Chapter 50: The Stage of Transcendence

The day of MAMA dawned.

The situation that had lasted until dawn subsided.

Now, the heat of the awards ceremony and performances began to burn.

However, the Demon God first had to face a barrage of questions from the members.

They had heard about yesterday’s events from the CEO late in the day.

“Sun-woo, you! You went out alone in secret yesterday? Do you know how big of a deal that is?”

“What? I did not know.”

Tae-young tried to discipline (?) the rules-breaking Demon God but ended up speechless.

Looking at him, it was clear he truly didn’t know.

The imbalance of common sense reached even this far.

“Sigh…. You can’t. Idols are a group. You shouldn’t get involved in accidents or incidents while wandering alone.”

“But if it weren’t for me, it would have turned into a truly major incident.”

“Well, that’s true, but.”

Then Yoon-seo cut in.

“It’s more like the accident got caught up with Sun-woo hyung…. Poor accident.”

“Yoon-seo, is that mockery?”

“It’s a complaint.”

For once, Yoon-seo spoke with resolve.

Seeing that attitude, Tae-young took his side.

“Right, Yoon-seo. You have to say what’s on your mind. Tell Sun-woo something.”

Backed by support, Yoon-seo revealed his dissatisfaction without filtering.

“You should have taken us too!”

It was a complaint completely different from Tae-young’s expectations.

“No, Yoon-seo…. Why are you being like that too?”

“But isn’t it true? Going out to play secretly by yourself, that’s too much.”

Yoon-seo puffed out his cheeks grumpily.

Even an extreme introvert likes going out with close friends.

“Was it a bit much? But did you all not talk about conserving energy for tomorrow? I could not wake you.”

The Demon God’s top-tier body could easily handle a night outing even after intense practice, but the other members needed sufficient sleep.

In any case, even the Demon God seemed to agree with Yoon-seo’s complaint, and Tae-young was left speechless again.

Ha-gyeom jumped in during the gap.

“Anyway, Sun-woo solved it, so it’s all good! He found the lost people. I heard Zion sunbaenim from Novior was among them too? People from the station and the Chairman here were very grateful. Sun-woo is the best!”

Ha-gyeom accepted yesterday’s events positively.

In fact, they had reaped many good results. The CEO was grinning while talking about the Chairman. It seemed they had received a very generous amount of ‘gratitude.’

Tae-young had nothing to say about that outcome either.

On the other hand.

“But how can so many people get lost and have their phones turn off at the same time? And how did you find them all in one place and bring them back?”

Ji-ho seemed unable to let go of the holes in the story he had heard.

Logically, it wasn’t a story that made sense.

There were more than one or two strange spots if one chose to be suspicious.

“Ji-ho.”

“Hmm?”

“There is a secret intertwined with the malevolent spirit of the amusement park. Dost thou wish to hear it?”

The Demon God abruptly revealed a piece of the truth.

Because his serious expression indicated it wasn’t just a joke, Ji-ho nodded.

“No, I don’t want to hear it. Don’t tell me. Never tell me.”

Ji-ho, who was weak against horror, gave up.

Let’s leave the truth of the other side over on the other side.

Why call it here when it lives over there?

When even Ji-ho surrendered, Tae-young was left speechless yet again.

Ultimately, dealing with Sun-woo frequently resulted in being at a loss for words….

“Hmph.”

The Demon God laughed arrogantly and mischievously.

It was no big deal anyway.

He had simply suppressed a trivial malevolent spirit.

Even if it was a major event for humans, for the Demon God, it was nothing more than something that could be cleanly forgotten.

‘Ah, there is a trophy to not forget.’

The Demon God rolled the lighting bead he made by transforming the spirit in his hand.

He would decide whether to keep using it after trying it on stage. If its performance was subpar, he would just consume it.

“Now, Tae-young. Set aside the trivialities. Did thou not say there is a separate goal for today?”

At the Demon God’s words closing the topic, Tae-young shook his head.

However, regardless of his head-shaking, it was time to focus on the performance and the awards. It was true there was a separate goal.

“Sun-woo is right. Everyone knows what we have to do, right?”

Tae-young held up his phone and showed it to the members.

They saw a series of comments following a certain post in the community.

[ Pantheon, the buzz is acknowledged. But is their talent at that level too? I saw them at a music show, and I’m not so sure. ]

└ [ Agreed. Broadcasts have corrections. ]

└ [ Honestly, they’re pushing for the MAMA Rookie Award based on buzz. Would they even have been able to participate based on their actual job? ]

As Pantheon rapidly revealed its presence, checks and balances began to emerge.

It was a process idols naturally had to go through as they grew.

Because Pantheon had been generally well-liked by the public, malicious comments hadn’t appeared much, but they began to bite using the MAMA participation as an excuse.

They were framing Pantheon as a group with buzz but unknown skills, dismissing their nomination for the Rookie Award as an underserved result.

Of course, Pantheon’s fans did not stay quiet.

[ Lmao, did you actually go to a music show? You could never say that if you’d been there. ]

[ How can those words come out after seeing a Pantheon stage? I’ll bet my entire fortune you haven’t been. ]

[ Go watch the MAMA stage first. Then you’ll probably bury your head and apologize. ]

However, the antis didn’t hesitate to use camouflage in addition to direct attacks.

They pretended to shield Pantheon, but in reality, they were subtly dissing them by only emphasizing their buzz.

[ Honestly, isn’t saving people enough for Pantheon? With that kind of buzz, shouldn’t they get the Rookie Award? ]

[ If there’s anyone who’s done that much good in their life, step forward. ]

[ People cursing Pantheon probably haven’t even picked up trash on the street once. ]

Pretending to bash the comments that bashed Pantheon.

But if you looked closely, they were posts bashing those who spoke about Pantheon’s primary job.

And naturally, someone was bound to take the bait.

[ They’re idols, so talk about their primary job can come up. Isn’t it a bit much to frame people as bad just for criticizing Pantheon? ]

[ The Rookie Award isn’t given to the idol who did the kindest deeds. ]

There was even an anti working hard alone, writing the hate comment, the comment bashing the hate comment, and the comment bashing that comment.

No matter how much fans who saw Pantheon in person shouted about their talent, their numbers weren’t large enough yet.

The fans were forced to consume too much mental energy to shield against every attack claiming Pantheon relied only on hype.

Therefore—

“We have to put all of this to rest. It’s a story that will settle with just one MAMA stage. Got it?”

This was exactly today’s ‘separate goal.’

“Naturally. I do not disappoint my fans.”

“Yes. Let’s make our fans proud.”

“Let’s make it so they don’t have to struggle to shield us after today!”

“Since there are many people watching the performance, it’ll be possible.”

MAMA is held over two days, and awards are distributed across them.

Pantheon’s stage and the Rookie Award ceremony were on today’s schedule, the first day.

The five members of Pantheon exchanged glances.

They couldn’t let their fans suffer.

They would remove the bait at once with Pantheon’s stage.

It was starting now.

***

The red carpet event at 1 PM continued hectically, hosted by an MC who was formerly an announcer.

Before long, evening arrived and it was Pantheon’s turn.

– Now, it’s time to encounter the charisma that makes everyone shiver! I’ve witnessed that charisma myself. It’s the team that’s been the talk of the town lately! Pantheon!!

Zion’s introduction as the MC was heard from the stage.

While Zion handled the designated lines cleanly, he slipped in an ad-lib about witnessing it personally.

And slightly differently from when he called other teams, he made an expectant gesture with both fists clenched and trembling slightly.

A movement that flaunted their friendship while not being enough to be cursed at for favoritism.

He was indeed a senior.

Of course, for some, even this was enough to leave malicious comments.

[ What was that just now? Didn’t Zion introduce Pantheon uniquely? ]

└ [ Was there a friendship with Pantheon? ]

└ [ Still, doing it that obviously isn’t right. ]

└ [ Is this Zion’s first time being an MC? ]

However, the fans of the firmly established first-tier idol group, Novior, soon swarmed in.

[ What? You’re bashing him just for showing a little love to his hobaes? ]

[ Lmao why? Because your bias doesn’t get any attention from Zion? I can see why. Your group is probably one everyone ignores except for you. ]

[ There are actually people picking a fight with Novior. Do you want to be bashed into dust? ]

The antis flinched at the firepower of a first-tier group.

The law of the jungle was the truth here as well.

A period of silence followed as the antis held their breath and read the room.

But the reaction on-site was the complete opposite.

– KYAAAAAA!

– UWAAAAAA!

– PANTHEON! PANTHEON!

Unlike some antis, most idol fans who came to MAMA were fond of Pantheon.

Furthermore, yesterday’s missing persons and their parties sent immense cheers toward Pantheon.

‘Worship me while enjoying Pantheon’s performance.’

The words the Demon God had thrown into their subconscious.

Of course, even without that, they were enthusiastic.

While the fans were sending their cheers.

Numerous shards of light appeared and scattered across the stage.

– It’s not lighting, it’s a video?

The video appeared on the screen behind the stage.

The shards of light were snow falling from the sky.

Snow falling quietly and white against the backdrop of a desolate wilderness.

At that moment, a synth sound echoed faintly from somewhere far off in the silent wilderness.

Like the sound of a trumpet summoning gods.

And before the resonance of the summons could fade, Click! lights burst beneath the five members.

– Oh! The outfits! The outfits!

Someone shouted, unable to hold back.

A fusion of modern suits and ancient armor.

Black suits over white shirts, worn with shoulder pauldrons or scabbards.

The wilderness on the screen was a battlefield where a war had just ended.

And another battle was about to follow.

The moment the synth trumpet ended, Pantheon, summoned to battle, raised their heads toward the sky.

A half-beat late, the center member, the Demon God, raised his head and began the first lyrics.

“I can feel the one and only you.”

The whisper containing a demonic [Aura] burrowed into the audience’s ears, drawing out an immersion as if ‘you’ were ‘me.’

Simultaneously, the screen followed the Demon God’s gaze, gradually rising above the wilderness to show the dark sky.

In the middle of the sky, a star shone incredibly brightly.

And in the next moment, the star headed toward the audience seats.

Tchak!

Unlike the half-beat delayed start of the Demon God, this time the five members lowered their heads simultaneously.

Their gaze was directed exactly at the audience.

‘I can feel the one and only you.’

The star hadn’t fallen into the audience.

It meant that each member of the audience was a star, the ‘one and only you.’

Sun-woo, Tae-young, Yoon-seo, Ha-gyeom, and Ji-ho looked at the idol fans.

In that gaze, the idol fans were momentarily swept up in the feeling that they had become the protagonists of the song.

– Crazy…

Pantheon reached out their hands toward ‘you’ simultaneously.

“When I saw you in the sky where light does not reach”

“I became a comet and headed toward you”

The BPM was slow, but the vibration of a drum machine flowed through the subwoofers, and aided by that effect, Ha-gyeom’s lyrical and faint vocals reached the hearts of the audience.

“Finally”

“Into the deeper darkness”

“Burning myself, I went to you”

It burned.

The movements of the five flames were perfectly synchronized.

Yet, through different dance lines, each revealed themselves within it.

Each distinct.

Identical only in the fact that they were for ‘you.’

“Even if I am a little exhausted and struggling, there is no hesitation”

“For you will become a god to us who have turned to ash”

Tae-young stepped forward.

Approaching without hesitation, his body dropped sharply the moment ‘ash’ was mentioned, then rose vigorously again.

It was a complex movement, but Tae-young’s choreography was so fluid it felt like a single flow.

And here, the audience realized the identity of the snowflakes fluttering on the screen.

It wasn’t white snow, but gray ash.

Ash covering the battlefield, ash symbolizing Pantheon’s desolation.

In fact, the video itself had a trick where it changed from white like snow to gray like ash around this point.

However, for the audience who hadn’t noticed this, it was a new realization that refreshed their attention.

“The moment you called my name”

“All the shadows in the world whispered to me”

Yoon-seo stepped forward.

The golden-haired bard of the battlefield held a harp.

As Yoon-seo, with his pure visuals, played the harp with a piteous expression, gazes naturally gravitated toward him.

Contrary to his expression, his hands moved quickly, plucking the harp strings.

However, as the other members simultaneously turned their backs to the audience and approached Yoon-seo as if whispering something, Yoon-seo’s fingers gradually slowed down.

“That I became complete because you are here.”

The shadows’ whispers were far from schemes or conspiracies.

Good news delivered from within the darkness.

As Yoon-seo plucked the harp strings with a large motion, all the members turned back to face the audience in unison.

Pantheon was in a state reinforced by the Demon God’s aura.

Every time their gaze directed toward the audience, sounds of bated breath escaped.

“I will call you.”

“You, who became our god.”

The song entered its latter half, adding explosive choruses and magnificent brass instruments.

And here, Ji-ho stepped forward.

Ji-ho, expressing a black mage with a black hood over his suit, held a single bead in his hand to match.

As Ji-ho thrust the bead forward, a light that seemed not of this world dyed the stage.

It really felt as if he were summoning a wicked entity from another world.

But the light, which had been growing darker, suddenly cut off.

In the next moment, the entire stage was blacked out.

Even the video on the rear screen had cut off.

And faint, lingering lights came on at the feet of the five members.

“Worship forever.”

Along with the final whisper of the Demon God.

***

From that moment on, malicious comments discussing their talent vanished without a trace.

Today was not a day anyone could leave hate comments for Pantheon.

Because they possessed a demonic charm that defeated malice.