I Become a Secret Police Officer of The Imperial Academy

Chapter 24

I opened the door leading to the underground and descended the stairs. The hallway, usually bustling with servants, was eerily empty.

Feeling my way along the wall, I searched for the light switch. Once I found it, I flipped it on.

The atmosphere was suffocating.

The bright light barely dispelled the eerie feeling, as if a ghost could leap out at any moment, and it wouldn’t seem out of place.

Walking down the first corridor, I reached the pens where the demons had been locked up two weeks ago.

The stench of filth was overwhelming. In one corner lay a rotting corpse—likely one of their own kind, cannibalized. The few still alive were mostly sturdy males.

“Please… spare me…”

“Food… I’m starving… please, anything to eat!”

“Let me out…”

“This place is hell… oh God, please have mercy…”

Hands reached through the iron bars, begging for food.

Some demons supposedly ate iron to survive, though I didn’t care enough to know their names.

Ignoring those on the verge of death, I aimed my gun at the slightly healthier ones and pulled the trigger.

Even with the barrel pointed at them, they neither dodged nor resisted. Perhaps they lacked the strength—or the will.

Aside from the leader’s pen, this was the state of most cells.

Filthy, foul, and reeking.

Come to think of it, I doubt we’ll need this underground space again. I might as well kill them all now and not bother with the incinerator.

Yeah, that works.

No cleanup, no burning, no effort wasted.

It’s all over anyway.

With that thought easing my burden, I walked briskly to the next cell.

There, I came face-to-face with a demon whose legs had entirely rotted away.

“…I saw the humans who were here earlier taking all their belongings and leaving.”

“And?”

“No one’s guarding this place anymore…

It seems this madness is finally coming to an end.”

“Well, I won’t deny it.

Anyway, a righteous student from the academy has stormed in to save you all.”

“A student?”

“Well, technically a student. They’re tearing my house apart to rescue you.”

Honestly, it was laughable.

I drew my gun and aimed it at the demon’s head before pulling the trigger.

It wasn’t often you encountered a demon capable of coherent speech.

Still, it was too dangerous to leave them alive.

The bullet barely grazed its forehead, drawing blood but failing to pierce.

Rubbing its bleeding head, the demon stared at me, visibly startled, and asked,

“Why…?”

Was it asking why I was trying to kill it now, or why I was trying to kill it at all?

Probably the latter.

“Do you really think I’d let an intelligent one like you live?

Did you honestly believe I’d spare you?”

At my words, the demon trembled with rage. Dragging its rotting legs, it crawled toward me, pointing a decaying finger as it growled,

“I miss the contempt I faced at school.

At least those humans who mocked me for being a filthy demon still saw me as one of their own.”

“Is that so.”

“I’ll curse you even in death.”

“How original. Got anything else?”

The demon didn’t respond, glaring at me with eyes filled with hatred.

I checked the remaining bullets in my gun, then pressed the barrel to its forehead and pulled the trigger repeatedly.

A hole finally appeared in its skull, and its body shuddered slightly before going still.

My wrist ached horribly.

Chaos erupted from the opposite cell.

They screamed, cursed, and hurled threats, spitting every insult imaginable.

Apparently, this one had been their moral anchor—the one who sacrificed itself to bring them food and clothing, even graduating from the academy as an elite among demons.

The demons pushed against the iron bars, which groaned under the strain.

Better safe than sorry, I thought, as I aimed at the one gripping the bars and fired.

One collapsed, then another, until six fell, and the others finally retreated from the bars.

Killing, it turns out, isn’t all that hard.

For Julian and me, the most difficult part of this job wasn’t the act of killing but dealing with the aftermath.

Pulling the trigger was easy.

But the corpses had to be dragged away, burned, or buried. If any fluids spilled, they had to be cleaned up.

The incinerator could only handle so much.

Demons, like other living beings, were full of blood, which dampened the flames unless doused in fuel. And fuel was expensive—especially in the quantities needed to burn a body this size.

Burying them wasn’t an option, either. There was the risk of disease, and finding a place to secretly bury so many demons was nearly impossible.

We had even considered renting a large ship, loading it with the demons, and sinking it in the open sea.

But Theo stormed in before that plan could come to fruition.

Reloading one bullet at a time, I shot the demons beyond the bars.

We had given them enough food to keep them alive and decent clothes, but they dodged like pros.

Not that it mattered—I had plenty of bullets.

A few knelt and begged me not to shoot.

Not that begging would stop me.

I worked too hard dragging this box of bullets here for that.

The least they could do was make it easier by standing still when I aimed.

“Dad, Mom… And then, after them, it’s me, right?”

Sitting directly on the cold floor without even a cushion, I leaned back, aiming lazily as I pulled the trigger over and over. My back ached, but I wasn’t inclined to care.

One of the demons—a young one—approached me and spoke.

Looking closer, I recognized him.

Wasn’t he the one who had been caught trying to escape from the Sorghum Farm?

Slightly piqued, I decided to humor him.

“What’s wrong? Feeling wronged?”

“We haven’t done anything bad. So why… why are you doing this?”

He asked with a puzzled tone, as if genuinely unable to understand.

If he’d cried and screamed in hatred, pouring out curses, I would’ve put a bullet in his head right then. But this one was surprisingly calm—smarter than most.

His father had been too stupid to realize he’d get shot while running away.

“Beats me.”

Bang.

Another demon, trembling on the floor, slumped over dead.

Even so, the young one didn’t flinch.

“There’s no reason.

You’re a demon, and you were in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Even if I explained that some demon he’d never met killed my family, he wouldn’t understand.

And why would I need a reason to justify this?

I do it because I want to.

He stared at me with hollow eyes.

The emptiness in his gaze irritated me. Just as I aimed at the bridge of his nose and prepared to pull the trigger, footsteps echoed from the distance.

“Ah, they’re here already.”

Theo, armed with his sword, approached with Ethel carrying a staff, Isabel at her side, and Diana clutching a book.

“Sunbae. It’s been, hmm… how many hours since we last met?”

Glancing at my wristwatch, I realized it had been four hours since I’d left Theo’s house.

No wonder I was hungry—it was dinnertime.

“Four hours,” I said cheerfully.

“…….”

“Before we parted, you said you’d stop me, but I know my place too well for that to happen.”

Theo’s expression was grim.

Ethel was looking at me with teary eyes, while Isabel wore a baffled expression. Diana’s face was utterly impassive, devoid of emotion.

Thanks to a recent reload, I had six bullets in the chamber.

That was enough for the young demon, the idiot pretending to be dead against the wall, and myself.

“…Ellen, put the gun down. Now.”

The distance between us was roughly 30 meters.

Feigning compliance, I shifted my aim to the young demon and fired.

The bullet disintegrated midair, dissipating with a hollow futility.

As expected.

Magic, of course.

Ah, how I envied those with such abilities. If I’d had magic, this job would’ve been so much easier.

“Put it down!”

Theo lowered his sword and began walking toward me, each step deliberate.

I brushed the gun’s barrel with my left hand. It was scalding hot from overuse.

As Theo closed the distance, I raised the gun to my temple.

Just as I was about to pull the trigger, my hand was severed.

“Ahaha, that hurts.”

I staggered forward to retrieve my severed hand from the floor, but Theo kicked me, sending me sprawling.

Weak and fragile as I was, I crumpled instantly.

How dare he treat such a delicate girl like this?

“Why not just let me die?

Or do you plan to beat me to death? That’s not really my thing, though.”

“…Shut up, Ellen.”

Glancing behind him, I saw Diana and Isabel tending to the injured demons, while the ones who could move were being ushered out.

Ethel embraced the young demon I’d been speaking to moments ago.

“Goddamn it. After all the effort I put into capturing them, you just let them go—”

Theo’s fist slammed into my solar plexus, cutting me off mid-sentence.

I couldn’t even finish my thought, gasping for breath instead.

After a few moments, I managed to choke out words.

“Why are you letting them live?

I bet you’ve already killed my brother.”

He didn’t answer.

“I miss Alicia.”

“…Do you think killing these people will bring your sister back?”

“They’re not people. They’re not! How many times do I have to say it before you get it, you damn idiot?

Family or not, they all deserve to die!”

Theo bit his lip, then struck me across the face with his fist.

That was the last thing I remembered before losing consciousness.