Chapter 129
I stared intently at the message window that had 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】
So if I give Instructor Kang Jae-seok my blood, he’ll become subordinate to me?
Since when could I even do something like this?
It’s not like I’ve ever had a reason to feed someone my blood.
This was my first time encountering something like this, so I was genuinely flustered.
To think the Power of Restoration had this kind of ability.
Come to think of it, a power I gained when I obtained the Trait Extreme Demonic Body came to mind.
Pressure—something only higher beings could manifest.
And another of their traits was the ability to create servants under their command.
Just like Demons…
Wait. Then if I accept this, does that mean Instructor Kang Jae-seok will become a Demon?
I fell into thought.
What should I do?
Turning Instructor Kang Jae-seok into a Demon…
Of course, even if he became one, he would be different from other Demons.
According to the message, he would be bound to me and unable to disobey my commands.
Maybe I could even make it so he wouldn’t realize he had become a Demon.
And I would gain a trustworthy ally.
Thinking about it like that… it didn’t sound so bad.
No. Get a grip.
I shook my head to clear my thoughts.
Turning him into a Demon without his consent was something I should never do.
Since when had my thinking about Demons become so warped?
They were enemies of the world—beings who had sold their souls to Demons.
And I was about to put Instructor Kang Jae-seok in the same position as them?
Then what difference would there be between me and a Demon?
Moreover, if Instructor Chun Ga-eun found out?
The moment she learned the truth, she would undoubtedly turn against me.
And even if I accepted it, the success rate was low.
I reached out and pressed N.
Wanting more than this would just be greed.
Besides, even without making him subordinate, I could fully restore his body.
Well, that didn’t mean the blood offering function was useless.
Someday, I’d find someone worth using it on properly.
I could feel the blood I had infused into Instructor Kang Jae-seok.
Using that as a medium, activating the Power of Restoration was easy.
Once activated, the Power of Restoration began coursing through his entire body.
Soon, his complexion slowly returned.
That wasn’t all.
The injuries he had suffered in the battle against the Demon were gradually healing.
Back when the Academy underwent Hell Manifestation, I hadn’t been able to fully restore his body.
I had only taken minimal measures to keep him alive.
I thought the remaining wounds would be handled by the medical staff in this world.
But I was wrong.
Demonic energy lingering throughout his body—especially in his chest—was preventing recovery.
I placed my hand over his chest, where the demonic energy was most concentrated.
Fight poison with poison.
I had to slowly extract the demonic energy pooled within him.
How much time had passed?
Black energy began to seep out of Instructor Kang Jae-seok’s body.
“Mm…”
A faint groan escaped his lips.
That was a good sign.
A groan meant his senses were returning.
I withdrew my hand.
His faint breathing returned to normal, and all the demonic energy had been expelled.
Naturally, all his injuries were healed.
Except for his arm.
I looked at the still-empty space where his arm should have been.
Even the Power of Restoration couldn’t regenerate it.
My own body could recover even if my limbs were torn apart, but when used on others, the effect seemed significantly reduced.
If he had been a Demon—or bound to me—the result might have been different…
But then Instructor Kang Jae-seok would have surely fallen into despair.
After confirming he had returned to normal, I quietly left the hospital room.
---
The Heavenly Demon gazed at Seongwoo’s empty room.
A faint crease formed between her brows.
Beside her stood her attendant, Wol-ah.
“A foolish disciple left without even greeting his master.”
If he had at least informed her, she would have seen him off.
The Heavenly Demon was displeased with her foolish disciple, who only came looking for her when he needed something.
And recently, hadn’t he even gone to meet Lord Biden on his own?
Recalling that, she let out a sigh.
Yoo Sung-woo was in a very unstable state.
Even before, his balance of mind, body, and energy had been disrupted from training with her—but after meeting Lord Biden, that balance had completely collapsed.
At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before he fell into Demon Deviation.
Realizing that she was worrying about her disciple, the Heavenly Demon muttered,
“This is why I said I wouldn’t take on a child……”
It had already been nearly ten years since she took him in.
She had vowed not to grow attached.
Yet, whenever she had a moment, she found herself thinking of that foolish disciple.
From the beginning, she never expected her connection with him to last this long.
At first, she had intended to use Yoo Sung-woo merely as a servant.
That was before she met him in person.
Closing her eyes, the Heavenly Demon recalled an old memory.
Perhaps because she stood before his room, the memories felt even more vivid.
When she first met him, the young boy had been like a corpse.
Despite his healthy appearance, his eyes were dull.
Like someone whose soul had already left his body.
He did nothing unless told.
He wouldn’t eat, wouldn’t wash, wouldn’t even relieve himself.
As if he had given up on even dying, he simply stared blankly at the world.
Taking care of such a child wasn’t easy.
She had to teach him how to live from the very basics.
Nearly ten years passed like that, and the child gradually grew.
He began to act and decide on his own.
And though faintly, he started to express emotions.
By then, something resembling a master-disciple relationship had formed between them.
At that moment, Wol-ah gently tugged at her sleeve.
“Heavenly Demon, why are you standing here? Do you miss Seongwoo?”
“Why would you think that?”
“The way you look at the empty room… you seem lonely.”
‘Lonely, is it.’
So that’s how it looked.
At those words, the Heavenly Demon turned and left the room.
Wol-ah hurried after her with quick little steps.
The Heavenly Demon made a decision.
‘I must leave before he becomes even more precious to me.’
The longer she stayed with her disciple, the more her own ambition was fading.
She, who had always been resolute, was beginning to waver.
Being with him made her weak.
She had created her own weakness.
That was why she tried not to grow attached or show it.
But the real problem—
Was that even knowing this, she found satisfaction in it.
Seeing the Heavenly Demon suddenly fall silent, Wol-ah’s eyes wavered.
She worried that she might have upset her.
“Did I say something wrong?”
The Heavenly Demon raised her hand and stroked Wol-ah’s hair.
“You’re right. I do miss that foolish disciple.”
“R-Really? He said he’d be back in three days when he left the other day. He should be on his way back by now, right?”
At Wol-ah’s words, the Heavenly Demon quietly nodded.
Her gaze shifted to Wol-ah.
“Wol-ah, I will be away for a while.”
“Oh, really? Is that why you were looking at his room?”
“Yes.”
Wol-ah nodded as if she was used to it.
Once or twice a month, the Heavenly Demon would leave for a few days.
It was for the regular meetings among the High-ranking Executives.
“But… aren’t you leaving a bit early this time?”
“This time, it may take a while.”
“H-How long is ‘a while’?”
Worry crept into Wol-ah’s eyes.
Though mature for her age, she was still not even seven years old.
“Perhaps… it will be difficult to see me for several weeks.”
“Ah……”
“Don’t worry too much. That foolish disciple is here, isn’t he? Take good care of him.”
“But……”
Her words trailed off.
Her gaze resembled that of a puppy seeing off its owner.
The Heavenly Demon felt a faint sense of guilt.
But this too was attachment.
She needed to start letting go, little by little.
Wol-ah, as if sensing something, asked,
“You will come back… right?”
“Yes.”
At the end of her words lingered an unspoken ‘this time.’
She had no intention of abandoning the child immediately.
But she needed to start distancing herself.
Especially from her disciple.
After all, she was ultimately just a passing outsider.
Leaving Wol-ah behind, the Heavenly Demon entered her room.
It was simple.
A low desk with a manual she was writing for Wol-ah.
A blanket.
And a phone she barely knew how to use.
Caw— Caw—
In the middle of the day, the ominous cry of a crow echoed.
Through the open window, a pitch-black crow cried ominously.
“You’re quite impatient.”
That crow was his messenger.
The reason she had decided so suddenly to prepare for departure was because of it.
The fact that he—who hadn’t contacted her for nearly ten years—was calling for her meant the time had come.
After packing, her gaze fell on the phone.
She had gotten it to contact her disciple, but since she didn’t know how to use it well, it had mostly been left untouched.
Instead of taking it, she picked up a pen and left a letter for Yoo Sung-woo.
It wasn’t anything grand—just a message telling him to take good care of Wol-ah.
Having finished what she needed to do, she stepped outside.
The crow she had seen earlier landed before her.
Caw— Caw—
As it flapped its wings, a human voice came from its beak.
“Heavenly Demon, he is waiting for you.”
“I know. Sending you must mean he’s quite urgent.”
“No. It simply means he cherishes you.”
At that, the Heavenly Demon let out a scoff and looked down at the crow.
“More importantly, how long do you plan to stay like that?”
“Ah, my apologies.”
The crow’s body was engulfed in darkness and began to expand.
Soon, its form twisted grotesquely.
A disturbing fusion of human and crow.
It wasn’t an ordinary crow—but a Demon.
Not some half-baked one like those that wreaked havoc at the Academy.
A true Demon.
As it slashed the air with its wings, space split open, revealing pitch-black darkness.
This Demon had no combat ability.
But it possessed another power.
The ability of spatial movement.
The Gate Stones used by high-ranking Demons were byproducts of this crow Demon’s power.
The crow Demon bowed like a gentleman and spoke,
“Please, step in. He is waiting.”
“Very well. If the great leader of Pandemonium calls, I suppose I must go.”
Yes.
The one who summoned the Heavenly Demon—
Was the leader of Pandemonium.
The first Demon.
The King of Demons.
And so, the Heavenly Demon disappeared into the black portal.
Wol-ah watched silently from afar.