NOVEL NEXT Chapter 162
-…Alright. Let’s go out, Lev Denec.
With Aria’s shocking declaration, dinner came to an end.
-Lev…
Yeriel’s gaze weighed heavily, but she smiled at me, as if assuring me that she was okay.
‘My trash luck has risen again today…’
I sat on my bed and swept my hair back off my forehead.
There are many misunderstandings to unravel with the heroines, but at the same time, Chapter 5 is approaching.
There’s so much I need to think about.
Just like I confirmed with my subordinate Yellody moments ago, the Great Demon Creatures are already on the move.
Hoo…
In a corner of my room, all the mail had piled up while I was away.
Mainly, there were settlement statements from the Adventurer Guild and gold along with dozens of spellbooks that seem to have been rewards… and… a letter from Denec.
‘First, I should take care of the most important thing.’
I jumped up from my place and found myself heading towards… my romantic interest.
Aria Bluebell’s room.
Knock knock.
After a single knock, Aria’s door opened.
“Lev?”
Her still unreadable expression made everything from dinner feel like a dream.
“I have something to say. Can I come in for a moment?”
“…Yes.”
Aria turned her body at an angle, as if inviting me in.
As I entered her room, a comfortable lavender scent, as if freshly bathed, greeted me.
As soon as I closed the door,
Poof.
?!
Aria grabbed my waist and hugged me tightly.
“Aria?”
“You’re really back, right…? You’re Lev, aren’t you?”
“Yeah.”
“I still can’t believe it. I’m so happy that you’re back…”
“Happy, huh…”
Having someone waiting for me always feels nice, but at the same time, it felt bittersweet.
“Your scent always… reassures me.”
Aria nuzzled her face against my chest little by little.
Then, as if she remembered something,
She looked up at me intensely.
“Oh, about what happened earlier… please don’t mind it. Everyone was a little emotional at that time, so it couldn’t be helped. Once things calm down, I’ll say it was just a joke…”
“That, Aria.”
“Yes?”
“I need to apologize to you, even if it’s late.”
“Apologize?”
“Yeah. I said something I shouldn’t have.”
“What was it?”
“That… I asked to go to your room…”
“Oh…”
…Should we go to your room?
I’m not a playboy, but that was some trashy line to tell the kind-hearted Aria.
Even if I was trying not to show Yeriel’s Tarchangel transformation,
It’s just an excuse.
It felt like a question that toyed with her feelings although I knew her heart better than anyone.
“I’m sorry for sounding like someone you would hate.”
“It’s okay. I know you’re not that kind of person.”
“And I also want to apologize for casually saying I’d help with your revenge.”
“Lev?”
“I’m sorry for doing things my way. I suddenly disappeared… I’m sorry.”
Aria buried her face silently in my chest.
“…Please pat my head.”
She suddenly acted clingy, which wasn’t like her.
Feeling my lips twitch at her reaction, I patted her head.
“I’m embarrassed, but will you forgive me?”
“I will forgive you.”
“Really?”
“But instead…”
“Instead?”
“Please don’t leave me alone again…”
Aria Bluebell.
It was a simple and wistful request, just like her.
Her lost gaze looked pitiful, so I quickly answered.
“Okay.”
“Then promise me.”
“I promise.”
As I pinky swore with her, matching my thumb to hers,
“If you break it, I’ll grow horns on my butt…?”
“That would make you laugh while crying…”
Aria smiled for a moment, then
Swipe…
?!
With our pinkies still intertwined, she led me toward the bed.
“Since we’re lovers, you can put me to sleep, right?”
“Huh?”
Thud!
We ended up lying on the bed, facing each other.
Aria had a sweet smile, and an air of stillness enveloped us, as if the world had shrunk down to just the two of us.
Then her cute lips moved.
“I’ll just stay like this for a while…”
“…Okay.”
Aria soon seemed to find her peace of mind and gently closed her eyes.
“I don’t want to have nightmares tonight…”
“It’s okay. You won’t.”
Maybe she hadn’t really slept well while I was gone.
“Don’t disappear….”
“I won’t disappear.”
Snore, snore…
I watched her heavenly beauty as she fell into sleep, gently brushing back her hair.
*
The next day.
Claris Main Street Cafeteria.
I decided to meet Yellody to discuss the appearance of new Great Demons.
‘Hmm.’
While observing couples displaying affections among students roaming the school, I fell deep into thought for a moment.
‘If I tell Yeriel that I made up with Aria…’
What would happen?
Surely, Yeriel would give me an answer to my confession, right?
But I’m already in a relationship with Aria.
‘Then, will Yeriel indeed reject my confession…’
In both South Korea and in this Reincarnated Academy world, the concept of dual dating is… morally condemned.
But…
Yeriel and Aria.
If I had to choose one, I couldn’t bear to pick.
‘Definitely trashy.’
There’s a saying that goes, “Aiming for two hares, you lose both.”
Thinking back, there’s so much karma piled up with Lily and Selena too…
While I was marveling at the mess I had created, Yellody’s face suddenly came into view.
“Hello! The junior has appeared.”
“Oh, you’re here.”
I ordered Yellody her favorite chocolate drink, and we began talking.
“That guy you saw yesterday, was a Great Demon, right?”
“Yeah~.”
Yellody seemed happy as she indulged in the sweet drink and spilled everything she saw.
The most shocking and fascinating fact was that the headmaster of Claris was the Great Demon Belial.
‘So there was a mastermind behind this.’
This was something that hadn’t been mentioned anywhere in the main story.
Up until then, I had thought it was just Yellody, Bunea, and other Great Demons connecting to the Chapter 5 Claris raid incident.
“And the other one was the illusion type Paimon.”
“Paimon?”
“Yep~. Paimon is quite strong among the Great Demons. He commands the most soldiers.”
It certainly makes sense that a Great Demon with a hefty number of troops would be involved if they’re capable of taking over the academy.
“Junior… this Great Demon is on a whole different level from the ones you’ve faced until now.”
Yellody spoke to me in a worried tone.
Given that we’re reaching the climax of the story, it’s true…
“If you don’t handle things properly, it could just lead to more casualties.”
“Never mind that, what are their plans?”
“Huh? It’s simple. Belial, disguised as the headmaster, will tour the entire Magic Tower of the Academy.”
“A tour? Is that all?”
“That’s what it looks like. However, Belial’s objective is to close all the Dimensional Gates without raising any suspicion.”
“Close the Dimensional Gates…?”
Yellody, having finished her drink, absentmindedly flicked her glass with her fingers.
“Slowly touring the Magic Tower, he’ll enchant the Dimensional Gates with delay magic, then simultaneously close them, isolating Claris from the outside…”
Delay magic.
It’s magic that activates after some time.
The reason the Great Demons are targeting Claris, as mentioned in the Reincarnated Academy, is simple.
There’s Bunea’s revenge, that’s for sure, but Claris is the place where the Magic Towers are the densest in the Empire. If the demons gain control over it, they can tap into great magic power most easily.
That’s why they don’t simply plan to destroy the towers and seal the dimensional gates.
“Ultimately… it’s about the Central Magic Tower.”
“The Sanctuary?”
“Yup. They plan to corrupt it.”
In other words, it’s a corrupt sanctuary.
A corrupt sanctuary can summon monstrous creatures like the Pleasure Lord and the Three-headed Dog, and grant the area above the Demon Realm significant field buffs.
In short, it means they intend to firmly establish Claris as the Demon Realm’s territory.
“That’s insane.”
“And once again, let me say, this is all possible because of Belial.”
“That makes sense. Who would think the headmaster of this school is a demon?”
“That’s a good point… He also has the ability known as humanization.”
“But, you have that too, don’t you?”
“Unlike me, he doesn’t just change appearance… He can’t be detected by any surveillance magic, just like I can’t. But when Belial is in that state, he isn’t even affected by the Sanctuary.”
“!”
Perhaps it’s similar to how I receive proper demon classification only during demonization.
Anyway, because of his ability to not weaken even in the Sanctuary, it seems he can cast multiple delay spells at once.
“I’m getting the idea of copying…”
“Huh?”
“Oh, never mind.”
Yellody continued to sip from her finished glass and spoke to me.
“But Junior, are you again thinking of sniping from a distance to stop this?”
Ah crap.
She’s read my standard pattern.
“Don’t think like that. Belial is stronger than Markosias, and can sense hostility within a radius of 500 meters.”
Yellody shook her head and continued.
“Plus, unless he’s at the brink of death… His humanization won’t be undone… You would end up being the Empire’s worst student trying to assassinate the headmaster.”
“That sounds amusing.”
“Eh?”
Becoming the worst student in the Empire felt like something straight out of a light novel; I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“That means it’ll be fine as long as I kill him in one blow.”
“……”
Before I knew it, Yellody was looking at me with a grim expression.
“I realized you’re not an ordinary person…”
“It’s even stranger to hear that from you…”
“I don’t know~. Junior, get me one more of the same.”
“Wait, I need to think a bit.”
I took a blank glass from her and thought for a moment.
‘Belial, Paimon…’
Demon King, Lucifer, Baal…
They would be the higher-tier Great Demons just below that.
No matter how many bugs there were in the Reincarnated Hero Closed Beta,
I don’t think I’ve ever sent a Great Demon to the afterlife in one hit due to their characteristics.
Markosias was relentlessly weakened by holy crossbow bolts, after all.
But if I let this guy run amok as he pleases, Paimon’s massive army would start a riot.
Then it would become even harder to manage.
‘As expected from the main story, I should seek help from the Saint…?’
In truth, this is difficult as well.
Psyche lost half of her Saint’s power and, due to the last assassination incident, the royal family absolutely won’t dispatch her.
So, as it always has been, there’s only one answer I can point to.
“Guess I have no choice but to kill him…”
“Junior, I don’t want the person who treats me to end up in prison…”
Belial’s sensing range was indeed 500m.
And from this distance, I could be the only one to attack.
What remains is to find a way to send him to the afterlife in one go without using weaken state or instantaneous death…
Just finding it.
‘Ways to pump up the damage…’
Suddenly, the qualifying exam I endured upon first entering this place came to mind.
Back then, I was trying to find a way to make up for that low damage.
I remember using the overlap of the weakness exploit perk and critical strike perk to take down the Rag.
…
‘…This is it.’
I’m not sure if it exists, but I have to find it.
I need an outrageous perk that would break the balancing so that I can get stronger than this.
I got up from my seat, got my stuff together.
“Junior?”
“I’ll place an order, so you eat and go.”
“Sure. Just in case…”
“Okay, okay.”
And avoiding Yellody’s gaze, which seemed to demand I don’t do anything reckless, I dashed straight towards the Black House, my room.