The Heavenly Demon Plays a Penalty Game (6)
Finding something buried in distant memories was no easy task. It became even harder when that something was the title of a novel read years ago. Since then, Seol-ah had devoured countless martial arts novels, making it nearly impossible to recall the exact title of that first one.
But the internet was vast, and it was filled with people who had both time and knowledge to spare. Seol-ah posted on a martial arts novel forum, offering a hamburger as a reward to anyone who could find it. The users there immediately jumped in, competing to track down exactly what she wanted.
“Yeah. This was it.”
After finally locating the novel’s title and ordering it online, Seol-ah stretched with a satisfied groan. The time had already crept past twelve-thirty. Any normal office worker would be debating whether to head to bed for tomorrow’s sake, but Seol-ah didn’t even consider it. From experience, she knew that lying down now wouldn’t bring sleep. Even if she somehow closed her eyes, memories of solitude would surface, and she’d wake up screaming in less than two hours. It was better to stay awake until exhaustion finally dragged her under, dreamless.
Instead of crawling into bed, she opened her editing software. Her boss liked to claim that they didn’t need to work too hard, yet the same person flooded them with endless tasks. Every time a broadcast ended, a mountain of clips appeared in her MyTube folder. Right now, the Hwaryong channel was probably overflowing with comments asking when this video or that highlight would be uploaded. Rest was a luxury her editors could only dream of.
Come to think of it, is Heavenly Demon still streaming? she wondered. When I left Hwaryong Muin, I heard she still had things to do.
Seol-ah habitually opened the Turret site while editing, just like always. What she saw there was something she could never have imagined.
Huh? Did someone hack Heavenly Demon’s stream? Why is the thumbnail a girl in a maid outfit?
Whoever it is, they’ve got some nerve. Hacking Heavenly Demon’s broadcast… Well, I’ve got plenty of time and passion. Messing with one person is nothing… Wait. Huh? HUUUUH?!
Seol-ah had logged in with a sense of righteous indignation, but the moment she saw the screen, her hand froze on the mouse.
“Moe Moe Kyun☆”
The person on the other side of the screen, wagging her tail and acting cute, was unmistakably Heavenly Demon.
No. No way. Why is Heavenly Demon…?
The Heavenly Demon in Seol-ah’s mind would never do something like this. The Heavenly Demon she knew never lost her dignity. She was a supreme martial artist who reigned over the heavens, an omnipotent strongest being. Someone who would sooner cut off a person’s head than act cute toward them. So why was she doing this?
What on earth happened while I was looking for that novel?!
Completely flustered, Seol-ah hurriedly opened her messenger.
It was Harin who was supposed to watch the broadcast and mark editing points today, right?
Harin’s explanation went like this: During the solitude event, they had bet points on who would survive. In the process of distributing the odds, Heavenly Demon made a mistake. As punishment for that error, they spun a roulette wheel, and this was what came up.
Ah… So Heavenly Demon is taking responsibility for her own mistake.
Most people would be thinking of ways to escape such a humiliating situation. But instead of backing down, Heavenly Demon had stepped forward with dignity and was facing her penalty more seriously than anyone else. And here Seol-ah had been, suspecting her of something shady!
Having realized the full truth, Seol-ah lamented her own shallow thinking. What she was witnessing wasn’t humiliation. It was the image of a martyr carrying the burden on her back and climbing the mountain.
Harin was right. Heavenly Demon was excelling even at this. Her light tone paired with crisp, ear-catching pronunciation gave the impression that her voice was literally bouncing around. And just as one would expect from a true martial artist, every single gesture was carefully controlled to create maximum cuteness. It was so effective that even Seol-ah, who idolized her, unconsciously muttered “cute” under her breath.
Seol-ah temporarily closed her editing program and entered the community forum where streamers were discussed. The very first post at the top read: [Heavenly Nya Collection of Rewards].
“…Rewards?”
The moment she saw that word, Seol-ah clicked on it as if possessed. What greeted her was an image of Heavenly Demon frowning from above, glaring at someone.
‘Disgusting nya. Why are you still alive nya?’
Her displeasure was obvious in every line of her body, yet underneath it all, an undeniable cuteness remained. Seol-ah unconsciously understood what “reward” meant. This was definitely closer to a prize than a penalty.
She kept scrolling, checking out the various clips in the post.
<Heavenly Demon angrily slamming her tail against the floor>
<Heavenly Demon openly frowning>
<Heavenly Demon looking utterly fed up after someone bowed and thanked her>
Seol-ah left the post and checked other threads.
[Maid Outfit Cat-Eared Heavenly Demon]
<Heavenly Demon wearing a maid outfit>
Too many attributes, but who cares? I’m pretty, aren’t I?
[Moe Moe Kyun!]
My eyes aaaah. I’m dying aaaah.
[That Game Was Secretly Well Made?]
I thought it was trash from the title alone, but it’s actually pretty decent. The structure is solid, difficulty ramps up nicely, and they give proper rewards as more characters are added.
[Wait Lmao Why Is Heavenly Demon So Good At This?]
She’s doing the maid cafe job insanely well? Hasn’t she made a single mistake yet? No joke, that level is pro.
[Why Are The Trolls Being So Nice?]
They usually go way more insane. You can feel the devs’ malice. Why can’t they say anything to Heavenly Demon?
[So What Game Is Enry Planning To Play?]
Is there a list?
After thoroughly digging through the forum, Seol-ah saved countless photos and videos of Heavenly Demon and finally let the corners of her mouth rise.
With this, I’ve gained the strength to live through another day.
Maybe I should set Heavenly Demon’s cuteness on infinite loop while I work.
“Heavenly Nya was truly the best maid nya! It’s such a shame we have to part ways nya! Do you have any thoughts about working here longer nya?! I will give you treatment befitting the best nya!”
“Thank you, but I must decline nya.”
After dealing with countless troublemakers, a full hour passed before I could finally see the end of the game. The moment I exited and returned to the basic VR lobby, the first thing I did was put the long pipe in my mouth. Watching the smoke rise into the air helped calm my mind a little.
While I was enjoying that brief peace, the chat and donations flooded in—comments about how I must have suffered, how cute I was, that they were going to save the broadcast, and asking if they could give me another reward. Damn them. It was obvious they would tease me about today’s events for a long time to come.
Enry has donated 100,000 won.
[Heavenly Demon! I’ll give you this, so please spare me?!]
Then a donation came from Enry. What was this? Trying to negotiate with money?
Haha. Enry. You must be really desperate.
“Enry. You should know better than anyone nya? I am not someone who can be swayed by money nya.”
“Why are you all…?”
Only then did I realize my mistake. For nearly three hours I had been ending every sentence with “nya,” and it had naturally slipped out again. Damn it.
I bit my lip lightly and pressed hard on the bridge of my nose. Another donation alert sounded beside me.
MihoMiho has donated 10,000 won.
[Heavenly Nya! Don’t be embarrassed nya! You’re cute nya!]
“Shut your mouth while I’m still asking nicely. If you don’t want to get cursed out even after donating.”
ㅇㅇ has donated 10,000 won.
[Heavenly Nya! Heavenly Nya! Heavenly Nya!]
“I told you to shut up.”
Haa. Enry. You really had to humiliate me until the very end. That probably wasn’t your intention, but the result is what it is. This grudge… I will definitely repay it.
By the time Ara’s broadcast ended that day, Enry had already sensed her fate. Since Ara had vowed revenge multiple times during the penalty broadcast, there was no way she would escape it. And it would definitely happen on stream. If she didn’t suffer something the viewers could accept, they would surely flood the chat with “This is boring,” “No fun,” and other complaints. On top of that, all kinds of nonsense would take over the chatroom. Rather than endure that, it was better to just take one clean penalty.
Having streamed for a long time, she knew this fact all too well.
‘This is good. The MyTube clips will turn out great. Please make it as painful, miserable, and reaction-heavy as possible.’
The devilish editor was delighted at Enry’s misfortune, but the person in question couldn’t share that joy. She had felt the guillotine approaching many times before, but she could never get used to this feeling. If she had known this would happen, she would have just recommended a game without any nonsense and left.
And the next day.
When they met face-to-face in reality rather than the VR world, Ara smiled brightly and said to Enry:
“Enry. You know what’s coming, right?”
“…What do I have to do?”
“It’s simple. You just have to become Enry-nya.”
If you socially killed someone, shouldn’t you be prepared to be socially killed yourself?
At Ara’s words, Enry’s lips trembled violently.