Chapter 158 - Taking It Offline (2)

In every age, there are people who do more than remember the past: they worship it. All the more so if that past was not merely glorious, but left its mark on history.

It was much like the familiar refrain of “Back in my day...” And no races displayed this tendency more prominently than humans and elves.

Since founding their nation, the elves had never suffered a humiliating chapter in their history. This stood in stark contrast to their equals, the demons, whose history consisted of rampaging about only to have the Hero turn the tables on them.

But just as daylight cannot last forever, the brilliance of their golden age had begun to fade. That was why the elves who remembered it remained mired in the past, going on about how things were back in their day.

└ Then what about humans?

└ What about them? They're even bigger dopamine junkies than demons.

└ Humans have an insanely high ceiling, so their history has all kinds of crazy shit in it.

└ Look at Eldorado. They spent ages puffing their chests out over defeating the Undying King.

└ People are even still sucking off the first Hero.

└ Isn't that practically desecrating a corpse at this point?

└ It'll fade on its own with time. The first Hero is the weird exception. Nobody worships old monarchs.

Humans were a race with bottomless lows and insanely high peaks. Most of those who left a tremendous impact on world history, like the Undying King, were human.

But did that mean there were people who worshipped the Undying King? There were, yes. On the forum, at least. Do that in real life and you would deserve a punch from a passing stranger.

└ What about the Blood Demon? Those Blood Cult assholes sometimes cause trouble in real life.

└ Those are actual Blood Cult remnants.

└ The same remnants causing trouble in real life are raising hell on the forum too.

└ Ohhh.

└ But isn't it more about the Heavenly Demon than the Blood Demon these days? And I mean the real Heavenly Demon, not the registered user.

└ Sure, but the impact isn't quite there.

└ She took the emperor's head. Beat all the masters too.

└ Blood Demon Returns, All Blood Bows) Even if those mongrels swarmed him, Lord Blood Demon would not shed a single drop of blood.

└ A Blood Demon fanboy has arrived. Though that might actually be true?

└ Yeah, honestly, the Blood Demon had more impact. He cut the martial world clean in half.

└ The Righteous-Blood War alone wiped out all the masters. There's a reason the Heavenly Demon isn't as well known lol.

└ That war was fifty years ago. How does it make sense that they're still wiped out?

└ Can you move your legs with a broken spine?

└ Even the promising young talents all died. You can imagine what was left below them.

The Blood Demon, however, was a little different. Remnants though they might be called, unlike the Undying King, he did have genuine followers. The distinction was that the Undying King had been “slain” as an undead being, whereas the Blood Demon had “disappeared” after demonstrating transcendent human might.

Being drawn to an overwhelmingly powerful being and wanting to come under its protection was a natural animal instinct. No matter how far humanity advanced, that instinct would always lie beneath the surface. It was only their ability to judge right from wrong, and their desire to preserve existing society, that kept them from following en masse.

└ The Demonic Cult hasn't really done anything lately either. The Heavenly Demon showed up once, and that was it.

└ What are they doing these days?

└ Probably asleep right now?

└ Lmaoooo.

└ It is bedtime right now lol.

└ I can't with you people lol.

All these factors combined to make the Blood Demon better known than the Heavenly Demon. On top of that, the Blood Cult's active advertising(?) had made it famous on the forum as well.

At this point, it was getting hard to tell whether the Blood Demon had created the meme or the meme had created the Blood Demon... But fame was fame, wasn't it?

└ Also, the assholes who worship the Blood Demon in real life are all completely nuts. Best not to mess with them.

└ Yeah. You avoid shit because it's filthy, not because you're scared of it.

└ It's the martial world. Just chalk it up to stepping in shit.

└ Sometimes that shit attacks me, though?

The Central Plains' peculiar culture also played a major role. The authorities and the martial world did not interfere with each other. The government stayed out of martial affairs.

Even when the Blood Demon had taken the lives of countless masters and harmed civilians, the authorities had stayed out of it, leaving the matter entirely to the martial world's masters. It was tradition, they said. That was why they remained silent even when Blood Cult remnants or Blood Demon fanboys ran wild.

└ So public safety is just fucking nonexistent. How is that any different from a lawless wasteland?

└ That's why the average person in the Central Plains is ridiculously strong. Pick a fight with some random kid and you're fucked.

└ There's even a saying in the martial world: beware of old people, women, and children.

└ How are ordinary people supposed to live?

└ Make connections or get stronger.

└ For the record, inns get smashed up by fighting masters practically every day lmao.

└ That's why the emperor gave inns tax breaks. That was genuinely a good move.

└ The emperor who got wrecked by the Heavenly Demon?

└ Yeah. Then the next emperor immediately scrapped it lol.

└ Fuck, why is every emperor in the Central Plains hopeless? The previous one banned the forum.

└ The country's just going down the drain.

Well, that certainly did not mean the authorities did nothing. Fights between martial artists were one thing, but the Blood Cult had harmed civilians. Throughout history, whenever popular support shifted away from the government to another power, nations inevitably tore themselves apart.

So the government did its part to preserve public goodwill, offering generous compensation, reducing taxes, and so on. Above all, the Central Plains covered a vast territory. Unless an incident threatened to topple the nation, how could the authorities possibly attend to everything?

The Blood Cult, too, had only intended to drench the martial world in blood, not conquer the government. For all these varied and complicated reasons, the atrocities its remnants committed in real life were quietly swept under the rug.

└ So what's the conclusion? Wi Hochang lives!!

└ Wi!

└ Ho!

└ Chang!

└ Does ascending to immortality count as being alive? Your successors are gorillas too lmao.

└ Lord Blood Demon watches over us from the heavens!

└ Worship him! Wi Hochang!

└ This is driving me nuts lol.

└ Feels like they're even worse now that he's supposedly ascended.

└ If he really did ascend, you can't really argue with worshipping him.

└ Just please don't go hurting people in real life.

Wi Hochang, the Blood Demon, was worshipped both sincerely and as a meme. Plenty of people disliked this trend, but one person was more displeased than any other.

'I do not like this.'

That person was the Heavenly Demon, Yu Sowol.

Whenever talk of Wi Hochang circulated on the forum, she could not hide her displeasure. She, too, was well acquainted with the Blood Demon's reputation: a great fiend who had piled corpses into mountains and spilled rivers of blood. He had left an enormous mark on martial history, and his followers remained active to this day.

Yu Sowol did not like that. She, too, had left a major mark, not merely on the martial world but on the Central Plains as a whole. Upon her debut, she had defeated every renowned master, then gone so far as to take the emperor's head.

Yet people dismissed the former by saying the aftermath of the Righteous-Blood War had left only riffraff, while the imperial court had suppressed and distorted reporting on the latter. What good was all the talk on the forum if nobody followed her in real life?

'Not that I am entirely without fault.'

Was Yu Sowol blameless, then? Not exactly. One of the many problems was her registered account. She had brazenly chosen “Heavenly Demon” as her username, then used it to spout all manner of martial-boomer nonsense. That could hardly help tarnishing the name.

Most importantly, she had done absolutely nothing since her debut. The Blood Cult remnants, by contrast, had remained consistently active. The Demonic Strategist, Wi Seorak, had counseled patience, saying the time was not yet right, but...

'At this point, I have no choice but to go myself.'

Now that the other party had challenged her to an “offline fight,” she had to act personally. If she backed down now, it would not be the real Heavenly Demon's reputation that suffered, but that of the registered user Heavenly Demon. And that reputation was bound up with the pride of Yu Sowol the individual. She could never back down.

So Yu Sowol immediately summoned Wi Seorak.

“I shall be away for a short while.”

“...”

Wi Seorak did his best to keep his expression under control. The skin beneath his eyes kept twitching. He felt as if he might clutch the back of his neck and collapse at any moment.

For now, he feigned as much ignorance as he could and asked why. After all, this was hardly the first time Yu Sowol had caused trouble like this.

“... Your Eminence. May I ask why?”

“For personal reasons.”

You're going to an offline fight, you immature idiot. Wi Seorak barely swallowed the words rising in his throat. He had thought she had been quiet lately. Now she was finally about to cause an incident.

As a forum user himself, he knew perfectly well what was going on. But what good did knowing do? A disaster he could not prevent was upon him.

Wi Seorak racked his brains for a way to make Yu Sowol tell him the truth.

'First of all, this must remain strictly confidential.'

Even if they settled on a location, there was no guarantee her opponent would show up. If it was not kept secret, spectators were sure to gather. And if Yu Sowol stood there all alone, waiting and waiting for an opponent who might never come...

Just imagining how people would treat her was horrifying. Thus, Yu Sowol needed to handle this personally, in the utmost secrecy if possible.

'But this is strange. She normally lets these things pass. Is it because the other party belongs to the Blood Cult?'

Heavenly Demon had received quite a few challenges to offline fights. She frequently rubbed people the wrong way with her posts and comments, heedlessly doing as she pleased. As far as he knew, she had always snorted and ignored them.

This time, though, her different response seemed to stem from the challenger being a registered user and a suspected Blood Demon remnant. Thinking this, Wi Seorak spoke respectfully.

“Even if your reasons are personal, Your Eminence, we are your servants. Your will is our will, and only with you above us may your subjects live.”

If you move, we have no choice but to move too. So tell us what you intend. Yu Sowol understood his meaning and stopped being stubborn. In truth, she had concerns of her own.

'If I go myself, they may discover we are one and the same.'

That was her greatest concern: her forum identity might be exposed.

She intended to arrange a secluded meeting place to prevent that, but there was no telling how things would turn out. The other party was choosing the location, since Yu Sowol did not know the geography well.

Ultimately, not going might be the better option. Yu Sowol nodded and said,

“Even when someone has sullied the Heavenly Demon's name?”

She had said “the Heavenly Demon” rather than “my.” Saying “my” would have been tantamount to confirming that the registered user Heavenly Demon was her.

At first hearing, it might sound as though she intended to punish an impersonator... but not to Wi Seorak. He already knew perfectly well that she was the registered user Heavenly Demon.

'There we go!'

None of that mattered. Getting her to admit it was enough. Cheering inwardly, Wi Seorak replied with due courtesy.

“However much an insect flails about, it remains an insect. Mercy is also a virtue.”

“Am I to sit still when the insect has crawled into my ear?”

A Blood Demon fanboy had gotten under her skin. Wi Seorak knew it immediately.

The Blood Demon's greater name recognition(?) was already a sore point for Yu Sowol. Moreover, the Blood Cult was naturally poised to gain influence now that none other than Grylls had publicized the Blood Demon's existence and ascension to immortality.

Yu Sowol must have planned to turn that to her advantage. Wi Seorak now understood her intent as well.

'But we don't know whether the other party is genuine.'

Heavenly Demon was certainly the real Heavenly Demon. But was her opponent genuine too? More than half the news circulating on the forum was false, and registered users were no exception. Everything on the forum had to be taken with a grain of salt.

What should he do, then? As Wi Seorak pondered the question, she spoke.

“Hmm. An amusing fellow.”

“Pardon?”

“Open the forum.”

Yu Sowol gave the order while he was still thinking. His confusion lasted only a moment before he realized something must have happened on the forum. He hurriedly opened it and scanned the posts.

[Heavenly Demon, Read This.]

Upvotes were pouring in, sending the post soaring into the top posts in an instant. Wi Seorak opened it without delay.

Title) Heavenly Demon, Read This.

Blood Demon Returns, All Blood Bows

(A map image of somewhere in the middle of a major city)

I have chosen the site of our duel.

Your severed head shall herald the Blood Cult's return, wench.

└ Heavenly Demon) What an arrogant wretch. I shall etch my might into your memory.

└ Blood Demon Returns, All Blood Bows) I look forward to the day I bathe in your blood, wench.

└ Damn. Now this is an epic showdown lmao.

└ Look at how these martial-boomer fuckers talk lmaooo.

└ Doesn't this count as cronyism?

└ Nah, offline fights are exempt. They actually fight plenty of the time lol.

“An amusing fellow indeed. As is the one impersonating me.”

“...”

She had posted that herself. The sheer fucking nerve.

Wi Seorak was momentarily dumbfounded by Yu Sowol's shamelessness. Then an idea flashed through his mind, and his expression changed.

'No. Wait. This might actually be better.'

Wi Seorak immediately shared the idea with Yu Sowol.

“Now that...”

At his suggestion, Yu Sowol's lips curved into a pleased smile.

“... I like.”

* * *

Meanwhile, at that same moment, Grylls was reading the top post.

“Man, I'm jealous. I want to watch too.”

He deeply regretted being unable to witness such an epic showdown.