The Demon of Hyeseong Academy's In-Seoul Class
EP 5: The Demon of the In-Seoul Class at the Retake Academy
“Why is there a demon here?!”
Taeguk Singun Lee Seon-hee thought she was about to faint. A demon had suddenly appeared before her adorable son-in-law. A demon. It was a parasitic Noble Phantasm crafted by Nazi soldiers in exchange for their own realm and potential.
“If it can speak so fluently, its growth must already be complete.”
Lee Seon-hee was on the verge of losing her mind. A fully matured demon was immensely powerful, boasting performance that could rival even those in the Deity Realm. Yet such a monster was now cackling right in front of her fragile son-in-law, and her sanity was on the brink of collapse.
Her current state of mind was akin to watching a newborn dropped into a jungle.
“Ah… ah… ah… ahhh… baby.”
Lee Seon-hee raked her fingers through her hair, staring at the screen. Her beloved son-in-law was facing death.
“H-how… what should I do… what…”
Tears streamed down her cheeks. Her son-in-law was going to die. The son-in-law who called her “Mother” and relied on her. The son-in-law who got along well with her only granddaughter. The son-in-law who had endured unimaginable abuse just to keep living… was going to die.
“Ah…”
It was too late to reach him. Of all days, today had to be her business trip to China. Even if she rushed there now, she would arrive too late. The only thing she could do was type in the chat.
Taeguk Singun glanced at the other messages.
A demon was a parasitic Noble Phantasm. While it possessed unlimited mana, it lacked a digestive or circulatory system, making it extremely weak without a host’s blood. The more hosts, the better. Right now, Hyeseong Academy was filled with potential hosts. If the demon deliberately hid inside one of them, detection would be difficult. It wouldn’t be hard for it to switch hosts repeatedly and raze the city to the ground.
That was why so many voices were demanding that Yoo Ji-tae and Baek Seol be sealed underground or crushed along with the building. But that would kill Yoo Ji-tae along with the demon.
The sound of Lee Seon-hee’s molars grinding echoed. Lee Seon-hee. Enraged. She immediately made a call.
“Mr. President. Just now—”
“Ah. I know. We’ve issued a lockdown over the entire Daejeon area and dispatched the generals. For now, we’ll collapse the academy building, then drag it into a short decisive battle to minimize damage—”
The same suggestion again. Collapse the building, kill the host to suppress the demon’s power, and deal with it afterward.
Lee Seon-hee let out a lion’s roar.
“My son-in-law is inside!!! My son-in-law!!! Yoo Ji-tae!!!”
It was practically a scream. Sobbing, Lee Seon-hee continued to bellow at the top of her lungs. Begging them to stop. To prioritize rescuing Yoo Ji-tae over killing the demon. She kept screaming and raging.
EP 5: The Demon of the In-Seoul Class at the Retake Academy
Daejeon Hyeon-go Third-Year Classroom.
An emergency broadcast rang throughout the entire city.
Lee Ah-rang knew Yoo Ji-tae’s situation well. Her grandmother had told her about today’s duel and its location. She hurriedly turned on her phone and searched. When she typed “demon,” Hyeseong Academy appeared in the related searches. Clicking it and scrolling down, she found a channel broadcasting the scene at Hyeseong Academy.
On the channel screen were Yoo Ji-tae in female disguise and a black mass emerging from a woman’s mouth.
“…Ah.”
Lee Ah-rang covered her mouth.
*****
Lee Seon-hee unleashed a nonstop torrent of curses at the other women.
The other women didn’t stay silent either. They insisted the damage from the demon had to be contained, that the academy itself—along with Marbas—had to be buried. In any case, that was the situation. If the academy collapsed entirely, I would die. Taeguk Singun was doing her best, but there was no telling how things would turn out.
“In a situation like this, revealing that I’m a man wouldn’t make any difference anyway.”
Even in a society that competed over being the ideal wife and mother, an individual couldn’t do anything about a national crisis. If anything, if I revealed my gender, they might just shout back, “So what?”
“Then the only thing I can do right now is talk.”
I had to suppress Marbas’s hostility through conversation as much as possible. Marbas and I stared at each other. Honestly, it didn’t give off such a bad impression. The first thing it said after appearing was basically a greeting…
…Was this thing really that dangerous?
Marbas grumbled.
“What? You don’t even know how to greet someone?”
Since I was hiding the fact that I was a man, I decided to use Lee Se-rin’s name for now.
“…Lee Se-rin.”
“…Hmm. Well, I guess you have your circumstances too.”
I was surprised. Marbas knew I was a man. As if it had noticed my reaction, Marbas added,
“Well, the women in this country barely get the chance to see men, but in our country, men are public property. We see them often and can tell by scent, so it’s easy to distinguish.”
“…I see.”
So that was why the academy students couldn’t see through my female disguise.
“…So. What are you going to do now?”
“What would you like me to do?”
“…I’d prefer it if you just went back. To your own country.”
“Yeah, I figured.”
Marbas chuckled.
“Sorry, but that’s probably not going to happen.”
Baek Seol’s body creaked as it rose. Her eyes were half-closed. She had no consciousness. It meant Marbas was forcibly moving Baek Seol’s body.
“There’s someone I’d like to escape properly. For that person to safely get out of this country, I need to overturn this country as much as possible to draw attention.”
“A comrade?”
“More like a mother, I suppose.”
I recalled the information about Marbas I had read earlier. The name “Toma Hanna” had been in there.
“Toma Hanna.”
Marbas, who had entered Baek Seol’s mouth, conveyed only its voice.
“……Impressive. To deduce that much at a glance with your emotional perception ability. It’s a skill worthy of myth. As expected, you’re no ordinary person.”
“…How much did Baek Seol know?”
“She probably didn’t know. She put me inside her without knowing I was a demon. The only ones who knew my identity were the managers.”
“I see.”
“It’s unfortunate for this child who was only used. But I have my own position and reasons to fight.”
Black armor materialized over Baek Seol’s body. A winged helmet that only revealed the lower half of her face. Black armor plates formed along the lines of her body, and a long black cloak fluttered from her back.
“Sorry, but die for me.”
It was truly a black female knight.
Baek Seol’s new stats appeared on the display board.
My mouth fell open. Mana over 8000? Faced with an unimaginable number, I naturally had nothing to say.
“H-hwaaaah!”
Horan screamed and ran toward the door. But the door wouldn’t open. Horan pounded on it, but it remained shut. Considering the faint vibration that had been echoing through the entire academy since earlier, even if she broke the door, there would be bulkheads beyond it.
As Horan kept banging on the door, Marbas swung its arm.
Kiing!
A black beam of light fired from its fingertips pierced Horan’s heart.
“Ah… ah… ahhh…”
Horan collapsed, blood pouring from the holes in her chest. I wanted to heal her, but my own situation wasn’t great either. Honestly, I wasn’t even sure if I could dodge the previous attack.
“Any last words? I don’t particularly dislike you.”
“Then can’t you just spare me?”
“That’s impossible.”
Marbas had no intention of talking. Its tone suggested it would only listen to my will, then kill me and head upstairs.
“Ah. Um.”
“If you don’t have any, then there’s nothing to be done.”
“Ah. Wait!”
Marbas didn’t listen and extended its fingers.
Kiiing!!!
Five black beams of light shot out. Sicheonhwandong’s 200x dynamic vision activated. I barely managed to predict the trajectory of the light and twisted my body.
Chijijik!
The black light tore past the side of my head. The other beams pierced my legs and abdomen. Pressing down on the wound on my torn head, I collapsed to the floor. Blood flowed steadily. The blood from my stomach was warm and red. I vomited blood from my mouth.
This wound seemed to be suppressing even the regenerative ability of the Refined Realm. The bleeding wouldn’t stop. My mind, which had felt like it was floating on clouds until just now, finally returned to its place.
“Ah…”
Death. The moment that word came to mind, my heart pounded violently. If it weren’t for the calming effect of the Taeguk Cheonji Simbeop, I would have had a seizure. Unconsciously, I pushed myself backward with my feet.
Jijik. Jijijik.
Still seated on the floor, I pushed against the ground with my feet. I crawled backward. Dragging my hips, I pushed my body away to escape. If my sister had seen this, she definitely would have teased me.
“What are you saying, you crazy bitch.”
Tears welled up. My hands trembled uncontrollably. Blood kept flowing from the side of my torn head, and my mind grew hazy. It seemed to have grazed a vital spot.
“Ugh… ah…”
Thud.
My back touched the wall of the colosseum. The wall’s chill was cold. Soon, I would grow cold too. Even after desperately crawling away on my butt, this was how it ended.
“…Ha. Heh… hehehehe.”
I let out a hollow laugh. Marbas raised its hand toward the ceiling. A thin blade extended fifty centimeters from its fingertips.
“Don’t dodge. I don’t have a hobby of torturing people either. I’ll kill you cleanly, so it won’t hurt.”
If there was no pain, that wasn’t so bad either.
“…Got it. I’ll leave a will.”
“…Haa. Make it quick.”
I looked away from the chat. It was just people saying whatever they wanted. If I had something to say at the end, it should be to the people I cared about. It was right to address Lee Se-rin, Heo Shin-ah, Lee Ah-rang, Wi Seol-ah, and Han Ye-jin. My family wouldn’t care about my will anyway.
“……”
‘Come to think of it, Heo Shin-ah doesn’t even know I’m here.’
I removed my wig and mask. Taking off my gym uniform top as well, my male form was fully revealed. The chat messages that the women had been frantically posting from all directions stopped.
“I am Yoo Ji-tae.”
Since I had never thought about leaving a will before, I didn’t know what to do and ended up introducing myself first. But thinking about what came next, there were too many people to address. I decided to say it all at once.
“…Thank you so much. For loving me. I wish I had told you I loved you more often. I’m sorry.”
I let out a deep sigh and thought of the next sentence.
“I should have treated you better usually.”
It was devastating that such clichéd words were all that came out when I finally opened my mouth. A hollow laugh escaped me.
“…Hey, can I ask for just one more favor?”
“What is it?”
“…If possible, I’d rather you didn’t kill Baek Seol or the kids in this academy.”
“Why?”
“…They’re good kids. Even though a lot has happened while attending this academy, they’re all really pretty, kind, and hardworking. I hope they can live and be happy.”
If the result of all their hard work was an inexplicable death, wasn’t that too cruel?
“…You really are a good person.”
Marbas kicked off the ground and slid toward me. Sicheonhwandong focused on Marbas’s blade. The tip of the sharp blade had teeth crossing like a saw. As Marbas charged, it lowered its posture. It moved even faster. A swift, reckless strike. At least it seemed true that there would be no pain.
Its posture lowered further. Even more. Lower still. It shot its body forward parallel to the floor. At the very end, it curled up.
“I am Baek Seol, twenty-one years old this year. I humbly present myself before Yoo Ji-tae-nim’s beautiful and magnificent countenance. I sincerely repent for all the terrible crimes I have committed against Yoo Ji-tae-nim until now. I will accept any punishment Yoo Ji-tae-nim desires. I will not ask for forgiveness. Please pour out all the resentment you have accumulated onto me. I will endure it all.”
Baek Seol, clad in the black female knight’s armor, performed a dogeza.