◈ Episode 49. But Hiding Is Useless (3)
Grit—It was only natural that Baek Iseol’s, no, the succubus’s pride would crack.
That unexpected answer had made her feel as if her self-esteem had plummeted.
On top of that, the people around her were chattering away.
Those insignificant humans were getting on her nerves.
“Whoa. Baek Iseol must be so embarrassed, huh?”
“You want me to get her expression? I’ll do a close-up the moment she turns around.”
“By the way, that knight’s beautiful too. Should we ask for her name later, hyungs?”
The succubus ground her teeth.‘……
How dare you?’A mere human dares do this to me?
Lee Hoyeol or whoever.
She wanted nothing more than to tear him to shreds.
But the succubus was cunning.
She had hidden the fact that she was a demon until now without being discovered.
Could she not hide a mere expression?
“I suppose it can’t be helped. I’ll come again soon.”
The succubus smiled at Yesica and turned around.‘You’ll only get to act smug for today.’Yes, reversals were greater the more dramatic they were.
Even if their schedules had not aligned today.
As long as she could face him once.
It would only be a matter of time before Lee Hoyeol fell under her charm.‘Enjoy whatever you can while you can.’Whether it was Lee Hoyeol, the Yusra Kingdom, or that insolent female knight.
In the end, they would all kneel before her lustful dream.
But that was nothing more than the succubus’s delusion.
Being turned away at the door just once.
The revenge had only just begun....
Politics, society, sports, entertainment…….
Each section of a newspaper dealt with different topics.
Naturally, the stories they covered would also differ.
And yet there was one person who had graced all of their front pages at the same time.
None other than Baek Iseol, the master of the Shinhwa Guild.
If one were to be extremely generous, the politics and society sections were understandable.──────Assemblyman Park Sambong: “It is regrettable that negotiations have not gone smoothly…… Shinhwa’s growth can be considered the growth of the Republic of Korea.”[Exclusive] Ministry of Economy and Finance official says, “The trickle-down effect is a proven theory…… The Shinhwa Guild must survive for the Korean economy to survive.”──────From the days when it was a chaebol group to now, when it had reached into the guild world.
Shinhwa had always been a frequent guest in the politics and society sections.
But who would have thought she would make the front page of the entertainment section too?──────[Exclusive] Baek Iseol, utterly defeated in push-and-pull? Has the femme fatale fallen?──────With a humiliating headline and photo, no less!
The article’s photo showed no trace of Baek Iseol’s confident appearance.
It showed Baek Iseol from behind as she was turned away at the golden palace.
And beneath it, an exceedingly brief caption.──────▲The moment of the seventh rejection at the door.
A starkly different sight from her appearance before the photo line.──────She had easily surpassed the tale of visiting the thatched cottage three times.
She was now running toward an astounding ten visits.
It was a view of her back that could have inspired pity, and yet…….
Unfortunately, not even the faintest hint of sympathy for Baek Iseol was rising.──────-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ I knew this would happen
-You thought Lee Hoyeol was a pushover? lol
-Karma’s coming back properly, serves her right
-Justice served lol──────Yes, everything was karma.
Baek Iseol’s pupils turned pitch-black.
“And what you are building up must be karma too.”……
Lee Hoyeol!
The humiliation of a demon being disgraced several times by a human.
And the succubus’s dignity, likewise crushed.
That man had shattered her pride twice over.
Whenever she recalled this shame, the demonic form she had barely kept hidden threatened to emerge just like now. But she could not simply keep enduring forever.
“Today, I will make you pay for that karma.”
As she had grown strong enough to covet the position of a high-ranking demon.
The demonic instincts boiling within her had also grown thicker.
The succubus barely managed to gather up the malice leaking out of her.
Then she headed for the golden palace.
What if she was rejected again today?
It did not matter.
Today, she intended to wait until Lee Hoyeol showed himself.
She would not be bored while waiting either.
She could just have a staring contest with that impudent female knight.……
That was what she had resolved.
“I will guide you.”
She had not even expected it.
Yet as seen, she had ended up entering the golden palace.
The corners of the succubus’s lips rose.‘I don’t know the reason, but you are hastening your own death.’As expected.
Lee Hoyeol, too, was nothing more than a foolish human.
At the thought of taking his essence, the demonic energy she had barely restrained began to leak out.
But there was no longer any need to suppress it. After all, she had come right before him.
“You may enter.”
Bow—Yesica lowered her head and stepped back.
The succubus immediately knocked on the door.‘……
I can’t bear it!’In that instant, thirst surged up.
Before Lee Hoyeol’s answer could even be heard, she opened the door.
And faced Lee Hoyeol.
His posture was straight, without the slightest disturbance.
Hoyeol sat at his desk.
Without even giving her a glance, he said,
“To open the door before hearing a response.”
His cold voice continued.
“You are utterly devoid of formality.”……
Wait, something was wrong.
Only then did the succubus sense an ominous sign.
But her eyes met Lee Hoyeol’s.
A chill—from the top of her head to the tips of her toes.
A sensation as if she were stiffening solid.
It was “fear,” something she had never felt in her life.
“……!”
A gaze so arrogant it made her feel humiliated.
Lee Hoyeol was looking down on her.
Clearly.
In that moment, her mind went blank.
Don’t tell me he realized I’m a demon and lured me here……?……
No, that can’t be!
I have to run before he notices.
I’ll buy time with charm.……
W-wait! Why isn’t he falling under my charm?
The succubus froze in place.
And the voice of her natural enemy reached that demon’s ears.
“As expected of a lowly demon.”...
I had found it strange.
Nam Taemin had felt the same.
“To be honest, lately, even we couldn’t understand how excessive it was. No matter how much lobbying was done, they’re not the kind of people who would openly support someone to the point of being cursed out. Those snake-like men?”
That was how politics originally worked, after all.
Depending on interests, school ties, regional ties, and blood ties.
That was the kind of neighborhood where people cut them off and parted ways.
“It definitely feels like there’s something there……. But we couldn’t find out what it was on our end. I feel ashamed that we may have needlessly troubled you, Hoyeol-ssi. Truly.”
Nam Taemin had offered a polite apology.
But now that I looked back on it, it was only natural that they could not discover it.
Baek Iseol was possessed by a demon.
Who could have imagined that?‘Even I didn’t know.’If I had known.
I would not have turned her away several times so pointlessly.
A demon was walking around, breathing perfectly fine?
Leaving aside childish revenge, as long as Grandfell’s setting existed.
I would never have been able to just stand by and watch that.[Skill, ‘Natural Enemy Relationship,’ activates.]
Yes, if not for that message.
I would never have known, even in my dreams.
The fact that Natural Enemy Relationship had activated and then turned off.
Had truly happened in the blink of an eye.‘She must have failed to hide her presence completely.’That was why it began to make sense naturally.
The incomprehensible relationship between the Shinhwa Guild and the politicians.‘If it was none other than a demon’s status abnormality?’Manipulating civilians who were not even players.
Would be easier than pie.
That was why I had let Baek Iseol in.
Click, clack—The sound of heels grew louder.
At the same time, another message appeared.[Skill, ‘Natural Enemy Relationship,’ activates.]
Baek Iseol was a demon.
The moment my suspicion became certainty.
Knock, knock—The door opened at the same time as the knock.
“To open the door before hearing a response. You are utterly devoid of formality.”
I opened my mouth while holding a quill pen.
What I had been writing was the basic theory of black magic.
Only after placing a period at the end of the sentence did I lift my head.
As expected, I could see Baek Iseol’s pupils dyed pitch-black.
“As expected of a lowly demon.”
Still sitting upright at my desk.
Still gripping the quill pen in my hand, I said so.
Truly, there could not have been a more bluff-filled attitude…….
Until not long ago, that is.
But at least now, that was no longer the case.
The moment our eyes met.
The one trembling was instead Baek Iseol.
Natural Enemy Relationship.───────Natural Enemy Relationship: When fighting against the demon race, combat power increases dramatically.───────I once again felt the effect of that skill, which I had forgotten for a while.
Above all, my state had changed greatly before and after defeating the Great Evil.
Even if one looked simply at my level, that was the case.
By defeating the Great Evil, the Seven Deadly Sins Greed, my level had risen by fifty all at once.
And beyond that, I could not leave out the growth that could not be explained by levels, skills, or numbers.
The magical manifestation ability I had developed while studying magic books on my own in the Magic Tower.
Black magic, though it was only at a beginner’s level.
And on top of that, even swordsmanship training.‘In the end, this time too, I brought everything I had and didn’t have.’Whether it was pathetic or not.
All of that growth had become my combat power……!
I could feel that my grown combat power had risen dramatically through the effect of [Natural Enemy Relationship]. The demon possessing Baek Iseol’s body must be feeling the same.
“……
W-what are you talking about?”
To try to play innocent now.
She could not even judge the situation properly anymore.‘So there was a reason.’I understood why she had kept trying to meet me despite suffering humiliation.
I could also guess her objective.
She must have planned to inflict a status abnormality on me in order to seize the Yusra Kingdom.
But unfortunately for all her trouble.
I was the type who did not exchange unnecessary words with prey.
Swoosh—Magic manifested immediately.
There was no need for a complex interference process.
Between me and her, there existed an insurmountable difference in weight class.
That difference in weight class was great enough that I did not even need to consume a demon item for [Exorcism Ritual].[Skill, ‘Exorcism Ritual,’ activates.]
What was needed.
Was only the basic effect that dealt damage solely to demons.
There was no need to invite her into the ritual.
Nor any need for a battle of mental strength.
“T-this is impossible!!”
That was because she was already terrified.
“I am no longer a middle-ranking demon! A high-ranking demon, no, perhaps I may even be stronger than that. So how! How can a mere human resist my temptation……!”
She looked utterly unable to accept it.
A high-ranking demon?
This was the pride that had not wavered even before the Great Evil.
Even if she brought a “Demon King” here.
This dignified attitude would likely not change in the slightest.
But I did not answer.
Grandfell was not kind enough.
To explain such circumstances to a lowly demon.
What floated in the air numbered in the thousands. No, tens of thousands…….
No, countless silver needles beyond reckoning.[Pure Silver Fur][Grade: Magic][Restriction: None][Effect: None][Description: It looks like fur, but its essence is pure silver. Since it is silver, its absolute value is not great, but depending on its use, it may be recognized as highly valuable.]
This, too, was part of my struggle, not a single thing of which could be used carelessly.
It was a material item obtained from a monster I had felled during sword aura training.
The Silver-Maned Leopard.
I had examined that material item and discovered the possibility of using it like a weapon.
What realized that possibility was.
The creative manifestation of 『Magic』, something [Skills] could never follow.
Rustle—Each and every hair had become no different from my weapon.
There was no reason to feel it was a waste to fire away a material item.
Just as with the silver dagger.
With 『Reversal Magic』, I could return it to its original state.
In other words, there was nothing to hesitate about.
Shhhhhk—!
Tens of thousands of silver needles rushed toward Baek Iseol.
Because it was a material item with no attack power.
Its destructive force would depend solely on my mana.
For that reason, I did not think it would end in one blow.
Truly, that was what I thought.
“U-uwaaaagh!!”
Thud—Even up until Baek Iseol collapsed to the floor.
At first, I wondered if she was acting.……
Still, she said she was a high-ranking demon, didn’t she?
No matter how rapidly I had grown.
The magic just now was not even a proper attack spell.
It was nothing more than simple restraint based on alchemy.
So I even suspected her.
As expected of a vile demon, she was even pretending to be dead.
But that was not it.[Your level has increased.][Your level has increased.][Your level has increased.]…….
Because the messages that appeared told me.
That what had taken over Baek Iseol’s body truly was a high-ranking demon.
And that I had grown enough to crush such a high-ranking demon.
I could not help but flinch.……
Wait. What level am I now?