The Beautiful Girl Demon

Seo I-eung had fainted.

…Was this my fault?

I tried putting myself in her shoes. If I hadn't been in my angel form—if a beautiful girl had shoved her face at me like that—I didn't even want to imagine it. I would have fainted for sure. Looking at it that way, what had just happened ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠really did seem like my fault.

When she wakes up, I should properly apologize.

More than that, I was worried. Was it all right to leave Seo I-eung lying there like this? The ground had to be cold.

Should I at least give her a lap pillow?

I considered it for a moment, then decided against it. That would only make things worse. If I had been in her position, I would never have wanted anything of the sort. So I resolved not to touch a single hair on her head and simply wait until she woke up.

About five minutes passed. No monsters approached, and Seo I-eung was still out cold. I found myself staring blankly at her face.

…But damn, she really is incredibly pretty.

A high, straight nose. A delicate jawline. Flawless skin without a single blemish. Lustrous golden hair. Every time I looked, a sigh of admiration slipped out of me. I almost had to wonder whether this was truly a human face or a sculpture.

She might be the prettiest girl I've seen so far.

There are no ranks among beautiful girls. They're all beautiful and pretty. But tastes differ from person to person, and Seo I-eung's looks matched my preferences more than any beautiful girl I had seen. Of course, apart from photos on the internet, I had rarely observed a beautiful girl this close up. I was still a frog in a well. There might well be girls who suited my tastes even more.

The staff member earlier was pretty too, but glasses aren't my thing.

For the record, it wasn't that the delinquent look was my preference. Seo I-eung gave off a thuggish overall vibe, but up close her face carried a pure, almost innocent air. Her makeup wasn't heavy, either.

Yeah. The delinquent impression probably comes from her usual expression.

Her swaggering way of carrying herself and the piercings in her ears played a part as well.

And comparing Seo I-eung to the delinquents from my past life would be rude anyway.

To be frank, most delinquents were all makeup. The ones I had thought of as beautiful girls in my past life wouldn't even be able to hand over their business cards in this world. Seo I-eung wore makeup too, but nowhere near as excessively. Her light makeup looked incredibly natural.

Anyway, I was trying ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to prioritize personality like normal guys when looking at girls… but she's such a perfect match for my tastes among everyone I've seen so far that I could fall for her based on her face alone…

It was dangerous. If I had been in human form, I would have fallen hard for sure. Thank goodness for angel mode. Right now I felt no emotions at all. It was like looking at a pretty stone—a beautiful stone I never got tired of looking at.

As I freely admired Seo I-eung's appearance and wiped the nosebleed from her nose—

"Uuuugh…"

Seo I-eung finally came to. I hurriedly pulled my hand away from her face.

"Why was I sleeping…?"

She sat up, rubbing her head, then squinted and looked around. The moment her eyes met mine—

"Y-you…!"

She recoiled in shock and put distance between us, wearing the expression of someone who had just run into her parents' murderer. I kept a proper distance and immediately bowed my head to apologize. I had wanted to check something for a moment. I had gotten so absorbed in checking that I acted rudely. I was truly sorry for acting without asking her opinion first—things along those lines.

Seo I-eung accepted my apology and issued me a restraining order. When I was in angel form, she told me not to get too close. Staring intently was also forbidden.

"But didn't you hate sticking close to girls? How'd you pull that earlier?"

Seo I-eung asked as she walked at a distance.

"It's fine when I'm like this."

"Huh? So only when you're an angel you're not a woman-hater? Racial trait? Well, it would be weird for an angel of all things to hate a specific gender."

She was making another weird misunderstanding. I quickly explained. Conversation wasn't hard in this state, after all.

"I'm not a woman-hater even normally. I just have trouble with women."

"Hmmm…"

Seo I-eung gave me a suspicious look.

"Well, let's go with that."

"It's not 'let's go with that.' I'm telling you I'm not a woman-hater."

"Fine, I'll believe you."

Somehow it didn't feel like she believed me. Whatever. No point talking about it. No matter what I said, she wouldn't believe it. I just needed to fix my trauma later and prove it.

"More importantly, how long can you maintain your transformation?"

Seo I-eung asked again, unable to look at me the way she had before, her gaze averted. My angel mode still seemed hard for her to handle.

"About two hours."

"Two hours? You can keep it up for a really long time?"

"Instead, I can only transform once a day."

"Ah. So that's why it's long."

Seo I-eung nodded and stopped in her tracks, then pointed in one direction.

"Anyway, let's hunt some monsters before your transformation wears off."

The direction she pointed. Ghouls were swarming there in droves—probably the ones that had fled after seeing the ghoul torn apart by Seo I-eung's bear paw earlier. I had been wondering where they went; turns out they were all over there.

"Do you fight barehanded? Or do you have a separate attack ability?"

"I have one attack ability."

Judgment Light. An attack skill that released light from my palm. The only ability I could use as a washed-up angel currently.

"I've never used it on anyone before, though."

"Yeah? Then this is a good chance to test it."

That had been my plan anyway. I had only used Judgment Light on empty air, so I had no sense of how much power it would have against monsters. Of course, I wasn't expecting much. It didn't seem like it would be that strong.

I should've tested it on something like a soda can beforehand.

I took a step forward. The ghouls' gazes focused on us.

"If anything, I'll leave just one… Ah, never mind. Just attack once for now."

I nodded slightly, then spread my palm and stretched my arm toward the ghouls. And—

The moment I chanted in the language of angels—

Fwaaaash—!

Brilliant light shot out from my palm. The ghouls standing around blankly were enveloped in the Judgment Light.

"Ki, kieeek!"

"Keoeok!"

"Uuh, uueoee…!"

Their whole bodies started burning away in an instant. They screamed, then vanished without leaving even a shape.

What the hell is this…

"…I'm stronger than I thought."

"…Y-yeah. But they're just ghouls, so whatever."

I steadied my surprised heart and glanced at Seo I-eung's expression. She looked pretty startled too.

While wandering the dungeon, I spotted another group of ghouls.

"Kieeeek!"

"Keoeok!"

I blasted them to death with Judgment Light. Then I discovered yet another group of ghouls.

"Ke, uuh…!"

"Uoeok!"

I burned them to death with Judgment Light. Every single one I saw, I wiped out. Not leaving a single one.

"…You're having a blast, huh."

Seo I-eung shook her head at me. I definitely was having fun. Since the monsters all died in one hit, I had gone from uncertain to convinced—experiencing it like this, it seemed I had an aptitude for being a Hunter.

As we continued the monster hunting like that—

A signpost blocked our way. Seo I-eung muttered to herself looking at the sign.

"What? I didn't know they'd even implement the dungeon boss… Now I get why the fee is so expensive."

I agreed. I had heard actual dungeons rarely had bosses either.

"Kang Hahwi. You know, right?"

"Know what?"

"That a dungeon boss is too much for just the two of us. Bosses that appear in F-grade dungeons need at least five C-grade Hunters. If the boss is a demon, you basically need ten to twenty."

I knew a little about that. I had seen it on the internet—including that bosses came in two types: monsters and demons.

"What do you want to do? Turn back?"

Seo I-eung asked. I couldn't answer right away. We had paid a huge sum to get in—wouldn't it make financial sense to at least see the boss's face before leaving? That was the thought. First I asked for her opinion.

"What do you want to do?"

"Me? Obviously I want to go straight. It's an Illusion Dungeon anyway, so we won't actually die."

Seo I-eung's thoughts matched mine. She really was fearless.

"The academy won't give us trouble just for crossing into the boss zone, right?"

"No way. It's not like they blocked entry from the start like with E-grade and higher dungeons."

"……"

"……"

"Then shall we go?"

"Let's go."

In the end we ignored the sign and decided to go look for the boss.

After walking for about ten minutes, Seo I-eung spoke with a tense face.

"If we meet the boss we're definitely going to die, so prepare yourself mentally. Running away will probably be impossible too."

"Is the boss that strong?"

"Of course. You think they put up a danger sign for nothing?"

"If it's that dangerous, shouldn't they not have implemented a boss in a dungeon we can enter?"

"I thought about it, and it seems like a test to filter out people without the qualifications to be Hunters."

"A test?"

"Remember what the guide said earlier? Every guide probably said the same thing to the other new students. And even after hearing that, there will be plenty of students who ignore the danger sign and push forward. Like us."

Seo I-eung continued while scanning the surroundings.

"For that type, they just let them die to the illusion boss and break their spirit so they give up on being Hunters themselves. Arrogant personalities have a high chance of dying quick even after becoming official Hunters."

"Then haven't we already failed the test?"

"Not failed yet. As long as our spirits don't break even after dying to the boss. And I'm confident I won't care even if I die. My personality isn't arrogant—it's courageous. If this were a real dungeon I never would've come in here."

I understood what she meant. Arrogance itself was fine. But an arrogant person who was also mentally weak had no qualifications as a Hunter. Even so, they were just trying to make people quit on their own. The academy wouldn't expel anyone themselves. This wasn't an official test or anything. In other words, even if you were arrogant and mentally weak, as long as you didn't drop out, it was fine. It would be hard for someone who developed trauma from monsters to not give up being a Hunter, though.

So if you develop trauma but stay at the academy to overcome the fear, that counts as passing too.

That wasn't overinterpreting it. Without a reason like this, they wouldn't have left the boss zone open.

"Hey, hey…!"

As I was organizing my thoughts, Seo I-eung urgently called me, her gaze fixed ahead. I looked ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠forward too.

Not far away, a woman stood still, staring at us.

"Oh my. A cute little one has come?"

Bluish skin. Two horns sprouting from her head. And a beautiful girl. It was the appearance of a demon I had seen in photos. The beautiful girl demon sent a look of contempt my way.

"Ugh. There's a disgusting angel too."

I felt exactly the same. The moment I witnessed the demon, a disgusting emotion surged up from inside. I loathed her. An impulse to tear that demon apart right now rushed over me. As negative emotions mixed together, I felt my consciousness cut out for a moment.

After that—

"I-I'll attack first, so step ba… Huh? Where'd this guy go…?"

Seo I-eung's voice grew distant.

"First ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I'll slaughter the angel… Keheuk…!?"

The demon's voice grew closer.

"……"

The demon could no longer make a sound.

"Ah."

When I came to, in my two hands were two objects. In my right hand, the demon's heart. In my left hand, the demon's head.