Turning the Country Upside Down
The next day.
To check on the Jamsil situation, I sat down at the computer and scrolled through the news and Hunter Gallery.
"No news yet..."
There were no updates on the Jamsil Gate.
Maybe because it hadn't even been a full day since I passed along the message.
Or perhaps they planned to announce it after clearing the gate.
"Hmm? Something's off."
While browsing Hunter Gallery, I spotted something strange.
"There was definitely a post about me."
A post with a title that seemed to trash-talk Angma.
But when I refreshed the page, it was gone.
"Oh, another one popped up."
In the meantime, a new post had appeared.
The title was [Angma <- Something's Fishy AF].
It was obviously just mindless venting with no real reason.
Common as hell on Hunter Gallery.
People post rants if they don't like someone.
And they shower favorites with endless praise.
Lots of folks attacked me for not registering as an Awakener.
It didn't faze me.
Still, curious, I clicked in to see the content.
The Angma-bashing post was gone in the blink of an eye.
It had just gone up!
"Posts badmouthing me... are getting deleted...?"
After digging a bit more into Hunter Gallery, I realized.
It wasn't my imagination.
Every post slandering or smearing 'Angma'—that is, me—was vanishing as soon as it appeared.
"Heh heh heh heh..."
A laugh came from behind me.
Asmodeus was peering at the screen with a deeply satisfied grin.
"Why the laugh, Asmodeus?"
"Heh heh heh heh. It seems the lowly humans have properly heeded the young miss's words."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Young miss, yesterday I visited the humans and warned them clearly. If they dared use their filthy fingers to post slander about Lady Angma on Hunter Gallery, I would chop off every last one."
"What?!"
I shot to my feet hearing that.
Well, not exactly shot—my feet didn't reach the floor right away, so I had to carefully slide off the chair.
"You just dropped off the hammer, right?"
Didn't you sneak in, leave the hammer, and bail?
What did you say when you went there?
"Of course I delivered the hammer properly as well."
"That's not the point! What did you tell them?"
"I warned them I'd cut off their fingers."
"Did you mention my name?"
"I referred to Lady Angma. Knowing Lady Lucy's true name is not permitted to just anyone."
"That's basically the same thing!"
I smacked my forehead.
I'd assumed she'd just snuck in and left the hammer.
No wonder sending her with a hammer felt off.
No wonder the internet-savvy one diving into gallery wars worried me!
"I-I'm sorry, Lady Lucy! I couldn't bear the humans insulting you, so I... I didn't realize it was wrong. P-Please, kill me...!"
She yelped and prostrated herself in terror.
It was pitiful seeing Asmodeus—not exactly her usual self—shaking like a leaf.
"Ugh... Get up first."
"As you command."
Asmodeus rose with her head bowed low.
She hadn't expected me to flip out like that.
Come to think of it, I'd never explained to them why I had to hide my identity.
From the perspective of the 0th seat, supreme demon, it was awkward.
Couldn't exactly say I was scared into hiding.
"P-Please, kill me..."
Asmodeus was utterly deflated.
She trembled like she might burst into tears any second.
"Aigoo, poor thing. Lady Asmodeus must've messed up big time! Lady Lucy, you gotta give her a proper scolding now! Heh heh heh..."
Hagenti, meanwhile, was glued to my back, chuckling away.
Looks like she'd been holding a grudge.
"Hmm..."
I pondered for a moment.
Thinking about it, Asmodeus had done it for me.
My fault for not briefing her properly before sending her off.
"Phew... I'm not mad. I just thought you'd left the hammer and split, so it startled me."
"H-Humbled, Lady Lucy."
Seeing her shake this much made me feel bad.
I apologized for yelling.
Hagenti let out a disappointed "Hing," but we had to stay objective.
I asked Asmodeus exactly what happened.
"...So I warned them that anyone daring to insult the great Lady Angma would lose their fingers, and delivered the hammer."
"Hmm..."
Thankfully, it hadn't blown up into a huge mess.
1. Lady Angma graciously provides a hammer to save overworked hunters and Seoul from crisis.
2. But if anyone smears the great Lady Angma on Hunter Gallery again, off with their fingers.
That was the gist.
"That's... not too bad."
She hadn't spilled my real name.
A bit arrogant, sure, but it hammered home my good deed to the Association.
Honestly, it'd sucked if no one knew I was the hammer donor after helping this much.
This way, my aid gets publicity without blowing my cover.
Not a bad outcome.
"So that's why the Gallery posts are vanishing."
The instant deletions of my haters' posts made sense now.
The Association caved to Asmodeus's threat.
Even censoring Hunter Gallery themselves.
I'd been annoyed by the bashers, so this worked out fine.
"Yeah... Good job. Sorry for yelling."
"...! I am eternally grateful, Lady Lucy!"
No need to stay mad then.
Feeling guilty, I patted Asmodeus's arm.
She perked right up.
Still, next time, give clearer orders.
No comms once they leave, so maybe get her a smartphone.
Anyway.
"Aw, shucks... Don't you think she needs more scolding though...?"
Hagenti, who'd egged me on hard, slunk back slyly.
The fired-up Asmodeus closed in on her.
"Hey, Hagenti. What'd you say earlier?"
"Sh-Shonne didn't say nothin'!"
"Like hell! I saw you sneaking behind Lady Lucy, stirring shit! Ungrateful wretch, slandering the bond between Lady Lucy and me?!"
"Eek—! Ack— Sorry! Aigoo! Aigoo!"
Hagenti took another beating for her loose lips.
No wonder she resents it if this happens daily.
I reined in Asmodeus and opened the Korean Awakener Channel.
Hunter Gallery was censored, but Awakener Channel was different.
It's a status window feature exclusive to Awakeners.
Even the Association couldn't touch the system, so no censorship there.
"Gasp..."
Opening Korean Awakener Channel shocked me.
Updates on Jamsil Gate and me flooded in at warp speed.
With only Awakeners, info had leaked fast.
Only on-site folks saw it, and get this—the provider was none other than 'Angma' whoa.
Heard she sent a subordinate to deliver it, and that sub alone overwhelmed everyone there ㄷㄷ;
A-rank gate, so probably just body-blocking, no glory.
Honestly was sweating if I'd die in there till recently.
But y'all know—Angma's sub delivered lightning gear.
A- hammer, but destructive power feels S-rank.
Limited to 5 uses, hence A- rating probably.
But that sub who brought it? Insanely strong woman.
Just standing there had me, a B-tank, shaking (ok, I did shake a bit).
So how strong is Angma herself wtf.
Anyway, raid starting now.
With this hammer, no worries tbh.
Gate ain't huge, 3-4 days tops.
I'll come back alive.
"It's already all over the place..."
The news had spread through Korean Awakener Channel.
And overseas Awakener Channels were picking it up too.
Awakener Channels worldwide were getting plastered with Angma posts in no time.
Overseas didn't care much about a Korean gate collapse.
But Angma handling it? That lit a fire.
"Raid just starting, huh."
They got the gear yesterday and kicked off this morning.
Clear time varies by gate size and rank.
Bad ones trap you inside for months.
But Jamsil was high-rank but small-scale—expected 3-4 days.
Public announcement after clear, as planned.
And right on cue, three days later.
Jamsil Gate cleared, news blasting nationwide.
Along with the reveal that 'Angma,' a rookie hunter, provided the decisive weapon.
"Th-this... Isn't this blowing up way too big...?"
News, articles, and videos about me flooded the nation.