Stephen's body trembled at that murderous voice.
There was no way he wouldn't recognize that voice.
Sure enough, Igeon, who had climbed up onto the stage, was smirking.
So Stephen was dumbfounded.
That was because, in the first match, no fewer than five champions had been set to face Igeon.
'All of them are champions from each state.'
In every state of the US, there were arenas of the Sajajwa. The champions were those who had defended their positions by racking up consecutive wins in those very arenas.
And the five hastily summoned this time were likewise masters of one-on-one combat, each with at least a 10-win streak.
Not to mention their ranks were naturally commander-level or higher!
'At the very least, these are guys who could drain Igeon's strength...!'
But whether Stephen was shocked or not, the stadium buzzed.
"Di-Did you see that just now?"
"The champions all rushed at Igeon at once, right?"
"Oh my god, that...!"
People seemed unable to believe their own eyes.
Moreover, those who had stepped onto the stage today were always the ones with huge betting stakes.
How many people had knelt before them and shed tears of blood?
Some had been carried out, crippled for life.
They were masters of one-on-one combat of that caliber.
And yet, to take them all down at once!
Sure enough.
The commentators shouted, spitting as they yelled.
[Did you see that!!]
Even the commentator who usually delivered acerbic remarks without batting an eye was screaming in excitement.
[Taking down four opponents in just 3 minutes! It only took 3 minutes!]
[Good heavens, even instant ramen wouldn't cook faster than that!]
[At that rate, it's premature ejaculation! Premature ejaculation!]
[And he didn't even use a weapon, just his bare hands!]
There was another reason for their excitement.
[Moreover, wasn't Igeon under a penalty in the first match?]
[That's right! Currently, Igeon can only use half his strength! No matter what, it's because he's adult-class. Before the adult match, he's wearing a magical power restriction bracelet to balance things out temporarily, but...!]
[Yet all four were knocked out! Anyway, let's watch that scene again!]
"Waaaaah!"
Along with a roar, the video played on the electronic display.
It was the very scene from moments before, where Igeon had taken down the four champions.
- Did you just hear that? Igeon summoned the champions all at once! His fighting spirit is tremendous!
- Ah! No sooner said, the champions seem to be conferring! Ah...! They're coming out! They're all coming out!
- The match has started! The champions who came out at once! They rush at Igeon! First is John! John of the Taurus seat goes for the first strike!
As the giant man roared toward the sky, a colossal monster appeared, covering the entire arena.
- The charge of the Taurus seat! Ah, is he using that skill right from the start!
- Most awakened beings have been knocked out by that skill!
- No one has ever dodged that!
But in the video, Igeon dodged it nonchalantly, and with just the blade of his hand, he shattered his opponent's jaw.
Crack!
And as one collapsed, Igeon said something while beckoning with his fingers like calling a dog.
Enraged, the rest charged at him all at once.
But the moment Igeon spread both arms, it was 1 versus 3 clashing head-on.
In an instant, two men and one woman coughed up blood and collapsed.
Thud!
The video ended there.
At the same time, the display showed the number "Igeon 5 Wins," and cheers erupted.
[Truly remarkable!]
Thanks to that, the excited PDs filming nearly dropped their cameras.
"That 2 and a half hours..."
"It's not going to work, is it...?"
"Are you joking?"
They looked utterly shocked.
On the other hand, there were people booing and pointing fingers.
"How boring!"
Of course, they weren't criticizing Igeon.
"No matter how much the duel with the Sajajwa adult is the main event, this isn't right!"
"Are you guys really champions like this?! Even if the first match is just for entertainment, you're just boosting Igeon too much!"
"That's right! Igeon was even under power restrictions!"
"Yeah! Boring! As expected, only the adult-class is worth watching!"
Sure enough, they looked at Stephen, who had been thrown onto the stage, and roared.
"Stephen! Stephen!"
Boom! Boom!
However, the face of the called-upon Stephen was frozen stiff.
They had told him to stall and drain Igeon's strength a bit.
'How could they not last even 10 minutes!'
Thanks to that, the main match, originally scheduled to take place an hour later, was about to be moved up significantly.
The people stomping their feet were already anticipating the adult match.
"Sajajwa! End Igeon in one blow, just like 23 years ago!"
"Yeah! How much could Igeon have grown in that time anyway!"
"Hey! Don't underestimate Igeon! Still, this time he'll hold out for at least 10 minutes!"
The cheers that reached him made the Sajajwa's lips turn completely white.
It was because of Igeon, who was walking steadily toward him.
And finally, Igeon, having climbed onto the stage, grinned savagely.
"Anyway. You ignored my words, didn't you?"
"!"
Stephen flinched, but regardless, Igeon's eyes curved menacingly.
"I'm sure I told you earlier. To deploy your constellation members, I said."
At that, Stephen snapped back to his senses with a start.
"Are you crazy? Why would I bring my kids here!"
There was no way he'd let his precious elites be taken by Igeon!
But Igeon laughed, as if finding it detestable.
"Well, fine. I can have a talk with them later separately. Oh, of course."
Igeon grabbed Stephen's shoulder.
"First, I'll deal with you, you bastard."
"......!"
Stephen's skin crawled with goosebumps.
But the audience, having no way of knowing that, went "Oooh" and stomped their feet even more.
"Stephen! Stephen! Stephen the strongest!"
"Stephen, the god of battle!"
The emcee and commentators also shouted excitedly.
[The first match is over. The second match starts immediately.]
[The first match ended way too early, but that doesn't matter.]
[That's right. What just happened was the appetizer; the main event starts now.]
The other high-ranking constellation members who had come to watch the match nodded as if in agreement.
"Well, sure. If he can't do at least this much, it'd be embarrassing to call him the 13th divine seat."
"Hurry up and start the main match!"
As if they had been waiting, the emcee shouted.
[The atmosphere is already extremely heated!!]
[The first match ended unexpectedly early, so the deadline got moved up, but!]
[Betting for today will now close!]
[3, 2, 1!!]
Ding!
[Closed!]
With that, numbers appeared on the display.
[Incredible! The odds are a whopping 170 times for Igeon!]
[Ah, so this means there's absolutely no way the Sajajwa will lose?]
[Correct. It seems that way because of the record from 23 years ago.]
[Though the arena's all-time highest was 20 times. That was the match between Cheon Yoo-ha and an S-rank.]
[Indeed. In any case, if Igeon wins today, you could walk away with 170 times your bet!!]
[Just $10 would become $1,700! If you bet $1,000, that's a massive $170,000!]
[Could a lucky fortune indeed be born!]
[Depending on the conditions, you might receive even more, so please watch until the end!]
At the announcer's booming voice, Igeon laughed as if dumbfounded.
"Is that so? I'm 170 times?"
A strange killing intent could be felt, causing cold sweat to trickle down the Sajajwa's spine.
'If it's come to this, there's no choice.'
In any case, fighting was a given.
'I'll summon the constellation god.'
There was no other way to deal with Igeon.
And honestly, there was no reason to back down.
Why?
"Yes, Igeon. I haven't just been lazing around for twenty years either."
The Sajajwa spread his legs apart as if having made a firm resolve.
Boom!
He himself had grown stronger than back then, and while he hadn't called upon the constellation god until now, things were different now.
Sure enough.
The Sajajwa's eyes transformed into the eyes of a beast.
Flash!
[Huh? It's released! The bracelet that was restricting Igeon's magical power in the first match is also off!]
The thing restraining Igeon had also vanished.
And at that moment, a bell rang out.
Ding!
With that, the stadium boomed and shook.
[It has begun!! The match begins!]
Along with that notification, boom! A tremendous earthquake occurred.
The first to dig into the ground and bolt out was none other than Stephen!
The golden light bursting from his body roared as if to pierce the sky.
Boom-boom-boom-boom!
At that sight, the commentators spat as they shouted.
[Yes! Stephen! Sajajwa adult! He charges! He charges!]
[Igeon has also moved!]
[Great! Up to this point, it's exactly like 23 years ago!]
[10 meters! 5 meters! 1 meter...!!!!]
[Now! Sajajwa! He extends! He throws a punch! Will it end in one blow this time too!]
[They colli...!!]
It was right at that moment.
Crack!!!!
A tremendous noise echoed through the stadium.
At the same time, the face that was struck, the Sajajwa's head, snapped back.
"Keugh...!"
Along with a breath soaked in blood, the Sajajwa's body also folded.
And so, in the air, for 0.1 seconds. 0.5 seconds.
Finally, Stephen collapsed onto the wide arena floor.
Boom!!
Silence flowed over the arena.
Not even a breath could be heard.
The scene was as if on mute. And in the midst of it, the moment someone's cough was heard.
[Huh... The Sajajwa has fallen!!]
[Oh my god! He got hit by Igeon's punch and collapsed!]
Fierce cheers pierced the sky.
Even the shouting commentators laughed, as if they hadn't expected it.
[As expected of the Sajajwa! He knows match performances so well!]
[That's it exactly! After all, it'd be boring if it were the same as 23 years ago!]
[Moreover, he's someone who knows camaraderie. Given what happened 23 years ago, he took a hit for his colleague.]
[Yes, and it's also a perfect opportunity to promote the Sajajwa's skill!]
[That's right! Now, then, he should be getting up slowly. What kind of performance will he...]
But it was right then.
[...Huh?]
The arena buzzed.
[Sajajwa adult?]
Their faces suddenly turned serious.
[Uh-oh? Something's strange. The medical team is rushing over urgently!]
Flustered, they looked at each other with mouths agape. And having seen something, they shot up from their seats as if in disbelief.
[Oh my god, down! It's a down!]
"Excuse me?!"
At the down decision, the arena buzzed loudly. It was a commotion the likes of which they had never heard or seen before.
And watching this, Hugo pressed his forehead.
He had known it would turn out like this.
"That fool of a lion...!"
If he was going to bring out the constellation god, he should have done it sooner.
"Tsk, that's why you always lose to Gun and get obsessed."
Of course, the Sajajwa was strong. But Igeon was strong beyond that.
The basic power output was high for the Sajajwa too, but natural sense and instinct.
That was the decisive difference between Igeon and Stephen.
And it was something Stephen could never, ever catch up to, no matter how hard he tried.
'Which is why Gun clung more to the divine artifacts.'
Stephen wanted to become like Igeon.
So even before Igeon's death, and after his death, he kept making advances toward him.
One could say he deluded himself into thinking that if he had me, the supporter, he would possess the same strength as Igeon.
He'd call every little thing and cause a ruckus, begging me to become his supporter.
'In the end, because of that, he even went as far as to kidnap Yoo-ha.'
Well, strictly speaking, I had entrusted her to him, but still, it was kidnapping.
Stephen's current situation was just deserts.
But that was when.
[Huh...? Igeon is doing something.]
[He's beckoning with his fingers?]
"!"
Igeon was beckoning at the Sajajwa with his fingers.
As if telling him to get up.
And sure enough.
[Ah...! The Sajajwa! He's getting up! He's getting up!]
[Seems it was a slip earlier!]
[As expected, of course! It was a performance!]
Stephen barely got up on all fours.
His legs were trembling too much to stand on two feet, but he got up nonetheless.
At the same time, the constellation members watching from outside the arena shouted as if dizzy.
"Seongju-nim! Are you okay! There's blood from your head!"
"Haha...! Seongju-nim, you're really into fan service...!"
Stephen wiped his face, looking like he might collapse at any moment.
His nasal bone was broken and his jaw was out of place, but that didn't matter.
'Semi-divine manifestation...!'
Light burst from Stephen's body. At the same time, Stephen bolted forward.
"Igeon! This time for sure!"
But.
Crack!!!
This time, a kick lashed Stephen's face.
And like a speeding bullet, Stephen flew through the air in an instant, crashing into a pillar and collapsing.
Boom!
"Seongju-nim!"
When everyone was horrified, Igeon sneered.
"Moron. What, does he think he's a magical girl? Who's going to wait for him to transform?"
At the same time, cheers erupted in the arena.
[KO! Complete knockout! It's a knockout!!]
[The Sajajwa! He didn't even get to land one punch and got hit by Igeon!]
They seemed unable to believe it even as they saw it with their own eyes.
[Oh my god, he just got hit and collapsed with one blow!]
[And the first hit totally looked like he was going easy, right?]
[Uh... wait, but hold on. If this is the case, what on earth happened with the match 23 years ago?]
[H-Well, we don't know. Did Igeon grow stronger in between, or...!]
[Anyway, the 13th divine seat is no ordinary one! Today's broadcast can also be rewatched on YouTube and N-Channel, so those who missed it, please make sure to check it out!]
Another roar of cheers burst out.
It was right then.
"Seongju-nim!"
The Sajajwa constellation members, carrying a stretcher, rushed en masse to Stephen.
At last, seeing this, the reporters who had been called by the Sajajwa were completely dumbfounded. They seemed thrown into confusion.
"What's going on? They said a legend would be reenacted today?"
"Was the Sajajwa actually not that big a deal?"
At this, the Sajajwa constellation members grew emotional.
But it was then.
Bang!
The Sajajwa constellation members were startled.
Igeon had approached them as they were trying to attend to Stephen.
So they immediately went on guard, but well.
After looking over the constellation members one by one, he grinned dangerously.
"Alright, question."
"Yes?"
"Anyone here want to become my constellation member, raise your hand."
His eyes said he'd kill them if they didn't.
(To be continued in the next episode)