Kelly was a typical office worker, whose spare time, outside of her routine job, was completely consumed by being a fan.
She was a devoted follower of Aomori and had been a fan since the first moment she saw him.
After listening to his album and watching his dance performances, Kelly became an ardent fan. Despite being naturally introverted and averse to trouble, she immediately chose to establish an Aomori fan club, even though dozens of such groups already existed.
As the fan club president, she felt a strong obligation to follow Aomori, attending every public event, documenting his every expression, and sharing them with her group members.
This Martial Arts Tournament was no exception.
Kelly successfully bought a front-row seat, intending to admire Aomori's peerless beauty, but was disappointed when he wore a mask.
While regretful, she decided to respect Aomori's choice.
Next, the so-called martial arts matches began in the ring. With no sign of Aomori, Kelly had no interest in the punching and kicking on display.
Just as she was playing on her phone to pass the time, a notification chimed, and a video link popped up on her screen.
Kelly thought it was a sponsored ad and was about to close it, but the headline caught her attention: "Shock! Aomori the Star Sighted in the Wild! He's Late for the Tournament Because of THIS?!"
The thumbnail featured Aomori's handsome profile.
"My Aomori is right here, so is this just an ad?" Since Aomori was in it, she figured she ought to take a good look.
Kelly clicked the link and found it was a live stream, titled: "Death Stream! Up Close View of Aomori the Star Battling an Ultra-Giant Centipede Monster!"
"That title is quite the hype," Kelly chuckled, dismissing it as a serious threat.
More and more people entered the live stream, and chat messages occasionally flew across the screen.
"Is this real?"
"I'm on-site, it's real. I'm the tree that got knocked over."
"Didn't you say Aomori was here? Where is Aomori?"
As if seeing this message, the camera zoomed in immediately. Aomori finally appeared on the screen, constantly moving across the massive centipede's body, summoning lightning from time to time, fighting intensely with it, like a god of war descended.
Utilizing his agility, he constantly adjusted his position, managing to stay above the giant centipede even as it rolled around.
He looked relatively at ease, as if the fight were evenly matched.
"That's definitely my Aomori." Kelly guaranteed, staking her reputation as Aomori's number one fan, that the man in the video was Aomori!
The comments in the live stream became denser.
"Is this a movie clip?" This was the view of most commentators, which Kelly felt made sense.
"Confirmed! Aomori's movie premieres in seven days. This must be a pre-release promotion."
"Great visuals! I'll definitely watch it when it hits theaters!"
"Why isn't the streamer talking? Did we shut them up?"
A few dissenting messages popped up: "It's real! This is B-City Natural Park. I was driving by and saw the giant centipede when I looked up!"
But these comments were ignored and quickly disappeared.
At this moment, the streamer, "Legion Leader," spoke for the first time, using what sounded like a computer-generated voice: "This is a real, ongoing event. If you don't believe me, you can check the Natural Park area in B-City heading towards Z-City. If it's fake, I'll eat that thing upside down."
"The streamer is just trying to trick us into watching again."
"Aomori is already here at the Martial Arts Tournament."
"To the person above: 'Aomori' is wearing a mask. We don't even know if it's the real person."
"I live in B-City. I'm driving over right now to check."
"Wow, you have a car. Jealous."
"What's a car? Don't you guys travel by plane?"
"..."
The chat derailed, and Kelly ignored the comments from the internet jokers. She exited the live stream and sent a message to a fan club member who lived in B-City.
She had grown suspicious of the masked Aomori at the tournament and decided to seek confirmation.
"I hope it's not real," Kelly thought, her heart clenching at the idea of her Aomori fighting such a hideous Monster.
The live stream's popularity continued to grow. Ms. Fujiwara, who was at the Martial Arts Tournament, also saw the video.
As Aomori's agent, she had read the script and knew there was no centipede monster in the movie.
Coupled with the fact that Aomori was currently unreachable, she was ninety percent certain that the live stream was real.
"That last giant centipede gave Aomori a lot of trouble. Wouldn't this ultra-giant centipede be even tougher?"
She didn't understand combat, but someone here did.
Worried for Aomori's safety, Ms. Fujiwara immediately stood up and, in her capacity as Aomori's agent, found Bang and informed him of the situation.
Bang's expression grew serious: "There's no time to lose. I'll leave immediately to support Aomori."
Bomb, who had come to watch the matches, was nearby and volunteered: "Bang, I'll go too. That big centipede looks like a handful."
"Thank you, Onii-chan. I hate to trouble you again."
Bang and Bomb left together. Oomoto, who also received the news, sank to his knees in despair, knowing his career was likely over.
Ms. Fujiwara gritted her teeth, feeling it still wasn't enough. She dialed another number.
"Is this Chief Hamaka?"
"I'm Aomori's agent, Fujiwara. Aomori is in danger and requires your assistance."
"Yes, it's a Monster's revenge. The location is the Natural Park in B-City. For details, you can enter the live stream of the user named 'Legion Leader.' Please, I'm counting on you!"
…
Z-City, Police Guard Headquarters.
Bang!
Hamaka pulled open his office door and shouted loudly to his confused team members: "Emergency mission! All units mobilize!"
…
The event of the live boss battle gradually fermented, drawing the attention of more and more people.
Many who came to verify the news' authenticity completely jammed the destroyed highway, staring wide-eyed at the gigantic monster stretching for thousands of meters ahead of them.
"It's actually real."
"So the one at the Martial Arts Tournament is fake?"
"Hey, are we just going to watch from here?"
"What else can we do? If a monster that size rolls over, we're goners."
"Aomori is fighting a monster like that? Unbelievable."
"If Aomori wasn't there, and this monster rushed into the city..."
"..."
Aomori's intention had worked.
Live streaming the battle with the overwhelmingly oppressive Elder Centipede not only amplified his reputation but also attracted powerful outside help.
The powerful outside help referred to here was not Bang and Bomb, Aomori could have called them himself, nor was it the Z-City Police Guard, who would likely be crushed. It was the green-haired little girl currently floating beside him, looking haughty.
"You incompetent piece of trash can step aside. I'll take care of this giant bug."
At 25 years old, the future Queen of Psychokinesis, "Tornado of Terror," Tatsumaki, had arrived!
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You can read the ahead chapter on Patr-eon if you're interested: p-atre-on.c-om/Overgod [Just remove the hyphen to access normally]