Chapter 151
I was briefly thrown into confusion by Malphas's words.
The leader of Pandemonium?
Why would he suddenly appear here?
The unexpected situation made my head throb.
It hadn't even been that long since I was shocked by the truth about the Heavenly Demon, and now I was being hit with another trial...
I quietly looked at the being before me.
That really was the leader of Pandemonium?
Even though he was clearly standing right in front of me, his presence was strangely faint.
It was like looking at a ghost.
Perhaps because of that, it was difficult to even make out his appearance.
For the moment, I knelt before him.
No matter the circumstances, I was nothing more than an Executive of Pandemonium.
I wasn't in a position to look directly at the leader of Pandemonium.
"It is an honor to stand before the legend of Pandemonium and the King of Demons."
Was he pleased with my reaction?
Malphas, standing beside him, puffed out his chest and cleared his throat for no reason.
Why was that bastard looking so proud?
Then the leader spoke.
"Rise."
A voice that rang clearly despite his hazy presence.
The overwhelming pressure carried within it sent chills down my spine.
I couldn't sense any actual power from him, yet there was an inexplicable force within his voice alone that made it feel impossible to disobey.
Following his command, I slowly stood.
Our eyes met.
No... could those even be called eyes?
It was a gaze.
A gaze etched into the faint afterimage standing before me.
His gaze pierced through me as though stripping away my very existence.
An indescribable feeling of discomfort welled up inside me.
With my current strength, I could have blocked it without difficulty.
But I didn't.
In this tense atmosphere, creating unnecessary friction seemed like a bad idea.
So I accepted his gaze without resistance.
At the same time, I realized something.
The leader of Pandemonium standing before me...
He was a fake.
More precisely, he seemed to have sent only a fragment of his consciousness.
Otherwise, there was no explaining that ghost-like, indistinct presence.
That's a little disappointing.
The leader of Pandemonium was a figure shrouded in mystery.
Even in 《Become a Hero》, he had only appeared once.
Because of that, I had always been curious about him.
The leader of Pandemonium was an uncontrollable variable whose actions no one could predict.
This situation had been the perfect opportunity to gather information on someone I knew almost nothing about.
Of course, sending only a fragment of his consciousness had ruined that opportunity.
He seemed extremely reluctant to reveal his true identity.
It was to the point that, among Heroes, the leader of Pandemonium was treated like the subject of an urban legend, while the Demons revered him as though he were a god.
If I hadn't played the game, I probably would have questioned whether the leader of Pandemonium even existed.
But I knew.
I knew he was real.
And I knew just how horrifying and overwhelming his power truly was.
The strength and impact he displayed in the game had been nothing short of incredible.
The cinematic from back then was still vividly etched into my memory.
I recalled that moment.
His appearance came during the final stages of a specific scenario route.
Just before the Great War between Pandemonium and the Academy, an enormous army of Demons had surrounded the Academy on all sides.
At that moment, the once crystal-clear sky turned black, and the sun disappeared.
At the same time, every color vanished from the world.
And there was only one being who still possessed color.
His body was crimson like blood.
He stretched out his hand toward the Academy.
The Barrier Wall protecting the Academy shattered instantly.
It was a short cinematic that lasted no more than thirty seconds.
He never appeared in the game again afterward.
Yet he had branded himself into the minds of every player.
At that moment, the Heavenly Demon, who had been watching with visible dissatisfaction, interrupted.
Wol-ah clung tightly to her side like a baby chick.
The girl was trembling while clutching the Heavenly Demon's sleeve.
"So, without even a single word, you intrude upon this lady's residence? Whatever happened to the respect and consideration you promised to show me?"
Her tone clearly carried irritation and anger, yet she didn't express it through her actions.
A complete contrast to her usual self.
Then the leader of Pandemonium spoke.
"Heavenly Demon, you have no idea how much consideration, convenience, and special treatment I have been giving you."
"I could say the same to you. Had it been anyone other than you barging into my residence, they would have become a corpse long ago."
An unprecedented power slowly began to rise from the Heavenly Demon.
Watching this, Malphas's face twisted.
"Heavenly Demon! Conceal your aura! How long do you intend to believe that His Excellency will continue indulging your whims?"
The crow-beaked bastard passionately shouted his protest.
If it were me, I never would have said something like that.
Watching him, I silently offered Malphas my condolences in advance.
No matter how much he trusted his master, openly baring his fangs at an already irritated Heavenly Demon was never a wise choice.
The Heavenly Demon's gaze slowly shifted toward Malphas.
"Silence, birdbrain. Since when did a mere beast have the right to interrupt a conversation between its betters?"
The killing intent she released focused entirely on Malphas.
It was perfectly controlled, with not even the slightest trace spilling toward either Wol-ah or me.
Feeling it, Malphas's feathers stood on end as he instinctively shrank back.
Of course, the Heavenly Demon wasn't unreasonable enough to turn him into a bloody pulp here and now.
Still, merely showing such a cowering appearance before us was enough to wound his pride.
"Enough."
It was the leader of Pandemonium's voice that cut off the Heavenly Demon's killing intent.
The murderous aura directed at Malphas was forcibly severed.
"Heavenly Demon, I told you before. Your role has already ended. Was it truly so difficult to understand that you are to do nothing?"
"..."
At his words, the Heavenly Demon fell silent.
It seemed the reason the usually immovable leader of Pandemonium had personally appeared was because of her.
To hold her accountable for Lord Biden's death.
Since he had ignored the petitions of the High-ranking Executives, I thought he had let the matter go.
Apparently, he had simply been waiting.
Lord Biden's death had become a global issue and dealt Pandemonium a tremendous blow.
Regardless of how the High-ranking Executives evaluated him, Lord Biden had been one of the great pillars supporting Pandemonium.
Yet someone like him had been defeated by a Hero without even displaying his full strength.
It was only natural that Pandemonium's prestige would suffer and that chaos would spread throughout the organization.
His gaze shifted toward me.
"I still see hesitation and lingering attachment in your eyes."
"What do you mean by—"
At that moment, Malphas let out a loud caw.
"Heavenly Demon, this is the final warning. Do not interfere in Pandemonium's affairs. Do not interfere with the Devil Knight in any way. Do nothing. Simply close your eyes, ignore everything, and return to your own world."
At the same time, Demonic Energy erupted from Malphas's body.
Was he planning to leave?
In the next instant, the giant crow split apart into dozens of crows that rushed toward me.
What kind of trick is this now?
I immediately drew up my Demonic Energy.
The Heavenly Demon beside me didn't remain idle either.
The unprecedented power pouring from her made it feel as though the heavens themselves were collapsing.
As she reached out to grab me, her eyes met those of the leader of Pandemonium.
Her hand froze.
I understood.
She was hesitating.
He had made it perfectly clear.
This was her final opportunity.
And that remained true even now.
If she moved to save me, the Heavenly Demon would lose her chance to return to her homeland.
I looked at her once.
She was still struggling with her decision.
A swarm of crows circled around me like a raging storm.
My vision darkened as Malphas's ability activated.
Spatial Movement.
In the end, the Heavenly Demon averted her eyes from me and squeezed them shut.
Pain was written across her face.
As Malphas's ability activated, the leader of Pandemonium disappeared.
She stared blankly at the place where they had vanished.
She couldn't reach out.
Not to her disciple who had just been abducted.
The fear that she might never return to her homeland held her back.
She knew.
She knew the leader of Pandemonium had spoken the truth.
Had she reached out back then, he would have cast her aside.
And then she truly would have lost any chance of returning home.
Knowing that only made it harder to stop her disciple from being taken.
The leader of Pandemonium wouldn't do anything to her disciple immediately.
She knew nothing of Pandemonium's affairs, but she did know that her disciple was an important asset to them.
She clenched her fist tightly.
Her fingernails dug into her palm.
'In the end... they're all just excuses.'
She should never have done that.
Even if her disciple let go of her hand, she, as the master, should never have let go of his.
The Heavenly Demon's power surged violently.
Crack...
The earth cried out in agony.
He was her one and only disciple.
Though their master-disciple relationship had begun against both their wills, he had become an irreplaceable disciple.
The Heavenly Demon never showed it outwardly, but she regarded Yoo Sung-woo almost like her own child.
If she could, she wanted to take both Yoo Sung-woo and Wol-ah back to her homeland with her.
The reason she had never brought this up to her disciple was because she knew it was her own selfish desire.
She herself had already endured a life in another world against her will.
There was no way she could ask the disciples she cherished to endure the same thing.
Sensing the Heavenly Demon's anxiety, Wol-ah tugged gently at her sleeve.
"Heavenly Demon... Seongwoo is gone."
Wol-ah also seemed deeply shaken as she stared blankly at the place where her fellow disciple had disappeared.
The Heavenly Demon carefully embraced Wol-ah.
She recalled the words spoken by the leader of Pandemonium.
He had reacted with extreme sensitivity whenever she tried to act, repeatedly insisting that she do nothing.
He had told her not to interfere in Pandemonium's affairs, and above all, not to interfere in her disciple's affairs.
She remembered it clearly.
The moment, long ago, when her disciple's heart had stopped.
Back then, the leader of Pandemonium had prevented her from acting.
He had urged her to abandon her affection for her disciple.
In truth, the reason the Heavenly Demon had declared that she would seize power before attacking Lord Biden was because of that incident.
To uncover the truth connected to her disciple.
When her disciple's heart had stopped, she had felt as though her own heart had stopped as well.
The world had slowed to a crawl.
A ringing filled her ears, and even her thoughts became sluggish.
She simply couldn't believe that her one and only disciple had died.
She never wanted to experience that again.
Yet at the same time, she desperately missed the homeland whose scenery had gradually faded from her memories.
After putting Wol-ah to sleep and laying her down in bed, she remained by the girl's bedside for a long time.
She still couldn't decide what she should do.
As the Heavenly Demon wrestled with her conflict, the night grew ever deeper.