The moment Curie used her ultimate move, Bean suddenly felt a sense of unease.
The unpleasant energy emanating from Johan was something he couldn’t quite express in words,
It was the same feeling he had when Johan seemed to be hiding something from him before.
And Bean felt reassured when Johan brought out the play of Pull that even he didn’t know about, which made that feeling disappear.
But what if… Johan was deceiving him?
What if he had orchestrated this situation to draw out his ultimate move?
“Surely not…”
In that moment, Bean thought of the worst-case scenario that could happen to him in this current situation.
Curie… ultimate move… Just Guard… and counterattack and reversal…
“No!!!”
Contrary to Bean’s wishes, his hands had already input the command.
And before his eyes, the worst scenario that Bean had imagined just moments ago came to fruition.
Johan’s counterattack began after a perfect Just Guard,
It was truly a flawless play from start to finish.
“Ushaaa!!!”
“Woooaaah!!!!”
Hearing Johan’s shout of victory as it was confirmed,
Bean experienced the greatest frustration of his life.
Cheer up, Bean; despair builds a man.
*
Johan vs Bean
Kan vs Curie
We were speechless as we watched a historical match for the ages in the gaming world.
I felt like I had seen something similar in a past life,
But here I was witnessing it again—living twice seems to bring all sorts of experiences.
“Johan is seriously amazing!”
“Yeah, it’s insane!!”
Julia and Silvia, who had thought Bean would win, praised Johan’s play in unison.
Silvia turned to me and asked.
“Did Yuren know about that too?”
“Not really, but Johan seemed just so normal in his play that I thought he was going to win.”
The Johan I knew played with a sense of exploding reason and emotion.
But throughout this match, all I felt was his rationality.
War is a battle of information.
If Johan had hidden his weapon solely for Bean until the very end, it would flip the odds at a crucial moment, and that’s exactly what happened.
Of course, I had no idea it would turn out that way.
To successfully defend all the ultimate moves with Just Guard,
If even the slightest mistake had occurred, it would have resulted in an Overkill from a counterattack, ending the game right there.
“It was a really fun match, my disciple!”
“Indeed. I also had a great time.”
The master who watched the match, along with everyone else, had satisfied expressions on their faces.
Surely all the audience in the arena felt the same way.
The crowd cheered, clapped, and the Colosseum heated up with excitement.
Just like last time, a grand stage had been prepared.
“This time we only need to watch, right, executioner?”
“It’s fine. Jiren, everything is prepared now; we can just sit back and enjoy. Just like Yuren said, while munching snacks. Hehe.”
The difference this time was that we had received substantial support and were fully prepared for the event, making it a situation where we could just relax and watch.
Jiren looked genuinely pleased at Silvia’s remark.
Poor guy… he really struggled during the last event.
He was holding a bag of potato chips, trying to lie down comfortably.
But then…
“Well, I won’t hold back! Ah!?”
“Jiren, you ate too much.”
Karen beside him snatched the bag of potato chips.
With a genuinely sad expression, Jiren pleaded with Karen.
“It’s a special day, let’s eat just a little more.”
“No way. You’ve already had three bags.”
Beside Jiren, there were already three empty bags of chips stacked high.
I looked sadly at Jiren and picked up my own bag of chips.
“Poor Jiren, you’ve worked hard.”
But at that moment, my bag of chips disappeared.
Julia had taken it.
“Yuren can’t either!”
“Me too!?”
“That’s right. Yuren, you’ve eaten three bags too! Eating so many chips isn’t good for your health.”
With our snacks snatched away, Jiren and I sat gloomily in a corner.
In front of us, our master said while enjoying his fourth bag of strawberry ice cream.
“Hehe! My disciples, you’ve worked hard. Om nom!?”
Jiren and I snatched back the master’s ice cream.
“Master…”
“Master, you should stop now.”
“I… I’m fine! Disciples!!”
“No, for the sake of your health, it’s best you stop now.”
“That way you can live long.”
“I’ve lived long enough already…”
For the sake of our master’s health, Jiren and I finished off his ice cream.
It absolutely wasn’t because we were sulking about the chips being taken away.
Absolutely not…
*
After the final match, the award ceremony was held on stage.
Johan held up a sign for 1 billion gold, and Bean raised a sign for 500 million gold as the runner-up.
JYJ and Noirin approached Bean, who had experienced a disappointing defeat.
“First, let’s hear from the runner-up, Bean, about his feelings on the unexpected defeat.”
Receiving the microphone crystal ball from JYJ, Bean surprisingly felt relieved.
It was such a perfect loss that over time, even his sense of injustice and anger disappeared.
Instead, he felt a sense of awe for Johan who had shown such a flawless fight.
“I have been perfectly defeated. For now, I’ll be satisfied just being part of this legendary match. And for the next tournament, I’ll work even harder to make a comeback.”
However, that didn’t mean he intended to give up just like that.
If one attempt didn’t work, there would be a second, and if that failed, he would keep challenging.
Remaining in second place was something his pride wouldn’t allow.
“Wooooo!!!!”
“Go Bean!!!! Don’t despair!!!!”
Seeing Bean like this, his fans and the audience cheered.
Both JYJ and Noirin thought that Bean was truly impressive.
“Bean, your refusal to give up is really beautiful.”
“Now let’s hear from Johan about his victory.”
Immediately after Bean’s remarks, Johan received the microphone crystal ball.
Unlike his usual carefree demeanor, Johan began speaking seriously.
“First, I want to thank the Edward Consortium for hosting such a competition and the Irene School for creating this game.”
Johan expressed his gratitude to Yuren and Silvia, who were somewhere in this place.
Yuren was honestly thrilled at Johan’s words of appreciation, but didn’t show it.
“Before my final words, there’s a saying from my hometown: ‘Applause needs both hands to create sound.’ I think my situation is exactly like that.”
Johan looked around the Colosseum.
There were countless people and fans.
Then he glanced beside him.
There was his rival, Bean.
“This amazing match today wasn’t made by me alone. It was possible thanks to countless gamers who love the game and the fans of Legend Fighters, and especially my rival Bean who keeps pushing me to improve. I want to thank everyone who made it possible for me to be here. Thank you!!!!”
Johan’s words moved the crowd.
They almost felt like crying at the thought of being part of this legendary tournament themselves.
Quietly and steadily, applause began to fill the Colosseum.
Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!
“Johan, you’re awesome!!!!” “You’re the true king of games!!!!”
With such an awesome farewell speech from Johan,
But Johan’s announcement wasn’t over yet.
“And lastly, there’s something else I want to say.”
Johan reverted back to his playful boyish expression and looked at JYJ.
“I’m a gamer before I’m a competitor. And today, I heard that an amazing game is about to be announced.”
“Wooooo!!!!”
People began to get ecstatic at Johan’s words.
Even before the tournament, there had been rumors among gamers.
That the Irene School, which made Super Thomas and Legend Fighter, was creating an incredible game,
This rumor had been accepted as fact following the legendary announcement of Super Thomas, and some of the people gathered here today had come not just for the tournament, but to see that game.
“We’ve done what we can. Now it’s your turn to show us.”
“Wooooo!!!!!!!!”
With those words, Johan passed the microphone to JYJ.
JYJ was bewildered by Johan’s unscripted actions.
But more than that, the heat in their hearts felt like it was about to explode.
The grand stage had been prepared.
If they didn’t take advantage of this, they would have to rethink their bard career.
“Ladies and gentlemen… do you love games!!!!”
“Yes!!!!!!!!!!”
JYJ’s shout echoed throughout the Colosseum.
And the people responded, shouting back with all their might.
“Do you want to see a new game!!!!!!!!!”
“Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
They were gamers who had suffered from the blue games until now.
They wanted to see the real game that the Irene School presented.
“Do you want to see a game that will go down in history!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
“Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
What kind of game could they be about to show that warranted such a build-up?
As the audience’s expectations were about to explode,
Bang!
“What?! What’s going on?”
“The lights went out!?”
The lights of the Colosseum went dark.
Some were startled, but others were on edge, anticipating the event about to unfold.
Then, from the darkness, JYJ’s voice began to flow out.
“Ladies and gentlemen… welcome to the future…”
“The future?”
What kind of nonsense was that?
As the crowds of the Colosseum struggled to comprehend his words, green spirits began to swirl around.
“Wow…”
“So pretty.”
The lights, like the essence of the stars, began to multiply,
And on the main screen, a starry night sky began to emerge.
A soothing piano melody gently played in the background.
“Da⬈ da da⬈♫ da⬈da da da⬊♫”
As the night sky played on screen, it brightened with green light, revealing a mysterious woman.
She had a pink dress, braided brown hair, and green eyes, exuding an enigmatic aura as she rose from a dark alley and stepped onto the street.
“Tap tap tap”
As her footsteps moved, the camera followed her out of the alley.
Then…
“Vroom!!!”
“Wow! What’s that!?”
A device resembling a carriage was moving about, and people dressed in unfamiliar clothing were wandering the streets.
The camera, following her, continued to rise towards the sky.
It soared over buildings and villages, revealing more of the massive futuristic city.
“Whoooosh!!!”
Finally, the camera started showcasing the heart of the city.
In the center of the dazzling city stood [The Light Converter] and the tallest building, [Shinra]’s headquarters.
“Da⬈⬈ da da⬈♫ da⬈da da⊗ da da⬈♫”
And finally, the future city “Midgal” unveiled its entire visage, displaying the game logo.
“Eternal Fantasy”
The world’s first RPG in another world, [Eternal Fantasy], was unveiled,
marking the moment the fantasies of the people in this world began.
