The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage-Chapter 164

2.

Short—a once promising player in Eternal World.

No, rather—

A player who used to be promising.

At one point, he had been among the top rising talents in the Eclipse Order, the 4th-ranked guild.

Though he had been pushed aside as part of Mayrin’s backup team,

It wasn’t because he lacked skill.

If Eclipse Order wasn’t a guild that thrived on solo-ranked players,

He would have been one of their most valuable rising stars.

But after Mayrin left, everything changed.

The guild was desperate to hold its position.

They turned him into a hunting dog.

At ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ first, he had refused.

But the amount of money they offered was too much to ignore.

"With this much money... even if I leave later, I’ll still come out on top."

That was how he justified it.

And it wasn’t a bad deal.

After all—

This was supposed to be a foolproof plan.

With the support of major guilds, including Tempest Wing,

A collective raid against the Demon King was set into motion.

They were going to repeatedly assassinate him,

Preventing his growth by eliminating him over and over again.

An endless kill loop.

It should have worked.

It would have worked—

If not for the unexpected variable.

Emerging from his capsule, Short screamed in frustration.

"Damn it! Why the hell was the branch leader there?!"

One NPC had ruined everything.

Belmor, the Overpalace Branch Leader.

But the worst part wasn’t just failing—

It was the final system message he saw before being forcefully logged out.

[You have been imprisoned for attempting an infamy-earning action.]

[You will remain in prison for 100 days.]

[Bail is not permitted.]

100 days.

For 100 days, he couldn’t log in.

Not just on this character—

He couldn’t make a new one either.

"I can’t even make an alt?!"

Forget about completing the contract—

He was completely locked out of the game.

The penalty was massive.

But at least—

He had already received his advance payment.

Suppressing his boiling anger, he picked up his phone.

Calling an Eclipse Order official.

[Did you succeed?]

"...No."

[Was the Demon King that strong? Or did he figure out he was being targeted?]

"Neither. An Overpalace NPC intervened and arrested us."

[...]

Silence.

Even the Eclipse Order official seemed at a loss for words.

Because no one had expected this.

No one understood what had happened.

And Short wasn’t sure how to explain it either.

But one thing was clear.

"Overpalace seems to be extremely protective of the Demon King."

Otherwise, why would they station such a powerful NPC by his side?

It meant—

Assassination was impossible.

[Hmm...]

A low hum came from the other end of the line.

A sign of reluctance.

But then—

[If you’re imprisoned, it’ll be a while before you can return. Good work.]

A subtle dismissal.

Short clenched his fists.

But then—

The next words eased his irritation.

[Keep the advance payment. When you’re back, you’ll be assigned as the leader of the new backup team for our rising players.]

"...Thank you."

[And while you wait, gather intel on the Demon King. You have a keen eye, don’t you?]

"So it’s ‘take a break’ while also telling me to do work."

That was corporate life for you.

Still, he had no choice but to answer—

"Understood."

[Consider it preparation for the next assassination squad.]

"Yes."

[Rest up, then.]

"Thank you."

Click.

The call ended.

With nothing else to do, Short collapsed onto his sofa.

A hundred days without Eternal World.

What a waste.

Maybe he should’ve refused the job.

Click.

Turning on the TV,

His Mytube account flashed a notification.

[Rapid Guild Channel: Live Broadcast Announcement]

[Would you like to purchase a ticket?]

"A live broadcast?"

His eyes narrowed.

Could it be—

[Event: Demon King’s Raid]

"Knew it."

His former target was going live.

The perfect chance to gather intel.

Without hesitation, Short purchased a ticket and waited.

And then—

As he watched the live broadcast unfold,

He froze.

His entire body stiffened.

Forgetting that he was lying down, he shot upright,

His eyes widening in horror.

"Even without the Overpalace NPC... we still would have lost."

3.

Eternal World’s labyrinth bosses were diverse.

Each dungeon had its own unique bosses.

In this underground labyrinth, the most common raid bosses were:

Serpent-type monsters.Bat-type monsters.Spider-type monsters.This time, Seong had chosen to hunt a Spider-type Raid Boss.

Thanks to his prior communication with Rapid Guild,

A live broadcast had been prepared in advance.

It had been a full week since his last livestream.

Which meant—

The anticipation had reached a boiling point.

For most rising players,

Streaming twice a week was considered normal.

But Seong?

He rarely streamed, making his broadcasts feel more like special events.

Only rankers streamed this infrequently.

Naturally—

The chat exploded.

- OMG!!! FINALLY A STREAM!!!

- IT'S BEEN TOO LONG!!!

- PLEASE STREAM MORE OFTEN ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ.

- Where is this?

- Oh? Is this really Pentagrid? Looks like the underground labyrinth.

- Is Pentagrid the only underground labyrinth?

As soon as the live broadcast started, a flood of messages surged in like a tidal wave.

Seong glanced at the chat but didn’t respond.

"I don't need to acknowledge them one by one, right?"

Instead, he focused on entering the raid as planned.

He walked straightforwardly, without hesitation.

A stride full of confidence and dominance.

It was as if nothing could stop him.

Perhaps that was why—

The players gathered in front of the boss room parted ways as though Moses splitting the Red Sea.

Seong walked through the gap at a steady pace.

“W-Wait, is that the Demon King?”

“He’s... raiding alone?”

“Well... yeah, actually, wouldn’t it be weirder if he had a team?”

The spectating players murmured, watching him enter.

And naturally, the chat reflected the same thoughts.

- Damn, the pressure is insane.

- If I were standing there, I’d probably move aside too...

- The walk alone is just pure style.

It was the march of a king.

Both the live audience and viewers alike could only watch in silence.

Of course—

There were always those people.

No matter what Seong did, there would be complaints.

The kind of people who existed in every livestream,

Just waiting to find something to nitpick.

- LOL, really? The great Demon King is raiding some random labyrinth spider, Talonphia?

- Feels kinda weak tbh.

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freёnovelkiss.com.

- Gotta protect the "majestic image," huh?

- LOL, scared to fight a real boss?

They tried to get a reaction.

But Seong?

He wasn’t even reading the chat.

And that made them even angrier.

- What’s the point of watching this? It’s just gonna be him summoning his army and steamrolling everything.

- Yeah, I don’t get why people hype him up so much.

- LOL, it's just spamming undead summons. Where’s the skill in that?

- Says the guy who can’t even summon a single undead.

- Bro, if you hate it so much, why are you paying for a ticket?

- Exactly.

- Hate-watching while giving him money.

- So... what rank are you?

Some viewers clapped back, but the haters wouldn’t stop.

Still, Seong ignored them all as he stepped into the boss room.

Inside was Talonphia’s lair.

One of the larger chambers in the labyrinth.

Big enough that he could summon Anemore if he wanted.

But today wasn't Anemore’s turn.

He had new long-range units.

And not just any long-range units—

Overwhelming ones.

So even as Talonphia started moving,

Seong didn’t react.

- Wait, is he not using any skills?

- No summons yet?

- He’s not even drawing his sword...

Curiosity gripped the audience.

Meanwhile, Talonphia’s event sequence began.

The massive spider stirred, spreading webs and poison throughout the lair.

A standard cinematic intro for this raid.

At this point, no one cared about it.

If there was a skip option, people would be spamming it.

The only thing they were interested in was—

"How is the Demon King going to deal with it?"

And in that moment of anticipation—

Snap.

Seong snapped his fingers.

A gate to the underworld opened.

- Oh, here it comes!

- Time to summon his minions.

- LOL, bet it’s just the same undead he always uses.

- True. Probably just the demon knight again.

Some scoffed, expecting the usual.

But then—

Click. Click.

A sound echoed from the gate.

The sound of heels clicking against stone.

A distinctly feminine sound.

The chat froze for a moment.

- Wait... is that... high heels?

- Does he even have any female summons?

- Nah, I don’t think so...

- Then... is it a new summon?

Speculation erupted in the chat.

Even the haters stopped typing, their curiosity taking over.

And then—

The clicking footsteps doubled.

Click. Click.

Click. Click.

One pair led the way.

The other followed behind.

Even Talonphia hesitated.

The raid boss, who should have immediately charged Seong,

Didn’t move.

- Bro, what? Why isn’t the boss attacking?

- It’s actually... shaking?

- Is that spider-sense kicking in? LOL.

- No, but seriously, look at it—IT’S TREMBLING.

Talonphia’s hair-like bristles stood on end,

Its massive legs twitching as if paralyzed by fear.

And in that eerie stillness—

The two women emerged.

One with long, navy-blue hair, tied in an elegant ponytail.

A mature, captivating presence, both refined and alluring.

And behind her—

A woman with brilliant crimson hair,

Carrying a black parasol, with a beauty beyond words.

A presence that was both divine and devilish.

She exuded grace and lethal seduction in equal measure.

The chat stopped moving.

For several seconds,

Not a single message appeared.

The blue-haired woman was striking, yes.

But the crimson-haired woman—

She was something else entirely.

A figure so overwhelmingly beautiful,

She radiated both divinity and corruption.

A goddess and a demon in one.

And when she smiled playfully—

- KYAAAAA!!!! ONEE-SAMA!!!!

- HOLY SHIT!!!! QUEEN!!!!

- OMG WTF WTF WTF WTF.

- I AM IN LOVE.

- I NEED TO KNOW WHO SHE IS.

- MOM I WANT TO BE A DEMON KING WHEN I GROW UP.

- My summons are all ugly monsters, why does he get THESE?!

- I hate him. I actually hate him.

- HE. IS. LIVING. THE. DREAM.

Just as chaos erupted in the chat—

Seong gestured.

"I shall go first."

The blue-haired woman, holding the parasol, stepped forward.

Serpina.

At that moment, Talonphia, which had been clinging to the ceiling,

Fell.

A violent gust of wind knocked it to the ground.

A blood-red moon rose in the sky,

And from it—

A crimson beam fired down.

BOOOOOOM!!!

The ground collapsed into a massive crater.

The chat exploded.

- ??????

- WHAT WAS THAT DAMAGE?!

- WAS THAT A SUMMON OR A RAID BOSS?!?!

- WHAT DID I JUST WITNESS.

- I CAN'T. I JUST CAN’T.

The Demon King had just introduced his newest summons.

And the world wasn’t ready for them.