Chapter 127
On the way to the Observatory, Chun Ga-eun asked Helena,
‘Why are you trying to find him?’
At that question, Helena couldn’t answer.
Even she didn’t know the reason.
‘Why am I trying to find him?’
Because he stole the Star of Art?
Or to vent her anger at being deceived and manipulated?
She didn’t know.
She just felt that if she didn’t at least see his face, she wouldn’t know how to resolve these emotions.
And finally, that man appeared before her.
Beneath the beautiful artificial night sky, with golden eyes shining like the sun.
Seeing him again after so long, he didn’t look much different from a month ago.
But Helena’s feelings upon seeing him again were completely different.
There was so much she wanted to say.
So much she wanted to ask.
But none of those words came out.
Why?
The answer came easily.
She was afraid.
Afraid that all the time and memories they had shared meant less than scraps of paper to him.
Afraid that the Yoo Sung-woo she knew was all a lie—and that he was truly a Demon she despised.
Just as stagnant water rots, emotions are the same.
And Helena’s stagnant emotions had already rotted, eating away at her.
The power of the dragon she had suppressed began to stir, and her pupils split vertically.
“Grrrrrr…….”
The dragon’s power she had barely kept restrained began to spiral out of control along with her surging emotions.
Soon, a beast-like roar—something no human could make—burst from her mouth.
Seeing that, Yoo Sung-woo’s expression hardened.
He couldn’t grasp the exact reason, but he could tell that Helena was about to go berserk.
It was a sight he had already seen several times—in the game and here.
Seongwoo’s gaze shifted to Chun Ga-eun, who stood beside her.
But instead, she stepped back as if she found the situation interesting.
Seeing that, Seongwoo frowned deeply.
‘What the hell is going on all of a sudden?! Why are Helena and that woman even here?!’
He had just returned after clearing the dungeon, yet the two of them appeared as if they had been waiting—and Helena immediately began to lose control.
There was no time to calmly analyze the situation.
He had to act immediately.
Because Helena’s body had already begun to change.
Silver scales resembling her hair began to grow unevenly across her body.
It was like a crude imitation of her father, Oliver Raiders’, half-human half-dragon transformation.
Seeing that, Seongwoo swallowed hard.
He could feel that her power had grown far stronger than before.
‘Instructor Chun Ga-eun… she has no intention of stepping in at all.’
In truth, Seongwoo was more wary of Chun Ga-eun, who was watching idly, than of Helena herself.
A mere Instructor was just standing by while her own student was going berserk.
He couldn’t read her intentions at all.
Clicking his tongue lightly, Seongwoo looked back at Helena.
In her incomplete half-dragon form, tears clung pitifully to her eyes.
Seeing that, an inexplicable sense of guilt rose within him.
Because he could clearly feel that she was suffering like this because of him.
‘I thought she was doing fine… attending the Academy without issues.’
That had only been his wish.
Helena had been slowly withering away.
At that moment, Helena’s figure vanished from before his eyes.
Though incomplete, her half-dragon body possessed terrifying physical abilities.
Her claws, which had grown in an instant, slashed toward Seongwoo.
With a troubled expression, Yoo Sung-woo swung his fist and blocked her attack.
For Seongwoo, subduing Helena wasn’t difficult.
No matter how much stronger she had become, the gap between them had been clear since a month ago.
Moreover, Yoo Sung-woo’s growth defied common sense.
However, even for him, it was difficult to subdue her without injuring her as she rampaged like she was burning herself alive.
His mind began to spin rapidly.
Meanwhile, Helena charged at him again.
“GRAAAAH!”
A powerful Dragon Fear swept through the surroundings.
A force that oppressed all lower beings.
But her power didn’t affect anyone here.
Rather, Seongwoo used it as an opportunity, slipping behind her and grabbing her tightly.
It was to restrain her movements.
“KRAAAAH!”
She roared wildly, struggling to shake him off.
But even as she lashed out, she couldn’t leave so much as a scratch on Seongwoo, whose body was enhanced by Mighty Strength and the Power of Restoration.
Instead, the more she struggled, the more injuries appeared on her own body.
Seeing that, Seongwoo’s expression hardened.
To him, it looked as if Helena was harming herself.
At that moment, a scene flashed through his mind.
In the middle of the game, Oliver Raiders had calmed a berserk Helena by sacrificing himself—enduring all her attacks until she was exhausted.
If he endured her attacks until she collapsed, he could subdue her without harming her.
Without hesitation, Seongwoo acted.
He released the arms restraining her and accepted her attacks.
Her claws and fangs tore into his body.
Even so, Seongwoo didn’t let out a single groan and endured it all.
Because he knew that every attack directed at him was her pent-up emotions, resentment, and questions.
Wounds formed and healed repeatedly across his body.
It was a sight that would make anyone watching wince, yet Chun Ga-eun’s eyes gleamed with interest.
Time passed.
Most of the Observatory’s simulation hall was soaked in blood.
And still, Seongwoo continued to endure Helena’s attacks.
As if comforting her, he spoke,
“Let it all out. Everything…”
Helena looked utterly exhausted.
Her Dragon Eyes had dimmed, and the hand that had been swinging her claws slowed to a halt.
Soon, her body collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.
Seongwoo carefully caught her.
‘Haah… this is exhausting.’
It wasn’t his body that was tired.
But it felt like his mind was being worn down.
Because as he endured her attacks, he had felt all of her emotions and pain.
‘Even as she attacked me… she was crying endlessly.’
Still, fortunately, in the final moment, her face looked much more at ease.
At that moment, Chun Ga-eun, who had been watching everything, approached him.
---
Chun Ga-eun’s eyes gleamed as she observed the situation.
‘Well, well?’
Helena’s berserk state had been something even Chun Ga-eun hadn’t expected.
She had intended to subdue her immediately—but then she saw Seongwoo’s actions and stopped, choosing to watch instead.
Helena’s rampage was clearly an opportunity for Yoo Sung-woo.
An opportunity to escape while she dealt with Helena.
In fact, Yoo Sung-woo possessed the ability to escape even from Chun Ga-eun.
But he didn’t.
The expression on his face as he looked at Helena wasn’t that of a Demon plotting evil.
It was anxiety, worry, regret.
And he even sacrificed himself to avoid harming Helena.
Self-sacrifice.
‘A choice no ordinary Demon would ever make.’
Yet he chose to sacrifice himself for her.
Even though subduing her would mean being captured by Chun Ga-eun.
And that strengthened one of Chun Ga-eun’s suspicions.
In truth, she hadn’t come to eliminate Yoo Sung-woo.
She had come to talk to him.
Because she knew that it was Yoo Sung-woo who had saved her close friend, Kang Jae-seok.
That hadn’t been hard to find out.
There were more than a few who had witnessed him restoring Kang Jae-seok.
From that moment, Chun Ga-eun had grown curious and doubtful about Yoo Sung-woo.
He was a leader of Pandemonium—yet he saved Kang Jae-seok.
That was clearly an act of betrayal against Pandemonium.
So Chun Ga-eun used her information network to uncover everything about him.
She had borrowed the power of Yeonhwa, a classified government intelligence unit.
It was something only she—formerly the captain of Shadow of the Rapid Response Unit—could do.
What she discovered was unbelievable.
He had been secretly building his own faction and interfering with Pandemonium.
The proof was Seo Da-hee.
A tragic cadet who had been known as the Student Council’s secretary and presumed dead at the hands of a Devil Knight.
Yet she had returned alive.
Seo Da-hee denied any connection to the Devil Knight and claimed Yoo Iseo had saved her, but Chun Ga-eun knew that was a lie.
A traitor to Pandemonium.
Even after seeing the reports, it had been hard to believe.
Pandemonium’s Demons were fanatical and insane.
But today, she saw it with her own eyes.
Yoo Sung-woo sacrificing himself for Helena.
At that point, she had no choice but to believe.
Chun Ga-eun approached Seongwoo.
Even while carefully holding Helena, he didn’t lower his guard against her.
Despite enduring Helena’s attacks, not a single wound remained on his body.
But the blood soaking the floor testified to what had just occurred.
Chun Ga-eun removed her coat and tossed it to him.
His clothes had been torn to shreds from Helena’s attacks, leaving nothing to cover himself.
“Your body seems to be getting better and better.”
Seongwoo frowned at her words.
A clear display of irritation.
“What are you planning?”
“Such short speech. I was your Instructor, even if only briefly.”
“Don’t change the subject. You stood by while your student went berserk. With your strength, you could’ve easily dealt with me. Did you use her?”
Use.
It hadn’t been her intention, but in a way, it could be called that.
But it was also respect for Helena.
She had seen the tangled emotions Helena held toward him.
Chun Ga-eun took out a cigarette.
Mistaking it for an attack, Seongwoo released a powerful aura.
Lighting the cigarette, she spoke,
“I’m sorry for standing by while Helena lost control. But I needed to confirm something.”
“Confirm?”
“Yes. Whether you still possess a human heart.”
Exhaling smoke, Chun Ga-eun met his eyes.
Golden eyes as clear and blazing as the sun.
She spoke her true feelings to Yoo Sung-woo.
“Thank you for saving my friend. And I respect the effort you’ve made, struggling in the shadows to protect the Academy.”
“…What?”
Yoo Sung-woo’s eyes trembled violently.
Though she spoke indirectly, her words pierced straight through his betrayal of Pandemonium.
Very few knew that he had betrayed Pandemonium.
Because he had hidden it thoroughly.
Even regarding the hellification of the Academy, even the Instructors who fought the Demons didn’t know the full truth.
“Just who are you?”
“That’s not something you need to know.”
At her indifferent reply, Seongwoo frowned.
Regardless, Chun Ga-eun seemed quite intrigued.
Then she extended her hand toward him.
“Do you have any intention of breaking free from Pandemonium’s suffocating shackles? I want to give you a proper opportunity.”