Chapter 248: Demon King Girl Kim Ga-eul!?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 248: Demon King Girl Kim Ga-eul!?
Even as some heroes and villains began their war against the demons, the world continued on without much change.
To put it kindly, it was under the pretext of not inciting unnecessary chaos for the sake of global stability. To be blunt, however, it was the result of the high-ranking officials at the Association deciding they didn’t want to be bothered by something they felt they could eventually handle.
Yet, as long as evacuations had occurred in certain regions and heroes had been deployed, the truth could not be entirely suppressed.
Rumors were already circulating to some extent on the internet.
Of course, most of them were just clickbait with no substance, but every so often, someone would offer a plausible theory or a deduction that hit close to the mark.
And here in this hospital, there was one person.
A girl who was busy aggregating that information from the internet.
Indeed.
Kim Ga-eul was using her smartphone to gather information, desperate to learn even a little about the situation on the ground.
Given the Association’s nature, if the mission were a success, they would undoubtedly post news immediately, making it look like they were the ones who did a great job.
She didn’t want to think about it, but even if something went wrong, they would at least release a “tail-cutting” article to shift the blame.
‘This is pathetic.’
Knowing the whole truth yet being reduced to staring at a smartphone made her feel incredibly pathetic.
In truth, she wanted to join them right this second.
Regardless of whether she would be helpful or not, she wanted to be there, but there was a reason she couldn’t.
“Um, excuse me.”
“No.”
“I haven’t even said anything yet…?”
“The Young Master instructed us that since Kim Ga-eul’s talent is Agitation, we should avoid conversing with you as much as possible. He also mentioned that if you attempt to start a conversation, there is an 80% chance you will ask to go outside—whether honestly or with an excuse—and an even higher probability that you will attempt to escape afterward.”
This was because So-hyun had stationed no fewer than seven guards—who also served as her monitors.
…Seriously, this is too much. He didn’t even tell me where he was going, just told me not to follow.
It was true she had planned to run away and follow him, but she still felt wronged.
She knew he did it because he was worried about her, but on the other hand, she worried it was because she wasn’t helpful.
Was it because she had faced the ugly parts of herself?
Lately, whenever she was alone, thoughts like these would surface.
If it had been Ha-ni or the Professor, would they have been able to wait, trusting everyone, even in her position?
Or would they have avoided making such a stupid mistake in the first place?
And whenever she had these thoughts, one of the guards would invariably pull out a recorder and play a voice clip.
“Case 1: To be played if she suddenly starts brooding and scowls.”
“Huh?”
[Ga-eul. I’m going to trust that you’ll endure this well. So, please, just this once, trust that we’ll win.]
Even though it was a recording, hearing his voice lightened her heavy heart. But did the guard just say “Case 1”?
Just how much did he prepare?
“Um, excuse me, but if that’s Case 1, are there more?”
“Case 2: If she asks if there are various recording variations.”
[Yeah, it took me all day to prepare. I’ve set up 40 different patterns, so if you start having weird thoughts or get bored doing nothing in the hospital, try to find them all.]
It was touching, but imagining him recording each of these one by one made her laugh.
Seeing her laugh, one of the guards spoke up.
“There was a time when our Young Master wouldn’t open his heart to anyone.”
By “Young Master,” he meant So-hyun, right?
Everyone close to him at the Academy guessed he had some kind of trauma, but she didn’t know the exact cause.
For a moment, she was tempted by the thought that she might hear about his past, but she immediately covered her ears to show her resolve not to listen.
“Aaaahhh!!! I’m not listening!”
“…Are you not curious about the Young Master’s past?”
“Even if I am, I shouldn’t hear about things like that from someone else!”
“…The friends the Young Master made at the Academy all have kind hearts. Rest assured. I have no hobby of blabbing about my employer’s past without permission, either.”
She felt like she understood.
She could sense that this person cherished So-hyun—or more accurately, his family.
“I only meant to say that since the Young Master, who used to be like that, is trying to open up and trust you all, I hoped his friend would trust him in return. You looked very anxious.”
…Right, sometimes trusting and waiting is the right answer.
Kim Ga-eul made up her mind.
She would just wait quietly and trust them. And once things settled down, she would tell them that she really wasn’t hurting anymore.
Unfortunately, just because Kim Ga-eul decided not to do anything didn’t mean the world would leave her alone.
Leviathan, the Demon King of Jealousy.
She wanted Kim Ga-eul just as much as she wanted Kang So-hyun.
At the sound of a polite knock, the people in the room raised their guard rather than expressing curiosity.
“Who is it?”
[Ah, we’re Ga-eul’s classmates from the Academy.]
[We came to visit.]
Those voices were definitely familiar.
One belonged to In-hye, who had recently become famous for changing a lot before suddenly locking herself in the dormitory and refusing to attend class. The other was the voice of the “friend” who had lynched her not long ago.
They were also the two people So-hyun said he had dealt with first when he was taking away demonic energy while handling the demons.
Was it really a coincidence that those two had come to the hospital at the same time?
[I came to apologize for what happened last time.]
[I came to say thank you for saving me from the demon.]
However, no one in the room believed the voices outside the door.
The guards knew that the Yuseong Group had spent a fortune on this hospital room to ensure no one could visit except for specific individuals. Kim Ga-eul, on the other hand, could see a more direct reason.
An ominous energy felt from beyond the door.
An energy very similar to the one that had possessed her body and swallowed her emotions not long ago was radiating from outside.
[Ga-eul, we’re here too. Let us in.]
The sound of the locked door creaking was by no means a positive sign. The guards naturally moved to protect her, drawing their weapons.
The hospital door, designed to withstand the strength of an average superhuman, began to warp, and a thick energy started seeping through the gaps.
The demonic energy of jealousy.
So-hyun had clearly said he took all the demonic energy from them, so what was going on?
The answer was soon apparent.
As they lost their demonic energy, the things they had “lost” had returned.
In-hye’s face had returned to its beautiful state, and the girl who used to be her friend had also become subtly more beautiful in face and figure.
…Right, So-hyun had said it.
Those who have contracted with a demon might cling to that contract again at any time.
It was much faster than expected, but it seemed they had taken the demon’s hand once more.
Judging by the fact that they had made it this far and their pupils were dilated, she could guess what they had paid as a price.
“Emergency status. Seeing as there’s no contact, it seems the guards stationed on the lower floors have all been taken out.”
“…By mere cadets?”
“I wonder. Can they even be called cadets? You know that once someone is possessed by a demon or a parasitic monster, they have to be considered a different entity than before, right?”
“Yeah, you’re right. Then we shouldn’t respond as if they’re cadets.”
The statement about not responding as if they were cadets was a euphemism used out of consideration for Kim Ga-eul. In the worst-case scenario, it meant they were prepared to kill. However, immediately after the hospital door was violently torn off, they had to rethink their strategy.
The things attacking with bizarre movements were beyond being mere cadets; they were monsters capable of threatening the guards themselves.
As professionals, the guards entered the fray with confidence that they could win as long as they didn’t let their guard down. For a moment, they seemed to suppress the possessed cadets.
But that was only for a moment. They made a fatal mistake.
They judged beings whose strength, speed, and movements were beyond the human realm as “human” simply because they had human forms.
Because they tried to suppress monsters with techniques meant for humans, it couldn’t possibly work. Instead, arms bent in grotesque directions began to suppress the guards.
Witnessing the horrifying sight, Kim Ga-eul tried her best to do something, but honestly, even she thought the situation was hopeless.
The classmates who had clearly lost their minds due to demonic energy were not at a level she could handle, and since the guards were being defeated, they were outnumbered.
There was almost no chance that her joining in would change anything.
And yet.
Kim Ga-eul stood up anyway.
She swung her weapon, a whip, infused with the best mana she could muster, and managed to save one guard who was on the verge of losing consciousness from being strangled.
But that was it.
The demons wearing the skins of cadets smiled at her and easily blocked her second whip strike.
Of course they did.
The first one had been a surprise attack, and she had only barely managed to take one down by focusing all her strength.
If she just swung wildly, the second strike was bound to end like this.
Due to the nature of a whip, once it was caught, she was essentially neutralized the moment her strength was inferior to her opponent’s.
Well, yeah. I knew it would turn out like this.
I swung it knowing that.
So, why did Kim Ga-eul suddenly do something so reckless without even trying to find a way to escape?
To save the guard? Because there seemed to be no way out anyway?
Both were true.
But there was a more fundamental reason: she wanted to look cool.
Driven by the desire to be like the people she admired, and the thought that if she ran away now, she could never be like them.
She had acted in spite of her terror, but unfortunately, the moment her whip was taken, the fear she thought she had overcome reared its head again.
“Can’t we just call it a draw?”
She didn’t expect an answer, but surprisingly, an answer came from the mouths of the monsters shaped like her classmates.
“Kee-hee-hee-hee-hee.”
“Kyah-hah-hah-hah!”
That is, if you consider mockery a type of answer!
Kim Ga-eul remembered.
Right, honestly, I’ve been way too lucky lately.
Maybe this was her accumulated karma finally exploding.
Kim Ga-eul was a girl more familiar with unreasonable misfortune than unreasonable luck, and she was well aware of it.
Just as she was about to burst into tears, thinking it wasn’t strange for an incident like this to happen now, and watching the monsters approach while the guards desperately tried to stop them—
— I saw your courage.
“…Uh, huh?”
— I think you’ll be okay. Ga-eul.
“Um, it’s a bit scary to suddenly hear a voice in a situation like this, but who are you…?”
— Who I am isn’t that important! What matters is that I have the power to help you right now, and you can help me!
Suddenly saying they could help her.
What on earth did that mean?
— The demonic energy piled up in your body! With that, you can fight well too! I’ll help you!
“So-hyun told me to avoid anyone who approaches me targeting demonic energy…?”
Grind. She thought she heard the sound of teeth gnashing.
“Did you just grind your teeth?”
— N-No!? I’m in a spirit form, I don’t even have teeth! Anyway, please! Let me help you, Ga-eul!
Kim Ga-eul hesitated for a moment.
Could she trust this voice? Was it a trap? Did she have any way to escape them if she refused?
— Ah, seriously! Please! My name is Belphe—no, it’s Bel! Ga-eul! Contract with me and become a Demon King Girl!
Hearing those words, for some reason, she got the feeling that she absolutely should not make the contract.