[There it is! Summoner!]
“Anna!”
When the fairies Pink and Sylphy sensed a human aura and whispered the location, Ian quickly dispatched Anna to rescue the cadet trapped beneath the building.
…The cadets who had been saved like that were already exhausted but alive. At this point, Ian doubted any more could be rescued.
‘If I managed to save this many alone… then others must’ve done the same.’
The academy hadn’t been densely populated to begin with—barely over a hundred cadets in total. It was safe to assume that everyone who could be rescued had been.
‘Because the earth is already… Come down quickly.’
Ian looked up at the sky. Dozens of glowing trails adorned the blue expanse above.
But they weren’t starlight. No star could shine that brightly.
They were the afterimages of the Empress’s clash with the demon—a spectacular battle leaving behind what looked like a feast of stars. A fight between beings who had long transcended human limits.
And the problem was… there were still many such beings left in this world.
‘I don’t have time to linger in a place like this.’
Come down, Empress. Hurry.
***
Whoosh—!
A wave of overwhelming magic blasted toward the demon.
Clara screamed as she was struck by the Empress’s attack.
[Why the hell—!]
“You’re persistent. I think it’s time to die.”
The Empress raised her mana once again. Now that she had transcended her limits with the buff from the Blue Bird, she could release infinite mana.
Infinite—a word signifying something utterly beyond comprehension. Even she wasn’t entirely sure what she was capable of now.
‘Yes, transcendence is…’
With a flicker of realization, the Empress unleashed a magic cannon—an attack forged from pure magic, not easily destroyed.
How could Clara, who had only just become a demon, withstand it? She had no choice but to endure the blast with her own body.
But that method… was reaching its limit.
[Kyaah!]
Clara’s body shattered under the force of the powerful energy, her essence scattering like seeds.
As a demon, this was her final act of resistance. But the Empress wasn’t the type to stand by and watch.
“Not happening.”
With swift precision, the Empress incinerated each scattering seed—eliminating any chance of resurrection.
It was a habit born from centuries past, forged during the war against demons. All demons had to be annihilated—every trace erased.
“Well then… Shall we return to the summoner—”
Just as she was about to finish off the demons and return to the summoner below, the Empress froze.
A woman had emerged from the demon’s corpse.
Someone the Empress knew very well.
***
A temporary ward.
Ian had summoned Anna and Pink to relieve patients’ pain and tend to their injuries.
[Human, here too!]
“Oh God…”
Pink, who regulated brain chemistry, was practically a walking morphine drip.
Anna, the miracle worker, was nothing short of divine.
Together, the two were akin to gods. Everyone who saw them dropped to their knees, desperate to be healed first…
“…Summoner.”
“Oh, Empress. You’re back—”
The Empress stepped into the ward with someone in her arms.
Ian greeted her with a smile, but his expression froze when he recognized who she carried.
It was Clara.
Her condition was dire—one arm and both legs missing, bones shattered, body burning with fever.
In an emergency room, it wasn’t who arrived first that mattered, but who was closest to death.
Without hesitation, Ian recalled a healing summon and directed its power toward Clara.
“…What happened?”
“It’s a long story… Let’s focus on treatment first.”
After ensuring Clara was stabilized and breathing more normally, Ian stepped outside with the Empress.
Judging by her face, this wasn’t a conversation meant to be overheard.
Once they reached a quiet, secluded spot, the Empress raised a barrier to keep their words private.
“She… she’s Clara, right?”
“Yes. My childhood friend.”
“…Don’t be shocked, Ian.”
The moment the Empress said that, Ian nodded—he had already begun to suspect something.
Then, the Empress told him the truth.
Clara had emerged from a demon’s corpse.
In other words…
“…Clara was the demon.”
“Yes. Maybe.”
“No… It didn’t seem like it…”
It was a blind spot. There was no guarantee that the seeds of evil would only take root in cadets.
Everything had seemed fine until this morning—it was bright, peaceful, and nothing appeared out of the ordinary.
That meant the demon had sprouted in her heart a long time ago, hidden in a way that made it indistinguishable from others… until now.
“This is driving me crazy. Was I really the only one who noticed something was off?”
“Do you think the teacher would’ve told you that?”
“But still…”
If word got out that Clara was the culprit behind this demon incident, she wouldn’t survive.
Not only that—her summon would be taken away, and her family might be executed for being related to a demon.
The wounded and surviving cadets knew hundreds, maybe thousands, of ways to torment her.
It was better to hide the fact that she had become a demon.
“…Empress. What do you think?”
“What?”
“Someone who became a demon and then woke up—have you ever heard of such a case?”
It hadn’t happened in the game, so Ian turned to the Empress for advice. A legendary figure who had lived hundreds of years ago, she had acquired all kinds of knowledge throughout the ages. If anyone knew, it would be her.
But even the Empress had never seen or read about a case where someone became a demon and returned to being human.
“Maybe… it’s better if she never wakes up.”
“…Why?”
“She’s disabled. The arm connected to her summon is intact, but the rest of her limbs were severed.”
And above all, she would remember what she had done. Whether she wanted to or not, becoming a demon and attacking the Academy was an unforgivable crime.
If she woke up and realized the devastation she had caused, she might take her own life. In that case, perhaps it was better if she remained unconscious forever.
“…Is that so?”
“Yeah. Don’t bother trying to wake her. Even if she does wake up…”
Life would be more painful than death. The Empress sighed and returned to the back of Ian’s hand.
She was probably right. No one knew what had pushed Clara into becoming a demon, or what sorrow had driven her there. But sometimes, there was beauty in a secret left untold.
With that in mind, Ian returned to the ward, where Clara sat motionless, a blank look on her face.
Noah stood in front of her, smiling.
“Oh, Ian!”
Noticing Ian a bit late, Noah seemed slightly flustered before proudly boasting of her accomplishments.
She had a 5-star summon, one with the power to heal injuries almost to the point of immortality.
Though she hadn’t been able to help during the demon attack, she’d contributed by healing the wounded. Ian glanced at her briefly, then looked to Clara—who was now awake.
“Clara.”
“I… am not…?”
Clara lifted her vacant eyes slightly, tears beginning to stream down her cheeks. She already knew what she had done.
Ian wished she would say nothing. If she stayed silent, they could cover for her. They could pretend none of it had happened.
But Clara didn’t stay silent.
“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…”
“Yes? What’s wrong?”
“It was me. I did it.”
“What are you talking about…?”
“I’m the one behind it all. The culprit in this case… is me.”
Noah tilted her head, clearly not understanding what Clara meant.
So Clara said it again, more clearly.
“I’m the demon who destroyed the Academy.”
***
No matter how much Ian cared, he couldn’t defend Clara after she confessed to demonization in front of others.
Soon after, a team of summoners composed of instructors arrived and placed Clara under arrest.
They bound her hands to prevent her from summoning, then escorted her away.
Once the case was officially closed, Ian was granted a one-on-one meeting with her.
“Why?”
“…I’m sorry.”
“That’s not what I’m asking.”
Ian looked at Clara, who kept her head bowed, and realized she had misunderstood his intentions.
He hadn’t come to condemn her for turning into a demon. It was quite the opposite.
“If you had kept quiet, no one would’ve ever known. You could’ve hidden it forever.”
Clara slowly looked up, her expression blank.
Was she trying to see if he was being sincere? It didn’t seem that way.
After a long pause, Clara let out a soft laugh and muttered something.
“You’re still a child.”
“What?”
“You’re still just a child.”
“What do you mean…?”
“Ian, I made a mistake—whether I wanted to or not.”
To Ian, demonization was more like an uncontrollable affliction, like a disease that struck at random.
You don’t sentence someone to death for catching a cold. Demonization shouldn’t be treated any differently, he believed.
But Clara didn’t agree.
“I brought shame to you. I didn’t trust you, or anyone. I listened to the whispers of a demon.”
“But that’s—”
“You’re going to say I couldn’t help it? Maybe that’s true… but adults have responsibilities, Ian.”
Clara gave him a gentle smile.
“I’m sorry… your older sister became an adult before you did.”
It was her farewell to the boy she’d once known.
(G: There you go, the childhood friend gets shafted again.)