Chapter 103
“Huuk, huuk.”
With a wave of warm heat, rough breaths spread through the air.
Instructor Kang Jae-seok lifted his massive greatsword and swung it once more.
Bang!
The blade pushed the air aside and split the empty space, the burst of pressure tickling his hair.
Kang Jae-seok wiped away the sweat streaming down and gulped the water he had set beside him.
After his suspension, he found himself with nothing much to do, so he devoted himself to the training he had neglected while teaching Academy cadets.
Ttiriring-.
At the familiar bell sound, Kang Jae-seok turned his head.
Lately, contact from others had noticeably increased.
Not long ago, the Sword Empress, an old disciple of his, had come to see him, and this time, it was a call from Yoo Iseo, the Student Council President.
Since she was affiliated with the Association, there wouldn’t be any reason for her to contact him unless it was related to school matters.
Wondering if there might be some kind of trouble, he picked up the call right away.
A familiar, gentle voice came through.
[Instructor Kang Jae-seok?]
“Yeah, it’s me. What’s the reason for calling?”
[Yes, well, it’s nothing else. The Academy’s Demons escaped outside, and we were hoping to get your help.]
There was no preface or pleasantries.
Yoo Iseo simply went straight into explaining the situation.
“Understood.”
After hanging up, Kang Jae-seok began gathering his equipment, something he hadn’t done in a long time.
Under normal circumstances, it would have been rare for him to head out on an assignment outside the Academy.
As an Academy instructor, he always prioritized the safety of cadets above all else.
However, now that he had stepped down from his duties as an Academy instructor, the situation was different.
Right now, he wasn’t Instructor Kang Jae-seok of the Academy, but a high-ranking Hero, one bearing the alias Yaksha.
After finishing the call with Kang Jae-seok, Yoo Iseo nodded while looking at me.
“Instructor Kang Jae-seok says he’s departing right away.”
“That’s a relief. If it’s Instructor Kang Jae-seok, there’s nothing to worry about.”
With Instructor Kang Jae-seok taking charge of one high-ranking Demon, that left two high-ranking Demons and four mid-ranking Demons.
Who would take which target was practically decided already.
The two high-ranking Demons would be handled by Yoo Iseo and Seo Da-hee respectively, while the remaining four mid-ranking Demons would be assigned to Park Siwoo, Helena, Dan Chun-woo, and Joo Sarang.
I handed Student Council name tags to Helena and Dan Chun-woo.
When I asked Yoo Iseo, she said these name tags were difficult to newly produce or rush-deliver.
They were, after all, custom-made artifacts with enchantments built in.
Ironically, the name tags the members received were those belonging to the Student Council Executives who had just fled.
They had left all their own name tags behind in the dormitory before running away, afraid they’d be tracked.
We simply recovered those and used them.
Seeing this, Helena and Dan Chun-woo frowned as if displeased.
“You’re telling me to use something the Demons were wearing?”
“It feels like something strange is flowing from the name tag.”
“That’s why I told you it would’ve been better if you’d joined the Student Council earlier with me. The function is what matters, so hurry up and put it on. We don’t have time.”
At that, they grimaced but still attached the name tags to their uniforms.
I examined the tablet I had received from Yoo Iseo.
The tablet displayed the location information and biometric vital signals of those wearing the name tags.
I’d always wanted this tablet, and now I finally got to touch it.
Soon, Yoo Iseo gave a brief briefing on the operation.
“The plan is simple. Each of you subjugates the Demon assigned to you. If additional Demons appear and your life is in danger, use the name tag to contact us.”
As long as there was no interference from Berid, the mission would be completed easily.
At that moment, Dan Chun-woo raised his hand and asked,
“Then, what’s that guy doing?”
“I’ll be controlling any unforeseen variables. If anyone ends up in danger, I’ll go provide support. If you fall into a crisis, make sure to contact me.”
That’s what I said, but—
I didn’t think Park Siwoo, Dan Chun-woo, or Helena would end up in danger.
To Berid, they weren’t particularly attractive prey.
Their potential was certainly high, but that was only knowledge I had because I’d played the game and knew the future.
At present, their skills were merely outstanding among first-year cadets.
So the one he would most likely target was Yoo Iseo.
In the game as well, his goal was always Yoo Iseo.
He would probably try to kidnap her, corrupt her into a Demon, or perform usurpation to absorb her abilities and grow stronger.
I looked at my companions making their final checks before heading out to subjugate the Demons.
The one I paid the most attention to was Helena.
Her 모습 as she checked her weapon looked calm.
But her eyes, reflected on the blade’s edge, were trembling ever so slightly.
I moved and sat down beside her.
“Is this your first time fighting a Demon since the field trip?”
“Even back then, I couldn’t really contribute properly. I was tossed around by the Demon and almost ended up hurting my teammates.”
“This time, you’re alone. There’s no teammate right next to you watching your back.”
“I know.”
Helena lowered her head even further.
“You once asked me how I overcame my fear of Demons, remember?”
Her head turned.
A faint hope lingered in her eyes.
But there wasn’t really anything I could tell her.
Unlike her, I’d never had an extreme fear or trauma toward something.
So I just said what I could.
Something like life know-how I’d learned while struggling not to fall into despair after being given a terminal diagnosis in my previous life.
“Erase your emotions. Focus only on what’s unfolding right in front of you. When you look at the world without emotions, a lot of things turn out to be nothing special.”
“That doesn’t make any sense. How is a person supposed to erase their emotions?”
“I’m telling you to let go of yourself. Take a step back and look at it like you’re watching a movie.”
“That makes even less sense. You sound like an old man.”
At the word ‘old man,’ I clenched my fist.
The little brat—here I was trying to comfort her.
Letting out a sigh, I pulled something out of my pocket.
Interest flickered in her eyes when she saw it.
“What’s that?”
“An artifact. When you encounter a Demon, pour mana into this and launch it into the sky.”
What I showed Helena was the Star of Art.
Originally, this item had been prepared for the Demon of Indulgence.
But after Berid defeated the Demon of Indulgence, it had turned into something of a white elephant item.
However, that didn’t mean the item was useless.
Most Demon abilities tended to inflict debuffs on their opponents during combat.
Especially for Helena, who suffered mentally when activating her abilities, it would be a huge help.
Using Dragon Eyes, Helena looked at the Star of Art, her eyes sparkling.
“It’s beautiful. It feels like a star plucked straight from the sky.”
“It’s pretty much that. Anyway, I’ll lend it to you. Come back with all your limbs intact and return it.”
“What is that? Some kind of death-flag line? Are you worried about me?”
At Helena’s playful attitude, I nodded seriously.
I hoped that none of them would get hurt.
“That thing is really valuable. If you take it and run, I’ll chase you to the ends of hell and get it back.”
“It feels like all the emotion just flew away.”
I had done everything I could for her.
What happened from here on out was up to Helena.
Honestly, after spoon-feeding her this much, she wouldn’t come back injured… right?
When I stood up from my seat, everyone’s gaze turned toward me.
Yoo Iseo’s eyes were icy cold, and Dan Chun-woo looked at me with a thoroughly chilled expression.
What was with this spotlight?
At that moment, Joo Sarang smacked my shoulder and asked,
“Hey, what about mine?”
“Why are you looking to me for yours?”
“You’re even giving her an artifact to wish her well, and you’re not going to give me anything?”
For a moment, I stared at her in disbelief.
Was she joking right now?
The Demon Joo Sarang had to deal with was a mid-ranking Demon.
With Joo Sarang’s skills as a high-ranking Demon, a mid-ranking Demon would be easy pickings.
To the point where I couldn’t even worry if I tried.
If there’d been another high-ranking Demon, she’d have gone to handle that one instead, yet here she was exaggerating.
I flicked her forehead.
“Ah! Why’d you hit me?”
“Finish it as fast as you can and go help the others.”
“Damn it, you bastard!”
Snorting angrily, Joo Sarang snapped her head away and left the Student Council room.
Park Siwoo and Dan Chun-woo followed her out one after another.
On their way out, they patted my shoulder a few times, and Dan Chun-woo even shot me a glare and clicked his tongue.
What was wrong with these guys?
Looking aggrieved, I turned to Seo Da-hee.
But what I got in return was cold indifference.
Then, Yoo Iseo, who was the last one left, spoke coldly.
“So that’s how you strung Da-hee along too. How shameless.”
“Huh?”
Shameless?
I was someone who’d never even held a girl’s hand.
I understood why they were misunderstanding me, but still—then maybe don’t be so strong and mentally tough!
Why were they blaming me for their strength and resilience?
If there had been at least something actually going on, I might’ve accepted it, but this was just unfair.
Even so, while thinking that, I prayed that those who had left would return safely.
Helena felt warmth seeping out from the inner pocket of her uniform.
It was the heat emitted by the Star of Art she had received earlier from Yoo Sung-woo.
As if he were worrying about her himself.
‘As expected, there’s no way that person is a Demon.’
A Demon commanding a Demon-subjugation operation?
That made no sense.
Helena pushed away the lingering anxiety in her heart.
She took out her phone and checked the Demon’s location information.
Perhaps because it was being chased by the Association’s watchers, the Demon hadn’t managed to get as far as expected.
She recalled the information about the Demon she had to fight.
The Demon of Plague.
The opponent manipulated black spores like organic matter, and anyone who came into contact with those spores would contract various diseases.
A troublesome opponent.
‘That is, if I didn’t have the Star of Art.’
But even if the opponent had become easier, the deeply rooted fear of Demons didn’t disappear in an instant.
After running for quite some time, the Demon’s location information was now close.
Seeing this, Helena realized her heart was starting to beat faster and faster.
Along with stale, long-buried memories, nightmares from the past began to surface.
Thick smoke, and her mother’s collapsed corpse.
The sight of a Demon approaching her.
Helena squeezed her eyes shut and recalled the words Yoo Sung-woo had said.
‘Exclude your emotions, and take a step back like you’re watching a movie…….’
Soon, a man clad in black appeared before her eyes.
Helena opened her eyes wide and shouted at the Demon.
“Stop right there. Demon!”
Instead of stopping, the Demon stretched his hand toward her.
From his hand, a black sphere the size of a basketball shot out.
Seeing this, Helena drew her sword and pulled up her mana.
When blue sword aura enveloped her blade, she immediately swung it, firing the aura forward.
The blue light of the sword aura cleaved through the black sphere.
Pueong!
With black smoke, the split sphere spilled countless small pellets, like a grenade exploding.
In the end, she couldn’t dodge all the attacks raining down like shrapnel.
Black pellets clung to her body.
Seeing this, Helena’s face twisted reflexively.
His ability was the power of plague.
Just coming into contact with the attack induced lethal diseases.
In an instant, Helena felt dizzy and staggered in place.
Her body, which had been sprinting through a forest of buildings, fell onto the cold asphalt ground.
“Kikik!”
Seeing this, the Demon halted his movement and sneered at her.
“How is it? Feeling dizzy? Soon your body will be paralyzed. Your muscles will stiffen. Breathing will get harder too.”
Helena looked down at her hand.
The area struck by the black pellets the Demon had thrown was gradually turning black.
“Keuk, kekeke, I never thought the bitch chasing me would be this stupid. Charging at me, an elite Demon, so carelessly?”
Hearing this, Helena smiled.
She was definitely afraid.
Her hands were still trembling.
But she still hadn’t forgotten Yoo Sung-woo’s words.
Exclude emotions and face reality.
The Demon before her was deluding himself into thinking he was something special.
But this was Helena’s ruse to catch the fleeing Demon.
She raised her trembling hand and slipped it into her chest.
She felt the Star of Art emitting warm heat.
At the same time, her breathing stabilized, and the dizziness that had been hindering her movements began to fade.
The Demon, still unaware that she had recovered, approached her to deliver the final blow.
At that moment, Helena’s pupils emitted a mysterious light of Dragon Eyes and split vertically.
Paat.
In the blink of an eye, her sword vanished from the Demon’s field of vision.
“W-what is this……?”
Even after his head was severed from his body, the Demon, who possessed tenacious vitality beyond that of ordinary people, blinked several times as if unable to grasp the situation.
Reflected in his eyes was Helena’s face, wearing a faint smile.
Helena spoke in a refreshing voice.
“You said I was a stupid bitch, right? You idiot?”