An Offline Duel (2)

In every era, there exist people who do not merely remember the past, but idolize it.

This is especially true when that past was more than merely radiant—when it carved a monumental mark across the annals of history. It is essentially the classic "back in my day" mentality, and the races in whom this trait manifests most prominently are humans and elves.

Since the founding of their nation, the elves had never suffered a humiliating chapter in their history. It stood in stark contrast to their longstanding rivals, the demon race, who had run rampant across eras only to be utterly humiliated and swept away by the Hero. Yet, just as no daylight can last forever, that brilliant golden age had begun to fade. And so, clinging to memories of ancestral glory, ancient elves buried themselves in nostalgia, preaching endlessly about how ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠glorious things used to be.

Indeed, humanity was a species whose floor was bottomless, yet whose peak was terrifyingly high. Most figures who had carved massive, indelible scars into world history—like the Undying King—had been human.

Yet did that mean anyone truly idolized the Undying King?

A few did, certainly—so long as that devotion was strictly confined to the anonymous bounds of the Gallery. Anyone foolish enough to pull such nonsense in the waking world would rightfully receive a fist to the jaw from the nearest passerby.

The Blood Demon, however, was a different case entirely. Even if branded as mere dregs and zealots, unlike the Undying King, he possessed genuine disciples who worshipped him in the flesh. Where the Undying King had met his end as an undead monstrosity put down in an official 'subjugation,' the Blood Demon had demonstrated transcendent, peerless martial might before mysteriously 'vanishing.' That distinction made all the difference.

To be drawn toward overwhelming power and seek refuge beneath its mantle was a fundamental instinct of all living creatures. No matter how advanced civilization became, that primal urge remained buried at the bedrock of human nature. The sole reason society as a whole did not succumb to it was because collective reason could discern right from wrong, striving to maintain order.

Through the compounding of these various factors, the Blood Demon commanded far greater public recognition than the Heavenly Demon. Moreover, thanks to relentless public promotion—if it could even be called that—the Blood Cult had carved out massive notoriety across the Gallery as well. At this stage, it was difficult to tell whether the Blood Demon had spawned the memes or the memes had sustained the Blood Demon. But in the end, notoriety was notoriety all the same, was it not?

The peculiar cultural traditions of the Central Plains also contributed significantly.

Non-interference between the Crown and Martial World. Matters of the Murim were strictly left to the Murim.

Even when the Blood Demon reaped the lives of countless peerless experts and brought collateral ruin upon civilians, the imperial authorities never intervened, leaving the resolution entirely to martial artists under the pious guise of honoring tradition. That was precisely why things remained deceptively quiet even when remnants of the Blood Cult or fanatical zealots wrought havoc.

Still, it was not as though the imperial court did nothing at all. A feud between martial factions was one matter, but the Blood Cult had actively shed the blood of innocent subjects. Since antiquity, whenever the faith of the common people turned from the ruling sovereign toward a specific martial faction, the foundation of the state inevitably fractured. Thus, the court placated the populace in its own fashion—granting generous compensations, granting temporary relief, or slashing regional taxes.

Above all, the Central Plains spanned a colossal landmass. Short of an uprising capable of toppling the imperial dynasty itself, how could the imperial court possibly police every petty incident? The Blood Cult had only sought to drown the martial world in blood; they harbored no ambitions to subjugate the imperial crown.

It was due to this convoluted web of circumstances that even when the remnants of the Blood Cult ran rampant in reality, the world quietly swept the matter under the rug.

Whether in solemn reverence or purely for the meme, Wi Ho-chang, the Blood Demon, was worshipped.

Many found this prevailing sentiment thoroughly distasteful, but among them all, one person was particularly displeased.

Insolent wretches...

That person was none other than the Heavenly Demon, Yu Sowol.

Every time discussions regarding Wi Ho-chang surfaced on the Gallery, she could not conceal her profound irritation. She was well acquainted with the Blood Demon's fearsome legacy—an arch-fiend of the heterodox path who had raised mountains from severed corpses and carved rivers with spilled blood. He had left an enormous footprint upon the history of Murim, and his fanatical adherents remained active to this very day.

Yu Sowol found that fact deeply irritating. She, too, had left an indelible mark on the Central Plains that reached far beyond the confines of the martial realm. Upon her very first descent into the world, she had shattered every master of renown who dared cross her path, and going even further, she had severed the head of the reigning Emperor himself.

Yet critics dismissed her early victories as having beaten mere remnants who had barely survived the Righteous-Blood War, while the regicide had been ruthlessly suppressed and distorted by the imperial court's heavy-handed censorship. No matter how much users clamored on the Gallery, what meaning did it hold if she was not revered in the real world?

Not that This Lady is entirely blameless, however.

Could one claim Yu Sowol was completely without fault? Not entirely. One of her greatest missteps was her fixed handle. She had brazenly registered her Gonic as "Heavenly Demon." And posting under that very handle, she had relentlessly spouted archaically stiff, martial-boomer rhetoric, which inevitably chipped away at the mystique of her exalted name.

Worse still, she had remained completely inactive in the real world following her sensational debut. The remnants of the Blood Cult, by contrast, had tirelessly made their presence known. Her chief strategist, Wi Seolak, had repeatedly urged patience, counseling that the time was not yet ripe...

Since matters have escalated to this point, I have no choice but to seek this wretch out myself.

Now that the other party had formally challenged her to an offline duel, she could not back down. If she retreated now, the prestige of not merely the real Heavenly Demon, but the Gonic Heavenly Demon would be dragged through the mud. The honor of the Gonic Heavenly Demon was inextricably tied to the pride of Yu Sowol the human. Surrender was simply unthinkable.

With that resolve, Yu Sowol immediately summoned Wi Seolak.

"I shall be vacating my seat for a short while."

"..."

Hearing those words, Wi Seolak strained with every fiber of his being to maintain his composure. The skin beneath his left eye twitched incessantly. He felt as though his blood pressure might spike, sending him collapsing backward by the nape of his neck. Feigning ignorance as best he could, he cautiously inquired into the reason. After all, this was hardly the first time Yu Sowol had brewed this brand of disaster.

"...O Sky of our faith. May this humble servant ask the purpose of your departure?"

"It is a personal matter."

You're going out for an IRL beatdown, you reckless woman!

Wi Seolak barely swallowed the roar that surged to the back of his throat. Just when he thought she had finally settled down, she was leaping headfirst into another catastrophe. As an active resident of the Gallery himself, he understood with crystal clarity how the winds were blowing. But what good was understanding? A disaster had arrived, and foreknowledge did nothing to stay its hand.

Wi Seolak's mind raced, searching for a way to coax an honest confession from Yu Sowol.

First and foremost, this matter must be kept in absolute secrecy.

Even if a meeting place had been arranged, there was no guarantee the opponent would actually show up. If word leaked, curious onlookers would inevitably flock to the scene. If Yu Sowol were left standing there alone like a fool, stranded in the open for hours on end awaiting an opponent who might never arrive...

The sheer humiliation she would suffer was too horrifying to even imagine. Thus, this confrontation had to be handled in absolute confidentiality, resolved solely by Yu Sowol ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠herself.

Yet this is peculiar. She normally pays no heed to such provocations. Is it because the opponent claims to be from the Blood Cult?

The Heavenly Demon had received countless invitations to offline duels in the past. Her habit of freely spouting imperious comments and posts had rubbed countless forum users the wrong way. On every previous occasion, she had dismissed such challenges with a derisive snort. Yet the sharp contrast in her reaction today seemed driven by the fact that the challenger was a prominent fixed-nick user suspected of being a true remnant of the Blood Demon.

Reaching that conclusion, Wi Seolak spoke with meticulous deference.

"Even if it be a personal matter, our lives exist solely to serve the Sky. The will of the Sky is the will of the Cult, and only under the shelter of the Sky may the subjects beneath endure."

If you mobilize, the entire Cult must mobilize in your wake. Therefore, reveal your true intentions.

Yu Sowol grasped the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hidden meaning behind his words and ceased her stubborn evasion. In truth, she was not without her own anxieties.

If I venture out in person, my identity might be exposed.

That was her paramount concern: the world discovering that she was the Gonic Heavenly Demon. To prevent such a catastrophe, she had intended to select an isolated, uninhabited wilderness for the duel, but nothing was guaranteed. After all, the opponent was the one dictating the venue—Yu Sowol's grasp of continental geography was woefully deficient.

All things considered, abstaining might truly be the wiser course. Nodding slowly, Yu Sowol spoke.

"Even when confronted by one who dares defile the name of the Heavenly Demon?"

She deliberately used the third-person title 'Heavenly Demon' rather than referring to herself as 'This Lady.' To declare 'This Lady' here would be tantamount to confessing outright that she and the Gonic Heavenly Demon were one and the same. To an uninformed ear, it might sound as though she were setting out to execute an insolent impersonator... but Wi Seolak was no fool.

He was already entirely aware that she was the Gonic Heavenly Demon.

Hook, line, and sinker!

Whatever excuse she used, it mattered not. The mere fact that she had cracked was victory enough. Wi Seolak rejoiced inwardly, maintaining an air of impeccable humility as he answered.

"No matter how wildly an insect flutters, an insect remains nothing more than an insect. To bestow mercy upon it is also a noble virtue."

"When a noxious insect has crawled directly into one's ear, would you have me sit idly by?"

The Blood Demon zealots really got under her skin, Wi Seolak realized instantly. The fact that the Blood Demon commanded greater recognition than herself was already an open sore for Yu Sowol. On top of that, the Blood Cult was poised to experience a massive resurgence in popularity—all because Grylls had publicly revealed the Blood Demon's existence and his Feathered Ascension.

Yu Sowol had clearly intended to seize this duel to turn the tide. Wi Seolak immediately saw through her strategic intent.

The problem is, we have no way of knowing if the challenger is the real deal.

While the Heavenly Demon standing before him was undeniably genuine, was the opponent truly a martial remnant of the Blood Cult? More than half the rumors circulating on the Gallery were fabricated falsehoods, and the same held true for registered Gonics. In the Gallery, one had to filter every single claim with extreme skepticism.

How was he to resolve this? As Wi Seolak pondered in silence—

"Hm. What an amusing rascal."

"Pardon?"

"Log into the Gallery at once."

While he was lost in thought, Yu Sowol issued an abrupt command. Snapping out of his bewilderment, he immediately sensed that another storm had broken across the forum. Without a second thought, he connected to the Gallery to inspect the latest posts.

[Heavenly Demon, Read This.]

Upvotes were pouring in by the dozens, rocketing the thread straight into the Hall of Fame within moments. Wi Seolak opened the post without delay.

"An amusing rascal indeed," Yu Sowol remarked coolly. "As is the insolent fool attempting to impersonate This Lady."

"..."

You typed that reply yourself, you shamelessly thick-skinned woman.

Wi Seolak stood momentarily dumbfounded by Yu Sowol's utterly brazen audacity. But then, like lightning piercing a cloudy sky, a brilliant scheme flashed through his mind, causing his expression to shift.

Wait. Hold on. Wouldn't this actually turn out for the better?

Without hesitating, Wi Seolak laid out the idea to Yu Sowol.

"Well, well..."

Upon hearing his proposal, Yu Sowol's eyes gleamed.

"I find that quite pleasing."

Her lips curved into a sharp, satisfied smirk.

Meanwhile, at the exact same time, Grylls was staring intently at the Hall of Fame post on his interface.

"Man, I'm so jealous. I really want to see that with my own eyes."

He lamented with deep, genuine sorrow that he was unable to witness such a monumental clash in person.