Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Mephistopheles was the first one to walk over and grab Asmodai by his shoulders, scolding him with anger clear in his voice, “Asmodai, why did you do it!?”
“Asmodai, how could you decide this by yourself?” Hades said.
Charon was even more aggressive and he picked up the documents and shredded all of it with his bare hands.
Since everyone knew about it now, Asmodai had nothing to hide anymore. He looked at the clearly angered Charon who had just torn the documents and said, “The original copy has already been signed by the assistant head secretary. That was just a copy.”
“Asmodai, what are you doing? How could you make this decision without telling us? I’ve said this many times, that time when we fought against Team Sky, it was me who was slow in supporting. I did not show the prowess that a captain should have, it was my fault alone!” Hades said firmly.
“That’s right Asmodai, you look down on yourself too much. It must be because you did not have enough rest. After finishing the LPL and resting for a while, you will definitely play better!” Belial added.
“Coach, you should talk him out of it!” Hades said with a panicked expression.
Hades and Asmodai were Team Daemons’ founding players. Both of them had fought in the professional gaming scene for so long, having worked hard together, even swearing to get number one in the whole world together…
Before all of these things that they had vowed to do had happened, how could he retire!? Hades would not support his decision no matter what Asmodai said.
‘Asmodai, are you sure about this?’ Coach Huang Kang asked seriously.
Huang Kang had seen the signature on the retirement papers. This also meant that the association had already approved of his retirement.
“Yes, you don’t need to talk me out of this anymore. I know my body’s condition better than anyone else… Also, after playing for so long, I really am tired of it.” Asmodai said.
“My *ss! You’re still in good condition and can still go on. Asmodai, do not listen to all those rumors and lies. You are really strong now and you will just get stronger as time goes on. Who cares about the golden age for E-sports? Those people don’t even know much about Esports and dare to criticize the professional players. Asmodai, listen to me, without getting into the top eight teams in the world, don’t even think about retiring!” Hades burst out.
Hades was usually a calm and collected person, but today, it seemed as though he could not control his own emotions.
Retiring?
Which professional player would be able to really accept that? The one thing harder to accept was seeing your own teammate which had had your back for years retire without being able to do anything…
The five of them had played DOTA and also switched to LOL together, it had been a whole four years.
They had not emerged as champions in DOTA. Even if they had not gone into the world championship for DOTA, it did nothing to hinder the fire in their souls for being a competitive player.
Finally, they could show off to the world in LOL and had become the best team in China. This was the result of their persistence and hard work, there was only one other thing that they had yet to achieve!
All of the past best teams in China had not made it into the top eight in the world. This was not glorifying but a disgrace to their country!
That night when they had partied after getting the title of the country’s strongest team, they had sworn to God that the five of them together would definitely get into the top eight teams in the world and become world-renown players, none of them would be able to leave before that!
In the first year, they had lost really badly and were demolished in the qualifiers. Being a world-level team was harder than they had thought.
In the second year, even if they were a bit slow, everyone still gave them a chance. They could definitely get even further and have a shot at being the top eight in the world!
And yet, it was at this time that Asmodai had chosen to leave…
Hades did not approve of this, Charon did not approve of it, Belial did not approve of it, and Mephistopheles sure as hell did not approve of it.
From the beginning when they had started playing competitively in the competitive gaming scene, from them making a name for themselves as Team Daemons, they were five teammates who were inseparable, they would do everything together. It did not matter whether it was the glory of being the top team in the country or sharing the embarrassment of being destroyed in the world championship!
“Listen to me…” Asmodai saw that all of them were clearly agitated and tried to cool everyone down.
The match against Team Skycrown would start soon, he did not want this issue regarding him to affect everyone’s mental state. Today, they were facing their old rivals, the very team that they wanted to surpass the most!
Everyone had looked forward to today’s match. If they were not able to play this match in perfect condition, it would be one of their biggest regrets!
“My retirement does not mean that I will be leaving you guys. Other than being a professional player, I can still become like Coach Huang Kang and help you guys analyze the situation as well as look after your training. I can also help to stream in our club to pull more fans to our side. If you obtain a higher achievement, it would still be a team effort and we would still celebrate together… Don’t worry, I will not be leaving. I have nowhere to go anyway. I’m just tired and want to take a break. I do not want to be overly nervous when playing in competitions anymore. But when you guys play in a competition, I will definitely still be there with you.” Asmodai said with a heavy heart.
“But…” Hades still had something that he wanted to say.
Hades was sure that when Asmodai said that he was tired, he was lying. He knew better than anyone else that Asmodai had always wanted to become a world-class player.
Last year when Asmodai had seen the Fighting Hawk retire, he had trained extra hard after getting back to the club. It was definitely because after seeing the one who could challenge the top fall, it had made him want to achieve something greater even more.
In the past year, no one had trained harder than Asmodai, all for the sole reason of getting into the top eight in the world.
But it was as they said, his age and the pressure made him unable to play like he used to. After losing touch in the competitions and constantly making mistakes in training, Asmodai had to accept the reality that he had indeed become old.
Compared to the newer professional players and those with lightning-fast reflexes, other than his experience of playing the game for so long as well as his competition attitude, he did not have many traits worth noting anymore.
Looking back, the promise they had made at the start that said that the five of them would be playing together until they reached the top had been really childish. As they grew older, there would definitely be people who would retire eventually, it was just that it had never crossed Hades’s mind that Asmodai would be the one retiring first! His ambition was bigger than his own, it would be such a grueling process if he needed to accept that he had already become old!
“Guys, don’t be like that. We have a very important match right now, get your head in the game. We have already lost to Team Sky, if we lose this match again, we might not be able to get into the world championship.” Asmodai said.
If they lost because of him, Asmodai would beat himself up. It would not just be his own dream that would be destroyed, he would destroy his teammates’ dreams too.
Everyone remained silent. In their eyes, if they lost Asmodai, getting into the top eight in the world championship would mean a lot less to them.
“Hades, Belial, Mephistopheles, Charon, stop trying to talk me out of this. I have already made my decision. If you really treat me as a brother and if I mean something to you, treat this as if you’re doing a favor for me, alright?” As Asmodai said this, his eyes started to get watery.
Everyone was unwilling to let him go, and he himself did not want to leave either.
The six of them looked at Asmodai and saw that his eyes had started to get watery. Every single one of them felt a throbbing pain in their chest.
They did not fear losing, they did not fear being crushed. The only thing they feared was this kind of situation that was happening… Damn Esports, why can’t a player play longer!?
“This match means a lot to me. If you treat me as one of your teammates, please forget this incident for a while and play the match seriously. Stop staring at me, look that way, look at who our opponents are! Charon, in the DOTA finals, you were pressured by Lone Gull, do you want to lose to him even in LOL? Belial, Gale Crane will be playing as their Jungler. Before the match, you always said that you would control his jungle and show him who’s the boss. Hades, who was the one who made you unable to call yourself the best player in China? Isn’t he going to play against us!? Get yourself together, all of you! For me, playing this game properly is the best way for me to retire!” The more Asmodai spoke, the more emotional he got.
The memories that they had flashed by, the more they remembered, the more they weren’t able to accept the harsh reality that someone would be retiring.
Hades wiped the tears from his own eyes. Retirement really was hard to escape from.
Asmodai had already made his decision. If they made him stay, the one staying would only be a person who was bound by regret. If they made him stay, it would make things harder for him.
In that case, as teammates, as his best brothers, the only thing they could do for him right now was to give it their all for this competition. Counting this match, this match would be the last match of his six-year long professional player career!
How could Hades allow people to say that Asmodai had retired because his skills were deteriorating!? That would be a professional player’s biggest shame.
The last competition, the best ceremony for retiring.
Alright, this team that they were up against really did have the qualifications to be his enemies in his retirement fight!
Hades took a deep breath and put out his hand slowly in front of everyone.
“Hades…” Charon looked at Hades, stunned. He could not believe that Hades had been convinced by Asmodai’s words and had even agreed to it!
Hades did not say anything else. He only looked at the last three people.
He believed that the three of them would understand, the match had really begun!
The second one to put out his hand was Mephistopheles. As Asmodai’s Support, he was the one who understood Asmodai the most. If they could show off Team Daemons’ real prowess, Asmodai could leave the competitive circle with a smile on his face. This was the best way for a competitive player to go!
Belial looked at Asmodai for a second and then put out his hand, stacking it over Hades’ and Mephistopheles’ hands.
Charon, who still had the pieces of the retirement documents in his hands wanted to start scolding them but he held back and said, “You piece of sh*t, I will definitely crush them and give you all the glory!”
After saying that, Charon too put his hand over the three of theirs.
Asmodai gradually became exhilarated as he saw that everyone had already made up their minds to face the next match with all they had. He let out a sigh of relief, forced out a smile, and put his hand on top.
The last match of his whole career, which also meant that it would be the last match that they would be playing together…
I will definitely give it my all!
