Why Is Everyone in This Dating Sim Trying to Kill Me?!

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Translator: Vine

Chapter Title: Butterfly Effect (5)

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The white-haired demon, clad in a doctor's gown, scanned Baek Seol-hee, Im Ga-eul, and Sophia in turn, a look of interest on his face.

The clear malice he exuded sent shivers down Sophia and Im Ga-eul's spines.

Demons and humans were entirely different species.

At this moment, that truth was keenly felt.

'…Dangerous.'

As Im Ga-eul, gripped by fear, unconsciously stumbled backward,

Sophia, standing next to her, bit her lip until it bled, then raised her bow high toward the sky.

"Healing Rain!!!"

*Shwaaaeek—*

*Shwaaaaaaa—*

The golden arrow she shot soared upward, then rained down on the hostages, whose eyes had been dead.

*Woong—*

Following this, the bodies of all the hostages hit by the arrow glowed, and vitality surged through them.

However, their dead eyes still hadn't returned.

The demon, who had been staring blankly at the sight, suddenly clutched his mouth and doubled over, bursting into laughter.

*Puhahahahahahat—!*

"Wow, such a large-scale healing! I've never seen an ability like this before? Are you a new Demon Slayer Corps member? Indeed, one might call you a hero in the shadows. You certainly exceed the ordinary!"

But the demon merely shrugged, as if it didn't matter.

"However, it's useless. You've only bought a little time and extended their lives. On the contrary—"

As he continued speaking in a flippant voice,

Baek Seol-hee's form blurred.

*Slice—*

*Thud.*

With the sharp sound of flesh being cut,

the man's head tumbled emptily to the floor.

"…He-he's dead!?"

"Did we get him…?"

Im Ga-eul and Sophia's eyes widened in disbelief.

"No."

Baek Seol-hee's face hardened as she spoke.

As if in response to her words, the man's head on the floor spun around to face Baek Seol-hee.

"You should know that severing my head is useless, shouldn't you? You were the one who put me in this state, after all. Wasn't that right, Butcher Maniac?"

At the grotesque sight, Im Ga-eul and Sophia turned their heads towards Baek Seol-hee.

*Swoosh—*

Baek Seol-hee's form blurred once more.

And in the blink of an eye.

Spiderweb-like red cracks appeared on the demon's detached head and on his headless body.

*Slice. Slice. Slice. Slice. Slice. Slice. Slice. Slice. Slice. Slice. Slice.*

The chilling sound of a sword cutting through flesh reached them a beat later.

*Pwoosh!*

*Thud-thud-thud—*

Red blood burst from his entire body, and the demon was reduced to incredibly fine fragments of flesh, scattering onto the floor.

Baek Seol-hee wasted no time, immediately conjuring fire from her fingertips.

*Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh—*

The severed corpse shriveled in the flames, giving off the smell of cooking meat.

The flesh, burnt beyond black to a pristine white.

But,

the ashes gathered into one spot, and then flesh began to swell upon them.

*Thump—*

*Thump—*

Soon, he took on a human form, completely naked, and staggered to his feet.

*Kwahahaha—!*

Blood gushed from his mouth as he let out a laugh.

He raised his head and smiled, a white, chilling grin.

"As expected, even after a long time, your sword is still special, Butcher Maniac. But the method you used to kill me before no longer works, does it?"

*Haaaaaaa…*

A languid sigh escaped his lips.

"Of course, even so, I probably can't defeat a monster like you. But I also can't die, you know? What will you do now, Butcher Maniac?"

"…"

[Mad Scientist]

S-class Demon, Yeon Woo-jin.

Long ago, he was a demon who had committed horrific serial murders, and Baek Seol-hee herself had personally dealt with him.

His inherent power wasn't strong, but he was a troublesome foe with the ability to regenerate no matter how many times he was cut down.

So, she had dealt with him by pulverizing him into dust before he could regenerate, and then burning the remains.

Yet, that very demon had reappeared before her eyes.

Furthermore, the method she had used to deal with him back then seemed no longer effective.

No, honestly, a demon like him didn't really matter.

If need be, she could transport him alive and imprison him somewhere. Or seal him. Or simply ask Director Lina to handle him.

There were countless ways to deal with him.

However, what concerned her more was…

Baek Seol-hee stared at him with an indifferent expression, then shifted her gaze to the black Demonic Stone floating in the air.

"Ah, I also recommend not touching the Black Demonic Stone, you know?"

Yeon Woo-jin added in a gentle voice, as if he had momentarily forgotten.

"Well, it's also a material to summon our great Demon Lord, but what would happen if it exploded here…? You can't possibly not know, can you?"

Baek Seol-hee bit her lip, unseen.

That black Demonic Stone floating in the air.

Even she could feel an enormous amount of demonic energy pouring from it.

'How did they gather this much energy in such a short time? …The hostages alone wouldn't be enough.'

Based on Baek Seol-hee's knowledge, it was impossible.

She had somewhat guessed from the beginning that their purpose was the summoning of a demon, when they took the human sacrifices as hostages.

However, the number of captured humans was far too few, so she had thought there was still plenty of time.

Baek Seol-hee, staring intently at the Demonic Stone, opened her mouth.

"…Did they even grind up demons?"

At that, Yeon Woo-jin smiled, his face filled with rapture.

"Indeed! I knew you'd recognize this! Can you feel it? This extreme of beauty? Ahh, I really struggled to make this, you know?"

"…You think you can summon a demon with something like this?"

What was a demon?

Beings from another dimension, worshipped by demons, and who bestowed power upon them.

They had appeared in this world only four times so far, but each time, they caused immeasurable casualties.

Because the damage was so severe and they instilled such terror, their appearances were treated as top-secret, so little was known to the world.

However, Baek Seol-hee, the leader of the Demon Slayer Corps, understood their existence more deeply than others.

'For them to appear in this world, they must accept a considerable cost. That's why they require sacrifices in return.'

But demons were unsuitable as sacrifices.

Demons who had already pledged their souls to the demon race, no matter how many were offered as sacrifices, simply didn't balance the ledger.

Who would trade a fish they'd already caught as payment?

"Ahaha, it seems you don't understand, do you? I, your kind self, will explain. Ms. Butcher Maniac, are you familiar with the tale of Prometheus?"

As if to answer her question, Yeon Woo-jin spoke in a theatrical tone.

"Long, long ago, in ancient Greece, humans made a pact with the gods regarding the sacrifices to be offered."

And there was one demigod who loved humanity.

His name was Prometheus.

He loved humans so much that

he couldn't accept that humans had to eat only the bad parts of the meat, while all the good meat was offered to the gods.

Therefore, he devised a trick.

One sacrifice was the bones of an ox neatly arranged and covered with glistening fat,

the other was delicious meat and entrails gathered and covered with inedible hide.

The gods were made to choose between the two.

The god chose the inedible bones covered in fat.

"What I'm doing is just like that."

Yeon Woo-jin rambled on in a disorganized manner, but

Baek Seol-hee quickly understood what he was trying to do.

"You mean to wrap the demons' life force in the shell of human life and offer it as a sacrifice…? But if you do that…"

"Don't misunderstand."

Yeon Woo-jin cut off Baek Seol-hee and replied.

"I do not worship demons. What could be more ridiculous than worshipping demons just because there are no gods? I don't care if they are deceived into descending here and give themselves over to rage, or what they do!"

He spread his arms wide. A look of ecstasy appeared on his face.

"So what? I love this Earth. And I love humanity's predetermined fate. My goal, from the beginning, has been just one thing: for this Earth to perish, exactly as it was destined to!"

"You… you deceived the Demon Association and carried this out in secret."

There was no way the Demon Association, a group that worshipped demons, would have approved of such a thing.

Baek Seol-hee glared at him, a cold fury rising within her.

"Hah! Exactly! It's only possible now. Because everyone is bowing their heads, hiding from the Demon Emperor's eyes. At this time, I used the Demon Association's name to gather demons! I'm sure they have no complaints, becoming sacrifices for the demon race they love so much, right?"

"…"

"I am becoming the Prometheus of this world. Isn't it truly magnificent?"

As Yeon Woo-jin spoke, a glimmer of madness shone in his eyes.

Empty words.

Thanks to the talkative demon who spilled everything on his own, she learned the entire inside story.

But Baek Seol-hee felt a sense of frustration.

If she shattered this Demonic Stone here, the demonic energy would spread everywhere, and Korea would truly become uninhabitable.

But if she allowed the demon race to descend, she couldn't stop them alone.

Cornered.

If Director Lina were here, or at least her own Demon Slayer Corps members…

As Baek Seol-hee continued to ponder, she let out a bitter chuckle.

'…I don't know when I became so soft.'

It was truly so.

From the moment she was taken in by Lina and decided to live in her shadow, her life was already forfeit.

If one didn't cling to life, what couldn't be done?

Even if the enemy was a demon.

What had made her hesitate now was the thought of whether she could survive after dealing with the demon race.

'Originally, I wouldn't have had such foolish thoughts…'

She had truly changed.

She had changed.

Who could have made her this way?

It was Jin Yu-ha.

Her disciple.

Indeed, thinking of his face, the fact that this might be her end once again brought a pang of regret.

'Hmm, I still have quite a lot to teach him, though… No, is that just greed?'

She had already taught him all the basics.

A level he would eventually reach with accumulated experience and solo sword training.

And her disciple, possessing far superior talent than herself, would surely soar to much greater heights on his own.

Wanting to watch that process to the very end—

Yes. That must be greed.

Baek Seol-hee glanced to her side.

'These ones have a very promising future. If they grow well, they'll be a great help to my disciple.'

If these girls died here, she wouldn't even deserve to call herself his teacher in front of Jin Yu-ha.

"Student Im Ga-eul, Student Sophia."

Baek Seol-hee called their names in a soft voice.

"…Yes?"

"…Huh?"

"I'm sorry, but the operation has failed. From now on, go up and take care of Jin Yu-ha. And run as far as you can."

They froze for a moment, as if Baek Seol-hee's words didn't make sense, then their eyes widened to the size of saucers.

"Th-that's…!"

"We can't!"

"Quickly!!!!!"

Baek Seol-hee uncharacteristically raised her voice and shouted.

She patted each of the two girls' shoulders with sorrowful eyes.

"Please, take good care of my disciple."

Im Ga-eul and Sophia could not answer.

*Step.*

*Step.*

Baek Seol-hee brushed her hair back and walked forward.

'Still, I really wanted to try a meal my disciple cooked himself…'

As she was having such a frivolous thought and gathering her ki,

"IM GA-EUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

A voice cried out from behind.

Everyone's gaze snapped back.

"GRAB THE DEMONIC STONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"