“The rules are so strict.”
Quick Eagle lightly brushed off my forced remark. Such a seasoned response made me the odd one out.
– So ugly
– Ma’am…
– It’s about being ugly, ma’am.
The viewers were showering me with boos. Still, I tried to stay strong and maintain my expression, but a sponsorship voice interrupted my words.
[Myunno donated 3,000 won.]
– Oh ho, the Pope is just playing the villain to elevate the guest. No misunderstandings, okay?
Though it was a strangely scratching remark pretending to represent me, it wasn’t enough to provoke me. I just smiled and brushed it off.
I continued the discussion anew.
“First, let’s talk about what kind of final boss each of us faced. I’ll go first.”
I wholeheartedly explained how dangerous the Demon King was.
A member of the ancient hero party, the story of how he became a demon due to a curse, his formidable strength, and his surprisingly noble pursuit of honor, a demigod-like presence.
I didn’t tell any lies, utilized every interesting fact that would sound impressive.
But it wasn’t easy. The Demon King’s strength was immense, but he was a guy who never came out of his cave, making it hard to convey his power effectively.
“This is it.”
I somehow finished the story well, but the reactions in the chat were lukewarm.
– The Pope is trying hard.
– It’s really nothing special.
– Just a power tool, haha.
– Isn’t the Demon King a woman? Why?
I tried not to care too much, but I couldn’t ignore the sponsorship voice. Eventually, a familiar username made a donation.
[havant donated 1,000 won.]
– The Demon King didn’t really have much weight in the story; the real final boss seemed to be the Four Heavenly Kings’ strongest, Hekatrith.
It seemed like Haina had a grasp on all the settings of the Apollis Tales series. Why was she even watching the broadcast when I told her to take care of the kids?
I slightly furrowed my brows and then returned to my usual demeanor. Meanwhile, the Eagle, who had been silently focused on the story, opened his mouth.
“This time, it’s my turn.”
Quick Eagle placed a half-eaten apple down on the desk and continued.
“The Evil Dragon Hekatrith was originally a sage of the dragon race. Wise, noble, and a lover of peace. He was also good at magic, with a specialty in seeing every possible future that could occur.”
A kind and capable dragon who could see the future? The rest was predictable.
“But one day, he suddenly fell into darkness.”
Corruption. The most common reason and excuse for a villain’s birth.
“What was the reason?”
“He saw a desperate future.”
His voice darkened. Quick Eagle paused for a moment as if reminiscing about the past, then continued.
“At that time, Hekatrith looked into over ten million futures at once. But they were all futures of the world facing destruction. Except for just one.”
“…Was that the future of his own corruption?”
“Exactly.”
“How could that be….”
A sigh escaped involuntarily.
I had become absorbed in the story without realizing it, a habit formed from my time as a pope.
I squinted, trying to guess what would happen next.
“To achieve peace in the world, one must be tainted by darkness. It’s harsh. A fate that’s hard for an ordinary person to bear.”
“Right? But the Evil Dragon was an extraordinary being. He was willing to bear the sins of the entire world if it meant helping everyone else.”
“A virtuous… evil dragon. How tragic.”
“Exactly.”
Quick Eagle chuckled bitterly while absently fiddling with the desk.
Then the story of the Evil Dragon’s corruption was reaching its end.
“In the end, Hekatrith entered a cave where all the evils of the world were sealed and became the Evil Dragon. But before entering, he made thorough preparations.”
“What kind of preparations?”
“He spread magical artifacts known as ‘Artifects’ throughout the world, allowing someone to subdue him.”
I nodded along, falling into thought.
‘…Not a simple matter.’
A righteous spirit sacrificing itself for the world and the wisdom to think ahead. The Evil Dragon was not just a cliché fallen villain; he was not a final boss to be underestimated.
It seemed others were thinking similarly.
– I miss the Evil Dragon.
– That whatever-it-is is on a different level.
– This is the final boss, haha.
– But why in the drama…
Scouring the chat, I became curious about something.
“I have a question.”
“What is it?”
“Didn’t you say there were many flaws in the drama version? Didn’t the Evil Dragon have any?”
“Um….”
Had I hit a sore spot? Quick Eagle, who was speaking freely, suddenly paused. His expression stiffened slightly.
“There was a problem.”
“What was it?”
“During the drama, the actor was replaced.”
“Excuse me?”
An unexpected realistic reason popped out.
“The Evil Dragon’s actor was a white male at first, but he was replaced due to conflicts with the production team with a Black female actor. One of the many PC changes in the drama.”
“……”
Changing an actor mid-production isn’t unusual, but to flip both race and gender? It wasn’t hard to see why there was backlash.
“Isn’t it ridiculous? The more shocking part is that this incident reflected in my world.”
“What do you mean?”
“The Evil Dragon from another parallel world came and killed our world’s Evil Dragon.”
“……”
In that moment, I fell into deep reflection.
It wasn’t merely because it was absurd. There was a more emotional and realistic reason beneath it.
“This is intriguing.”
I forgot the discussion for a moment and smiled while recalling old memories.
“Actually, I also met beings from a parallel world.”
It would be a long story that would startle O Philseong, who participated in making Apollis Tales.
Just recalling those memories gave me a strange feeling. Everything I experienced back then became a turning point in my second life.
“Were there many final bosses on your side? I became close with several other ‘Clitia Eluke’.”
“Really?”
Quick Eagle’s eyes widened in surprise. He then leaned slightly towards me.
“Did they also change race and gender?”
“Not really. It’s just that due to their different experiences, their personalities were a bit different.”
“How strange….”
Seeing his genuinely intrigued reaction made my lips curl upwards.
I had finally brought Quick Eagle’s laid-back energy to a halt. It indicated that the conversational lead had shifted to me.
Just as I thought so, Quick Eagle smiled.
“By the way, I have to deduct a point. You should be talking about the final boss, not yourself.”
“……”
He truly was not an ordinary friend.
*
After the story of the Evil Dragon Hekatrith’s fall ended, the discussion resumed.
I earnestly praised the strength of the Demon King.
“Valreer had the power to split the earth in half with his bare hands. He was a being of such brute force that even the hero party couldn’t approach easily without thorough preparations.”
I claimed this while recalling the memory of facing the Demon King, but soon a rebuttal came flying.
“So the Demon King was a martial artist?”
“That’s correct.”
“Oh, I see.”
Quick Eagle vigorously shook his head.
“Why are you doing that?”
“My friend, a martial artist is just someone who accidentally got thrown into the future and started living like a caveman.”
“……”
Isn’t that a bit too harsh? Although there was some merit in saying that the Demon King’s combat style was overly rudimentary.
In the end, he was simply a guy whose entire combat technique boiled down to punching and kicking. He engaged in battles solely with raw power and didn’t play with tricks.
Yet, he had killed numerous hero parties over a long time. I, along with my companions, would have been dead without Liam.
So, being a martial artist, he deserved to be overvalued.
“Even if he fights barehanded, he’s scary because he’s strong.”
“My friend, Hekatrith was a master of magic. While the Demon King is swinging his fists, he could rain down thousands of flame storms and lightning bombs.”
“……”
It was true; the Evil Dragon had a fantastically flashy fighting style that was unlike the Demon King’s.
But still, I didn’t think the Demon King would lose, though he may seem somewhat lacking when viewed from an ordinary perspective.
– The Evil Dragon would just win, right?
– Based on settings, wouldn’t it be a mismatch?
– The drama version was somewhat nerfed.
– But still, he’s strong.
– If those two fought, the Demon King would finish in a minute, haha.
Everyone thought the Evil Dragon had the upper hand. The atmosphere seemed to indicate the battle had already been decided.
To be honest, I was starting to feel anxious.
What method could I use to prove that the Demon King was a truly formidable opponent?
‘…There’s no other option.’
Suddenly, a good idea popped into my head, and I lightly tapped the desk to get the atmosphere going. Then I feigned a tired expression.
“I’m exhausted. This doesn’t seem to work. Honestly, how can we figure out who’s stronger through words?”
“That’s true…but there are no other methods, right?”
“There is.”
While it was hard to directly compare, we could indirectly determine who was superior.
“The Demon King, who I defeated, I, Pope Clitia Eluke. And the Evil Dragon, defeated by the hero, Quick Eagle. If we duel, one of us will quickly determine which final boss is stronger.”
“……”
Quick Eagle gazed at me intently before whispering in my ear.
“When you were trying to stop me, it was all right, but now you want to fight?”
It was indeed outrageous enough to elicit that kind of response. I gently tapped his stout shoulder and offered a kindly smile.
“Back then, I was just jumping into a fight unexpectedly. If I take a little time, I can create a space where we can duel without anyone getting hurt. What do you think?”
“Well…maybe…”
Perhaps because he had already experienced being subdued by me, Quick Eagle hesitated to accept.
There was a good spell that would work well in such situations.
“Quick Eagle, are you…afraid?”
The effect of provocation was immediate.
“…Okay, let’s do it!”
Of course, as a man, he couldn’t resist that bait.
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