## Chapter 260 – 260. Diabology (2)
#260. Diabology (2)
I masked my awkwardness and took Ryu Gaeun’s hand.
In that instant, I felt a strange sense of incongruity beyond her small, soft hand.
Thwack!
I immediately let go. As soon as I did, the unsettling feeling that had flashed through my mind vanished as if it were a lie.
‘What was that just now…’
When I looked at Ryu Gaeun, she was also staring at me.
Her face was hidden by the mask, but she seemed to be smiling.
“Senior!”
Seeing that, Lumina, who had been blocking the door, was horrified and approached Ryu Gaeun.
The sight of her playfully hitting Ryu Gaeun with her dainty fists was quite impressive.
“I told you not to play those pranks! How did you even bring a member here? What if they run away again!”
“To join the prestigious Diabology Research Society, a simple test is…”
“What test! You just want to mess around!”
My attention was briefly drawn to Lumina’s unfamiliar behavior, but I focused on the source of the incongruity I had felt a moment ago.
It was a sensation that my innate instincts rejected.
But at the same time, something deep within my dantian seemed to welcome it.
Could it be?
“…Magical energy?”
No sooner had I spoken than an intense gaze locked onto me.
Thud.
Ryu Gaeun, who had approached unnoticed, grabbed my shoulder.
Her eyes, visible through the mask, were gleaming ominously.
“You know about magical energy?”
“Pardon?”
Her voice was full of excitement. Even though her face was hidden by the mask, I could tell she was smiling.
“You’re in!”
“?”
“Hyunwoo, was it? Welcome to our research society.”
“…Can I just leave?”
Ryu Gaeun grabbed my hand. Instead of the unsettling incongruity, I only felt soft, warm skin.
“No way.”
I glanced at Lumina, and she deliberately avoided my gaze.
And so, I became a member of the Diabology Research Society.
‘Is this right?’
After that, I was dragged into a small room inside the clubroom and forced to attend an orientation.
“Our research society is one of the prestigious research societies of the Gray Magic Tower, and we study everything related to magic. Our biggest interest is, of course, demons.”
I swallowed the words that were swirling inside me as I watched Ryu Gaeun proudly continue her explanation.
To put it nicely, it was a prestigious research society, but in reality, wasn’t it an outdated relic that no one even knew existed?
“Humans use the mana in the atmosphere as a source of power, but demons wield magical energy, the power of magic.”
A black light flickered at her fingertips.
The moment I saw it, the magical energy within my dantian reacted.
“I have a question.”
“Yes, Hyunwoo.”
“How does Senior Gaeun wield magical energy?”
If magical energy was the power of demons, as Ryu Gaeun said, then she, who wielded it, was a target for the Church to eradicate.
As if she had anticipated my question, a small chuckle escaped from behind the mask.
“Well, before I explain that, I need to introduce myself in a little more detail.”
Ryu Gaeun, who had been standing in front of the blackboard, approached me and sat down next to me.
Looking at it up close, the mask gave off an unsettling feeling. But apart from that, she smelled nice.
“I was born into a family that has been hunting demons for generations.”
“?”
Demon hunting?
“Well, the family fortune has declined, and we’re on the verge of ruin, though.”
I was momentarily speechless at Ryu Gaeun’s nonchalant way of speaking.
Wasn’t that something you shouldn’t say with a smile?
“You asked how I can wield magical energy, right? It’s thanks to this mask. It’s a cursed mask that my grandfather, who made a name for himself as a demon hunter, obtained in his younger days.”
“A cursed mask?”
“Yeah. I wore it without knowing anything at first, but it turned out to be cursed? So I haven’t been able to take it off for years.”
“…”
I was at a loss for words at Ryu Gaeun’s cheerful answer.
I began to suspect this woman’s mental state.
“Actually, if I wanted to, I could get an exorcism right away, but then my ability to wield magical energy would disappear.”
“So you keep wearing it because of your research?”
“Yeah.”
I wasn’t particularly surprised by this.
I just thought she was eccentric, like other wizards.
“Are there any side effects?”
“Well… if I had to pick one, it would be that it’s difficult to have smooth relationships with people? Basically, magical energy instills a sense of rejection in humans.”
“Ah.”
Only then did I realize the identity of the incongruity I had felt at the very beginning. It was an innate aversion to raw, unrefined magical energy.
Unlike the magical energy that had settled in my dantian, the magical energy that Ryu Gaeun wielded felt rough.
“What’s the difference between magical energy and magical power?”
“Good question.”
The black light that had reappeared at her fingertips.
It was definitely different from the magical energy that had settled in my dantian. If I had to compare it, it seemed similar to the energy that the Mad Demon Sword had possessed at first.
The black light flickered for a moment and then disappeared. I waited for a while, expecting some kind of magic using magical energy to unfold, but surprisingly, nothing happened.
When I stared at her, Ryu Gaeun quietly avoided my gaze.
“…I don’t really know either.”
“Pardon?”
“It was good that I was able to wield magical energy, but I haven’t had any other results since then.”
Ryu Gaeun seemed embarrassed and tapped the floor with her toes.
“There’s even less known about magical energy than mana, whose origins haven’t even been properly revealed. It’s not like demon worshippers mainly use black magic instead of magical energy for no reason.”
As Ryu Gaeun said, the demon worshippers I had met last time also used black magic, not magical energy.
This strengthened the hypothesis that even demon worshippers didn’t know how to wield magical energy.
But even so, Chun Yeohwa knew how to wield magical energy. So did the guys who attacked her to assassinate her.
‘…Could it be that, just like there’s no knowledge about space magic in Iris’s world, Earth has no knowledge about magical energy?’
It was a plausible hypothesis, considering it was made up on the spot.
Each world’s history would flow differently, and the development of technology would also change accordingly.
Of course, magic and martial arts would also be different. In fact, Earth’s magic and Iris’s magic had quite a few differences from the basic principles.
Martial arts would probably be the same.
‘So, the only way to wield magical energy is through demonic arts…’
I clicked my tongue inwardly.
I had joined the research society to find out how to wield magical energy, but this was putting the cart before the horse.
But I couldn’t just quit as soon as I joined, because I was conscious of Lumina. She was the granddaughter of Marna Hirkus, a first-class alchemist.
Networking was always important.
I put my disappointment aside and listened attentively to Ryu Gaeun’s story.
Fortunately, a fairly nutritious topic came up.
“There are a total of 71 demons that have been identified so far, and you know that the list is managed by the Church, right?”
“Are you talking about the ‘Goetia’?”
Goetia.
It was a grimoire said to contain information about demons, and I had heard that it was strictly managed within the Church.
“But isn’t that just an urban legend?”
“No, the Goetia exists.”
A confident voice was heard from beyond the mask.
“Because I have a copy of the Goetia.”
***
Time passed, and it became afternoon.
Professor Shin Minha’s class time had arrived, but I couldn’t concentrate on the class.
I was lying on my desk, recalling the conversation I had with Ryu Gaeun in the clubroom.
-…I don’t understand.
-What do you mean?
-Wielding magical energy, having a copy of the Goetia, aren’t those things that would get you referred to a religious trial if the Church found out?
Considering the personality of the paladin I had met at the Church, they might send an assassin from the Vatican, let alone a trial.
-Why are you telling me, someone you just met, about those things?
Each one was something that couldn’t be said carelessly, even to family members.
Ryu Gaeun’s attitude of casually telling me about those things, someone she had just met, was definitely strange.
-Well, I thought you’d be okay?
But as if she had expected my reaction, she smiled nonchalantly.
-I have a good feeling.
The conversation ended there.
After leaving the clubroom with Lumina, I couldn’t forget the gaze from beyond the mask that had been directed at me for a while.
It was a gaze that seemed to see through my inner thoughts.
‘What the hell is that woman?’
Even though most wizards were eccentric, she was especially so.
Personally, I didn’t want to get involved with such a woman. It was bound to be a headache.
But if it was true that she had a copy of the Goetia, then the story would be different.
Since I didn’t know when I would encounter the demon Purpur again, I needed to know information about him.
Of course, it could be an unnecessary worry.
But only those who were prepared could take things lightly and pass them over.
‘Well, I’ll go for a few more days, and if it doesn’t seem right, I can just be a ghost member.’
Whichever I chose, I had nothing to lose.
“Kang Hyunwoo.”
“Yes?”
At that moment, a voice broke my reverie.
When I raised my head, I met the eyes of Professor Shin Minha, who was standing right in front of me.
She was looking at me with a expressionless face.
“Is my class that boring?”
Her dry voice pierced my ears.
Only after checking the time did I realize that the class was over.
Gazes poured in from all around.
“Follow me to the workshop.”
Without a word, I followed Professor Shin Minha to her workshop.
As I walked down the hallway, I could hear the voices of students whispering as they looked at me.
Click.
As soon as the door closed, Professor Shin Minha suddenly turned around and stared at me without saying a word.
“Do you have something to say…”
At that moment, Professor Shin Minha, who had taken a step closer, hugged me. The soft sensation of a woman’s body and a refreshing fragrance brushed past my nose.
What was this?
“…Professor?”
“Hyunwoo, do you know that?”
Even in a situation where she was hugging a strange man, Professor Shin Minha was looking up at me with the same expression as usual.
But when I looked closely, her cheeks were faintly red.
“When people hug each other, they secrete a hormone called oxytocin. Oxytocin reduces people’s anxiety and stress and brings a sense of stability. Above all, research results have shown that it has an excellent effect on preventing cardiovascular diseases.”
Professor Shin Minha hugged me a little tighter.
Naturally, I felt the sensation of her chest.
“Above all, men feel happiness from a hug from a woman. How is it? Is your heart pounding?”
I slowly nodded my head.
It was absurd, but there was no man who wouldn’t feel happiness from a beautiful professor’s hug.
But I had to say what I had to say.
“I’m sorry, but this won’t make me transfer to the Summoning Department.”
Last time, she seduced me by feeding me cookies, and this time it was a hug.
“In the first place, you know that I’m dating Choi Hyena of the Seongbuk Choi family, right? If I transfer in this situation, wouldn’t it just be like saying let’s break up?”
Well, Choi Hyena wouldn’t care whether I transferred or not.
But if I was caught hugging Professor Shin Minha, there would be a problem.
“…”
Only then did Professor Shin Minha take a step back.
When the warmth I felt in her arms disappeared, I felt a little disappointed.
She walked towards the desk without saying a word and handed me a few pieces of paper.
“What’s this…?”
“Write a letter of apology.”
“…Pardon?”
“Poor class attitude is subject to disciplinary action. Fill it out completely and come to me for inspection by tomorrow.”
“…”
Was this how a professor took revenge?
I was dumbfounded.
