Chapter 90
After finishing my little exorcism with Park Siwoo, I immediately called for Joo Sarang.
If it was her, she’d know quite a bit about Berid’s scheme.
In the game, stopping their plot was nearly impossible.
When the Tears of the Succubus incident took place, the Academy was already in decline—and since Tears of the Succubus spread rapidly as a trend, the timing for the Player to intervene was always too late.
Even after defeating Berid, the damage that had spread couldn’t be undone.
We were simply played by his tricks.
But things were different now.
This time, I had caught the timing just right. If I moved carefully, I could stop it with ease.
And perhaps… I could use this incident to wipe out Berid and his lackeys once and for all.
Was it because I was about to attempt a perfect clear I had never achieved in the game before?
My heart beat a little faster.
A knock came from beyond the door.
“Come in.”
Joo Sarang opened the door and stepped inside.
“Judging by how urgently you called me, I guess you’ve seen it already?”
She already seemed to know why I had summoned her.
In her hand was a small bottle of Tears of the Succubus.
“Yeah. It’s not that well-known yet, but once it catches on, it’ll be uncontrollable.”
“Because it’s infused with a succubus’s essence.”
As she said that, Joo Sarang smiled brightly—and took a sip of the drink.
“……Why are you drinking that?”
“You look uneasy. Don’t tell me you’ve never tried it yourself? I figured you might have. Anyway, for us, it’s no stronger than a low-proof drink. We’ve been cooped up in the Academy too long—it’s fine to have a little fun.”
I snatched the bottle from her hand.
“Don’t get drunk and do something stupid. Like you said, this is still the Academy. Kang Jae-seok may be gone, but the others aren’t idiots.”
Joo Sarang grumbled, pouting.
“That was the last bottle though…”
“Enough. The fact that this drink has already been circulated means you knew about this operation, right?”
She nodded.
“Of course. This is something Berid’s been preparing for a long time. It’s large-scale, it drags down the Academy’s reputation, and—most importantly—it’s a great money-maker. I was going to tell you today anyway, but you called me first.”
“Tell me the details.”
“There’s not much to explain. We—or rather, the Demon of Indulgence, Pan—procure the essence from outside the Academy. Then, we supply it to the Potion-Making Club. They mix it into drinks and sell them.”
That much I already knew from the in-game information.
The real question was how they distributed and popularized the drink.
That was the core of their strategy.
At first, I thought the best way would be to block the supply of the essence—or to completely shut down the Potion-Making Club so they couldn’t sell the drinks in the Academy at all.
But Joo Sarang shook her head.
“Even if you tear the Potion Club apart, you won’t find much. The drinks are just one method. There are other ways to spread the essence, you know.”
“I agree. There’s no point in hitting the small fry. Actually, even if we took out Pan himself, it wouldn’t change much.”
The key was to cut off the source of the essence.
Even Pan, Berid’s subordinate, imported it from outside. If we didn’t destroy the root of it all, the same thing would just happen again.
Next time, it might not even be drinks—it could spread in more subtle ways.
Maybe even in the meals or soups served to the cadets.
Then how exactly were they obtaining the essence?
When I asked her that, Joo Sarang suddenly went silent.
She had been talking so easily just a moment ago—why clam up now?
“How is the essence supplied?” I asked again.
“……You really don’t know?”
“Would I ask if I did?”
She hesitated, then mumbled in a voice as small as a mosquito’s buzz.
“……En…ter…”
“What? Speak up, I can’t hear you.”
“I said entertainment clubs, you idiot!”
“Why are you yelling all of a sudden?”
Joo Sarang’s face flushed red as she snapped at me.
“Do you have to make a lady say something like that out loud?”
“How am I supposed to know if you don’t say it? What is this, a game of twenty questions?”
“Ugh, you’re so dense.”
She glared at me, fuming.
Then, as if thirsty, she snatched back the drink I had taken and downed it in one go.
Didn’t I just tell her not to drink that?
“Essence is basically the energy refined from human desire! Can’t you put that together? You’ve never been in a relationship, have you?”
“……”
I shut my mouth.
That was crossing the line.
“What, seriously? You’ve never dated anyone?”
“Would I have, if you were in my position?”
In both my past life and this one, I was too busy to even think about dating.
Some might say, ‘People still make time if they really want to.’
Yeah, try saying that after working sixteen hours a day, every day.
This life of mine was already hurtling toward a bad ending—
—and now I was supposed to drag someone else into it by dating them?
No thanks.
“...Sorry,” she muttered softly.
Was it my imagination, or did her eyes look a little wet?
After a few awkward coughs, Joo Sarang continued.
“Anyway, the essence is smuggled in through illegal entertainment clubs.”
“Where are they?”
If I knew where the essence was being brought in from, I could stop that damned drink from spreading altogether.
Without a supply of the raw material, there’d be no distribution among the cadets.
Berid’s ambitious plan would crumble, and his position would weaken once again.
And since Pandemonium’s operations kept getting exposed, their credibility would hit rock bottom.
Maybe—just maybe—I could even hasten their downfall.
At my question, Seo Da-hee spoke up.
“There’s a club in Gangnam. Honey Jack.”
* * *
Neon signs illuminated the night sky, and countless people wandered the streets in search of a partner.
Seo Da-hee frowned at the gazes clinging to her.
Even though the 【Mask of the Deceiver】 was active and people weren’t actually seeing her real appearance, the way their eyes swept over her made her feel uncomfortable.
At that moment, Lia’s voice echoed in her head.
[Wow! There are so many people here!]
‘There’ll probably be even more once we go inside the club.’
At Seo Da-hee’s words, Lia’s excitement grew.
Strangers meeting to seek companionship, and even taking things further in such a bold and open way.
For Lia—who had lived most of her life in isolation and now only interacted with Seongwoo, Seo Da-hee, and that annoying Joo Sarang—it was an entirely new and fascinating culture.
[But Da-hee, you’re still underage. Is it okay for you to even go inside a club?]
‘Where did you even learn to say that?’
[I saw it on YouTube.]
‘Lia, I think you need to cut down on watching videos. Especially those dating advice ones.’
Lia absorbed information like a dry sponge, soaking up knowledge at an incredible speed—but since most of it came from the internet, it often came out a little twisted.
Just then, someone tapped Seo Da-hee on the shoulder.
“Hey, if you’re alone, would you like to have a drink with us?”
“I have a boyfriend.”
Seo Da-hee replied curtly and walked away.
A faint heat rose to her face.
As expected, she didn’t belong in a place like this.
‘I should just finish the mission Seongwoo gave me and head home.’
The task Seongwoo had given her was simple.
Infiltrate the club called Honey Jack and destroy whatever was producing the so-called essence.
For Seo Da-hee—who had hunted countless Demons and carried out missions alongside Yoo Iseo—this was hardly difficult.
Her eyes caught a glimpse of a yellow neon sign.
Under the sign that read Honey Jack, a long line of people waited to get in.
Just as Seo Da-hee was about to join the line, a burly man who looked like a guard gestured toward her.
When she approached, he waved his hand, signaling her to go right in.
[What’s that about? Everyone else has to wait in line, but he’s letting you through?]
‘Lucky us.’
With that thought, Seo Da-hee began descending the stairs into the club.
The deeper she went, the louder the music grew. Red and blue lights flashed across the space in dizzying patterns.
When she finally stepped inside, Seo Da-hee stood still, momentarily dazed.
“Wow…”
The kind of nightclub scene you’d only see in dramas or movies unfolded right before her eyes.
Loud music, men and women dancing close together, the sound of chatter and laughter blending into a chaotic roar, and the faint smell of alcohol in the air—it all made her feel like she’d stepped into a place she didn’t belong.
A strange sense of disorientation crept over her.
She shook her head to clear her mind, and Lia’s voice rang again.
[There’s something weird about this place—the people, the atmosphere. It feels… off.]
‘That must be the essence Seongwoo mentioned.’
Essence—an energy condensed from human desire.
Maybe because this place was a factory that produced it, the entire building was radiating a powerful force, draining minute traces of mana from people’s bodies and collecting it into one place.
Focusing her magic into her eyes, Seo Da-hee enhanced her sight. The flow of energy became visible, a trail she could follow.
If she traced it to the source, she’d likely find the factory producing the essence.
Then something caught her eye.
‘That is…?’
From a luxurious fountain flowed a pink-colored drink.
People gathered around it, holding out their cups to fill and drink from it.
‘That looks just like the drink that spread in the Academy.’
She could clearly sense that the energy coming from the drink was identical to the extracted essence.
The state of the people around it was a mess.
Their eyes were glazed over, their expressions vacant—some had even completely lost their senses.
Seo Da-hee felt anger surge within her.
They were trying to spread this kind of thing among the cadets—to drive their mana out of control?
[Da-hee, there’s a weird statue near that fountain.]
‘What?’
Snapping out of her thoughts, Seo Da-hee noticed a strange statue that didn’t match the fountain’s elegant design.
‘A demon statue?’
She pulled out her phone and checked the message thread with Seongwoo.
He had told her—if she ever saw something like that, she was to destroy it.
An artifact that strengthened demonic power.
Apparently, it was used to efficiently extract the essence.
But with so many people gathered here, destroying it now was impossible.
‘First, I need to deal with the main source.’
Seo Da-hee focused her enhanced sight and began walking in the direction where the essence was disappearing.
Several people tried to approach her along the way, but she only gave them cold, disdainful looks and continued forward.
Eventually, she passed through the dance floor and reached what appeared to be a VIP area.
Guards stood here and there, but Seo Da-hee was a member of the Academy’s Student Council.
Avoiding the eyes of ordinary guards was child’s play for her.
When she finally stood before the VIP room door, the movement of the essence became much clearer.
‘The extraction site is close.’
The energy was flowing into the VIP room—a place said to cost tens of millions just to enter.
Not the kind of dark, hidden basement she had expected.
Standing before the door radiating intense energy, Seo Da-hee froze.
[Da-hee…?]
Lia’s anxious voice echoed in her mind.
Something was definitely wrong.
Of course, she had expected some of Pandemonium’s underlings to be guarding the extraction site.
And Seongwoo had judged that Seo Da-hee would have no trouble dealing with mere lackeys.
Then, a quiet voice came from beyond the door.
“How long do you plan to stand there like an idiot? Come in.”
At the threatening tone, Seo Da-hee silently opened the door.
Inside the lavish VIP room sat a man calmly sipping his drink.
His outfit didn’t fit the club’s atmosphere—combat fatigues, suspenders, and a body laden with daggers and weapons.
Seo Da-hee’s expression hardened.
‘Why is there a Villain here?’
Seongwoo’s judgment had been wrong.