I Entered an Academy in a Ruined Game

Chapter 295 : The Natural Enemy of Demons (1)

Great Overlord Crosell.

She possessed long, silk-like silver hair, beautiful amber eyes, and angel wings sprouting from her back, boasting a radiance like a sculpted statue.

Among demons, she was known as "The Beautiful One."

Her power was also counted among the strongest of the 10 Great Overlords.

She possessed the special authority to create illusions and control water and its temperature.

Additionally, her cherished weapon, an Ice Sword "that never melts," was a cursed blade that inflicted incurable frostbite on the wounds of those it cut.

But what truly made Crosell great was not these abilities, but her innate power and caliber.

"Song Yeonhui."

"Yes, Great Overlord."

'Vampire Queen' Song Yeonhui bowed her head before Crosell.

Looking down at her with emotionless eyes, Crosell spoke.

"They say the [Human Fortress] is recruiting humans."

"Yes. After Jeong Su-hyeon joined them..."

"A human who achieved unity with Malek and somehow returned a year later even stronger, killing Andromalius."

Crosell's beautiful eyes sparkled with slight interest.

"I'm beginning to understand why my king shows interest in that young man. How much do you know about Jeong Su-hyeon?"

"I know quite a bit about his activities and abilities."

"Good."

As Crosell nodded, her silk-like silver hair rippled like waves.

Her beauty possessed a magical power that made even another woman like Song Yeonhui momentarily hold her breath.

"I'll give you the task of leading the vanguard. Your first mission is to ambush and annihilate them during their rendezvous, and your second mission is to draw out Jeong Su-hyeon."

"I will carry it out with my life at stake."

"That's not it."

Crosell looked down at Song Yeonhui with arrogant eyes.

"Your insignificant life is hardly sufficient as a guarantee, wouldn't you say? Stake your life and that of your entire faction."

"...I will do so."

Despite feeling humiliated, Song Yeonhui didn't dare even bite her lip as she bowed her head deeply.

Great Overlord Crosell.

A being from another dimension who oppressed the Vampire Queen Song Yeonhui—who once reigned over all Ma-in—with her power, innate beauty, and caliber.

'Ah... how frustrating.'

It was truly a bitter feeling.

'She's saying she doesn't care if someone like me dies.'

The ruler of the underworld, one of the leaders commanding [Sword of Belphegor].

The strongest Ma-in.

The master of vampires.

She who had been all these things was now in a position where she had to bow her head before someone and pretend not to see the mocking gazes of their subordinates.

And now, she was being pushed into a life-staking operation against Jeong Su-hyeon, who had become incomparably stronger than herself.

"What are you doing? Withdraw."

"Understood."

"I'll give you three days."

"...I will be punctual."

Kuk-kuk-kuk.

Kil-kil-kil.

With the low mocking laughter of the Great Overlord's subordinates behind her, Song Yeonhui quietly left the office.

"Are you alri—"

"Quiet."

Rejecting the concerned kindness of her subordinate, Song Yeonhui looked up at the dim sky.

'What an ironic thing.'

Of all people, her target had to be Jeong Su-hyeon.

'I really thought he was dead this time.'

How did he survive?

And from the center of that terrifying explosion and radiation that would have reduced even a Great Overlord to dust.

'Well, it wouldn't be the first time that man has exceeded my expectations and common sense.'

That's the kind of man Su-hyeon was.

Always a man who made a difference.

There was a time when watching his growth had been her amusement.

Young, strong, promising, and beautiful.

He was someone who interested her in every way.

She had even shown mercy and spared his life before.

Because to her, youth was beauty.

'I can't help it. I'm weak to beautiful things.'

But now she had fallen to become a minion of demons.

And she had to run around at the command of this beautiful but cold master who dismissed her.

'Yet I can't even dream of rebellion or resistance.'

How unbeautiful she had become now.

If she had known she would end up like this, perhaps it would have been better if Nastrond had never opened.

Even as she acutely realized this fact.

Song Yeonhui had no choice but to prepare plans to carry out Crosell's orders...

❀⋆｡°✿☆❀✿°｡⋆❀

After resting for a full day, Jang Yun-su left the [Human Fortress] in the same outfit he had arrived in.

It was a shabby appearance with no escort or anyone seeing him off.

"Good. This should look like I'm being mistreated and driven out to anyone watching."

Nam Tae-hoon, hidden in Jang Yun-su's shadow, snickered.

"..."

Cadet Nam Tae-hoon, with whom he had once participated in operations during his internship.

He had disappeared after being implicated in the White Castle raid.

Now the situation where he was participating in the operation as a unit commander, two ranks higher than himself who had been a Squad Leader, was quite difficult for Jang Yun-su to adjust to.

"Since we'll be keeping each other company during the journey anyway, shall we sort out what to call each other?"

Nam Tae-hoon spoke from within the shadow.

"...Should I call you Unit Commander?"

"Well, I am a unit commander, right?"

"I suppose so, Unit Commander."

"Don't be like that. I'll use respectful terms with you too."

Nam Tae-hoon laughed as if amused.

"Once we're discharged, whether you're a company commander, division commander, or corps commander, you're all just mister, right? You haven't even returned to duty yet."

"...Are you saying you'll drop the formalities if I return to duty?"

"Who knows? I'll have to think about it when the time comes."

"..."

Jang Yun-su considered returning to the Execution Force for the first time.

The first day passed without incident.

But around noon on the second day.

After a period of silence, Nam Tae-hoon quietly spoke from within the shadow.

"Listen quietly without showing any reaction."

"...?"

As Jang Yun-su didn't respond and quietly fixed his gaze on the ground, Nam Tae-hoon continued.

"We have pursuers."

"...!"

"It's not demons. Ma-in, and quite skilled ones at that."

"Ma-in?"

"The second-class citizens of the new world. Now as before."

Nam Tae-hoon sneered with contempt as he relayed a message to Choi Min-a through the magical communication device in his pocket.

"Ah, ah, this is 7th Unit Commander Nam Tae-hoon. Is the 4th Unit Commander there?"

[This is 4th Unit Captain Hwang Ji-su. Reminder to save your flirting for when you two are alone.]

"..."

Scratching his cheek, Nam Tae-hoon quietly thought.

'I guess she's in a bad mood because Su-hyeon came back but they haven't had time to be alone.'

While he was nearly in an officially acknowledged relationship with Choi Min-a.

Lee Yu-jin, Min Hae-na, Kim A-yun, and Kwon Seung-yeon.

From Hwang Ji-su's perspective, with so many strong competitors, his flaunting might seem unpleasant.

"Ahem. It's not like that, reminder."

[Reminder to just state your business.]

"We have pursuers. Presumed to be Ma-in, and the number of detectable individuals is less than 10, but it's unclear how many there are in total."

[......]

For a moment, there was commotion on the other end.

Su-hyeon, who had taken the communication device from Hwang Ji-su, spoke.

[Everything's going according to plan so far.]

"Indeed."

[They'll probably try to ambush during dawn.]

"That's what I think too."

"Contact me again after you've finished preparing camp."

"Okay."

Although it was unexpected that Ma-in rather than demons were following them.

It didn't change anything significant.

❀⋆｡°✿☆❀✿°｡⋆❀

That evening.

Jang Yun-su set up camp in a cave without trying to escape the trackers' view, then slipped away safely through Nam Tae-hoon's shadow.

"Good work."

Su-hyeon handed him a water bottle.

"I didn't really do anything."

"Please wait here."

"Understood."

The one who went into the cave in place of Jang Yun-su was Kim Ho-su.

He covered his face with a mask and changed into Jang Yun-su's clothes to avoid suspicion.

"Hey, you know the drill, right? Keep them at a distance where they almost catch up but can still follow you."

Nam Tae-hoon emphasized while sharing hardtack with Kim Ho-su in the cave.

"I got it already. Don't worry."

Kim Ho-su gave a thumbs up, saying he was confident in his ability to escape.

"You just make sure you guard well."

"Okay."

Nam Tae-hoon was planning to hide in Kim Ho-su's shadow to watch his back.

"By the way, I didn't expect Ma-in to be chasing us instead of demons."

"They're probably handling the grunt work. Still, it's almost nice to meet them like this."

"I know, right?"

Nam Tae-hoon chuckled.

"It was better when we were tussling with Ma-in."

"I totally agree."

Since the world had been destroyed once.

Observing the remnants of destroyed civilization always left a bitter aftertaste for the young men.

"Get some sleep. You'll need to run around later."

"Two-hour shifts?"

"Okay."

Just past 2 AM.

"...!"

Several vampires quietly blocked the cave entrance.

"Hey, wake up. They're here."

"Ah shit, I just fell asleep."

Kim Ho-su frowned and narrowed his eyes, dispelling sleep with a silent yawn.

"They're blocking the entrance first."

"If they block the entrance, there's nowhere to run."

"It's textbook. But it won't work on me."

Nam Tae-hoon concealed himself in the shadows, hiding his presence.

Kim Ho-su covered his face with a mask and quietly summoned his mana.

"Stupid bastard. Sleeping without a care in the world."

"He could be pretending to sleep."

"What good would that do him in this situation?"

Night was the time of vampires.

Making no footsteps, the vampires approached right up to Kim Ho-su's face and smiled at him, trapped like a mouse in a bottle.

"Human, wake up."

Two vampires tried to wake Kim Ho-su by kicking him.

Clang!

Nam Tae-hoon's dagger sprang from the shadows, severing the two feet from their owners.

"Uwaaaaagh!"

"What the fuck!"

Sha-shak!

Kim Ho-su immediately jumped up like lightning, moving in a zigzag pattern along the cave's walls, ceiling, and floor to escape the vampires' encirclement.

"Block the entrance!"

"Get out of my way!"

Wham!

Kim Ho-su knocked away even the two vampires blocking the entrance with momentum-charged fists and disappeared into the darkness of the forest.

"He escaped!"

"This is insane!"

"How is he so fast?"

It all happened in an instant.

"...Contact the Queen."

The vampire leader bit his lip.

"Tell her we lost the target, and she needs to activate the encirclement."

"You bird-legged bastard, you would've been good at American football!"

"Right? Even I thought my movement was sick!"

Kim Ho-su and Nam Tae-hoon exchanged battle tales as they weaved through the trees.

"Hey, hey, something's flying this way!"

"You block it!"

The vampires and Ma-in forming the encirclement unleashed ranged attacks—arrows, mana bullets, and flames.

But they were insufficient to penetrate the defensive shield of the "Shadow Lord" Nam Tae-hoon, who controlled all shadows.

"Dammit, he's not alone!"

"There's another human with some strange ability with him!"

[Don't try to chase them down! Think about narrowing their escape routes and driving them into one place!]

"Understood!"

There were people watching from a distance as the vampires exchanged telepathy and tightened their encirclement.

"They're making quite a fuss just to catch one person."

Kwon Seung-yeon muttered as she looked down at the scene from above the clouds, supported by Seo Jun-seong's telekinesis.

"That must be how fearsome this Crosell demon is."

"True."

Kwon Seung-yeon pouted at Hwang Ji-su's words.

After all, if it weren't for Su-hyeon, they too would have been unable to escape Andromalius's grasp and would have died miserably.

"By the way, it's unexpected that they sent Ma-in instead of demons, but it's also surprising that there are still Ma-in capable of such organized movement."

"I can think of only one place."

"Could it be the Sword of Belphegor?"

In response to Lee Yu-jin's question, Su-hyeon answered.

"Especially considering that the Ma-in who attacked the cave were vampires, the possibility is even greater."

"...Indeed."

Seo Jun-seong agreed with Su-hyeon's words.

"I heard that the remnants of [Sword of Belphegor] came under Great Overlord Crosell after Nastrond opened and have been running errands for her."

"Worth seeing their pathetic state."

Hong In-hyeon sneered with contempt.

"They had the nerve to directly borrow their master's name, and now look at them, just doing odd jobs under a Great Overlord?"

"That's typically the fate of puppets."

Min Hae-na said.

"Even during the Vietnam War, informants who had outlived their usefulness were eventually purged, right? They should consider themselves fortunate to have at least preserved their lives without being purged."

"Well, Hwang Won-jae and Seong Ji-cheol already died before that."

"I'd like to see the face of that woman, the Vampire Queen."

Hwang Ji-su said with hostility.

"You'll see her soon enough."

Su-hyeon said.

"That is, if Song Yeonhui is the one commanding that encirclement."

"I really hope she is."

All the young Special Operations members gathered here had various scores to settle with her, one way or another.

"There's no need to hurry. We'll surround them from the outside and then strike at the center to capture just the leadership."

Su-hyeon calmed the operatives.

"Su-hyeon is right. But if the Vampire Queen really is there."

Lee Yu-jin said.

"It's finally time to pay back our old debt."

"I agree."

Lee Yu-jin and Hwang Ji-su.

The two Captains especially burned with fierce fighting spirit.

'This time we'll capture her for sure.'

'That woman is a thorn in my side in many ways.'