The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage

When Kyou first joined the backup team, he wasn’t like this.

He had only one goal—stay as close as possible to the Demon King so he could one day defeat him.

That was the only reason he joined.

But as time passed and he adapted to the team, his perspective began to shift.

Instead of seeing the Demon King as just a target to be conquered—

He found himself following him.

And the more he followed, the more he realized...

‘He’s a monster.’

Kyou had already suspected as much.

But now, it was undeniable.

If he had tried to compete alone, he never would have kept up.

No—he still hadn’t caught up.

It felt more like he was barely holding on, forcing himself to keep up through sheer willpower.

Even leveling wasn’t easy.

Their entire group was training at a level beyond full power, constantly growing stronger in real-time.

Something he never could have accomplished alone.

And yet—

For someone as prideful as Kyou, it was an entirely new feeling.

He had always believed he was perfect.

That he was the only true strong one.

Single Rankers?

He had dismissed them as mere mortals who had simply started playing before him.

But reality was different.

‘...I couldn’t even defeat Kim Che-geon’s older sister.’

Not even that ridiculous woman.

His record against Kim Che-geon was practically tied.

Most of their fights had ended in draws.

And even in the few victories he did manage, the number of losses was about the same.

Had his world expanded?

With this team, it felt like nothing was impossible.

Yet still, the Demon King—Seong—remained untouchable.

Still far out of reach.

That feeling remained.

But he forced himself to ignore it.

He had to believe that with this team, they could eventually reach him.

That they could become the true backup team for the Demon King.

That was what he believed.

And then Reaper appeared.

With a ridiculous attitude, similar to Kim Che-geon.

‘...And he got here before us?’

Kyou refused to accept that.

He was faster than Kim Che-geon, Luna, and Embris.

And faster than him.

That thought alone made his blood boil.

Their team—aside from the Demon King—had to be the strongest.

And he was going to prove it.

Luna, Kim Che-geon, and Embris were all on his level.

So if he defeated Reaper—

It would prove that they were stronger.

Even if Reaper had defeated Black Death faster—

Kyou would prove that he was stronger.

Because this was his team.

Kyou was fully determined.

‘...!’

At first, Reaper thought it was just a casual spar.

Kyou seemed young.

Maybe it was just reckless pride.

But when he saw Kyou’s eyes—

He realized.

This was serious.

And he had to take it seriously too.

Kyou wasn’t the type of opponent to play around.

So Reaper’s eyes darkened as well.

And at that very moment—

Seong’s voice rang out.

“Begin.”

And in an instant—

A storm of lightning erupted.

Kyou’s lightning wasn’t colored.

If anything, it was pure white.

A slightly pale blue tinge mixed within, but at its core—pure white.

And as it spread outward—

It erased everything.

All thoughts, all distractions, all brief hesitations—

Leaving only blinding white.

Inside this lightning-infused world—

Everything felt slow.

Like a still ocean.

And within this ocean, Kyou moved freely.

His lightning crackled and expanded, spreading in every direction.

Then—

He gathered it.

Condensed it into a single, deadly bolt.

And with the lightning clenched in his grasp—

He fired at Reaper.

CRACKLE—!!!

The lightning bolt shot forward—

Then split into hundreds, thousands of branching arcs—

Engulfing everything.

Lightning filled the air.

The entire waiting room crackled under the force of it.

And yet—

Reaper.

Did not.

Move.

He just stood there.

As if it had nothing to do with him.

And the moment the lightning struck—

Reaper’s body—

Dissolved.

Like smoke.

For a moment, Kyou thought it was Embris’ Mist Form.

But no—this was different.

Because before the attack, he had been solid.

And the moment he was struck, his body vanished.

And then—

Kyou saw it.

Even though his lightning had bleached everything white—

One spot remained—

A single, dark shadow.

A black stain in a world of white.

Kyou immediately reacted—

He shaped his lightning into the form of a bird—

And launched it at the shadow.

It was pure speed.

Faster than anything.

And for the first time—

Reaper’s shadow twitched.

Caught off guard.

Already?

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Reaper realized—his matchup here was not great.

But it was too late to worry about that now.

With one swift motion—

He emerged from the shadow.

And with a gleaming dagger in his reversed grip—

He sliced through the lightning bird.

SLASH—!!!

CRACKLE—!!!

As the bird shattered, it released a final discharge of lightning—

But Reaper was already gone.

His speed was remarkable.

One of the fastest Kyou had encountered.

But not faster than him.

Not when he had this form.

Like before, when Fiora had summoned the Thunder God.

Kyou merged with his lightning—

Forging it into himself.

Sharpening his entire nervous system like a blade.

His mind, body, and speed reached their peak.

And unlike before—

He wasn’t relying on his physical speed.

‘Faster.’

He honed his reactions to the limit.

Instant spellcasting.

As soon as the thought formed—

The lightning fired.

And then—

A storm of lightning surged toward Reaper.

A raging tempest of thunder and destruction.

Reaper frowned.

The storm was overwhelming.

Too wide to dodge.

So—

His body stretched.

Like a shadow.

And then—

It split.

Multiple copies of Reaper appeared.

But the storm swallowed everything.

His clones were torn apart.

Shredded by lightning.

And yet—

Reaper reappeared—

Behind Kyou.

The perfect assassination.

The ideal assassin’s strike.

His dagger flashed—

Aimed straight for the back of Kyou’s neck.

But in that moment—

Kyou felt it.

And without hesitation—

He unleashed all of his lightning.

A detonation of electricity exploded outward.

‘Tch.’

Reaper vanished.

Reappearing elsewhere.

Both of them had insane reaction speeds.

And if Kyou hadn’t been in this state—

He might have lost in sheer speed.

Now, they were evenly matched.

But with Kyou’s lightning zone in place—

Reaper couldn’t close the gap.

Again and again, he tried.

And ★ ★ again and again, Kyou stopped him.

HOLY SHIT WHAT IS THIS FIGHT???This is insane;;They’re both monsters;;;”He’s on a completely different level.”

”Wow, Kyou’s skills are actually insane.”

Even the viewers were in awe of the battle unfolding before them.

Luna, Kim Che-geon, and Embris all nodded as they observed.

This was the kind of duel that was worth studying.

The way they used their skills—

How they controlled space—

How they attacked their opponent—

Everything was a learning experience.

Meanwhile.

‘Hmm.’

Seong watched the fight, tilting his head slightly in confusion.

He didn’t quite like what he was seeing.

While he didn’t use Lightning himself often, he could tell Kyou was making mistakes.

And Reaper...

His movement felt off.

Seong sighed.

”Wait, the Demon King just sighed?”

”LMAO does he think they’re just playing around?”

”He seemed so nice earlier answering questions though?”

”LOL he really doesn’t match his name at all.”

”But why is he sighing???”

”For real? What’s wrong with their fight?”

The chat buzzed with curiosity.

Did Seong really think their fight was bad?

Noticing the chat, Seong answered casually.

”It just feels... frustrating to watch.”

The response caught the viewers off guard.

”WTF?? That fight looks frustrating???”

”Is this one of those ‘You’re using it wrong’ moments???”

”What kind of world does this guy live in?”

”Dude, I can barely see what’s happening, and he’s calling it frustrating???”

”If anyone else said this, they’d get roasted for talking nonsense LOL.”

”Yeah, but because it’s the Demon King, we’re all just waiting to hear why.”

”For real LMAO.”

As the chat filled with laughter, Seong glanced back at the fight.

Then, looking at the viewers, he spoke.

”Hmm... Let me explain.”

His voice was just loud enough for the stream to hear.

”First, Reaper isn’t using his mobility properly. He’s skilled, and he knows how to push his limits, but he keeps preemptively avoiding situations where he thinks he might not keep up. He’s limiting himself.”

Silence.

”???”

”Bro, what are you even saying?”

”If we knew this, we’d be Rankers too.”

”Ah ㅋㅋㅋ just nod and say ‘Ohhh, I see’ like we get it.”

They had no idea what he was talking about.

To them, Reaper looked flawless.

Noticing the confusion, Seong continued.

”And Kyou? He doesn’t understand the fundamental properties of lightning. His skill usage is inefficient.”

More silence.

”Dude, is he watching a different fight?”

”Isn’t Kyou using lightning perfectly???”

”What does he mean, ‘doesn’t understand lightning’???”

”WTF is happening right now?”

”Wait, even Luna’s team looks shocked.”

”LMAO they’re all subtly moving closer to listen.”

It wasn’t just the viewers—

The backup team had been eavesdropping.

Everyone in the room wore the same confused expression.

Seong frowned slightly.

Maybe he wasn’t explaining it well enough.

Then.

He made a decision.

”I’ll just show you.”

With a flicker—

Seong disappeared.

Like a shadow fading into darkness.

And then—

He reappeared behind Kyou.

But unlike when Reaper had done it—

Kyou felt nothing.

No presence. No warning. No sound.

And before he could even react—

Seong lightly tapped his back with a single finger.

Kyou shivered.

A cold chill ran down his spine as he whipped around—

Only to see Reaper still standing in front of him.

And as he turned back—

Seong was already back in his original spot.

Kyou’s eyes widened.

So did Reaper’s.

“...???”

“...???”

Then they both turned to face Seong.

Seong crossed his arms.

”If you’re going to use shadow-based mobility, then you need to layer your movement with additional shadow techniques. That way, you can remain hidden as you strike, rather than just closing distance. The moment you make contact, your presence should be completely erased. That’s how you trick your opponent’s senses.”

Silence.

”Uh... I don’t get it at all...”

”I literally don’t understand anything he just said...”

”Professor, the lecture is moving too fast...”

Seong sighed again, glancing at the chat.

But before he could continue—

“...So what you’re saying is?”

He turned around—

And saw Kyou and Reaper both staring at him.

Eyes glowing.

And behind them—

The entire backup team.

Luna.

Kim Che-geon.

Embris.

All of them standing there.

Waiting.

As if they were ready to take notes.

All thoughts of pride, rivalry, and personal grudges were gone.

They just wanted to learn.

”LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.”

”It turned into a lecture.”

”THE FIGHT TURNED INTO A DAMN CLASSROOM.”

”LMAO they all sat down.”

”Elite students never miss a lecture~”

”The Demon King is now a Demon Professor.”