Ch.165Episode 33. The Evil Sky Begins to Move (10)

* @ *

“How did you manage to subjugate those creatures?”

Dozens of followers-turned-monsters were prostrated before Starlight. In his hand was a black sword, its blade adorned with countless constellations.

“You engrave it into their instincts. That they must never touch this one. That they cannot escape from me. Even animals instinctively know who’s superior, don’t they?”

Starlight had tortured them, exploiting their regenerative abilities until they begged for death. Since they couldn’t actually speak, he inflicted pain until their minds were completely broken.

Then he deliberately released a few, only to recapture and kill them, engraving fear into their instincts.

He also used a technique called “Howling of the Constellations” to indirectly issue commands into their minds.

It was difficult to use due to the penalty requiring the target’s mind to be weakened, but once affected, Starlight essentially owned their lifeline.

After all, among those indirect commands, he could also issue the order to “commit suicide.”

“Anyway, how much easier it would be if they just listened when asked nicely.”

Starlight extinguished the intense constellation light emanating from the blade. When he released his hand from the sword, the weapon disappeared.

“Pagun.”

“Yes.”

“I’m leaving two of these here. You take these two and your men to capture Yujin.”

“But Yujin can’t be captured with just this. Even Moonlight’s core forces were defeated by Yujin alone—”

“I gave you something too, didn’t I?”

“Pardon?”

Pagun’s eyes widened as he belatedly processed Starlight’s words.

“No way…!”

“Yes. Use it. The eX Potion. Those guys won’t know, but tell them to use it no matter what.”

Starlight gestured with his chin toward the blankly standing organization members.

‘Drinking this is basically a fucking death sentence…’

Pagun knew that the side effects of the eX Potion hadn’t been fully controlled yet, but he couldn’t possibly overcome Starlight’s pressure. If he refused here, Pagun would be a dead man.

“I’m going to the Academy, trusting you’ll handle this well. I’ll kill all those special class kids that Yujin cares about.”

Even as he said this, Starlight didn’t believe they could kill Yujin. He was merely using them to buy time so Yujin couldn’t immediately come up to the Academy.

“And you’d better take the eX Potion. You’ll either die or rot in prison for the rest of your life if you lose to Yujin anyway.”

* @ *

“Ah… fuck…”

Pagun lay sprawled on the ground, vomiting blood.

His limbs were still attached but dangled uselessly, and his entire body was damaged by Yujin’s electric shock.

Sparks clung to his body like leeches, not only preventing his recovery but also continuously inflicting pain.

“Urgh…”

On top of that, he had to endure the pain of his entire body being slashed apart from the side effects of the eX Potion. Pagun struggled to speak with a voice that barely came out.

“Kill me… please kill me…”

Though Pagun painfully expressed his wish, the heroes remained tense, keeping their weapons pointed at him.

“He’s dying. What should we do about this?”

“For now, Yujin the Hero said to keep him alive. Apparently, he’s the only one who maintained his sanity after drinking the eX Potion.”

“Is that so? But… what is this eX Potion?”

“An ability amplification potion… supposedly… but I can’t be sure if that’s what it really is.”

The senior hero said while smoking a cigarette.

“If the price for gaining such power is this horrific, I’d rather live being weak.”

Looking down at Pagun’s condition, they shuddered in disgust.

“I agree.”

“By the way, will he be alright? Yujin the Hero, his left arm was damaged while protecting us.”

“If it goes badly, that could end his hero career. Once a hero’s body is damaged anywhere, it’s not easy to return to duty.”

“That can’t be…”

“So let’s hope that doesn’t happen. Still, isn’t it admirable? That spirit of sacrifice, rushing to protect students without regard for his own condition.”

“Yes. He was truly exemplary as a hero. Made me realize how far I still have to go.”

And so, unbeknownst to Yujin, positive stories about him were spreading one by one.

* @ *

Slash!

The instructor cut off a follower’s arm, but was shocked to see it regenerate within seconds.

“What is this! What the hell!!”

“Stay calm and deal with it…! The students’ safety comes first! Instructors, escort the students and everyone inside the Academy to minimize casualties!! If necessary, I’ll authorize students to use their abilities!”

“Understood!”

Kang Chan shouted, giving instructions to the surrounding instructors.

Normally, directing instructors was the student dean’s job. However, due to the villains’ sudden attack, the student dean had been incapacitated, leaving no one to command.

So Kang Chan had no choice but to take charge.

“Don’t try to subdue them! Kill them! I’ll take responsibility! I’ll say it again, we absolutely cannot allow casualties!”

“Yes!”

“GRAAAH!”

“You bastards…!”

Two followers howled and lunged at Kang Chan. He extended his hand, emitting a heat haze to restrain their movements.

“Hup!”

A much more powerful telekinesis.

Thanks to Yujin, he had been able to learn telekinesis under Lee Bangsil, and now possessed power clearly different from before.

“AAAAGH!!”

As he closed his hand, the creatures’ bodies twisted and they began screaming in agony. Then he clenched his fist.

“Compression.”

With a cracking sound, the followers’ bodies twisted grotesquely before finally bursting. No matter how enhanced their recovery ability was, they couldn’t survive having their heads explode.

“What the hell are these guys doing…”

As he was looking at the crushed corpses and about to move elsewhere, one follower sprang from his blind spot, kicking off the ground to attack Kang Chan from behind.

He sensed the presence too late and turned, but couldn’t avoid the fingertips aimed at his face.

Slash!

“GAAAK!”

With what seemed like a flash of light, a white-haired woman appeared. The arm of the creature trying to stab Kang Chan’s face flew into the air.

“What…?”

“Flash Strike.”

Jung Iyeon’s attack had hit precisely, but the follower quickly regenerated its forearm. It felt no pain and immediately rushed toward Jung Iyeon. Or rather, it tried to.

Suddenly, black flames enveloped its entire body, preventing it from moving.

“Grr…?”

“Kukukuku! Finally, it’s my turn to shine!”

Koo Yeonhwa stood on a nearby bench, hand on her face, letting out a sinister laugh.

“Bow before my greatness! My name is Dark Wizard Magician!”

“…Didn’t you agree to drop that concept?”

Jung Iyeon objected, dumbfounded. Koo Yeonhwa, wearing a black dress after a long time, folded her arms and clicked her tongue.

“I just felt like striking a pose. I’ve always wanted to do this.”

She was still as childish as ever.

“Really? It does look fun, I admit.”

“Right? Want to go to Comic World with me in January?”

“…I’ll pass.”

Jung Iyeon flatly rejected Koo Yeonhwa’s invitation to geek out.

Meanwhile, the follower resisted and shook off the black flames.

“GRAA—AH?”

However, as soon as it escaped the flames, its head separated from its body. The head rolled lifelessly on the ground as the body collapsed.

“If you’re going to do it, do it properly.”

Yu Ari, appearing from the darkness, clicked her tongue as she shook the blood off her blade.

“Execution.”

It was a combination technique that used “Foresight” to predict the follower’s movements, then precisely targeted vital points for an instant kill.

“I knew Senior Yu Ari would finish it!”

“…This is why we can’t beat the instructor.”

“Come on, we couldn’t beat the instructor no matter who came!”

Koo Yeonhwa shrugged off her criticism. Yu Ari clicked her tongue in disapproval.

“Anyway… this is pretty grotesque.”

“Can’t be helped. If we don’t kill them, we die. By the way, where are the instructor and Yeonmu-hee?”

“You didn’t know? Those two went on a date.”

“What?! That woman…!”

Seeing the three casually chatting in this life-or-death situation, Kang Chan couldn’t help but laugh.

“Hey! More are coming!”

“Oh, really…! How many are there!”

The three rushed forward without hesitation, quickly dispatching the villains near the dormitory.

Kang Chan could only watch their excellent coordination, where each attack complemented rather than interfered with the others.

‘This is the Special Class…’

Kang Chan felt a strange sense of pride, even though it wasn’t his class.

Just a year ago, the Special Class was criticized as a gathering place for troublemakers.

But the new semester had brought rapid positive changes to the Special Class.

Not only did they attend lectures, but they never skipped class and showed respect toward instructors and professors.

Others might take this for granted, but given the Special Class’s previously terrible behavior, the change was significant to the faculty.

Moreover, they had achieved remarkable growth in their respective fields and were now performing on par with active heroes.

‘Did the Special Class change because Yujin became their instructor…? No, it’s not just the Special Class that changed.’

He clenched his fist, remembering that he too had been given an opportunity to grow thanks to Yujin.

But regardless of how impressive the Special Class was, as an instructor, he had a duty to protect his students.

“You guys, if you use your abilities…!”

“Didn’t you say we could?”

“Isn’t this the time to save as many people as possible?”

“When else am I supposed to shine if not now!”

The Special Class boldly talked back to Kang Chan.

They showed no deference to the instructor. The Special Class was indeed special.

“Fine…! Stop there and join the evacuating students.”

“But villains are still running rampant!”

Koo Yeonhwa pointed to the villains rampaging while confronting heroes.

“I’m telling you to protect the students. You can do that, can’t you?”

“I see! It’s a civilian evacuation drill!”

“Oh, is that what this is?”

“I don’t think this is a drill…”

Jung Iyeon snapped her fingers as she spoke, and Koo Yeonhwa agreed. Yu Ari, a step behind them cleaning blood from her blade, muttered quietly.

Kang Chan sighed as he watched the three run toward the evacuating students.

As he was about to use telekinesis on another villain, blue hair visible on top of a building caught his eye.

“The Ice Queen…”

A smile of relief spread across Kang Chan’s face.

* @ *

“Haah.”

White breath dispersed through her blue hair.

Ha Yuri sighed as she brushed back her hair.

“At this rate, I won’t be able to face Yujin.”

By the time Yujin had contacted Ha Yuri, the villains had already arrived at the Academy.

“These damn villains. I should freeze them all and put them on display.”

The moment she put strength into her legs, vast amounts of ice began to pour forth.

“Glacier Zone.”

Before she even finished speaking, glaciers spread throughout the Academy grounds.

“Freeze, all of you.”

“Ice Prison.”

All followers who stepped onto the glacier zone began to freeze without exception.

Naturally, the instructors, students, and civilians inside the Academy suffered no damage.

The followers, trapped immobile in ice pillars, screamed as the cold penetrated their skin.

“That’s right. Freeze nicely like that. That man was strange indeed.”

Ha Yuri chuckled, remembering Yujin who had instantly melted away the ice that froze his body.

“Now, what should I do with these bastards?”

With Ha Yuri’s appearance, the chaotic Academy interior instantly became quiet.

People who belatedly noticed her presence felt relieved, while simultaneously realizing once again why she was considered one of Korea’s representative heroes.