The Blood Demon’s face was painted with bewildernt.
It was special.
Looking back at his usual expression, the Blood Demon always had a look of boredom and annoyance, as if everything in the world was beneath him.
‘I’ve achieved everything I wanted, so I have no business with you people.’
A ruler.
If one had to sum it up in a single word, the Blood Demon’s expression always carried that sentint.
And yet, now, that dignified figure showed surprise on his face.
His sharp, piercing eyes widened, and his ever-heavy lips parted slightly.
Yes, the Blood Demon looked sowhat dumbfounded.
I smirked inwardly.
‘I can manipulate the Blood Demon’s emotions.’
It was the sa satisfaction one gets from provoking an online troll.
That sense of accomplishnt from getting under soone’s skin.
It should have made feel a sense of self-awareness, but I didn’t.
Because the person I had provoked was none other than the Blood Demon.
Of course, I couldn’t help but feel satisfied.
But naturally—
This wasn’t just sothing to be pleased about.
Making the Blood Demon lose his composure—
That held enormous strategic significance.
A small gap created when emotions devour reason.
Against an opponent of this caliber, such an opening was a precious opportunity.
“Think about it carefully. This world of Fantasy X Academy.”
Ssssuk—
As I spoke, I lightly pressed my foot against the ground and started walking as if lost in thought, trying to appear as natural as possible.
I subtly adjusted my angle, so that, as I continued walking, I would eventually complete a large circle and return to my original spot.
I confird that the Blood Demon’s gaze was following and continued speaking.
“You said you’ve been possessed in this world for 300 years. I don’t know if you still rember the storyline…”
“I rember.”
The Blood Demon answered quickly.
That ant he was focused on my words.
“Then this will be easier to explain. No matter what anyone says, you’re the final boss. You’re the most influential figure in the entire story. Of course, in Fantasy X Academy, everything about you was shrouded in mystery, but even just your impact as the leader of the Bloodstone Cult was overwhelming.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“You need to change. You, as a player, have taken over the final boss’s role. That should have altered the story. And the sa goes for . You may consider it arrogant speculation, but the influence I’ve had on the heroines isn’t insignificant either.
Yet, the story hasn’t changed. Which ans…”
I deliberately trailed off.
I wanted to give the Blood Demon—or rather, another player like —ti to think for himself.
The Blood Demon blinked his razor-sharp eyelashes a few tis.
After contemplating, he slowly voiced his conclusion.
“Soone is managing this world’s story.”
It was the sa conclusion I had reached.
I wasn’t surprised.
Anyone in our position would have co to the sa realization.
Compared to the original ga’s story, a lot had changed.
A player had taken over the role of the final boss and had actively intervened in various events.
I was no different.
I had taken over the body of a third-rate extra, and the influence I had exerted through that extra was far from small.
Yet, the overarching story remained intact.
The only difference was the speed at which it unfolded.
“Of course, Fantasy X Academy was always designed to have a fast-paced scenario, but not this fast. And yet, despite the rapid progression, all the key story beats are still being followed.”
Unless soone was manipulating the flow of events from behind the scenes, it didn’t make sense.
“So, you’re saying it’s the developer?”
“Exactly.”
The Blood Demon fell into deep thought, resting his chin on his right hand.
His contemplation grew longer.
“…”
A suffocating silence.
At so point, I found myself subconsciously matching my breathing with his inhalations and exhalations.
That was how important this mont was.
There were a few ways to deal with the Blood Demon.
One option was to defeat him by force.
If that wasn’t possible, we could go down together in mutual destruction.
Various strategies flickered through my mind.
But there was one superior plan.
‘Targeting him not as the Blood Demon, but as a fellow player.’
To be frank, the Blood Demon was overwhelming to deal with.
I had devoured an absurd number of epiphanies to make it this far, but even then, he was too powerful.
I only realized the full extent of this when standing face-to-face with him as an equal.
The odds of defeating him in a head-on battle weren’t great.
Especially since there wasn’t even a mont to use my ultimate technique, [Leap].
So rather than fighting, I would attack from another angle.
If I could just get him to stop what he was doing, I would achieve my goal.
Final bosses in gas are usually immune to persuasion,
But if the one inside was a player, the situation changes.
Though I didn’t say it outright, the core of my argunt was simple.
‘You’ve been nothing more than a puppet in the developer’s hands.’
Even though the final boss had changed, the story’s flow remained the sa?
The mont the Blood Demon acknowledged the existence of the developer, he would realize he was nothing more than a marionette dancing on their strings.
Of course, I couldn’t say that to his face,
So I subtly changed direction as I walked.
Then, the Blood Demon, deep in thought, finally spoke.
“The existence of a developer… That is certainly unexpected.”
It was a statent that made my expectations rise.
Did he take the bait?
I subtly reinforced his conclusion.
“That’s right. I only recently ca to this realization myself.”
“However, I do not reach certainty so easily. Without evidence, what you propose remains rely a possibility.”
The Blood Demon took a step back.
I barely held back the urge to bite my lip.
The Blood Demon. Of course, he wouldn’t be so easy to persuade… or so I thought.
But his push-and-pull tactics didn’t end there.
“However.”
“?”
“Ian, your reasoning does not seem improbable.”
The Blood Demon was a master at keeping others on edge.
Just how many tis had he twisted the conversation around?
If I didn’t have a passive trait that helped stay calm, I might have already collapsed from cardiac arrest.
Swish.
The Blood Demon dusted off his robe, the fabric fluttering as he moved.
He seed to be contemplating his conclusion.
I casually added a remark.
“Don’t you want to take revenge on the developer?”
Hmm. Saying it out loud like that made feel like a villain.
It felt like I was trying to sow discord between two people.
The Blood Demon looked at .
“Revenge, huh.”
“They not only trapped you here for three hundred years, but they also used you like a chess piece.”
“That’s… one way to look at it.”
I expected him to get angry at this point.
I thought he’d feel indignant and curse the developer.
But his expression remained composed.
And that composure made uneasy.
Before I could say anything more, the Blood Demon let out a grin.
“But isn’t that the role of a developer?”
“…What?”
“To control the environnt and guide the story. That is the developer’s job. And within that frawork, I have pursued my own goals. That is enough.”
“Even if you beco a Demon God, you’d still be within the developer’s grasp, wouldn’t you?”
“It does not matter. That is the path I have chosen to pursue.”
His eyes were resolute as he spoke.
“I am, above all, a player. My goal is to reach the peak of strength.”
“Even if sothing interferes with your path?”
“Yes. What does it matter?”
I carefully observed the Blood Demon’s expression.
There was not a hint of hesitation or anger.
He was soone devoted entirely to strength.
For the first ti, I felt a strange admiration toward him.
What kind of value did the strength he pursued hold, for him to remain so unshaken?
“Ian, it is not too late for you either. You can still join the Bloodstone Cult. Since no one remains, I shall grant you the title of Two.”
The Blood Demon extended an invitation without hesitation.
Did he detect my montary wavering?
A cult leader is not a cult leader for no reason.
But his offer only sent chills down my spine.
Joke or not, Two was the title of soone who had stood by his side just monts ago.
Ironically, his attempt to recruit only helped reaffirm my stance.
“That is the difference between us.”
“What difference?”
“Using others as tools, offering them as sacrifices, plunging everyone into despair.”
This was about him, but it was also about the developer.
As I stared at the Blood Demon, I continued.
“If it affects my people, I cannot accept it.”
The Blood Demon’s purpose was solely about himself.
The developer was no different.
But I was different.
There were already people in this world whom I could call my own.
That was the difference between the Blood Demon and .
“You cannot beco strong by relying on companions.”
“No. You can. Because you move forward together.”
“That is nothing but an ideal.”
“Blood Demon, you are still an outsider here, aren’t you?”
I finally said what I had wanted to say.
I didn’t consider how it would make him feel.
This was the end of our negotiation.
Not only I, but even the Blood Demon must have sensed it.
Our brief mont of respite had ended.
I straightened my posture.
It was my way of telling him he could co at whenever he wanted.
But instead of throwing a punch, the Blood Demon spoke.
A debate.
That was what this felt like—more of a battle of words than a physical confrontation.
“Let ask you sothing in return.”
“What?”
“Are you an outsider as well?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because every single hour and minute I’ve spent here has been precious to .”
“We are different, then.”
The Blood Demon closed his mouth.
His aura began to shift.
Rather than a verbal debate—
He now intended to speak through his fists.
“Wait.”
He looked at with curiosity, perhaps even mild irritation, as I interrupted the mont.
But I ignored his gaze and spoke.
“There’s sothing I can show you about strength. A skill that is, by Fantasy X Academy’s standards, the most powerful.”
“What is it?”
“You asked earlier if trusting in companions could make you stronger.”
“I did.”
I reached into my pocket and grabbed a handful of small crystals.
Green, sky blue, deep blue, white, red…
Mana elent crystals of various colors.
Each containing the power of my comrades.
The Blood Demon looked at and asked.
“What are you planning to do?”
“These are my companions’ mana crystals. You rember Fantasy X Academy’s interaction chanics, right?”
The Blood Demon stroked his chin as if recalling sothing.
“Indeed. When the foundation was set, I tested all possible combinations. But compared to raw vitality, they held little significance.”
“Blood Demon. You simply failed to find the right recipe.”
“…A recipe?”
“Every interaction needs a dium to connect the elents. And I know the one thing that can unify all elental combinations at once.”
“That is impossible.”
The Blood Demon denied it outright.
“It exists.”
“What is it?”
“Friendship.”
“…Friendship?”
“You’ve played gas before. You know how it always goes. In the end, the protagonist gathers everything one by one and defeats a formidable enemy, right?”
“…”
“You underestimated the power of friendship.”
The Blood Demon looked dumbfounded.
And I understood why.
The concept of “winning through the power of friendship” had been so overused that it had beco a cliché beyond stale.
But I was confident that I could convince him.
Because this was not just an emotional appeal.
It was purely logical.
“Think about it, Blood Demon. Fantasy X Academy was a failed ga. Do you trust the developer’s sense of design?”
For a brief mont, the cult leader’s face flinched.
That expression—
It was unmistakably a look of shock.
That was all I needed.
That fleeting mont of hesitation.
The entire conversation until now—
Had all been staged to create that single opening.
A setup.
A setup was crucial.
The tiny crack that ford in the Blood Demon’s thoughts granted ti.
The breadcrumbs I had scattered about interactions ensured that, even as I activated my mana, the Blood Demon would remain watching.
The very conversation we had just shared delayed his response, even as I channeled my life force.
These monts ca together to form ti.
And that ti—
Was just enough to activate [Leap].
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