Your Commander-in-Chief – Chapter 72

A week.

That’s how long it took me to gather all the equipment from the Demon Fortress.

If I’d had more gameplay hours, I could have shortened that time, but this was my limit for now.

The Demon Lord game was finally over.

And it was at that moment in front of the Demon Fortress when I donned the last piece of equipment.

[The Sun God’s Holy Sword reveals its true form.]

With the message rising across the entire server, a brilliant pillar of light shot up from afar.

I checked the message and frowned.

I had heard rumors that someone other than me had crafted another Holy Sword in the server.

It seemed that there was another upgrade option aside from the Demon Sword.

The golden pillar of light soared into the sky and began to illuminate the darkened heavens.

Nearby players gazed at the spectacle in awe.

At that moment, another message appeared.

[The Sun God’s Holy Sword begins to open the gates of the earth.]

The Holy Sword started to open a massive portal.

That message was just the beginning.

[The Sun God’s sanctuary spreads across the entire Hell.]

Just like when I had upgraded the Demon Sword and the power of Hell invaded the surface, the moment the Holy Sword was upgraded, the Sun God’s power began invading Hell.

[The Demon God Azathoth is greatly enraged.]

[The Sun God Solara reveals himself.]

[The Demon God Azathoth reveals himself.]

Where the light pillars rose, a gigantic golden giant and a black magical giant emerged.

And right after that, a small message appeared before my eyes.

[The Demon God Azathoth commands the owner of the Demon Sword to fight on the side of Hell.]

Upon accepting the offer, I would become the ‘Owner of the Demon Sword Phronos’ and fight on the side of the demons until the invasion event ended.

It seemed this proposal wasn’t exclusive to me.

Others who had been reincarnated into demons like me, or users who had accepted the power of the Demon God through conversion, began to disappear one by one.

At that moment, Iyap’s Guild Chat lit up.

Iyap – [Guild Leader? Everyone’s being asked to choose a faction!]

Yeo – [What choice?]

Iyap – [It says to choose whether to fight for the Demon Clan or the Human Clan.]

Yeo – [Did it pop up for humans too?]

Iyap – [Yeah, it seems you can choose freely.]

Yeo – [We’re going with the Demon Clan. Everyone please choose that side.]

Having just finished farming, I had nothing else to do and thought it was about time I joined the event.

I accepted the Demon God’s offer.

In that moment, black energy surged up from my body, and I began to fly at incredible speed.

The place I was flying toward was where the Demon God and Sun God were revealing themselves.

By then, many users had already arrived.

Some users who were human stood on the demon’s side, while others with classes like Death Knight or Hell Priest had chosen the human faction.

The two factions clashed fiercely.

Various skill effects erupted from all around, dizzying my senses.

It wasn’t just users. NPCs from both factions were also mixed in, fighting alongside the users.

At that moment, a message arrived from Helena.

Helena – [Yeo? Wait, is that you?]

Yeo – [Huh?]

Helena – [You didn’t change again, did you?]

I didn’t have time to reply to Helena’s message.

My body, transformed into light, began to grow larger.

My arms and legs stretched, raising my field of vision. The sensation of gigantic wings extending from my back felt strange.

Sharp claws extended beneath me, and a massive tail dangled below. My arms bulged with muscles ready to burst.

The horns sprouting from my head added considerable weight.

[The owner of the Demon Sword Phronos emerges on the battlefield.]

Just as I appeared there as the owner of the Demon Sword, a user who had upgraded the Holy Sword also emerged on the opposite side in the form of a specific NPC.

[The owner of the Holy Sword Crow emerges on the battlefield.]

I looked at the Holy Sword’s owner.

He was staring back at me.

[Jupiter]

[The owner of the Holy Sword Crow]

Jupiter—what an unfamiliar nickname.

It meant he hadn’t shown much of a presence before obtaining the Holy Sword.

Without a word, Jupiter aimed his Holy Sword at me.

The massive knight cloaked in radiant light was intimidating.

Helena – [No!!!]

Yeo – [Shh, I’m busy.]

As I replied to Helena’s message, I aimed my weapon as well.

The Balrog’s body felt awkward compared to a human form.

I took cautious steps, trying to get used to this body.

I had grown larger, which meant I had become an easier target for regular users.

Neither the Demon God nor the Sun God could attack, so the users’ strikes began to rain down on Jupiter and me.

First to move was Jupiter.

He swung his enormous Holy Sword, smashing down the users of the Demon Clan on the ground.

“Kill them!!! Kill the Demon Clan!”

As he moved, the human faction’s users jumped in, sensing the opportunity.

We were about to be overwhelmed. I began to move carefully as well.

It felt awkward to extend my arms and legs. But as time passed, I got used to it little by little.

I ignored the sensations of my tail and wings. It felt more comfortable to move the limbs I’d always had.

With a few swipes of my arms and legs, I trampled down the rushing humans.

Crack! Bang!

The melee dealers charging in before me fell in an instant.

The ones barely holding on were the tank users, but even they fell one after another to the ongoing attacks.

With the front-line cleared, I finally stood before the massive knight.

Without a moment’s hesitation, we both swung our weapons.

Clang!

As the massive Demon Sword clashed with the Holy Sword, a gigantic shockwave radiated out.

But the attacks didn’t stop there. Our swords twisted against each other, the black energy-clad Demon Sword forcefully pushed back the body of the Holy Knight.

Kaang!

The attack landed. Jupiter’s health plummeted.

But my own damage wasn’t insignificant either.

Like the slow drizzle that soaks clothes, my health was diminishing from the skills being hurled at me by the human users standing safely from afar.

The Demon God and Sun God only revealed themselves, but made no other movements.

The outcome of this fight depended on capturing the boss monsters of each faction, the owners of the Demon and Holy Swords.

“Crow, focus fire!!!”

I shouted loudly as I stepped back.

Now that I had transformed, my voice had changed impressively as well.

A thick voice like that of a colossal beast boomed, and I appreciated it thoroughly.

“Kuaaaah!!!”

I am a demon. A colossal demon. The owner of the Demon Sword, Phronos.

A wicked demon should bellow wickedly.

A roar befitting a monster movie erupted from my throat.

The users of the Demon Clan began to focus fire on Crow at my command.

I slashed away the human users trying to impede me.

This battle was favorable to the side with more ranged users.

Grasping my enormous Demon Sword tightly, I charged forward.

I needed to plunge deep into enemy territory and sweep away the ranged users before returning.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

“Oh no, he’s coming!!! Block him!!!”

As I started to run, the human ranged dealers began to scream and flee.

In that moment, the massive knight moved swiftly to block my path.

I didn’t hesitate. I swung my sword and pushed him back fiercely. Right after, I spread my other hand and slashed with my claws.

Swoosh!

My outstretched claws severely damaged the knight’s armor.

Phronos was a weapon from head to toe.

As I began to face off against Jupiter, my health began to decline rapidly.

I had dived too deep into enemy territory.

I shook him off and tried to retreat.

Was it because it was an event battle? I had none of my skills.

I had to deal with the situation purely with my physical abilities.

The NPCs were putting in effort, but they couldn’t compare to the thinking and moving users.

The moment I began to pull back, a small light flashed above my shoulder, revealing Helena adorned in her red robe.

Horns symbolizing the Demon Clan had sprouted from her forehead.

“Yeo…”

Helena stroked my cheek with a sympathetic glance.

I smiled broadly and asked, “Are you here to help me?”

“Please don’t speak like that… and don’t smile…”

I nodded at Helena’s words and shut my mouth.

It seemed this appearance had left her traumatized.

Yeo – [Okay!!!]

Helena – [This is an event battle, right? Let’s finish it quickly.]

Yeo – [Yeah!!!]

With Helena on my shoulder, I aimed my weapon.

It really seemed like it was time to end this.

If I wasted any more time, Helena would be very sad.

After the first clash, I realized my opponent couldn’t defeat me.

Jupiter also seemed to feel the same and refrained from recklessly attacking me.

If that’s the case, then I needed to make a move.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

I dashed toward Jupiter, moving my colossal body.

Using the swordsmanship I’d learned from the pros at VRS, I started unleashing it from this giant Balrog body.

Clang! Boom! Clang!

I wasn’t just using sword techniques. I began to press Jupiter with my sharp claws and talons.

Occasionally, the huge meteor shooting from my shoulder would fly straight at Jupiter’s face.

Boom!

I couldn’t stop his movements, but the distraction gave me just a moment’s opening.

I capitalized on that moment without hesitation.

The swiftly swinging sword slithered like a white snake and beheaded Jupiter.

Swoosh!

Jupiter attempted to counterattack, swinging his sword with effort.

But the gap in our talents was insurmountable.

As Jupiter’s health dropped to 20%, he turned and fled.

“Kuaaaah!!!”

“Don’t scream!”

Seeing him escaping irked me, so I roared loudly, startling Helena hanging beside me.

I nodded and bit my tongue.

I couldn’t figure out why Jupiter was running away.

But as the server-wide message popped up announcing his exit from the battlefield, a new message soon followed.

[The owner of the Holy Sword Crow has fallen.]

It seemed that if the users controlling the boss monsters withdrew from the battle, it counted as a defeat.

As the server-wide notification appeared, the Demon God Azathoth burst into loud laughter, scattering his magic.

[Khahaha!]

[For a certain duration, the magic of the Demon God strengthens further.]

[The Sun God Solara withdraws.]

[The effects of the Sun God’s sanctuary dissipate.]

The event was over.

As the appearances of the Demon God and Sun God began to fade, I too returned to my original position.