Heavenly Demon Cult Korean Branch (3)
The contract with Yeonamdang was smoothly finalized.
Ji-eon agreed to accept all of Myeong-yun and Sang-hyun’s conditions and adjusted the finer details.
Beyond the three main conditions Myeong-yun’s side had secured, they also obtained studio support, manager and editor assistance, 3D modeling support, and far more.
Yeonamdang was offering everything that ordinary agencies could never provide, on top of promising full employee-level welfare benefits.
Anyone would prostrate themselves and beg to sign if such a company existed.
Yet this time, it was Ji-eon’s side pleading for the contract to be signed.
“Then let us proceed with a provisional contract and finalize the official one once you both reach adulthood next year. Any objections?”
“Yes. That works.”
“No problem.”
Since both were still minors, parental consent was required to proceed with the contract.
Sang-hyun had already obtained it, while Myeong-yun had only vaguely floated the idea last time and received a noncommittal response.
His parents did not seem to fully understand the virtual streamer profession, so he decided to delay the official contract until the channel was properly established and then reveal everything.
After wrapping up the contract details, Ji-eon smiled brightly and continued.
“We plan to establish a new virtual content division within Yeonamdang. It will become the Virtual Label going forward… Do you have any name in mind for the label?”
“You want us to decide the label name?”
“Yes. After all, you will be our very first virtual streamers. It is a historic occasion.”
Myeong-yun and Sang-hyun exchanged glances for a moment before speaking in unison.
“Heavenly Demon Cult Korean Branch.”
“Heavenly Demon Cult Korean Branch!”
They could think of nothing else.
Afterward, Myeong-yun and Sang-hyun toured Yeonamdang’s headquarters under Ji-eon’s guidance.
The towering headquarters, dozens of floors high, bustled with countless employees working seamlessly together.
They were not permitted inside the development teams, yet the experience proved highly enlightening.
They were even treated to lunch and received onboarding kits before heading home after some leisure time nearby.
After exiting the crowded subway and walking through the darkening streets, Sang-hyun finally spoke.
“…Thanks, Yun-ah.”
“For what?”
“I got to join Yeonamdang because of you. This is all thanks to you, isn’t it?”
“…Hmm.”
Myeong-yun could guess why Sang-hyun had brought this up.
During the meeting with Yeonamdang, Ji-eon had explained the reason for offering such generous terms: it was because of his “data.”
The most critical data needed to develop the next-generation New World device.
Sang-hyun had said that because Myeong-yun was the key figure providing that data, he himself had been able to join Yeonamdang as well.
Other agencies had wanted Myeong-yun too.
Sang-hyun had assumed he was replaceable and had never expected simultaneous hiring.
If Myeong-yun had chosen to leave him behind, Sang-hyun had been prepared to let him go.
After all, while they had created the Heavenly Demon Myeong-yun together, the character ultimately depended on Myeong-yun’s physical abilities and roleplay.
Yet Myeong-yun had insisted on including a simultaneous-hiring clause in the contract.
To ensure Sang-hyun would never be discarded.
In that regard, Sang-hyun felt both respect and inferiority toward Myeong-yun.
He was someone who could be replaced at any time. Myeong-yun was someone who could never be replaced.
Even though he had known of Myeong-yun’s extraordinary talent since childhood, facing such overwhelming ability still made him hesitate.
At first he had repeatedly rationalized that Myeong-yun needed him, but the boy who now confronted reality was finally becoming an adult.
“…Sorry for saying all this. Let’s just go home.”
Sang-hyun tried to laugh it off awkwardly, but Myeong-yun stopped walking and looked at him.
His gaze seemed to reach somewhere far beyond as he studied Sang-hyun for a long moment before speaking.
“Without you, the Heavenly Demon Cult would never have laid even its foundation. If you claim the title of Grand Strategist, then show the dignity that befits it. Strive. Grow.”
He did not say “I need you.”
He did not say “I cannot do this without you.”
Myeong-yun knew such words would only erode Sang-hyun’s pride.
He did not want Sang-hyun to live on his pity either.
So instead he said,
“It is not the position that makes the person. It is the person who makes the position. If you wish to stand beside this Lord, you must strive until it kills you.”
“…You really sound like the Heavenly Demon. Such an old-man thing to say.”
“Because this Lord is the true Heavenly Demon.”
Myeong-yun smiled at Sang-hyun as he spoke.
If Sang-hyun did not want to fall behind,
If he wanted to stay together,
Then he had no choice but to strive until it killed him.
The seat of Grand Strategist of the Heavenly Demon Cult was no easy position.
“It is the seat of one who stands beneath only one and above ten thousand. Strive. Become someone without shortcomings.”
“…Yeah.”
Sang-hyun’s eyes changed.
The boy who had been lost in inferiority and tangled emotions now firmed his resolve.
He would make the position of Grand Strategist completely his own.
Upon returning home and preparing for the stream, Sang-hyun checked his inbox and was startled.
“Wait, I only looked away for a second. How did this many emails pile up?”
He had set up a business email address on the YouTube channel, and aside from management offers, countless other messages had accumulated.
Collaboration requests, advertisement inquiries, and more.
“Why would anyone send a cosmetics ad to a VTuber? Are we supposed to apply makeup in virtual reality? What kind of weird offers are these?”
“Ads and collabs, huh.”
“Why, interested?”
“No. Right now we need to focus on building our foundation rather than external activities.”
“You’re right. If we were a big corporation it might be different, but we’re still individuals at our core! We need to build a loyal fandom first. That’ll help a lot when we do external activities later.”
They had no intention of pulling in other VTubers’ viewers through collabs.
Myeong-yun belonged to a special category even among VTubers.
His overwhelming physical prowess and arrogantly majestic Heavenly Demon roleplay could easily cause setting conflicts with other VTubers and create awkward situations.
“Let’s minimize collabs even in the future. Unless necessary, it’s better to stay independent. Our scale will keep growing anyway!”
“Agreed.”
Myeong-yun lay down on his bed while booting up New World.
Feeling his consciousness drift far away, he ran his hand over the device one last time.
‘This will be the last time with this New World. You’ve worked hard.’
Yeonamdang had promised to send a high-end model, so today’s stream would likely be the final broadcast on the New World he had originally purchased.
He slowly closed his eyes and opened them again to find the familiar white space before him.
Having regained the Heavenly Demon’s body in virtual reality, Myeong-yun slowly clasped his hands behind his back and spoke.
“Let us begin.”
-Settings are done. Starting the stream in five minutes.
“…A dark night it is. Children, have you been well?”
The viewer count was 21,000.
Not a bad start.
Several thousand more than yesterday’s stream already.
Myeong-yun tore his eyes from the number and began reading the donations pouring in.
“MintChocoHurricane, thank you for your offering. Account suspension, you say. I filed an appeal and they lifted it. I did not do anything wrong, after all.”
Myeong-yun shrugged lightly with his hands behind his back.
He truly had no idea what he had done to deserve suspension.
Yet everyone except him understood perfectly.
Anyone who had witnessed the murderous rampage he played would immediately grasp why the account had been suspended.
That was why it was hardly surprising that the victims of Myeong-yun’s actions all believed he was using illegal programs.
“It seems you all have weak constitutions. At this rate, when will you ever become proper martial artists? Tsk tsk.”
“Are you not all disciples of the Heavenly Demon Cult? If you have joined, it is your duty to become fine demonic practitioners and contribute to establishing the Demonic Heavenly Realm.”
Myeong-yun let out a small chuckle at suddenly being called “mom.”
It was a title he had never heard as the Heavenly Demon before.
In his previous life, anyone who dared say such a thing would have lost their head on the spot.
Myeong-yun continued answering donations and chatting idly with viewers for a while before snapping his fingers.
“Now then, let us decide today’s entertainment.”
“My apologies. It did not seem to match my level. Still, there may be another opportunity someday.”
There was some truth to that.
Anyway, before the stream, Myeong-yun and Sang-hyun had discussed and decided on the next game.
This time it leaned more toward Myeong-yun’s preferences, once again a “murim” theme.
Sang-hyun had recommended it, and after hearing the overview, Myeong-yun had shown great interest.
It was similar to Narak, yet a different world.
Though it took the form of murim, it was not true murim, which made it the perfect destination for Myeong-yun’s journey.
Myeong-yun reached out and grasped one of the game titles.
This time there was no clumsy performance.
As he held the title forward, the white world around him began to change.
The sky darkened.
Countless skyscrapers soared as if piercing the heavens.
Neon signs written in brilliant Chinese characters adorned the walls of the gleaming high-rises.
A near-future landscape painted over the white expanse.
And above Myeong-yun’s head, two enormous green characters appeared in the center Wulin.
Amid the viewers’ anticipation, the game title was revealed in large letters.
This time, Myeong-yun was heading toward a near-future murim world.