Chapter 39: A Meal in the Moonlight

“Must kill! Must kill!”

The gaze inside the hockey mask glistened like a beast.

The knife flashed, catching the moonlight that had grown brighter at some point.

The man in the hockey mask swung the blade indiscriminately.

Countless afterimages lingered along the trajectory of the swinging knife.

“No!”

“Hyung, it’s dangerous!”

Writer Park Ji-hyeon and Yoon-seo shouted simultaneously.

One would wonder if anyone could stand before such a ruthless display of bladework.

However.

“Hahahaha! What is this? This trivial hacking?”

The Demon God, who was not human, was laughing joyfully.

The Demon God was originally a god of war; he was not a being that could be handled by random hacking.

He read the trajectory even before the knife was swung and dodged it effortlessly.

“Slow.”

It was truly the Demon God’s self-produced content!

His self-satisfaction with his own content was at its peak!

“Ho?”

In the midst of it all, he scrutinized the hockey mask.

An evil energy that could not be hidden by the mask.

The human before him was possessed by something.

Usually, an evil spirit would have attempted to escape the moment the Demon God appeared.

“Must kill, must kill!”

But he only repeated the same words.

The evil spirit before him was somehow broken.

Occasionally, there were fellows like this—ones who had completely lost their minds and couldn’t even recognize a difference in status.

“Hmm, a minor spirit dares… Though I do admire your diligent attitude.”

I suppose a proper punishment is in order.

“Your sin is great for interfering with my content filming.”

The Demon God, who had been moving outside the range of the sashimi knife, took advantage of a large motion to close the distance to the mask’s nose in an instant.

Whoosh. The Demon God’s presence was felt.

That alone caused the masked man to freeze momentarily.

“Perish.”

The Demon God met his gaze.

An aura released for a single moment.

An ominous red color shimmered within his pupils.

“Urgh.”

That was enough.

The body in the hockey mask collapsed before the Demon God.

“Wh-What…?”

“Sun-woo hyung, how did you just…”

The astonishment of the writer and Yoon-seo had surpassed its limits.

He had dodged every terrifying swing of the knife, and then, through some unknown method, he had completely neutralized the assailant.

“The two of you, wait a moment.”

However, the Demon God’s business was not yet finished.

Black mist was rising over the fallen hockey mask, left behind as the evil spirit perished.

It was the spiritual power left by the spirit, invisible to human eyes. It was a wicked force that would cause great harm if inhaled.

“Huuuh.”

To the Demon God, it was merely a delicious late-night snack.

He consumed it with the Authority [Spiritual Feast].

A power different from the one obtained through fan love welled up within him.

Simultaneously,

Creeeeak… crack…

The sound of cracking echoed from the chains.

Judging by the volume of the sound, this fellow was stronger than the evil spirit he had stripped from Ji-ho.

‘He was carrying an evil spirit of this caliber?’

The higher the spiritual rank of an evil spirit, the greater the burden on the possessed. Whether the mind wavers or the body suffers, a price must be paid.

The Demon God removed the hockey mask from the unconscious rampaging man.

“Hmm.”

Surprisingly, the face of a decent-looking middle-aged man was revealed.

Usually, a person’s appearance becomes haggard under the influence of an evil spirit, but this man hadn’t reached that point yet.

It meant he hadn’t been possessed for long.

“Yet to go on a rampage like this… You must have been a human quite prone to merging with evil spirits.”

His behavior while possessed was different from Ji-ho’s.

He hadn’t lost his soul; he had intended to harm others.

In such a case, rather than his mind being occupied by the spirit, it should be seen that the spirit was drawn to the malice he already harbored.

“Human, I have removed the evil spirit for you. Face the malice you harbor yourself. And pay for your sins as a human among humans.”

With those final words, the Demon God lost interest in the assailant.

He was unconscious so deeply that he wouldn’t wake up for a while, so it was safe to leave him as is.

Now then, that’s enough for the mask.

The Demon God turned around.

“Yoon-seo, is the writer alright?”

He knew Yoon-seo was uninjured, but he didn’t know how the startled writer was doing.

“Sun-woo hyung, I think the writer is too shocked. She’s suddenly gone dazed.”

Yoon-seo replied with a worried face beside the slumped-over writer.

“Step aside.”

After experiencing a major event where one’s life was on the line, it was normal to lose one’s soul for a moment.

The Demon God crouched in front of the writer and met her gaze.

And that gaze was not the ominous one he used to destroy the evil spirit.

It was a gaze so deep it felt like a tranquil night.

The Demon God’s gaze brought the writer’s soul back to reality.

“…Ah?”

Light slowly returned to the writer’s eyes.

And she felt an unparalleled sense of stability. It was safe. The danger was gone. There would be no more danger.

The being before her was telling her so.

“Sun-woo…-ssi?”

Not a priest or a police officer, but a member of an idol group.

Even though he was much younger than herself, tears welled up in her eyes at the Demon God’s gaze.

The fallen assailant was visible even through her blurred vision.

“Sun-woo-ssi, you saved me, didn’t you?”

The Demon God nodded while still maintaining eye contact.

“I am by your side.”

The Demon God who appeared from the darkness is by your side.

The Demon God who fought against gods is protecting you.

So rest easy.

“Yes.”

The tension and fear finally vanished from the writer.

Sensing this, the Demon God patted her shoulder and chuckled softly.

And then.

He uttered a sentence that Writer Park Ji-hyeon would never forget for the rest of her life.

“You’re going to be my fan, right?”

A sentence that extorted fan love.

Hand it over, fan love.

“…Pardon?”

The writer went dazed at the completely unexpected words.

“Sun-woo hyung! You’re asking that in the middle of this?”

Even Yoon-seo, who was somewhat used to the Demon God’s behavior, shouted in surprise.

“I saved her life, did I not? If she has a conscience, should she not become a fan?”

“Aaaah! You were so cool until just a second ago!”

“No. I am always cool.”

The Demon God continued his explanation to Writer Park Ji-hyeon.

“For your information, the initial fan perks are still being provided. The grace that makes everything you do go smoothly—”

Since you will naturally become my fan.

I shall explain this to you.

That was his attitude.

In the next moment, a chuckle escaped the writer’s lips.

“You’re truly kind.”

To even break the atmosphere with a joke like this.

Sun-woo is truly a considerate person.

“Yes, I’m a fan of Sun-woo-ssi now too.”

“As I thought.”

But Yoon-seo kept shouting beside him.

“Hyung! If you ask at a time like this, she can’t say no! You’re just getting an answer, not sincerity!”

It was a valid point.

There was no use in just getting an answer.

However.

“Incorrect. The writer has truly become a fan.”

“What? How do you know that?”

How could I not?

Creeeeeak…

The sound of the crack as fan love was added.

It was a very small sound, but I heard it clearly.

The Demon God looked back at the chains and smiled.

“Hmph.”

***

Filming for the content was completely halted due to the unexpected appearance and subdual of the assailant.

PD Kim Ji-hu bowed his head several times, calling it his oversight.

He began taking follow-up measures by calling the police and gathering the extras to verify their identities.

Management Team Leader Oh also agreed to halt the filming.

His heart sank at the news that Sun-woo had stepped forward to subdue a man with a knife.

Had the members not been in great danger?

““Yoon-seo!””

The Team Leader and the members ran to Yoon-seo as he came down to the first floor.

The shock was greater because the news reached them late due to the pre-interviews.

Everyone checked Yoon-seo from head to toe to see if he was safe.

“Ahahaha…, I’m fine. I’m not hurt anywhere.”

Yoon-seo welcomed them all with a weary smile.

However, there was someone missing who should have been there.

The Demon God, who should have come down with him.

“Where is Sun-woo? Is he hurt?”

The faces of the Team Leader and members turned pale enough to be recognizable even in the middle of the night.

“No…. It’s the opposite….”

“Eh?”

“He suddenly got all energetic, wondering if there was anything else, and disappeared.”

“He’s already normally energetic, but more? And he went to see if there was what else?”

“Exactly….”

Just then, the Demon God appeared with a grumpy face.

“Team Leader, there is nothing here!”

“What?”

“Evil spirits! There are no fellows attached to this place! It was all false rumors!”

“…Eh?”

The Team Leader’s jaw dropped.

Ghost hunting in the middle of all this?

You wanted to see evil spirits that badly?

Tae-young spoke up, unable to watch any longer.

“Was encountering that assailant not enough?”

“It would be better if there were more!”

Why would that be better?

Tae-young also cleanly gave up on the conversation.

Everyone was shocked because of the assailant, yet Sun-woo, who was said to have fought him, was indifferently looking for evil spirits.

The Team Leader eventually let out a single remark.

Without yet knowing how much he would regret these words.

Without knowing how much he would be pestered because of them.

And without knowing how many places he would be dragged to because of them.

“Next time, I’ll definitely scout a place where ghosts actually appear.”

He spat out those words.

***

The day after returning to the dorm.

Pantheon went to the company early in the morning.

The CEO, who received the report last night, wanted to meet Pantheon immediately, but he endured and waited a day for the members’ stability.

And in the morning, he sent a manager to bring the members in.

“Guys! My Pantheon!”

“Do not cling to me. Observe proper etiquette.”

It was the Demon God simply pushing away the charging CEO.

No matter how much effort the CEO put in, he could not overcome that strength.

“You really are healthy and uninjured?”

“Of course. Why would I be injured?”

The CEO felt relieved upon seeing the indifferent Demon God.

Then, he switched targets and hugged Yoon-seo.

Yoon-seo was helpless as his face was rubbed against.

“Yoon-seo! You suffered too!”

“Ugh, eeee.”

Releasing Yoon-seo, the CEO looked at Tae-young, Ha-gyeom, and Ji-ho, but they all slid back a step.

Fortunately, the CEO calmed down at that point.

“Whew…. I was so startled. I feel at ease seeing you in person.”

The CEO spoke with a much more relaxed face.

Team Leader Oh Dae-ho, who was already in the CEO’s office, furrowed his brow and changed the subject.

It was time for business talk.

“CEO, it’s a relief nothing happened, but what about the self-content being scrapped? We spent quite a bit of money on it.”

Renting the abandoned school, hiring extras, leasing broadcast equipment.

The scale was significant for self-produced content. It was a big expenditure they had made in an attempt to properly continue the success of the music shows.

Since everyone was safe, it was unavoidable to think about that money.

“It’s fine since the members aren’t hurt. But it is a pity.”

“Golden Tiger said they’d be in touch. After all, the production company’s responsibility for failing to control the site is significant.”

But Golden Tiger was also a small production company. If they had already spent the money, it would take quite a while to pay it back.

“Maybe the police will give them something like a Brave Citizen Award?”

“Then are you planning to use that for promotion? It hasn’t become as much of an issue as I thought.”

“I see….”

“For now, should we distribute the story as a heartwarming tale to entertainment reporters? There were a few reporters who inquired.”

While the CEO and Team Leader were lost in thought.

“Oh? I’m getting a call from Golden Tiger.”

The CEO had the contact information on his phone since he had made the first contact through an acquaintance.

“Hello? Hmm? Director Kim Ji-hu?”

He wondered if the man was calling to ask for more time to pay back the money.

“You want me to turn on the news?”

It was the moment Pantheon made their first appearance on the social news section.

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