Chapter 164: The Trap is Sprung
The next day, the atmosphere outside became strange.
Whenever I stepped outside, I could feel subtle gazes secretly following me, and even the mood outside the prison felt suspicious.
I looked down at the meal placed before me.
Prison food, served faithfully three times a day.
Steamed white rice, stir-fried spicy pork as the main dish, and even fermented soybean stew.
It was a surprisingly luxurious meal.
Normally, I would've happily shoveled it into my mouth.
Today, however, I didn't.
With the atmosphere outside being this suspicious, how could I be certain there wasn't something mixed into the food?
The menu was also full of dishes with strong aromas and bold flavors.
I scooped up a spoonful of fermented soybean stew and put it into my mouth.
The strong smell and taste masked it well, but there was a peculiar sensation lingering on the tip of my tongue.
Just as I thought.
It was an incredibly subtle difference that most people would never notice.
However, after enduring torture-like training under Pandemonium, I had acquired extensive knowledge of poisons and resistance against them.
I could tell.
There was definitely something mixed into this food.
It probably wasn't a deadly poison.
Unless they were complete idiots, they wouldn't use something so obvious.
The fact that I was imprisoned inside the Academy was top secret, known only to a select few.
That meant the food delivered to me could only pass through the Association's watcher.
In other words, if I died from poison, Kim Tae-woo—the Association's watcher—would never escape suspicion.
So what kind of drug was it?
Most likely a muscle relaxant or some kind of sleeping drug.
Were they planning to put me to sleep before dealing with me?
My suspicion toward the Association's watcher had now turned into certainty.
Even so...
Part of me had still hoped.
That perhaps he was a righteous Hero.
That perhaps he was simply obeying misguided orders from the Association.
Because the look in his eyes whenever he looked at me had never seemed to contain simple hostility alone.
Hatred and disgust certainly lay at their core.
But every time he listened to my story, he visibly wavered.
However, now that drugs had been mixed into my food, I could no longer regard him as a Hero capable of changing.
He was most likely one of Pandemonium's collaborators.
...No.
Thinking of him as someone on Pandemonium's side still left something feeling off.
Drugging me might be intended to prevent me from resisting...
But even then, the Association's watcher couldn't avoid suspicion.
Kim Tae-woo wasn't just my watcher.
He was also responsible for protecting me.
Then...
Were they planning to kill me after knocking me unconscious?
No.
That wasn't it.
If he truly were Pandemonium's spy, he wouldn't try to kill me.
He'd either help me escape...
Or use this opportunity to imprison me permanently.
This really doesn't add up.
Judging by the hatred he showed toward me, he certainly had a reason to cooperate with Demons.
But fundamentally, he was still the Association's watcher.
Even if he was an upper-ranking Hero, he ultimately acted according to orders.
A rough picture was beginning to form.
The Association's watcher wasn't Pandemonium's spy.
Instead, one of the Association's executives giving him orders was either colluding with Pandemonium or secretly working for them.
And that person intended to hand me over to Pandemonium.
That's why they mixed something into my food.
If that was the case, what happened next was obvious.
I placed a hand over my chest and quietly called Lia's name.
[...]
'Lia?'
Although my mana was sealed, I could still communicate with Lia because she was bound to me.
If we were separated by a great distance, mana would have been necessary.
But since we were both inside the Academy, there was no problem.
But why wasn't she answering?
'...Lia?
Are you still angry?'
Ever since before, Lia had been treating me coldly.
She had already been upset because she thought I kept leaving her behind.
And now she couldn't even accompany me during the search for Baek Hyun-joong.
This was probably how she was expressing her dissatisfaction.
I understood.
After all, I had felt the emotions she carried.
Worry.
Anxiety.
Resentment.
Loneliness.
Lia feared that I considered her useless.
Of course, I had never thought that.
She had been an enormous help simply by existing.
In fact, without her, the Academy would have fallen into complete chaos long ago.
But I knew those words alone wouldn't comfort her.
So I swallowed everything I wanted to say.
There were more urgent matters at hand.
'LiaLiaLiaLiaLiaLiaLiaLia.'
[Enough! You're so noisy!]
'Ready to talk now?'
[...As if.]
Lia's voice echoed coldly in my mind.
'I know you're angry with me.
But this is an emergency.'
[An emergency?]
Confusion colored her voice.
'Yeah.
An emergency.
Pandemonium will probably launch an assault sometime today.'
[What?!
Are you serious?]
'Yeah.
Someone put drugs in my food.
They're probably planning to use the assault as a distraction while smuggling me out.'
[Got it.
I'll warn everyone immediately.]
Fortunately, Lia understood the seriousness of the situation the moment she heard it.
The Student Council and the instructors would handle the rest.
The people targeting me had overlooked one thing.
They probably believed that by monitoring my every move through the watcher, they could completely control me.
But that was a huge mistake.
When it came to hiding my true intentions and stabbing someone in the back...
I was exceptionally good at it.
After finishing every last bite of my meal, I handed the empty tray back to the watcher.
His gaze shifted to me once...
Then to the tray.
"You cleaned your plate."
"The prison food's just that good."
"It's treatment far beyond what someone like you deserves."
"Though...
Now that I've eaten, I suddenly feel sleepy.
My body's feeling kind of sluggish too."
At my words, he clicked his tongue lightly.
Then he simply turned his attention away from me.
He was probably taking the tray away.
After confirming that, I glanced at the CCTV camera inside the prison before throwing myself onto the bed.
It would take him roughly ten minutes to dispose of the tray.
That was more than enough time.
Ordinarily, the Mana Restraint Collar would absorb every bit of mana inside my body...
But...
I slowly began drawing mana upward.
I had one little trick.
The Homunculus Heart.
In other words...
Borrowing Lia's mana.
It was one of the Mana Restraint Collar's inherent limitations.
Because the restraint identified and absorbed only the wearer's mana, it couldn't absorb mana belonging to someone else.
That was because the restraint had a maximum mana absorption capacity.
For the same reason, its mana absorption device had to be replaced every few days.
The mana borrowed from Lia began pushing the drug out of my body.
Soon, the medicine started leaving through my pores as sweat.
I lay back down on the bed and pretended to fall asleep.
Now then...
Let's see how they make their move.
The outside had become chaotic.
My phone vibrated as the assault alarm sounded.
The Demons had invaded the Academy.
"..."
Kim Tae-woo's eyes trembled as he confirmed it.
His master's words echoed through his mind.
'All you need to do is close your eyes.
Everything will be taken care of.'
So...
This was what he had meant.
Kim Tae-woo had already felt something was wrong when he was ordered to drug the Devil Knight.
But...
Demons?
Crunch!
Kim Tae-woo ground his teeth together.
Blood trickled from his tightly clenched fists.
He had known his master was greedy.
But collaborating with Demons...
That was on an entirely different level.
'An executive of the Hero Association...!'
A deep sense of betrayal welled up inside him.
He hated Demons.
They had murdered his wife.
His daughter couldn't survive without a mana transfusion machine.
The Demons carrying out this assault weren't like the Devil Knight.
These were real Demons.
Madmen intoxicated by power who delighted in nothing but destruction.
Until now, he had carried out every filthy task his master ordered.
But this...
This was different.
Innocent people...
Children who hadn't even fully matured yet...
Were becoming victims.
Mana surged through his body.
He wanted nothing more than to tear those Demons apart.
But he couldn't.
No matter what happened...
He had to remain here.
That fact filled him with unbearable frustration.
Crash!
At that moment, the ceiling exploded apart as someone dropped down.
Behind blazing flames and black energy...
Crimson eyes gleamed.
A Demon.
One who had come to abduct the Devil Knight.
"I smell it...
Such dense Demonic Energy...
So this is where the Devil Knight is being kept?"
Kim Tae-woo and the Demon locked eyes.
Blood vessels bulged in Kim Tae-woo's eyes.
Compared to ordinary Demons, the Demonic Energy radiating from this one was on another level.
The Demon before him was a formidable opponent.
"Oh!
A Hero!
The subordinate our collaborator mentioned.
Open the door.
We're taking the Devil Knight."
"..."
There was nothing remotely human about the Demon's appearance.
His words were incoherent.
His eyes were half rolled back.
Most of all...
His hands dripped with fresh blood.
The sight only fueled Kim Tae-woo's rage further.
Perhaps sensing his killing intent...
The Demon's eyes curved into a grotesque grin.
"I can smell your killing intent.
So thick...
So deep...
So heavily condensed...
Like lingering regret that's been festering for years...
Kihih!"
"Shut up...!"
"I know those eyes...
The eyes of someone broken after losing something precious.
Yet...
You're desperate too."
The Demon's snake-like tongue wormed its way into Kim Tae-woo's heart.
The more it spoke, the red veins in Kim Tae-woo's eyes became even more pronounced.
The blood flowing from his fists grew darker.
Step.
Step.
The Demon slowly approached him.
Past the distance where Kim Tae-woo's sword could reach...
Until it stood directly before him.
If he unleashed his mana now and struck by surprise...
He could kill it.
But...
His hand wouldn't move.
No...
It couldn't.
It felt as though his daughter's tiny hand was gripping his arm.
'If I kill him here...
My daughter...'
A dog that failed its mission was abandoned.
If he were abandoned...
His daughter would die.
And the Demon standing before him seemed to know that perfectly well.
The Demon's hand reached toward him.
Kim Tae-woo squeezed his eyes shut.
His master's words echoed through his mind once again.
'All you need to do is close your eyes...'
Those words became chains that tightly bound his body.
The Demon reached into Kim Tae-woo's pocket and took the prison key.
"Kihik...
Heroes always have too much to protect.
That's why they're so weak."
After mocking him, the Demon walked over and unlocked the prison door.
Inside...
The Devil Knight lay collapsed under the effects of the drug—
"You're awake?
How?"
It was well known that ordinary poisons barely affected the Devil Knight.
Elite Demons from the Nest all underwent that kind of training.
But the drug they had administered this time was different.
It had been created specifically for awakened individuals.
On top of that, the Devil Knight's mana had been sealed.
Sitting calmly on the bed, he casually greeted the Demon.
"I was a little curious about what kind of Demon would show up.
Turns out they only sent a small fry."
The Demon's face twisted at the dismissive tone.
"Devil Knight...!
I don't know how you're awake, but you'd better stay still!"
"Do I look like someone who'll sit quietly?"
"The Mana Restraint Collar around your neck.
You can't use your power.
If you resist anyway...
I suppose ripping off your arms and legs would be acceptable."
Crack...
Crunch... Crack.
The Demon's body rapidly began swelling.
Yoo Sung-woo frowned at the grotesque sight.
"This is exactly why people call you a small fry.
Transforming like that just isn't cool."
Mana erupted from Yoo Sung-woo as his shadow grew darker.
The mana borrowed from Lia transformed into Demonic Energy, wrapping around parts of his body.
Shhhhk!
Black Demonic Energy surged out from his shadow, forming armor that enveloped him.
Soon, portions of his body became completely covered in the black armor.
"This...
is what a truly stylish transformation looks like."