NOVPUBThe intense auction quickly drove the price down to 500,000 won.
In the end, Rain secured the rights to recruit Maru to her team.
“Ahahaha! Maru is mine now! You better stick close!”
— Did she just sell her like a slave contract LOL
— LOL
— Well, she is tanking for her, so maybe it is a slave contract?
Maru couldn’t have asked for a better deal.
The risk of Ena winning and taking the prize was now off the table, and she’d just locked in the prize for less than half her original plan.
“Let’s go! We’re gonna win, unnie!”
“Meuuu! Let’s do this!”
And to top it off, this team had a seriously high chance of winning.
While Dora was slightly ahead in points so far, Rain was the undisputed physical powerhouse of Parallel.
As long as Maru played the meat shield, victory was totally within reach.
Granted, Magia was physically strong too, and if she could consistently dodge Maru and target Rain, the outcome might shift.
But since she couldn’t see properly and had to grope around, she was at a disadvantage when it came to snatching targets swiftly.
“Alright then! If a team wins twice, the game’s over. Let’s begin.”
Magia gave a loud command, and the first round began.
Rain immediately blew hard into her whistle and charged toward Dora.
Maru followed closely behind.
Fweeeeeeeeeeeeeet.
FWEEET! Fweet! Fweet!
Dora tried to resist, but two people coming at her was too much.
She crashed to the ground, flailing on the soft flooring.
Hearing all that racket, Magia rushed toward the commotion—
A do-or-die situation for Dora.
But Magia was blindfolded.
She couldn’t just charge straight without risk.
As she got closer, she crouched down, groping around for her target... and then, squish.
“Ugh.”
Startled, she jumped back like a spring-loaded trap.
Just in time for Dora to leap to her feet and flee.
Maru, watching it all, blew her whistle in outrage: FWEEP FWEEP FWEEP!
Magia muttered in defense, flustered.
“I—I didn’t mean to. I just... grabbed somewhere I shouldn't have.”
Coming from usually composed Magia, the tremble in her voice was rare—
And chat exploded.
— 😳
— Why you?! Why you?! Why you?! Why you?! Why you?! Why you?!
— Magiaaaaaaaaaaa
— Unforgivable! Unforgivable! Unforgivable! Unforgivable!
— This pervy surfboard...
— I’ll fold that surfboard in half myself
— Chat is literally blacking out
— I’m gonna kill you
— HOW DARE YOU?!
— Y’all really out here jealous of a surfboard now LOL
— Bro these freaks are jealous of Magia now too LOL
Magia hadn’t planned any of this when she designed the content.
But with her blindfolded and groping around, she kept accidentally grabbing at the members.
And it didn’t help that Rain and Maru were knocking people over left and right—
So the game wasn’t exactly proceeding as intended.
Next, Komari got pushed into Magia, tangled limbs and all.
In the pileup, Magia ended up on the bottom, with Komari landing on top of her.
Now, remember how Magia’s current model was being streamed?
She was a surfboard.
— LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
— She’s riding her!!!
— Wait wait wait Komari’s on top of Magia???
— Memo: Komari has ridden Magia before...
— Controversial content
— Wave-riding with Magia??
— “Mado-surfing”...??
:: An anonymous viewer donated 1,000 Clouds! ::
:: Mado-surfing... Mado... Doma... Wait a minute ::
— DOMA SURFING LOLOLOL
— AAAAAAA
— You’re a sick f**k LOL
— LOLOLOLOL
— “Doma-surfing” you absolute degenerate LOL
Komari, who had a low tolerance for this kind of stuff, saw the chat and panicked.
She spat out her whistle and shouted—
“Wh-what are you talking about?! I didn’t ride anyone!”
But there was no stopping the runaway train that was chat.
Meanwhile, Magia used the opening to CHOMP Komari’s hand.
“Ah—hee!”
With Komari eliminated, Dora was now at a disadvantage too.
So, deciding to at least put on a show—
Dora got shoved by Rain and Maru and ended up accidentally sitting right on Magia.
To the viewers, it looked like she was just sitting on a surfboard on the sand.
But that surfboard was Magia.
And Dora was sitting squarely on her midsection.
Magia tapped the mat repeatedly, overwhelmed by the weight.
But no one paid attention to her cries for help.
— She’s dead
— MAGIAAAAAAAAAA
— KISSAMA!!!
— LOLOLOLOL
— Hey, hey hatchlings, chill. It’s just content.
— Watching this, you’d think Magia was some guy LOL
— They had to be doing this on purpose, right??
— Uh, I think they’re serious
— AAAAGHHHH
— It’s funny, have a drink LOL
— Geez, chat is full black screen now
While everyone laughed and enjoyed the chaos—
With Rain’s victory in this round now inevitable—
Maru, oddly enough, didn’t seem happy.
Instead, her thoughts grew heavier.
‘So then... what am I supposed to do?’
She’d teamed up with someone to stage a dramatic scene with Magia.
That was the whole point.
But now Komari and Dora had both shared way more impactful moments with Magia.
Maru had no shot at topping that.
She was already considered the least broadcast-savvy among the first-gen members.
On the outside she seemed calm, but inside she was full-on panicking.
‘What do I do? What do I do?!’
She couldn’t just get bitten.
She needed to show something more memorable—
Or she’d be overshadowed by the others.
But while she hesitated, Magia had crept closer.
And Rain, behind Maru, shoved her forward to save herself.
“Ah!”
Unprepared and caught off guard,
Maru stumbled straight into Magia—
And ended up standing there, hugging her.
‘I’m screwed.’
Fortunately, her opponent was Magia.
Of all people, Magia knew exactly what kind ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) of explosion the audience needed right now.
She knew Maru had to outshine what Komari and Dora had just pulled off.
So Magia sank her teeth into Maru’s neck.
Hard.
“AaaaAAAUUUGH!!!”
Maru, already known for her powerful voice, absolutely shook the studio.
Komari, sipping water after being eliminated, sprayed it everywhere.
Viewers nearly dropped their devices from the sheer blast of her scream.
:: An anonymous viewer donated 1,000 Clouds! ::
:: Did someone just die on stream? ::
— I just jumped out of my chair LOL
— My ears!!
— Thought my AirPods exploded
— Thank god I had the volume low
— Did she actually get bitten by a zombie?! LOL
— The ghost of the surfboard bites back
— Summer beach horror story, damn
But Magia didn’t stop there.
She poured gasoline on the fire with her next line—perfectly ambiguous.
“Sorry, it’s my first time. I’ll go gentler next time.”
— 😳
— Huhuhu
— What?!
— I’ve got a feeling
— First time what? Huhuhu
— WHAT
:: An anonymous viewer donated 1,000 Clouds! ::
:: If Maru and Magia end up at that hotel, I demand a vlog. ::
All Maru had done was scream because it hurt—
But somehow, she’d just accidentally created the most unforgettable moment of the entire stream.
And with the situation Magia had deliberately set up, the mood of the entire broadcast shifted naturally.
— Ma! Ru! Gia!
— The new wave is MaruGia!
— Let’s go to that hotel!!
— Just one bed... huhu
— EnaGia down! MomoGia down!
— Da-da-daaang!
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
Though the stream had started as a simple prize competition between the four first-gen members,
the chat now thundered with unanimous cries for MaruGia.
This change in focus was largely driven by the Slug Squad’s habit of switching their favorite pairings on a whim.
Normally, this kind of energy would flare up and fizzle out quickly—
But not this time.
Despite constantly tripping and failing to even place third,
Maru had refused to give up. She gave it her all.
Her persistence—and the audience’s pity—sparked a surge of unity within the fandom.
:: An anonymous viewer donated 1,000 Clouds! ::
:: Honestly, Maru’s always getting the short end of the stick. Let her enjoy this one for once LOL ::
:: An anonymous viewer donated 1,000 Clouds! ::
:: Magia’s losses need to be recouped today LOL ::
— For real LOL
— She got left behind, so now she’s catching up LOL
— “Magia’s loss” LMAOOO
— Y’all are the worst LOL
— Glad you’re happy, Maru...
— Seriously, be happy today at least LOL
They were still teasing her, sure—
But everyone genuinely wanted her to have this win.
Maru, who usually faded into the background during collabs—
Was now at the very center of all viewer attention.
After a chaotic match,
where each member ended up bitten by Magia at least once, generating endless clip-worthy moments—
Zombie Tag came to a close.
And, right on cue,
Rain—the one who had teamed up with Maru—won the final round,
becoming the overall champion with 13 points.
[Final Scores]
1. Rain (x1) – 13 pts 👑
2. Komari (x1.95) – 11.7 pts
3. Dora (x1.17) – 10.53 pts
4. Maru (x13.67) – 0 pts
“The final winner is... Rain!”
“HELL YEAH————!”
— (HELLYEAH Emote)
— (HELLYEAH)(HELLYEAH)(HELLYEAH)
— (HELLYEAH)(HELLYEAH)
— (HELLYEAH)
For a brief moment, the chat was flooded with Rain’s signature catchphrase and subscriber emote.
But once the prize was awarded,
everyone’s focus shifted to Maru.
Magia, sensing the mood, turned to Rain and asked:
“So, Rain—are you going to sell the prize to Maru? Let’s get a clear answer now.”
Everyone was waiting with bated breath.
Rain had a reputation for pulling fake-outs—making promises and then breaking them, only to fix it later.
She often did this with the first-gen girls, pranking them just for fun.
And earlier, she had vaguely brought up Ena's name.
So there was real concern.
What if Rain just gave the prize to Ena and took Magia to the concert herself?
— Nervous drumroll
— The moment of truth
— Will Rain keep her promise
— Our trickster goddess, please
— KEEP YOUR WORD
— Don’t throw us into the abyss
— Maru’s gonna cry if this goes south
But strangely enough—
the one person who should’ve been panicking the most was silent.
She’d worked so hard all game, yet now stood quietly,
staring at the tickets Rain pulled out of the box.
:: An anonymous viewer donated 1,000 Clouds! ::
:: Why is Maru so quiet though? ::
Normally, she’d be clinging to Rain, begging her not to break her promise.
Insisting they had a deal.
But instead, she just stared.
Rain noticed it too, and asked:
“Maru? It’s okay? Why no desperation?”
Maru gave an answer no one expected—
even Rain was caught off guard.
“Unnie... did you not check the date? There’s no reason to be desperate.”
“What?”
Rain glanced at the concert tickets.
October 27th.
Just one week before Parallel’s first-gen offline concert.
There was no way any of them could attend another concert that close to their own event.
While the stream had played up the idea of members taking Magia with them to the show,
the prize had always been intended as a gift for family or friends.
Everyone had just fallen for Magia’s trap.
Maru glared at her.
“Gia. Don’t tell me... you knew from the start?”
“Knew what?”
“The concert date. How are we supposed to go to another show right before our own second anniversary?”
“I told you—it doesn’t have to be used by the winner.”
“Youuu—!”
“Why not give it to your parents? Be a nice gesture.”
“I can’t even do that! I already promised them tickets to our concert—mmph!”
Sensing danger, Rain quickly covered her mouth.
But it was too late.
Maru had said it herself:
she was giving her parents tickets to “our concert.”
There are no physical tickets for online concerts.
Which could only mean one thing:
Parallel is doing an offline concert.
Viewers, of course, started putting two and two together.
— Uh...
— Can I say what I’m thinking?
— Everyone, hands off the keyboard!!
— Wait... was that why they’ve been streaming less lately?
But this moment—
which felt like just another classic Maru slip-up—
was actually fully orchestrated by Magia.
She’d been certain Maru would fall into the trap,
and had coordinated with CAT Entertainment to pull it off.
Magia raised her fingers and gave the signal.
A click-clack of keys came from the control room.
BOOM! BOOM! Birthday fireworks exploded overhead,
and as the camera panned out, glittering confetti rained down while something rolled open from above.
As the audience’s brains struggled to process the loud pyrotechnics,
the word “leak” quickly faded into the background.
And in its place—
A massive banner unfolded, fulfilling one of the fans’ biggest dreams.
[PARALLEL: ANOTHER]
[OFFLINE LIVE CONCERT ANNOUNCED!]
— Gasp
— HOLY SH*T LOL
— W-WHAT
— KYAAAAAA
— ARE WE WORLD-CLASS NOW?!
— OMG LOL
— Is this REAL?!
— AN OFFLINE CONCERT LET’S GOOOOO
— THIS IS IIIIIIIIIIIIT
— KYAAAAA PARALLELLLLLLLLL
