The Heavenly Demon Steps Into the Arena (4)
“Lady Hwaryeong’s standards are too high, I think.”
“Are you saying I’m demanding too much?”
“Yes. Everyone better at Apis than me is already pro. That lineup would be incredible even for amateurs.”
“Then what am I supposed to do? These are children who can’t even scratch me.”
“W-well… that’s true?”
Ha-rin couldn’t bring herself to deny my words. In the end, it meant they were only at that level. I let out a long sigh. Yeah. This was where we stood. There should be some enjoyment in toying with them, so I supposed I would have to be satisfied with that.
“Among them, who’s the most decent?”
“They’re all formidable, but I’d say Gwon-jon or Yi Sun, who’s been making waves lately.”
The arrogant name Gwon-jon grated on me a little, but what truly caught my ear was Yi Sun. Wasn’t that the swordsman the one called Karispora had claimed defeated him? The master of the fierce illusion sword was entering the tournament? I had thought we would meet someday, but I never imagined it would be this soon. I felt my dampened motivation swelling up again.
“Lady Hwaryeong. You won’t deliberately hold back your strength, right?”
“I was planning to play with them in moderation. Why do you ask?”
“Because if you’re going to win anyway, I’d like you to win overwhelmingly.”
Ha-rin said that recently the number of people looking down on me had grown. They claimed the battlefields where I had shown my prowess and the tournament were completely different arenas. They were spreading rumors that even I would fail to produce proper results if I entered a tournament for the first time.
Hmm. The fact that such words were circulating meant my authority had not yet been properly established. If people truly respected my skill, such talk would never arise. Was it still too early to pass on my teachings? How troublesome. How nice it would have been if this place were Murim. My authority would have been established naturally just by taking the heads of the highest experts. But in the modern world, such brutal behavior was impossible. Well. Still, once I claimed victory in this tournament, the doubts should decrease, shouldn’t they?
The World’s Best Martial Arts Tournament hosted by the famous Apis streamer Dekay was a regularly scheduled monthly event. The format changed each time. Sometimes it gathered nearly hundreds of players, pros and amateurs alike, to determine the strongest. Other times it assembled only masters of specific characters to crown the greatest artisan. There were rounds that gathered only Bronze and Silver ranks to decide the worst of the worst, and occasions when Dekay used his connections to deliver pure eye candy.
The concept of this particular World’s Best Martial Arts Tournament was as follows: Sixteen master players of unique characters personally invited by Dekay would battle one another to decide the supreme champion. It was a format truly worthy of the tournament’s grand name.
Dekay had poured considerable effort into this event. He had struggled to gather the participants and run around securing sponsors, resulting in a prize pool far larger than usual. The highlight was the VR capsule. An item worth as much as a car being offered as a prize was something that only happened in professional leagues.
Perhaps because of all that effort, this tournament drew far more attention than usual. Even with thirty minutes remaining until the start, ten thousand viewers had already flooded into Dekay’s stream.
“It’s all thanks to you, everyone!”
Dekay expressed his gratitude in front of the pre-assembled participants. It was a formidable lineup with no weak links. Every single one was a named user whose name anyone who played Apis would have heard at least once.
Among them, Hwaryeong had the shortest career, yet the feats she had accomplished were overwhelming enough to more than compensate for her lack of experience. In truth, several of the gathered users were paying close attention to her. MeowMeowFist, who proudly called himself her devoted fan, was stuck to her side like glue, chattering nonstop. WhipMasterLove was conversing with an acquaintance but kept stealing glances at her. The others were no different. Everyone observed Hwaryeong as if she were an exotic animal.
Every person present had reached the top playing only unique characters. They understood better than anyone just how absurd the achievements Hwaryeong had displayed in various videos truly were. Therefore, it was perfectly natural for their interest to focus on her.
Yet the person at the center of all that attention merely swept her gaze lightly across their faces. She did not approach anyone else and simply continued chatting with MeowMeowFist.
The strange standoff continued until Gwon-jon broke it. He first greeted the familiar MeowMeowFist, then naturally turned his eyes toward Hwaryeong.
“Hello. I’m Gwon-jon.”
“I am called Baek Hwaryeong.”
The naturally flowing informal speech caused whispers to ripple through the crowd. No matter how dedicated someone was to their concept, they hadn’t expected her to speak that way even in public. Fortunately, Gwon-jon standing before her was an easygoing man. He smiled instead at the minor rudeness.
“I’ve seen you often in videos. You really are incredible.”
“Thank you for viewing it favorably.”
“Especially that fist that blocked the Outer God’s instant-kill move. It was astonishing. If it’s all right, even if it’s later, could you tell me about that technique?”
“I can answer most things, but that is something akin to a secret art.”
“Then it can’t be helped.”
Hwaryeong was arrogant in speech only; she was someone with whom normal conversation flowed. It seemed she had not been completely consumed by her concept like the marines commonly found in Master rank.
So the people began glancing at one another, wondering who would approach Hwaryeong first once Gwon-jon finished speaking. After all, everyone had more than one or two questions about the new divinity known as Hwaryeong.
Among the thirteen competitors, the one who seized the lead was WhipMasterLove. The moment Gwon-jon finished, he approached Hwaryeong and bowed. His waist bent past ninety degrees, nearly driving his forehead into the ground. There was something more than mere politeness in the gesture.
“I am WhipMasterLove.”
Looking into his eyes, Hwaryeong felt a sense of déjà vu. The eyes of the man who had introduced himself as WhipMasterLove clearly contained the seeds of fanaticism.
Even though I had done almost nothing since arriving here, how had the seeds of fanaticism already been planted? I loathed fanaticism. Goodwill was acceptable. It was something that naturally arose between humans. Hostility was also fine. What was strange about people hating one another? I could even understand ordinary faith. Humans were frail creatures who wished to lean on something; that could not be called wrong. But fanaticism—especially fanaticism directed at me—was something I could neither understand nor wished to understand.
Fanatics may appear to believe in a religion, but the truth is different. They only believe in what they themselves have decided to believe. They listen only to the will of the god they have arbitrarily shaped within their own minds. Do you know how horrifying that is? The fanatics of the Divine Cult elevated me as a god yet never listened to my words. No matter what I said, they twisted it inside their heads and turned it into the words of the god they had created. It was a laughable tale. Those who had shouted louder than anyone that they needed the Heavenly Demon were, in reality, the ones who needed the Heavenly Demon the least. Well, if they hadn’t been that insane, they would never have tried to create a perfect god with their own hands.
The man standing before me now showed those same signs of fanaticism. The seed had not yet bloomed, but it had definitely been planted. Left alone, it would surely sprout. I had chosen seclusion because I hated seeing such people, so why did I have to face fanaticism even after coming to the modern world?
Even though I openly frowned, the one called WhipMasterLove paid me no mind and continued speaking. Let’s think positively. Since I had encountered the fanaticism before it bloomed, perhaps I could prevent it from flowering. The problem was that I had no idea how to stop it. No. In the first place, could something like belief be stopped just because one tried? Thinking of those Divine Cult bastards, it didn’t seem my committing any ordinary act would make their faith disappear.
“Lady Hwaryeong?”
“Ah. My apologies. I had something to ponder for a moment.”
“I see.”
Even I thought it was a clumsy excuse, yet WhipMasterLove paid it no mind. As if anything I said should naturally be believed.
What WhipMasterLove talked about was mostly the feats I had displayed while fighting Dekay and the Ten Lines. The passion in his voice as he said he had learned much from watching me wield the whip was thick enough to feel.
Who could have guessed that the choice I made to frustrate Dekay would bring about such a result? No matter how much a butterfly’s wings can create a typhoon, wasn’t this too much? At this rate, simply breathing might birth a new fanatic!
Perhaps sensing something from my expression, the man who called himself Gwon-jon forcibly dragged WhipMasterLove away. His consideration was truly welcome. The more I listened to WhipMasterLove, the more suffocated I felt.
“Lady Hwaryeong. Are you all right?”
“Yes. I’m fine.”
I was fine. This kind of depression was something I had experienced to the point of exhaustion in that fanatical Murim.
“Everyone! Please prepare yourselves! We’re starting the broadcast now!”
When Dekay shouted, those who had been chatting among themselves fell silent. The tournament was beginning.
Dang So-il, one of the many self-proclaimed Heavenly Demons existing in Apis, was earnestly clasping both hands together in fervent prayer. His single wish was this: It was fine to meet anyone else, but please, spare him from facing Hwaryeong. He did not want to be obliterated in the round of sixteen, so please bring another sacrificial lamb before her.
“Think logically! Could you beat a monster that catches Outer Gods with her bare hands?!”
Dang So-il was by no means a weak user. After all, he was someone who had reached the professional league playing only the Heavenly Demon character. There was a reason he had been chosen by Dekay among the countless self-proclaimed Heavenly Demons.
Dang So-il could be called the strongest among amateur Heavenly Demon users. In fact, when he heard they were gathering amateur unique-character masters, he had believed he could win the championship. The people Dekay would invite among amateur masters were all roughly equal, and among them there was no one Dang So-il could not defeat.
But the moment he saw Hwaryeong’s name on the participant list, he easily abandoned any thought of victory. Her existence was an absurd balance-breaker.