The Heavenly Demon's Rampage
"……."
Aphrodite was a virgin.
That Aphrodite was a virgin.
The words hit me so hard my mind went blank. Aphrodite and virginity. I never expected to see those two utterly mismatched words coexist.
…It's not completely impossible. The Aphrodite in District 6700 isn't the real one — she's a Wishin. Same origin as the Aphrodite watching from the heavens above, but strictly speaking, she's different.
Lilith, also a Wishin, was a virgin too.
So Aphrodite being one wasn't that strange.
Still looks filthy wrong on her, though.
The plan had gone sideways. No — not sideways. It was dead.
The scandal currently tearing through District 6700 only worked under the premise that Aphrodite was promiscuous. Now that she'd proven her purity, the scandal lost all credibility and collapsed into something less than tabloid garbage.
I checked the online discourse.
Articles were sprouting like weeds. The same journalists who'd been tearing into Aphrodite and Venus Entertainment were suddenly singing her praises as if none of it had ever happened. The symbol of District 6700 had returned. That was the line they were pushing.
I switched off my phone, slipped it into my pocket, and looked at the members of Pobitz. Their faces were grim, and each of them was holding a phone of her own.
"……So this whole thing's dead in the water."
Ju Seo-hyeon clicked her tongue. She'd become an idol because of me, but she knew what I actually wanted was control of District 6700. That was one of the reasons she was cooperating so readily.
"That Aphrodite, a virgin…. We're screwed."
Mi-ryeong shook her head. She looked at me with something almost like pity.
"…This will only make Aphrodite more popular. At this rate, the odds of Pobitz taking first place… are zero."
Yuria delivered the cold assessment without softening a single edge. As a loyal maid, she never offered empty hope — only the unvarnished truth.
"Yujin. What now? Are you going to abandon District 6700?"
Elena asked, arms crossed.
Abandon it? Ridiculous. If I were the type to quit over something this small, I never would have started.
"Is there a way?"
"There is."
"There is."
Yuria and Elena answered at the same time.
"In a certain sense, one could call it Master's area of expertise."
"If the board is shit, you flip the board. Raise hell. If a noble displeases you, drag the noble down."
"Drag Aphrodite down…. I see. So I have to become the Heavenly Demon."
How to drag Aphrodite down.
Simple.
Rape Aphrodite.
A raped Aphrodite. The public would pity her. But they'd lose interest in a woman who'd lost her purity. Sympathy and popularity were not the same thing.
"I'll handle your alibi. So go wild as much as you want."
"Elena. You going this far for me… is unexpected."
"I danced for you on stage. And now you're telling me we might not get control of District 6700? Absolutely not. I will not throw the time I spent suffering into the trash."
Elena's eyes were burning. She looked ready to step in herself if it came to that. That wasn't what I wanted, so I calmed her down.
I started this. I'll finish it.
Aphrodite's raw combat power wasn't particularly impressive. Of course, the authority she wielded was a different kind of headache — something that transcended mere force. An ordinary man would lose his will to fight just by looking at her and become her slave on the spot.
I've got Absolute Mind. I'm fine.
The next problem was the elf archer protecting Aphrodite. Her skill was nothing to dismiss lightly, and inside the Venus Entertainment building she took no damage at all.
I have to draw them out.
Only one method came to mind.
Raise hell. Smash everything in District 6700 except Venus Entertainment.
Honestly, anyone could have thought of that much. But no one ever actually did it.
Because even if you seize control of a wrecked District 6700, there's no profit left to take.
Without profit, there was no reason to take the district. From everyone else's perspective, at least.
…I need District 6700's control even if there's no profit in it.
I would tear District 6700 apart until Aphrodite and the elf archer left the Venus Entertainment building.
If they never came out, that was fine too. District 6700 would simply become a desert.
I used Deception (SS) to change my appearance and began rampaging as the Heavenly Demon.
"Kyaaaaaaaah!"
"It's the Heavenly Demon! The Heavenly Demon has appeared!"
"Run!!"
My mere appearance sent citizens fleeing in every direction, terror-stricken. I didn't spare a glance for the people running. I hadn't come here to massacre civilians.
I walked at a steady pace into a shop called Horizon. Horizon was the most famous clothing store in District 6700. Its headquarters was a massive six-story building.
I doused the building in oil, tossed a lighter, and set it ablaze. Flames roared up and began devouring the structure. Emergency bells screamed, and the people inside scrambled out in a panic.
"Y-you bastard! What the hell are you doing to my store!!"
A middle-aged man who'd come out late jabbed a finger at me.
I grabbed his hand, snapped it, then seized him by the collar. The man was terrified, but he didn't run. As the owner of a major enterprise, he had a fair amount of backbone.
"Can't you tell? I'm setting it on fire."
"D-do you have any idea how much those clothes inside are worth?! That's enough wealth to buy four or five buildings!"
"So is it more expensive than your life?"
"……."
The man shut his mouth. Cold sweat poured down his face as he clawed back some composure. I was about to break his arms and legs and throw him into the burning building.
"P-please spare me. Please…."
"A little late to start begging for your life."
"D-do you want money? I'll give it to you…!"
"People like you think money can do anything…. That's your arrogance. Even if you offered me ten million gold, I wouldn't stop. Why? Because money is something I can just kill you for and take."
"Y-you insane bastard!! Why the hell are you doing this to me?!"
"Venus Entertainment."
"…What?"
"You've got a contract with Venus Entertainment. You've been steadily sponsoring their outfits, haven't you?"
"That's legitimate business! A contract with Venus Entertainment — the agency holding the biggest stars — is something everyone wants! There was nothing improper about any of it!"
"Improper? Who said anything about that? I just don't like you or your company for contracting with Venus Entertainment. Don't feel lonely dying alone. I'll kill every last bastard connected to Venus Entertainment."
"Y-you crazy son of a bitch! So your goal was to bring down Venus Entertainment…! You think Venus Entertainment will fall to something like this!!"
"I didn't want to use a method like this either, if I could help it. But what can I do? The only things I know how to do… are smash things and kill people."
I carried him closer to the burning building. The moment he felt the searing heat, the man who'd been snarling at me went quiet again.
"I-I'll cooperate. I'll cooperate with you… so spare me. No — please spare me."
"You dying is how you help me."
I threw him.
His body went up in flames along with the building.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!"
He died with a horrific scream.
I turned around.
When I spread my senses, I could feel the presence of people hiding and watching me. Either fearless civilians or reporters chasing a scoop.
Wee-woo, wee-woo, wee-woo!
Sirens wailed as police cars came racing in.
I circulated the Heavenly Demon Divine Art and gathered Heavenly Demon Qi into my fist.
"Listen carefully. Anyone who gets in my way — no matter who they are — I will not leave alive."
Heavenly Demon Qi erupted from his fist and tore down the road.
The blast of Heavenly Demon Qi slammed into the lead police car screaming down the street with its sirens blaring. It obliterated the first vehicle, then the ones lined up behind it, one after another.
Then I ran down the road.
There was no need to steal a car. Honestly, my legs were faster than any automobile.
KRA-BOOM!
An explosion tore through a building.
I flexed my fist as I watched it blow apart. Blood was smeared across my knuckles. Not mine — the enemy's.
District 6700 has quite a few hidden powerhouses.
The building I'd just detonated was a bank that cooperated with Venus Entertainment. Its bodyguards had been strong enough that I couldn't simply ignore them. In the end, I still won — but still.
Unless they come at me a hundred at a time… they can't do anything to me.
I wasn't an idiot. I didn't stubbornly insist on frontal combat. When things looked dangerous, I used Deception (SS) and ran immediately.
That makes four Venus Entertainment partner companies I've blown up. People should be catching on by now. That my target is Venus Entertainment.
And if they still didn't know, I'd make sure they did.
In an empty alley, I pulled out my phone and checked the internet.
David was doing good work. He was stirring public opinion online. The Heavenly Demon was rampaging for one reason only: Venus Entertainment.
Most people are cursing me… but some of them are cursing Venus Entertainment. 'You people provoked the Heavenly Demon, so take responsibility' — that kind of thing.
Unfair criticism? The situation was already too severe for that argument to hold. The civilian death toll from me alone had already passed a thousand, and four buildings had burned or collapsed. District 6700's economy was already shaking.
And Venus Entertainment must be furious — and terrified of me.
That was when a text message arrived. From Elena.
I sent Elena a thank-you message. Thanks to her, my identity hadn't been exposed.
Another message came. This time from David.
…Aphrodite moved herself? Looking for a decisive fight. That's good news, but… does she not think she can lose?
Either way, it was time for a resolution.
Moving to the park was probably so the collateral damage from the fight would be as low as possible.
I switched off my phone and headed for the park.