Chapter 36 : Warrior Guild Civil War (4)

Elian is down!! Ah, why did they get eliminated so quickly?!

Elian: Honestly, I think what Irene did was wrong.

Elian: How many people were expecting a fair and square fight, and you betray them like this?

Elian: Seriously, I absolutely can’t accept this time. Fight again next time!!!

Hahahaha, just how badly did you get scratched?

Fight again!! (200 matches, 0 wins, 200 losses) LOL

(Angry Elian emoji)

The moment news broke that Elian had been eliminated, a massive wave of viewers flooded into my stream.

On top of that, since Elian ended their stream immediately after getting knocked out, it naturally created a situation where I ended up absorbing their entire audience.

[Irene] – [Currently Streaming!]

[Warrior Guild Internal Battle]

[Viewers – 8,992]

I had reached a terrifying viewer count of nearly 9,000.

That’s almost three times my usual audience.

Even though I had some external support, this was still an insane record.

Especially considering I haven’t even been streaming for a full week yet.

Of course, I don’t plan on keeping all of this attention for myself.

The reason I’m drawing in this much interest in the first place is so I can pass it onto Luminil.

But to do that, I need to keep these viewers engaged first.

The problem is, I couldn’t think of anything to say.

After all, I’m not a professional streamer—I’m just a toxic viewer and a gamer.

Honestly, it’s a miracle I’ve even managed to stream this far naturally.

‘Hmm… There’s no one around this time. What do I do?’

Usually, in situations like this, I’d strike up a conversation with Elian or Luna to keep things going.

But unfortunately, I just eliminated Elian myself, and Luna is nowhere to be seen.

As I racked my brain in silence, struggling to come up with something—I reached a simple conclusion.

“Is there a problem with a villain handling things the villain way? Turning your back on the most notorious villain of the Continent was your mistake.”

LOL

Ahaha, who the hell turns their back on a villain?

Yeah, keep playing the villain role.

Is this that streamer with the Dark Lord’s Castle executive concept?

I just got here—what kind of stream even is this?

This is a stream where traitors throw money at Irene just because she’s pretty.

Oh damn, I wanna be a traitor too.

I just need to keep doing what I’ve been doing.

There was no need to overthink it.

Not too long ago, there were still people saying, “But isn’t this technically not a villain stream?” while complaining.

But now, even those so-called ‘normal people’ were nowhere to be found.

At least, not in my chat.

I don’t know why.

I mean, sure, I haven’t killed anyone, but I’ve done every other despicable act imaginable.

And this time, I even outright betrayed Elian!

Unlike before, though, I didn’t feel bad about it.

If my image was shifting like this, it also meant that Luminil’s image was improving alongside mine.

And besides, I no longer had to worry about maintaining some kind of ‘persona.’

I had decided to remain a side character.

Or rather, more like an advertising board.

All I had to do was funnel this overwhelming audience toward Luminil.

There was no need for me to appeal to the viewers myself.

If I did, they might focus on me instead of Luminil, which would defeat the whole purpose.

Anyway, Round 1 ended in an anticlimactic fashion.

Of course, people are bound to ask why.

But if you think about it, the answer is simple.

Because of me and Elian.

No—more precisely, because of the viewers.

[The arena has sustained excessive damage. According to regulations, the round will be terminated.]

[Moving to Round 2 Arena.]

“Wow. You guys are bigger villains than I am. You just forced a major event match to stop.”

I swear I’m not just blaming the viewers.

It’s actually true.

How the hell are we supposed to continue fighting in an arena where meteors just rained down?

And let’s not forget—Meteor is a top-tier spell.

Even after it lands, it leaves behind a massive field of fire, causing serious devastation.

Normally, the Warrior Guild can restore a destroyed arena in about a week, no matter how badly it was wrecked.

But this time, I was sure it would take much longer.

Of course, all of this was just internal guild matters.

The viewers couldn’t care less.

Especially since the guild master is such an overwhelmingly powerful figure anyway.

“How else would they be able to drop Meteor, a top-tier spell, like that?”

So Irene is just a low-tier villain then?

[User Irene82 has been temporarily muted.]

LOLLLLLLLLLL

No way, I can let a lot slide, but calling her a low-tier villain? That’s crossing the line!

The fact is, Irene can’t even play the villain role better than us…

But wait, didn’t the Mirror Queen already invade? Are we sure it’s okay to continue?

The Guild Master said to proceed.

If the Guild Master says so, then it’s settled.

“Hmm, looks like the next round is starting right away. See you all there.”

My vision started to blur again.

It seemed like we were being transferred in the same way as before.

I sat still for quite a while.

Strangely enough, I didn’t feel like I was being transported.

Slowly, I opened my eyes.

Something was definitely wrong.

I was still in the burning forest.

The teleportation hadn’t gone through.

I wondered if others were in the same situation, so I turned on my terminal.

But there weren’t even any viewers.

[Broadcast has been temporarily suspended.]

“…Huh? I don’t remember stopping the stream.”

I actually checked the broadcast settings on my terminal, but like magic, the button to resume streaming had disappeared.

That meant the Warrior Guild itself had shut it down.

I wasn’t sure how long I had been standing there, trying to process the situation.

Then, suddenly, I heard footsteps.

“I can hear you, you know.”

Naturally, I drew my sword.

Given the circumstances, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Warrior Guild saw me as an enemy.

If not, then there had to be some outside interference.

And considering that I was the only one excluded from the teleportation, it was highly likely that someone had specifically targeted me.

The person approaching was a woman.

Her brown hair swayed in the wind.

When her green eyes came into view, I was able to piece together her identity fairly easily.

“Oh, so you actually have a physical model?”

“Huh?”

“I mean, you. You actually exist.”

“Of course I do. Everyone thinks that—why would Irene think otherwise?”

She spoke with a soft voice that had a strange, disarming effect.

For a moment, I almost let my guard down.

Her voice was much more captivating in person than through the terminal.

“Because you have completely unrealistic stats. And besides…”

I started to say something but stopped myself.

There was no point in saying things like, “Your file had nothing in it.” or “You only existed as dummy data.”

She wouldn’t understand anyway.

She didn’t seem to find my hesitation strange and simply continued speaking.

“Interesting. But you’re the same, aren’t you? Stronger than me. And you’re actually a person.”

She slowly walked closer and stood right in front of me.

Even though she was a little taller than me, she lowered her posture slightly to meet my gaze.

Her voice made people want to open up.

Her eyes, clear and pure, made people want to tell the truth.

But neither worked on me.

I only cared about Luminil.

So I calmly asked her,

“So, why is someone who never reveals her identity showing up in front of me? Guild Master.”

The woman I addressed as the Guild Master responded with a silent smile.

The person standing before me was someone that countless players believed only existed in the lore—a character whose very existence was so absurd, that she was often called a “cringe kid’s OC.”

“No need for formalities, right? Nice to meet you. I’m Exina.”

Meanwhile, in front of a massive monitor displaying the battle, A woman sitting in the audience let out an impressed gasp.

She had long grown bored of the annual tournament.

But this time was different.

An incredible irregularity had entered the competition.

And not just a warrior—

A Dark Lord’s executive!

At first, Exina was so wary of Irene that she was even willing to reveal her identity just to kill her.

But before long, she changed her mind.

For one, after observing her for a while, it became clear that while Irene’s strength was formidable, her personality wasn’t particularly dangerous.

“Did I not say so? You were wise to listen to me.”

“…It’s really strange to see you so invested in something.”

The Anonymous Emperor kept praising and even promoting Irene, so even Exina could no longer see her in an entirely negative light.

Rather than a threat, Irene started to seem… entertaining.

The Emperor knew this well.

Normally, she would skip the Warrior Guild’s internal tournament, claiming it was boring or that she was swamped with work.

But this time, she was sitting right beside Exina, watching in person.

Of course, she only had one monitor in front of her.

And naturally, it was tuned to Irene’s stream.

The two of them watched as Irene streamed, dodging falling meteors and taking down other warriors.

Then, suddenly, Exina spoke.

“Tania. That’s the Mirror Queen.”

Exina pointed at a monitor displaying Elian.

The Emperor turned her gaze to confirm.

Sure enough, the Mirror Queen had swapped places with Elian.

The Emperor asked,

“Is this a situation where I need to step in? Or will you?”

Exina let out a small hum, pondering for a moment, before giving a short answer.

“No. There’s no need.”

“It will cause quite a controversy.”

“But we already have the situation under complete control, don’t we? If it gets dangerous, we can just step in to help Elian. And if that’s not enough, we can always use your name as leverage.”

“…Hmph.”

“Ridiculous.”

And then—

After Elian was defeated, just as she was about to be struck by a soul-destroying spell,

Tania let out a sigh and stood up.

“Since you’re so adamant about keeping your identity hidden, I’ll go myself.”

But before she could take a step, Exina firmly pressed down on her shoulders, forcing her back into her seat.

Tania shot her a glare, about to demand an explanation.

Then—

On Elian’s monitor, Irene appeared.

What followed was nothing short of astounding.

The Rank 10 Mirror Queen was being completely overpowered.

And then—

Irene struck her down, forcing her to retreat.

Even Exina was stunned at that moment.

She mentally ran through countless battle simulations, wondering if she could have done the same.

But no matter how she thought about it—it was impossible.

And that wasn’t the only issue.

Normally, when warriors were transported between arenas, Exina used her magic to forcibly put them to sleep.

But this time—

“Huh… she’s not falling asleep.”

Just how absurdly high was Irene’s magic resistance?

With five rounds still remaining, this was a serious problem.

But then, Exina thought of a solution.

“I’ll just go myself.”

“You’ve hidden your identity for over a hundred years, and you’re just throwing it away now?”

“Irene will figure it out soon enough anyway. Besides, I have something I need to tell her.”

A wave of brown magic spread around Exina before dissipating.

And in an instant, she vanished.

Tania let out a huff, leaning back in her chair.

If anyone else had been there, they might have thought the Emperor was sternly displeased.

But in reality—

‘It’s so obvious she just wants to meet Irene alone. That damn fox.’

The Emperor was simply jealous.