Chapter 50: Betrayal

“You probably didn’t see this coming, but surprise—it’s a Mirror Queen raid. Everyone got your ropes tied tight?”

– Ropes? What ropes, lol

– Wait, are we the party members or something?

– Does that mean she has like 16,000 party members?

– Lol, the Mirror Queen would probably faint from shock at that point.

“Hah, seriously. You guys need to focus more on the Mirror Queen raid!”

The Mirror Queen raid.

Irene said it with more conviction than she expected.

– Wow, really?

– No way, I totally didn’t see that coming lol

– For real lmao, even though she declared it and the Hero Guild tried to block her, I still didn’t think she’d do it

– Who cares what she does—I’d watch even if she said she was raiding the Hero Guild

– Demon kin detected

The viewers didn’t even pretend to be surprised.

Half of them were die-hard fans who would show up no matter what Irene did.

The other half were there because they already knew about the Mirror Queen raid.
Basically, there wasn’t a single soul watching who didn’t know what was going on.

This wasn’t going to be enough to keep aggro for long.

The Mirror Queen and the Hidden Hero.

Both were massive attention-grabbing topics guaranteed to pull in a crowd.

But there was one major problem with them.

Once the raid actually started, viewership was bound to drop.

Take the Mirror Queen, for instance.

That bait? Pretty much spent already.

Sure, everyone loves a big, cinematic boss battle.

Back when Elian took down the Witch of Ruin, it pulled in ridiculous numbers.

But that was just the highlight reel.

In reality, viewer count plummets during the slow crawl toward the boss.

And if they hit some boring puzzle or trap room along the way?

Well… you can guess how that’ll go.

Granted, the “Final Demon Castle Clear” angle still had some juice to it.

But the Hidden Hero storyline? Way worse.

The only reason the Hidden Hero was even popular was because no one knew who they were.

Unmasking them wasn’t about wanting to know the truth—it was about the thrill of chasing a breadcrumb.

But once they start breaking through the Demon Castle, Exina is bound to get caught on camera.

And the moment that happens, her identity will be exposed.

So Irene needed a new hook.

Something to keep viewers tuned in until the end.

She decided to throw it out now.

“I’ll be playing the role of a newly debuted streamer-hero for this broadcast. Please treat me well.”

– Finally, she’s taking the debut angle seriously

– AAAAA JUST DEBUT ALREADY!!!!

– So now the concept is: Demon Castle Executive turned streamer?

[Anonymous Donor] donated 10,000G!

– At first she kept saying no, now she’s out here testing the waters

– lolol so this is how it’s gonna be huh

– Streamer (true), Hero (also true), Concept (not even close) LMAOOO

[“Me First”] donated 5,000G!

– Why is she suddenly drifting into streamer mode?

“There might’ve been a change of heart. Or maybe Luminil recommended streaming to me.”

Irene said it like it had happened to someone else, not her.

The chat was filled with exasperated reactions.

Question marks flooded the screen for a while…

Until one person suddenly flipped the mood.

– But seriously, who are those two fighting in the background?

– Are those drunkards outside the Demon Realm entrance or what? lol

– Drunkard (uses golden magic)

– That’s our Elian. Embarrassing no matter where you put him.

[skagks] donated 1,000G!

– Is Elian a permanent cast member now?

It’s not like Irene streams that often.

But when she does, Elian is always nearby.

Back during the cooking contest.

And now, again.

Glancing at the chat, Irene naturally made her way toward Elian.

“Hello. Mind giving a quick self-introduction?”

Elian was just about to hurl a mana bomb at something when he turned toward Irene and the broadcasting outlet.

In an instant, he wiped the deadly look off his face and casually introduced himself.

“Do I need to introduce myself? Kidding. I’m Elian, and I’m taking the frontline in this party!”

-Wait, who is he even fighting?

-I saw some brown hair earlier…

-Gasp.

[Anonymous Donor] donated 1,000G!

-That dude looks like the Hermit Hero, no?

The moment talk of the Hermit Hero began, Elian subtly shuffled to the side, completely blocking the Hermit Hero from the camera view.

That smooth move—hiding the Hermit Hero while redirecting attention to himself—was a true veteran broadcaster’s move.

And Irene, fully aware of that, just smirked off-camera and didn’t bring it up again.

“I got wrecked last time, so I’m here for a rematch. Besides, if not me, who else is gonna beat the Mirror Queen?”

-Um, the person standing right next to you?

-This guy hasn’t streamed in forever, who even is he?

-I’ve lost all memory of him…

-LMAO the Gold Rush Squad is all popping out now

-Don’t know who this is. Refund pls.

“Refund? Tch. Then go play with someone else!”

Elian stomped off-camera with heavy steps and came back dragging someone nearly his size.

Until they stepped into the frame, everyone assumed it was Luna.

But when Elian let go and the woman beside him stood on her own, the reveal caught everyone off guard.

“Hmm… I’m used to watching, but being seen is weird. How should I introduce myself?”

She gave no name, no info, nothing—but the moment she appeared, the chat exploded into chaos.

-????????

-Who the heck is that

-A whole new mystery person???

-????

-??

Exina, who’d gathered even more bait than Irene, stared at her intently.

And after a moment, she chuckled and introduced herself.

“I’m Exina. Hmm… just hearing my voice, I’m sure some of you already know what I do.”

-No idea

-Wait she’s a Guild Master??

-Oh she’s from that Hero Guild civil war arc?!

-I thought she was someone’s aide?? Still alive???

-The Emperor’s still alive, what’s the big deal lmao

-???????????????????

Honestly, Irene did expect Exina’s identity to be revealed this fast.

But not this fast.

Considering her voice only ever appeared in that one Hero Guild civil war arc, it was actually kind of bizarre that the viewers recognized her so quickly.

“Everyone calls me the Hermit Hero, but I’m not. I’m just some old hag who retired to the back room.”

-Everyone who appears in this stream ends up trauma-dumping, huh

-But seriously, why were she and Elian fighting earlier?

-I honestly thought she was a drunk

[Irene1] donated 10,000G!

-Can’t believe someone would abandon the Guild for 100 years and act all pitiful, meanwhile Irene has been grinding and trying her best, smh can’t even compare 1/100th

-Okay now I’m actually curious

-Wasn’t before, but now I need to know

It was Exina’s first time receiving a donation.

But she instantly knew who “Irene1” was.

Of course.
That hideous typing style? Only Tania used it on community forums.

Not that she could exactly summon the Emperor right now…

Exina groaned and held her forehead.

“This is… no, look. There were reasons. I was a substitute for someone else… had to handle some dungeons, too….”

She tried rambling out an explanation—but then she realized.

Without mentioning her link to the Emperor, she couldn’t possibly explain anything.

But to reveal that? That would be madness.

Tania, you little—!

In the trap Tania had so carefully laid, Exina had no choice but to step in.

And so, barely ten minutes after showing up on stream, Exina dropped to her knees.

“I’m the guilty one… I’ll explain everything after the raid. Can’t we just… let it slide for now…?”

[Anonymous Donor] donated 3,000G!

-Don’t know who this streamer is, but she kneels well lol

-I’m sure she didn’t do nothing

-Yeah, she did clear over a hundred Demon Lord fortresses pre-disappearance

-Honestly kind of boring now that she’s outed as the Guild Master

-fr lol would’ve been better if she stayed mysterious like Irene

Exina glanced at the chat.

When things seemed to settle down, she slowly stood up.

“I’ve taken up too much time. Let’s speed through the next intro.”

She waved her hand and stepped back.

The spot she’d been standing in—right in front of the camera—suddenly lit up with a portal.

And out of it came another girl.

“Kitty…! Not you too…!”

“Uh….”

Everyone stared at Luna, who was squatting and poking a twig at the ground.

Irene paused for a moment as she was about to move the camera.

Realizing it was already too late, she just decided to tease her more.

“Playing with a cat, were you?”

“W-What?! Wait! Forget it!”

It seemed like Luna had been playing with a cat using that thing.

And from the looks of it, it hadn’t gone very well either.

Luna stayed silent, her face flushed for a long moment.

Then, shyly, she raised her hand toward the chat window.

“Hello… I’m Luna.”

Right then, Irene suddenly popped in beside her.

And clearly wasn’t satisfied with Luna’s self-introduction.

“No, no. You have to do it with more passion! With flair!”

“Ah, fine… I’m Luna, the true Archmage who has mastered all-elemental magic! …Yeah.”

Irene let out a small chuckle at Luna’s thoroughly blushing face.

-All-elemental magic?

-If this were Luna’s personal stream, she’d have just brushed it off with a silly joke, but saying that on Irene’s channel? LOL

-Honestly, if she ate some artifact right now and actually became that, I’d believe it

-Fact is, everything Irene says turns out to be true

-So that means the debut is real too. Q.E.D.

Judging from the vibe, it looked like Irene and Luna could go on talking for another 30 minutes easily.

So Irene cut it off at a good point.

Even if this was a declaration of war for the Mirror Queen to see, giving her this much prep time was bound to cause issues.

With no particular cue or countdown, everyone hurled themselves into the entrance portal on Irene’s signal.

And just like that, the scenery around them shifted instantly.

A massive blue castle gate stood before them, and the sky above was soaked in a deep violet hue.

Elrian immediately sensed something was off.

It was completely different from the Demon Lord’s Castle of the Mirror Queen where he’d gone to die.

The very thing Irene had worried about had become reality.

While everyone stood nervously before the castle gate…

It suddenly opened.

No booming footsteps.

No sound of weapons dragging.

Just a girl in a white nun’s robe walking out—completely unfitting for the grandeur of the gate.

She had definitely told Irene she’d enter the portal first to surprise them.

But no one had said anything about coming out from inside the castle.

Now, El Ragar walked forward, just five steps away, and greeted the camera feed with a blank expression.

“Hmm. I’m not sure if the feed’s coming through properly. Hello, I’m El Ragar. I’m the Saint of Salvation that none of you know about.”

Even Irene was stunned into silence by those words.

Betrayal.

The moment that word flashed through her mind, Irene summoned her mana blades.

El frantically waved both hands at the sight, and finally spoke clearly.

“I just… I only want to show you the truth.”