Chapter 158
At the Academy's entrance.
An old man stepped onto the grounds.
With a full head of white hair and dressed in white martial robes, the kindly-looking elder quietly took in the scenery before him.
“Hoh... I never imagined I would set foot in this place while I was still alive.”
“I know, right? Most grandfathers usually come for their grandchildren's entrance or graduation ceremonies.”
“Ahem...”
Hearing the woman beside him, the old man let out an awkward cough and looked away.
“Well... your grandfather was very busy back then.”
“Busy? You spent every day cooped up at the main house. All you ever did was train.”
“To begin with, Yehwa, you enrolled in the Academy after leaving nothing but a single letter behind.”
At those words, the Sword Empress shot the Swordmaster a glare, while the Swordmaster simply shook his head as if admitting defeat.
The Academy's scenery gradually overlapped with memories of the distant past.
The Swordmaster reminisced about decades ago.
Back then...
This place had stood at the center of the war.
The day the Demons amassed their forces and attacked Yeouido...
The world had been turned upside down.
The corpses of countless Heroes and Demons piled into mountains.
The blood they spilled became rivers.
Even the waters of the Han River had turned crimson with blood.
How many comrades had he buried in this land?
The Association publicly claimed that the Academy had been built as a symbol to prevent another war like that.
But the Swordmaster knew the truth.
This place was a fortress.
An impregnable stronghold created to stop the Demons when they inevitably came to seize the Gate once more.
And the countless cadets trained here...
They were little more than shields of flesh.
It was a harsh way to put it.
But it wasn't wrong.
Because if the Demons invaded again in pursuit of the Gate...
The cadets would be the first to die.
That was why he had never liked the Academy.
In fact, he had originally intended to prevent even his granddaughter, Dan Yehwa, from enrolling.
With the Swordmaster's strength and influence, what need was there for a school?
With the authority of the Swordmaster Family, one could become a Hero without ever attending the Academy.
After all, graduating from the Academy wasn't the only path to becoming a Hero.
However, perhaps unwilling to spend her entire life confined within the family estate...
One day, the Sword Empress had simply left behind a letter and enrolled at the Academy.
As for Dan Chun-woo...
Thinking of the grandson who had always been his greatest concern, the Swordmaster smiled warmly.
The real reason he had come here today...
...was his grandson.
He was genuinely pleased by the changes Dan Chun-woo had undergone.
His grandson himself didn't seem to realize how much he had changed.
But everyone back at the main house had noticed.
The Dan Chun-woo of the past had been consumed by narcissism and pride in his noble bloodline.
He had been arrogant.
He had believed himself to be someone truly special.
But the Dan Chun-woo who returned was different.
He was still arrogant...
Yet he no longer regarded himself as extraordinary.
Instead, he acknowledged his own shortcomings and had even personally sought instruction from the Swordmaster.
Although Dan Chun-woo respected his grandfather...
He also feared him.
That was precisely why the Swordmaster couldn't help but welcome the fact that his grandson had recognized his own inadequacies and sought guidance.
“I wonder what Chun-woo is doing right now.”
“Probably fooling around with his friends. I heard he joined the Student Council.”
“Then let us pay a visit to this Student Council.”
The Swordmaster was curious about his grandson's friends.
And he also wished to meet the Demon whom Dan Chun-woo had personally begged him to spare.
Several days earlier...
Chun Ga-eun had sent Dan Chun-woo to the Swordmaster.
The purpose was to request that he execute the Demon who had invaded the Academy.
The Swordmaster had already heard about the colossal greatsword that had appeared in the sky, as well as the Demon himself.
After all...
Members of the Swordmaster Family were stationed within the Academy.
It was certainly an intriguing story.
More importantly...
The weapon that had appeared in the heavens...
...was a sword.
Dan Chun-woo's hobby of collecting swords had originated from none other than his grandfather.
Compared to Dan Chun-woo, the Swordmaster's obsession with swords was on an entirely different level.
Even so...
He had no intention of granting the Association's request.
If someone wanted a favor from him, proper etiquette demanded that they come in person.
Yet they had used his own grandson as a messenger.
The sheer audacity irritated him beyond measure.
Furthermore...
To summon him merely to dispose of a single Demon?
Had they truly respected him, they would never have resorted to such methods.
That had been Chun Ga-eun's clever move.
The Association had only asked Dan Chun-woo to relay their message.
Nothing more.
However...
There was one thing she had failed to account for.
Dan Chun-woo's mouth.
Before the Swordmaster, Dan Chun-woo had knelt and declared—
That the Demon who had invaded the Academy...
...was his closest friend.
And so he begged his grandfather not to execute him.
At first, the Swordmaster had doubted his own ears.
Then...
He became furious.
The grandson whom he believed had changed...
Had called a Demon his friend.
The Swordmaster had fought in the Great War decades earlier.
No one understood better than he did what Demons truly were.
Pitiful fools who abandoned their souls to satisfy their filthy desires.
Monsters who devoured the corpses of their own comrades to become stronger.
That day, everyone within the Swordmaster Family prayed for Dan Chun-woo's soul.
They believed that this time...
He would truly be cast out of the family.
Not even when Dan Chun-woo had previously been expelled had the Swordmaster been this enraged.
Yet despite facing his grandfather's wrath...
Dan Chun-woo never withdrew his words.
Instead...
He met the Swordmaster's gaze with unwavering determination.
At that moment, Dan Yehwa—the Sword Empress—appeared.
The family estate had been shaking as though it might collapse, prompting her to come investigate.
With her mediation...
The conversation finally began.
From the looks of it...
His granddaughter also knew this Demon.
She seemed reluctant to speak carelessly about him.
After all...
She too shared a rather deep connection with Yoo Seongwoo.
In fact, there had once been a time when the Sword Empress had thought quite highly of him.
She had even tried to recruit him.
She had also witnessed Yoo Seongwoo's actions during the Hell Manifestation.
The sight of him throwing himself forward to protect them.
Because of that...
She spoke honestly to her grandfather.
She told him that Yoo Seongwoo had saved them.
And that even Dan Chun-woo's transformation had begun because of that Demon.
At that point...
Even the Swordmaster found himself curious about Yoo Seongwoo's true identity.
So he decided to see the young man with his own eyes.
If he truly was a wicked Demon...
Then he would fall beneath the Swordmaster's blade.
But if not...
Then perhaps...
His judgment would have to be reconsidered.
Hearing the commotion outside, Park Siwoo tilted his head.
“Why's it so noisy out there? Did some famous Hero arrive?”
“No way. If that were the case, I wouldn't still be here. Besides, there aren't any special lectures scheduled today.”
“Really?”
Just then, Test Subject No. 66, who had been napping on the sofa, suddenly sprang to her feet.
Dropping onto all fours, she arched her back and let out a low growl like a wild beast.
“Eunha?”
Park Siwoo called her name.
Eunha was the name the Student Council Executives had come up with together.
Since she never spoke...
And Yoo Seongwoo had never told them her real name.
Ignoring everyone's reactions, Eunha began raising her Aura.
She had sensed the Swordmaster's presence steadily approaching the Student Council room.
An Aura as calm as a tranquil lake...
Yet infinitely refined and razor-sharp.
It surpassed even Lord Biden's.
Even Chun Ga-eun's.
Unable to understand Eunha's behavior, Park Siwoo and Helena looked flustered.
“What's wrong with her now? Is she hungry again?”
“She already ate with us! She even had a snack a little while ago!”
“Then why's she acting like this?”
“How should I know?! She can't even talk!”
Helena gently stroked Eunha's back.
The way she treated her resembled someone calming a pet dog.
Normally, that might have offended someone.
But Eunha had no time to care.
The overwhelming presence was drawing closer and closer.
Watching silently...
Dan Chun-woo suddenly shot to his feet.
His eyes trembled violently.
“Why are you reacting like that too?”
“...My grandfather is coming here.”
“What? What are you talking about all of a sudden...?”
At that moment—
Bang!
The doors to the Student Council room swung open.
Dan Chun-woo immediately dropped to one knee.
Park Siwoo barely had time to process what was happening before Helena's expression froze.
Standing in the doorway...
...was an elderly man dressed in white martial robes.
As someone who had once been engaged to Dan Chun-woo, Helena had met the Swordmaster several times.
Although she had been very young then...
Her memories of him remained vivid.
And the old man before her...
Had not changed in the slightest.
Smiling kindly, the Swordmaster looked at Dan Chun-woo.
“Has my grandson no intention of welcoming his grandfather?”
“Uh...?”
A bewildered voice escaped Park Siwoo's lips as he still struggled to understand the situation.
Remaining on one knee, Dan Chun-woo spoke.
“Grandfather... what brings you here?”
“Why else would I come? Because of you, you troublesome grandson.”
Standing beside him, the Sword Empress smiled mischievously.
Dan Chun-woo's eyebrow twitched at the sight of her.
He wanted to argue immediately.
But he couldn't.
The Swordmaster extended his hand toward Dan Chun-woo.
“How long do you intend to kneel before your grandfather? Let me have a proper look at your face.”
“Yes.”
Unable to understand the current situation, Dan Chun-woo nevertheless obeyed.
“You've grown since I last saw you. You've trained diligently.”
“I'm honored.”
After looking over Dan Chun-woo, the Swordmaster's gaze shifted toward Park Siwoo, Helena...
And Eunha.
The moment Eunha noticed his eyes upon her...
She began gathering Demonic Energy.
“Grrrrrr...!”
The Swordmaster's eyes instantly turned cold.
Simply by changing his gaze...
The warmth that had defined his appearance vanished, replaced by an overwhelming sharpness.
Realizing that Eunha would be in danger if this continued, Park Siwoo hurriedly stepped between them.
“I-I'm sorry, Swordmaster! This child is...!”
“She can hardly be called human.”
The Swordmaster had already recognized the Authority of Predation dwelling within Eunha.
It was an unnaturally unsettling Aura.
An artificial existence.
For a brief moment...
He contemplated cutting her down.
Then Park Siwoo shouted,
“She is Yoo Seongwoo's younger sister!”
“Yoo Seongwoo?”
“The Demon Dan Chun-woo mentioned. Devil Knight.”
Standing beside him, the Sword Empress added,
“He's the young man who's been at the center of recent events. Apparently she was experimented on in Lord Biden's laboratory. Even the Academy has officially permitted her to stay.”
“That's right! She hasn't committed a single crime yet! She spent her entire life enduring horrific experiments in that laboratory before finally escaping!”
“Devil Knight only cooperated with Pandemonium to protect his younger sister!”
Park Siwoo and Helena desperately defended both Eunha and Yoo Seongwoo.
They also knew why the Swordmaster had come.
They simply hadn't expected him to appear after Dan Chun-woo had returned safely.
Watching them...
The Swordmaster couldn't help but feel puzzled.
It was the same question he had asked himself when his grandchildren defended the Demon.
His gaze shifted toward Park Siwoo and Helena.
From the unfamiliar young man, he sensed the radiant power of light.
From Helena...
He sensed the power of a dragon.
Both possessed talent comparable to that of his own grandson, Dan Chun-woo.
Without a doubt...
They were children destined to lead the next generation.
Young people like them...
Would never so easily fall under the influence of a demon's wicked power.
Then who...
What kind of person...
Could have won the hearts of individuals like these?
The Swordmaster had originally intended to take his time, exchange a few pleasant words with his grandson's friends, and then leisurely meet Yoo Seongwoo.
Now...
He changed his mind.