Chapter 102: The Evil Spirit Intrudes

“Is it today!”

The Demon God’s vigorous shout rang through the dorm.

“This is not good…. You’re even more vigorous today, aren’t you?”

Yoon-seo shook his head with a tired face looking at the Demon God.

Kicking off the bed, kicking the room door open, the Demon God’s eyes were shining….

“Hyung, how are you always so full of energy every morning?”

“Well? Anticipation for the day?”

“It feels like it would be a different kind of anticipation from others….”

The Demon God answered without a moment’s hesitation.

“Destruction! Suffering! Dissipation!”

“…….”

Yoon-seo folded the conversation and looked back at the members….

Even though they took catnaps due to the tremendous schedule, they were members maintaining strangely moist faces.

While a week passed.

Pantheon achieved the result of taking 1st place consecutively on cable music shows. It was thanks to their steady firepower added to their strength in digital music.

On the other hand, EXI achieved their first 1st place on KBC Music Station in their 2nd week, and even entering their 3rd week, they steadily maintained their presence in the 2nd-3rd place range on public broadcasts.

Both groups were producing results worthy of idol fans’ attention—

“As expected, the 1st place nominees are us and EXI.”

Team Leader Oh Dae-ho came up and informed them.

Perhaps because there were no variables, SBC contacted them early today.

“It really turned out like this.”

Going beyond facing each other, a showdown occurs.

“Sun-woo, did you anticipate this?”

Tae-young looked back at the Demon God and asked—

“Destruction! Suffering! Dissipation!”

“…….”

Tae-young, like Yoon-seo, folded the conversation.

‘Well, if he’s anticipating the day, it’s a good thing.’

What kind of anticipation it was, Tae-young had no idea.

Like that, Pantheon headed to SBC as a 1st place nominee.

The evil spirit, though it’s a strange thing to say, had been feeling a chilling sensation lately.

“Ah ah? Is this also a side effect.”

Its voice came out scratchy.

It was riding on a human body, but it was full of incongruity to call it a human’s.

Perhaps the chilling sensation was also a side effect like the voice.

The humans around were glancing at it.

Hiding its true nature any longer was also at its limit.

“Ah ah, I want to kill. I want to kill.”

It was reborn as an evil spirit with help. It felt overflowing power from within its body. Using that power, it even created Authorities.

The helper even informed it of a human to possess once it left its nest.

A person with a mind evil enough to accept it.

A person always filled with an inferiority complex and consequently jealous of others.

And above all, this person was a member of a group that was a strong candidate for 1st place nominee.

“The best, perfect.”

For the evil spirit, there was no better host than this.

Where did the helper find such a person.

What the evil spirit wanted to do.

It perfectly fit what it wanted to do as a 1st place nominee.

Winning 1st place wasn’t important.

That wasn’t what it wanted.

Because that wasn’t what the helper wanted either.

Did they ask to cause a catastrophe.

‘Right, let’s forget the side effects.’

The feeling that something, something was going to go wrong.

The ominous feeling that someone was aiming for it.

“Looks like it’s Pantheon’s turn.”

A word that made the evil spirit snap out of it was heard.

Another 1st place nominee, Pantheon, passing through the hallway.

Someone said it upon seeing them.

The evil spirit smiled.

‘That Pantheon’s stage is soon my stage.’

It was what it wanted to do.

***

Crash!

Pantheon’s stage began.

An intense crash and jump.

The tremendous choreography announcing the start of the strong-strong-strong-strong.

PD Park Chang-su was staring intently at Pantheon’s stage.

Not only to check the stage progression, but his gaze was truly stolen.

Pantheon was that intense.

After meeting the members in person last week, it hit him even more.

Sun-woo, called by the nickname Demon God, was exactly like his nickname.

Tae-young’s calm yet reliable presence.

Yoon-seo’s lively and cute charm.

Ha-gyeom’s positive and bright energy.

Even Ji-ho’s sharp and fragile sickly beauty.

They were a group that naturally drew admiration.

Moreover, despite the ghost story, their attitude of not backing out at all and rather wanting to appear.

‘They come out and really do the stage well too.’

Of course, EXI’s rehearsal seen earlier was amazing too.

They had a different charm from Pantheon.

‘Still, giving the later slot to EXI, who is more of a rookie, makes no sense.’

Usually on music shows, performers with more weight are implicitly placed in later slots. Unless they are entirely pre-recorded.

If their weight is similar, seniority is considered.

Between Pantheon and EXI, it was right for Pantheon to go later.

But because it was ordered from above, it couldn’t be helped.

‘Izm’s sales power seems to have gotten stronger since the new CEO came in.’

While PD Park Chang-su was having these thoughts in between checking the stage progression.

– Burning heart and time too

Not over yet

Crash To You!

The song was entering right before the climax—

“The stage, what’s happening over there?”

PD Park Chang-su asked in surprise.

A person had jumped onto the stage guarded by security personnel.

It was a terrifying moment that blew away all the thoughts he had been having until now. This is a live broadcast. An incident of a person intruding onto the stage during a live broadcast gets permanently archived.

“Who is it! Who went up!”

A fan?

Or an assailant?

PD Park Chang-su leaned out toward the stage and looked—

“Don’t tell me that’s, EXI’s?”

An EXI member.

Kwak Su-eon intruded onto the stage.

A bizarre expression that seemed somewhat vacant yet excited.

Him acting in a way that was completely incomprehensible.

While Park Chang-su’s mind went blank, the expressions of the people toward the stage entered his eyes like slow motion.

Flustered security personnel.

Even more surprised Pantheon members—

Among them, there was a smiling member.

“Sun-woo?”

Why on earth is he smiling?

The Demon God smiled.

“Excellent.”

For a 1st place nominee to intrude on another 1st place nominee’s stage.

Is it not truly excellent.

Even in the videos the Demon God had looked up, there was nothing like this.

– The stage! Ends! Here!

The evil spirit’s voice flowed out from Kwak Su-eon.

Mad eyes exploded as it pursued its desire.

A gloomy blue-green energy wavered from its body, letting it be known that it was not merely human.

The chaos at the scene reached its peak.

“What is that! Catch that person!”

“Everyone go up!”

Security personnel shouted.

“Kyaaak!”

“Isn’t that EXI’s Su-eon?!”

The audience who recognized him also let out sounds involuntarily.

Madness, chaos, and the Demon God.

“Huuuum.”

The Demon God’s mood gradually improved.

– From now on, this is my stage!

Declaring so, the evil spirit expanded its Domain.

From now on, space and time flow separately near the stage.

People watching the live broadcast cannot see what happens here either.

If the evil spirit lifts the Domain after harming people as it wishes?

It will look as if Kwak Su-eon intruded and an accident happened in an instant.

It is truly the completion of the ghost story.

Everyone connected to the 1st place nominee stage gets swept up in a catastrophe.

“As expected.”

The Demon God nodded.

Good.

Timing aside, he had guessed the Domain would be in this manner.

Because the supply room provided truly many clues.

The malice focused solely on the 1st place stage allowed the Demon God to guess sufficiently.

– You there, what are you?

Belatedly recognizing the Demon God, the evil spirit looked this way.

If it hadn’t been excited pursuing its desire, it would have noticed the Demon God before expanding its Domain. Then it would have been wary of the existence with a lofty status.

“Ah ah, it is much too late to ask now. I shall explain slowly, so let us finish preparing to fight.”

– Preparing to fight?

“Then? You don’t intend to fight?”

Saying so, the Demon God showed an arrogant and ominous smile to the evil spirit.

Meanwhile—

“Sun-woo? What is this situation right now?”

“Sun-woo Hyung? Isn’t that person an EXI member?”

The Pantheon members approached the Demon God.

Suddenly an EXI member intrudes, and exchanges incomprehensible conversation with Sun-woo. Even though Sun-woo is originally incomprehensible, this crossed some line.

The members felt ominousness from Kwak Su-eon and asked Sun-woo—

“No. That person is not an EXI member.”

“Then?”

“You do not need to concern yourselves up to there. Rather than that.”

“?”

“Sleep for a moment. Everyone.”

The Demon God reached out his hand toward the members, toward the audience seats, toward the stage and its surroundings, and toward the sub-control room.

Authority [Deep Sleep Inducement]

The Authority, which had become even stronger as his power recovered, bestowed deep sleep upon everyone within the Domain.

“Huh? Sleep?”

“Why sleep suddenly? Zzz.”

“Why are you sleeping too? Zzz zzz.”

Without distinction of you and me, everyone fell asleep.

Pantheon, security personnel, staff, and even the audience.

“It is a special service.”

When they wake up after the fight ends, they won’t remember what happened inside the Domain anyway.

However, since witnessing a fight with an evil spirit could cause mental damage, he put everyone completely to sleep.

“And one more.”

Powerful Authority [Moisture Supply].

“Become more moist while you sleep.”

An Authority provided anyway.

It was the Demon God giving generously.

– What are you doing?

However, the evil spirit smiled instead.

– Aren’t you thinking wrong about something?

“About what?”

– This is my Domain. If you put them to sleep, it will only make it easier for me to harm them?

If the evil spirit flies even a sharp object, the sleeping people won’t even be able to dodge—

“Will it truly be so?”

The reason the Demon God remained relaxed even in this situation was because he had set up safety measures for the people.

If anyone among them was actually in danger, his mind would have been different.

“My subordinate familiars worked well.”

Woooo—

As the Demon God’s words ended, ‘amulets’ began to emit light from everywhere within the Domain.

The reason he left the three spirits in the broadcasting station.

Because he granted them power to attach ‘amulets’, which were physical objects, in unseen places around the stage.

– Photos of you?

They were photos of the Demon God.

Photos slipping out of their respective places and emitting light.

The Demon God smiling in the darkness cast over the evil spirit’s Domain.

“It was just a smiling photo because I had to print them quickly….”

That one thing was exactly a mistake.

Smiling photos are rare too, but somehow he ended up with that kind of photo.

Even the Demon God himself felt somehow in a bad mood after being surrounded by dozens of smiling photos of himself….

“Hmph.”

The Demon God smiled as usual to shake off that feeling.

– …….

The evil spirit stared at the Demon God for a long time. It seems it has fallen into a trap.

– How did you know? Could there be someone who told you?

“Is there anyone capable of telling?”

– …….

Well, he would ask that later.

The Demon God answered the evil spirit’s question.

“One must neatly organize the place one has slept and woken up from.”

– ?

The Grand Commander Demon God was strict with discipline.

“I am speaking of the supply room which was your nest. Did you not disappear without even erasing the scribbles on the wall? Anyone would have known if someone with spiritual ability, not I, had seen it?”

– …….

“Look back on yourself before resenting others.”

Having its bed-making pointed out, the evil spirit stared at the Demon God for a long time.

However, it was neither angry nor afraid.

– Haa, this was an amazing opportunity. To think I could absorb not only humans but even an existence like you.

The evil spirit’s eyes rather shone with madness.

– Your power is restricted, right? But can you handle me?

It vaguely recognized the Demon God’s status and condition and considered him an ultimate prey.

Blue-green energy surged up from the evil spirit’s body.

That energy tried to cover the entire Domain, but faltered slightly after catching on the Demon God’s photos.

– It doesn’t matter.

The evil spirit smiled faintly.

– What use are your photos if I eat you with my Authority.

The evil spirit activated its Authority.

– Authority [1st Place Nominee Stage]

From across the Domain covered in darkness, bright lighting flew in.

It was the lighting that shone while Pantheon performed.

– And.

Being a strengthened evil spirit, this wasn’t the end.

An Authority paired with [1st Place Nominee Stage] followed.

Space distorted and objects changed.

Mirrors rose from the floor onto the stage, building walls.

Mirrors were even laid on the ceiling and floor.

Like, a house of mirrors?

No, a stage surrounded by mirrors was created.

The evil spirit’s second Authority [Self-Hatred] revealed itself.