The Exorcism Broadcast in Chaos: Faith, Faithlessness, and the Demon's Identity
More and more people were pouring into the stream. Of course, with demons attacking, how many people would have the leisure to sit around watching a broadcast? Even so, these people had come here to lean on me. I had to give them hope.
"The source of a demon's power is corruption and contamination—and the strength of the heretics who worship them. What demons fear most is human faith. If you refuse to surrender to them, we can win. We will."
Demons expended enormous power just climbing from Hell to the surface. Deny them the time and strength to recover, and humanity's armies could fight them on even terms. Medieval soldiers had held the line against demons with nothing but spears and swords. A modern military armed with guns, missiles, tanks, and fighter jets was not going to fall behind.
Even with chaos like this unfolding, they seemed to think I was farming aggro. Angry viewers were hurling abuse through the chat. Mentioning faith in particular had made them take it as a religious advertisement. That kind of division only served the demons. If we splintered, the military could still lose to demons who had recovered their strength—no matter how modern their weapons were.
"I follow Lady Merci, so of course I believe it would be best if all of you followed her as well. But any religion is fine. Except the ones that worship demons."
The chat started arguing over who they were supposed to believe in. I had told them anyone was fine, but some of them said they would believe in Lady Merci, and that made me a little glad.
"Yes. Protestant, Catholic, Buddhist—all of it is fine. So don't lose your faith. Keep praying."
Fortunately, the uproar in the chat settled down to some degree. Now it wasn't just these people who needed to know. Many more had to hear this.
"Everyone, please tell the people around you. Sharing the link to my stream is fine too. I'll keep this broadcast going from here on out. For as long as the internet holds, anyway."
This world was further along in information and communications than the era I had lived in. Even if the internet lines went down, satellite communications would be enough to keep the stream running.
Whether it was thanks to the viewers spreading the word, the count was higher than before. If I could keep growing it like this, unlike the world I had come from, we could actually hold them—
Just as hope was rising in me, someone's donation message flashed across the stream. News? That felt ominous. But the chat's reaction was anything but ordinary, so I pulled up the news myself.
This can't be happening.
They're moving all at once?
When I had fought demons in the fantasy world, they had never operated like this. They moved like a single army, each type assigned its role. The Demons of Plague went in as the vanguard, spreading pestilence through a city to weaken its people, or the Demons of Pleasure expanded the cults that worshipped them. Then the second wave arrived—Demons of Destruction to slaughter the weakened, or Demons of Cunning to break people's minds.
But if they're all moving at once… it means their unifying center is gone.
It meant the Archdemon who had held all these demons together had vanished for some reason. And with the Archdemon gone, they were racing each other to take the lead in this invasion.
This invasion is a war of territorial expansion among the Hells surrounding Earth.
And that wasn't the only problem.
I don't know whether they did it knowingly or not, but as long as news keeps spreading across the world, it could backfire.
If a broadcast could give people faith and hope, it could just as easily give them despair. It meant the whole world could watch in real time as the demons invaded, as cities fell one after another, as people surrendered. And no matter how much I sat here streaming, the demons had more reach, more impact, than I did.
My expression must have looked bad, because the chat sank into gloom again. I couldn't let them see me look weak.
"We'll just have to hope each country can hold them off on their own. We need to deal with the demons that appeared in our country first."
I didn't hold out any real hope for them, but I had to let these people carry some. Even if a truth that would come out soon enough was waiting on the other side.
"Belial is the Demon of Pride and Lies, and the most dangerous Demon Lord among the Demons of Cunning. He's the most gentlemanly, the most polite—and he captures the powerful with temptations they cannot refuse."
Belial. The demon who had corrupted even the Archbishop of the Holy Kingdom—the most devout man alive, the most faithful, the one who had hated demons more than anyone. If it was him, he could corrupt the President of the United States easily enough.
The chat began to marvel that I knew such detailed information. In that case, America would collapse soon. All we could do was hope the "rebel forces" who had defied the President's orders would hold out as long as possible.
Of course I knew.
"Grymor. The Demon of Gluttony. The most brutish, greedy Demon Lord among the Demons of Plague."
I had known it was him from that nauseating laughter at the end of the New Year's Eve bell broadcast.
I don't know if I should call it luck, but if it had been the Demons of Cunning, they would have been far harder to deal with.
I couldn't speak for the other Plague Lords, but at least it was Grymor. The cost had been high, but I had banished him to Hell once before.
"He's the weakest of the Plague Demon Lords. We can drive him out."
Just as I was giving them hope, a comment appeared that I couldn't simply scroll past.
The chat erupted into another fight. This time, though, the doubters were right. At first I had thought a broadcast would be enough—but if this was happening simultaneously all over the world, sitting here streaming wasn't going to cut it.
While other types of demons attacked other countries, I had to drive the Plague Demons out of Korea at the very least, and turn this country into a purified zone.
"You're right. Me sitting in this room streaming isn't going to change a thing."
The chat was right. The odds that anyone in the government—especially the police or the military—was watching a nobody streamer's broadcast were slim. Which meant I had to make them watch. I had neither the intention nor the time to advertise my stream through government complaint boards or petition sites.
If that's the case, the fastest way is to show them with action.
I made up my mind. There was a way to capture people's attention and keep them from losing hope, wasn't there?
The chat, of course, exploded.