Ch.6Why Always Attack the Academy? – 1

When the sword meets the pitch-black flames, heat scatters in all directions.

The pulse of magic is so intense it sends chills down the spine, permeated with thick killing intent.

The area has been completely devastated. Injured people are everywhere.

They must be saved. They must be cared for. They’re still fragile saplings.

If more time is wasted, countless lives will be lost.

But Jiyoon Han had no energy to spare for them.

“What’s this? Why are you so weak?”

The black shadow ripples and transforms into a massive sword.

It drops directly above Jiyoon Han’s head, reminiscent of an executioner.

CRASH—!

“Kuk!”

A woman who disappeared cursing and hating the world and people.

Someone who seemed ready to swing her blade at any moment, honed to extreme sharpness since her departure.

Now she has returned with even deeper killing intent.

Her identity: one of the Elder, once a comrade and hero, now a betrayer of humanity.

“Our Jiyoon, your skills have really deteriorated, haven’t they? Is that all you’ve got for swordplay?”

“Shut up.”

“My, what a way to speak to your big sister.”

At the black woman’s words, Jiyoon Han grits her teeth with a crunch.

Blue energy surges from Jiyoon Han’s sword, cutting through the shadows.

The woman who had been acting so leisurely backs away from the force.

Simultaneously, her shadow splits in two and scatters across the floor.

“What a shame! If you’d swung just a bit harder, you could have sliced this sister’s neck clean off!”

“I told you to shut up. And what’s with the ‘sister’ talk when you’re only a month older? I said I’d kill you if you said that again, Sujin Hyun.”

Sujin Hyun. A former S-class ability user like herself. Once a comrade.

In the early days, she was brighter and more righteous than anyone.

Someone you could rely on. A sacred presence in the Magic Class.

But after getting involved in an incident, she came to hate the world and people.

In the end, she chose to become people’s nightmare instead of their hope.

“Don’t just talk big, show me more power. You haven’t even used half your strength yet.”

“Half is enough for someone like you.”

“Liar. Don’t I know you? I know exactly what you’re thinking right now.”

Sujin Hyun wiggles her pinky finger slightly.

A student’s body rises into the air.

“If you keep getting distracted, I might just kill them all.”

“…Rotten bitch.”

“Thanks for the compliment. I’m moved to tears!”

Jiyoon Han, biting her lip until it bled, looked around.

Black threads were wrapped around the bodies of several students lying on the ground.

Though they looked like ordinary strings, the moment they’re pulled, blood would spray everywhere.

‘Those threads, those shadows were so reliable when they were embedded in monsters’ bodies.’

It was exactly the same back then.

She would control monsters by taking them hostage, making them attack the remaining ones.

Hesitate and your kind dies; attack and your kind still dies.

Now she’s doing the same thing to people instead of monsters.

And knowing Sujin Hyun, she would definitely keep her word.

“You seem to be holding back because you’re worried about these kids… I warned you, Jiyoon.”

With a bright smile, the demon who crawled up from hell whispers.

“If you don’t fight properly, I’ll dissect them one by one.”

Grind—

She gritted her teeth, but there was little she could do.

If she fought with full power as Sujin Hyun wanted, the injured would be caught in the crossfire.

But if she tried to stall for time, that woman wouldn’t be fooled so easily.

There was only one option: to buy time until reinforcements arrived.

Fortunately, the Academy Head wasn’t far away, so if she could just stall…

“Again. I can see right through your thoughts.”

Hovering in the air, Sujin Hyun giggles and continues.

“If you’re waiting for Hakjun Ma, that old man, don’t bother. Do you think we’re idiots? Would we not have planned for his presence? We’ve matched our forces precisely to his level, so you’ll be able to stall for some time.”

Jiyoon Han, who was about to hurl insults, suddenly froze.

She had detected something strange in Sujin Hyun’s words.

At first, she thought it was just a surprise attack, aimed at destroying the Academy.

But just now, Sujin Hyun herself mentioned it—that they would be able to stall for time.

‘Not assassinating the Academy Head, but simply preventing him from entering the scene?’

Thinking about it, that wasn’t the only suspicious point.

Sujin Hyun was telling her to give it her all, yet she herself wasn’t using her full power.

She was demanding full strength while simultaneously preventing it by taking hostages.

As if saying, you need to stay here with me for a long, long time.

“…Ha. You rotten bitch.”

“Hmm?”

“You had another scheme. This wasn’t simply about a surprise attack.”

“Wow. Our Jiyoon has gotten sharper! This sister is so moved she could cry.”

SWOOSH—!

The shadow transforms into a black blade, aiming for Jiyoon Han’s shoulder.

It moved almost too fast to see, but Jiyoon Han blocked it without difficulty.

Again, she could clearly feel that it wasn’t delivered with full power.

“Impressive. In that spirit, this sister will kindly tell you. You know what villains always do? Boast about their plans. I wanted to try that too.”

“What…”

“I heard a very attractive raw gem has entered recently?”

It was a completely random statement, but Jiyoon Han instinctively understood what the “raw gem” meant.

The raw gem referred to the new students who had recently entered the Academy.

“Stupid people say it’s worthless, but we saw it. The potential that gem holds. The blood festival condensed and condensed inside! So we’re going to take it. Breaking through all the barriers the Academy has set up… Yes! Like phantom thieves, with elegance.”

Jiyoon Han frantically racked her brain. Who could this student “raw gem” be?

Who would be so important that villains would mobilize even the Elder to kidnap them?

Among the first-years who were relatively undervalued, who could it be…

‘…No way?’

The face of a female student comes to mind.

Someone who inherited the blood of a great family but didn’t possess overwhelming talent.

Someone who was commonly treated as defective in the world.

“The granddaughter of Minseong Kang, right? Ah, I’m so excited. What will that doting grandfather do when he hears his granddaughter has been kidnapped by villains? What will he say to Academy Head Hakjun Ma, and what reckless actions will he take? I’m so curious. Ah, this is so fun!”

At Sujin Hyun’s words, Jiyoon Han bit her lip again.

Could the professors hold out until external support arrived?

It’s not impossible since Sujin Hyun was focused on her, and the remaining experts were dealing with the Academy Head.

If they could just hold on a little longer, these villains would have to retreat without achieving their goal…

“Oh, Jiyoon. By the way, I’m not the only one who came.”

“…What?”

When Jiyoon Han gave her a disbelieving look, Sujin Hyun continued with a cackle.

“Are you stupid? Did you think only one Elder would come for this crazy mission?”

With those words, Jiyoon Han had to admit she’d been completely blindsided.

Until now, there had never been a case where two Elders moved together at once.

They were the type who couldn’t even cooperate, let alone work in harmony.

That’s why the association, herself, and Hakjun Ma—everyone had let their guard down.

“You look much more urgent now. Hehehe. Jiyoon. Let’s make a bet. I’ll do this. If you do what I ask, I’ll step aside. And I won’t interfere anymore. How about it?”

Smiling, Sujin Hyun slowly raises her hand.

The student bound by black threads rises with it.

“The condition of the bet is this: kill this student with your own hands.”

“Sujin Hyun!”

“No time to think? Time is ticking away, Jiyoon! Tick— tock— tick— tock—.”

*

“Soohyun Kim?”

“N-no! I’m not Soohyun Kim…!”

STAB—!

Instead of an answer, a spear pierces through the girl’s stomach.

With a gurgle of dark red blood, the girl’s body goes limp.

The man holding the spear looked like a drowned corpse.

With a bluish pallor, water dripping from his entire body.

He dragged one leg as he searched for his target.

“Soohyun Kim?”

“S-Soohyun Kim went that way just now!”

At the male student’s cry, the man slowly turned around.

Security personnel and professors tried to block his path, but they were finished with a single thrust.

From the start, it was impossible for ordinary ability users to withstand an Elder.

After that, the man continued dragging his body along until he saw a female student and spoke.

“…Found you.”

Right there was what he—or rather, what someone—wanted.

He wanted to finish quickly and return. He wanted to escape this disgusting place.

“Ah, aaaaah!”

Soohyun Kim in front of him seemed to sense the danger she was in.

She quickly turned and fled. But her leg was injured from the explosion, slowing her down.

No matter how much she ran, the distance between her and the spear-wielding man grew shorter.

“Haak! Hak!”

The more she moved, the more she bled.

And the bleeding increasingly stiffened Soohyun Kim’s body.

“Help me! Save me! P-please, someone save me!”

There was no response to her pleas for help.

She was terrified. That spear-wielding man was like a ghost.

Dripping with the aura of death, dragging his leg as he approached.

THUD—!

“Augh!”

Perhaps from losing too much blood, her legs gave out completely and she collapsed.

Looking back, she saw the man was right behind her. Close enough to reach out and touch.

WHOOSH—

Suddenly, Soohyun Kim felt herself being pulled forward.

And between her and the ghost with the spear, a man stepped in.

“Move.”

The ghost points his spear and speaks in an eerie voice.

If you move, you won’t die. So get out of the way.

This is the first and last chance to survive.

But.

“I’m sorry. I don’t think I can do that.”

The man blocking the way flatly rejected his offer.