WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Got a Gallery in the Wild ◈
Chapter 158: Real-Life Fight (2)
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Every era has people who do more than remember the past. They worship it.
Especially when that past was not merely glorious, but grand enough to leave its mark on history.
It was basically the whole, “Back in my day...” thing. Humans and elves were the races where this trait stood out the most.
Elves had never known a humiliating chapter in their history since founding their nation.
That stood in contrast to demonkind, their equals, whose history consisted of raising hell before getting utterly wrecked by a Hero.
Still, just as daylight could not last forever, even their glorious golden age had begun to lose its shine.
That was why elves who remembered that golden age became trapped in the past, saying, “Back in my day...”
└ Then what are humans?
└ What do you mean? They’re even worse dopamine addicts than demonkind.
└ Humanity’s highs are insane, so they’ve had every kind of history;;
└ Look at El Dorado. They puffed their chests for a while after defeating the Undying King.
└ Even the first Hero is still being worshipped.
└ Isn’t that basically desecrating a corpse at this point?;;
└ It’ll fade on its own over time. The first Hero is the weird one. Nobody worships old monarchs.
Humans were a race whose lows could sink endlessly, while their highs were utterly insane.
Most of the people who left a massive mark on world history, like the Undying King, were human.
But did that mean people worshipped the Undying King?
There were some. Only in the Gallery, of course.
If they did that in real life, they would deserve to get punched by a passerby.
└ What about Blood Demon? Sometimes those Blood Cult guys cause trouble in real life, right?
└ Those are actual Blood Cult remnants;;
└ The Blood Cult remnants causing trouble in real life are stirring shit up in the Gallery too.
└ Ohhh, I see.
└ But isn’t Heavenly Demon more popular than Blood Demon these days? Not registered user Heavenly Demon, the real Heavenly Demon.
└ That’s true, but she’s a little lacking in impact.
└ She took the emperor’s head. She also knocked out all the masters.
└ [Blood Demon Reborn, All Blood in Submission]: Even if such mongrels came at Blood Demon in a crowd, Blood Demon would not shed a single drop of blood.
└ A Blood Demon devotee showed up. But that might actually be true?
└ Yeah. Blood Demon had more impact, honestly. Blood Demon split the Martial World in half.
└ The War of Righteousness and Evil wiped out the masters in one stroke. There’s a reason Heavenly Demon isn’t as well known lol
└ The War of Righteousness and Evil was fifty years ago. How does it make sense that there are no masters left?
└ If your spine breaks, can you move your legs?
└ All the rising talents of the next generation died too, so you can guess what happened to those below them.
Blood Demon was somewhat different, though. Even if people called them remnants, unlike the Undying King, Blood Demon definitely had followers.
The difference was that the Undying King had been defeated in his undead form, while Blood Demon had gone missing after displaying transcendent martial power.
Being drawn to a transcendent powerhouse and wanting to enter their circle was a natural instinct and tendency of animals.
No matter how far humanity advanced, it could not escape that foundation.
People could distinguish right from wrong and wanted to preserve society as it was, so they did not all act on it.
└ The Demonic Cult doesn’t really do anything these days either. Heavenly Demon appeared once, and that was it.
└ What are they doing these days?
└ Probably sleeping right now?
└ LMAOOOOOO
└ It is about time to sleep lol
└ This is so absurd lmao
For all those reasons, Blood Demon was better known than Heavenly Demon.
On top of that, the Blood Cult had become famous in the Gallery thanks to its aggressive advertising(?).
By now, it was hard to tell whether Blood Demon had made the meme or the meme had made Blood Demon...
Still, fame was fame, wasn’t it?
└ Also, the bastards who worship Blood Demon in real life are all insane, so it’s better not to mess with them.
└ Yeah. Do you avoid shit because you’re scared of it, or because it’s dirty?
└ It’s the Martial World. You should think of it as stepping in shit;;
└ Sometimes that shit pounces on me, though?
The Central Plains’ strange culture also played a major role.
Officialdom-Martial World Noninterference. The government did not interfere in the Martial World’s affairs.
Even though Blood Demon had taken the lives of countless masters and harmed civilians.
The government left the matter to the Martial World’s masters, claiming it was tradition.
That was why they stayed quiet even when Blood Cult remnants or Blood Demon devotees caused trouble.
└ It’s just fucking unstable public safety. How is that any different from a lawless zone?
└ That’s why the average person in the Central Plains is ridiculously strong. You’ll be fucked if you pick a fight with even some random kid.
└ They even say you should watch out for the elderly, women, and children in the Martial World.
└ How are ordinary people supposed to live?
└ Make connections or get stronger.
└ For reference, inns get demolished by masters fighting all the time lol
└ That’s why the emperor gave inns a tax break. That was actually a good move.
└ The emperor Heavenly Demon owned?
└ Yeah, and the very next emperor abolished it lol
└ Fuck, why are all the Central Plains emperors hopeless? The previous emperor issued a Gallery ban too.
└ The country’s just doomed, I guess.
Well, it was not as though the government did absolutely nothing.
They might ignore fights between martial artists, but the Blood Cult was an organization that harmed civilians.
Since ancient times, whenever public support turned toward a specific force rather than the government, the country was bound to split apart.
So the government maintained public support in its own way, offering generous rewards and lowering taxes.
Most of all, the Central Plains was enormous. Unless an incident was serious enough to overthrow the nation, there was no way they could pay attention to every single one.
The Blood Cult only wanted to paint the Martial World in blood. It had no plans to conquer the government as well.
For these complex reasons, people hushed it up and let it slide even when Blood Cult remnants acted outrageously in real life.
└ So what’s the conclusion? Wi Hochang is alive!!
└ Wi!
└ Ho!
└ Chang!
└ Should we really count someone who underwent Feathered Ascension to Immortality as alive? Your successor is a gorilla too lol
└ Blood Demon watches over us from the heavens!
└ Worship Wi Hochang!
└ I’m going crazy lmao
└ They seem even more worked up because Blood Demon underwent Feathered Ascension to Immortality;;
└ If Wi Hochang really did undergo Feathered Ascension to Immortality, you can’t really complain about people worshipping Wi Hochang.
└ Just please do not hurt people in real life too.
Whether sincerely or as a meme, Blood Demon Wi Hochang was worshipped.
Many people disliked that trend, but one person was more displeased than anyone else.
‘This does not sit well with me.’
That person was Heavenly Demon, Yu Sowol.
Whenever Wi Hochang’s story spread through the Gallery, she could not hide her irritation.
She had heard plenty about Blood Demon’s reputation. A great demonic fiend who piled corpses into mountains and made rivers out of blood.
Blood Demon had left a massive mark on Martial World history, and Blood Demon’s followers were still active to this day.
Yu Sowol did not like that. She too had left a deep mark on both the Martial World and the Central Plains.
When she first stepped into the Martial World, she defeated every renowned master. Then she went even further and took the emperor’s head.
But people said the former feat only happened because the War of Righteousness and Evil had left nothing but riffraff behind, while the imperial family had suppressed and distorted the news about the latter.
What was the point of making noise in the Gallery if she was not worshipped in real life?
‘It is not as though I am completely without fault.’
Was Yu Sowol entirely without fault, then? That could not be said.
One of the many issues was her registered username. She had boldly registered the name “Heavenly Demon.”
She then used that registered account to say and do all sorts of martial-arts-boomer nonsense, so the name’s reputation had inevitably suffered.
Most decisively, she had done nothing since her debut. In contrast, the Blood Cult remnants had remained active.
Demon Brain, Wi Seorak, had advised her that the time was not right yet and that patience was necessary...
‘As things stand, I have no choice but to seek them out.’
Since the other side had requested a real-life fight, she had no choice but to act personally.
If she backed down now, it would not be the real Heavenly Demon’s honor that fell to the ground, but registered user Heavenly Demon’s.
The honor of registered user Heavenly Demon was also the pride of human Yu Sowol, so she could never back down.
Yu Sowol immediately summoned Wi Seorak.
“I shall be away for a while.”
“...”
Wi Seorak managed his expression as best he could after hearing those words. His lower eyelid kept twitching.
He felt as though he might clutch the back of his neck and collapse at any moment.
For now, Wi Seorak pretended not to know anything and asked why.
This was far from the first time Yu Sowol had pulled a stunt like this.
“...Heaven. May I ask why?”
“It is a personal matter.”
She’s going to a real-life fight, this immature woman.
Wi Seorak barely swallowed the words that had risen to his throat.
Things had seemed quiet lately, but she was going to cause trouble after all.
As a Gallery user, Wi Seorak understood very well what was going on.
But what good was knowing? An unstoppable disaster was coming.
Wi Seorak racked his brains, trying to figure out how to make Yu Sowol tell the truth.
‘First, this must remain top secret.’
Even if they chose a place, there was no guarantee the other party would actually come.
If it was not secret, spectators would surely gather. And if Yu Sowol ended up standing there alone...
If she kept standing there alone, waiting for an opponent who might never arrive...
It was terrifying just to imagine how people would treat her.
So this had to be handled by Yu Sowol herself, as secretly as possible.
‘Still, this is strange. She is usually quiet. Is it because the opponent is from the Blood Cult?’
Heavenly Demon had received quite a few real-life fight requests before.
She often got under people’s skin by posting and commenting whatever she pleased.
Wi Seorak knew that she had laughed them off every time.
This reaction was different, likely because the other party was a registered user and seemed to be a Blood Demon remnant.
Thinking that, Wi Seorak spoke respectfully.
“Even if it is a personal matter, we are those who serve Heaven. Heaven’s will is our will, and only with Heaven above can the subjects below live.”
If you move, we have no choice but to move as well. So please tell us what you intend to do.
Yu Sowol understood the meaning and stopped insisting.
In truth, she had concerns of her own.
‘If I go myself, they may discover that I am the registered user Heavenly Demon.’
That was what worried her most. Her identity behind the registered account could be exposed.
She planned to choose a secluded place to prevent that, but there was no telling what would happen.
The other side would choose the location, and Yu Sowol did not know the geography well.
In the end, perhaps it would be better not to go. Yu Sowol nodded and spoke.
“Even if they have sullied the Heavenly Demon’s name?”
She used “the Heavenly Demon” instead of her usual “this lady.”
If she had called herself “this lady,” she would have practically proven that registered user Heavenly Demon was herself.
To an outsider, it would sound as though she were going to punish an impersonator, but Wi Seorak was not an outsider.
Wi Seorak already knew she was registered user Heavenly Demon.
‘That’s it!’
Nothing else mattered. Her admission alone was enough.
Wi Seorak cheered inwardly and spoke with respect.
“No matter how much a bug flails, it is still only a bug. Granting mercy is also a virtue.”
“A bug has gotten into my ear. Should I simply stay still?”
The Blood Demon devotees had gotten to her. Wi Seorak realized it immediately.
Blood Demon’s notoriety(?) already exceeded Heavenly Demon’s, which made Yu Sowol uncomfortable.
The Blood Cult was also bound to gain influence naturally.
Grylls had already spread news of Blood Demon’s existence and Feathered Ascension to Immortality.
Yu Sowol must have planned to use that situation against them. Wi Seorak understood her intent.
‘But we do not know whether the other side is real.’
There was no doubt that Heavenly Demon was the real Heavenly Demon.
But was the other side real too?
More than half the news circulating in the Gallery was false, and registered users were no different.
The Gallery was a place where everything had to be taken with a grain of salt.
What should he do? Wi Seorak was considering it when...
“Hm. An interesting one.”
“Pardon?”
“Connect to the Gallery.”
While Wi Seorak was thinking, Yu Sowol gave an order.
The confusion lasted only a moment. Wi Seorak immediately sensed that something had happened in the Gallery.
He hurriedly connected and looked through the posts.
[Post title] [Heavenly Demon, look upon this.]
Recommendations poured in, and the post became a featured post in an instant.
Wi Seorak opened it without delay.
[Post title] Title) Heavenly Demon, Look Upon This
[Author] Blood Demon Reborn, All Blood in Submission
[Post] (Photo of a map in the middle of a major city)
[Post] I have chosen the place where our martial duel will be held.
[Post] I shall use your severed head, wench, as the opening signal to announce the Blood Cult’s rebirth.
└ [Heavenly Demon]: You insolent wretch. I shall make you remember this lady’s might.
└ [Blood Demon Reborn, All Blood in Submission]: I look forward to the day I wash myself in your blood, wench.
└ Damn. What an epic showdown lol
└ Look at those martial-arts-boomer bastards’ way of talking lmao
└ Isn’t this fraternizing?
└ No, no, no. Real-life fights are exempt from the fraternizing rule. People genuinely fight all the time lol
“An interesting one. So is the one impersonating me.”
“...”
She posted it herself, yet she had the nerve to say that.
Wi Seorak was briefly dumbfounded by Yu Sowol’s shamelessness, but then an idea flashed through his mind. His expression changed at once.
‘No. Wait. Maybe this would be even better?’
Wi Seorak immediately told Yu Sowol his idea.
“That would be...”
At what Wi Seorak proposed, Yu Sowol...
“I like it.”
She smiled as she said it.
* * *
At the same time, Grylls was looking at the featured post.
“Ah. I’m jealous. I want to see it too.”
Grylls deeply regretted being unable to watch such an epic showdown.
Footnotes:
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