Episode 644. Extermination of the Demon Cult (2)

“So, you know. Lumi….”

“Lucy also accidentally shot a fire arrow and apologized to Ai-ssi….”

“Ah! But that was an unavoidable mistake! Ai-ssi blocked my view.”

I watched the two of them chatter while sitting in the cafe.

Chattering away in front of me were Lucy and Lumi.

The two were talking about what happened in Japan while eating cake.

‘It is delicious, though….’

Every time I put the cake, piled high with strawberries, into my mouth, sweetness filled my body.

It’s a taste worth coming all the way here for.

“Hoyeon-ssi. Does the cake suit your taste?”

“Yeah. I’m glad I came.”

“Hehe. Lucy and I picked it out.”

“It’s a place that’s especially good with strawberries!”

I nodded enthusiastically to Lucy and Lumi’s words while looking outside.

Because even while playing at the cafe with the Lucy-Lumi twins, there was a problem occupying my mind.

‘Those bastards are definitely from the Demon Cult….’

The flyer I received from a cultist on the street.

It was still in my pocket, still possessing a faint demonic energy from the Underworld.

‘If it’s not the Demon Cult, there’s no reason to feel the Underworld’s demonic energy.’

There’s no possibility of feeling the Underworld’s demonic energy from a flyer distributed by an ordinary cultist.

It was highly likely to be the Demon Cult, a demon organization, but the problem was that the energy felt was specifically from the Underworld.

‘Feeling the Underworld’s demonic energy means there’s not just Maestro, but actual demons involved?’

I thought it was just Maestro, but if there are demons too, I need to be even more on edge.

Even if they were the Demon Cult, something was strange.

‘They’re operating so openly, yet they haven’t been discovered until now?’

The Demon Cult is being investigated not just by me, but also by the Iris Guild and Victoria Academy.

But it was incomprehensible that they were operating so openly.

“Hoyeon-ssi?”

“Lee Hoyeon, what are you doing?”

Was I too lost in thought?

Lucy and Lumi were staring intently at me.

“Ah, yeah. Sorry, I was just thinking about something else for a moment. What were you saying?”

“Hey. Lumi and I are going to the restroom, so wait for us.”

“Okay. I’ll be waiting.”

After Lucy and Lumi went to the restroom, I took out the flyer I had shoved into my pocket.

Even a quick read showed the content wasn’t good at all.

“The world’s end is coming, participate in the gathering…. Hmm. Telling people to participate means there is a gathering….”

Are many ordinary people involved?

This might be bigger in scale than I thought.

I picked up my smartwatch.

• Me: Alice. The people handing out cultist flyers on the street are suspicious. Since it mentions a gathering, investigate carefully to make sure no investigators disappear.

I checked Everytime just in case someone felt something strange, but there was almost no information about the cult.

Most of it was just people complaining about how annoying it was to be handed the flyers.

“Hmm. Hmm hmm~.”

As I looked at my smartwatch, soon after, a pleasant humming could be heard.

Lucy, returning to her seat, looked at the flyer in my hand and asked.

“Lee Hoyeon. What are you looking at?”

“Lucy. Don’t you feel anything strange about this?”

“Oh, that flyer from earlier? Why didn’t you throw it away?”

Lucy took the flyer from my hand, examined it back and forth, squinted her eyes, and then shook her head.

“Hmm. I don’t really know.”

“Okay. If it’s nothing, then that’s fine.”

“What. That’s a letdown.”

Lucy is also a mage who uses the Underworld’s demonic energy.

If she couldn’t sense it, most investigators probably wouldn’t have noticed it either.

The few who might have followed it out of suspicion….

‘They must have been brainwashed by Maestro.’

Since investigators can’t report every single matter to their superiors, it’s usual for them to investigate something like this themselves before reporting, to confirm if it’s truly suspicious.

Thinking about it that way, it makes sense that investigators disappear.

‘There’s no one better at sensing demonic energy than me.’

They must have contacted the Demon Cult alone, gotten brainwashed, and then disappeared without a trace.

Or perhaps they didn’t even realize they were brainwashed and omitted the report.

“… Tsk.”

Should I investigate it myself later?

Sending more investigators and having Maestro escape would be the worst-case scenario.

I should tell her to investigate without Alice finding out.

“Hoyeon-ssi. Is something wrong?”

“No. I just felt a bit bad looking at the flyer.”

I smiled and put the flyer in the trash can.

Investigating the Demon Cult is important, but if I’m not going to charge in alone anyway, I need time.

For now, let’s focus on having fun with Lucy and Lumi.

“Ah, what should I do, it’s so delicious… I wanted to show you only my pretty side today. Is it okay if I eat it all like this?”

Even as Lucy said that, she was picking up cake with her fork.

I think she’s doing it because she knows she’s pretty.

“You’re pretty even when you eat a lot, Lucy.”

“Hehe. Thank you!”

While Lucy smiled, Lumi blinked and quickly grabbed her fork.

“H-Hoyeon-ssi. I’m going to eat cake too.”

“Lumi is pretty and cute too.”

“… Yum.”

I smiled watching Lumi eat cake with a blush on her face.

Even though it was a small action, cuteness just radiated from her.

This is a matter of talent.

‘As expected, I can’t afford to be complacent.’

Tomorrow seems like it will be a busy day.

• Maestro.

The final boss who continuously tormented the protagonist in the original work.

To be precise, the Demon King is the final boss… but Maestro, who caused the Demon King’s descent and tormented the protagonist throughout the game, is the more difficult opponent.

What makes him particularly tricky is his unique fighting style.

“Baby daddy. Will this be enough?”

“I wish it were a bit stronger.”

“Hmm. It’s possible, but why are you doing this? Do you have this kind of preference?”

“… Rebecca-ssi. Please concentrate.”

Lee Hoyeon recalled the memory of meeting Maestro at the Academy.

The strange sensation of demonic energy not entering his body.

The suffocating helplessness that gripped his entire body.

In that encounter, Lee Hoyeon could feel what Chiron had called destiny.

The memory of that time remains clear.

If we meet again, I won’t be helplessly overpowered like last time.

Jiiing-

The rune barrier filling the training ground pressed down on Lee Hoyeon’s body.

The rune barrier Rebecca used was the same as Lee Hoyeon’s, yet different.

The ultimate state of the rune barrier she wielded could do virtually anything.

That’s why I asked her to replicate the pressure I felt when I met Maestro.

However, it wasn’t the feeling Lee Hoyeon expected.

‘The pressure is strong, but….’

What I felt when I met Maestro wasn’t simple pressure.

A more high-dimensional feeling, difficult to put into words?

It seemed Rebecca had a hard time replicating it.

“Sky-Piercing Palace, deploy.”

“Ugh, ughh….”

As the Sky-Piercing Palace unfolded, Lee Hoyeon’s demonic energy began to push back Rebecca’s.

The force crushing my entire body naturally disappeared, and Rebecca frowned before finally releasing her demonic energy.

“Surrender, surrender! I’m dying of exhaustion. Haa.”

“Thank you, Rebecca-ssi. I had something I wanted to test.”

“It was nothing much. Are we done now? I need to go play with Scarlet-yang and Liliana.”

“Yes. Have fun, take your time.”

They said they were all going shopping today, so it was fortunate she could play well even without confidence.

After Rebecca left, Lee Hoyeon practiced magic in the empty training ground before coming up to the first floor.

Nam Daeun and Nam Dahee had also gone out together, so Lee Hoyeon was alone at home.

“Maybe I should at least go outside.”

Before the attack of demons and the Demon King, the immediate problem to solve was the Demon Cult.

In the original work, Maestro is killed and the Demon King appears, but who knows what will happen now.

If a situation arises where both exist, clearing it will become incredibly difficult.

‘If I can deal with Maestro, it will be much easier for humans to unite.’

Although Lee Hoyeon had broken the brainwashing affecting dignitaries from various countries, he couldn’t keep track of them all the time.

Dealing with Maestro will make it easier to fend off the Demon King’s attack.

‘If I had my way, I’d charge in alone.’

I want to find Maestro right now and smash his head, but if I were to get caught myself, it would be a disaster beyond compare.

But the frustration was unavoidable.

Even if the Iris Guild is investigating, I don’t know when they’ll finish.

“For now, maybe I should meet the head of the Korean branch at the Academy.”

It feels a bit much to ask Alice every time, so I could just ask Dr. Kang Hyorin directly.

I can’t leave everything to the Iris Guild, so let’s find something I can help with.

Lee Hoyeon threw on some clothes and went outside.

• The Academy’s Professor’s Office.

Dr. Kang Hyorin yawned while organizing documents.

She was already doing the work of two people, being both an Academy professor and the head of the Iris Guild’s Korean branch, but today she felt even more tired.

“… Why has my head been hurting so much lately?”

As the head of the Korean branch, Kang Hyorin was investigating demon organizations.

There were many sightings of demons’ movements in Korea, but strangely, their base had not been discovered.

It was an insult to her pride as the head of the Korean branch.

“It’s because Scarlet isn’t here since she’s out on a date. Tsk. Tsk.”

In reality, Scarlet was out playing with other women, but that wasn’t important to Kang Hyorin.

I should send her a message later asking how she’s doing.

“Haaahm… Where did my investigation get to?”

Kang Hyorin read down the documents.

Then, something strange caught her eye.

“… That’s strange. I haven’t been here?”

Kang Hyorin frowned as she checked the documents.

It stated that she had traced the demons’ movements and found a place presumed to be the organization’s base.

It was an achievement for the Iris Guild to find the base of the hidden demons.

Since it was important, she had intended to investigate it herself instead of leaving it to an investigator, but the fact that she hadn’t gone yet…

Something was strange.

“No. I definitely… two days ago….”

The moment she felt the awkwardness.

Kang Hyorin’s eyes went blank.

Staring blankly into space, Kang Hyorin only regained her senses after a few minutes.

She looked around dazedly before picking up her smartwatch.

“Huh…? What was I doing? Ah, was I trying to send Scarlet a message?”

Kang Hyorin smiled and sent a message to Scarlet.

Teasing her about her relationship with Lee Hoyeon was always fun.

The documents regarding the demon organization had already been erased from Kang Hyorin’s memory.