Episode 636. Saintess (1)

Demon.

The strongest beings in the Underworld and its apex predators.

A monstrous race with the instinct to enjoy battles with the strong and ascend to higher places.

They are born to fight, die fighting, and yearn to meet those stronger than themselves.

However, there was a being that even such demons couldn’t dare to challenge.

The ruler of the Underworld.

The Demon King.

The Demon King, who absorbed the magic of the Demon King’s Castle into his body, becomes the god of the Underworld.

All beings born with the Underworld’s magic must obey the Demon King’s commands.

If he desires peace, the Underworld becomes peaceful, and if he desires strife, the Underworld burns.

And the current Demon King prohibited battles among demons to invade the human world.

It was only natural that the demons, unable to fight, turned their eyes to Earth.

Led by Lucifer, who was interested in other dimensions, the demons were looking for an opportunity to invade Earth.

Lucifer, the successor to the Demon King, was the strongest among the demons, but he wasn’t interested in the other demons.

This was good news for the demons.

Because if he became the next Demon King, the demons could run wild on Earth to their heart’s content.

But that dream was short-lived.

Lucifer disappeared overnight, and the Demon King, who was said to be resting, continued the invasion of Earth.

Naturally, the current Demon King did not let the demons be.

[Observe the situation until I arrive and do not act rashly.]

The command given to the demons restricted their movements.

The Demon King’s command was something that the beings of the Underworld could not resist.

Even if they didn’t want to obey, the Underworld magic engraved in their bodies forced them to follow the command.

Except for Carkus, who didn’t understand ‘do not act rashly,’ the other demons had no choice but to stay around the gates of the Underworld.

They came to Earth to vent their frustration from not being able to fight in the Underworld, but they couldn’t fight here either.

Moreover, Lucifer’s presence on Earth couldn’t be felt, leaving the demons feeling frustrated.

In such a situation.

A being capable of managing the demons before the Demon King’s arrival appeared.

“Lady Isabella. Carkus has been captured.”

A loyal subordinate of the Demon King and the second strongest demon after Lucifer.

Agares.

He bowed his head and reported the fact that Carkus had been captured.

Agares was loyal only to the Demon King, but with the Demon King absent, he had to be loyal to the one closest to him.

“Naturally, you mean captured by humans, right?”

It was the Succubus Queen, Isabella, who answered Agares’ report.

Although the Succubus Queen didn’t have the power to control demons like the Demon King, it was the rule of the Underworld to obey the commands of the one closest to the Demon King.

The Succubus Queen, who had grown stronger after becoming the Demon King’s consort, had that qualification.

“Yes. It seems he encountered one of the strongest among humans.”

“Carkus is an idiot, so it’s possible… But captured? Is there really such a strong individual among humans?”

The Succubus Queen, Isabella, asked again.

It was hard enough to comprehend Carkus dying within a day of rushing out, but being captured?

No matter how foolish Carkus was, he was still a demon.

Capturing him would not have been easy, even for Lucifer.

“I extracted the memories by removing the brain of a gargoyle that witnessed the battle.”

Carefully avoiding eye contact with her, whose gaze could charm anyone regardless of gender, Agares handed the memory orb to the Succubus Queen.

“A memory orb.”

Isabella checked the memory without much thought.

While it was curious that Carkus was captured, Isabella wasn’t actually interested in the demons.

No matter how strong they were, they were merely expendable pawns of the Demon King.

She had come to Earth so quickly for a different reason.

“For a human to track Carkus’s movements…”

Isabella watched the gargoyle’s memories with fascination.

Carkus, confronting the human, slashed at the human’s body with his characteristic speed.

However, the human was not easily defeated.

Just when it seemed Carkus had the upper hand, the human severed Carkus’s leg with incredible reaction speed.

She knew Carkus’s speed well, but she never expected such a human to exist on Earth.

She began to understand the Demon King’s words about descending with his full power.

‘…What is that?’

Just then, Isabella’s eyes narrowed as she watched the gargoyle’s memory.

Because she saw familiar magic on the strong human’s body.

‘A succubus’s Yinmun (lust mark)?’

Isabella was the Succubus Queen.

It was incredibly easy for her to spot the trace of another succubus.

A succubus’s Yinmun is naturally engraved when the succubus forms a bond with their master through intimacy.

The Yinmun engraved on the body of the human who captured Carkus was all too familiar to Isabella.

It was the magic she had longed to see and find.

‘Finally found you. Liliana.’

The reason she revealed herself faster than the Demon King, being a succubus, was to find her daughter on Earth.

She had also anticipated that the demons would listen to her if she invoked the Demon King’s name.

It would be troublesome if the Demon King found out later, but fortunately, ‘the current Demon King’ didn’t care what she did.

Ever since some day, he hadn’t even paid attention to her as his consort.

For Isabella, who needed to hide Liliana from the Demon King, this was a blessing.

“Agares.”

“Yes.”

“I will be leaving from now on. Until the Demon King descends, you are the leader of the demons.”

“What? But you are here, Queen…”

“Everything is the Demon King’s will. Loosen the reins a bit so the demons don’t run wild.”

If the demons drew attention, it would be easier to find Liliana.

Isabella slowly walked away, scattering magic into the air.

She clearly remembered the magic her daughter possessed.

The moment her magic reached her daughter, Liliana would surely sense her presence.

‘I hope the Demon King doesn’t descend before then….’

With her wish, Isabella’s body dissolved into darkness.

*

A VIP hospital room provided by the American Hunter Association.

Lee Hoyeon, with IV drips hanging from both arms, lay on a soft hospital bed.

After capturing Carkus, the first time he opened his eyes, his vision was completely black, and he was terribly surprised.

Should I call it fortunate?

After a few hours, he could see properly again.

The physical pain didn’t last long either.

His mana circuits were damaged from using Blood Beat beyond their limit for Future Foresight, but there were no major external injuries.

“…There are still monsters that haven’t been properly identified, and humanity’s enemies remain numerous. The demon that appeared this time is just the beginning.”

That’s why he could conduct an interview like this just one day later.

Lee Hoyeon conducted the interview while lying in bed.

It was a request from Guild Leader Angela.

“I see…! We can’t afford to let our guard down just because things are starting to stabilize. Understood. Thank you so much for the interview!”

“You worked hard.”

“Ah, right. Mage Lee Hoyeon. Could you please say a word about… the Angela Guild as well? There’s more criticism than expected about them not participating in the battle and just observing…”

“Guild Leader Angela’s judgment was excellent. If we had intervened then, everyone would have died. Thanks to her immediately calling the medical team, I received treatment right away. Truly a judgment befitting a leading guild in America.”

“Ah! Thank you! I’ll include this in the interview too!”

The reporter tapped the air with a smile.

She saved the interview with Lee Hoyeon and left the room.

“…Oof. My whole body aches like hell.”

After the reporter left the room.

Lee Hoyeon sat up and leaned against the bed.

The heart rate monitor beeping beside the bed showed perfectly normal readings.

The interview was over.

Since he had nothing else to do, Lee Hoyeon checked his smartwatch.

He intended to check the news.

• This is the demon ‘Carkus’ currently in the Magic Association’s laboratory. Carkus, captured single-handedly by Mage Lee Hoyeon, possessed power on a completely different level from any monster captured so far…

• The battle displayed by Mage Lee Hoyeon delivered a shock to mages worldwide. Exceeding the mere title of ‘genius mage,’ his performance solidified his position as the world’s top mage…

• Research on Carkus has begun, led by Mage Im Sol. Carkus is different from any life form from the Underworld that has appeared so far…

Apparently, Sol, who happened to be in the US, personally transported Carkus to the Magic Association.

It was fortunate, as others might have gotten hurt if they had handled it.

Next, EveryDay.

The opinions of the cadets fighting monsters directly would be more firsthand than the news.

---

[Breaking News! This final exam won’t be a test, but scored based on catching Underworld monsters!]

The official announcement hasn’t been made yet, but I heard it from a friend in the student council, so it’s almost certain.

You know the gates to the Underworld in the Pacific are expanding their range, and with the recent discovery of a demon, the whole world is back in a state of emergency, right?

Even the Student Council President said it would be better to focus on monsters than the Academy right now.

And until now, it was considered emergency support, so there were no rewards, right?

An agreement has been reached with the Hunter Association, so it’s changing from cadet support to being paid like hunters for the hunts.

By the way, monsters in areas with black pillars are much stronger, and catching them gives bonus points, so you need to think carefully before hunting them.

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[This will count as active duty experience later, so it’s not bad.]

[The top spot for the exam is already decided. How are we supposed to beat Lee Hoyeon?]

[ㄴ Wow. That’s true. It feels like the Academy is pushing Lee Hoyeon.]

[ㄴ If a proper exam were held, would you even beat Lee Hoyeon?]

[They say Lee Hoyeon caught some kind of demon this time… How many points is that worth?]

[ㄴ I saw a video of Lee Hoyeon fighting; they might as well just give him first place now? The monsters he fought were on a different level from what I usually see.]

[ㄴ Is there a video of Lee Hoyeon fighting a demon?]

[ㄴ It’s right there on the front page of EveryDay, are your eyes just for decoration?]

---

“It’s on EveryDay’s front page?”

But isn’t it normal to get permission before distributing combat footage?

When he opened his eyes, the combat footage was already spreading worldwide.

Famous people don’t seem to have rights to their image.

---

[Demon ‘Carkus’ vs. Lee Hoyeon Combat Footage (High-Definition Enhanced, includes 0.01x speed)]

This is the combat footage of Carkus and Lee Hoyeon that’s causing a stir worldwide.

We’ve brought you 1x speed, 0.1x speed, and even 0.01x speed.

[Video]

[Video]

[Video]

According to Guild Leader Angela, who witnessed the battle firsthand, even she, an S-class hunter, couldn’t follow it with her eyes.

She said she didn’t know how Lee Hoyeon managed to capture that monster.

Angela mentioned the battle was too high-level for her to intervene, so she just watched, but honestly, I don’t get it.

The captured Carkus is currently being researched at the Magic Association.

They say it’s difficult to research because it’s a life form that has never existed before.

Lee Hoyeon has been hospitalized at the American Magic Association since this battle.

They say the Saintess-nim has also been dispatched to the US, so we should pray for things to go well.

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[At 1x speed, I can’t see anything?]

[If 0.01x speed looks like that, just how fast is Carkus really?;]

[ㄴ They say more than one researcher got injured by the captured Carkus. Apparently, its tongue shot out at incredible speed to attack.]

[ㄴ It’s kind of funny and scary.]

[The monsters coming from the Underworld gates are strong by nature, so Carkus is one thing, but what about Lee Hoyeon? How does he hit a target invisible to the eye?]

[It’s so cool how he keeps glaring at the demon until the end, even with blood pouring from his eyes….]

[ㄴ I was fucking amazed right here too]

Lee Hoyeon casually skimmed the comments and played the video.

The battle between him and Carkus was well-preserved in the video.

“It’s more amazing that the video was filmed so well amidst all that.”

He heard from Angela that one of her guild members filmed it.

Apparently, they’re receiving criticism for not helping him while filming the video, but it should be fine now that he’s done the interview.

‘People seem to be getting more tense watching the video.’

Just because dealing with monsters is starting to stabilize doesn’t mean we can let our guard down.

Besides, they said strange phenomena have been observed worldwide since yesterday, maybe I should look into that too.

Knock knock.

Just then. He heard a knock.

Lee Hoyeon turned his head and checked his watch.

It was time for his medical check-up.

“Yes. Come in.”

Creak-.

Opening the door and entering the room with strange machines was a familiar black-haired beauty.

It was Baek Ahyoung, who had rushed all the way to America because of him.

Baek Ahyoung, entering the room with a haughty expression, locked the door the moment she closed it.

Then, with a tearful face, she approached Lee Hoyeon.

“Honey… you’re hurting a lot, aren’t you? Sob.”

“I told you an hour ago that I was fine.”

With her reacting like this every medical check-up, it feels like he’s contracted a fatal illness.

Lee Hoyeon greeted Baek Ahyoung with a wry smile.