The Heavenly Demon Offers Unsolicited Advice (4)
Even if the building collapsed right this moment, she clearly had no confidence she could escape the falling debris. Why was she even worrying about something like that? If she failed and got crushed to death, so what? It wasn’t like she would actually die.
“Alright. Let’s do it. Smash it and run straight for the door.”
Muttering to herself, she gripped her spear tightly with both hands and swung it at the pillar. The already cracked support couldn’t withstand the force of Enri’s strike. The moment the central pillar gave way, a cloud of dust poured down. Startled, Enri bolted outside in a panic.
But the building remained perfectly intact.
“Why does she look so stupid right now?”
It was truly bizarre. The Enri I knew in reality was an intelligent woman, yet the Enri I saw in the game had the brain of an innocent child. Think about it logically. If a single broken pillar was enough to bring the whole thing down, the building would have collapsed under its own weight long ago.
The frustration I felt was no different from what the viewers were experiencing. While the exact reasons for our anger differed, everyone was equally heated about Enri’s behavior. And just as the chat predicted, a Shadow Hunter burst out from the darkness, aiming a dagger straight at Enri’s throat.
Startled, she jerked backward and avoided a fatal blow, but her health bar had clearly taken a hit. Enri thrust her spear forward to return the favor, but the Shadow Hunter refused to trade blows and simply melted back into the shadows.
“Stop hiding! Fight me fair and square!”
Would you fight fair if you were in his position? When a few light pokes were enough to secure victory without taking any damage, who in their right mind would abandon such an advantage? Naturally, the Shadow Hunter ignored Enri’s words and continued to strike at her openings before retreating again and again.
In a situation like this, one normally had to make a choice. Either charge into the shadows prepared to take damage, or focus on sensing the opponent’s presence to counter the ambushes. However, Enri chose a third option. She dashed back into the building she had been trying to demolish and began smashing the nearest pillar to pieces.
“Now that she’s desperate, she finally gets bold.”
If only she had shown that boldness a little earlier.
The Shadow Hunter, who had been chasing after her like a predator, froze for a moment at the sight of Enri wildly destroying the building. But it was only for a moment. He immediately launched a relentless barrage of attacks at the now-moving target.
Normally, Enri would have lost her temper and counterattacked, but this time she silently endured the assault while continuing to destroy the pillars. By the time roughly half of the building’s supports had been shattered, an ominous creaking sound echoed from the ceiling.
The center had finally given way.
As if he hadn’t expected this, the Shadow Hunter could only stare with wide eyes, unable to think of escaping. The same went for Enri. Looking toward the exit, she realized the distance was too great and let out a resigned sigh.
“Ah, fuck this.”
With Enri’s single curse, the building came crashing down. Since it had already been so dilapidated, the structure practically turned to powder as it collapsed. Thanks to that, Enri avoided being crushed to death.
After much struggle, she finally emerged into the sunlight, coughing several times before standing atop a pile of rubble. With one building completely demolished, the area around her had become an open clearing.
Before long, the Shadow Hunter crawled out from the debris. The hood that had hidden his face was long gone, and his previously cold expression was now covered in so much dirt that he looked more ridiculous than intimidating.
“Who in their right mind destroys an entire building?!” he roared at Enri, voice thick with rage.
“I told you to fight me fairly, didn’t I? Why didn’t you listen?”
Even in the face of her opponent’s fury, Enri remained shameless. Having spent years perfecting the art of infuriating already angry people, I could tell her words were more than enough to flip the Shadow Hunter’s switch completely.
“I’m going to kill you.”
In truth, the Shadow Hunter had already essentially won. It was true that destroying the building had caught him off guard, but the stamina cost had been enormous. If he chose to drag out the fight now, there was no way for Enri to close the gap in endurance.
However, people don’t always act rationally. Just like the Enri I had seen in that video earlier, those blinded by rage tend to follow their hearts rather than their heads.
This could actually turn the tide in our favor.
“Go ahead and try. I’m not sure an assassin who can only hide and ambush could actually pull it off, though.”
Her tongue was certainly sharp. I wasn’t sure if she was deliberately provoking him or just spitting out whatever came to mind in her anger, but the taunt was undeniably effective.
It seemed everyone thought it was the latter. To be honest, I agreed. I simply hadn’t mentioned it out of respect for Enri’s honor.
Unable to endure the provocation any longer, the Shadow Hunter moved first. Even while wrapped in fury, Enri calmly maintained the proper distance for spear combat. Perhaps the scolding she had received after her earlier mistake had helped. In contrast, the Shadow Hunter, consumed by instinct, made the critical error of stepping into her optimal range.
The situation had completely reversed.
The Shadow Hunter could neither retreat nor advance. If he tried to flee, her spear would pursue him. If he tried to press forward, she would check him with her weapon and step back. There was nothing he could do.
While the Shadow Hunter’s face was twisted in frustration, Enri looked utterly relaxed. As she poked and prodded at him from a distance, a smile bloomed across her face.
“You called me cowardly! Then why are you being so cowardly?! Fight me fairly!”
“Don’t wanna. Are you mad? What are you gonna do about it?”
There was no need to watch any longer. Enri had already secured victory. It had been frustrating how late her judgment had come, but in the end she had turned the gamble into a win. There was nothing more to say.
“By the way… is Enri always like this when she streams?”
It didn’t seem like this was her first time teasing people.
It seemed Enri’s streaming personality was quite different from her usual self. While she could be somewhat moody in real life, she was generally considerate of others. Yet right now she looked like a little devil pondering exactly how to make her opponent explode with rage.
After securing her victory, Enri returned with a triumphant expression, puffing out her rather modest chest. As if in response, the chat exploded with praise for her. Both those cheering and those being cheered on looked so ecstatic they seemed borderline insane, so I couldn’t bring myself to join in the frenzy.
Once the wave of madness had passed, the viewers began confessing to Enri all the things I had done. These bastards. Their mouths were far too loose.
“Hwaryong-nim. What exactly did you do?”
“I merely tried to open point betting.”
“Then why is some random person banned and the stream settings completely changed?”
“Success always comes with trial and error.”
When I answered confidently, Enri narrowed her eyes at me. What?! If you have something to say, say it with your mouth! Don’t just stare at me like that!
“I’ll teach you about the streaming features later.”
“...I’d appreciate that.”
Looking into Enri’s eyes, I couldn’t bring myself to be stubborn. When I nodded obediently, she let out a small smile.
“So, how was it this time?”
“You did well.”
It had been such a mess that there were countless things I could criticize, but there was no need to deflate her shoulders when she had finally managed to straighten them.
“Right? I did good, didn’t I?”
She looked so happy that if she had a tail, it would have been wagging furiously. I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Let’s try one more match before moving on.”
The first fight hadn’t been worth evaluating, and the second had been full of variables. This time, I wanted to see a proper battle.
Enri didn’t refuse. Instead, she said her hands were finally warmed up and showed clear enthusiasm.
Dragon Hunter VS Divine Spear
This opponent was a character named Divine Spear. If my memory served me correctly, he was a martial artist who wielded a long spear. Spear versus spear, then. Divine Spear’s weapon was definitely longer than the Dragon Hunter’s. This would be a difficult fight.
The moment the opponent’s username appeared, the chat erupted with comments. Just who was this person that everyone was having such a strong reaction?
In other words, he enjoyed bullying those weaker than himself. It wasn’t exactly an unusual story. The strong oppressing the weak was a common occurrence everywhere. In the martial world, how many people had abused their superior cultivation to commit all sorts of atrocities?
As the viewers had said, the Divine Spear user’s skill was clearly superior to Enri’s. No matter how much longer his spear was, this was still a spear-versus-spear fight. Maintaining a distance where you could reach the opponent but they couldn’t reach you wasn’t easy. Yet the Divine Spear user managed it perfectly, tormenting Enri the entire time. His movements were the very definition of proper spear technique.
Enri wasn’t an opponent he could lose to. She had many bad habits, but she lacked the skill to exploit his. In the first place, she probably wouldn’t even realize those habits existed unless I pointed them out.
Setting skill aside, the Divine Spear user’s personality was terrible.
“You really suck. I heard Hwaryong was teaching you. Guess that person can’t use a spear properly either?”
To toy with Enri and even drag my name into it wasn’t a pleasant sight at all.
Enri couldn’t land a single proper counterattack before the word DEFEAT appeared. Looking extremely resentful, she glared at the Divine Spear user with moist eyes, but he seemed to take pleasure in her gaze instead.
Hmm. I really don’t like this.
I wouldn’t say his behavior was wrong. The world runs on survival of the strongest. Being weak is a sin in itself. Therefore, by the same logic, if I—the strong one—were to torment him, wouldn’t the sin still lie with the opponent?
“Enri.”
I called out to her as she reached for the exit button.
“Yes?”
“Let’s fight one more time.”
When someone acts like a dog for no reason, you have to give them a reason to be treated like a dog. Wouldn’t it be unsatisfying to back down now? Enri. Don’t you want to see your opponent turn red with rage and start thrashing around desperately?