The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 163

Around 9 a.m., Roman faced Jayden.

The first match was over in a second. Before noon, Roman Dmitry was already facing his next opponent, ranked 98th.

Delly, ranked 98th, thought, ‘Jayden lost in a second?’

He wore a cautious expression.

Roman Dmitry’s appearance wasn’t as threatening as the rumors suggested. However, Delly had heard that Jayden, who possessed similar skills, had been overwhelmingly defeated.

Thinking about it, Delly realized Roman was arrogant.

He had booked a match with Jayden at 9 a.m. and sent a letter saying he would face him before noon.

‘That cocky bastard,’ Delly thought.

His stomach churned.

He knew he would lose.

But to make things difficult for Roman Dmitry, he accepted the match. He wanted to wear Roman out.

His goal was not victory, but to exhaust Roman’s stamina.

Delly wanted to make the fight last longer. He waited for Willas to signal the start. Delly decided to defend and avoid attacking.

Finally.

Flutter. The flag dropped, the signal to begin.

Roman exploded off the ground, moving faster than anyone expected.

Delly raised his sword, trying to block the attack he knew would come like lightning. But Roman’s sword moved in a way Delly couldn’t understand, a strange, twisting motion.

Thwack!

“Kerk!” A sharp scream of pain ripped through the air.

It was over. Just like that.

Even to survive a little longer against Roman, you needed skill.

“…Roman Dmitry, ranked 99th, has defeated Delly, ranked 98th, and is declared to be ranked 98th.”

The crowd gasped. They couldn’t believe how fast it was.

Roman didn’t look back this time either.

He hurried as if he had an appointment, not even happy about his 98th place ranking.

Four hours later, as the sun climbed higher in the sky, Roman met his 97th-ranked opponent.

Three times a day. It was an absurd pace.

Roman Dmitry didn’t think that the previous two opponents would hold him back, and only calculated the travel time.

The 97th ranker, like Delly, showed an angry reaction.

He would have opened the way for Roman if it were possible, but he couldn’t stand the fact that Roman had promised a match with him even before facing Jayden.

And he too was knocked out in just 3 seconds.

The fight was a blur. Three seconds later, the 97th-ranked fighter was on the ground, blood blooming on the sand like a dark flower.

Three consecutive wins.

People at the scene were bewildered.

“…What on earth are we watching?” one person asked.

“He defeated as many as three rankers in one day. Even though they are all the lowest rankers, they are all Cairo powerhouses who have reached the realm of 3 stars or higher. Does this make sense? It didn’t even take 10 seconds to defeat three people.”

They doubted their eyes.

Roman left.

This time to face the 96th place.

As if he didn’t need time to recover from his fatigue at all, he proved the result and left the place without any regrets.

People followed him.

They wanted to see for themselves how far Roman Dmitry would go.

After only two days, Roman defeated up to 91st place in the ranking.

At that time, Jayden, the very first sacrifice, regained consciousness, showing a shocking move.

Jayden had a terrible nightmare.

Jayden, who had a dream of being eaten alive by a monster, opened his eyes with a face full of cold sweat.

He jumped up.

“Huk, huk,” he breathed heavily.

In the dream, the monster looked like Roman Dmitry.

Jayden, who was desperate to win somehow, witnessed a wall that he could never overcome.

“…What on earth happened?” Jayden asked.

The healer replied, “What happened? You were so reckless that you said you would face Roman Dmitry, but you couldn’t stand even one blow and passed out. You were knocked out for a whole day after you fainted at that time. Do you know what’s fortunate? Everyone who faced Roman Dmitry after you hasn’t come to their senses yet.”

His heart sank.

Only a day had passed.

But people who faced Roman Dmitry…

Jayden asked, thinking it was strange, “People. How many people did Roman Dmitry face?”

The healer stopped what he was doing.

He had known Jayden since the beginning.

Jayden was also a veteran who had gone through all kinds of hardships, and the healer knew what kind of life Jayden had lived.

The healer understood the match with Roman.

But with the results that followed, he couldn’t defend Jayden’s choice.

“Immediately after facing you, Roman Dmitry defeated a total of 5 rankers in that one day, including you. He defeated you, who was ranked 99th, in the morning, 98th at lunch, 97th and 96th before the sun went down, and 95th in the evening. Do you know what that means? Roman Dmitry only spent time moving for the 5 matches, and he didn’t even breathe hard against you. He wasn’t even an opponent in the first place.”

“…Crazy,” Jayden cursed without even realizing it.

Only then did he understand.

Roman Dmitry was completely insane.

People naturally thought that the match with 99th place was a strategy to save his body, but with his current actions, it seemed like he really intended to take the top spot from the bottom.

How could such a monster exist in the world?

From the bold judgment to the ability to put it into practice, Roman Dmitry was an extraordinary being.

It was then that Jayden felt a sting.

“…?!”

Pain occurred when he moved his body.

When Jayden looked at the healer with a bewildered face, he said with a bitter face, “A person who follows Roman Dmitry said that his lord thinks that there must be a price for his choices. You won’t be able to move your body properly for a month. I don’t know what kind of magic Roman Dmitry used, but he completely messed up the internal muscles.”

One month. It was the price of recklessness.

The nightmare of being eaten by a monster called Roman came to his mind, and he felt his heart pounding and his mouth drying.

“I have to stop the other guys,” Jayden thought.

Rankers above 90th place would try to face Roman.

Just like he did, they wouldn’t be able to escape the realm of common sense.

In a state where his body was not moving properly, Jayden hoped that they would not have the same experience as him.

He hurriedly wrote a letter.

The target was all rankers except for the top ranks.

“To all Rankers of Cairo, I write this with a shaking hand and a heart full of fear. Please, listen to my warning… I, who was once 99th and now pushed back to 100th, warn you. Roman Dmitry is a monster that we cannot face. I couldn’t last even 1 second against him, and as a price for not facing reality, I am in a state where I can’t move my body properly for a month. If you don’t want to have the same experience as me, please don’t block Roman Dmitry’s path. The match with Roman Dmitry will never be a valuable experience, but will only leave fear. Please, don’t ignore what I’m saying.”

He sent the letter, hoping they wouldn’t make the same mistake as him.

The lower rankers of Cairo had to hold their breath and know their place against the monster called Roman.

When Roman defeated 85th place, people felt strange.

They admitted that he defeated Jayden in 1 second.

However, even though fatigue must have accumulated due to the continuous schedule, the strong man in 85th place was defeated without being able to do anything.

Overwhelming match.

People saw reality.

How much of a monster Roman was, began to be shown through the previous matches.

And around that time, a letter arrived for Cairo’s rankers.

“…I’m going to give up,” one ranker said.

“Look at the letter Jayden sent! That ignorant guy sent a letter like a scared little kid after facing Roman Dmitry once. This is not a warning that can just be ignored. Even the 85th-ranked ranker has fallen so helplessly like the 99th-ranked ranker, so the fact that we are in the early 80s is not important.”

Roman ignored all the talk around him. He planned to beat every ranked fighter, starting from the very bottom.

One by one, the ranked fighters surrendered.

It had only been three days of public battles, but people were already stepping aside for Roman. They were scared.

Fighters like Jayden, who had fought Roman, warned others about being foolish. Everyone was terrified of the punishment: their bodies wouldn’t work right for a whole month. Hadn’t Roman already shown how strong he was in his earlier fights?

Any idea that the rumors about Roman were wrong was quickly destroyed by his amazing skill. People who had supported Roman now praised him loudly, telling everyone how skilled he was. Sometimes,

The 80th-ranked fighter ignored the warnings and faced Roman. He quickly learned the cost of his foolishness. *Crack!* A sharp sound like bone breaking.

“Cough.”

The fighter’s face hit the ground hard. Blood and spit dripped from his mouth. His eyes were blurry, searching for Roman but not seeing him clearly. It was finished. Again, Roman had won easily.

‘This isn’t enough to reach my goal.’

Roman wasn’t just fighting for fame in these public battles. He knew that after he finished all the ranking fights, powerful people in Cairo, like Marquis Benedict, would make demands of him. That’s why he was making himself known through these battles. He wanted to show them what he was capable of.

If he ended up fighting against those powerful people in Cairo, he wanted Dimitri’s followers to have a reason to believe in him. This was all part of his plan. Also, Roman had never liked the ranking system in the first place.

Valhalla had fought for the top spot just because they were competitive. But Roman wanted more. He wanted to be number one. So, he decided to climb to the top from the lowest rank. Ninety-nine strong fighters. He would make them all bow down to him.

Then, even if Dimitri showed his true goals, no one would dare to stand against Roman.

‘These public battles are just the beginning, a warning sign for what’s coming. The Salamander Continent is close to being pulled into a big war. Before that happens, I need to take complete control of the Cairo Kingdom.’

People didn’t understand. They didn’t see what kind of man Roman really was. Because he was just from a small town far away, they couldn’t imagine that he wanted to rule all of Cairo.

So, the rich and powerful families were just watching. They hoped Roman would get tired of trying to climb the ranks. If he failed to reach the top and gave up, they planned to make him choose sides then.

Not yet, anyway. Most people still didn’t believe Roman Dimitri was the best swordsman in Cairo.

* * *

One week later,

The doubts about Roman were gone. Because of his amazing skill and because so many fighters surrendered, Roman quickly climbed higher in the rankings. He went from rank 84 to somewhere in the 30s. All the strong fighters ranked from 31st to 39th gave up.

They were sure Roman Dimitri was as strong as a top 10 fighter, so they all agreed to surrender. But then, the fighter ranked 30th accepted Roman’s challenge.

“Fernando, what are you doing?”

“You’ve heard the rumors, right? If you fight Roman Dimitri, you’ll be injured. People say he’s at least as strong as a 5-star fighter. Unless you’re in the top ten in Cairo, you can’t beat him. That’s why everyone below the top ten is giving up. Why are you being so foolish?”

“Please, just listen to us!”

The other ranked fighters came closer, urging him. They had all agreed to surrender.

They thought people who surrendered looked weak, especially when some were still choosing to fight. So, they decided to choose the easier path. If they were going to lose in less than a minute anyway, why even fight?

“It’s my choice.”

Fernando showed a determined expression.

The gatekeeper of 30th place. That was his nickname.

People said being ranked 30th was amazing, but Fernando knew it wasn’t a compliment. It was meant to make fun of him. He had been ranked 30th for a long time, and he knew his rank would slowly fall as new, stronger fighters appeared. If a top fighter hadn’t died fighting Chronos, Fernando would already be ranked 31st.

“You idiot! Do you have to fight even if it makes us look bad?”

“Think clearly! I’m not making us look bad by fighting. It’s your weakness that makes you give up because you’re scared. I’m not going to force you to surrender like you did.”

“Damn it!”

“Ugh, what a stubborn fool.”

The other fighters turned away, annoyed.

He knew what they were thinking. But Fernando had never refused a fight in his life.

‘I’m not like them. People born with talent don’t have to risk their lives to get stronger. Their skills just improve over time. But if I’m not careful, my skills will get worse.’

Fernando. People always wondered about him. He was a great swordsman, but why was he always stuck at rank 30?

People didn’t know that Fernando had a problem with his mana from birth. Even after becoming a 4-star fighter, he couldn’t control his magical power well. That’s why he was stuck at rank 30 for so long. When he reached the limit of his mana, he tried to find other ways to improve.

He focused on experience. He fought many strong people. By doing this, he learned a lot and created his own style of sword fighting. Even though he couldn’t beat opponents with strong magic, he tried to win by being a better swordsman.

The result was his rank of 30th. He could beat fighters weaker than 4-star just with his sword skills. But he couldn’t beat those much stronger who had overwhelming magical power. So, whenever a new genius appeared, Fernando would lose his rank.

People mock him, saying how can he stay in that ranking consistently even 10 years ago, 5 years ago, but Fernando gritted his teeth and accepted reality.

In fact.

Avoiding challenges was also a way. But by accepting all challenges, Fernando hoped to add something, anything, to his experience.

‘Rumors say Roman Dimitri is an amazing swordsman. I probably can’t block his attacks for long with my skills. But I hope to learn something, even a little, by fighting him. That’s all I want. Being a ranked fighter doesn’t mean anything to me.’

Rankings are just for show. In the end, a swordsman’s skill is what matters.

His colleagues stepped back.

Fernando trained in swordsmanship. No matter what people said, he wielded his sword until the sun went down. That was Fernando’s identity.

Sloth. That was the nickname people used because they thought his skills weren’t improving. But Fernando wasn’t lazy like a sloth. And he wasn’t trying to stay the same. In his mind, he imagined fighting Roman Dimitri. Lost in his practice, Fernando kept swinging his sword until he was covered in sweat.

Like that.

The day dawned.

“Hoo.”

Clear air filled his lungs. He had stayed up all night, but he didn’t feel tired. He moved his steps. From now on, it was time to face the real Roman Dimitri.