Chapter 33
Dan Chun-woo, who looked at me with a pitiful gaze, opened his mouth.
“Don’t tell me—you tried to help me without even being sure.”
“Wouldn’t it be stranger if I was sure? There was nothing about him that showed any trace of being a Demon. Besides, you didn’t have much contact with Park Min-seo either.”
It was me who had the most conflict with Park Min-seo. Dan Chun-woo had merely overlooked him.
Besides, during the field training, he had gone off on his own first, so he probably hadn’t even seen Park Min-seo fight.
And yet, he had been strangely certain that Park Min-seo was a Demon.
“The reason I was sure that he was a Demon is simple.”
As he said that, he suddenly drew his sword.
Then, he swung it toward empty air.
Out of nowhere, Dan Chun-woo began performing a sword dance.
I couldn’t understand his actions, but I didn’t stop him— because the sight of his sword swinging through the air was simply too beautiful.
His blade was infinitely sharp and fierce, like a silent storm.
So this is what true swordsmanship looks like… It’s on a completely different level from just seeing it as an image in the game.
It was the first time I had witnessed true ascended swordsmanship in this world.
As I silently watched his sword dance for a while, some of his movements began to stand out to me.
Movements that felt strangely familiar.
The outer swings of the sword were wild and storm-like, yet the core remained firm and unshakable.
And the more I looked, the more I realized— this swordsmanship was different in essence from the one I knew Dan Chun-woo used.
Could it be…?
“That’s Park Min-seo’s swordsmanship, isn’t it?”
It took me a moment to recognize it because he wasn’t fighting an opponent, merely demonstrating the forms.
But that was definitely the same sword technique Park Min-seo had used earlier against the half-human, half-bird creatures.
It emphasized elegance and flow, pursuing refined efficiency and beauty.
“You’re not completely blind, I see. Yes, this is the swordsmanship that he used.”
“How do you know that?”
Even if Dan Chun-woo was born with a special bloodline, there was no way he could have mastered a sword style he’d only seen today— and to such a high degree at that.
Judging from his sword dance just now, it seemed like he had trained in that style for quite a long time.
“In the Sword Emperor’s family library, there existed countless secret manuals of swordsmanship— so many that one could almost say every sword style in the world was gathered there.”
“Then that swordsmanship is…?”
“It’s one of the secret techniques housed in the Sword Emperor’s library. I trained in it briefly when I was a child.”
At that, I immediately noticed something strange.
Dan Chun-woo had learned that swordsmanship from the Sword Emperor’s library.
Someone like Park Min-seo would have had no chance of obtaining a sword technique from there.
And if, by some near-impossible chance, Park Min-seo had learned it, there was no way we wouldn’t have heard of his name before.
Then where did Park Min-seo learn that swordsmanship?
“He wielded it with great proficiency. His understanding of it even seemed to surpass my own. However, his physical training and mana were weak, so he couldn’t unleash its full power.”
“So, not only did he master a high-level swordsmanship overnight,
but his proficiency in it was higher than yours, huh.”
“The decisive point is that the creator of this swordsmanship— was killed by a Demon.”
A swordsmanship with a direct link to Demons… No wonder Dan Chun-woo was so convinced.
Our thoughts had been moving in different directions.
I had only been trying to find answers in Dan Chun-woo’s personality and actions.
But this—this was something worth learning.
In the future, as I lived in this world, I would surely encounter not only Park Min-seo, but various other Demons as well.
Especially since my position was within the Student Council.
The stronger they became, the more I’d have to deduce their identity as Demons through means beyond what the game had ever offered.
And if, on top of that, I could uncover why Park Min-seo was different from other Demons…
Then perhaps I could either save those who had turned into Demons— or overturn the very process that turned them in the first place.
If that happened, it would deliver a massive blow to Pandemonium.
After all, there were those within Pandemonium who, like me, had been forcibly turned into Demons.
Now that I knew the reason, there was no point in holding Dan Chun-woo here any longer.
“Go.”
At my words, Dan Chun-woo snorted and went into the dormitory.
After seeing him off, I took a short walk to get some air before returning to my room.
Once I roughly took off my clothes and threw myself onto the bed, a voice echoed in my head.
[Husband, you look tired. Are you okay?]
“Ah, Lia. I forgot you were there.”
She had been so quiet that I’d momentarily forgotten her presence.
“You’ve been awfully silent for a while.”
[I used up some of the Heart’s mana, so I got tired and fell asleep.]
I had used a bit of mana from the Homunculus Core during the earlier fight to test its performance— perhaps that had affected her.
Indeed, converting mana directly into Infernal Flame to breathe out that Dragon Breath consumed a tremendous amount of energy.
Without the Homunculus Core, I wouldn’t have even been able to attempt it.
As I was lost in thought, Lia spoke again with a questioning tone.
[But husband, why didn’t you summon that armor and weapon during the fight? If you had, you could have killed those monsters on your own.]
“Ah.”
Right. Lia didn’t know about my current situation in this world.
Since we’d be working together from now on, I supposed she should know.
“It’s a bit of a long and boring story. Do you still want to hear it?”
[Husband knows everything about me, but I know nothing about you. Shouldn’t a partner know everything about her husband?]
There was a hint of sadness in her voice.
I felt a twinge of guilt, realizing how thoughtless I’d been.
From Lia’s perspective, someone had suddenly appeared, told her to leave the world with him, yet never revealed a single thing about himself.
That was practically no different from a kidnapper.
So, I slowly began telling Lia about my past.
Of course, I couldn’t mention that I had possessed a game character, so I mixed truth and falsehood, basing it on the memories I’d inherited.
That I was the vessel of the Lord of the Archdemons, and that I was the leader of Pandemonium—
But that I was secretly working to sabotage Pandemonium’s plans from the inside to survive.
When that long yet short story came to an end, Lia remained silent for quite some time.
Had it been too heavy for someone like her, who had only just escaped to find freedom?
She had endured oppression for so long, and now that she had finally gained freedom, perhaps this story felt like being dragged back into the darkness.
Then, after a long silence, I heard Lia’s voice again.
For some reason, her voice trembled slightly, tinged with tears.
[How… how can you speak of your own story so calmly? Hearing it hurts my heart so much…]
Her words were completely unexpected.
I hadn’t imagined I’d be pitied.
[The current husband seems to be denying his own past.]
Denying myself?
I suddenly thought I understood why Lia felt that way.
Though I had told her “my” story, those weren’t truly my memories, nor were they experiences I had lived through— so I must have unconsciously kept a certain distance while describing them.
But it’s not like I could suddenly act as if I was that person and get emotional over a past that wasn’t mine either.
It had already been hard enough to mix truth and lies on the spot and make it sound convincing.
Even if I had inherited those memories, the real owner of this body and I were two completely different beings.
[So pitiful…….]
But to Lia, who had lived such a pure and innocent life within the world of those memories, even that story must have been too shocking.
After sobbing for a while, Lia suddenly shouted as if she had made up her mind.
[Just as my husband saved me, I’ll save my husband too.]
“Uh, th-thanks?”
The next day, after finishing my classes at the Academy, I headed to the Student Council room with Park Siwoo.
Inside, Yoo Iseo and Seo Da-hee were waiting for us.
For some reason, Ha Yoon—no, Berid—was nowhere to be seen.
He was probably busy preparing for Seo Da-hee’s assassination.
Of course, that wasn’t the explanation he’d given to the Council.
Seo Da-hee greeted me brightly.
“Hey! You’re here! I was just waiting for you!”
“You were waiting for me?”
“Yeah! I heard about your incredible performance yesterday!”
She said that while showing me an article on her phone.
It was a report about what had happened yesterday.
A C-rank Spatial Crack had caused a Wave, and three Academy cadets had arrived first on the scene and bravely fought against the monsters, preventing any casualties.
“I specifically asked for my real name to be left out. How did you even find out?”
“Do you really think the Student Council officers wouldn’t know about something one of our own cadets did?”
“Ah, I didn’t think about that.”
Of course, I actually did know.
That was the whole reason I had helped in the first place.
Thankfully, it seemed my goal had been achieved.
Seo Da-hee ruffled my hair, calling me praiseworthy, while Yoo Iseo—who rarely showed emotion—seemed to let the corners of her lips lift ever so slightly.
Yoo Iseo, who had been working at the president’s desk, spoke without taking her eyes off the documents.
“Attacking a C-rank Wave with only three people was reckless. You’re lucky to have returned uninjured.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Still, it was commendable that you prevented any casualties.”
Seo Da-hee smiled at that.
Her expression was like a child who had found a fascinating new toy.
“Tsundere.”
“……”
At Seo Da-hee’s teasing, Yoo Iseo flinched.
“You were the happiest one when you heard the news.”
Despite Seo Da-hee’s teasing tone, Yoo Iseo didn’t respond.
But her normally expressionless cheeks carried a faint blush.
Seeing that, Seo Da-hee patted my shoulder.
“Iseo’s just bad at expressing herself. You’ll understand, right, Sung-woo?”
“Of course.”
As I talked with Seo Da-hee, Park Siwoo finally caught up to the conversation.
“So the one mentioned in that article today was you?”
“That’s right.”
“And yet, when I was talking about it nonstop right next to you, you just pretended you didn’t know anything.”
“……Yeah?”
In fact, the article had already spread throughout the Academy.
Rumors were circulating about which cadet had stopped the Spatial Crack.
Because of his well-known meddlesome nature and competence, the prime suspect had been none other than Park Siwoo.
As a result, he’d been bombarded all day with questions asking if he was the cadet in the article.
Meanwhile, I’d just kept quiet because I didn’t want to deal with the hassle.
He smacked me lightly on the arm with his fist.
“You traitor! I should’ve known from the way you were smirking!”
As Park Siwoo and I were fooling around, Yoo Iseo, having finished her paperwork, stopped us.
“All right, that’s enough. Focus for a moment—today’s topic is important.”
At her serious tone, we took our seats around the conference table.
The lights in the Student Council room dimmed, and a hologram appeared beside Yoo Iseo.
The secretive atmosphere almost made it feel like we were part of some clandestine organization.
Ah, no—not almost. I actually belonged to a secret organization.
I raised my hand.
“What’s the important topic?”
“Normally, I would have taken more time to train you before assigning missions, but after reading today’s article, I’ve changed my mind.”
As she said that, she manipulated the hologram.
A picture of a person appeared in the air, along with their information.
“You remember the Student Council’s hidden mission, right? This is related to that.”
“That means…”
“Yes. We’ve successfully identified a Demon hiding within the Academy. The vice president deserves most of the credit.”
Most of the credit went to the vice president, huh.
I immediately sensed that this Demon was tied to Seo Da-hee’s assassination attempt.
And the fact that it had reached the level of an official Student Council mission… meant that Berid’s preparations were complete.
Good thing I had hurried to prepare my heart for this.
Yoo Iseo continued her explanation.
“The person you see in this hologram is the one exposed as a Demon. He works as a security guard at the Academy.”
“That man…”
Park Siwoo’s voice trembled slightly.
There was a mix of shock and disbelief in it.
“You know him?”
“Don’t you recognize him? He’s the guy who greets us every morning at the front gate when we come to school.”
“Ah.”
At Park Siwoo’s words, I remembered who the man was.
He was a kind-looking middle-aged guard who always greeted cadets politely when they entered, sometimes even handing out red ginseng candies.
Park Siwoo, still shocked, turned to Yoo Iseo.
“Are you sure that guard is a Demon?”
“Yes. We’ve already gathered all the evidence and confirmed the circumstances. The only thing left is his elimination.”
“Haah……”
Covering his face with one hand, he let out a long sigh— a sigh filled with mixed emotions.
Sensing Park Siwoo’s turmoil, Yoo Iseo spoke.
“I asked during your interview, remember? Even if your friend or family turned out to be a Demon, could you raise your sword against them?”
“That’s…”
“This is the nature of our work in the Student Council. Sometimes, we have to draw our blades against friends—or even teachers. You all joined knowing this.”
“Yes……”
Seo Da-hee gently patted Park Siwoo’s back to comfort him.
Yoo Iseo’s cold voice followed.
“I suppose it’s still too much for you to handle.”
Her eyes then shifted to me.
I didn’t avoid her gaze.
“You seem unfazed, Sung-woo.”
“I was prepared for this.”
“Then, Cadet Yoo Sung-woo and Secretary Seo Da-hee—this task will be yours.”
Seo Da-hee quietly nodded.
And so, naturally, it was decided that she and I would take care of the Demon.
For some reason, Yoo Iseo herself didn’t intend to move directly.
Perhaps even this much was part of Berid’s plan.
Park Siwoo, after learning the Demon’s identity, looked mentally shattered.
It seemed I’d been mistaken— Berid’s plan wasn’t just ready.
It was already in motion.