Chapter 128
Helena blinked as she regained consciousness.
A familiar ceiling.
Along with the soft sensation of a blanket, a faint medicinal smell lingered in the air.
With messy hair, Helena slowly sat up from the bed.
“This place is…….”
It was the Academy’s Infirmary.
‘Why am I here?’
Helena began to retrace her memories.
She had headed to the Observatory with Instructor Chun Ga-eun to find Yoo Sung-woo—and met him.
And then…
She lost control.
After that, her memory was blank.
The only thing she vaguely remembered was collapsing into his arms after exhausting all her strength.
Countless questions began to fill her mind.
‘What happened to him? Was he captured?’
She blamed herself for losing control and being unable to restrain her emotions.
There were so many things she wanted to hear, and so many things she needed to say.
But she had been consumed by fear at the thought of facing him—and couldn’t do anything.
Instead, she had only caused trouble.
‘But why do I feel so refreshed?’
It felt like a house that hadn’t been cleaned for a long time had finally been thoroughly tidied.
Even if she couldn’t remember it, perhaps she had faced the truth she both wanted to know and feared the most.
What she had feared most was the possibility that the person she thought of as a friend had been using and deceiving her behind her back.
At that moment, the curtain of the hospital room was pulled aside, and someone entered.
“Helena? You’re awake!”
Park Siwoo approached with a smile, holding what looked like fresh fruit.
“Are you feeling okay? When Instructor Chun Ga-eun carried you into the Infirmary, I was really worried.”
“Instructor Chun Ga-eun brought me here? What about him? What happened to him?”
“Him?”
Park Siwoo quickly realized who she meant.
“You met Seongwoo?”
“…….”
“What happened after you left with Instructor Chun Ga-eun?”
At his question, Helena hesitated for a moment.
He, too, had once firmly trusted Yoo Sung-woo—just like she had.
No, in some ways, their bond had been even deeper.
“You deserve to know what happened too.”
Helena told him what had happened with Seongwoo.
“So… you met him, your power went out of control, and after that, you don’t remember anything?”
“Yes.”
In truth, even if she wanted to explain more, there wasn’t much she could say.
Only Chun Ga-eun knew the full story.
All the more reason she needed to meet her.
After listening, Park Siwoo spoke.
“Anyway, I’m glad you’re safe.”
“Thank you.”
An awkward silence fell between them.
It was because of the small incident during lunch.
Unexpectedly, Helena was the one who spoke first.
“Park Siwoo, are you okay?”
“About what?”
“You were closer to him than I was. Weren’t you troubled when you found out he’s a Demon?”
At that, Park Siwoo’s eyes widened.
He hadn’t expected to hear that from Helena.
“What’s with that expression?”
“I just didn’t expect you to ask about Seongwoo first.”
Ever since learning that Yoo Sung-woo was the Devil Knight, Helena had grown sensitive and cold—pushing others away and even creating conflict.
To see her change so suddenly was surprising.
A faint smile formed on Park Siwoo’s face.
‘It feels like I’m finally seeing the old Helena again.’
“Well, if you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to.”
“Hm? No, no. I’ll tell you.”
Shaking his head, Park Siwoo recalled that moment.
How had he felt when he found out Yoo Sung-woo was the Devil Knight?
“To be honest, I was shocked. But I don’t think I felt anything that strong. Everything was too chaotic back then.”
Closing his eyes briefly, he remembered.
Instructor Kang Jae-seok dying with a hole in his chest.
The white mannequin-like monster approaching to kill them.
The helplessness of being unable to do anything in front of an enemy.
It had felt like a terrible nightmare.
But even in that chaos, one thing remained clear.
Yoo Sung-woo desperately trying to save Kang Jae-seok.
And Seongwoo standing in front of the Drake-transformed monster, trying to block its breath.
“Seongwoo is definitely a Demon. But I’m not sure that means he betrayed us.”
“I see.”
Helena fell silent.
His words gave her much to think about.
‘Maybe I was too consumed by my emotions to see the truth.’
She had fixated only on the fact that Yoo Sung-woo was a Demon—and hated him for it.
But Park Siwoo was different.
Instead of hating him, he chose to believe in him.
“You really are something.”
“Am I? Haha.”
Embarrassed, Park Siwoo scratched his cheek.
Seeing that, Helena felt an inexplicable sense of defeat.
Just as silence began to settle again—
Chun Ga-eun returned.
“What, you’re awake?”
“Instructor?”
Her expression didn’t look good.
A strong smell of cigarette smoke clung to her.
As if she had been chain-smoking somewhere.
“Instructor! Then…!”
“Don’t ask that question. I’m not going to answer it anyway.”
“How do you know what I was going to ask?”
“You’re obviously going to ask what happened to that brat Yoo Sung-woo.”
At that, Helena shut her mouth.
“Did you capture him?”
“That’s not something you kids need to know.”
Saying that, Chun Ga-eun took out a lollipop and crunched it loudly.
She was clearly irritated.
As she recalled what had happened with Seongwoo, her expression twisted again.
‘Tch, that bold bastard. The more I think about it, the more it feels like I got played.’
---
After safely leaving the Academy, I walked down the road with a grin.
I was satisfied with what I had gained from this visit.
To get straight to the point—I rejected Chun Ga-eun’s proposal.
She had offered me freedom in exchange for acting as a double agent between Pandemonium and the Academy.
Why reject an alliance?
First, Chun Ga-eun alone didn’t have the power to pull me out of Pandemonium.
If I were an ordinary Demon, maybe—but I was a resource Pandemonium absolutely needed.
Second, in her proposal, she held the upper hand.
I had my own plans, and without control, it could become a variable—or even a hindrance.
For those reasons, I refused.
She made quite a funny face when I did.
Of course, I didn’t just reject her outright.
A top-tier Hero like her was an excellent deterrent against Pandemonium.
So instead, I made a proposal of my own.
An offer she couldn’t refuse—and one that would give me the initiative.
A mutually beneficial cooperation.
The terms were simple.
In exchange for restoring Instructor Kang Jae-seok from his coma, I would gain the right to make three requests of Chun Ga-eun.
Since they were requests, she could refuse depending on the nature of them.
She seemed to hesitate—but eventually accepted.
And I immediately made my first request.
That she become the guardian of No. 66 when she escaped two months later.
After escaping and arriving at the Academy, No. 66 would face a harsh reality.
Cadets would look at her with prejudice.
Guilds and factions would try to exploit her.
But with Chun Ga-eun backing her, no one would dare touch her.
I looked at the ancient characters engraved on my wrist like a bracelet.
Proof of the contract between us.
Personally, I quite liked the design.
Stretching my stiff body, I sighed.
After continuous battles and mental strain, I desperately needed rest.
At times like this, soaking in a hot bath at a sauna would be perfect.
Of course, that was just wishful thinking.
Since I had made a contract, I had obligations too.
Technically, I should fulfill my three requests first before treating Kang Jae-seok…
But was that really necessary?
Instructor Kang Jae-seok was a major force—and a pillar of morale for the Academy.
If he recovered, the Academy would regain some vitality.
I headed toward the hospital where he was admitted.
Unfortunately, Chun Ga-eun couldn’t follow.
Due to tightened security, even Instructors couldn’t leave the Academy freely.
Fortunately, the hospital wasn’t far.
It was the largest hospital in the country.
The place looked more like a luxury hotel.
While there were ordinary patients, most of the main clientele were wealthy and successful Heroes.
I immediately applied for a visit.
Since I came under Chun Ga-eun’s request, there was no need to bypass heavy security.
In fact, once they learned I was endorsed by her, the staff treated me with great respect.
After going through several procedures, I finally entered Kang Jae-seok’s hospital room.
It was large, with a single bed placed in the center.
Though luxurious, it felt lonely.
Kang Jae-seok lay there like a corpse.
A ventilator covered his mouth, and wires were attached to his body.
Beep— Beep—
The monitor pulsed steadily.
I looked at his empty arm.
The one he lost in the battle against the Demon.
Time to begin.
Rolling up my sleeve, I removed his ventilator.
Treating him was simple.
He was in a coma for some unknown reason.
The cause didn’t matter.
The solution was straightforward.
The Power of Restoration—Demonic Authority that returned the body to its optimal state.
Using it made treatment easy.
I created a small dagger with the Dark Relic and cut my palm.
After absorbing the Heart of the Demon, the Power of Restoration was no longer limited to myself.
Its performance had increased tremendously.
I had confirmed that during training with the Heavenly Demon.
Not something I wanted to remember.
Blood welled up from my palm—then stopped.
The Power of Restoration instantly healed it.
This should be enough.
I reached out and let my blood drip into Kang Jae-seok’s mouth.
For some reason, blood was the best medium for using the Power of Restoration on others.
Drop by drop, it moistened his lips.
“It’s time to wake up.”
A month of rest was more than enough.
And there were many waiting for him.
At that moment, a blue message appeared before me.
【The Heart of the Demon acknowledges the blood offering.】
【Would you like to make ‘Kang Jae-seok’ your servant?】
【‘Kang Jae-seok’ possesses great power. Probability of failure is high.】
【Upon success, ‘Kang Jae-seok’ will become bound.】
【Y / N】