Demon Lord Gallery

Perhaps due to the sudden surprise, I was at a loss for words.

“Is it too different from what you imagined in the gallery? My appearance is quite different from the nickname ‘One-eyed Grandpa’, isn’t it? Everyone is surprised like you, newbie.”

“No, that’s….”

Honestly, I was indeed surprised by his appearance.

No, it was close to 100% surprise at his appearance.

While the young man not matching the nickname ‘One-eyed Grandpa’ contributed to my shock, the real reason for my surprise was that he was a figure that didn’t at all evoke the name ‘Odin’.

‘Wasn’t Odin that god from Norse mythology?’

If my common knowledge and information learned as a child weren’t wrong, Odin certainly couldn’t be called a good god, but he wasn’t an evil god either.

Moreover, he wasn’t just any god, but a chief god, so why was he associated with this Demon Lord Gallery?

“I was a bit surprised, but”

As I collected myself and slowly looked over the white-haired young man standing before me, more and more things began to stand out.

The crow, which was like a mascot of the Odin I knew from Norse mythology, and the one eye symbolizing Odin.

No matter how I looked at it, it was hard to see this as a coincidence.

What broke my increasingly puzzling thoughts was none other than a single sentence from Odin.

“Why, is there a discord because I’m different yet similar to the Odin you know from Norse mythology, newbie?”

“Yes, no, how?”

A sentence that seemed to read my thoughts.

This was also utterly perplexing, but after gathering my thoughts for a moment, I recalled that something similar had happened during my first meeting with the Viscount.

It’s probably some kind of magic.

“Accurate. Well, if you think about it, in the Viscount’s case, he observed the future where you voiced your doubts through future sight, and in my case, I’m peering into your mind.”

“Magic sure is convenient.”

“If you’re upset, come to a dimension like mine and train for about 100,000 years. Then it’s possible.”

“…….”

One-eyed Grandpa’s, no, Odin’s tone was strangely irritating yet casual.

No matter how I looked at it, he was far older than me, but using such a tone with that appearance was driving me crazy as I couldn’t get used to it.

Isn’t it somewhat of a rule that great wizards should have the appearance of long-bearded grandfathers with solemn tones?

“You know that’s a pretty rude thought, right? The idea that great wizards have old man appearances is all prejudice. Whether it’s magic or martial arts, once you reach a certain level, rejuvenation and age reversal come as a set, so why would there be any reason to maintain an old appearance? Those who maintain old appearances are all cosplaying, cosplaying. Only crazy people use old appearances.”

“Even so, there’s such a thing as… common sense, isn’t there?”

Besides, even if the appearance was one thing, the tone was too casual. It was close to that of a teenager rather than a young adult.

This was the part I really couldn’t get used to.

“You’ve seen this kind of tone a lot in the gallery, what’s the problem. If it really bothers you, should I switch personalities? I have a slightly grumpy old man personality that I usually keep stored away, you know.”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll just get used to it.”

I had already become accustomed to Odin’s way of conversing by reading my thoughts and speaking, so I should be able to easily adapt to his tone. Probably.

“That’s fine then. Oh right, about the connection to your world’s mythology that you were curious about earlier, I can’t give you an answer yet as it’s still being researched. If you’re really curious, look for the fixed nickname ‘Ferryman’ in the gallery and send a message.”
“Thank you.”

This aspect of answering without having to ask seems good.

“Any more questions?”

Odin sat down next to me without waiting for my answer and started rummaging for something.

“What’s that?”

“Special jerky made from Sæhrímnir. It’s amazing as a drinking snack. Eating it with mead while watching the game is heaven, I tell you. Want some?”
“…This is virtual reality anyway, so you can’t give me any, right?”
“You know well.”
“…….”

After being forced to watch Odin’s mukbang that stimulated my appetite for a while, the timer located in the center of the Colosseum air pointed to 00:00.

[4th break time ended. The arena will open again soon]
[The duel participants for this round are 21 Demon Lords from Manmajeon and the fixed nickname ‘Equilibrium’]

A simple announcement rang out, and soon several figures began to appear in the central arena.

After a brief flash of light faded, what appeared was a blonde man and 21 living beings.

The reason for describing them as living beings was simple.

Creatures with numerous tentacles, creatures with human forms and demonic wings, creatures with wolf-like forms, giants with eight arms – there was no appropriate term to refer to them collectively except ‘living beings’.

In any case, the 21 Demon Lords looked terrifying and disgusting on the outside, and incredibly powerful.
To the extent that it seemed they could mince the blonde man standing on the opposite side of the arena in seconds.

“They look quite strong.”

The experience of hunting monsters that popped out of gates for over a decade spoke to me.

These 21 Demon Lords were certainly not weak opponents.

Comparing them to monsters, judging by their movements, spirit, and size, they seemed to be at least Grade 2.
Moreover, they weren’t simple monsters but Demon Lords with human or higher intelligence and experience. Their actual combat power would be many times stronger than monsters.
Even comparing them to my own power, at full strength with my ability, I felt I could at best be on par with two or three of them.

‘No matter how strong this Equilibrium is, isn’t this a bit dangerous?’

Or is there something special about those weapons?

My gaze turned to the dual swords that Demon Lord Equilibrium was holding.

In one hand was a pure white longsword emitting a bright light, and in the other was a pitch-black short sword.

‘I can’t see the weapons well from this distance…’

“Newbie, don’t forget this is 4D virtual reality. If you can’t see, use the zoom function.”

“What?”

“If you look at where you want to zoom in and think about it, it’ll zoom in automatically, and you can also see weapon info and participant info, so keep that in mind.”

Only after hearing Odin’s explanation, given as if he found my ignorance frustrating, was I able to somewhat utilize the functions of this armband-hosted arena.

The two swords I observed this way were truly extraordinary.

“A holy sword that split the sky, a demon sword that cleaved the earth… that’s brutal.”

The two weapons were beyond common sense, to the extent that detailed explanations about their performance and history crazily obscured my vision.

Splitting continents, bursting the heart of the earth mother goddess, and so on.

They were literally off-the-charts weapons. With these, he should have more than enough chance against 21 Demon Lords.

“Hm? That’s not it. The holy sword and demon sword functions are sealed for this match. It’s purely a contest of swordsmanship, you know?”

“What?”

“If he fought with such weapon advantages, would the gallery members be so excited? They’re excited because he’s overcoming Demon Lords using magic/martial arts/sorcery/science and technology with pure swordsmanship. There’s a reason why he has high support in the martial arts faction of Demon Lords.”

“Is it possible to win with just simple swordsmanship?”

I couldn’t understand at all, as the swordsmanship I knew was just one of many methods to kill people and monsters, and was only used as a last resort when all normal and efficient means of force like abilities/firearms were gone.

“Don’t just ask, watch. Then you’ll understand.”

[5 seconds until the match starts]

The one Demon Lord and 21 Demon Lords standing on either side of the arena take their stances.

[4,3,2]

The 21 Demon Lords snorted, prepared to chant something, and tensed the muscles throughout their bodies.

But Equilibrium just didn’t react at all.

[1, 0]

Until the countdown finished, he was just checking the swords in both hands.

[Match start]

The 21 Demon Lords were literally like flashes of light.

About a dozen Demon Lords who seemed to be physical types traversed the arena spanning over hundreds of meters in less than 0.1 seconds, reaching out their demonic hands towards Equilibrium, while a few Demon Lords who appeared to be magic types instantly completed massive magic circles covering the entire arena.

As meteors and lightning bolts fell from the sky, dozens of fists, swords, and spears rushed to one point, and a space filled with fighting spirit and killing intent was created.

At that moment, Equilibrium took a step.

And─ all the Demon Lords collapsed.
My description was terribly clumsy and childish, but this was my best attempt at describing it.
The moment Equilibrium took a step, all the Demon Lords were cut down. This was the truth.
“….What just happened?”

I couldn’t understand the situation at all.

I clearly saw dozens of Demon Lords rushing towards Equilibrium right after the match started, but I had no idea what happened in the next 2 seconds or so.

If I were to describe exactly what I saw, the rushing Demon Lords suddenly stopped, even the Demon Lords positioned at the rear stopped their chanting, and shortly after, all the Demon Lords were cut to pieces.

The meteor falling from the sky was split in half and stuck in a corner, and the lightning seemed to have avoided only Equilibrium’s position, blackening just the surrounding area.

“Watch the replay of what just happened in slow motion. He stepped through attack patterns at the nanosecond level, deflecting and cutting down all attacks. He even cut through magic. It’s been a while since I’ve seen the hero spy bastard’s swift sword.”

It was indeed as Odin said.

When I replayed the scene that had just unfolded at 1/1000 speed using the arena’s replay function, I could see Equilibrium, no, the hero spy’s swordsmanship, deflecting all attacks and delivering his own attacks in an instant.

“…Is that really a living being?”

In all my life, I had never heard of a living being, no, any substance that could react and move something at the nanosecond level.

“Well. If you’re surprised by this, how are you going to watch the rest? There’s still a lot left to see. If you’re this surprised and excited, you’ll be thrilled watching the matches all day long.”
*
Odin’s advice was not wrong.

As I watched with intermittent break times, over 10 hours had already passed.

I was surprised by the appearance of new challengers each time, amazed by the magic and martial arts used by these challengers, and impressed by their movements when watching the replays.

Above all, the most surprising thing was that with only one match left until the arena closed, the hero spy had not been defeated even once.

“..It’s amazing”

Honestly, it was beyond admiration and surprise, to the point where I felt reverence and respect.

It was like I could see what the limit of what a living being could achieve was.
If I could implement even 10%, no, 1% of that swordsmanship─

“Isn’t it a bit early to make such an evaluation? The last match is the real highlight, you know.”

“What?”

“The introduction is coming out now. Look.”

[The final duel participants are fixed nickname ‘Ten Commandments’ and fixed nickname ‘Equilibrium’]

“One of them is a name you’ve probably heard at least once in the myths of the newbie’s world. It’s a similar case to me. You probably haven’t even heard of him in the gallery because he barely does any gallery activities?”

Similar case to Odin, that ‘Ten Commandments’?

Well. If it’s the term ‘Ten Commandments’, I remember it was definitely a term from the Bible.
If it’s a Demon Lord related to the Bible…. is it some demon of the wilderness?

However, Odin’s calmly delivered explanation completely shattered my speculation.

“One of the three great Sword Masters of the Demon Lord Gallery, and the best at iai and slashing techniques”

“His real name is Moses.”