Chapter 116: The Angel Meets the Assassin (1)

Episode 116: The Angel Meets the Assassin (1)

One day, after the Monster Festival.

The Central Academy was getting chilly.

“Ah, it’s so cold. Winter is still a long way off, why is it like this?”

“Seriously. We were just playing in the warm south sea, and now that we’re back at the academy… I’m freezing my ass off.”

The students were especially sensitive to the change in weather, after all, they had just returned from the warm south sea to this peninsula with four distinct seasons.

“Is it winter already?”

“It’s not winter yet.”

They couldn’t help but mutter those words.

“I’m glad I took out my winter uniform.”

Leffrey, now wearing his academy winter uniform, his angelic appearance went quite well with it.

No, it was a perfect match. A princely look that wasn’t too over-the-top, yet incredibly charming?

He might as well have wings on his back.

“Damn.”

“Leffrey, do you use Instagram or something?”

“No, I don’t…”

“Then can I take a picture?”

Click—Click—A few even asked Leffrey to pose for them, and Leffrey, readily posing, utilized his beauty.

“So cute!”

“He’s killing me.”

“Here, have this! And this too!”

Sweet treats, hot cocoa, and various other snacks were offered as a reward for taking pictures. Leffrey, without refusing, happily ate the gifts, going “Munch munch.”

“Delicious! Guys! Thank you!”

Leffrey smiled brightly.

A few students, seeing that, blushed and turned away, and a few even suffered nosebleeds, staggering.

Leffrey, seeing that, smiled devilishly in his heart.

‘Hehehe, it’s working. Now, no matter which department I go to…’

He was Leffrey, the Evil Angel, excited at the thought of getting free snacks from those kids. The students gathered here were from the Swordsmanship, Archery, Martial Arts, and even the Magical Studies Departments.

All students who had either been helped by Leffrey or had become friends with him through the Volunteer Club.

Truly, Leffrey, the Connection Angel. Leffrey, the Popular Angel.

‘Now I can get free snacks from any department!’

An angel who could get free snacks no matter which department he visited. Anyway, that was Leffrey’s evil plan.

“But… I don’t see any assassination students.”

Leffrey asked. He had seen even Magical Studies students while walking around, so why couldn’t he find a single one from the assassination department?

“Well, they’re Assassins. They’re probably all hiding.”

“No, then are the Magical Studies students always teleporting around? What kind of logic is that?”

“Then what is it?”

At this, a student from the Martial Arts Department looked around and whispered.

“They’re saying that he’s back from his business trip.”

“Who?”

“The assassination department professor.”

Gulp—The heartwarming atmosphere created by Leffrey’s cuteness had completely disappeared, and an awkward tension filled the air.

“Has anyone seen the assassination department professor among us first-years?”

“Only the assassination students have, I think. And because of ‘that incident’ last time, he was sent on a business trip, as a sort of disciplinary action…”

“Right, that incident.”

Information about the assassination department professor started to spread among the students.

“But to think that even Professor Park Jin-ho couldn’t subdue him during that incident…”

“He’s practically on par with Professor Park Jin-ho. There’s even a rumor that if he just had a better personality, he would have become the vice principal.”

“Right, they say he’s incredibly strong.”

The first thing the students mentioned about the assassination department professor was his strength.

‘I already know that.’

Leffrey nodded and listened.

“But… seeing as he’s walking around outside like this…”

“He must have a bad personality.”

“Don’t tell me, worse than Professor Lusa?”

“It’s… a different kind of bad, they say…”

And their second description of him: his bad personality.

‘I know he hates and despises the demon king… but the assassination department professor… did he have a bad personality? I’m not sure about that one.’

Leffrey tilted his head. And what was this ‘incident’ they were talking about?

“Hey, guys. I’m a little out of the loop… what’s this incident you’re talking about?”

In the end, Leffrey asked.

Although the assassination department had nothing to do with him… he felt that he should know about it. What incident are they talking about?

Even Leffrey, who came from the future, didn’t know everything. If he knew everything, then he would be God, not an angel.

“Ah, I only heard rumors about this…”

An archery student carefully said,

“They say that… the assassination professor challenged the Headmaster.”

Leffrey was shocked to hear that. The assassination department professor, Merrill Sadarin, challenged Iriel, the headmaster of the Central Superhuman Academy?

‘Wait, weren’t all the professors supposed to be obedient to the Headmaster? And to challenge that terrifying being who can merge worlds together? Merrill, just what…’

Leffrey gulped.

‘Could it be… Merrill was that strong?’

What they said next was even more shocking.

“No, wait, why did the assassination professor challenge the Headmaster? That’s insubordination.”

“W-Well, I’m not sure either, but…”

The student said,

“They’re saying that he declared he would no longer kneel to any being of Heaven…”

“I heard he just hates all Heavenly bastards.”

“No, I heard he said he’d crush anyone for even having a character that had ‘heaven’ in their name.” (TL Note: Korean names and all that)

Truly shocking words.

Leffrey, sweating, asked again,

“I-Is that… really true?”

“Yes.”

Leffrey started to tremble slightly.

It probably wasn’t because of the cold.

* * *

In the grand marble hallway of the Central Academy. It was as if they had taken a section of a royal palace where modern Western royalty might live and transported it here.

It was so high and wide that even dozens of people walking shoulder-to-shoulder wouldn’t feel cramped. It felt more like a small gallery than a hallway.

A man stood in the middle of that hallway.

Park Jin-ho, the vice principal of the Central Academy and one of humanity’s strongest swordsmen, was watching a woman with an anxious expression.

“Have you done some reflecting?”

“…Reflecting?”

The woman tilted her head at Park Jin-ho’s words.

“What have I done wrong?”

Then she said confidently,

“I just pointed my sword at a few extraterrestrials who are abusing the world to protect humanity. Aren’t you overreacting a little?”

“…You’re not making sense.”

Park Jin-ho shook his head as if in disbelief, then walked down the hallway alongside the woman.

“How are things in the Assassination Department?”

“As expected, my precious disciple, Koo Sang-hyuk, is doing a great job. It’s a shame that such a talent is only the vice president of the student council… just how strong of a monster is Yu Si-hyun?”

“A genius who awakened to an Ultimate Skill before she even turned twenty, there’s no need to say more.”

Kukukuk. Merrill, the professor of the Assassination Department who heard this, chuckled as if amused.

“To awaken to an Ultimate Skill at that age. Humans truly are strong. Only humans are worthy of ruling the universe.”

“…That arrogance is what created the demon king.”

Merrill, filled with dissatisfaction, grumbled,

“Don’t be ridiculous. Just what did *we* do wrong? Are you saying this world is heading toward destruction because of the sins *we* committed? To destroy humanity to protect the world? Park Jin-ho, you’re a vice principal, and you’re buying into that ridiculous propaganda created by enemy forces?”

Park Jin-ho closed his eyes and muttered,

“This is why children who have never seen the demon king themselves are… You don’t even know what karma is.”

“Karma? A power that transcends the properties of all other powers and guides the direction of the world? That’s just a conspiracy theory, like the flat-earth theory or the moon landing hoax.”

Merrill said confidently.

Merrill Sadarin, the only one among the professors who hadn’t participated in the Great War. But she was strong enough to defeat Lusa in close combat and even push back Park Jin-ho.

“Whatever that power is, I’ll be the one to kill the demon king.”

That’s why she became a professor.

The youngest professor. She wasn’t that much older than the students.

But she was the strongest assassin.

She had a slim physique with toned muscles befitting an assassin, and just like the other professors, her beauty was beyond just being pretty, it was captivating.

Her mysterious combination of silver hair and blue eyes, made Merrill seem more like a saint or a princess than an assassin.

And if there’s a peculiar point to note, it’s that her eyes are really gentle… Her eyes radiated a warmth that made her seem more like a caregiver than an assassin.

And Merrill, befitting an assassin,

actively used that beauty in her assassinations.

Especially to lull her targets into a false sense of security.

“So Professor Merrill, what did you do during your suspension? You didn’t cause any trouble at the Southern Academy, right?”

“Trouble? Just what kind of person do you think I am?”

“For example, stalking a pretty boy…”

Merrill’s face turned bright red, and she shouted,

“Stalking a pretty boy?! I have no such vulgar hobby!”

“Hmmm…”

Park Jin-ho’s eyes fell on Merrill’s pocket. Or rather, on the smartphone inside her pocket…

“Is the wallpaper on your smartphone still a picture of a pretty boy actor?”

“….!”

Merrill opened and closed her mouth, then waved her hands dismissively. Her confident demeanor from just a moment ago was gone, replaced with obvious embarrassment.

“When did you even see that?”

“It was a guess.”

And a brief moment of silence followed.

“…”

“Haah…”

Park Jin-ho looked at Merrill and said,

“Refrain from any questionable behavior.”

“Ah, yes.”

Thus, the two of them walked down the hallway. But the hallway, which was no different from a gallery, was too long to walk in silence.

Merrill subtly changed the subject.

“Ah, and… you said there’s an angel among the new students, right?”

“Why are you asking?”

The assassination department professor continued,

“No, well, you refused all my requests to see him. I said I wanted to see what he looked like, where he lived, what he does… you refused them all.”

“…What are you planning?”

Smirk- Merrill just smiled without a word. Park Jin-ho, seeing that, said with anger in his voice.

“Leffrey is a young angel who knows nothing. He knows nothing of the war in Heaven, the demon king’s birth, or the destruction of the other world. He’s just another boy his age with angelic powers.”

“…Do you believe that?”

Park Jin-ho nodded vigorously.

“It’s not a matter of belief. It’s the truth. We’re looking at that child not as an angel, but as one of our students with a kind heart.”

“And then you’ll be betrayed.”

Merrill casually took a step away from Park Jin-ho. Park Jin-ho said with a hint of anger,

“If you touch Leffrey, it won’t end with just a suspension.”

“Haha, even the attempt to break into the Headmaster’s castle only ended with a suspension. Isn’t it a bit harsh to punish me for touching a mere student?”

“Yes. And so? If you lay a single finger on Leffrey, this professor will personally punish you.”

Merrill stuck her tongue out.

“You can try.”

Thus, Merrill disappeared into the darkness. Once she activated her concealment, not even Park Jin-ho, the Sword Saint, could find her.

“Merrill. Come out here!”

Merrill, watching the enraged Park Jin-ho who was exuding killing intent, thought,

‘Hmph, an angel.’

Merrill hated angels.

But she had never seen an angel in person. The only angels she had seen were the bizarre, multi-winged angels from the internet, or the grotesque, deformed depictions of the demon king.

Even when she tried to learn more about Leffrey… because of Park Jin-ho and the other professors, she had never seen what he looked like.

‘To coexist with such a grotesque being…? And if he’s even of the same kind as the demon king… how terrifying would that be…?’

She couldn’t leave such a being alive.

A being like that deserved punishment.

Thus, as soon as Merrill was released from her suspension, she began plotting another sin.