I Became a Genius Swordsman in the Pretty Girl Game-Chapter 307: Demon Hunting (2)

Once, a whole mountain had vanished in a battle against demonic beasts, leaving behind only a barren field. Now, Utopia’s party had arrived at the desolate site, with Min Tae-hoon, restrained and drooling, in tow.

Just before coming here, I had taken Min Tae-hoon to see Lina.

She took one look at him, let out a hollow laugh, and spoke with anger in her voice:

“Ha, a rat dared to sneak into my domain without fear. It seems you got caught before you could accomplish anything.”

“So, you’re planning to summon a demon to take care of him—?!”

“Well, if we’re going to face demons in the future, this could be good practice...”

“You madman! If I don’t send you by teleportation, you’re really going to drive there...?”

“I knew you weren’t in your right mind, but you’ve really lost it this time. Fine. I’ll send you to Taebaeksan by teleportation. But be cautious. Never underestimate demons.”

After some convincing, she agreed, and I was able to transport my team to Taebaeksan with her help.

“You always argue, even though you end up letting me go,” I muttered.

“Don’t be too hard on her. Director Lina only does it because she cares about you, Jin Yoo-ha,” Se-hee said, poking her head out from behind me.

“...Se-hee, didn’t I ask you to stay behind?”

I had specifically requested Se-hee to stay at the academy and continue broadcasting the freshmen group sparring. Even if the matches were one-sided, abruptly stopping the broadcast could cause issues. But somehow, she’d managed to join us anyway.

“I left the broadcast to someone else. Besides, I wanted to stream our demon hunt here on my channel.”

“...Broadcast our hunt for demons?”

“Yes, since you mentioned that we’d soon be facing demonic gates and that demons, not just monsters, would emerge. Isn’t it crucial to show people the dangers we’re up against?”

Se-hee spoke confidently, without a hint of embarrassment.

“When terrifying enemies like these start appearing in our world, the public needs to be aware. If we don’t warn them, the chaos will be unimaginable. But if we show them what demons look like, and how we can handle them, we’ll give people hope and bolster our reputation.”

I found myself nodding along.

‘...She’s got a point.’

In the Velvet Hunter game, when the demonic gates appeared, the world plunged into chaos due to a lack of information on demons. Many hunters, thinking they were just variant monsters, charged in only to perish. The speed at which the world recovered depended on how well the players handled the situation.

‘Show them what kinds of enemies await and how to defeat them... That’s actually not a bad idea.’

While I was mulling over her words, Se-hee continued, “So, while the freshmen group sparring is important, broadcasting this demon hunt is even more critical—mmph!? Ichika?”

Ichika suddenly poked Se-hee’s cheek, looking impassive as usual, and asked, “Your true motive?”

Se-hee shot her a quick glance, clicked her tongue, and mumbled, “...I just felt left out, with you all running off without me.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle. Her reasoning was surprisingly cute.

‘But Se-hee isn’t usually the type to confess so easily. Did Ichika have something on her?’

Regardless, Se-hee’s suggestion was actually pretty solid.

“Alright, let’s stream it. Treat it like a guide broadcast. Se-hee, get the stream set up, and Ichika, show us how far Min Tae-hoon’s dream has progressed.”

“Got it!” they both replied.

Ichika activated a hologram projector, displaying Min Tae-hoon’s dream.

‘Well, well...’

The scene from Min Tae-hoon’s dream was truly a sight to behold. Although I let the world progress according to his twisted vision, watching him orchestrate his chaos was something else. The instructors clapped like spectators as low-ranking cadets suddenly exhibited outstanding prowess. Lina, who seemed to sense something was ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ off, remained quiet, biting her lip.

‘Even if Lina didn’t take direct action, this would never have gotten this far.’

Knowing she was recruiting a large batch of freshmen, she must have deployed demonic energy detection across the academy. By the time the freshmen who had ingested the seeds of demonic energy began showing symptoms, Lina would have noticed.

‘Min Tae-hoon was an exception due to his demonic powers, but still...’

Within her domain, which included the entire academy, Lina could easily take indirect action when necessary.

Oddly enough, it wasn’t Lina he feared most, but me. It was as if he believed he could get away with anything as long as he avoided me. He carefully monitored my movements, operating strictly outside my reach.

As for Alice, she was now completely under Min Tae-hoon’s control, nothing more than a puppet.

“Good thing I didn’t bring Alice here,” I muttered. Watching herself be manipulated like that would be demoralizing.

I turned to Yu-ri, “Yu-ri, how many seeds of demonic energy does he have left?”

“Twenty-three,” she replied.

“Give them all to him now.”

“All at once?”

“Yes.”

Yu-ri, as if it were routine, pried open Min Tae-hoon’s mouth and poured the seeds in, forcing him to swallow. He began convulsing, foaming at the mouth, a response to the overdose of demonic energy.

The seeds of demonic energy... Every time Min Tae-hoon thought he was giving them to someone else, he was actually ingesting them himself. He might have imagined he was corrupting others, but he was the one being consumed from within.

The reason I made him consume the seeds was simple: summoning a demon wasn’t an easy task.

‘If it were that simple, demons would have overrun the world by now.’

To summon a demon, one would need thousands of regular people or hundreds of mana-wielding hunters as sacrifices. Alternatively, you could use powerful items like black demon stones. In some cases, the demons kidnapped their sacrifices.

The easiest way, however, was for a demon to offer themselves as fuel for the summoning, though it rarely happened. Only those deeply consumed by malice and desire could form contracts with demons, and even then, these selfish individuals were unlikely to sacrifice themselves.

‘Hence, the convoluted schemes.’

Just then, in his dream, Min Tae-hoon was shouting from the rooftop, “Now, let’s offer the sacrifices and summon our lord!”

I watched, laughing at his absurd display.

‘He has no idea he’s the sacrifice.’

“Idiot.”

The seeds of demonic energy within him began to react, and Min Tae-hoon’s body trembled.

‘He’d blissfully die in his dream if I let this continue.’

But that wasn’t enough. I wanted him to realize the gravity of his mistake, to suffer and regret.

I patted Ichika on the head and instructed, “Wake him up. He’s started the summoning, and now he can’t stop it on his own.”

“Understood.”

Min Tae-hoon’s eyes snapped open as he jolted awake.

“...W-Where am I? The sacrifices, where are the sacrifices? Alice?!”

A confused expression crossed his face as he struggled to comprehend the situation. Then, his gaze locked onto me, his pupils dilating in horror.

“W-What... Jin Yoo-ha? Instructor Jin Yoo-ha, what’s going on here?”

“Did I give you permission to speak my name, demon?”

“W-What do you mean, demon?! I’m not a demon!”

He sounded genuinely offended, his act almost convincing.

I chuckled coldly, “Look at yourself.”

At my signal, Ga-eul produced a full-length mirror from her subspace tattoo.

“W-What is this—?! Why am I...?”

The reflection showed his body pulsating with bulging veins, his irises blackened—he had become a demon. Panicking, he thrashed against his restraints.

“Jin Yoo-ha, you bastard! What did you do to me?! What the hell did you do?!”

His desperate screams echoed across Taebaeksan.

“Heh. This is only the beginning.”