Chapter 61
I watched the bastard turn to ashes and scatter away.
As his body vanished, what remained of his soul was dragged by the Demon’s hand and swallowed into the depths of darkness.
That was it.
At long last, this damned field trip was finally over.
I looked around to check on the others’ condition.
Helena, her face buried in the dirt, had twin streams of blood running from her nose. Her forehead was bruised and swollen red.
Looking at her like this… I felt a bit sorry.
Well, as long as she still had all her limbs and her life wasn’t in danger, that was good enough.
Park Siwoo was lying flat on his back, completely spent after using Star Sword Summon.
He didn’t seem unconscious—more like he’d collapsed from the massive mana consumption.
Even in the game, Park Siwoo’s signature skill, Star Sword Summon, was infamous for its immense mana drain—used only to deliver a finishing blow or a one-time burst of damage.
As I withdrew the Guardian’s Sword, the white void began to fade away.
The scenery of the Beast Ranch reappeared before my eyes.
Then, a sharp voice cut through the air from above.
“You troublemakers! I told you to go straight to the shelter—what are you doing here?! Was the scolding from Instructor Kang Jae-seok not enough for you?!”
I raised my head and saw Instructor Mabel glaring down at us, her eyes sharp like an axe.
She landed lightly and strode toward us with brisk steps.
Her small hand came down across my back with a loud smack.
“It hurts, Instructor.”
“It’s supposed to hurt! What on earth were you thinking?!”
Mabel’s gaze shifted toward the ashes that had once been the Demon’s body.
Realizing what had happened, her eyes locked onto mine.
Under her demanding stare, I explained everything that had just taken place without hiding a thing.
After hearing it all, Mabel’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“So you’re telling me… you defeated a Demon by yourselves? And not just any Demon—but the one suspected of being behind this entire Beast Rampage incident?”
“If not for Instructor Mabel’s buffs, we never would’ve survived.”
At my words, Instructor Mabel pinched my cheek hard.
A sting shot through my face as my cheek stretched painfully.
“When you encounter a Demon, you call for your instructor immediately! You got lucky this time, but do you even realize how close you all came to dying?!”
“Thiz izh… yur… fult, inshtruktrrr…”
“No! This is your punishment. Was Instructor Kang Jae-seok’s lecture not enough? Kids these days—honestly, never listen to adults…”
Instructor Mabel’s scolding continued relentlessly.
For some reason, it felt like déjà vu.
After a long round of nagging, she finally let go of my cheek, which now burned and throbbed. I could practically feel the shape of her fingers imprinted on my skin.
“That’s enough scolding for now. I think I’ve said everything an instructor should say.”
Then, she grinned as she ruffled my hair roughly.
“Still, even with my buffs… to think you actually took down a Demon! You adorable little rascals. Now, let’s see if there’s any evidence left we can use to make those Demons squirm a bit more, shall we?”
Sitting in the Student Council President’s chair, Berid quietly read through the latest articles.
Everywhere he looked, the headlines were about the recent Beast Rampage at the Beast Ranch.
Crack.
The sound of his grinding teeth filled the room.
Every single article was praising the Academy.
He began reading one of them aloud, his tone cold and measured.
“On the 7th, during the Beast Rampage incident at the Beast Ranch, thanks to the outstanding response of Sirius Academy’s cadets and instructors, not a single death occurred. Pandemonium has been identified as the mastermind behind the event, and the Hero Association has begun an official investigation…”
Bang!
Berid’s fist slammed against the desk, nearly splintering it apart.
His sharp gaze turned toward the Student Council Executives.
The murderous intent radiating from him made them all freeze, silent as mice.
“What were my orders again?”
“It was… to assist the Demon of Madness in causing chaos at the Beast Ranch, and in doing so, destroy the Academy’s public trust.”
“Then why—” Berid’s eyes narrowed. “—why am I looking at this article right now?”
None of the executives could answer.
Even if they had two mouths, they wouldn’t have known what to say.
The operation had been a complete failure.
Every part of their plan had been overturned.
The Beasts that were supposed to cause chaos and numerous casualties were stopped cold by the cadets’ defensive lines—there hadn’t been a single death.
The Drake, which should have caused the greatest destruction, was completely contained within Instructor Mabel’s barrier, unable to harm anyone.
And to make matters worse, Pandemonium—which was supposed to remain hidden—had been exposed as the culprit.
This was no mere mission failure.
It was a blow to Pandemonium’s prestige and authority.
At any moment, a reprimand from Pandemonium Headquarters could arrive.
Berid’s body pulsed with a chilling surge of demonic energy.
“Have you identified the cause of the failure?”
Then, one of the Student Council Executives—specifically, the Head of the Planning Department, a Demon—raised his hand.
Berid’s gaze shifted to him, and the Demon spoke cautiously.
“The primary reason for the mission’s failure was Instructor Mabel’s unexpected appearance. She wasn’t listed as a supervising instructor, yet she suddenly appeared and changed the tide of battle.”
“Then explain why she appeared there!” Berid snapped.
“T-that’s…”
At Berid’s fierce glare, the Head of Planning shut his mouth.
None of them could explain why she had shown up despite not being on the instructor roster.
They had already disabled all communication equipment in advance and triggered the incident at the most optimal timing after meticulous preparation.
In other words, no cadet or instructor at the site should have been able to call for backup.
So where had she come from?
They had searched in every possible way, yet no one could find an answer.
And that was only natural.
No one knew that Seongwoo possessed a medium capable of summoning Instructor Mabel.
Moreover, there was no traceable connection between Seongwoo and Mabel from an external standpoint.
Seongwoo was under the supervision of Instructor Kang Jae-seok.
It made no sense for him to have any point of contact with the magic instructor, Mabel.
Berid ran a hand through his hair in frustration.
He couldn’t shake the feeling that someone had played him for a fool.
Like Sun Wukong, struggling to escape the Buddha’s palm.
Otherwise, there was no way their plan could have failed so completely.
It was impossible… unless there was an insider among them.
‘An insider… huh.’
There was indeed one person who came to mind first.
The Devil Knight.
However, the strange thing was—he had no reason to interfere with this operation.
In fact, Berid hadn’t informed him of a single detail about the plan from the beginning.
In other words, there was far too little evidence to conclude that he had sabotaged the operation.
Of course, merely being among the group that defeated the Demon of Madness was enough to raise suspicion, but that alone was too weak a basis to act upon.
Still, unlike before, Berid couldn’t just storm into his dorm and call him out for questioning.
The reason—he had become far too strong, far too suddenly.
Previously, the Devil Knight had been classified as a High-ranking Demon, but his actual combat ability hadn’t quite matched that title.
Yet recently, he was different.
The power he had shown the last time they met was not only enough to be called a High-ranking Demon—it surpassed it by far.
If Berid were to fight him head-on now, even he would have to brace himself for serious injury.
Besides, considering their respective positions, Berid couldn’t be entirely certain that Seongwoo was a traitor.
There were far more reasons to believe he wasn’t than reasons to believe he was.
His gaze turned to the Student Council Executives standing before him.
Under his piercing stare, they shrank back and bowed their heads.
What if one of them was the traitor?
These were individuals Berid had personally handpicked from Pandemonium.
Each one of them was an elite Demon, powerful enough to be compared to Boris or Kedelak.
So then—among these nine, who was the betrayer?
Once again, a single name surfaced first in his mind.
The only person among the nine whom he hadn’t chosen himself—
The one who had expressed disillusionment toward Pandemonium.
Joo Sarang.
It was more plausible that she had informed Instructor Mabel of their operation in order to escape from Pandemonium, rather than the theory that the Devil Knight had betrayed them.
However, even that wasn’t certain.
And if she truly had betrayed him, she wouldn’t have shown up here in the first place.
‘For now, I can only watch and wait.’
Berid organized his tangled thoughts.
Letting suspicion pile up like this would only poison his mind.
He needed concrete evidence.
Berid began devising a trap—one that would expose the traitor.
A pitch-black room with not a single ray of light.
A low hum vibrated through the air as a phone began to ring.
The phone screen lit up, reflecting Yoo Iseo’s face.
Her face, untouched by sunlight for days, had grown thin and pale, her eyelids swollen and red.
Her phone was filled with unread texts and missed calls—
From the Academy, the Association, friends, juniors, and more.
Messages of consolation for her grief, others urging her to stop moping and get back to work, even texts from her supervising instructor warning that her attendance record was in danger.
She knew it all.
She knew she was being irresponsible.
She knew her actions were causing trouble for others.
But she chose to ignore it.
Because she was exhausted.
Her friend—someone more precious than family—was dead.
And when both the Association and the Academy, who had overlooked that tragedy, still tried to use her afterward—she grew disgusted with everything.
So even knowing her irresponsibility, she turned a blind eye to it.
During her self-imposed leave, she cried for Seo Da-hee.
She missed her dearly.
Her eyes fell on the empty bed across the room.
Traces of Seo Da-hee lingered all throughout Yoo Iseo’s room.
It was only natural—they had lived together.
Every morning, when she woke, the first thing she saw was that empty bed.
And each time, she was forced to face the reality that Seo Da-hee was no longer by her side.
After the grief and rage toward the ones responsible had burned away, all that remained was an endless emptiness.
Just then, her phone rang again.
It was a message from Yoo Seongwoo.
He had been messaging her every day—sending his regards and sharing small stories from the Academy.
Yoo Seongwoo was different from everyone else.
Others had either stopped contacting her after expressing worry or frustration…
But he alone had never missed a single day.
She recalled the last time she had seen him.
He had looked at her as if he had committed an unforgivable sin—
saying Seo Da-hee’s death was his fault, telling her to resent him.
Was his continued messaging now just a way to ease that guilt?
Unlocking her phone, Yoo Iseo opened Seongwoo’s message—and her eyes widened.
The words on the screen told a shocking story.
The Beast Rampage Incident at the Beast Ranch.
First-year cadets on a field trip had nearly been annihilated by Pandemonium’s beasts.
Fortunately, thanks to the instructors’ and cadets’ quick response, there had been no casualties.
But that alone was already a serious problem.
Until now, Pandemonium’s methods had always been covert—sending infiltrators into the Academy, operating from the shadows.
The Student Council had, in turn, secretly worked to root out the Demons from within.
That hidden war had been ongoing beneath the surface for years.
But for Pandemonium to attack the Academy so openly—
This was nothing short of a declaration of war.
Yoo Iseo’s eyes began to glow a cold blue.
Now that things had come to this, as the Student Council President, she could no longer stay locked away in her room.
She reached for her Academy uniform—the one she hadn’t worn in a long time.