Chapter 58: Confrontation and a Broken Door

ISM.

It was a familiar name even to the Demon God, who had little knowledge of entertainment agencies.

It was the very company that stood in the way of Origin Entertainment, where he was currently serving.

‘Now that I think about it, the special guest’s name was Lua. They said she was a top solo female artist, so she was under Izm?’

Izm was a major agency in itself, with several subsidiary labels.

Naturally, many of its artists were top stars.

Lua had begun her solo career as a child and had now established an unrivaled position.

Pantheon was a secret guest, invited at Zion’s strong request.

Lua, on the other hand, was an official guest, carefully invited by Ultranova at a company level.

‘But what happened to Lua that made the Novior executive feel uneasy?’

The Demon God focused his hearing.

Indistinct murmurs beyond the closed waiting room door.

But to the Demon God’s superhuman ears, it was easily audible.

– Lua, what do you mean? Your voice isn’t coming out well, you say? To say the stage is difficult now…

The Novior executive’s words were laced with bewilderment.

As the executive said, it was ‘now.’

Was it a last-minute cancellation for the day?

However, the executive didn’t press Lua, Izm’s top star, too hard.

– How about we just add some AR?

He suggested a compromise like this.

It was a reasonable solution for the current situation.

It was Novior’s concert, not Lua’s. Even if Lua used AR to support her live performance, the concert-goers wouldn’t be too displeased.

– I apologize. It’s beyond that; I don’t think I can do it.

– Huh?

– It’s not that I neglected my condition. My throat is just not good at all.

If that was the case, then it couldn’t be helped.

‘I think I saw something similar in a short. Occasionally, singers cancel and refund on the day of the concert due to poor condition.’

Lua had seniority, so she would have taken care of herself as she said, but it seemed a problem arose on the very day.

The singers featured in the shorts weren’t rookies either, but all veterans.

The Demon God wondered if Pantheon should offer to perform another song.

At this moment.

The Novior executive brought up something unexpected.

– Um, Lua. This might be a bit much to say, but….

– Yes?

– Our staff passed by this waiting room several times. And they heard you practicing, Lua.

– !

– They said there seemed to be no problem at all.

– !!

Then the story changes.

‘Hm? Was it all a lie until now?’

It wasn’t a sudden poor condition on the concert day.

She was trying to pull a last-minute cancellation with a convenient excuse.

– N-no, how would staff know the details of a song!

– You said your throat wasn’t good? If it’s a detail issue, couldn’t we just add AR?

The Novior executive didn’t back down.

– Even if our Novior kids don’t look it, they all put in a lot of effort to make this concert absolutely perfect. I want to make it perfect for them too. Did we perhaps make you uncomfortable in any way? If so, please just tell us.

The Demon God had heard similar words from Zion.

That they were aiming for perfection with this concert.

If the top star meant to elevate the atmosphere in the latter half of the concert were to cancel on the day, no matter how good the performance, it would inevitably be flawed.

‘Hm, to call our Pantheon as a secret guest for such a concert?’

It seemed Zion deserved more commendation.

It implied that he valued Pantheon highly, beyond mere worship.

Furthermore, it conveyed how Pantheon was viewed within Ultranova. At the very least, they were seen as trustworthy and capable.

Meanwhile, inside the waiting room, the Novior executive’s persuasion continued.

– Just tell us, Lua. Our company will take action.

However, Lua said nothing further.

It seemed the situation would end unresolved, but then.

– Perhaps, perhaps, is it because Origin’s kids are here?

‘What?’

– We know about the Izm and Origin situation. We just thought it was an inter-company matter…. If that’s the case….

‘What did he say!’

Was that Lua intending to use her appearance as leverage to prevent Pantheon from performing?

The Demon God recalled the faces of the members.

How happy they were to be performing at this concert today?

And what about Zion, who worshipped him? Removing them would devastate his spirit more than removing Lua.

In the meantime, the other Novior members, with whom they had become friendly, would also be unhappy.

However.

– No, that’s absolutely not it. Anyway, I can’t do it, so please make an announcement before it gets any later. I’ll apologize separately to the CEO and Novior.

Lua said that wasn’t the case.

– Not true?

The Novior executive’s voice carried confusion.

At that moment, a third voice, unheard until now, was heard.

– Ahem, Executive. Come outside with me for a moment. Lua, we’ll be back after a smoke. I’ll explain everything well.

– Yes, Team Leader, please do.

Judging by Lua’s words, he seemed to be Lua’s managing team leader.

It seemed everyone else had been sent out of the waiting room, leaving only those three.

Click.

Soon, the waiting room door opened and closed.

“Oh dear, how could you say that directly to Lua? It makes her look bad.”

“Yes?”

The Novior executive replied, bewildered.

“If I gave you a hint, you should have taken action yourself. Does Lua really need to say it out loud?”

Listening in, it seemed the Izm and Origin story wasn’t the Novior executive’s conjecture, but rather a hint from Lua’s manager.

Even though Ultranova was a company with a top-tier group, Izm’s power disregarded this.

“Haa…, so do I really have to ask Pantheon to leave?”

The Novior executive seemed utterly reluctant.

However, Lua’s manager kept pushing.

“If you have to choose, shouldn’t you choose Lua? Honestly, the guest lineup needs to look decent. Don’t you agree?”

“Hmm… I didn’t think Lua was that type, but she’s quite conscious of the company’s stance. I heard the new management was creating such an atmosphere among artists, but still.”

The Novior executive sighed deeply, then finally made a decision.

“Alright. I suppose I’ll have to go to Pantheon myself. Even if I make up an excuse about concert day circumstances, I must definitely apologize. And what will I tell Zion, honestly.”

He made an unavoidable choice under pressure, but the executive seemed genuinely bothered by Pantheon.

He even looked ready to bow his head—

“Executive, do you really need to see their faces? Just send them away. Novior is the senior and a top-tier group, what can they do?”

Lua’s manager merely scoffed.

“Isn’t that right? They’ll just shut up and leave.”

“No, I can’t—”

At that moment, the two felt a shadow fall from behind them.

“Who, cough?”

“Ack, who is it!”

In truth, they had felt that one side of the corridor had been too dark for a while. They had unconsciously turned their backs to it and stood there.

They didn’t know.

That it was the darkness created by the Demon God’s [Aura].

The Demon God dispelled the darkness at this point.

From behind the two, he stretched out his hands and firmly grasped the heads of the Novior executive and Lua’s manager.

Their heads were squeezed by the powerful grip,

They were confused because they couldn’t see their assailant,

And most of all, the Demon God’s [Aura] invoked fear and anxiety.

“Heooooh, huff—”

“Uhh—”

The two, whose heads were seized, were terrified and spiraled into a panic—

“Alright, this one first.”

The Novior executive felt the hand grasping his head.

“You are suffering amidst this. Take this opportunity to recover from your fatigue.”

“?”

With an incomprehensible remark, the fingers of the hand on his head pressed and kneaded.

This was?

The Novior executive’s puzzlement lasted only a moment.

The fingers pressed his scalp, delivering immense comfort.

“Who, acupressureeeeee— snore.”

The Novior executive’s body slowly relaxed downwards, and he lay comfortably on the corridor floor as if it were his own bed.

“Oh, oh…? Executive?”

Lua’s manager watched in terror as the Novior executive collapsed out of the corner of his eye.

“Snorrrre.”

“……”

The victim of the powerful and terrifying Authority, [Deep Sleep Inducement], left a dying snore.

Now, all that remained was the one who had attempted to pressure Novior into removing Pantheon, Lua’s manager.

“What the, what kind of strength is this?”

He was struggling to free his head from the gripping hand.

But even though the manager wasn’t a weakling, he couldn’t release the hand.

The powerful grip still held his head—

“Ow! Ow! It hurts!”

He kept squeezing.

Very tightly.

“You, who! Oh, it hurts! It hurts! Who are you!”

Pain was a good means to elicit polite speech.

And, the Demon God’s Authority [Aura] elicited even more.

“Hieeeeee— hic—”

Even with a slight opening of the aura, Lua’s manager let out a high-pitched cry. He was so terrified that he couldn’t even scream loudly.

All sorts of terrifying memories and hallucinations flashed before his eyes.

He was so disgusted he forgot where he was.

And an ominous voice whispered in his ear.

“Is that truly so?”

“Yes?”

“Does Lua truly find Pantheon displeasing? Or is it your scheme?”

Earlier, Lua had said that Pantheon’s guest appearance didn’t bother her.

That Lua found it displeasing was a statement that had come only from this man’s mouth.

The Demon God was not one to overlook it without confirmation.

The manager, losing his mind in fear, confessed truthfully to the Demon God’s question.

“Hieee—, Lua doesn’t care about that. Hic, hic— The company’s policy is to interfere with Origin no matter what, if they’re involved—Hieee—”

Was it a scheme?

And a scheme that involved deceiving the artist he was in charge of, misinterpreting her intentions, and causing harm to others.

“One last time. Then what is Lua’s reason for refusing to perform?”

As the manager stated the reason, a gleam flashed in the Demon God’s eyes.

“Hoh, is that so?”

“I-I’ve said everything. Please save me!!!!”

“I do not wish to.”

He hadn’t said he would let him go if he spoke.

“Perish.”

Naturally, the Demon God had no intention of truly harming a human.

“Gasp.”

However, in extreme fear, Lua’s manager simply passed out.

And into the collapsed manager’s chaotic mind, the Demon God’s whisper penetrated.

“You shall henceforth fear Origin and Pantheon. Forevermore.”

Naturally, he would not be able to speak of today’s incident either.

***

And.

“In the end, this body must step forth.”

There wasn’t much time left until the rehearsal.

If he didn’t resolve this quickly and return, the members would cling to him and nag.

They didn’t even know how busy he was for Pantheon right now.

“Hmph.”

The idol punishment, indeed.

The Demon God shook his head and then grasped the waiting room doorknob.

“PULL.”

He knew what this sign meant.

He had seen everyone do it.

The Demon God forcefully pushed the door open.

KABOOM!

The door shattered….

“Screeeeam!”

Lua’s scream also echoed….

“A good beginning, indeed.”

Destruction and screams.

The Demon God’s mood improved.