The two 4-star Summoners were helpless before Ian.
From the start, they had no intention of fighting him seriously.
It was impossible to win against Ian under such conditions—any victory would be a hollow one, earned through half-hearted aggression.
Yet Caroline, who had spent her life as the second-best, accepted even that kind of victory sweetly.
“…Marquis, did we really win?”
“Yes.”
“Really, really?”
Ian nodded without a word. At that simple gesture, Caroline broke into tears.
The taste of victory, something she had only imagined until now, had always seemed dramatic, thrilling, and loud with applause.
But in reality? It was dramatic, yes—but far more emotional. Instead of cheers, there was only a deafening silence.
Caroline felt her chest tighten.
A storm of emotions whirled inside her, tossing her heart like a boat caught in a tsunami.
And in that surge, the deeply rooted trauma and self-doubt within her heart began to wash away.
‘Marquis Ian…’
Her heart pounded. It had always done so around him, but this time felt different. If her past palpitations had been artificial, this one was completely natural.
That was when she realized—it was love.
She had fallen in love.
As soon as she recognized the feeling, a wave of pain struck her.
It hurt terribly to know that he was someone far beyond her reach.
‘This is almost laughable…’
Through this fight, Ian had made it clear that there was no reason for him to love her—no need for her to be by his side.
He had drawn a line she dared not cross.
And so, Caroline gave up on Ian, tears falling freely.
But what she gave up was the act of approaching him—not the willingness to accept him should he ever turn to her.
Ian, meanwhile, was content.
Everything had unfolded according to his plan—he had resolved the issue his own way. To him, the world was nothing more than a miniature garden set into motion by his design.
That was what he believed.
Until…the demons appeared inside the Academy.
Sixteen cadets were killed.
The demons were eventually expelled.
***
Even if the seed of evil germinates into a demon, not all demons are powerful.
Becoming a demon still required talent—and that talent was usually linked to the rank of one’s summon.
This time, the cadets who turned into demons were all low-level summoners with 1-star summons.
Even after their transformation, they remained among the weakest.
But to slaughter defenseless academy cadets, even a low-level demon was more than enough.
***
[Our teachers are reflecting deeply on their failure to prevent this tragedy…]
A group funeral was held.
While all the cadets stood silently before the statues of the fallen, Ian found himself reflecting on the demonization he had failed to stop.
Should he mourn the fact that his efforts had been in vain?
Or should he find relief in knowing that only 1-star summoners had turned into demons?
He was, at the very least, thankful that neither Noah nor Stella had been harmed.
Just then, the principal called to him.
“Ian. Come with me for a moment.”
“…Yes.”
Ian followed him to the principal’s office—a place that now felt familiar.
At first glance, it looked more like a training hall than an office.
Inside, a group of unfamiliar nobles and priests were waiting.
“This is Count Egao, who’s been appointed to oversee the demon situation. And this is the High Priest sent by the Holy Church.”
“Nice to meet you. I am Marquis Ian Clark.”
After a brief greeting, Ian quickly realized the reason for his summons.
He had warned about the risk of cadets turning into demons days before the incident occurred.
They must have called him here to ask how he knew about it—and what he could do to prevent future cases.
“This is Count Egao Drahu, appointed as the lead investigator,” the principal added. “Marquis, I’ll be direct. How did you know?”
“It would be strange to ask what—”
Ian sat down in front of them and began to explain.
In truth, there wasn’t much to say. The Academy already knew that cadets could be demonized.
“The same thing happened to someone I knew. Senior Dinua Erebos—she aimed at my life with help from demons.”
As he cited her case, the investigator gave a brief nod and glanced toward the principal.
The principal, fully aware of the situation, handed over the prepared materials.
To the investigator reading the material, Ian continued with several supplementary explanations.
“It could happen twice, so we investigated beforehand.”
“Okay. Then…”
After that, the investigator asked about the conditions that led humans to become demons, how to identify such individuals, and how to restore them to their original state.
Ian explained everything he had done with full sincerity.
The investigator, listening to the detailed account, pondered for a while, tapping his pen against his lips.
“It’s inefficient. It would be better to just capture the summon and lock it up somewhere.”
“The problem is, all summoners are nobles. If we lock them up without clear evidence…”
“We could face backlash from their families…”
That was the biggest concern. If Ian recklessly tried to kill or imprison someone on mere suspicion of turning into a demon, other noble Summoner families could intervene.
After all, every human is born with the capacity to sin. Since no one could predict who would become a demon, it was natural for the powerful to prepare for the possibility that it could be one of their own.
Of course, someone clearly identified as having a demon’s seed could be executed without objection—but what if the surviving relatives harbored resentment and sought revenge?
“If humans turn on each other like that, it’ll only benefit the demons.”
That was why Ian had taken the time to win over Caroline’s heart. Killing her would have been easy, but after doing so, the loss of her family and their support would have been irreversible.
What if their suppressed anger exploded later? Fighting demons alone was deadly enough—there was no time to also be fighting among humans.
“So, what do we do?”
“There’s no perfect solution.”
“Hmm… This is troubling.”
The investigator frowned and rubbed his temples. In truth, there were only two options.
‘The problem is, I can’t choose both,’ Ian thought.
The first option: eradicate all of humanity. Just as a disease vanishes when there are no more hosts, if no humans remained, there would be no one left to be corrupted by evil.
Naturally, this method was out of the question.
That left the second option.
Kill the demons.
It was the only feasible solution—and it had always been Ian’s goal.
***
”Demon King.”
The demons who lived in the castle of the Demon King survived by feeding off the magic he constantly exuded.
For centuries, they had adapted to this way of life, to the point that they could now sense the Demon King’s emotions and condition based on the amount of magic he released.
”It’s because of that Hero.”
The high-ranking demons murmured among themselves. After parasitizing the Demon King for hundreds of years, they easily guessed why he was so furious.
”It happened hundreds of years ago, and again this time… Every time we gather our strength and prepare to march, he appears like a ghost and thwarts us.”
”—So what? Are we just supposed to sit here and watch the Demon King rage?”
”Is it necessary to do that?”
They conspired with one another and came up with a plan to ease the Demon King’s fury. It was deceptively simple.
”We’ll capture the Hero ourselves.”
”—Grrr… How?”
”He’s only human, isn’t he? We can sneak into the human realm and kill him.”
”—If it were that easy, we would’ve done it already…”
”Are you afraid?”
The others shuddered, their legs trembling—not from fear, but from rage.
”Afraid? Of humans?”
”—No!”
”Then go. Gather more comrades.”
”—Is it really worth it, for a human?”
”If not, then stay here.”
Ordinarily, high-ranking demons wouldn’t bother with such a task. Only demons cast out by the Demon King or those desperate to prove themselves would risk entering the human realm to engage in battle.
Simply breathing near the Demon King granted them more mana than slaying humans could. Most demons had long lost the will to act, lulled by the abundance of magic created by the Demon King’s very existence.
”But now, one of the Four Heavenly Kings has died. A seat is vacant.”
That changed everything. With Lasti, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, now dead, a coveted throne stood unclaimed.
And so, demons who had never stirred before began to move at last.
Their target?
”Ian Clark.”
They would aim for the Hero’s neck.