Chapter 32
At Dan Chun-woo’s words I couldn’t believe my ears.
A duel out of nowhere in this situation?
Park Min-seo also looked flustered.
“ It was so sudden I was a bit startled. Had I done something wrong?” he asked.
“ Done something wrong? You—did you sell your soul to a Demon?” Dan Chun-woo spat.
I grabbed my forehead at Dan Chun-woo’s words.
‘That runaway colt finally...!’
Why had I felt déjà vu about Park Min-seo at first and yet not pressed him?
Because accusing someone—especially a fellow Academy cadet—of being a Demon was a tremendous discourtesy.
Heroes had more things to mind than Villains or Demons.
Cause, justification, manners, etiquette, and so on.
Merely entering the Academy made cadets public figures much like celebrities.
Well, if he’d cared about that he wouldn’t have been in danger of being kicked out of his family.
Fine. Since it had come to this, Dan Chun-woo’s sudden action wasn’t all bad from my perspective.
I was curious about Park Min-seo’s true identity too.
It was like getting something for nothing.
Park Min-seo’s calm face hardened.
There was no way he could remain composed after being openly called a Demon like that.
“ So… you’re saying I’m a Demon?” he said.
“ You’d know that better than anyone,” Dan Chun-woo replied.
“ I don’t know what you’re basing that on. Can you take responsibility for that claim?”
I wondered the same.
Even I, who had a database of many Demons and devils through in-game experience and inherited memories, couldn’t be sure Park Min-seo was a Demon.
If Dan Chun-woo suspected him only because of Min-seo’s sudden changes, that would have been an incredibly foolish choice.
But the Dan Chun-woo I knew—wild and full of his own pride—was never stupid.
If he charged ahead without brakes like that, he must have been confident about something.
“ Responsibility? I hadn’t committed a crime. What should I be held responsible for?”
“ How arrogant. You trust your family’s backing and act like that?”
“…….”
Dan Chun-woo fell silent.
Right now the word family was like hitting his reverse scale.
For a moment a fierce aura writhed from him.
That was dangerous.
I hurriedly stepped between them.
“ Calm down, both of you. You know fighting between cadets in the Academy was strictly forbidden, right?”
“ It was a duel.”
“ A duel and he’s already releasing an aura?”
“…….”
Of course he had nothing to say.
Releasing an aura was tantamount to a declaration of war.
In truth, calling someone a Demon in the first place had already been out of line, but directly releasing one’s aura meant “I will attack you.”
If a fight started like this, Dan Chun-woo faced the worst case: expulsion from the Academy.
I didn’t want that either, so I had to mediate.
I really had no plan.
In situations like this I should have asked him why he suspected Min-seo and why he was so sure, and crushed him with logic.
The moment things escalated, even the sharpest logic of Dan Chun-woo would lose power.
If only he hadn’t outright said “Demon,” it would have been easier.
There was almost no option to turn back with Dan Chun-woo, who never bent on what he believed was right.
Maybe we should stop here.
“ Both of you calm down. You both seemed heated—let’s go back.”
“ …You want me to let that insult pass?”
Park Min-seo looked at me.
Then he scowled like he’d realized something and spoke.
“ Don’t tell me you were doubting me too?”
“ I could tell you were upset. Don’t drag me into it.”
“ So you were suspicious.”
He nervously swept his hair back, spun in place a few times, then glared at us.
“ Fine, a duel then. I don’t know why you think I’m a Demon, but let’s duel and see.”
“ Fine. Follow me.”
They certainly said duels were forbidden at the Academy. What idiots.
I grabbed Dan Chun-woo’s wrist to stop him from heading to the duel ground.
He glared at me, frowning.
“ How unpleasant. Let go.”
“ I told you. Duels not held under an instructor’s supervision were strictly forbidden.”
“ I told you to let go.”
His grip tightened.
He looked like he would shake my hand off.
I wouldn’t allow it.
I instead tugged his wrist and whispered in his ear.
“ You plan to push him to the brink of death to check if he’s a Demon. Do you think your family will reward you for that?”
People said there was no proper method among people to search for Demons, but it wasn’t that there were no methods.
They were merely inhumane, so they weren’t used.
Every living thing had an instinct to survive.
Just as humans showed extraordinary strength when their lives were at risk, Demons were the same.
Demons were beings who would give up others’ lives and even their own souls for their advancement and power.
In short, they enjoyed watching others die but could never stand watching their own lives end—hypocrites to the extreme.
They would throw everything off and fight desperately to survive the moment their lives were threatened.
Dan Chun-woo intended to practice that on Park Min-seo.
Considering the power gap between them,
Dan Chun-woo’s victory was obvious, so he must have thought it was worth doing.
Besides, Dan Chun-woo was convinced Park Min-seo was a Demon.
He must have judged his actions as acceptable.
But that was wrong.
What could you do about a young master who had lived an easy life? The world wasn’t that easy.
“ Forget the aftermath—if Park Min-seo really was a Demon, did you think you could win?”
“ If I hadn’t been confident, I wouldn’t have proposed a duel.”
“ No, if that guy was really a Demon, you would die.”
Not all Demons were the same; there were ranks even among Demons.
That rank was generally determined by the strength and power of the demon one had contracted with—in short, it depended on how powerful one’s backing was.
Among them, naturally born Demons were special.
Normally, when a human and a demon formed a contract, if the total amount of power consumed was 100, both sides would each bear 50. But in the case of a naturally born Demon, it was different.
The human didn’t offer any contract formation or sacrifice. Instead, they displayed a desire so powerful that it tempted a demon from the Demon Realm itself to respond.
Because of that, the demon had to use its full power to manifest in the human world.
In other words, if a demon could pierce through the barrier between dimensions and take the initiative to form a contract with a human of its choosing, that meant it was a high-ranking demon.
The moment Park Min-seo transformed was during the Academy’s simulation class.
Since there hadn’t been any sacrificial rituals or magical ceremonies beforehand, it was obvious that he was a naturally born Demon. And unfortunately, someone like Dan Chun-woo could never hope to win against that kind of opponent.
Those kinds of creatures could even fight on equal footing with mid- or high-ranked Heroes.
After I explained this, Dan Chun-woo’s face twisted, as if his pride had been wounded.
“I’m not saying it’s bad to reveal his identity through a duel, but doing it now, without any preparation, is reckless. It’d be better to set things up properly.”
“……”
He slowly nodded.
Seeing that, Park Min-seo shouted,
“What are you two whispering about? Didn’t you say you wanted a duel?”
“Calm down too. I get that you’re angry from being insulted, but if you agree to a duel now, you’ll be disciplined as well.”
“And how would you know that?”
“Of course I know. I’m part of the Student Council.”
Had he already forgotten that he was jealous of me for joining the Student Council?
Over the past few days, I’d been trained on Council work—memorizing the school rules, handling administrative duties, and mediating disputes between cadets.
Even if I wanted to forget, I couldn’t.
“So what are you suggesting? I was called a Demon, and I should just go, ‘Ah, okay,’ and let it go?”
“Let’s schedule the duel for another day. You’re both probably exhausted from the Wave anyway. I’ll supervise the duel myself.”
“I thought a duel had to be overseen by an Instructor?”
“If I report it to the Instructor, it’s fine for a Student Council officer like me to preside. I don’t care how you two resolve your grudge—but you can’t afford to be disciplined, right?”
Perhaps my words got through, because Park Min-seo sighed.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“Glad you came around.”
“But that doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten the insult.”
Park Min-seo glared at Dan Chun-woo.
Dan Chun-woo didn’t flinch, calmly accepting his glare.
“Do as you please. It’s none of my concern.”
“I’ll go first. I don’t want to keep looking at that shameless face.”
With that, Park Min-seo turned and headed back to the dormitory.
Then Dan Chun-woo’s gaze turned toward me.
He looked... thoroughly dissatisfied.
“You look like you’ve got a lot to say.”
“What’s your real motive?”
“My motive? I just helped you avoid expulsion, didn’t I?”
“Not many people at the Academy know that I was expelled from my family. And yet you—you’re using me to uncover that guy’s identity, aren’t you?”
I closed my mouth at his confident accusation.
I thought I’d hidden my intentions well, but he’d seen right through me.
As expected, he wasn’t stupid.
“I don’t like snake-like people such as you. Especially ones whose motives and identities I can’t read.”
His eyes grew wary.
Well, it was only natural. Some stranger knew about his family circumstances and even offered help as if he knew his inner thoughts—of course he’d find that suspicious.
To put him at ease, I greased my tongue a little.
“It seems like you don’t trust me. The reason I know about you is because I’m part of the Student Council.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“One of the Council’s duties is to monitor and manage cadets who disturb the Academy’s order. And you happen to be one of those under watch.”
“What?”
His expression scrunched up in disbelief.
“You know your own reputation better than anyone.”
“Don’t talk nonsense. You didn’t stop me from calling that guy a Demon or challenging him to a duel. Instead, you acted like you wanted me to provoke him. How do you explain that?”
At least he was aware that his own actions disturbed the peace.
“That’s because of one of the Council’s hidden duties.”
“Hidden duties?”
“The detection and eradication of Demons. I also suspected Park Min-seo might have become one—and you just happened to press him at the right time.”
Lying to someone like him wouldn’t work anyway.
So the best approach was to tell the truth, edited to sound convenient.
That was the truth I’d learned while playing as Dan Chun-woo.
“In other words, you’re using me to sniff out a Demon for free.”
“Let’s call it mutual benefit.”
He seemed to think for a moment, then nodded slowly.
“Disgusting and unpleasant as it is, I’ll go along with you this time.”
“Good decision. So that means we’re a team now?”
“A team is formed between equals. Just be grateful I’m even listening.”
He replied in that same arrogant tone.
Tch. What an insolent guy.
Still… this was progress.
For someone who never used to talk at all, even getting him to babble like this was a step forward.
I was about to leave, but a sudden question made me stop him.
“Let me ask you one thing. Why are you so sure Park Min-seo is a Demon?”
Even I wasn’t certain of Park Min-seo’s true identity.
Dan Chun-woo, who had been about to walk away, turned to look at me.
“Don’t tell me—you weren’t even sure?”
He looked at me as if I were pathetic.
Hey, the way you’re looking at me right now is seriously hurting my pride, you know?