Ranker’s Return

Standing in front of Hyeonu was a human. He had a height of two meters and muscles bugling all over his body. It was the optimal body for battle.

‘No, a demon?’

The man had two large horns on his forehead. They looked like the horns of a buffalo, which were impossible for a human to have. The horns were very black in color and almost 30 centimeters long. Upon getting an ominous feeling from the man, Hyeonu wondered, “You want me... to stop?”

“Yes, let’s end it here. This guy must’ve reflected on it a lot. There are all sorts of rabble these days, so perhaps that is why he has lost his courage,” the man replied. He reached out to the still-breathing Teramas, and something amazing happened. The surrounding magic power swirled and rushed to Teramas, quickly starting to heal it.

“Right, I haven’t introduced myself. My name is Baler. I’m of the balrog species, and I have a hobby of raising demonic creatures.” The man introduced himself as Baler. The species...

‘A balrog?!’

Balrogs were one of the regulars in any game. They weren’t weak like goblins or orcs. Although they didn’t last very long in a battle, they were usually overwhelming when they first appeared. Now such a balrog was in front of Hyeonu.

“So... you’re not a demon?” Baler gazed at Hyeonu with a smile. No matter how he looked, Hyeonu didn’t seem like a demon. The aura he felt from Hyeonu was definitely similar to that of a demon. He could sense Hyeonu had magic power with a heavy dark attribute, as well as strong fighting energy and killing intent. Hyeonu gave off a dignified feeling that could only be felt from senior nobles.

‘A human?’ Baler wondered.

“You seem like a human…? A human has the guts to go to the demon world? This is the second time I’ve met a human in the demon world,” Baler said.

He really liked Hyeonu—a person who listened to his request. He also liked the energy he felt from Hyeonu. The aura of fire was particularly familiar to Baler, so he felt more comfortable.

Hyeonu didn’t hear anything else from Baler. He just remembered the last sentence and repeated it over and over again in his mind. ‘This is the second time I’ve met a human in the demon world.’

“The second?” Hyeonu spoke unknowingly.

Baler replied to Hyeonu, “Yes, it’s the second time. You are the second. By the way, is the level of humans so high recently? Ordinary nobles can’t even punch that guy.”

Unable to hide his expression of wonder, Baler gazed at Hyeonu like he was looking at an animal in a zoo. Hyeonu didn’t know what to say to such a Baler. Baler noticed Hyeonu’s expression and asked, “Am I just saying what I want to say? No... Isn’t this situation too embarrassing?” 

Hyeonu blatantly shut his mouth. He was showing signs of discomfort.

“No, Baler,” Hyeonu responded with a sullen expression. He looked at the perfectly fine Teramas and realized that all his hard work had been for nothing.

“Is it because I interfered in your hunt? You are too narrow-minded to be a noble. Still, you listened to my request, so I will grant you one request.” Baler came up with an unexpected gift.

One wish—this had tremendous value. Based on the way he healed Teramas’ wounds, Baler definitely wasn’t an ordinary balrog. The reason why he gave Hyeonu such kindness was simple. It was the price he was paying for Hyeonu to spare his carefully raised Teramas. There was no meaning in fighting. The present result of Teramas still being alive was the only important thing.

‘He doesn’t seem like a regular balrog... Is he above a marquis?’ Hyeonu wondered. The only thing Baler did was talk, but his pressure was very sharp as he approached Hyeonu.

‘He feels like Lebron and the emperor?’

Hyeonu still wasn’t giving an answer, so Baler frustratedly opened his mouth to speak again.

“Is one request not enough? Then I’ll fulfill two requests. It is a great opportunity to make a wish to Baler, the best balrog in the demon world. You can rejoice a bit,” Baler said, revealing his true identity.

He was the demon world’s best balrog. It didn’t simply mean the best of the balrogs.

“Other people who know me also call me this. It is a nickname that I personally dislike. How to say... It’s embarrassing.” Baler stopped talking for a moment. Seeing how both of his cheeks reddened, it seemed he was really embarrassed. Baler raised his right hand and scratched the back of his head.

Hyeonu gulped and waited for Baler’s next words.

“I am the one who keeps the balance of the world—the first demon king, Baler.” The first demon king, who was ranked 1st in the demon world as the strongest demon—this was Baler’s other identity.

“Um... demon king...?” Hyeonu’s brain circuits froze. He couldn’t accept that the man in front of him was a demon king. There was one reason why Hyeonu couldn’t accept this fact.

‘Why is he a demon king?’

Perhaps the strongest being in Arena’s worldview was Baler. Yet this person...

‘He is completely like a neighborhood uncle.’

There was nothing extraordinary or charismatic about him. Rather, it was right to say he seemed unreliable. If Hyeonu didn’t know the identity, he would really think this person was a friendly neighborhood uncle.

‘Now that I think about it, the emperor and Lebron are typical fantasy NPCs...’

The disadvantage was that they really loved alcohol, but they still had an imposing atmosphere around them. Then there were the dragons who always complained of tiredness, orcs and bears who had a weakness for children, and now a shameless demon king as well.

‘Still, two wishes...’

It was advantageous for Hyeonu. The benefits were great enough to make up for not killing Teramas. In fact, he felt sorry to compare his gains to Baler’s.

‘Who cares about one or two level-ups right now?’

Hyeonu could get experience, gold, items, or skill books from killing Teramas, but that was the maximum. Moreover, he needed to be very lucky. Otherwise, in the worst-case scenario, he would only get experience and gold coins. Meanwhile, the two wishes Baler offered had endless possibilities. Anything would be available within the lines that Baler allowed. Right now, Hyeonu had many things to ask for.

“Then can I make a request for something right now?” Hyeonu immediately made a request to Baler. He didn’t use both wishes at once. Just one was enough to solve his problem right now.

“A wish? Well, a request and a wish have similar meanings. Tell me. I will agree to it if it doesn’t violate my rules,” Baler said with a nod.

“I hope you can accept me,” Hyeonu requested. His request was simple—for Baler to be his umbrella. It meant protecting Etono from the demon king of iron blood.

“Um... I don’t have such an interest...” Baler shook his head after hearing Hyeonu’s words. It wasn’t known what he was thinking, but his expression wasn’t good. He looked very flustered.

‘What does he take me for?’ Hyeonu thought.

Having noticed what Baler was thinking, Hyeonu shouted, “That isn’t what I meant! I meant to include me in your forces!”

“It is a joke, a joke. Isn’t your reaction too intense? You lack composure. There is nothing more important than composure in battle. You need to be polished up a bit more...” Baler laughed and came up with a lame excuse. He laughed for a long time before recovering his original expression and asking Hyeonu, “By the way, you don’t have a territory, right? If you do, it might be a bit hard...”

“It’s hard if I have a territory...?” Hyeonu tilted his head at Baler’s words.

‘What’s wrong with a territory?’

The more land one had, the more profitable it was. There was the risk it might be taken away, but it was nothing compared to the benefits of owning a territory.

“It is an agreement of the past to not accept the masters of other cities. This is the price I pay for being the balance,” Baler explained while looking up at the sky.

‘So it isn’t possible?’ Hyeonu smiled bitterly. This meant Baler couldn’t accept Hyeonu’s request. Hyeonu was sighing and about to speak when Baler opened his mouth again.

Baler stated, “However, that is the past. Now, things have changed. No one can say anything to me even if I accept you.”

As expected, Hyeonu should always listen to the end as Baler’s words meant he had accepted Hyeonu’s request.

‘That’s it. Now there is no need to visit Duke John.’ Hyeonu was inwardly delighted upon hearing the good news. Now he had a clear line of support. If Baler helped, Hyeonu would have no problem protecting Etono. How could there be a problem when he had the help of the strongest demon king?

“Aren’t you curious about why I can break my agreement with them?” Baler smiled at Hyeonu, who didn’t say anything. The strongest demon king looked like a naughty child. His face was full of mischief.

‘Has there been a change causing a break in his agreement with the other demon kings?’ Hyeonu wondered. 

He had a few guesses regarding this.

First, there was a conflict between demon kings. There was a possibility that Baler could afford it now because the power structure was now different from the past when Baler signed the agreement. In other words, the environment had changed. Baler might not have changed, but if the surroundings around him had changed, Baler’s attitude to it would naturally also change.

The second possibility was that Baler himself had changed. His level of power might’ve risen or his mentality had changed. This would cause other changes to take place.

‘Both are plausible.’

Hyeonu thought that both assumptions were reasonable. He was even convinced that one of the two was unconditionally correct.

‘I should just throw one of them out.’

“The shackles were released. There are rumors that the relationship between demon kings isn’t the same as before...” Hyeonu threw out the first possibility. It didn’t matter for Hyeonu even if his guess wasn’t right, but it was different for Baler. He showed a fierce reaction to Hyeonu who had accurately found out the situation.

“You… Aren’t you pretty smart? You’re right. Their relationship isn’t the same as before. Now they are busy courting me, so I will stand on their side. But... I don’t want to stand with anyone. The memory of that day still remains vividly in here.” Baler touched his chest with his fingers.

To be precise, it was his heart.

‘It was true?’ Hyeonu was surprised by Baler’s reaction. Then he soon regained his composure and thought about the reason why the relationship between demon kings had broken down.

‘It’s because of the middle world...’

This was a common thing—a confrontation between the hard-liners and the moderates. There were no easier elements to cause a conflict. Hyeonu’s brain spun faster as the situation continued to proceed smoothly. He was like an examinee taking a university entrance examination.

‘Yes, I should ask.’

“Then can I make my second request now, Baler?”