The Heavenly Demon Attempts a Rematch (1)
Paang! The moment the Third Elder's fist shot forward, the air itself tore apart with a piercing sound. No human punch should have made a noise like that. The power behind it was just as overwhelming as the sound.
Ara succeeded in deflecting the punch as she had before, but the aftershock of the fist grazing past her tore into her skin. Blood welled up and trickled down her arm.
“Wow. A human fist making a gunshot sound.”
“Is that really Dekay? If you're watching, get into Daycode and explain this already. I can't understand a single thing in this video!”
Enri had been watching the footage with the same question looping in her head: How is that even possible? The moment someone appeared who could answer it, she couldn't resist the urge to drag him in.
Dekay had initially refused, but after Enri kept begging, he finally relented and joined the Daycode voice channel.
“Ahem. Can you hear me?”
“Loud and clear. So what exactly is Phase 2?”
There was no need for pleasantries. Enri cut straight to the point.
“The Third Elder doesn't use martial arts at the start. He just pokes and prods like he's testing your level.”
“And one of those pokes puts you in critical condition?”
Enri let out a disbelieving laugh, imagining a tiger doing a cutesy paw punch that could kill you. Dekay ignored her and continued.
“If you survive for about a minute, he enters Phase 2. That's when he starts circulating his inner energy and actually uses martial arts. That's where the insane power comes from.”
Attacks moving too fast to track with the eye. Strikes that shattered defenses on contact. Even grazing blows drained health like they were normal attacks. Dekay let out a hollow laugh. He'd once tried to clear the Third Elder himself, but that fist had stopped him cold. It simply wasn't something a human could handle.
“So how do you beat it?”
“Keep watching. This is the best run against the Third Elder out there.”
The video continued. The atmosphere had shifted. Ara, now on the defensive, was barely managing to block. Wounds steadily accumulated across her body.
“Right now, the Third Elder is attacking with inner energy, so Hwaryeong-nim is wrapping herself in her own inner energy to respond. The damage she's taking is because the tutorial character's specs are just too low.”
Even blocking the attacks was absurd. Normally, the moment a fist touched skin, the game would end.
“She's being pushed back, so Hwaryeong-nim made a judgment call. A battle of attrition is a losing fight.”
The difference in inner energy was the problem. The tutorial character's reserves were pitiful, while the Third Elder's were practically infinite. It was obvious who would win if the fight dragged on.
“She has to go for a decisive strike.”
Once the decision was made, action followed instantly. Ara stepped forward, fully aware she would take damage—just like Enbu had done when trying to beat Enri.
“This part right here is the best. The mind game between Hwaryeong-nim and the Third Elder is insane.”
The moment Ara advanced despite the risk, the Third Elder immediately realized she was aiming for a quick finish. He unleashed a powerful technique to create distance. Ara sacrificed her arm to nullify the technique and successfully closed the gap. Ara had succeeded in her gamble, but the Third Elder still held the advantage. Even at close range, his sheer size and strength were overwhelming. One clean hit from him and Ara would be staring at a black screen.
“This is where the Third Elder does something incomprehensible.”
Was it an AI limitation? He could have simply knocked Ara away with rapid strikes, yet he deliberately shouted the name of his technique—Geumpa's Fist—and took a stance. The opening was brief, but an opening was still an opening. Ara didn't miss it. As if she had predicted his every move, she activated Heavenly Demon Steps the instant he committed to the posture.
The ground trembled. The Third Elder's movements faltered. He had no time to raise a defense. Ara's strike landed squarely on a vital point, and the match was decided. The Third Elder was sent flying, tried several times to rise, then finally collapsed onto the cold floor. In the end, only one person remained standing.
Ara. Alone.
“The part I understand least is how she wiped out the Third Elder's entire health bar in a single hit. What kind of principle was embedded in that punch to produce that kind of power? I don't even dare try to copy it.”
Listening to Dekay's passionate monologue, Enri was once again reminded just how far beyond the norm Ara truly was. Even a famous pro player was openly praising her like this. She wondered how Dekay would react if he knew he'd become the target of Ara's revenge over that casual “you're terrible” comment.
“Ah, I'll mute for a second. Got a call.”
Enri, who had been grinning mischievously, saw the message that Ara was calling and quickly muted her mic.
“Ara-ssi. I just watched the video of you fighting the Third Elder. That was seriously incredible!”
It's already uploaded? I'm glad you enjoyed it.
“Everyone's reactions are insane right now!”
Enri excitedly relayed the viewers' and Dekay's reactions as if she herself had been praised, then caught herself and laughed awkwardly.
“So, what did you call for?”
There's something I'd like your help with.
“Is it about Korean?”
No. It's… I want to hunt an Outer God.
*
The thought of a rematch with the black entity had been on her mind since the day of her defeat. However, her anger toward Dekay had been greater, so she had planned to finish that revenge first before preparing a new stage. After all, the black entity was a game existence—it would wait for her indefinitely. Finding Dekay, who might disappear at any moment, had seemed the more urgent matter.
What changed her mind was how widely the fight between her and the black entity had spread. Searching for the name “Hwaryeong” online immediately brought up footage of that battle. Even the Apis staff member who had contacted her mentioned watching the fight, saying they never expected anyone could play the Heavenly Demon like that.
Even if others admired her skill in the video, the outcome remained a loss. She could not accept that outcome lightly. How could she enjoy watching her defeat become fodder for others' conversations?
While preparing for the rematch, several obstacles appeared. The method to summon the black entity was easy enough to find, but the real problem lay elsewhere. The black entity would not attack its summoner. Therefore, she needed at least one collaborator to summon it. The only connection she had made since arriving in this world was Enri, so asking her for help was inevitable.
There was another reason she contacted Enri. Even if she defeated the Outer God, it would mean nothing if no one knew about it. To bury the video of her loss, she needed someone to broadcast her victory—and as a streamer, Enri was perfectly suited for the role.
Ara explained the situation honestly. She believed that when asking for a favor, there should be no deception.
After hearing her out, Enri thought for a moment before speaking.
“Alright. I'll help. But could I ask for something in return?”
“Of course. As long as it's something I can do.”
“You're planning to appear on stream as Hwaryeong, right?”
“That's the idea.”
“Then, before we broadcast the Outer God hunt, would you mind doing a short interview?”
Enri explained that after the video of her defeating the Third Elder went up, Ara's name had skyrocketed in popularity. Every community was talking about nothing else. An interview would draw massive viewership, and defeating an Outer God in front of that audience would make the video spread like wildfire. Her reasoning was convincing.
“How about it? Sounds good, right? If you're confident you can beat the Outer God, I don't think there's a better scenario.”
“You don't have to worry about that.”
She had already devised a method. One loss was acceptable. A second was not.
“Then let's meet tomorrow at lunch to discuss, and stream in the evening.”
“Understood.”
She had received far more help than expected. How should she repay this? In Murim, she would have directly taught martial arts, but what use would martial arts have in this peaceful modern world? From what she had heard before, Enri seemed to have a strong attachment to rank. If she analyzed Enri's gold and platinum children and brought her up to Diamond, would that be sufficient repayment? Hmm. She would have to think about it.
*
The plan she had thrown together on the spot actually seemed pretty good, even to her. This should count as proper repayment for what Ara-ssi taught her yesterday, right? She wondered how many people would show up. Judging by how heated the communities were, at least ten thousand viewers were guaranteed. This was going to be chaos.
“Enri, who were you talking to on the phone with that big smile? Your boyfriend?”
“The person Dekay-ssi was just praising to high heaven.”
“...Huh?”
Dekay, who had frozen mid-smile with a blank expression, soon burst into laughter, apparently deciding Enri was joking.
“Don't tease me. You scared me.”
“It wasn't a joke.”
“Come on. Hwaryeong is famous for not accepting friend requests or messages. Even I got ignored dozens of times.”
Once Ara's name became well-known, countless users had sent friend requests and messages, yet not a single person had received a reply. Everyone assumed she was roleplaying an aloof Heavenly Demon. The reality was different. Until yesterday, Ara hadn't even known such functions existed. Even now that she did, she had been putting off checking them out of sheer annoyance. The fact that Enri had succeeded in contacting her when no one else had was, logically speaking, impossible.
“Because I'm the one who recommended Apis to Hwaryeong-ssi.”
If Ara and Enri hadn't already known each other in real life, that is.
“Seriously?”
“Would I lie about something like this?”
When Enri lowered her voice, Dekay seemed to realize this was a serious conversation. The stream audio was still muted. This was a secret between just the two of them.
“Why are you telling me this now when you've been hiding it?”
“I'm planning to run content with Hwaryeong-ssi as the main star tomorrow, and I need an assistant.”