Chapter 164 - SAY WHAT?!!!

━━━━━━ POV ━━━━━━━

The players were already rushing back to the Butcher's shop as fast as their legs could carry them. They had to Stop/Protect the Demon King!! 

Lead was one of them as he ran, happily giggling like a schoolgirl. It was the first time he felt so joyful! He had been one of the last ones alive for a change!

Still, his happiness didn't cloud his judgment. His eagle eyes swept the village, looking for the enemies he knew would be there. He kept his spear close, ready to BONK any enemy! 

The entire village was swarming with running players: this was a freaking exodus! They were akin to mad shoppers during Black Friday! 

This was a race against time and their enemies! I.R.L. and D.L. were already clashing, killing one another on the move. 

Many sounds echoed all over: the clanging of weapons, the grunts of pain, the curses, and the guys shouting "I am Speed" as they ran. 

It was so damn chaotic! At times, there was even friendly fire happening. In response, Lead shouted at the noobs: 

"Check the emblem before attacking!!" He reminded.

It should have been easy! How were they even getting confused?! Ah! For some reason, the enemy names weren't red anymore. Still: 

No emblem —> I.R.L. 

Emblem —> D.L. 

"There's none! No one has a freaking emblem!" 

"Who's an ally, who's an enemy?! Stay away from me!!!!" 

Many shouted, panicked. That's when Lead finally noticed a man grinning as he ran: CPR dude! He was even silently mouthing: "noobs"! 

Not only were the D.L. reinforcements finally there, but they had all removed their emblems! 

Since they had fewer members, they knew one another better and did not fear friendly fire! 

Lead glanced around and realized just how devious the D.L. members were! Some had even unequipped some of their gear to look more like the broke I.R.L. players.

Heck, some were even acting like they were chased by other D.L. players, for the enemy to mistake them as allies! 

Tch— At this rate, his allies would all become paranoiac! 

"I.R.L, heed my call!!! Formation COVID-34! Stay 6-feet apart from one another! Kill everyone that comes nearby!!!" They all separated. 

Even then, who belonged to what faction was very hard to tell, but it didn't matter. At least the killing had stopped. No more would D.L. rampage during the confusion! 

Instantly, the bloodbath turned into an incredible race. They were all rushing forward while keeping their distance. 

Then they all reached the Butcher shop, only to freeze. 

At the door were Igor and the florist. They looked stern and powerful as they glanced at the sea of incoming players. 

Many I.R.L. players couldn't help but gulp. They remembered how fierce they were and how quickly they had died fighting them, all to buy time for the Village Chief. 

They all knew that the man had managed to barge into the devil summoning ritual, but had he successfully stopped it or not?! 

Players from both sides were wondering. 

"These two are allied with D.L., right?! 

"Does that mean they/we won?!" 

"Idk, but look at their faces…." 

"Why are they so gloomy?" 

There was no indication of whether they had won or lost the fight. The NPCs would have easily been the greatest poker players of all time! 

But that's when messages started flooding their visions: 

[The Devil Ritual Has Been A Success!] 

[Evil Now Walk New Leaf Village!] 

"Hahaha, suck it, I.R.L! Who's you daddy!!!" 

"You guys are all fucked! Demon King 1, you 0!" 

"That's what happens when you mess with him!" 

But perhaps they had rejoiced a bit too fast… 

[Generating Subjugation Quest….]

[Devil Already Defeated?!….] 

[Analyzing, Analyzing!] 

[...] 

"Hahaha, go suck a big fat Chicken D.L!!!" 

"Daddy? The guy already lost his new Devil!" 

"Damn! That has to be the worst dad ever! #Bad Parenting!!" 

They were laughing their asses off as they saw the faces of the D.L. members sour so fast! It was as if they had just eaten aged bull testicles!

Oh, this was the best, they couldn't wait to remind them daily how much they had screwed up and— 

[Analysis Completed! The Devil Hasn't Been Defeated!] 

"What the fuck?!" 

"Does that mean D.L. won?!" 

"This system is as cryptic as my wife!!" 

"Why do I feel like the gods are trolling us?!" 

They all held their breaths… 

[The Devil Has Only Been Partially Banished!] 

[The Devil's Curse Is Activating!] 

[Devilish Corruption Starting!] 

What?! It seemed like neither side had truly won. What the heck was this? A motherfucking Schrödinger ritual?! 

But suddenly, they didn't feel like pondering the topic anymore. No, they suddenly felt like freaking out. 

At that moment, they all felt potent vile energy come from the Butcher's place! 

"We're screwed!" 

"This is madness!" 

"Is it too late to run?!" 

With a loud BANG, the door exploded! 

The players gulped as dark miasma spread from the entrance. But in the malevolent cloud, a valiant silhouette could faintly be distinguished. 

That's when a muscular man punched his way out! 

The Village Chief appeared in all his splendor. His upper body was glistering with sweat, emphasizing his well-defined muscles, and his expression was heroic as he glanced all around. 

He looked incredibly solemn at that very moment, so solemn that he didn't react to the female players devouring him with their gazes. 

"Braves!!! An incredible evil is upon our village! Will you let it be ruined and destroyed? Or will you stand by my side and defend it!!!!" 

His thundering shout resounded across the realm as he kept going. 

"Are you cowards that are afraid of a tiny little Devil? Or are you proud Heroes of New Leaf?!" 

At this moment, many I.R.L. players couldn't help but beam in pride. This was their leader! He wasn't perfect, but he was a true man!!! 

"WHO'S WITH ME?!!" 

His last shout was all it took as one player after the other answered his call: 

"You have my sword!!!"

"And you have my sword!!!" 

"And my sword!!!!" 

How were there so many swordsmen in a fucking beginner village?! Ah, they were just the ones clamoring the loudest. Many long and hard sticks were also raised high up in a show of support! 

"We'll fuck that Devil and we'll fuck those D.L. bastards!!" 

"Destroy them all! Show them the might of I.R.L.!!!" 

The Demonic Legion clenched their weapons, ready to fight a losing battle. So what if they were outnumbered once again?! They would struggle with their leader, wherever he was! 

But that's when something that flabbergasted everyone happened. 

The Demon King suddenly came out of the miasma!

He was walking casually, showing an annoyed expression. He looked like a man missing one number to win the Jackpot. He even seemed to be grumbling. 

Wait, what?! What was going on?! Couldn't he feel the demonic energy? Couldn't he see the heroic Chief right in front? 

He slowly walked next to Village Chief, giving him a resentful glance. What the heck had happened in there?!

Behind them, the dark energy billowed as if a cataclysmic storm was brewing. Oh, it was about to rain…and hard!!! 

The Chief called out! 

"Braves! Today is the day mankind either survives or perishes! Today, there is only one thing that matters: New Leaf!" 

"Whether you're I.R.L, D.L., or neither, it doesn't matter! Be ready to fight, for evil is coming!!!!" 

SAY WHAT?!!! 

All the players stared at one another in shock. 

But they didn't have the time to be stunned or confused. At that exact moment, the demonic energy finally overflowed. 

The miasma was akin to a tidal wave, the world became fifty shades darker, and then they heard a soul-chilling voice. 

In the background, a Devil was madly cackling…. 

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

[A/N] Hype! Feb Mass Release Time! ????

Day 5: A storm is brewing....and tea. • ☁ • (1/4)