Episode 640. Demon Organization

[This is the place where the battle between the demon Karkus and the wizard Lee Hoyeon took place. Even though it was washed away by the seawater, the traces of the battle still remain….]

In the news, the anchor stood in front of the forbidden beach.

The west coast of the United States, where the battle between the demon Karkus and Lee Hoyeon occurred.

Reporters were still flocking to the place.

Karkus’s corpse was only revealed through photos and was being studied by the Wizard Association, as people’s anxiety about the newly emerged threat grew.

“Haaah… What do you want me to do about it?”

Alice, who was watching the news about Karkus and Lee Hoyeon, let out a deep sigh.

She was in the office of the Iris Guild’s Team 1 Leader.

It was the office used by her older sister, Irene.

The Iris Guild.

Based on its overwhelming amount of information and talented personnel, the Iris Guild had steadily grown stronger, becoming the undisputed, self-proclaimed number one guild in the world.

The presence of the Iris Guild Leader, who ruled the night, played a big role in getting this far, but Alice thought there were other significant reasons too.

There was no division in the succession line between Irene and Alice within the guild, the Korean branch grew and easily collaborated with Victoria Academy, and they established their global presence with information on the Pandemic’s terrorism and the monsters from the Underworld.

It was all related to Lee Hoyeon.

[In the interview with wizard Lee Hoyeon, he warned not only about Karkus but also about the possibility of new demons appearing….]

“So what exactly is a demon….”

People were terrified by the new threat called demons.

It’s only natural to fear the unknown.

But Alice didn’t have time to be afraid.

As the successor of the Iris Guild, she needed to stay level-headed, especially at times like this.

Therefore, she researched demons.

She reviewed the battle footage of Karkus and Lee Hoyeon and understood why they were called ‘demons’.

So, what exactly is a demon?

Alice frowned in frustration.

Lee Hoyeon had provided information, but it wasn’t something with a concrete form.

As an information guild, the Iris Guild couldn’t just deal in vague notions.

“Unnie. Any news about new demons being discovered?”

Alice turned her head to look at Irene.

Irene, dressed in a neat blouse and skirt, was organizing documents with her legs crossed.

As she happened to be organizing information about demons, Irene naturally took out some papers and approached Alice.

“Yes. But unidentified beings keep being discovered around the gates of the Underworld.”

Irene laid the photos out on the desk where Alice was sitting.

These photos were incredibly valuable, as it took sending hundreds or thousands of drones to get just one or two usable pictures.

“… Are these the demons?”

Alice stared blankly at the photos.

Horns protruding from their heads and terrifying appearances.

Some entities had wings, while others looked like round spheres instead of humans.

In reality, just from the photos, it was impossible to tell if they were demons or undiscovered monsters.

She had heard what Guild Leader Angela, who had seen a demon firsthand, said….

‘It felt like being a herbivore facing a predator.’

‘Just looking at them made me question my own existence.’

‘They exuded an aura different from monsters.’

But hearing things like that doesn’t help if you can’t truly feel it.

It would be nice if Lee Hoyeon could help out a bit right now….

“My Alice, are you troubled by something?”

Irene looked at Alice and smiled warmly.

She could empathize with the displeasure she sensed just from her sister’s expression.

“I’m just dumbfounded. Now that he’s fully recovered, shouldn’t he come to France and help us out a bit?”

“Huh? Are you talking about the Guild Leader-nim?”

Irene answered while organizing the photos from around the gates of the Underworld.

“Not Dad, Lee Hoyeon. I told you to contact him often, but he only reaches out when there’s work or he needs something. Just like you said, Unnie, he’s taking us too lightly.”

“Is that so? Hmm. But he asks how we’re doing every day, right? And he did say he’d grant a wish later…..”

Irene mumbled the last part, lowering her voice, but Alice, right beside her, could obviously hear it.

“Haaaa… Ugh, ugh…”

Seeing her Unnie like that gives me a headache.

She had always been soft towards me, but why had her Unnie, who used to be so sharp when it came to guild matters, become like this?

Is this also Lee Hoyeon’s doing?

[The existence of demons is heating up the entire world. The public is eagerly awaiting the completion of the wizards’ research. In some corners, a religion called the Demon Cult has even emerged. Behind it are the Minds….]

Just then, the news anchor delivered another piece of news.

The quiet Minds began to stir.

It was information she already knew, but Alice narrowed her eyes and spoke.

“… Unnie. You had information on those Minds too, right?”

“If you’re talking about the Minds who recently started gathering again, I think Team 3 Leader reported on them. I’ll look for it, so please wait a moment, okay?”

Alice remembered how particularly sensitive Lee Hoyeon was to information about the Minds.

‘If you only contact me officially, I guess I’ll have to bring the work to you.’

Information about the Minds isn’t the only thing.

The strange phenomena and new materials appearing recently.

He’d probably be pleased if I told him about this too.

Bringing this up and nagging him about only contacting us when he needs something while in Korea would make for quite an amusing expression.

Rummaging through documents with Irene, Alice chuckled.

*

Life is a series of nights you don’t want to sleep through and mornings you want to sleep in.

Just like those words I heard somewhere, I barely managed to get out of bed today.

Last night, I showed Rebecca my abilities as a husband and set our family straight, so now it’s time to handle outside matters.

It was the second day since returning to Korea.

Lee Hoyeon headed towards Im Sol’s laboratory around lunchtime.

The Academy is really quiet.

It felt strangely familiar to walk through the quiet academy.

Lately, I hadn’t seen the academy bustling with activity.

Most students were probably fighting monsters out in the field.

Catching monsters had become the exam itself.

Lost in thought, I walked into Im Sol’s lab on the second floor of the Magic Building.

Im Sol was engrossed in magic research again today, but as soon as our eyes met, she greeted me warmly and grabbed my hand.

“You came at just the right time. I was about to spar since we couldn’t do it in America.”

“Didn’t you ask me to help with Karkus’s research today?”

“There’s research that can only be gained through practical application.”

“What does that even…”

And as soon as I met Im Sol, I was dragged to the sparring grounds.

No matter how much I insisted I was still a patient, Im Sol didn’t go easy on me like Baek Ahyoung would.

“No, Sol-ah. Let’s stop now…”

“Then, shall we call it a day?”

Although the sparring match started reluctantly, thankfully, it seemed she took into account that I hadn’t been discharged from the hospital long ago.

It was difficult to immediately use Future Sight or Opening the Mind (心), and Im Sol also didn’t go all out.

After the sudden sparring match ended, we immediately moved on to the review.

It was truly an Im Sol-like progression.

“How did you use that thing to disrupt magic just now? My magic was clearly complete… It felt less like reversal and more like it just disappeared?”

“It’s a spell I’ve been thinking about recently. I figured it would be easier to deal with the Underworld’s magic by erasing it rather than reversing it.”

“Indeed… Reversing the Underworld’s magic takes a long time. If humanoid demons use magic later on….”

Im Sol pondered for a moment then nodded.

Explaining this much to a genius is enough for them to understand on their own, making conversation so easy.

Lee Hoyeon confidently puffed out his chest and continued.

“I’ve even decided on a name for the spell.”

“Really?”

“Yes. It’s called ‘Eraser,’ for erasing magic power.”

“Eraser….”

Hearing the name, Im Sol nodded and continued.

“I’ve heard of that. Thinking something’s cool yourself, but everyone else finds it weird. They call it chuunibyou, right? It was a big deal in the middle school division of Victoria Academy.”

“…”

“Just kidding. There’s no way my disciple would have chuunibyou.”

Im Sol immediately laughed and offered him hot chocolate, but while she might joke about other things, Im Sol never joked about magic.

‘…Is it really that lame? I don’t think it’s that bad.’

Lee Hoyeon took a sip of the hot chocolate Im Sol gave him.

Thankfully, it seemed she was genuinely joking, as the conversation quickly moved to another topic.

“Will studying Karkus’s body help in dealing with other demons?”

“Of course. Even if they’re different species, demons are beings specialized in the Underworld’s magic.”

“Then what’s the difference between a demon and a monster? Karkus supposedly had almost no intelligence.”

“… Please tell me this isn’t a philosophical question?”

Time flew by as we discussed demons and the Underworld’s magic.

In truth, Lee Hoyeon hadn’t fully grasped the nature of demons either.

He had killed many demons in games, but you don’t usually analyze enemy corpses in adult games.

All Lee Hoyeon knew was how to deal with them comfortably.

‘Still, I can’t just tell them how to deal with demons whose true nature hasn’t even been revealed yet.’

Gulp-

I downed the nearly finished hot chocolate.

As I watched the teapot fly over with a clatter and refill my cup with hot chocolate, Im Sol continued speaking.

“While studying Karkus’s heart, I realized something about how the Underworld’s magic spreads through the body….”

With the sweetness spreading in my mouth, time quickly passed as I listened to Im Sol.

Chatting cordially, we had been talking for hours.

Checking his smartwatch, Lee Hoyeon subtly got up from his seat.

“I should probably get going soon. I have things to discuss with the Student Council President.”

Today’s schedule included Im Sol and Moon Surin.

I had planned to meet the Lucy-Lumi twins too, but they’re apparently abroad hunting monsters from the Underworld.

I told them not to do anything too dangerous, so they should be back soon.

“… Leaving already? The sun hasn’t even set yet.”

Im Sol’s eyes stared intently at me.

Just by meeting her gaze, I could understand her intention.

‘She wants me to replenish her sugar levels.’

But sending pleading looks wouldn’t work.

From now on, I need to meet Moon Surin and figure out our next moves.

Surin noona said she’d update me on the recent movements of the Minds.

“Professor. You should focus on Karkus’s research right now.”

“Are you only calling me ‘Professor’ when it suits you?”

“Sol-ah. I’ll come again next time. I have things to do right now.”

“Hoo… Alright. I have to trust my disciple’s promise.”

Im Sol couldn’t hide her disappointment, but she soon understood and nodded.

The research on Karkus was a major topic that would shake the Association.

Im Sol must know what needs focus right now.

“Tsk. You really are leaving right away.”

Lee Hoyeon gently stroked Im Sol’s pouting face.

As I tickled under her chin like petting a cat, she recoiled, pulling her face away, which was quite cute.

“… What are you doing. That feels weird.”

“Your reaction is amusing. Maybe I should stay a little longer?”

“Just get out!”

The moment Im Sol scowled, the teapot used for brewing hot chocolate floated up into the air.

I wonder how hot it would be if that hit me.

Lee Hoyeon fled the laboratory.