and arrived here.
Lumia shared her entire story with the humans, all while forcing an innocent smile.
“…That’s why the Demon King was so happy to participate in this COL! To be one, whether human or Demonkind. To enjoy the game together instead of hating each other… It was such a joy.”
But a single tear she couldn’t hold back formed in the corner of her eye.
As her smile moved her cheeks, the tear fell.
“The Demon King… no longer wishes for war. But the Demonkind are fated always to seek the strong and fight. So in the future… it would be nice to compete through games like this!”
From before the tournament, Lumia had agonized over how to express and convey her feelings.
Her long, painful life was laid bare in her heartfelt confession.
It was hard for her to raise her head afterward.
Despite her hopes, it was difficult.
No matter how many games they played together, the hatred built over a long time did not vanish.
Clap.
Then, someone’s single clap broke the silence.
Startled, Lumia turned to look back.
The audience that had been staring at her earlier.
Their expressions no longer bore hatred.
Of course, it couldn’t be said that they were friendly either.
But they had turned their heads, just slightly.
Those who had turned their backs now faced her, just a little.
Clap clap clap clap—
The single clap grew and filled the audience.
No one cheered or praised.
But for the first time in any match involving the Demonkind, there were applause.
At least applause.
The audience could offer that much to the Demonkind.
And for Lumia, that was enough.
Tears she had barely held back began to pour out uncontrollably.
“D-Demon King?”
“It’s okay. Just for a moment…”
Even that was enough to move her young heart to tears.
“Now, the next award for the champions, the Academy team!”
After refocusing the situation, the ceremony continued.
The award for the Academy team, the champions, was next.
The audience erupted in fervent cheers, and as Denian, the hero of the victory, lifted the championship trophy, everyone began chanting his name.
-Denian! Denian! Denian! Denian!
Each member was asked to share their victory speech in turn.
Finally, it was Denian’s turn.
With his usual composed expression, Denian stepped onto the podium and began to speak.
“The last match was the most difficult one I’ve ever faced.”
The first words from the ‘God’ himself.
Those words shocked the audience.
Denian had never said anything like that before.
His matches were always a product of perfect calculations and strategies.
No matter how difficult the match seemed, it was always part of his plan.
But saying this now implied that even he had been uncertain of the outcome.
“However, it was also the most enjoyable match I’ve ever played.”
His victory speech continued.
He was known for his concise words, but today, his speech was unusually long.
“…And I also want to applaud the Demon team for creating such a magnificent match.”
-!!!
The audience was stunned.
No one had ever directly praised the Demon team like this before.
“I was born long after the Human-Demon War ended, so I know nothing about those times. Also, this was my first time seeing Demons directly.”
Some people’s perceptions of him began to change, but Denian continued undeterred.
“However, the Demons I met in the game were the most mannerly players. They played sincerely, respected the combat regardless of winning or losing, and upheld sportsmanship.”
Even the Demons seemed surprised.
They likely never expected a human to say such things.
“And it was the same during this tournament. Contrary to some concerns, they played with manners throughout, which allowed for an extraordinary match like the finals to happen.”
Perhaps these were words only a young gamer like Denian could say.
“I contemplated a lot before saying this. But after hearing the Demon King-sama’s speech, I decided I had to say it. I don’t know what the future holds. However, to the Demons, I want to say this.”
All eyes and ears were focused on Denian.
In his still composed voice, he said:
“Thank you for creating such a wonderful match. And I hope we can compete together again next year. For COL. And for peace.”
Denian walked off the podium, step by step.
While everyone was still dazed, the audience erupted in cheers.
-Waaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh-
-As expected, he’s a god!
-Denian! Denian! Denian! Denian!
Though the COL Championship had ended, the heat of its excitement burned even brighter.
***
“The excitement hasn’t died down at all.”
“At this rate, he’s practically like a god. Maybe even more followers than His Majesty.”
“I heard he’s been incredibly busy lately. He’s become even more famous after his victory speech.”
Galliard, Rikal, and I were flipping through newspapers at the Tower of Illusions.
The papers were filled with articles about COL, Demons, and Denian.
[Can Demons’ Desire for Peace Be Genuine?]
[A Story of a Half-Human, Half-Demon Demon King That Moved the Continent. A Surge in Viewership for Demon King-sama’s Tworch Stream.]
[Even the Demons Were Embraced by Him. Is He Truly a God?]
[COL’s Success Spurs a Rise in Popularity for the I-SPORTS Major: 100,000:1 Admission Ratio This Year.]
[What Lies Ahead for Human-Demon Relations? Can the Demon King’s Words Be Trusted?]
[Amidst Lingering Doubts, Demon King-sama’s Popularity Rises. Will She Become the ‘Light of the Shadows’?]
…
The prophesied Human-Demon War was still centuries away, so nothing could be said for certain now.
But what was clear was that Lumia had no intention of fighting humans.
As long as she remained the Demon King, no war would break out when the time came.
At most, they’d just bicker in COL.
“In any case, it’s a relief everything wrapped up peacefully. None of the anticipated issues arose.”
“That Demon King was completely different from her predecessors. She had none of that signature malice.”
Recalling past Demon Kings, Galliard shared stories from those times.
Indeed, Lumia didn’t fit the terrifying image of a Demon King at all.
“Well, I suppose it’ll be fine. After all, the Demons have said their goal isn’t the conquest of the human realm.”
“True. Their actual enemy is the Celestial (Heavenly) Realm. It seems more accurate to say the Goddess issues decrees in the middle realm to block the Demons as a form of self-preservation.”
“…Did you know that, Galliard?”
“I didn’t during my time as a hero. But looking back now, it feels like humans were used by the Celestials to hold back the Demons. And I think that’s likely true.”
So perhaps the so-called decrees were less divine guidance and more Celestial commands for their own safety.
If you think of it that way, the Human-Demon War might not even be inevitable.
Of course, the finer details are known only to them.
But for now, it seemed like everything would be fine as it was.
As long as everyone was happy, wasn’t that enough?
And so, the second COL Championship concluded beautifully.
And not long after, the news from Tworch about The Light of the Empire became the talk of the world.
—
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