Chapter 159 - Taking It Offline (3)

As humanity developed language and went on to build civilization, it learned how to solve problems through words. People exchanged words to bridge seemingly irreconcilable differences, striving to minimize conflict.

That was the defining difference between humans and beasts: the possibility of resolving problems through words.

But humans ultimately pursued their own interests, and some things could not be settled through dialogue alone. That was when they resorted to force—which, in some ways, was easier than talking. A binary method that produced a winner and a loser. Truly simple.

The forum was no different. In fact, unlike the real world, it was dominated by anonymity. The desire to persuade anyone grew faint. When conflicts arose, people generally mocked their opponents or dug in their heels rather than trying to reconcile their differences.

You couldn't swing a sword on a message board, so whoever lost their temper and went berserk effectively lost. Occasionally, however, someone would issue a challenge to an offline fight. We can't agree, so let's settle it with force. Something along those lines.

Title) Isn't challenging someone to an offline fight basically admitting defeat?

Your logic is fucking flawless. I've got no comeback, so let's fight.

Isn't that basically what you're saying when you challenge someone?

└ Yep, exactly. That's why hardly anyone actually accepts lol. Ever seen someone accept? I haven't lmao

└ Settle forum fights on the forum. Why take it offline? lol

└ For real, it just makes the challenger look pathetic lmao

Since issuing the challenge was itself an admission of defeat, offline fights were rarely proposed or accepted. The recipient had already come out ahead whether they accepted or not. As a result, such fights seldom actually happened. Users simply chuckled and moved on.

Title) Upvote if you're hyped for Heavenly Demon vs. Blood Demon fanboy lol

I'll go first lmao

└ So jealous of people in the Central Plains. They get to watch this epic matchup.

└ I'm from the Central Plains and I can't upvote this.

└ Why?

└ I don't live in that area... The Central Plains are so huge it takes days just to travel between cities.

└ Don't you have some kind of teleportation system?

└ We do, but I'd have to transfer several times and it'd cost a fortune :(

But when an offline fight actually happened, nothing was more entertaining. And if it involved a registered user famous even among other registered users? You couldn't miss that. Heavenly Demon even held a moderator position, which only drew more attention.

└ Haven't moderators fought offline before?

└ Yeah, a demon and an elf. The moderator accused the admin of not doing any work, and they fought.

└ They said they'd hand over the admin position depending on the result, but both died lol

└ And they still didn't ban offline fights?

└ Why would they? They wanted to fight lol

└ I've had an offline fight too. Going to dig that bastard's grave now.

└ Holy shit, you actually killed him?

└ No. We became friends after the fight, but he died of natural causes. Humans have such short lives...

└ Oh, man...

└ That's awful...

└ That's pretty sad.

└ You must've been really close if you're even going to dig his grave.

Users eagerly anticipated the first offline fight between registered users in ages. Such fights usually ended with the opponents throwing their arms around each other's shoulders. But that only accounted for roughly seventy percent. The other thirty percent fought bloody battles and died.

This wasn't Earth, with its complex society and strict laws. Besides, people fighting in the Central Plains was just everyday life.

HUBBUB, HUBBUB

A square in Shaanxi, in the Central Plains. As a major urban center, Shaanxi saw plenty of people coming and going. Today, however, an unusually large crowd stood waiting in the square.

"Excuse me."

"Hm? What is it?"

"What on earth has brought so many people here?"

A martial artist who had noticed the gathering questioned a passerby. The passerby studied the man who had addressed him. Unlike a commoner, he had a neat, tidy appearance and a carefully groomed beard. Finally, his black martial robes gave a rough indication of his background.

"Oh, it's nothing much. It looks like there's going to be a fight here soon."

"A fight? Between martial artists?"

"I'm not sure about that. Have you heard of the forum?"

"The forum? That vulgar invention?"

The martial artist frowned as he answered. He clearly held no fondness for the forum. Regardless, the passerby explained why people had gathered.

"Since you're not familiar with the forum, I'll keep it brief. You know it's anonymous by default, right?"

"Of course. That's why all manner of vulgarities are exchanged there."

"Right, so even when people argue, it doesn't usually turn into a real-world fight. But..."

The passerby gave a rough account of what had happened so far. As the explanation continued, the martial artist's expression changed. First came curiosity, then disdain, and finally—

"What?! Blood Cult scum are coming here?!"

"Yes. That's why the other martial artists have come too."

—horror. A remnant of the Blood Cult, of all people, had issued the challenge. The cult continued to cause trouble at every turn. Even its remnants could not be dismissed. No matter how often they were stamped out, they never disappeared. Cockroaches was truly the right word for them. Their very existence inflicted psychological damage.

'Come to think of it, there's a rumor that the Blood Demon ascended to immortality...'

The rumor had begun circulating roughly two days earlier. Wi Hochang, the Blood Demon—the cause of the Righteous-Blood War and the most terrible demonic fiend—had supposedly ascended to immortality. He had only half listened, since it was a rumor from the forum, but not anymore. Having heard the entire situation from the passerby, he felt uneasy. The timing was far too coincidental.

'What if the Blood Demon really did ascend, and the Blood Cult intends to use that as a pretext to rise again?'

More importantly, an offline challenge had been accepted on a forum where anonymity was the norm. Only someone confident in their martial prowess would do such a thing. He could not leave now. If not for the Blood Cult's involvement, he would probably have clicked his tongue in disapproval and moved on. The same likely went for the other martial artists gathered here.

"Place your bets! Who's going to win?"

"My money's on Heavenly Demon!"

"Heavenly Demon, my ass! You underestimate the Blood Demon fanboys!"

"What fanboys? They're all as bad as each other anyway!"

"..."

Maybe he should just ignore this. His serious mood did not last long. As people began placing bets, the martial artist sighed inwardly.

Ordinarily, people in the Central Plains fled when a fight broke out to avoid being caught up in it. To civilians, a battle between martial artists was nothing short of a disaster.

But this situation was a little different. It was a fight between registered forum users—a third party belonging to neither the authorities nor the martial world. Even now, government soldiers were watching from a distance. Was this a martial-world matter or not? Did the noninterference pact between the government and the martial world apply? The distinction was so ambiguous that they merely kept an eye on things.

As the appointed time drew closer, more and more people gathered.

"What did you say? You dare insult our sect?!"

"You insulted us first, and now you spout that nonsense!"

Where people gathered, conversations naturally followed—and so did conflict. With so many people present, fights large and small broke out all over the place. The Central Plains had always been a place where fists came before words. Scattered battles erupted between martial artists.

"All right, settle down. We're not here to watch you fight, so keep it down."

"What did you just—!"

"I said keep it down."

And what suppressed force was greater force. It was hardly strange for a few so-called masters to be mixed in among the spectators. Thus, time passed surprisingly peacefully, until the appointed hour was almost upon them.

"Why hasn't anyone shown up?"

"Don't tell me they were all talk and ran away."

"Aw, that'd be a real letdown."

Neither of the two registered users who constantly talked like martial-world boomers on the forum was anywhere to be seen. Normally, they should have shown up and proudly announced their usernames—reported for duty(?), so to speak. But with the time nearly upon them and neither in sight, the crowd could hardly help growing suspicious.

'Of course. The forum is nine parts lies to one part truth.'

The martial artist who had first questioned the passerby clicked his tongue as well. Disappointed, he turned around—and at that moment...

THUD!

"Urgh!"

He collided with something enormous, as though a boulder stood before him, and fell backward. Falling over was humiliating enough, but the passerby he had bumped into simply walked on in silence. His face twisting into a fierce scowl, the martial artist shouted after the man pushing through the crowd.

"You there! Aren't you going to apologize?!"

"..."

At his shout, the passerby glanced back, then turned away again. His reaction suggested he didn't consider it worth responding. The martial artist's pride was wounded. He rose to his feet, visibly furious.

"Who do you think you're—!"

CLAMP!

Just as the martial artist was about to say more, a massive hand abruptly clamped around his head. It was large enough to enclose a man's head; as big as a cauldron lid was an apt description.

CRUNCH!

The hand tightened, and the martial artist's head burst like a watermelon. Bright red blood sprayed in every direction, and fragments of his shattered skull rained down. A life had been snuffed out so pointlessly—and so brutally.

"Aaaaaah!!!"

"W-what have you done?!"

People screamed and panicked at the horrific sight. Even for people of the Central Plains, accustomed to battle and killing, this was unbearably brutal. Yet the giant man ignored their reactions entirely and hurled the corpse forward—straight into the site designated for the offline fight.

THUMP!

The corpse with its shattered head landed in the space the crowd had deliberately left open. Naturally, the startled spectators turned to look in the direction it had come from.

STEP, STEP, STEP

The crowd parted around the giant as though at the miracle of the Red Sea. People of the Central Plains were not particularly large, but this man looked well over two meters tall. He wore rough, tattered martial robes, his hair grown out like a lion's mane.

DRIP! DRIP!

And finally, palms as red as blood. The sight brought one organization to everyone's mind.

The Blood Cult.

The giant surveyed the frozen crowd, took a deep breath, and bellowed.

"Blood Demon Returns, All Blood Bows! I, the supreme, am Geum Jang! Where is Heavenly Demon? Your blood shall herald the Blood Cult's return!"

The giant announced his real name along with his forum username. The moment he declared his goal as well, terror seized the crowd.

"Th-the Blood Cult! A Blood Cult remnant!"

"R-run! A real Blood Cult member is here!"

"Aaaaaah!"

They had assumed this was one of the forum's usual jokes. But the moment they realized it was a vicious reality rather than a joke, they scrambled to flee. With the civilians gone, only martial artists remained—people who had resolved to eliminate him as soon as they realized he belonged to the Blood Cult.

"It really is the Blood Cult..."

"Geum Jang... Isn't he one of the Blood Demon's disciples?"

"He's been alive all this time?"

The Blood Cult might be mocked as a meme on the forum, but in reality it could not be dismissed. Moreover, Geum Jang was no mere remnant. He was a demonic fiend who had made his name during the Righteous-Blood War. The martial artists charged him, but...

"Aaaaaaargh!"

"B-brother! You son of a— Aaaargh!"

"Hahahaha! Blood! Show me more blood!"

They were no match for him. Geum Jang was a master who had survived the Righteous-Blood War. Today's martial artists, whose overall standard had declined, could not possibly stand against him. As the battle continued, their blood stained his palms an ever-deeper red.

CRUNCH!

After effortlessly bursting another martial artist's head in his grip, Geum Jang surveyed his surroundings. Mutilated corpses littered the square, and the ground was already soaked in bright red blood. He smiled in satisfaction and checked for anyone else. No one remained.

'Good.'

He immediately looked into empty air. What he did next was...

Title) I Herald the Return of the Blood Cult.

Blood Demon Returns, All Blood Bows

(Photo of the blood-soaked square)

(Photo of the square littered with corpses)

Today, I herald the Blood Cult's return. Descendants of the Blood Cult, come to our old sacred grounds so that we may fulfill our long-cherished wish.

The Blood Demon watches over us from the heavens. We shall never be broken!

...access the forum and write a post. Content this extreme would certainly earn him a ban, but he didn't care. He had posted it knowing that. His goal was to reunite the Blood Cult's scattered members. That was the beauty of the forum.

'It saves me the trouble of tracking them down one by one.'

Rumors traveled slowly in the real world. Not on the forum. There, rumors blazed as though someone had poured oil on them. That was exactly what Geum Jang was counting on. Even a short time would be enough.

'That Heavenly Demon is nothing special either. Took one look at this and fled with their tail—'

Just as Geum Jang, thoroughly satisfied, was about to leave...

"What a vile pastime. Filthying the ground like this."

"?!"

A delicate female voice reached his ears, startling him. He had been on guard, ready for anything that might happen, anywhere, at any moment. Yet he hadn't detected her presence. He turned toward the voice.

"You wench..."

"You're tall. How many feet do you measure?"

A woman stood there wearing a traditional horsehair hat tilted at an odd angle that concealed her face. Clad in black, she had a slender figure, yet could not hide her womanly curves. Even the lower half of her face hinted at her beauty. She was a lovely woman indeed.

"Kneel."

"What?"

"I commanded you to kneel."

The woman had abruptly ordered him to kneel because he was tall. Geum Jang was dumbfounded. Why were so many people begging to die today? Still, it didn't matter. Nothing could please him more than soaking the ground in blood.

He snorted and addressed her.

"You tell a fine joke. Are those your last words?"

"But I am quite serious."

WHOOSH!

The instant she spoke, Geum Jang lunged forward, closing the distance in a flash. At a speed too fast for the eye to follow, he thrust out his crimson palm. It was the very same stance and attack a certain gorilla had displayed.

The strike, which looked certain to burst the woman's head...

TAP

"Wh-what?!"

...was stopped by a single slender index finger. The woman spoke again to the bewildered Geum Jang.

"Did I not tell you?"

Her tone was arrogant. Yet it came not from conceit, but confidence.

"I am quite serious."

The Heavenly Demon had descended.