Chapter 30: Affection (7).

I love you.

Thump, thump.

“Ah, I’m in a hurry.”

He rushed out of the room and tried the bathroom on the same floor, but it was locked for some reason.

Left with no choice, he went up to the second floor, but it was the same there.

“Should I break it?”

Chayeon seriously considered the thought and reached for his wooden sword, but even though the building was in ruins, he felt guilty about wantonly vandalizing property.

‘Looks like I’ll have to stop by the Grand Cathedral.’

He could only hope that one would be open.

Since the buildings were so massive, it was quite a distance from the main gate of the Education Center to the main gate of the Grand Cathedral.

Managing to suppress the urge, Chayeon entered the Grand Cathedral and thankfully found the bathroom door open.

Now accustomed to squatting down to do his business, he cleaned up and left the bathroom.

Here, cleaning up meant wiping with toilet paper.

In the past, when women said they used toilet paper after their business, he wondered if it was really necessary, but after experiencing it himself, he understood.

Shaking wasn’t an option, so it would get on his underwear.

Sometimes, the weakened stream would trickle down and flow elsewhere.

Chayeon’s steps faltered as he was about to return to the Education Center.

“Hmm, I don’t want to go back.”

<<Agreed.>>

All that awaited him there were the burdensome trio and the uncomfortable Sira.

It didn’t seem like they had found out about Heukgu inside him, though.

<<You said something unnecessary.>>

“Unnecessary? Ah, the son thing? Sorry, I couldn’t think of anything else to say, so I threw it out there as a half-joke.”

<<…Forget it. I can only hope they don’t take it seriously.>>

Anyway, what should he do?

Chayeon stood still, pondering.

He didn’t have anywhere to go, but he still didn’t want to go back.

‘Should I go back to the 5th floor?’

He had ended up having an easy time, but originally, Chayeon was supposed to be on standby on the 5th floor of the Grand Cathedral in case of an emergency.

At first, he thought it was great to have a break, but now he realized that being on guard duty would have been easier.

‘Let’s go up. I should observe how things are progressing.’

With that decision, Chayeon headed to the 5th floor via the stairs.

The first thing Chayeon noticed upon arrival was a sense of incongruity.

He felt that the air had changed.

The crisp and refreshing air of autumn transitioning into winter was nowhere to be found, replaced by an unpleasant feeling as the air felt sticky, clinging to his skin.

Chayeon had experienced this feeling before.

“This is…”

<<It seems an uninvited guest has arrived. Chayeon, prepare yourself.>>

Simultaneously with Heukgu’s words, he drew the wooden sword from his waist.

“It’s a demon, right?”

<<That’s right.>>

At Heukgu’s confirmation, Chayeon unconsciously swallowed hard.

“Can’t I use that weapon from last time?”

<<Releasing power risks being detected by Baekgumiho. I advise you to restrain yourself, even if it’s somewhat dangerous.>>

From Heukgu’s perspective, Baekgumiho was far more dangerous than a king-level demon, which was considered a disaster if it appeared in the human realm.

Moreover, Chayeon, having adapted to Rubrum-Luna, was already unmatched by most demons even without unleashing his full power.

Chayeon understood Heukgu’s reasoning and silently agreed, cautiously moving forward.

The change was immediately apparent as he rounded the corner.

In front of the Grand Cathedral, there was something alien that shouldn’t be inside the building.

A massive body, covered in thick white fur, with blood-red eyes.

A bear, resembling a polar bear, was inside.

One difference was that it was clear that it wasn’t the size of an ordinary polar bear.

It was so large that it wouldn’t have been able to enter if the ceiling here wasn’t so ridiculously high.

And that beast had also discovered Chayeon.

“Krooooo!”

An enormous roar echoed.

<<It’s a level 3 demon.>>

As soon as Heukgu finished speaking, Chayeon used the wall to propel himself towards the bear.

Leaving only two footprints on the wall of the corridor, Chayeon appeared next to the polar bear, his wooden sword swinging directly towards the bear’s head.

Thwack!

The bear’s head exploded, splattering blood everywhere, contrasting with its pure white fur.

Chayeon landed lightly as the bear’s massive body collapsed to the side.

“This can’t be the end, right?”

<<There seem to be several inside.>>

Even without Heukgu’s warning, Chayeon could feel it.

An intense unpleasantness.

The stench of stagnant air and the metallic smell of blood wafted from beyond the doors of the Grand Cathedral.

‘What happened to the people inside?’

‘Why is a level 3 demon standing outside the door?’

‘Could it be… is it already too late?’

Chayeon took a deep breath and opened the door.

He steeled himself, repeating that he would not allow his peace of mind to be disturbed, bracing himself to witness an unexpected scene.

Even so, Chayeon couldn’t help but stop breathing.

The room was already filled with the stench of blood.

That man, who had been so obsequious to Chayeon’s group just moments ago, sharing their water and apologizing profusely, was no longer alive.

It was something that had once been human, now only a remnant of its former self.

The six people who had been performing the suturing work just moments ago were now gruesome corpses.

“Ugh!”

Unable to process the information that had entered his field of vision, Chayeon felt nauseous as he belatedly realized what he was looking at.

<<Pull yourself together!>>

Heukgu’s reprimand cleared his blurred vision, and he regained his senses.

Chayeon quickly wiped the vomit from his mouth with one hand and raised his wooden sword.

Now, he could see five living creatures.

They all had human appearances, but he knew instantly without being told.

They were demons.

All of them were at least equal to Rubrum-Luna from the previous encounter, or even stronger.

One male, four females.

“Wow! Awesome!”

Next to the man’s corpse, a pink-haired girl clasped her cheeks with a blissful expression.

Her cheeks flushed, she was staring at Chayeon with ardent eyes.

“Cute♡”

Following her, a woman with pigtails wearing a nurse’s uniform looked back from where she had fallen, muttering to herself.

“Hmm, I smell something delicious.”

The only male among the demons smacked his lips.

The halo above his head made him look more like an angel than a demon.

“Antinu, you’re heavy.”

The nurse-like demon pushed the corpse aside and looked at Chayeon, while a silver-haired woman caught the corpse and complained.

Her appearance, dressed in a female student’s uniform with a ribbon, amplified the bizarre atmosphere.

And finally, a gray-haired woman who had been sitting quietly in the back was staring intently at him.

Haa.

His breath came in rapid gasps.

His lungs felt full of thick, acrid smoke.

However, that feeling was forcibly purified and disappeared.

His breath quickened again, then calmed down again.

Heukgu was forcibly holding onto Chayeon’s mind, which was on the verge of succumbing to panic.

“Hoo, f*ck.”

Having finally regained his composure, Chayeon gripped the hilt of his sword tightly with his remaining hand.

“Who are you?”

The gray-haired girl in the middle tilted her head and asked.

<<Don’t answer.>>

“I know!”

He must not succumb to mental manipulation.

A swift, decisive victory, taking them down one by one.

Chayeon rushed towards the gray-haired woman in the middle, but before his sword could reach her, it was blocked by the angel-like man who had suddenly appeared.

“Hoo, pretty fast, aren’t you?”

Ignoring the man’s lascivious words, Chayeon quickly twisted his body in mid-air and slammed his heel down on the man’s head.

The back of the man’s head was struck by the heel, and his head was smashed into the floor.

Thud-

“Ouch! Strong! I think I’m falling for you!”

Amidst the high-pitched squeals, the pink-haired girl’s knee arrived in front of Chayeon’s nose.

“Cough!”

Barely managing to block the incoming impact with his sword, Chayeon’s body was caught by the nurse’s soft chest as he was thrown backward by the recoil.

“Now, baby~ It’s time for your shot♡”

He felt a sharp needle prick his neck, and at the same time,

“Aaaaaah!”

An immense pain caused his limbs to tremble as if they were electrocuted.

“Ugh, this, ugh!”

Even as the pain felt unfamiliar, his mind was forcibly cleared.

Sensing that, Chayeon quickly swung his sword backward, smashing the nurse’s head and causing her body to collapse on the spot.

“Hah, hah, eugh, hah.”

He didn’t know what she had injected, but his vision was blurry and he was gasping for breath.

His heart was pounding like crazy.

He could see the nurse and the angel, their heads crushed, writhing and rising again.

“Haa, ha, f*ck, do you guys have resurrection as a passive skill? Haa.”

He understood immediately.

Each one of them was absurdly strong.

He couldn’t face these demons in his current state.

“Antinu, he’s alright?”

“I know, right♡ All his nerves should be on fire.”

The girl in the school uniform was now wearing underwear and staring at him intently.

His vision was getting increasingly dizzy.

“Dentulla, should we test if it really has no effect♡?”

“Sure.”

At those words, the nurse and the school uniform girl appeared in front of and behind Chayeon respectively.

Chayeon quickly perceived them and swung his sword while also delivering a back kick, but that turned out to be a mistake.

Thwack-

Crack.

The school uniform girl grabbed his ankle, and at the same time, the nurse stomped down on the knee of the leg Chayeon was standing on.

The unimaginable leg strength from her slender legs caused Chayeon to collapse on the spot.

“Augh!”

Unable to suppress the pain, a scream escaped through Chayeon’s lips.

Just as his body was about to slump down, the pink-haired girl flew in from afar.

“Me too, me too!”

The pink-haired girl’s foot landed on Chayeon’s face.

With a harsh impact, the back of his head collided with the floor, blood gushed from his broken nose, and his front teeth shattered.

“Ugh, ugh…”

He couldn’t regain his senses.

No, his mind was clear.

He could feel Heukgu constantly pouring in strength to recover his mind.

However, he could feel fear and pain gnawing at his brain.

His breathing became rapid, and his limbs trembled uncontrollably with convulsions.

“Haa!”

At that moment, he suddenly felt every single cell in his body screaming.

It felt like all the sensory cells in his body had been activated.

At the same time as the strange feeling coming from his lower abdomen,

“…!!!”

A scream that could not be voiced, blocked by the soles of his feet, endlessly circled near his throat.

The pain he had experienced so far was nothing compared to the pain screaming from his broken knee, his crushed face, and the kicked and broken parts of his body.

“Awesome, awesome! I’ve never tasted anything so delicious!”

“It seems like the drug worked. I’ll give you lots of love♡”

His body was on fire.

Engulfed in flames from head to toe, he was being consumed by the inferno.

Stop, it’s hot. What is this? It’s too hot.

An overwhelming pain that made him forget even the situation he was in.

Surrounded by demons, Chayeon writhed in agony, gasping for breath.

“Well then, thank you for the meal~”

The pink-haired girl, her mouth wide open, approached Chayeon’s neck, which was completely restrained.

<<Kh, there’s no time to think about the aftermath.>>

In the end, Heukgu unleashed his power.