For several days, Heavenly Demon didn’t come.
And it’s not like anyone else came during that empty time either, no one came.
Wow, seriously.
After all that advertising!
I guess they’re busy watching the promotion battle. It’s an event that happens once a year, right?
I can understand.
There’s even someone who has risen from the very bottom, defeating everyone in this promotion battle.
Oh Myeongseong.
He even decided to challenge Heavenly Demon.
The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult was burning with bets on how far he would rise. At first I thought it was just that, but thinking about it, there’s little entertainment in this world.
When such a stimulating event happens then, of course they’d be absorbed in watching it.
While I can watch through the eyes of both of them as well as the harvesters watching there, Soo-oh can’t, right?
To become stronger, you need to watch high-level matches too.
So on the last day of the promotion battle where Oh Myeongseong fights Heavenly Demon, I held Soo-oh’s hand and headed to the village.
Entering the village, it’s crowded with people from the entrance.
There are so many people on the streets that it’s puzzling where all these people were hiding.
It even seems like there are more than last year.
“Wow.”
Soo-oh exclaims next to me. Has she never experienced being around many people before?
No. Searching through memories, she has. When she worked in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, she had gathered with several children of similar age. She lived being bullied there, so it seems being around many people is okay.
I know that if someone lacks social skills too much, they get scared just from being around many people, but it seems she’s not that bad.
Not long after entering with Soo-oh, Yin Simwon immediately approached.
“You’ve come.”
“It’s not strange to come today, right?”
Yin Simwon nodded at my question. The battle between Heavenly Demon and Oh Myeongseong.
He knows this isn’t simply a fight between Heavenly Demon and a challenger.
This is a battle between harvesters.
A fight occurring between those who use me as a weapon. Of course, I’ve seen something similar, but that was them using their own abilities, not pulling me out to use as a weapon.
“I’ll guide you to a good seat.”
“Let’s go.”
I thought we’d be watching from far away, but when he said we’d go to a place with a good view, I immediately nodded in agreement.
This is what connections are for.
Hehe.
And so I headed to the arena with Soo-oh.
It’s not a proper arena with spectator seats, but just a plaza with a wide open space in the middle. The good seats are in the tall buildings around that plaza.
It’s originally where high-ranking believers live, but on days like this, they just take them over.
Yes. They don’t rent them separately. They just push through with force and power.
I really like it.
Because I shine the most in places like this.
In a society where violence takes precedence, being able to gain powerful strength immediately. It’s an attractive bait.
Then, shouldn’t they come to me and quickly become harvesters?
I headed to the highest floor while pondering. And I entered a room with windows facing the plaza.
“Wow, Choseol. This is amazing.”
Soo-oh seems more fascinated by the inside than looking down at the people outside.
Hasn’t Soo-oh seen better interiors than this while working?
Or maybe she was so tense back then that she didn’t have room to appreciate it.
That was a place where children could die at any moment.
They die if they don’t adapt, die if they make mistakes, and get killed for fun if a high-ranking believer is in a bad mood.
It’s not a world where that’s normal, but in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, it is.
Born and raised in such a world, there’s a high chance Soo-oh will grow up similarly.
What you learn in childhood is hard to forget, right?
Just as it’s natural for someone who grew up suffering child abuse to pass on the violence they received to their own children, Heavenly Demon Divine Cult people will likely pass on such ideas to their children.
Of course, there are people who don’t do that to their children because they suffered abuse themselves. But which side do you think is more common?
There are more people who aren’t aware than those who are aware.
Just one or two unusual people at most.
Malice spreads more easily and further.
Moreover, people who have learned like that don’t even realize they’re doing bad things. Because it’s natural to them.
And that’s how people are easily broken and controlled.
Why do bad practices arise in the military?
Even bad practices that once disappeared come back. Bad practices like bullying people military-style even occur in places that have never been to the military.
That’s because it’s fun and enjoyable to do so, of course, but also because it breaks people and makes them easy to control.
Power is sweet.
I like that sweetness. It’s the driving force for harvesting my warmth. If the majority of people were morally upright, I would more actively steal warmth from life.
But most people live wrapped up in instincts and impulses.
Hehe.
A good world is one where many people are uncomfortable with this fact itself. I wish all worlds were like that.
“Choseol, let’s put something like this in our house too!”
Just then, Soo-oh shouted that while on the soft bed.
“It won’t fit in the house.”
“Ah. Right. That’s true.”
The house is rectangular, and its shortest edge is shorter than the shortest edge of the bed.
Of course, we could ask Heavenly Demon to change it, but I don’t particularly want to. If she wants it, she should ask Heavenly Demon directly.
Once a desire arises and is fulfilled, it’s quite enjoyable. It would be good to experience things like this too.
And also cases where you get something recklessly but have to throw it away because it doesn’t fit.
“It’s about to start.”
I said while looking out the window. People are gathered surrounding the plaza, and in the center stood a blue-skinned woman in black clothes and a purple-haired man in white clothes.
The commentator introduced the challenger first in a booming voice.
And then introduced Heavenly Demon next.
Then the people who only cheered when Oh Myeongseong was introduced now bow and shout “Long live!” for Heavenly Demon.
Soo-oh is stunned by Heavenly Demon’s status and stares at the scene as if mesmerized.
And after both sides exchanged greetings, they drew their swords and the fight began.
Bang!
A sound that’s hard to believe is swords clashing erupts, and with a shockwave, people surrounding the plaza are blown away.
“Good heavens…”
Yin Simwon standing next to me lets out an awed exclamation.
And as if that was just a greeting, Heavenly Demon and Oh Myeongseong’s swords move quickly and clash with each other.
Every time the swords clash, a thunderous sound erupts, and when blade meets blade, sparks fly like chainsaws.
1st exchange, 2nd exchange, 3rd exchange.
Heavenly Demon and Oh Myeongseong gradually speed up, and by the 2nd exchange, I could no longer follow with my eyes.
But I can sense how many times they’re bouncing off each other.
Occasionally Oh Myeongseong’s arm bounces twice while Heavenly Demon bounces once – I wonder what this means?
Although I remember how to fight, I don’t understand it, so I’m not sure how well they’re fighting.
To begin with, I can’t see with my eyes.
6th exchange, 7th exchange, 8th exchange
And Soo-oh is watching this as if being sucked in. No, it’s not just Soo-oh. Gapjae on top of the watchtower, Byeongil at a place about 50 degrees clockwise from where I am, they’re all watching the fight scene as if entranced.
And at the 10th exchange.
Heavenly Demon and Oh Myeongseong bounced far apart.
Then dark purple light rose from both of their swords.
But there’s one strange thing.
The point Soo-oh’s focus is directed at is slightly above where I see the tip of the sword.
It’s not just Soo-oh, but Gapjae, Byeongil, and Yin Simwon too.
There’s something bigger than what I can see.
It means I can’t see qi at all. Is that why magic looked somewhat flat in the first world?
Maybe that’s also why I couldn’t properly use Rebecca’s body.
While I was thinking that, the two clash again.
Of course, I can no longer see it from my distant perspective, and can only sense it through the senses of those who can see or the participants themselves.
It’s not like two people fighting, but a sound like two huge pieces of heavy machinery colliding rings out in the middle of the plaza.
Now there are almost no people surrounding the plaza.
Because most people lost consciousness and collapsed on the ground from the moment they clashed after the dark purple light rose.
And due to the continuous shockwaves, they roll over and over to the opposite side of the plaza.
But there are also those who are awake.
Seeing that they’re people I’ve seen through Heavenly Demon’s eyes, it means they’re all skilled.
Now the sound of swords clashing sounds almost like a continuous vibration.
A fight where if you make even a small mistake, it’s not just limbs flying off, but it seems like your body would evaporate completely.
But surprisingly, the fight itself ended cleanly.
Because they both stepped far back after 279 exchanges by Heavenly Demon’s count.
I thought the fight would start again, but Oh Myeongseong folded his hands.
“I admit defeat. Thank you for the lesson.”
Unlike at the start, it was very quiet around, so that voice could be heard even here.
Then Heavenly Demon gave him the position of Right Light Officer and praised his skill.
At the same time, shouts praising Heavenly Demon rang out in all directions.
So I couldn’t hear what the two were saying anymore. I guess we’ve seen everything there is to see. I patted Soo-oh’s back, who was still staring blankly out the window.
“Let’s go home.”
“I want to go meet Master!”
An immediate objection flew out.
Soo-oh has an expression like she’s dying to go to Heavenly Demon and talk about what just happened. Yin Simwon next to me smiles bitterly. He’s acting like it’s not his business.
“If you’re thinking of approaching someone who’s tired, you can go.”
Soo-oh thinks deeply about my words. Is there really that much to think about? I said one thing to make her understand what kind of choice she’s making.
In other words, I told her to think about the other person. But given Soo-oh’s personality, it’s natural for her to ignore it. Her rebellious spirit has grown lately, and since we’re family, it wouldn’t be strange for her to start pushing her own ego.
“Mmm. I’m good for today. Let’s go back.”
This is strange.
Soo-oh didn’t ignore my words.
Instead, Soo-oh held my hand. Her hand is trembling strangely.
Thinking that the current Soo-oh is hard to understand, I returned home with her.