The Heavenly Demon Visits the Demonic Cult (1)
My memories of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult are mostly stained in a deep crimson. The first sight I witnessed after inexplicably possessing the body of the Heavenly Demon’s daughter was someone’s death. How could any of the scenes that followed have been any different? In that barren world, death was simply another slice of daily life for the poor.
The day I first confronted death after being born into that place, everyone around me was muttering the usual things—how pitiful, how pathetic—while I screamed like a little girl. Then I started yelling at them. I still remember exactly what I shouted: You insane bastards. Someone just died—why are you reacting like that? You murderers!
The people in the training grounds were more flustered by my outburst than by the corpse lying on the ground. After grasping the situation, I genuinely believed I could never survive in such a mad world. But humans are creatures of adaptation. Before a month had passed, I too was spitting out those same routine words. I had no choice. One person’s terror could only be suppressed by an even greater pain.
The moment I realized that failing to blend in would only bring the same horror again, I began living as a true member of the Divine Cult. My life there did not last long. Before I could form even the slightest attachment, the Murim Alliance crushed the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, and I was forced to bear the fate of a fugitive.
Had I not watched my mother die before my eyes, I doubt I would have sworn revenge on the Murim Alliance. If I had never witnessed her death, they would never have hunted me. In that case, I would have lived out my days as an ordinary nameless martial artist instead of the Heavenly Demon. I would never have felt the need to rebuild the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
Because I possessed no fond memories of the cult, even when I reconstructed it out of necessity, I felt no affection for the place. While leading that pack of fanatics, I spent more time wondering how to shake them off than anything else. Given all that, I had never once lifted a finger to help the cult, nor had I ever stepped forward for its sake.
Yet the cult continued to function purely because its leader was competent. It is not without reason that I keep calling myself a mere figurehead. I sat upon the throne of Heavenly Demon as the cult’s face and its military power, but every ounce of real authority rested in the cult leader’s hands.
I had no complaints. To me, the Divine Cult was nothing more than a collar fastened around my neck. Why would I care about any authority attached to a leash I desperately wanted to escape?
By now it should be obvious: I felt absolutely nothing for the newly rebuilt Heavenly Demon Divine Cult either. I had created it out of necessity, stayed there only because I had no other choice, and eventually fled. How could any warmth remain for such a place?
Even now, stepping forward once more for the sake of my subordinates, I felt no particular emotion. I was simply calculating how quickly I could enter that place and leave again.
“Um… Hwaryeong-nim?”
I had been staring into empty space with my pipe clenched between my teeth when I finally noticed Seol-a standing beside me. The mere thought of visiting that wretched place after so long must have flooded my head with useless thoughts. Why was I wasting so much mental energy on somewhere that meant nothing to me?
I exhaled both smoke and idle chatter, then gave Seol-a a look that urged her to speak.
“Here’s the mask you asked for.”
What Seol-a offered was a seductive mask shaped like a fox. If Enry saw it she would probably squeal about how cute it was. I felt much the same, but shouting such a thing would damage my dignity, so I kept the thought to myself.
“Thank you.”
“No, it’s nothing at all.”
Anticipation practically dripped from Seol-a’s bright smile. I had only told her I would let her experience something special at the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult without giving details, so her reaction was understandable. Or was it? Since Seol-a viewed this entire world as nothing more than a game, she probably wouldn’t bat an eye even if the characters inside killed one another. That seemed most likely. From what I had observed while streaming, modern people treated game NPCs as exactly that—NPCs. Those who confused them with reality were rare. Someone like Baru, who had poured affection into them over a long period, would be different, but would total strangers care if unfamiliar faces died?
Anticipation, huh. Come to think of it, the people watching my streams were never particularly bothered by brutal scenes either. It had been the same during the Green Forest hunt. While people burned alive and I dueled their leader, the viewers begging me to kill faster showed zero hesitation. The cult’s scenery would probably elicit a similar reaction.
Those guys. Lately they kept spouting nonsense about “Heavenly Demon behavior” this and “Demonic Cult behavior” that. It was time to show them what a real Heavenly Demon Divine Cult looked like. They would lose their taste for it soon enough.
“Seol-a. Would it be all right if I turned on the broadcast?”
“Of course! Wait—were you actually planning to visit the cult without streaming?”
“Uh… that was the original idea?”
“If you did that without saying anything, the chat would have exploded again.”
Hmm. She was probably right. Those guys had thrown a massive fit even when I simply said I fought Baek Hwaryeong alone.
…It was a thought that had been occurring to me more and more often lately, but were they really lighting fires out of genuine anger? Or were they just arsonists who found setting chat on fire entertaining?
“From the editor’s perspective, it’s much better when you stream, so I’d really appreciate it if you turned it on.”
“Understood. Give me a moment.”
My hands moved with practiced ease—something I could now do with my eyes closed—and the stream began. Since the current time was close to my usual streaming hours, viewers flooded in at impressive speed.
“Thanks for the big donation, but did you miss what I just said? I’m going as a guest to observe one of their rituals. I am not going there to cause chaos.”
If I wanted to, I could destroy every single person currently residing in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. But doing so would only transfer the fanatics’ faith from Baek Hwaryeong to me. I would rather pass on that particular headache. Having once desperately tried to escape that place, I had zero desire to repeat that madness.
“I’ll share something I learned from Enry. If you don’t like it, then leave.”
They hated that I wasn’t going to cause chaos? So what? What exactly could they do about it? Other than curse at me in chat, what power did they have?
“Ahem.”
I had only said it to tease the grumbling viewers, but the joke had backfired. As usual, these people never lost an argument with words. Well, it was impossible to win a verbal battle against thousands of people. If they had been standing right in front of me I could have shut their mouths by force and claimed victory, but that wasn’t an option. I would simply savor this brief moment of winning the war of words.
“You all already know her, right? This is Seol-a. She belongs to the Mount Hua Sect, and she is also my editor.”
“Hello! I’m Seol-a! I’ll be accompanying Hwaryeong-nim today! Please take care of me!”
Goodness. The girl had encouraged me to turn the stream on, yet the moment it actually started she grew so nervous her voice trembled. Was this her first time receiving this much attention?
“Ah. Did I never mention it?”
Now that I thought about it, I had never properly introduced Seol-a to the viewers. I figured explaining now would be enough, but the chat erupted once again. I was becoming more and more convinced. These people simply enjoyed setting things on fire.
“Uh, yes! I’m the editor! When do I edit? When I’m not playing the game! If I just cut down on sleep, I have plenty of free time, so it’s totally doable!”
“Yes! There are two—well, one veteran and one newbie—besides me! So I can still sleep about four hours a day!”
“It seems things are getting heated, so let me correct one thing—I have never forced anyone to overwork.”
“She’s right! Every time Hwaryeong-nim sees me she tells me to get some rest!”
“Because I genuinely enjoy the work? Honestly I tried to refuse the salary but she forced me to take it! Hwaryeong-nim is such a good person!”
“Let’s end this topic here. If we keep going I’ll end up talking all day and never turn the stream off.”
I had work to do today, after all. Take it easy, you lot. After I issued the warning, Seol-a closed her mouth and the viewers’ interest finally died down a little. Good. It was finally time to move.
I extinguished the pipe I had been smoking and placed the fox mask over my face.
“Because I look identical to Baek Hwaryeong.”
Ordinary people could tell us apart through aura and atmosphere, but the fanatics there would not care about such things. To avoid unnecessary commotion, wearing the mask was wiser. This was wisdom gained from bitter experience.
“Right then, Seol-a. Let’s go.”
To that tiresome and unpleasant place.