Chapter 32: The Demon God Eliminates

“Eliminate?”

The CEO asked in a trembling voice.

“Are you… are you saying you’re going to physically get rid of them…?”

“Get rid of them? What are you talking about?”

The Demon God knitted his brows.

“Do you have no common sense? To harbor such an preposterous thought.”

“Gasp.“

The CEO made a choking sound.

He had just been lectured on common sense by the very symbol of irrationality.

“CEO, breathe, please, breathe.”

It was a good thing the Team Leader rubbed his back to help him breathe, otherwise he might have fainted.

“Huff, huff. Right, well, it’s a relief you didn’t mean physical elimination.”

He didn’t know when such a thing had become a ‘relief.’

Still, the hearts of everyone, including the CEO, became significantly lighter.

“Sun-woo. Then will you tell us what you’re planning to do?”

Tae-young asked calmly.

They needed to know what he was doing to either help or stop him.

But then.

“I intend to observe A-GON’s final rehearsal.”

“Observe?”

In the past, singers used to watch each other’s rehearsals.

The atmosphere wasn’t really like that these days, but it wasn’t exactly a forbidden act either.

“Ah, this feels ominous.”

Yoon-seo said after hearing the Demon God’s answer.

“Whenever Sun-woo hyung gives a sensible answer, what follows is always…”

Everyone understood even though he trailed off.

Sensible answers were always followed by nonsensical actions.

“But it was always the solution.”

“I’ll admit that.”

Ha-gyeom and Ji-ho added to Yoon-seo’s words.

That was also true. Once he performed a nonsensical action, things worked out.

Eventually, the CEO made a decision.

“Fine, let’s go.”

“CEO, you have finally understood.”

“No, I don’t think I understand… but Sun-woo, can we just go like this?”

“I must bring my luggage. Team Leader, give me my luggage.”

Since they had gone to their final rehearsal in stage costumes, they had left their belongings with him.

“Sun-woo hyung had luggage?”

“Actually, it’s not even luggage. It’s just this one thing.”

What the Team Leader pulled out after rummaging through a bag was the Demon God’s black ghost doll.

In other words, the Shadow.

Yoon-seo tilted his head.

“Sun-woo hyung, why do you carry that around?”

“I must let it catch the breeze occasionally.”

“?”

“Wait for a moment.”

The Demon God took the Shadow and went to a corner of the waiting room.

Turning his back to the group, he whispered quietly.

“Have you been resting well?”

– Kyu.

Of course, at this moment, everyone in the party felt a little strange.

It was the sight of Sun-woo holding a doll, going into a corner alone, and whispering to it. If it was creepy, it was creepy, but if it was Sun-woo doing it, well… it was that kind of feeling.

The group watched the Demon God’s back with mixed emotions.

A tall stature and broad back.

Even the back of his head looked handsome.

And—

“That’s strange. Is my eyesight getting worse? Why is it shimmering so weirdly?”

“Uh, me too.”

“Hyungs, if you look somewhere other than near Sun-woo hyung, it’s fine.”

As Ha-gyeom, Ji-ho, and Yoon-seo said, only the area around the Demon God was shimmering strangely.

Slightly dark, slightly ominous.

Truly, the Demon God’s aura.

The person in question, the Demon God.

– Kyu?

He continued his conversation with the Shadow.

“You did well with the task I gave you last time. I shall entrust you with another task today.”

– Kyu!

The Demon God utilized his recovered power to grant a form to the Shadow.

The Shadow was about to dash out and howl to bite someone, but.

– ♬♩♪♫♯

A beautiful voice flowed out.

– ?!

The Demon God spoke to the bewildered Shadow.

“Look at your form.”

– ?

Only then did the Shadow check its new form.

– !

It was a hybrid with the body of a megaphone and the four legs of a puppy—not exactly horrific, and in a way, even cute.

“Just try answering.”

– Kyu.

“Speak with some spirit.”

– ♪♫♯♬♩

A voice as excellent as a musical instrument flowed out.

“Do you remember me telling the minor ghost in the recording studio not to provide a chorus?”

– Kyu!

A being belonging to the darkness must not speak carelessly.

Because fragile humans cannot handle its impurity.

Therefore.

Your mission today is the opposite.

“Show the humans the taste of a dark chorus.”

Pantheon headed toward the stage.

***

A-GON’s final rehearsal.

Leader X hummed his verse as he walked up to the stage.

“X, you look like you’re in great condition today?”

When a member asked, X replied with a smirk.

“How could I not be? What do you think the expressions on the faces of those Pantheon kids look like right now?”

““Heh heh heh.””

The members burst into laughter in unison.

During their first encounter in the waiting room, they had been caught up by that weirdo named Sun-woo.

But in the end, victory and defeat are decided by the difference in company weight class, not trivial bickering.

A-GON climbed onto the stage in a refreshed mood.

“Oh? X, look over there in front.”

At a member’s words, X looked ahead.

It was a surprising sight.

Pantheon was sitting side-by-side in the audience seats in front of the stage.

“They actually came here?”

“Hmph, why haven’t they gone home?”

“Shall we listen to what they have to say?”

“It would be a hit if they even cursed at us. There are so many staff members here, it would be a direct ticket to a personality controversy.”

The A-GON members no longer even tried to hide their mockery of Pantheon.

“Hoobae-nims, what are you planning to do?”

X asked in a loud voice.

In particular, he asked while staring at that guy with the strange concept—the one who was supposedly from overseas and learned Korean through historical dramas.

“I have come to witness my seniors’ stage.”

“Witness?”

“It means I intend to watch and learn.”

“?”

His speech was still strange, but the content was quite polite.

While X was confused for a moment, a member whispered in his ear.

“They must have come to their senses a bit. The way he speaks is unavoidable because of the concept.”

“Ah? Is that his way of kneeling?”

Understanding the situation, X looked at Sun-woo with a smile full of victory, and the Demon God smiled back brightly.

“I guess you were right. He was stiff earlier, but now he’s smiling.”

“He should have been like that from the start. Look at the other kids too. They look really anxious.”

However.

If A-GON had observed Pantheon just a little longer, they would have realized something strange.

That the anxious gazes of the Pantheon members, excluding Sun-woo,

Were actually coming from them looking at Sun-woo.

Or that occasionally, when they looked at A-GON on stage,

Their eyes would somehow turn into gazes of pity.

– Alright, A-GON final rehearsal starting. Music cue.

The problem was that A-GON had no more time to observe.

Along with the Director’s voice from somewhere, the music began to flow.

***

X turned his head away from Pantheon.

Originally, he didn’t intend to put all his effort into a cable music show they rarely appeared on, but his mind had changed slightly.

‘Instead of you guys, we’ll enjoy this stage to the fullest.’

He started his first verse, but.

– ♬♩♪♫♯

From the very first note, an ominous chorus—vague yet unsettling—reached his ears.

“What?”

X unconsciously stopped singing.

A mistake had occurred from the very first verse.

“X!”

“Ah, hyung!”

Before the production crew could say anything, the sounds of his members scolding him flew toward him.

“Ah, damn it, I know.”

X instead vented his frustration and silenced his members.

“We’ll go again.”

Did he hear something strange?

But before X could speculate, the song flowed out again.

– ♬♩♪♫♯

This time, too, it unfailingly reached his ears.

X widened his eyes in surprise but continued the song for now.

His stomach felt queasy, and he felt unwell.

The moment he forced himself through the verse and passed it to another member.

– ♬♩♪♫♯

“What is this?”

The member who took over the verse was also startled and stopped singing.

– Is there a problem?

The production crew, finding it strange that mistakes were repeated so early on, asked.

“Ah, well, I hear a strange chorus. Something like a droning sound—.”

At the member’s words, X added his own.

“Me too. That’s why I made a mistake earlier.”

– Really?

The sound of a walkie-talkie could be heard from one side.

– We’re going into a sound check again!

– We need to re-examine the backtrack channel.

Staff members moved busily, checking the equipment. They even checked the in-ears A-GON was wearing.

– Everything is normal? What is it?

“I-is that so?”

Only the members who made mistakes made eye contact with each other.

The members who hadn’t made mistakes yet were giving them sharp looks.

“…….”

Down there, the Demon God was smiling.

“Ah, this is so embarrassing.”

The members who hadn’t made mistakes also muttered as if aware of Pantheon.

“Ah, for real. If you guys hear it too, you’re dead.”

X suppressed the members by acting even more irritated.

As irritation rose among them all, the song began for the third time.

He heard the eerie chorus again and his stomach felt bad, but X endured it and passed it on.

The member in charge of the second verse did the same.

The song passed to the third member, who had been throwing rebukes until just a moment ago.

– ♬♩♪♫♯

“Whoa, what is this!”

It was the same.

The third member was also startled and cut the song off in the middle.

And at this point.

– Damn it! Are you guys kidding me? Are you the Directors? To keep stopping whenever you feel like it!!

The PD shouted with anger in his voice directly from the sub-control room.

It wasn’t an understandable mistake, and since the members cut the song off as soon as they received their parts, it was understandable he would react that way.

“Director, it’s not that—”

The third member also complained about the eerie chorus.

But.

– I told you it’s fine! There’s no problem!

Again, no abnormalities were found in the equipment inspection that followed.

It had to be that way.

Because the megaphone puppy jumping around the stage was only visible to the Demon God.

“Good boy.”

While the Demon God spoke softly with a smile,

The production crew’s irritation was now reaching its peak.

– If you do this one more time! I won’t just stand by!

PD Joo Hak-sung’s warning dropped.

On a music show, when the Director gets this angry, there is no choice.

As idols, they could only apologize and engage in the rehearsal sincerely again.

However, in this moment, X’s mood was different from usual.

He felt heavier, more unstable, and rougher.

Because the Shadow was hanging onto his shoulder with its front paws.

The Shadow that had received the Demon God’s power.

– Kyu!

“And what if you won’t just stand by?”

X ended up snapping.

– …What?

“If you won’t just stand by, are you going to pull us now? Just like you pulled Pantheon?”

– Huh?

It wasn’t a secret, but it also wasn’t something to be said publicly.

The bewilderment of the Director in the control room was palpable.

“Whoa, whoa! X! X!”

A-GON’s manager ran up onto the stage.

He seemed to be trying to soothe things somehow, but a stir had already spread among the staff.

An idol on stage using harsh words toward the Director?

It was unthinkable.

And the rumor spread instantly beyond the stage area, as representatives from other idol teams began to appear one by one.

“Director, he must have been nervous because he wanted to do so well! I’m sorry!”

The A-GON Team Leader bowed his head on X’s behalf.

And PD Joo Hak-sung also had no other alternative at this point.

– Let’s do it well.

While the sinister atmosphere was forcibly patched up, the rehearsal proceeded for now.

– ♬♩♪♫♯

The chorus could still be heard.

However, the A-GON members forced themselves to continue with the stage, thinking that if they stopped one more time, it would truly be irreversible.

Their expressions were a mess.

The song was falling apart.

While representatives from other teams were watching, the worst possible performance was unfolding.

– ♬♩♪♫♯ ♬♩♪♬♩♪ ♫♯♪ ♬♩♪♫♯ ♬♩♪♬♩♪ ♫♯♪ ♬♩♪♫♯ ♬♩♪♬♩♪ ♫♯♪ ♬♩♪♫♯ ♬♩♪♬♩♪ ♫♯♪ ♩♪ ♫♯♪ ♩♪♬♩♪ ♫

The chorus inside the in-ears began to run wild, intoxicated by its own excitement!

It was clearly a beautiful voice, but the more they heard it, the more anger surged, their hearts pounded, they just wanted to quit everything, and a throbbing headache set in.

Finally, their stomachs churned—

—Shimmering.

The shimmering eyes of the Demon God captured the gazes of all the A-GON members at once.

Churning, shimmering, churning, shimmering.

“Blegh!”

The effect was magnificent!

Starting with X, who had heard the chorus for the longest time.

“Ugh!”

“Urgh! Ack!”

“Uwaaaaaak!”

“Splat.“

Various vomiting sounds echoed sequentially.

Who knew the sounds of showcasing stomach contents could be so diverse.

The representatives watching the stage screamed.

“Ack! What! They’re all vomiting!”

“They’re vomiting on stage! What did they eat wrong?”

“Ah… our kids have to perform there too.”

“No way!”

Even the Demon God turned his head slightly, trying not to look.

He muttered quietly to himself.

“Rest assured, there is no great risk to your health….”

Now the stage was a complete disaster.

Everyone turned their heads away from the inappropriate combination of idols and vomit.

Only the A-GON managers and the production crew ran up to handle the situation.

“What is going on with this!”

At the very end, PD Joo Hak-sung ran down from the control room.

“Director, it seems our kids have food poisoning!”

They had forgotten all about the chorus story.

The vivid visual stimulation of collective vomiting made them think of gastrointestinal issues. The first thing that came to mind was, naturally, common food poisoning.

“Ha! Now?”

Joo Hak-sung’s mind went blank for a moment.

The broadcast time was imminent.

If A-GON were carried out now.

“There’s no time to have another team prepare a stage! And they already did ‘Assault! The Waiting Room’!”

Jang Bo-mi, who had run over at some point, shouted.

The time that would be left empty included the introduction, one song, and one segment.

It was likely nearly eight minutes.

“It’s a broadcasting accident.”

Eight minutes is an incredibly long time in broadcasting.

They might add MC comments or extend prepared VCRs to fill the broadcast time, but.

In this case, even the prepared ‘Assault! The Waiting Room’ segment had vanished, making it a serious situation.

The CP would definitely try to find out what happened.

The CP, who had shouted at the top of his lungs that he would fire him if there was one more problem, was already waiting with a grudge.

“Ah, no.”

It felt like cold water was poured over him as his senses returned, only for his mind to start spinning with confusion again.

He had to prevent that at all costs.

But how?

Where and who would fill those eight minutes?

“Hoooo—, this looks like it’ll be troublesome?”

A voice was heard from the audience seats behind Joo Hak-sung, who was staring at the stage.

An arrogant voice, full of superiority, and even mixed with a hint of mockery.

When Joo Hak-sung turned around.

Naturally, the Demon God was sitting there.

“O soul enveloped in chaos. Is it perhaps the point where our Pantheon is needed?”

Joo Hak-sung’s jaw dropped.

“That’s Sun-woo. The one from overseas who learned to speak through historical dramas.”

Jang Bo-mi’s eyes sparkled beside him.

She had wanted Pantheon, not A-GON, from the beginning. Now was the perfect opportunity.

“Director, hurry. Things have turned out like this, what are you hesitating for?”

Jang Bo-mi poked him in the side.

Of course, the Director was also thinking that he had no other choice.

The aftermath of failing to carry out Izm’s request filled his head, but for now, he had to save his own neck.

“Ahem, since Pantheon has finished their final rehearsal, let’s just do what we were doing.”

However, the Demon God shook his head.

“First, is there not something you must do?”

“?”

“An apology, that is.”

“!”

The Demon God looked directly at Joo Hak-sung.

Anyway, the PD’s disciplinary action would be handled once the CEO complained to the executives.

More than that, the apology in this very moment was more important.

“Is it not?”

The face of Joo Hak-sung, who was being asked for an apology, was a sight to behold.

Because rumors about Pantheon being excluded and A-GON’s rehearsal atmosphere being strange had spread, there were quite a lot of people gathered here now.

His pride as a Director made him squeeze his eyes shut.

In the end, the crypto chart, which was dropping even at this moment, pushed him.

‘I have to survive first.’

Joo Hak-sung spoke to the CEO.

“Well… since the situation has turned out like this… I hope you just understand. You know how it is, CEO. That’s just how broadcasting is, haha….”

He added a single sentence at the end of his long-winded speech.

“I-I’m sorry.”

And the CEO, who received the Director’s apology, replied.

“I see.”

It wasn’t ‘it’s okay’ or ‘let’s do well in the future’; it was just ‘I see.’

Because it wasn’t okay, and he was going to lodge a protest later.

He simply expressed that he had heard him.

Joo Hak-sung let out a long sigh and spoke.

“Now, that’s all, right?”

As he spoke, he somehow found himself checking the mood of Sun-woo—who was just a member of an idol group—rather than the CEO.

“No, there is one more condition.”

“One more?”

That member, Sun-woo, proudly demanded a condition.

“Give us the segment A-GON filmed, ‘Assault! The Waiting Room,’ as well.”

“Ah.”

Since they had to fill the gap left by A-GON anyway, that was possible. It wasn’t an unreasonable condition.

However, the Demon God added.

“I also wish to try being the special MC.”

It was a proposal that horrified Pantheon, not Joo Hak-sung.

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