Chapter 104
I checked the tablet and monitored the party’s vitals.
Since there was no telling when Berid might target someone, I had to maintain my focus.
There was no need to worry about Instructor Kang Jae-seok, and Park Siwoo and Dan Chun-woo also seemed to be performing better than expected.
However, the most unexpected thing of all was that the very first person to kill a Demon was none other than Helena Raiders.
Helena’s excited voice came through the receiver.
[“I killed a Demon with my own hands!”]
“Yeah, good work. How do you feel?”
[“Honestly, it doesn’t feel real. And rather than my own skill, I relied on the power of an artifact.”]
“Borrowing the power of an artifact doesn’t matter. What matters is that you killed a Demon.”
Overcoming trauma was never easy.
That was why I created a situation where she had no choice but to win.
Through this experience, she would come to realize that the Demon in reality was far more insignificant and trivial than the fear engraved in her memories.
All she needed was to gradually build up experiences like this.
“Come straight back to the Academy for now.”
[“Is it really okay if I don’t go help the others?”]
In truth, if she supported Park Siwoo or Dan Chun-woo, it would definitely be helpful.
But if two or more people gathered together, it might provoke Berid.
The current deployment wasn’t just a formation to respond to Berid—it was also a trap meant to lure him out.
More than anything, for safety’s sake, it was better for students who had already finished their fights to return to the Student Council.
“Who’s worrying about whom? Just hurry back.”
“Tsk, fine.”
After grumbling her reply, the connection with Helena was cut.
Next, I contacted Yoo Iseo.
Since the probability of her being Berid’s target was high, I needed to pay even closer attention to her.
“How’s the situation over there?”
[…….]
What? Why wasn’t she answering? Did the connection drop?
A wave of anxiety washed over me, but when I soon heard a Demon’s scream mixed with thunder, I felt slightly relieved.
“President, you should at least answer. I need to assess the situation. I thought something went wrong for a moment.”
[“I’m concentrating on the fight, so don’t contact me.”]
Yoo Iseo’s sharp reply came back.
Feeling awkward, I smacked my lips.
Tch, I was bound to be disliked once I revealed myself as the Devil Knight, but if she hated me even talking to her this much, it still stung a little.
Of course, from her perspective, I was just a bad guy, so she didn’t voice her dissatisfaction outright.
If I misspoke and ended up stacking hatred like last time, it would be a real problem.
“Anyway, there’s nothing unusual, right? If Berid attacks you, you can’t just not report it.”
I was worried that if Yoo Iseo encountered Berid, she might cut off all contact and fight him alone for revenge.
And it wasn’t an unfounded concern.
Her hatred toward Berid was so deep that her resentment toward me almost looked cute by comparison.
When I revealed my identity to Yoo Iseo,
and told her about Berid and his subordinates, she naturally learned about his ability.
The ability to take all the memories and powers of those he killed.
In other words, the Ha Yoon she had known was already dead at Berid’s hands, and the one wearing his skin was nothing more than a fake.
Yoo Iseo probably thought she had only lost one friend—Seo Da-hee.
But if she had known nothing, she would have lost both Ha Yoon and Seo Da-hee.
Watching her anger, many thoughts crossed my mind.
In the game, there was never a clear explanation of when Berid infiltrated the Academy.
As Yoo Iseo believed, there might once have been a kind and innocent Student Council member named Ha Yoon, whom Berid killed before taking his place.
That was the hopeful version.
And then there was the despairing version—there was never a student named Ha Yoon to begin with.
Berid killed Ha Yoon and then, from the moment of enrollment, built a relationship with Yoo Iseo under that identity.
Yoo Iseo seemed to choose holding onto the memories of the kind Ha Yoon over remembering that she had been betrayed and toyed with by Berid.
Yeah. That way, it stayed as pure rage, without turning into self-loathing.
I asked her again, since she still hadn’t answered.
“You know you have to contact me if you run into Berid, right?”
[“……I know.”]
Soon after, a massive thunderclap rang out, and I realized her battle had ended.
Hmm…… this was strange.
I was certain Berid would target Yoo Iseo.
He didn’t have the ability to deal with Kang Jae-seok.
Then shouldn’t he naturally appear before Yoo Iseo, the next strongest piece?
That was why I thought we’d launch a joint attack once the Demons appeared.
Was my assumption wrong?
Or… could it be Joo Sarang?
Her abilities were pretty broken too.
With a sense of unease, I contacted the others as well.
But none of them had sensed even the slightest sign of Berid, let alone an attack.
Berid did not appear.
At that moment, an unknown vibration shook the ground.
Kugugugugu!
An earthquake all of a sudden?
I sprang to my feet and looked out the window.
Outside, countless cadets were screaming and fleeing in all directions, thrown into chaos.
They didn’t know where to go, running about in panic and terror.
It was only natural.
From all around the buildings, ominous aura surged upward.
“You son of a bitch…….”
Anger boiling over, I slammed my fist into the wall of the Student Council room.
We had been played.
What he wanted wasn’t to seize control of key individuals.
Rather, he used his subordinates as bait to draw the Student Council’s main forces outside.
And in the moment the obstacles disappeared, he manifested Hell within the Academy.
---
Berid chuckled to himself.
For some reason, his voice sounded like that of an old hag.
An ominous magic circle covered the Academy.
A grand spell that manifested a part of Hell within the Academy.
The arrangement he had planted since the moment he was stationed at the Academy had finally activated.
“Still, the Hellification is slower than expected.”
Although the manifestation of Hell succeeded, the number of demonic beasts emerging was small.
“Was the gathered life force insufficient?”
He did not know that the Demon Statues had been heavily destroyed by Yoo Sung-woo and the others.
This arrangement was a secret he had never once shared with his subordinates.
That was why he couldn’t even imagine that it had been attacked by Joo Sarang or the Devil Knight.
Anyway, the magic itself had not failed.
And the Hell Manifestation was merely one part of his plan.
He turned his head and looked behind him.
There, Park Min-seo was bound head to toe in chains made of magic, groaning as his entire body was restrained.
“To think I’d find a vessel as excellent as Yoo Iseo’s right here.”
As he said that, he looked toward the Heart of the Demon at the center of the magic circle.
To summon a Demon, three conditions were required.
First, Hell had to be overlaid onto the stage of reality through a surreal space known as a ‘Gate’.
Second, a sacrifice was needed to summon the Demon.
And finally, a physical body in which the summoned Demon could reside had to be provided.
No matter how many other plans had failed, there was no plan greater than this Demon summoning.
In truth, discovering Park Min-seo as a vessel had been an act of sheer luck.
When Yoo Iseo ordered the large-scale Demon subjugation, there had been a list of Demons that was compiled.
While organizing that list, he had noticed Park Min-seo’s existence for the first time.
At first, he wasn’t sure whether Park Min-seo was a Demon or not.
But during the midterm exam, after watching the recorded duel between Yoo Sung-woo and Park Min-seo, he instinctively realized it.
Park Min-seo was a Demon.
More importantly, he was a naturally born Demon.
Naturally born Demons were extremely rare.
Most Demons were created when humans sought out Demons first and requested a contract.
In that process, they would offer sacrifices, perform human sacrifices, or impose restrictions upon themselves.
In other words, a Demon was inevitably a being that had lost something compared to when they were human.
For a Demon to directly choose a human and initiate a contract was something only a fairly high-ranking Demon could accomplish.
That was why naturally born Demons were those chosen by high-ranking Demons, possessing complete and untainted bodies and souls.
Above all, the authority of high-ranking Demons was far too powerful, so ordinary humans could not endure it and would inevitably go berserk.
But Park Min-seo’s power was so stable that, if left alone, even he himself wouldn’t realize he was a Demon.
Perhaps he was an even more perfect vessel than Yoo Iseo.
If that was the case, there was no reason to cling to Yoo Iseo.
Even if she became a Demon and contracted with a high-ranking Demon, she would still fall short of a true Demon.
Sensing that the preparations for the Hell Manifestation were complete, he smiled.
“Go on, then. If you can stop this, try stopping it, Devil Knight.”
He spread his arms wide, and a massive magic circle unfolded in his palms.
Kugugugugugu!
A vibration stronger than before shook the Academy.
At the same time, ominous aura began to seep out through the demonic energy spreading from the center of the magic circle.
The ground split apart, and thick sulfurous gas burst forth from the cracks.
From afar, the ominous cries of beasts echoed.
Having inhaled the fresh air of another world, the demonic beasts of Hell were awakening from a long slumber.
Berid felt his demonic energy swell to fullness upon the stage of Hell.
“Ssshh—haa. Can you feel it? This overwhelming power?”
“Yeah, I can feel it just fine!”
Berid wasn’t the only one empowered by the Hell Manifestation.
Sensing power suddenly surging through him, Park Min-seo broke free from his magical restraints.
He reached out, snapped the head off a long mop nearby, and held the handle like a sword.
At the same time, Park Min-seo’s eyes turned pure white.
KuoOOOO—
A violent gale raged around him.
Soul power infused the blade he held in an upper stance.
Watching this, Berid smiled with interest.
“To think a Demon would barely use demonic energy at all. Now I’m curious which Demon granted you power.”
“Shut up!”
With a fierce shout, Park Min-seo struck at Berid.
Puhwaaaaaaak!
A violent storm tore through the space.
Park Min-seo’s attack failed to pierce Berid’s barrier.
Still, the strike was stronger than expected, and Berid was slightly taken aback.
‘The level contained within that sword strike is considerable.’
And Park Min-seo’s attack didn’t end there.
As if he’d been waiting for this moment, dozens of consecutive strikes came rushing in.
Realizing that a single barrier wouldn’t suffice, Berid stacked three barriers and waved his hand.
Berid’s shadow stretched out and spread across the surroundings, turning into something like a swamp as it began to swallow Park Min-seo.
To escape the swamp of shadows, Park Min-seo unleashed his mana.
For a moment, the darkness seemed to scatter, but it soon returned to the shadows, transforming into countless hands that dragged Park Min-seo back in.
“Damn it……!”
Park Min-seo cursed.
The mop handle he’d been using as a weapon had long since shattered.
Black hands crawled up his body, and his breathing gradually grew constricted.
Resolving himself to internal injury, Park Min-seo drew out his soul power once more.
The forcibly elevated soul power damaged his core, and blood seeped from his mouth.
But at least his physical energy surged.
Park Min-seo took his stance again to swing his sword—
Puuk.
Along with the chilling sound of flesh tearing, dizzying pain surged through him.
“Uh?”
Unable to grasp the situation, Park Min-seo looked down at his chest.
A wrinkled hand had pierced straight through it.
Seeing this, Berid chuckled softly.
“Did you really think I’d let the same technique hit me twice after blocking it once?”
As he spoke, Berid clenched Park Min-seo’s heart tightly.
“Did you know? A Demon doesn’t die immediately just because their heart is ripped out. Especially not when demonic energy is this abundant.”
Puhwak.
At the same time, blood burst from Park Min-seo’s chest like a fountain.
His body collapsed as if crumbling.
Letting out a sinister laugh, Berid lifted the body and placed it at the exact center of the magic circle.
Then he embedded the Heart of the Demon into the empty space where Park Min-seo’s heart had been.
With that, the preparations for Demon Revival were complete.
All that remained was to wait until sufficient sacrifices were gathered.
Berid had never felt this delighted.
Even Park Min-seo alone had displayed this much power.
If the Demons hidden throughout the Academy all rose up at once, just how many casualties would there be?
The thought alone was intoxicating.
Activating amplification magic, Berid shouted to all the Demons across the Academy.
[“The time has come. You who have been crouching in hiding—rise up. It is time for the festival!”]