Rise Online: Return of the Legendary Player

Chapter 739 Who?

The dust from Delgron's ashes was still floating in the air when Azrakthar's gaze turned to the place where the Fifth High Demon had once stood.

The despair he had tried so skillfully to hide now overflowed in his expression, a mixture of disbelief and fear.

"No... it can't be..." whispered Azrakthar, his hands shaking uncontrollably. He tried to free himself, but his legs were trapped by Cephal's feet. Thus, the roar of rage that had filled the place gave way to a tense silence, broken only by the soft sound of Delgron's ashes settling on the ground.

Kaizen, for his part, remained unperturbed. His gaze was still fixed on the area where Delgron had disappeared, as if searching for something beyond the visible.

Still holding Azrakthar, Cephal watched the whole scene with an arched eyebrow, slightly surprised that Kaizen had managed to literally twist Delgron's body into dust.

The echo of the level system's words reverberated in Kaizen's mind.

Azrakthar didn't seem to want to believe it, because even in all his long life, not one demon had died in front of him, so he faithfully believed that it was impossible for anyone to defeat them. The death of Delgron, his right-hand man, his pupil, was more than a defeat; it was a blow to the core of his self-confidence.

"No... I can't accept that, you bastards!" shouted Azrakthar, finally breaking the silence. He tried to break free of Cephal's grip, but the Kaizen leader held him firmly, sinking him to the ground, but even that wasn't enough to stop his momentum. "Delgron was immortal! I trained him myself!"

Cephal glared at Azrakthar, his eyes narrowing with disdain. "As I said, you underestimated the strength of humans. Your outdated methods led to your downfall, because Kaizen was able to adapt to them."

The truth began to sink in for Azrakthar, reality unfolding before his eyes. He lifted his head slightly and looked into the void where Delgron had disappeared, remembering the times they had trained together, and the demon's unwavering loyalty.

"Delgron... you bastard, why did you have to die like that?" Azrakthar's voice wavered, his arrogance crumbling like a house of cards.

For his part, Kaizen was looking down at his hands and, surprisingly, his smile had also disappeared. Kaizen was serious, no, his face was expressionless. "Whew... Wait for me, Rhyzer, it looks like I've finally managed to take the first step towards seeing your smile again."

As he said this out loud, his words echoed across the vast battlefield, drawing the attention of the other players and spectators.

[Official Broadcast Chat

Tremer12: He managed to defeat a demon:?!?!

Mirrawlk: What did he say? I couldn't hear properly.

Giio_O: Did he say 'Rhyzer'?

Egea_SL: AHHW! He's so cool!"

Ochinese2: Who the hell is Rhyzer?

DimplyZz: Why does he look so relieved? The battle isn't over yet.

Lun1F2: Holy shit, Kaizen is so cool~!!!]

Of course, in the broadcast chats, both the official one and the streamer reacts, Kaizen was being cheered on like a hero. After all, he was the one fighting side by side with an Evolved and he was still getting just as much attention. However, while this celebration was taking place on social media, the battlefield was still tense.

'Who's Rhyzer?' Cephal thought, still holding Azrakthar tightly.

Murmurs began to spread across the battlefield, with most of the players trying to understand what Kaizen had said, and Xisrith noticed this doubt growing, so he thought:

'Of course they don't know. When the information about Klaus' past leaked out, he did everything he could not to reveal what happened to her brother, but during the journey here, in the carriage, he told us all about it, detailing why he wanted to reach level 200? So if he seems so relieved, it means he's reached that level.

In the end, Xisrith was the only person who knew why Kaizen had been standing there for almost a minute after killing Delgron, but gradually the others began to sense that something had changed too.

Cephal, holding the angry Azrakthar tightly on the ground, felt a vibration in the air, a strange sensation coming from Kaizen. Even the demon stopped trying to free himself, because he seemed to have noticed something unusual.

"What's going on?" muttered Azrakthar, whose despair was slowly being replaced by a sense of confusion.

Kaizen, for his part, slowly raised his right hand, observing the particles of light that danced around his fingers.

Cephal, even with his demonic nature, felt a chill run down his spine as Kaizen began to speak, his words echoing with a resonance that transcended mere sound.

"Rhyzer, my brother, I finally understand what you sacrificed for me. The journey to level 200 was arduous, but now I understand the true depth of your smile."

The eyes of everyone on the battlefield turned to Kaizen, bewildered by the revelations that poured out of his words. Social media exploded with speculation and theories, but the crux of the matter remained in the air: who was Rhyzer, and what importance did he have in Kaizen's journey?

Cephal, still holding Azrakthar, sensed a change in the Kaizen leader's aura. It was as if the battlefield itself responded to his presence, the clouds stirring in the sky.

Some time ago, when Kaizen reached level 100, he began to feel a strange sensation, an indescribable feeling that wasn't detailed in any part of the HUD, the system or the skill tree. It wasn't his feeling, because when he left the game, this sensation didn't persist. It was like an itch, a heart racing at the wrong time, a strange euphoria that came from inside him.

For a few weeks, Kaizen tried to understand what it was, but by now, at this point in the story, it's clear that he's figured it out, because this feeling became more intense each time he evolved, and now that he's reached level 200, a level that no non-evolved player has ever reached, this feeling is almost overwhelming.