The Ashes of a Demon

The corpse of the demon scattered into the wind as ash. Such is always the end of demons. They are those who offered this world's things to something wicked in exchange for power. Even in death, they are denied rest.

Maybe I'll just pick up a decent skill with this. "......" The reward distribution paused mid-transaction. My Defying Heaven stat had increased. The moment I read those words, the Defying Heaven within my body began to swell. -What in the—? Heukcheon. The marble no bigger than a fingernail swelled until it was the size of an entire thumb joint. -What is happening? My Defying Heaven... it grew? I pushed aside the bewildered Heukcheon Demonic Sword and reconsidered. In that case, raising my stats might actually be the better call.

"Th-the demon is dead! I knew you had it in you!" "Thank you, hero! You're the hero of Gangnam!" Citizens murmured all around me. I spotted several people holding up cameras. The last thing I wanted was my face out there. I slipped into the Multidimensional Pay Shop. There, I purchased the single-use secrecy device I'd had my eye on.

A single-use item, and it still cost 1,000P. What a rip-off. No, wait—it must be that effective, then. I used the item. I had no idea what the effect would actually look like, but this was the Multidimensional Pay Shop, so the performance was bound to be reliable. I pulled the hood of my hoodie down low. Have I dragged this out too long? The heroes would be here soon. Time to slip away. Being treated as a hero was fine, but it was still far too early for that. If my identity got marked by the demons—if they suspected I was the Adversary of Demons—every demon out there would start hunting me. That was the reason I hadn't forced the issue with Seo Gayeon... though things were a little different now. The difficulty was far higher than I'd expected. If this quest was merely the tutorial, then the day things turned truly dangerous wasn't far off. How am I going to sweet-talk her into it? Mulling over how to win Seo Gayeon around, I walked toward the back alley.

"Tch." At the heart of the smoke-choked city center, a woman in a tailored suit clamped a cigarette between her lips and let out a long sigh. "What ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the hell is with the Black Lotus running rampant all over the place lately?" "It's because of the prophecy." "The prophecy? The one about a talent destined to appear who will annihilate every demon in existence?" Baek Ji-yeon snorted. As if a single talent could settle anything. Even the great heroes of old had never managed to stamp the demons out entirely. Sighing at her own rueful thoughts, Baek Ji-yeon started walking. "The Sword Queen herself?" "You're kidding. The Sword Queen is showing up for two demons throwing a tantrum?" The guild personnel who'd come along murmured among themselves. "By the way, according to the report there were two mid-tier demons... and you're telling me a handful of students took them down?" "Yes, ma'am." Baek Ji-yeon whistled low. Come to think of it, they said this year's Korea Hero Academy intake was no joke. The Association Chairman— who never gave brats the time of day—was apparently taking a personal interest in them, so that told you everything. "Yes. According to civilian reports, one demon that took hostages was captured by a single student, and the other was taken down by four students working together." "...What?" The cigarette dropped from Baek Ji-yeon's mouth. Students, even the gifted ones, usually lived the lives of low-tier heroes or hunters who couldn't even make hero rank. And this one took down a demon alone? "And there's one strange detail." "A strange detail?" "Yes. They say the student who faced the demon alone doesn't appear on any electronic device." "The what?" "Based on the circumstances, it seems to be a student named Lee Seoha... which is what makes this rather ambiguous." "...Really? Then leave that one off the books for now. I'll look into it myself later." Did the Electronic Witch get involved?Last I heard, she was asleep. "Whatever the case, this has become a nuisance." Baek Ji-yeon ruffled her tangled thoughts into order. "Hey—the bounty thing. We're still doing that?" "Yes. It pays out immediately once the demon subjugation is verified." Korea was a small country. The Association worked itself to the bone for the nation's safety, but it couldn't prevent every incident. So they'd loosened the reins and allowed guilds to form, and handled things by posting bounties whenever a demon or monster reared its head. "Post it, then." "Understood. The Black Lotus rampaged in Gangnam, Seoul, after all. The Black Lotus carries real name recognition, so it'll draw plenty of attention." "And put a separate bounty on whoever took that demon down solo. Flag it to me first. Mention it to the Chairman of the Board of Elders and he'll handle the rest. I'll look into whoever did it myself." The secretary's eyes sparkled. "How about a quiet recruitment pitch while you're at it? If the great Baek Ji-yeon personally extends the offer, the optics would be superb. You're the most famous high-tier hero in all of Korea, after all. And a woman, besides." "What does gender have to do with anything?" "Teenagers that age are naturally drawn to adult women." "...Tch." Baek Ji-yeon gave a curt nod. At that motion, the secretary fired off a text to someone. "Oh, right—that girl's at that school too, isn't she? The holy knight from America." "You mean Heaven?" "Heaven, America, same thing. Tch. Anyway, she's there, right?" "Yes, she is." "What's her ranking again? A relative asked me to keep an eye on her." "Seventh, I believe." "That one? Isn't she the kid they called a genius back in the States? The one who kicked the seminary to the curb just to compare herself against the Korean academy and enrolled here?" "This year's class is nothing to sneeze at. That Lee Seoha I mentioned earlier rewrote every school record there was, for one." "To what, exactly?" "He clocked in at under one minute." "What?" Baek Ji-yeon couldn't process it. One minute? What had her own personal best been again? The low five-minute mark. That had been in the second semester of her third year. And even then, she'd been hailed as a once-in-a-century prodigy. And some first-year had done it in under a minute? "Whoever he is, the man's a monster." "Which is exactly why you must act personally, ma'am. Otherwise the guilds will snatch him up again." "Tch." Baek Ji-yeon fished a lollipop out of her pocket and stuck it in her mouth. She didn't like it, but if a guild poached him, the old man would nag her ears off for a month. Fine—she'd reel him in herself. "Alright. Set up the schedule." "Yes, ma'am. Right away." Lee Seoha, was it.

"Must we truly do this today?" -Spare ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me the theatrics. You were weary, aye, but that potion restored your vigor well enough. 'Tis precisely in such moments that one must train—sweat now, spill less blood later. Sighing at the Heukcheon Demonic Sword's words, I stepped into the training hall. The penthouse. I had returned to my dorm room. The smallest miracle I could work for myself, little by little. Still, I couldn't argue with the sword. Normally, on hard difficulty, I could clear everything with nothing but a pair of underwear and a dagger, even with a character like this. Tch. I sighed and dragged myself off the bed. I changed clothes. Socks too—and since I couldn't be bothered, I just threw a hoodie on over everything. The weather had warmed up a little, so shorts it was. -Must thou wear that wretched hoodie yet again? "What's wrong with it? It's comfortable as hell. And there's nobody I need to impress anyway." -At thy age, a lad's thoughts ought to drift toward the fairer sex. I snorted at that. If the other me hadn't been isekai'd into this world, I probably would have been exactly like that. -So, art thou going out? "Yeah." The penthouse had an air purifier and stayed cool around the clock, but how do I put it... It just wasn't the same as running outdoors. Outside, at least, there was scenery to look at. I pocketed my phone and grabbed the Bluetooth earphones I'd bought on my last trip out. Stepping out of the dormitory, I spotted a familiar silhouette. Seo Gayeon. She was jogging in her workout clothes. "Hey." "Oh—h-hi." Seo Gayeon greeted me in a flustered scramble. I glanced around. Nobody in sight. A perfect opportunity. "Out jogging? Mind if I join you?" "Huh? Uh—s-sure, of course." Seo Gayeon and I started running together. A little while into it... Seo Gayeon was somehow far off in the distance ahead of me. "......" I arrived at an important realization. Seo Gayeon might be called the worst student in this school right now, but her stamina was superior to mine. And there was something even more pathetic. Seo Gayeon gradually slowed her pace and fell in beside me, matching my stride. "......" ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠As a man, I felt a profound, crushing sense of defeat. Seo Gayeon spoke up. "Seoha? You know a lot about alchemy, right?" "Yeah, more or less. Something you're wondering about? If I know it, I'll answer." "During l-last week's practical, I mean. I mixed slime mucus into a healing potion, and it turned into poison..." "...Did you filter it?" "Huh?" "If you skip that step, it develops toxicity and degrades into poison. It should've been in the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠kit they handed out—the filtration processor? You pour water into it and the enchantment in the kit reacts, converting it into an agent that strains the poison out. Give it a try next time." "O-oh. I see." "Seoha, you're... you're good at everything, aren't you?" Her voice was thick with defeat—and laced with something like inferiority. "N-no, no! I'm sorry! F-forget I said that." Seo Gayeon jolted and shook her head violently. "It's fine. There's plenty I can't do either. Running, for instance." I looked at Seo Gayeon. She was an upright, honest soul. But her life had never been an easy road. "Want to try learning magic?" "Magic...?" "Yeah. Like I told you before—I think you've got real talent. If we're talking pure talent alone, I'd say you're even more gifted than Hong Yuhwa." "Me?" "Yeah. Trust me on this one." "......" Seo Gayeon stared at me with a dazed expression. "I'll help you with whatever I can." Not that she even had to ask. I was going to help her whether she wanted it or not. Refusal was not an accepted answer. "Th-thank you." Seo Gayeon nodded slowly. Then next weekend, I'll be taking Seo Gayeon into a dungeon. I watched her run and turned the plan over in my mind. Awakening mana is difficult. The surest method is awakening on the edge of death. And Seo Gayeon's Starlight Mana—of all the ways to trigger it, it needed to collide with things tied to the demonic above all. Which means the best option is for her to be beaten to within an inch of her life by a demon. Seo Gayeon smiled faintly. That's right—smile all you can now. I smiled back at her.