A Basement-Dwelling Loser, the Inquisitor – Chapter 190

After the event, in the waiting room.

With about ten minutes left until the interview, Edde was mulling over her frustration from the loss.

“Um….”
“…Rene?”

And then Rene approached her.

“Ah, hello….”

As soon as their eyes met, Rene, with a timid expression, awkwardly nodded her head towards Edde.

This was a complete contrast to the bold attitude she showed during the PVP. Despite the clear height difference, for some reason, Edde felt as if she was looking down at Rene.

‘…Is this really the same person?’

It was hardly strange for Edde to have such doubts.

“I wanted to say thank you for today….”
“Ah, yes….”

‘What the heck? Is she teasing me?’

Edde had not forgotten.
What Rene had said, calling her “auntie” multiple times during trash talk.

Of course, she had initiated the taunts before the event started, but Edde had only talked about “game skill.”

‘She called me “auntie”…!’

Yet here she was, trash-talking about something that had nothing to do with the competition, something that Edde couldn’t change no matter how hard she tried.
From Edde’s perspective, it was infuriating.

“You were really amazing today…. I learned a lot from you….”

‘What’s with this girl…?’

As the current PVP global ranking No. 1 in New Dimension, Edde had of course participated in countless ranked matches.

So it was only natural for her to know the implications behind someone coming up to her in this situation and praising her.

“I realized during the third round… you were holding back a little today, right…?”
“Ha, haha….”

What a personality!
Rene had come all this way to insult her for being defeated three to one in this event.

‘Sure, I was the one who started it, but this girl has a real bad personality….’

From calling her “auntie” to this new remark.

Edde’s evaluation of Rene was plummeting down into the abyss.

‘What do you mean by getting close…?’

The initial fondness she felt was now dwindling to almost nothing.

Of course, Edde herself had provoked Rene quite a bit before the event started, overwhelmed by her fan feelings for Ga-eun.
That’s why some might argue that Edde had her share of faults in this situation, and Edde was somewhat aware of that fact too.

Thus, after winning today’s PVP event, she had intended to have a conversation and apologize.

But PVP ended in her brutal defeat, and now Rene had come to start this taunting in the waiting room.

‘This is too much…. Did I really do something that wrong? This devilish person….’

But losers usually don’t get to speak up.

“You know, using a spear is such a tricky weapon, right? I was genuinely impressed that you managed to handle it that well even while holding back….”

‘I just wish she’d leave already….’

With Rene continuously throwing insults, all Edde could do was swallow her curses and laugh.

“And what about that step of yours…? The slight retreat before striking….”

That was until Rene’s next topic came up.

“Did you learn that from Ga-eun?”
“…Huh?”

Edde was a fan of Ga-eun.
She was so enthusiastic that if Ga-eun initiated something, she would throw herself into the challenge at least once.

From kickboxing to New Dimension.
It could be said that most of Edde’s hobbies started because of Ga-eun’s mentions.

And obviously, that had influenced Edde’s PVP style too.

“Well, I didn’t learn it directly from Ga-eun from the start… but how do you…?”
“Oh, I see, you copied it by watching her… That makes sense; it felt a bit different… but the fundamental structure seemed similar, just adjusted to fit your style, Edde?”

The reason Edde lost three to one lay in the rhythm created by those steps.
Since the foundation of that rhythm began with Ga-eun’s steps, it was an easily identifiable weakness for Rene, who had engaged in countless one-on-ones with Ga-eun.

Of course, Edde couldn’t possibly imagine that was the reason.

“But you didn’t learn directly from the start….”
“I, I learned from talking about PVP later on….”

That day had been a day Edde would be joyfully marking on her calendar.
Just talking about it now was enough to loosen her expression.

And seeing Edde’s expression, Rene pondered for a moment before speaking up.

“By the way, are you two dating…?”
“…Huh?”

In that moment, Edde’s thoughts came to a halt.
“…Y-yes? Huh?! There’s no way! How could someone like me possibly—?!”
“What do you mean ‘someone like you’? There wouldn’t be a guy who wouldn’t like Edde if you were the one!”
“That’s impossible?!”
“Oh, I’m sorry if I misunderstood…”

At Edde’s vehement denial, Rene was taken aback and lowered her head.

“I just thought you two matched so well….”
“Rene! You need to come this way; we have an interview scheduled!”
“Ah, yes….”

And their conversation was cut short due to Rene’s winner interview schedule.

“…Ah, and sorry, Edde… I didn’t really know about trash talk… I thought it was a joke; I’m sorry if it upset you….”

With those last words, Rene exited the waiting room.
Looking at the firmly closed door, Edde thought.

‘M-me and Ga-eun….’
“Ugh…!”
‘What a good person…!’

Thus, Edde’s fondness for Rene skyrocketed to the heavens.

★

No matter how you looked at it, aren’t they dating?
For a pro gamer, having their own techniques is like the lifeblood of their career; to teach one personally is no trivial matter.

Well.
Ga-eun is a guy, so naturally, he’d like such a cute girl.

But Ga-eun is a pro gamer, and Edde is the PVP global ranking No. 1.
If news of their dating got out, it wouldn’t be strange for all sorts of stories to unfold in the community.

So they must be hiding it, no doubt.

Don’t worry, Edde.
This secret will be taken to the grave…!

With that resolve seeping in, I followed Fel into the interview.

★

That place was hell.
Nothing was visible, nothing could be felt, it was the literal hell of 0.

In that hell, a being was curled up.
“I won’t forgive you! Those who threw me into this pit, I will tear you to shreds someday…!”

Echoing was a voice filled with rage.
But there was no response to that voice.
With the level of power sealed, any curses he could breathe out here wouldn’t reach the surface.

“Aah….”
Time flowed.
A day. Two days. A week. A year. Ten years. A hundred years….

So much time passed that even the world began to forget his dread.
And ultimately, his name left on the surface began to be tainted.

The countless avatars he had sent out to rise again had collapsed and fell, over and over, to an uncountable degree.

“What is my name…. What am I…? Where is this place…?”

The voice that rang out amidst the flow of time felt as if it had given up on everything.
But still, within that voice, an endless fury lay dormant.

And then one day.
The core of the seal began to weaken.

“Khuhuh… I waited for this day….”

He began to rise from his curled-up body, slowly moving his arms.
It didn’t matter that nothing was visible and nothing could be felt.
He remembered the exact locations of the abhorrent chains that had been confining him until now.

“I will destroy everything….”

Little by little, the chains of seal began to break.
Normally, when such attempts were made, the seal would reestablish itself immediately, but now nothing could stop his movements. Nothing could.

“I will break everything…!”

Finally, all the chains shattered, and hell screamed.

The abyssal hell, Tartarus.
A pit of hell that imprisoned by reducing everything to 0.
But even such a hell could not completely confine the unleashed power, and he began to fully rise from his curled position.

“I have waited long for this day…. You humans who buried me under the depths of Tartarus! The Great Demon Tagirion will burn your world to ashes with my blazing wrath!”

The flames of wrath began to spread his scarlet wings.
The searing heat felt as though it would turn everything to ashes upon nearing him.
The power he aimed at was the loathsome humans on the surface.

In a distant past, all the cults across the continent had united to seal the worst of demons.
With horns that pierced the sky and legs that could cave in the earth; a manifestation of absolute evil.

That demon’s name was Tagirion.
The Great Demon of Wrath who would burn the world to ashes.

★

[…So you’re saying if we win, Tagung, I mean, Tagirion will be resurrected…?]
[Could it really be that way…?]

“Ugh….”
It absolutely shouldn’t be.
Why don’t people recognize that this is all just a trick of the heretics?

It felt regrettable.
When I get home, I have to explain the heretics’ tricks to Ga-eun through Miscode.