Chapter 94
After the meeting ended, Park Siwoo and I left the Student Council room immediately.
There was nothing left for us to do until the interrogation of the Villain was over.
Park Siwoo, walking beside me, looked visibly uneasy.
“Why do you look like that? You look half-dead.”
“……You said that if you drink too much of that beverage, your mana will go berserk, right……?”
“I did, wait a second.”
I stared at him in disbelief.
No way. I told this idiot not to drink too much of it—
Don’t tell me he actually gulped it down?
When I glared at him, Park Siwoo quietly averted his eyes.
“You moron!”
“I-I didn’t know it was that bad!”
“So how much did you drink?”
“After you told me to stop… maybe one or two more cups?”
What should I even do with this guy?
Of course, drinking just two or three more cups wouldn’t cause mana to go berserk.
Park Siwoo had high mana and resistance stats, so he should be able to withstand the Succubus’s essence just fine.
Still, it was frustrating to see him acting without a shred of sense.
Honestly, even when I played the game, he was always so infuriatingly slow-witted.
It couldn’t be helped.
Park Siwoo only awakened as a true Hero—a genuine warrior—after fighting the Act 1 boss.
And the boss of Act 1 was Yoo Iseo.
After her death, he began clashing directly with Demons, and his naïveté gradually turned into maturity and refinement.
But reality was different from the game. Everything here was unfolding much faster.
So while the incidents progressed, that naive fool hadn’t changed a bit—creating this frustrating imbalance.
Sometimes, even when you understand someone’s mindset, it’s still enough to make you want to pull your hair out.
I knew he was capable, but those occasional idiotic moments made my blood pressure spike.
In the game, I would’ve just thought, “He’s kind of cute,” and moved on.
But here in reality? “He’s dead,” would be the next logical thought.
Just then, my phone buzzed in my pocket.
It was a message from Joo Sarang.
[Berid has summoned the executives for a meeting this evening.]
As expected, things were moving just as I predicted.
Since he was taking action, we couldn’t afford to sit idle either.
After replying to her message, I parted ways with Park Siwoo and headed straight to my dorm room.
Once there, I immediately spread my mana and formed a barrier to block sound and intrusion.
Since the meeting was scheduled for the evening, I had a bit of time.
Before that, I needed to extract Joo Sarang.
I created another soundproof barrier, then straightened my clothes and placed my phone on the desk.
Taking a deep breath—
“Phew……”
What I was about to do was simple.
Through negotiations with Joo Sarang’s superior—a high-ranking executive of Pandemonium—I would bring her under my command.
To put it bluntly, it was like asking the boss of a global crime syndicate for his daughter’s hand.
I recalled what I knew about the high-ranking executive who cherished Joo Sarang.
One of Pandemonium’s top leaders alongside the Heavenly Demon, and the worst necromancer in existence.
A lich who had abandoned his living body.
Ironically, his greatest wish was to regain that very body.
It was obvious why he protected Joo Sarang and placed her within the Academy.
He hoped her ability—Power of Material Transformation—might help him reclaim a living form.
He wanted her to grow safely and hone her powers within the relatively secure Academy, far from Pandemonium’s internal dangers.
I opened my contacts.
A pitiful list of fewer than ten names.
Among them, there was one number I had saved as speed dial 1—but had never once dared to call first.
After a few rings, a familiar voice answered.
[Who dares to contact me without permission?]
A frigid voice like subzero air.
Much colder than when she usually reached out to me.
“It’s me. Master.”
[Master……? Don’t tell me—you’re the disciple?]
“Yes.”
[The same worthless disciple who never once contacted me unless I did first?]
Why did her words sound so prickly?
Though her tone was still icy and rigid, I could faintly sense a trace of hurt behind it.
Come to think of it, I really had never called the Heavenly Demon first.
Why? Well… I was scared.
Her cold demeanor, unpredictable actions—
It was a natural fear toward a being who stood among the strongest in existence.
But more than that, hearing her voice stirred emotions that weren’t even mine.
Just like when I met Joo Sarang.
If what I felt toward Joo Sarang was longing and tenderness, then what I felt toward the Heavenly Demon was gratitude, respect… and fear.
To appease her, I adopted the most respectful tone possible.
“It wasn’t that I didn’t want to contact you, Master. Circumstances simply didn’t allow it.”
[Your tongue grows long when you lie. Do you know that? You always embellish your words when you’re lying.]
“……Do I?”
[So, I assume you’re calling because you need something from me, correct?]
I fell silent.
Her voice had lowered.
Was she angry that I’d called for something trivial?
[Very well. What is it you wish to ask of me?]
“You’ll hear me out?”
[I am not so heartless as to refuse a request from my disciple.]
“Master……! Your beauty is only rivaled by your kindness.”
For a moment, silence filled the line.
[Enough with the flattery. What is it that you want?]
“Ahem… Could you perhaps connect me with Lord Biden, one of Pandemonium’s high-ranking executives? I wish to speak with him.”
[……What did you say?]
Her voice suddenly sharpened.
[You mean to tell me—you want me to connect you with that funeral freak?]
“Yes.”
[Do you not know that I don’t have a good relationship with those people?]
I knew.
Of course, I knew.
How could I not?
The power struggle between the Heavenly Demon and the other Demons was one of the main conflicts in Act 3 of the game.
The Heavenly Demon was an overwhelming presence, even within Pandemonium.
Because of that, she was both the most powerful and the most feared among the Demons—but, contrary to what one might expect, her actual political power within Pandemonium was quite limited.
That was because she never sought power for herself.
And that very fact made the other high-ranking executives wary of her.
Their authority, in the face of her overwhelming might, was nothing more than a candle before the wind.
She might not want anything now, but what if, someday, she did?
If she decided to seek power later, they knew it would be effortless for her to strip them of everything they had.
That was why the tension between the Heavenly Demon and the other executives continued endlessly.
And come to think of it, one thought came to mind.
The Heavenly Demon wasn’t even a Demon who had made a contract with the Archdemons.
Nor did she truly share Pandemonium’s ambitions.
Then why was she affiliated with Pandemonium at all?
I had cleared Become a Hero multiple times, thinking I understood the lore inside and out—but there were still so many things I didn’t know.
Moments like this reminded me how different reality was from the game.
All I knew for certain was that there existed some kind of deal between Pandemonium and the Heavenly Demon.
Then, breaking her silence, the Heavenly Demon asked me a question.
[Let me ask this first. Why do you wish to speak with that funeral freak? And through me, of all people. You could have simply asked your partner for help.]
“Partner?”
[The child you introduced as your childhood friend.]
“She’s not— I mean, that’s not the point. The reason I’m trying to contact Lord Biden is because of her.”
The Heavenly Demon fell silent again.
[That child—why?]
“The situation is complicated, but it seems she’s about to be made the scapegoat to cover up the mistakes of the Demons who infiltrated the Academy……”
[I dislike complicated stories. So, in short—you’re trying to save your partner by formally declaring before her superior, that funeral freak, that she belongs to you.]
Well… she wasn’t wrong, but—
It sounded like the Heavenly Demon had completely misunderstood.
Her cold voice came again.
[So that’s why you contacted me. You needed someone to keep that funeral freak in check, didn’t you? Foolish boy. Letting yourself be swayed by a woman.]
She clicked her tongue.
It was getting harder to argue with her, mostly because—well, she wasn’t entirely wrong.
The reason I wanted to contact Lord Biden through the Heavenly Demon was simple—an act of leverage.
To send a message: The Heavenly Demon stands behind me.
If he understood that, there would be no need for bloodshed.
Of course, that also meant that if he gave up Joo Sarang peacefully, he would owe the Heavenly Demon a debt of gratitude.
Which, naturally, was why she was scolding me now.
Eventually, the Heavenly Demon accepted my request.
[Fine, I’ll grant your request. It’s not that difficult, after all. However, it’s one thing to save that child—but if you intend to take her as your mate, I cannot approve. A proper woman must be modest and virtuous……]
Seriously, what was with this old-fashioned lecture?
It sounded like something straight out of a Joseon-era scholar’s mouth, so I just let it wash over me.
[Hmph, wait a moment.]
And after a brief pause—
The Heavenly Demon connected me to Lord Biden, one of Pandemonium’s top executives.
Through a group voice call, a voice came through—one that didn’t sound like it could possibly belong to a human being.
It was as if all the unpleasant noises echoing through a deep, dark cave had been stitched together into a single voice.
[Heavenly Demon. To think the day would come when you contact me. Truly, one must live long enough to see everything.]
[I contacted you because of my disciple.]
[Your disciple? You mean the one they call the Devil Knight?]
[That name “Devil Knight” never sounds right, no matter how many times I hear it. But yes, him.]
At her words, Lord Biden spoke again, a hint of curiosity in his tone.
[So, you say he wanted to meet me? And that he even used his master as an intermediary……?]
As his attention turned toward me, an unpleasant sensation crawled over my entire body.
Something I hadn’t felt while speaking to the Heavenly Demon alone—like cold chills and the feeling of insects crawling under my skin.
It wasn’t unbearable, but it was revolting.
Was every high-ranking executive of Pandemonium such a monster?
[You’re quite clever. I don’t dislike those who know how to make use of what they have. So tell me—why did you call me, hiding behind your master’s shadow?]
There was no need for flowery words.
After all, the Heavenly Demon was listening to everything.
“Please give me Joo Sarang.”
[……What?]
That suffocating sensation grew even stronger.
Then came his furious voice.
[Heavenly Demon. Your disciple is quite bold indeed. To think someone would dare demand something that belongs to Lord Biden himself. Does he not value his life?]
[Funeral freak, do not threaten my disciple at your whim. He hasn’t finished speaking yet.]
At the Heavenly Demon’s sharp retort, Biden fell silent—and the suffocating presence surrounding me eased slightly.
That was precisely why I had gone through her in the first place.
Master really was the best.
“I seem to have explained myself poorly and caused misunderstanding. I didn’t mean ‘give her to me’ literally. What I mean is—please transfer Joo Sarang, currently dispatched under Berid, to my jurisdiction.”
[…]
He remained silent for a moment.
[It’s already known that you have a special connection with that child, Lilith. But I fail to understand the intention behind your request.]
“I’m concerned that her life may soon be in danger—”