The Heavenly Demon Attempts a Rematch (2)
Enri's Artisan Invitation Seat was one of the flagship contents on her MyTube channel. The format brought in people who had made a name for themselves in Apis, interviewed them, reviewed their gameplay, and chatted about it all.
Normally she would have asked the guest to provide professional commentary, but tomorrow Ara was going to solo an Outer God. There would be no time for conversation. In this situation, the person she needed most was the man sitting across from her right now.
Dekay. A former Apis pro who had worked as a commentator for numerous tournaments. He possessed an eye for capturing pivotal moments, the ability to break down high-level play, and the entertainment sense to turn it all into a show. If Dekay joined tomorrow's broadcast, the stream's success would be all but guaranteed.
"Wouldn't you like to commentate on Hwaryeong soloing an Outer God?"
Enri knew perfectly well that Dekay went crazy for commentating on expert gameplay. That was exactly why the man spent hundreds of thousands—sometimes millions—of his own money hosting tournaments.
From Dekay's perspective, the offer was tempting. Even setting profit and loss aside. No, it was a scene he would want to broadcast even if he had to pay for the chance. The Heavenly Demon challenging the opponent who had once defeated her and seizing victory. The storyline was solid.
His heart wanted to nod immediately, but one nagging detail held him back.
"Enri. As you know, I cast 'You suck at this' on Lady Hwaryeong last time."
"You did, didn't you?"
"And I haven't even properly apologized since. Is it really all right for me to participate?"
This was a matter of basic decency. He still couldn't even upload his MyTube videos because he hadn't apologized, yet here he was talking about commentating? It could put Dekay in an awkward position.
"Worry about that later. Just tell me whether you'll do it or not."
Enri's carefree attitude made Dekay uneasy, but his hesitation didn't last long. The proposal was simply too attractive to walk away from without even trying.
If he managed to reconcile with Ara, he might be able to invite her onto future content. Bringing someone like Hwaryeong to his tournament would be incredible. She clearly wouldn't be overshadowed even among the pros. A sudden supernova like her was exactly the kind of element that made tournaments explode in popularity.
"I'll do it."
"Good. We're going live tomorrow evening, so keep your schedule clear. Understood?"
"It just so happens I have nothing planned for tomorrow evening."
In reality he did have content to film, but Dekay discarded the plan in an instant. Something far more important had appeared right in front of him.
When Enri turned the broadcast audio back on, the viewers immediately complained about where she had disappeared to. But it didn't take long for the chat window to catch fire—in a good way—after her next announcement.
"I've scheduled an Artisan Invitation Seat with Hwaryeong-nim, the user who became the fourth in the world to defeat the Third Elder, tomorrow evening at eight."
Her single sentence spread across the entire community in less than a minute.
"Any uncomfortable questions on here?"
The paper Enri held out contained a neatly organized list of topics for tonight. The questions ranged from personal details to the martial techniques she had used to defeat the Third Elder, all the way to her usual combat style. Although I knew nothing about such things, I could at least tell that she had put genuine effort into preparing them.
"For personal questions, just answer whatever you're comfortable with. These days even pros often keep their real identities hidden, so I won't press you if you don't want to answer."
"It's fine even if I tell everything."
I felt no particular aversion to my name becoming known. Back in the Murim world, there had not been a single person who didn't know my name. Being recognized again in this world wouldn't change much.
My answer made Enri recoil in horror instead. She warned me repeatedly that one should not reveal personal information lightly these days. Unless I planned to work in this industry—or even if I did intend to work in it—I should avoid exposing myself if possible. Only after extracting multiple promises from me did she finally breathe a sigh of relief.
"If that's how you feel, why ask at all?"
"We still have to make a show of asking. Otherwise the viewers throw a fit."
Her answer, heavy with the weariness of reality, drew a wry chuckle from me.
"Sorry for making you go through all this."
"It's not purely me helping you. I'm trying to create content using you, Ara."
Yet underneath it all was genuine goodwill. When I expressed my thanks once more, Enri cleared her throat and changed the subject.
"You've drawn proper aggro from the community, you know? I expect at least ten thousand viewers. The chat window is going to be absolute chaos."
Ten thousand people. The number sounded simple, but the force behind it was anything but light. I recalled the time I had stood alone before an army of ten thousand. It had been like facing a river made of human beings. That many people were really coming to watch?
I wondered if Enri was exaggerating, but there was no trace of playfulness on her face.
"You think that many will come?"
"That's the minimum. Do you think I've only done this kind of content once or twice?"
Why were so many people coming to see me? I was the one who had wanted to gather an audience, yet I couldn't understand their behavior. In this world the real me was nothing more than an ordinary person—neither the Heavenly Demon nor anything special. What exactly was so interesting?
"Since things have grown bigger than expected, I found someone to help me out."
What could be wrong with that? If there was something you lacked, seeking help from others was only natural. Enri, if this is your decision, I can accept almost anything.
"The person is definitely skilled, but they have a bit of a bad history with you, Ara."
"Who is it?"
"You remember Dekay, right?"
That guy. There was no way I could have forgotten. It had only been a few days since I swore to hunt him down.
"It might be uncomfortable, but there's no one better suited."
I crossed my arms and tapped my lips with a finger. Since I had already made my stance clear before, Enri couldn't be unaware of my feelings. The fact that she still brought it up meant Dekay must truly be that talented. It should be fine. For Enri's sake, I could let it slide. That didn't mean I was abandoning my revenge, however.
"Enri. Can you contact him?"
"Yes. Shall I connect the call?"
"Please do."
Enri dialed somewhere, explained the situation in a quiet voice, then handed me the smartphone.
"Hello—"
"I'm sorry!"
The moment Dekay heard my voice he slammed his head down. Without a single excuse, he poured out only apologies. He seemed quite accustomed to this sort of situation.
I had never intended to bury him completely, so I could accept the apology. But a price still had to be paid, didn't it?
"If you grant me one request, I'll let it go."
"If it's something I can do, anything!"
"Really? Anything?"
The word 'anything' was not one to be spoken lightly. It was all too easy to suffer if you met a mischievous opponent.
"Uh, um. Within reason, please."
"It's nothing much. Just have a ten-win match with me."
In Apis there existed a custom called ten-win. It was simple enough: a spar where the first to secure ten victories won.
"With the broadcast turned on."
If I thoroughly folded Dekay in front of an audience, it would count as revenge for the previous humiliation.
"That's easy! I'll do as many as you want."
Before long, Dekay would come to regret those words. I fully intended to torment him with genuine sincerity.
The ten matches would be an extremely short yet endlessly long stretch of time.
After the call ended I returned the phone to Enri. She smiled.
"Ara. You had a very mischievous look on your face just now."
"Was it that obvious?"
"Yes. Extremely."
Oh dear. It seemed my facial expressions had grown rather thin. There was once a time when people called me an ice-hearted person.
"Since the preparations are finished, shall we get back to studying?"
I deliberately pretended not to hear Enri's words. One of the things I could not understand while attending language school was that I was expected to study not only the language but also Korean history and culture. I had only wanted to learn Korean—why did I need to know history? Although I had received public education in my previous life, my time in the Murim world had long since reset all that knowledge. The current me was no different from a newborn child. My brain was perfectly pure.
To someone without common sense, studying was more difficult than fighting several powerful enemies. Wouldn't it be easier to simply wipe out an entire martial family?
"Ara. Putting it off will only make it harder."
"Can't I rest just a little longer?"
"No. You didn't give me any break time either, Ara."
Was this revenge? So she had been holding a grudge about that day?! Enri, remember this well: revenge only begets more revenge. Do not think my teachings ended after yesterday. I still have a mountain of things left to teach you. Just wait and see.
"Ara?"
I will not forget this humiliation.
"Are you going with that character creation as is?"
The moment I arrived at Enri's VR room before the broadcast, she asked immediately.
"Is there a problem?"
"There is. You're currently using your real-life appearance, Ara."
She scolded me, reminding me that she had told me at lunch to hide my identity.
"Aren't you using an appearance identical to your real self as well?"
"In my case, I was already as famous as I could get by the time I started broadcasting. But you're different."
I understood she was stopping me out of concern, but my opinion differed.
"Enri. In any case, people will simply think I'm imitating Apis's Heavenly Demon when they see me."
Either way it was the same me, but those coming to watch the broadcast would not think that way. I was already perceived as someone fully immersed in the Heavenly Demon concept. They would simply assume my VR avatar was also modeled after the Heavenly Demon.
"Th-that may be true, but..."
"Would they even imagine that my real appearance looks like this?"
"Still, if they meet you in reality they might notice."
Enri stopped mid-sentence.
"You have no intention of changing it, do you?"
"Correct."
How could I wear a mask when stepping forward as the Heavenly Demon? No matter what others thought, I could not permit it.
"Sigh. Don't regret it later."
Watching Enri shake her head, I sat down in the prepared chair.
"Enri. Like how you made the mask before, can you also create a long smoking pipe?"
While waiting for the broadcast to begin, my hands felt idle so I spoke up.
"A smoking pipe? Ara, do you smoke?"
"It's not that, but can you give me one for now?"
Enri asked no further questions and tapped the air window several times. A smoking pipe appeared before me. It was an antique piece that carried the touch of a master craftsman. Tobacco leaves had already been packed inside.
I was about to summon Samadhi True Fire as usual when I remembered this was a virtual world. I started to ask for a light, but Enri was already holding out a lit match.
When I took a puff, the faint taste of tobacco spread through my mouth. Even something like this was perfectly reproduced. As I exhaled the smoke, I felt my slightly restless heart calm down.
"Smoking is bad for your health."
"Don't worry. I won't even touch it in reality."
After all, my body would not deteriorate from something like tobacco. I was someone who could purge any toxins from within my body whenever I wished.
"Then why are you smoking now?"
To explain that, I would have to speak of my days in the Murim world. But those were not pleasant stories. They were even less suitable for the bright and cheerful Enri. So I cracked a joke instead.
"Well. You know. It's for the Heavenly Demon concept. How about it? Does it suit me?"