Chapter 40
Originally, the Dragon Phoenix Branch Meeting was a tournament where disciples from each sect compared their strength before entering the true martial world.
Fresh disciples who were just growing couldn't face already accomplished masters, nor could heirs of prestigious families be compared solely on merit, excluding bloodlines.
'...It's also a place to preview the martial world's future.'
I fell into deep thought while covering my face with my hands.
This was why Sieghart had spoken to me that way earlier. He too knew that if we couldn't achieve victory in such a tournament, we couldn't face an Outer God.
'Is it because they're protagonists I created, that they resemble me?'
I almost let out a bitter laugh.
Though I'd heard that all protagonists are another ego of the author and thus must resemble them,
'The endless doubting is exactly the same.'
I had never thought I'd hear from such a protagonist's mouth that we couldn't win against an Outer God.
I brought my hand to my chin and thought more.
If Sieghart was like this, Kim Hyul had likely noticed something strange about Bing Seolhwa too.
Unlike Kang Si-woo, the last protagonist who already had issues with Azazel, Kim Hyul was originally a character I had shaped to embody my ideal of a martial hero.
'Mental strength is physical strength.'
Even this line was adapted from a webcomic Seolhwa liked, "Complete Life," twisting its quote "Build stamina if you want to succeed, willpower is just a slogan when stamina runs out."
The reason for making crucial mistakes repeatedly.
The reason for slow recovery after defeat.
It was Seolhwa who went jogging with me every dawn, saying it was all due to physical limitations.
Looking back now, she seemed to have worried about my physical and mental health as I stayed cooped up writing.
People easily tire when chasing only grades. She also said that ultimately, to succeed, one needs to enjoy the act itself.
- Do-hyeon, wu and xia can be found even in this desolate concrete jungle, their forms and meanings aren't fixed.
This was Seolhwa's advice when I was once agonizing over historical accuracy in martial arts novels.
- Then what are wu and xia?
I asked while watching Seolhwa wipe my sweat with a mysterious smile. I remembered lowering my head, having nowhere else to look with her wearing a crop top showing her midriff and dolphin shorts.
- Well... Like chefs respecting each other, or writers seeing each other as seniors and juniors rather than competitors.
Martial arts without fixed form and meaning. It also spoke of dignity coming from respect.
- Isn't it interesting? Imagining surpassing the first novel that deeply moved you.
Surely then, Seolhwa revealed she saw me as a strange kind of rival. Friend and lover, colleague and rival.
That was the peculiar relationship we had.
"My, you came to watch the matches too? I was worried you might give up and run away."
"...Bing Seolhwa."
"You can just call me Seolhwa, you know."
I couldn't stand by watching this Outer God play with her body as it pleased.
* * *
Tucking her white hair behind her ear, Bing Seolhwa sat beside me watching the match.
"Hey, Do-hyeon, who do you think would win if the current Kim Hyul fought Bi Wol?"
"I told you not to call me that way."
Her voice and expressions of affection remained in my memories enough to appear in dreams. I frowned as soon as I saw the Outer God doing it.
No matter how well it imitated Seolhwa, I could say this was still something 'other' than her. If I was fooled by appearance and behavior, I'd end up dancing in the Outer God's palm.
"But my real consciousness remains somewhat, aren't you being too cold?"
I felt a strange displeasure watching Seolhwa puff her cheeks as if upset and even make a "hmph!" sound. These were all actions Seolhwa had done when upset with me.
"Why specifically Bing Seolhwa and Bing Yeon? There must have been many others."
I asked her true intentions, mixed with the Outer God. There was no simple reason to possess us with these bodies.
Since the Outer God was one who knew the original work, if it wanted to use me and Seolhwa, wouldn't it have been easier to set us as protagonist and final boss? That was my assumption.
If she wanted to see an ending not in the original work, that might have been faster.
Why?
"This is more interesting, isn't it? Forbidden love, a relationship scorned by people for being half-siblings."
"...What did you say?"
"Calling you 'brother' is more provocative, isn't it? If it's a novel only I read, I thought it would be better to make it flow as I want."
The Outer God's answer was unexpected. It sounded like she wanted to manipulate the work at will, like the slang term for readers controlling stories.
Originally, authors shouldn't be swayed by readers.
Creators were people who made consumers anxious and moved their hearts.
Just as I had made Seolhwa fall into my novels.
"This is absurd. You're playing with Seolhwa's life for such a trivial reason? Like handling a toy?"
I couldn't agree with the Outer God's opinion, knowing this better than anyone. It was the mindset that only non-authors would have.
"Why act surprised when you had a forbidden love in the real world too?"
Bing Seolhwa spoke while slowly blinking her left eye. As she said, Seolhwa and I had been lovers who met secretly because our social classes didn't match.
It was why she left home to live with me, after her father strongly opposed our relationship upon discovering it.
"If it hadn't been for that, I wouldn't have had that traffic accident."
Different voices overlapped - Seolhwa's voice and a deep woman's voice questioned me reproachfully.
Until now, our conversation had been mixed with the crowd's cheers, too quiet for others to hear.
"...You bastard."
A poor novelist from the slums,
And a talented novelist from a wealthy family.
The Outer God was mocking how the only thing binding us together was that we both wrote.
"My, are you angry? Let's just watch the tournament. They're like children to both you and me, aren't they?"
"......"
I trembled with clenched fists. Causing a disturbance here would give her the justification she wanted.
The protagonists I created now had doubts about dealing with the final bosses.
"Using such a cheap trick."
She was deliberately provoking me.
I stopped trying to rise from my seat and continued watching the match. Bing Seolhwa widened her eyes as if surprised.
"So, did you think Bi Wol could win against Kim Hyul with the Three Talents Sword Technique? Since the opponent has also reached the level of masters with the Six Harmonies Fist?"
"It's strange to divide martial arts into third-rate or second-rate levels in the first place. If strength was determined by internal energy alone, why would there still be so many who haven't reached enlightenment?"
The martial arts novel I wrote, "The King of the Vajra Fist," was written quite young, so it had a low-power world setting.
Like in old martial arts novels, just reaching the pinnacle realm was enough to be considered among the strong.
Having only learned old things, I simply didn't know much about recent works.
"You're right. After all, enlightenment is what's important in martial arts novels."
Bing Seolhwa hid her smile behind an opened fan. Bi Wol's sword strikes were sharply penetrating her opponent's openings more than anyone else's.
She mainly chose to subdue opponents by breaking or making them drop their swords and striking vital points with the sword handle to minimize bloodshed.
"The Heavenly Demon in the original work wasn't like this."
Watching this, Bing Seolhwa clicked her tongue and showed disappointment. In the original novel's description, she had been an untouchable master covered in blood.
"Are you still hung up on the original work?"
"No, precisely speaking, I want to see you two creators fight each other."
"So that's why you tried to harm my disciples."
"Right, if you burn with revenge and try to kill me, wouldn't that create a completely new ending?"
Now it made sense. No matter how much the Outer God Shub-Niggurath interfered, the flow had already changed from the original work.
"Unfortunately, that won't happen."
"Why do you think so? Your precious lover has already fallen to the Outer God, and I have the protagonists on a leash?"
"Because I'll stop it."
I spoke calmly with determination. When it came to the original work, I could beat Seolhwa.
"Hmm, is that why you had her learn the Three Talents Sword Technique that doesn't rely much on form and meaning? Because it can handle any situation?"
"This arena is also an illusion. If you're bound by the concept of stage, your side will be the first to fall."
I recited words I had once heard from a contestant on a cooking competition show.
I remembered the moment when an inexperienced cook I had watched since middle school reached the top and aimed for the summit again.
If anyone was deceived by appearances and missed what was important, no one could guarantee victory here.
"I already had Kim Hyul learn the Indestructible Diamond Body and meet his master in preparation for this match, do you really think you can win?"
"Of course. Rather than such formalities, the purest martial arts begins with the aesthetics of reduction."
Like this, when examining what people called generic novels, it unexpectedly required the author's greatest writing skill.
Only an author's perspective could understand the traces of contemplation to create pure entertainment, devices and sharp design for catharsis, and guaranteed entertaining clichés and direction shown by characters.
"That's all I taught Bi Wol."
I believed writing skill was making something interesting even with common materials.
* * *
While Bing Yeon and Seolhwa were talking in the spectator seats, signs of commotion were about to arise in the participant waiting area.
"It's been a while, Si-woo."
"...Azazel?"
The protagonist and final boss of "Possessed by an Idle Game" - Azazel and Kang Si-woo encountered each other.
As if by fate.