Chapter 22

Chapter 22. Demon Subjugation (3)

“Everything’s going smoothly.”

I muttered to myself while watching the situation on the ground through the multifunction observation device BR-93.

No. 49 was broadcasting directly from the scene.

Simply put, he was acting as the cameraman.

Normally, when observing the mortal world through an observation device, there was only one fixed viewpoint.

However, when an Apostle was broadcasting directly from the scene, it was possible to watch through whatever footage the Apostle captured.

In other words, the Constellations watching right now were seeing the video being filmed and transmitted by No. 49.

And the protagonist of this grand action spectacle is Kang Yujin.

I had noticed it before, but No. 49 was surprisingly good at being a cameraman.

During my free time, I had browsed Constellation Tube and watched footage filmed by other Apostles.

None of them were as good as No. 49.

His video editing skills were also impressive.

He definitely seemed to have talent in this area.

This guy… is actually pretty useful.

I had already uploaded the videos No. 49 produced to Constellation Tube, drawing the attention of many Constellations.

I have no idea who created Constellation Tube or when it was made… but hardly any Constellations are using it properly.

Constellations enjoyed watching their contractors fight in real time.

They didn’t seem very interested in previously recorded footage.

But after personally browsing Constellation Tube, I could understand why.

Everyone’s editing was terrible.

And the content itself was boring.

There were countless videos that were nothing more than raw, unedited recordings from observation devices.

By the standards of the human world, they were all complete amateurs.

But I have knowledge of modern internet broadcasting in my head.

Since smartphones had become unusable, things weren’t as advanced as they had been ten years ago.

Even so, internet broadcasting was still active in the human world.

I decided to use that knowledge and make full use of Constellation Tube.

If I’m the content producer, then Kang Yujin is the lead actor, and No. 49 is the production staff.

Kang Yujin would perform heroic deeds in the situations I prepared.

No. 49 would edit those scenes into entertaining videos and upload them to Constellation Tube.

Through those videos, we would build up the Constellations’ interest.

Then, by dropping previews beforehand, we could gather them for the live broadcast.

The advantage of Constellation Tube is that it allows continuous promotion. And it doesn’t cost anything.

Normally, gathering other Constellations required advertising fees.

And once the advertisement ended, that was it.

When I first contracted with Kang Yujin, I spent one million Points on promotion and managed to gather four Constellations.

But what about now?

[D-rank Constellation ‘General Guarding the Treasured Sword’ is watching the event.]

[D-rank Constellation ‘Ghost Who Burned the Tower’ is watching the event.]

[C-rank Constellation ‘Maid of the Chain Stratagem’ is watching the event.]

[C-rank Constellation ‘Prince Who Killed His Father’ is watching the event.]

[B-rank Constellation ‘Murderer with Two Axes’ is watching the event.]

[B-rank Constellation ‘General Faster Than the Red Horse’ is watching the event.]

[B-rank Constellation ‘Hunter Favored by the Moon Goddess’ is watching the event.]

[A-rank Constellation ‘Third Son of the God of War’ is watching the event.]

[A-rank Constellation ‘Knight of the Wagon’ is watching the event.]

[A-rank Constellation ‘Naval Commander with a Pitchfork’ is watching the event.]

[A-rank Constellation ‘Divine Child with Three Heads and Six Arms’ is watching the event.]

[A-rank Constellation ‘Fairy Who Governs Water’ is watching the event.]

[S-rank Constellation ‘Grand Preceptor of the Golden Whip’ is watching the event.]

[S-rank Constellation ‘Immortal Who Killed the Dragon’ is watching the event.]

……

Messages announcing the arrival of new Constellations continued without end.

The upper-right corner of the observation device displayed the current number of viewers.

It had already passed one hundred.

The number was still rising.

At this rate, it might even exceed two hundred.

I had managed to gather this many Constellations without spending a single Coin on promotion.

But… if I can’t satisfy these Constellations, then all of this effort will be meaningless.

Gathering them was only the first step.

The broadcast itself needed to satisfy them.

Kang Yujin and No. 49 are doing their best. Now, as long as everything goes according to the scenario I have in mind…

I checked the event I had created earlier.

[Event: The Demon’s Blasphemous Footsteps]

• Overview: There is a notorious demon. His head is that of a goat, his upper body resembles a human, while his lower body is once again that of a goat. His sinister appearance perfectly reflects his sinister nature. He has begun moving to spread evil throughout the human world. Can you stop this demon before he takes his first step toward corrupting the world?

• Completion Condition: Subjugate Baphomet.

• Completion Reward: 40,000,000 Coins, 4 Enhancement Crystals.

Baphomet.

A famous demon often depicted with the head of a goat and the torso of a human woman.

Within Pandemonium, he held the title of Baron and possessed a fairly high position.

Apparently, he had also achieved considerable military accomplishments on the East Asian Front.

The moment I learned that Ma Taesu was trying to capture Baphomet, I decided to focus everything here.

A Baphomet subjugation battle was definitely something the Constellations would find worth watching.

Because of the nature of the situation, Ma Taesu seemed to have wanted to handle it secretly with a small elite force.

But after my intervention, this subjugation had become a massive event watched by countless Constellations.

And… if the opponent is Baphomet, there’s no way this will end as a simple raid.

This would become a battle capable of satisfying many Constellations.

Confident of that, I operated the observation device.

“Haaap!”

After dodging an arrow aimed at his head, Kang Yujin threw his mace.

The Fallen Demon firing the bow was crushed instantly.

“Kang Yujin, you’re going too far ahead! Be careful!”

Behind him, Seok Taejun was fighting alongside the members of the Black Dragon Association.

Seok Taejun’s individual ability was inferior to the other Black Dragon Association members.

However, thanks to Chimera fighting beside him, he seemed to be holding his own.

Meanwhile, Ma Taesu was positioned farther back, focusing on commanding his subordinates.

Perhaps he wanted to conserve his strength for the battle against Baphomet rather than wasting energy on minor enemies.

I wanted to see him fight, though.

Thinking that, Kang Yujin continued moving forward.

[B-rank Constellation ‘Hunter Favored by the Moon Goddess’ sponsors you with 500,000 Coins.]

[A-rank Constellation ‘Third Son of the God of War’ sponsors you with 1,000,000 Coins.]

[A-rank Constellation ‘Fairy Who Governs Water’ sponsors you with 5,000,000 Coins.]

Even while he fought, sponsorships continued pouring in from the Constellations.

There were far more viewers this time, so naturally, there were also more sponsorships.

In the past, it had seemed like only a few dozen Constellations watched him.

This time, the number appeared to have exceeded one hundred.

Is it because Ma Taesu is here?

Whatever the reason, if they continued advancing and defeated Baphomet, this battle would be over.

Baphomet was a demon attempting to leave Pandemonium’s territory and harm humans.

He had to be stopped here.

“Demon! Show yourself!”

Boom!

After crushing the head of another Fallen Demon with his mace, Kang Yujin finally entered the village.

Apparently, everyone living in this village belonged to the Church of the Morning Star.

However, Kang Yujin did not have any particular hatred toward ordinary believers.

He didn’t want to clash with civilians.

He only hoped Baphomet would come out quickly.

“……?”

But something felt strange.

The village was far too quiet.

There wasn’t even the slightest sign of people.

It felt like an abandoned village.

What happened?

Kang Yujin looked around in silence.

If the villagers had fled to avoid the battle, Ma Taesu, who was behind them, would have noticed and informed them already.

Feeling an inexplicable sense of unease, Kang Yujin became fully alert.

Rustle.

At the sound of dry leaves being stepped on, Kang Yujin turned his head.

“That is…”

Someone was walking toward him.

No.

Something that had once been human was walking toward him.

Pale-faced people approached slowly with both arms raised.

[B-rank Constellation ‘Hunter Favored by the Moon Goddess’ becomes enraged by the demon’s evil deeds.]

[B-rank Constellation ‘Murderer with Two Axes’ whistles, saying this development is exactly his taste.]

[A-rank Constellation ‘Fairy Who Governs Water’ frowns and turns her gaze away.]

[S-rank Constellation ‘Immortal Who Killed the Dragon’ displays intense disgust.]

Kang Yujin understood immediately after seeing the reactions of the Constellations.

“A demon really is a demon…”

This was Baphomet’s doing.

After watching his subordinates and contractors get defeated without being able to fight back, he had turned the villagers into sacrifices.

The people of the village were now monsters who moved according to Baphomet’s commands.

“How unfortunate, foolish humans.”

A voice suddenly came from the center of the village.

Standing on top of a building that resembled a church was a demon with the head of a goat, spreading both arms wide.

“Because you recklessly invaded this place… innocent humans have been sacrificed.”

“……”

“If you had not come here, these people would have continued living peacefully, faithfully practicing their religion as always.”

Baphomet continued.

“But because you came charging into this place… they have now fallen into the depths of misery.”

There was intelligence in Baphomet’s voice.

It was the perfect voice for persuading and manipulating others.

“They will never again return to their peaceful lives. Their hearts have stopped beating, and warm blood no longer flows through their veins.”

Baphomet spread his wings.

“They are now walking corpses. So tell me… who will take responsibility for their suffering?”

He shook his head slowly.

“How truly tragic…”

[B-rank Constellation ‘Hunter Favored by the Moon Goddess’ becomes enraged at the demon’s twisted sophistry.]

[A-rank Constellation ‘Fairy Who Governs Water’ frowns and turns her gaze away.]

[S-rank Constellation ‘Immortal Who Killed the Dragon’ displays intense disgust.]

The villagers, now transformed into walking corpses, raised both arms and approached Kang Yujin, who remained standing in place.

Watching the scene, Baphomet let out an eerie laugh.

[D-rank Constellation ‘General Guarding the Treasured Sword’ becomes wary, saying the situation is far too dangerous.]

[D-rank Constellation ‘Ghost Who Burned the Tower’ senses powerful demonic energy and becomes frightened.]

[B-rank Constellation ‘General Faster Than the Red Horse’ suggests a tactical retreat.]

Messages from the Constellations continued appearing.

[B-rank Constellation ‘Golden and Silver Child’ suggests retreating for now and reorganizing.]

[B-rank Constellation ‘Golden and Silver Child’ informs you that beings with demonic power above a certain level possess resistance to ordinary physical attacks.]

[B-rank Constellation ‘Golden and Silver Child’ warns that charging in recklessly will only get you killed like a dog.]

Many of the Constellations were telling Kang Yujin to retreat.

But not everyone agreed.

[S-rank Constellation ‘Grand Preceptor of the Golden Whip’ expresses displeasure at the excessive advice.]

[B-rank Constellation ‘Murderer with Two Axes’ shouts at you not to back down and tells you to fight until you die.]

[A-rank Constellation ‘Third Son of the God of War’ expects you to display the spirit of never retreating before battle.]

Kang Yujin stared at the messages with an indifferent expression.

Their opinions were divided.

But almost all of them seemed to agree on one thing.

The current situation was unfavorable.

“……”

Kang Yujin turned his head slightly.

He couldn’t see No. 49, but he knew No. 49 was watching from that direction.

And the ‘Unnamed One’ was probably watching too.

“It seems everyone thinks I’m at a disadvantage…”

Kang Yujin spoke toward his guardian deity, who remained silent and simply watched him.

“But I’ve never cared about things like that.”

Kang Yujin temporarily let go of his mace.

Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of gloves.

The Iron Fist of the Saint.

Gloves created in an attempt to reproduce the fighting ability of a saint who, according to ancient legends, had once beaten even angels.

Their effect—

Additional holy damage applied to physical attacks.

It was the item he had obtained from the Ghost Train last time.

Kang Yujin slipped the gloves onto both hands.

And then—

He began to move.