The Heavenly Demon Tries Again (3)
As I moved past the sound of Enry's giggling and glanced into the mirror tucked in one corner of the VR room, my reflection stared back with a long pipe clenched between my lips. The only difference from reality was the martial robes I now wore, yet that single change had altered the entire aura around me. Perhaps it came from the long years I had spent reigning as the Heavenly Demon. Holding myself with dignity had become an ingrained habit.
"The broadcast hasn't even started yet, but five thousand people have already flooded in. Miss Ara, you're ridiculously popular, aren't you?"
Enry hummed a cheerful tune without the slightest hint of tension. To remain so relaxed in front of five thousand spectators was impressive. She turned into a complete coward during horror games, but the moment she stood before an audience she became a fearless general. It was reassuring. I liked that about her. Enry.
"Ah, right. Enry. Before we begin, there is one thing I wish to ask."
"What is it?"
"How do you converse so casually with such a large crowd?"
I had entrusted her with a great deal. Therefore, I ought to lighten her burden by handling what I could. Even someone as clueless about broadcasting as myself could manage speaking with those who had come to see me.
"There's no special trick. Just skim the incoming messages, pick the ones you like, and answer them."
"So I may do as I wish."
That, I could handle with confidence. It was no different from what I had done daily when my Heavenly Demon Divine Cult revered me. I could simply let the chat window's nonsense flow past like the elders' empty prattle.
"Should I pull up a chat window beside you as well, Miss Ara?"
"Please do."
The broadcast chat was already alive with people talking among themselves. Most of the conversation centered on pure anticipation for what the person known as me would show them. Nothing else—just sincere expectation for my performance.
This was the first time I had received such interest. The expectations that once approached me had always carried hidden motives.
"Shall we begin, then?"
Bae In-seok returned to his empty house, shed his clothes onto the floor like molting skin, and dropped into the chair in front of his computer. Today had been another exhausting day. Pressured from above, cleaning up messes from below. He wondered when he would finally escape the sorrows of middle management.
Normally he would have logged into Apis and swung his sword to vent stress, but not today. He left the VR headset off because a broadcast he had been waiting for was about to begin.
A few days earlier, while playing Apis as usual, he had encountered a certain user—the one now dominating every Apis community. Hwaryeong.
Back then she had been a newbie with a perfectly clean record. But she was no ordinary newbie. She possessed enough talent to toy with In-seok, who considered himself a veteran of Apis. That day, he had predicted she would rise to fame soon. She carried a charm that made her more like the Heavenly Demon than any other player who chose that character.
After parting ways with her, In-seok had scoured communities in his spare time, chasing every trace of Hwaryeong. He watched her confront an Outer God on Dekay's stream. He read the bitter complaints of players she had defeated across countless forums. He replayed the video of the Heavenly Demon defeating the Three Elders dozens of times.
He had already become her passionate fan.
Even before the broadcast started, thousands had poured into Enry's channel where Hwaryeong was scheduled to appear. The chat window made it obvious. Every single person was there out of curiosity for the user named Hwaryeong.
In-seok opened another window and searched. The video appeared instantly.
"It's already at a million views."
It wasn't even from a famous MyTuber. Someone who appeared to be an Enry fan had thrown together a simple clip, yet it had surpassed a million views. The title read How to Treat a Boss Like a Toy.
In-seok knew the infamous reputation of Horror Factory well. A masterpiece of VR horror games and a certified fainting machine. People joked that someday someone would die of a heart attack while playing it. In the past, In-seok had been a professional coward who turned off a Horror Factory video out of fear after only a few seconds.
The boss was Gentleman Bear, right? That chase scene had been terrifyingly dirty. Unable to press play, he scrolled down to read the comments first.
Every comment pitied Gentleman Bear. What exactly had this Fox person done to provoke such reactions?
Unable to resist his curiosity any longer, In-seok started the video. It opened in a closed room. The door shook violently as if it would break at any moment. Enry clutched her head, pacing in circles while muttering, "What do I do?" In the center stood a woman wearing a fox mask.
So that's Fox?
BANG!
The door flew open and a giant bear doll appeared.
"Ugh."
The sight of countless teeth visible between its wide-open jaws made In-seok groan. He had been starving moments ago, but his appetite had completely vanished. This video alone could serve as a diet aid—though it would probably bring insomnia along with it.
When Gentleman Bear appeared, Enry collapsed to the floor in tears. Fox, however, did the opposite. For some reason she walked straight toward the monster. Was she offering herself as bait? Even then, she wouldn't be able to buy much time.
The bear doll greeted the prey that had approached on its own with an axe. The weapon rose high into the air and then—
It never came down.
Fox grabbed the bear's wrist and threw it in a fluid judo motion.
THUD!
The bear doll's back slammed into the floor, followed by the axe clattering down noisily. Silence filled the room. A silence born of pure bewilderment.
After that, Fox treated Gentleman Bear exactly like a doll. She threw it, slammed it, tripped it. In-seok began to doubt whether the terrifying existence he knew as Gentleman Bear was truly the same creature on screen.
Staring blankly, he replayed the video without thinking. This time he focused on Fox's movements. Yet once again he couldn't understand how it was possible. As far as he knew, Gentleman Bear weighed several hundred kilograms. It was not something a human could possibly throw. And yet...
"Enha! We have way more viewers than usual today!"
In-seok's thoughts were cut off by a bright female voice. He quickly closed MyTube and switched back to Turret. Two people appeared on the broadcast screen. One was clearly Enry—platinum hair and bright blue eyes. She was famous for making her avatar match her real appearance, so In-seok knew her character well.
Then the other one had to be...
The moment he saw Hwaryeong's VR avatar, a sense of déjà vu washed over him. Spotless white martial robes and skin even paler than the fabric. Arrogant eyes looking down from above, with pitch-black pupils shining clearly within them.
That was the Heavenly Demon from Apis. No doubt about it. The hair was neater and the gaze a little sharper, but it was unmistakable. After staring at the Heavenly Demon character for the past several days, how could he mistake it?
"Today's content is the Artisan Invitation Corner! The guest beside me is the person who has become the main character of the recent Apis community, right? Starting with the nickname of Heavenly Demon alt, the user who is gradually becoming the real Heavenly Demon. Please welcome Hwaryeong-nim!"
Only after Enry's excited introduction did the woman remove the long pipe from her mouth. She exhaled smoke with perfect composure, as if she felt no tension whatsoever, then spoke in a calm voice.
Countless streamers had called themselves the Heavenly Demon before. It was a difficult yet incredibly stylish character. It had produced far more one-trick players who should have been called loyal dogs rather than artisans, and most Heavenly Demon users loudly proclaimed themselves the real deal.
Therefore, when someone claimed to be the Heavenly Demon, the usual response was mockery. With one exception—Han Seo-woo, the greatest pro gamer in Korea and the living Heavenly Demon himself.
So when Hwaryeong called herself the Heavenly Demon, negative reactions should have flooded in. Instead the chat fell completely silent. Almost everyone could only type out exclamations of awe.
It made sense. The woman on screen truly looked like a living, breathing Heavenly Demon. It went far beyond simply having a good concept. The way she directed her gaze, moved her hands, spoke, and even the smallest nuances of her tone—every single aspect of Hwaryeong made her appear exactly like the Heavenly Demon.
A few people grumbled that she had no right to call herself that, but they were overwhelmed by the sheer flood of messages and vanished without being able to voice their opinions.
"This seat finds it awkward since it is my first time in such a place, but I am pleased that everyone welcomes me. I am also grateful to Enry for inviting this seat."
"It's all so I can make a living, really."
Hwaryeong was undeniably the hottest figure at the moment. The fact that the viewer count had casually broken ten thousand the instant the broadcast began proved it. Subscriptions and donations were turned off for the interview, yet the advertising revenue alone would be enormous. Once this footage was edited and uploaded to MyTube, how many views would it get? Easily over a million, surely.
"Everyone probably came expecting to see Hwaryeong's gameplay, but we'll start with an interview first. There are so many things people are curious about, right?"
"This seat promises to answer with utmost sincerity."
"Thank you. First of all, it's known that you're a newbie to Apis. Did you come to the game after playing other VR titles?"
"No. It has not even been a month since this seat purchased a VR device."
Someone for whom VR itself was unfamiliar? That was impossible. The chat's reaction mirrored In-seok's own thoughts.
People refused to believe Hwaryeong's words. Her movements were far too natural. Since the dawn of the VR era, the internet had seen an explosion of concept roleplayers. In a world where even appearance and voice could be changed at will, it was the perfect environment for over-immersion. Middle-school syndrome sufferers turned their dark pasts into characters and displayed them for all to see. Otakus acted out their favorite characters. Somewhere out there was even a pitiful man who had genuinely fallen into female corruption.
After so much time had passed since the VR era began, people had grown familiar with concept roleplayers. And to their eyes, Hwaryeong appeared to be one of the finest among them. Who would believe someone capable of such natural acting was truly new to VR? They would sooner believe she was a real Heavenly Demon who had flown over from the martial world.
Regardless of how the chat window reacted, the interview continued.