Chapter 282

Chapter 282

I Became the Only Non-mage in the Academy.

Episode 282: Closing The Gate (5)

If the goals of other Great Evils were the resurrection of the Evil God or the destruction of the world called Earth, the goal of Mad Evil was survival.

Despite receiving the favor of the Evil God thanks to his talents, he didn’t blindly worship the deity.

‘That’s why he’s both trustworthy and untrustworthy.’

Even as a Mine, swearing an oath to the Evil God ensured some level of reliability.

However, that’s not the case with him.

Even if he swore in the name of the Evil God, he’d do whatever it took to break that oath and survive if he deemed his life in danger.

That said, if his survival was on the line, Mad Evil could be considered reliable.

He became a Mine to prolong his life, and as a Mine, he kidnapped people, turning them into his clones or experimenting for life extension.

‘Disgusting bastard.’

Even among the Mines, he was considered the worst.

If the Emperor was called a Puppeteer, Mad Evil was often called an Architect.

That’s because he implanted the body parts of other monstrous creatures into puppets or human bodies to make them stronger.

-Master?

‘What?’

-It’s nothing.

Black Heaven started to say something but stopped.

As soon as I located Mad Evil’s position through the black aura, I moved.

‘Subdue him first.’

Mad Evil was troublesome.

Unlike other Great Evils, most of his strength was focused on escape.

Even when cornered, he was strong—on a level just below Vicious Abomination.

If he had even one clone, he could instantly swap positions, making him difficult to track.

‘It’s not something that really matters.’

Step.

I walked.

The black aura spread around me, distorting the surroundings like an oppressive haze.

Step.

I walked.

Space folded as I moved, and within two steps, I was already chasing Mad Evil.

-A black sky? Don’t tell me… is he coming after me?

I found him.

Step.

The sound of footsteps.

Footsteps that shouldn’t be heard.

Mad Evil felt a chill run down his spine at the sound.

‘How?’

It meant that the opponent had completely bypassed his sensory perception and reached him.

Such a feat was usually only possible for beings several levels above his own.

The problem was his own level.

As a Great Evil, he was considered comparable to transcendents, yet he hadn’t ‘detected’ the other’s presence.

……!

Mad Evil turned around.

A black hooded jacket. Black pants. A plain black short-sleeved shirt underneath.

Lee Seo-ha, dressed entirely in black, didn’t respond to Mad Evil’s shocked expression.

He silently extended his hand.

The blackened hand seemed as if it could seize everything from Mad Evil in an instant.

“Wait! Your presence here means you’ve received an answer from the Electronic Witch, right?”

Mad Evil quickly retreated, stretching out his hand.

Condensed white energy gathered in his palm.

“And what of it?”

“Let’s make a deal. The terms are simple. All you have to do is spare my life.”

Mad Evil spoke hurriedly.

“A deal?”

“Yes. I have a piece of useful information. Something you’d absolutely accept, no matter what.”

Information.

It didn’t seem particularly necessary.

Whatever information Mad Evil had likely wouldn’t be more useful than what Seo-ha already knew.

Still, Lee Seo-ha asked, just in case.

“What is it?”

“Deceptive Evil. Do you know he’s plotting to summon an Evil God?”

“Deceptive Evil.”

Seo-ha thought about Deceptive Evil.

Known as the Deceptive One, he was a schemer like Mad Evil, working from the shadows.

Cunning and bothersome to deal with.

‘If it’s Deceptive Evil…’

Unlike Mad Evil, he worshiped his god.

He was the kind of person who’d sacrifice his own life if it meant summoning the Evil God.

Moreover, he knew that Seo-ha was openly hostile to beings of evil.

This meant Deceptive Evil would gamble his life to summon the Evil God.

‘Good.’

-Relieved?

‘Yes. Truly relieved.’

When Black Heaven asked this, Seo-ha felt a wave of relief and thought to himself.

That was what he wanted: for Deceptive Evil to summon the Evil God.

If the Evil God was summoned, the aftermath would be catastrophic.

But it was better than the scene from a potential bad ending.

‘They’re destined to come to Earth anyway.’

That was the worst of the worst-case scenarios.

The Evil Gods were overwhelmingly powerful.

They’re anomalies, like glitches in existence, created during the birth of the universe by the Creator God.

And due to their nature, only one being could be summoned at a time.

However, in a certain bad ending, when specific “conditions” were met, the worst-case scenario unfolded.

There’s a possibility they could invade all at once.

Lee Seo-ha believed he could kill an Evil God.

Though his abilities were not yet perfected and he’s still training tirelessly,

‘Soon.’

The martial arts he, the Heavenly Demon, and Kim Seo-hyun, had developed will soon be complete.

The power to destroy the Evil Gods would soon be ready.

But he remained wary of the possibility of multiple Evil Gods breaking through the barrier and descending at once.

“If it’s just one, I can manage somehow.”

The cost would be high.

Even if one descended prematurely, many transcendents and supreme heroes would perish. The aftermath of the descent would also claim the lives of many civilians.

However, the important thing was that the Evil God could be killed.

If it was just one.

But if they swarmed together, it would be unmanageable in the current state. The entire Earth could be destroyed.

The Black God that consumed Destruction and the owner of Destruction of Heaven.

When just those two descended, most of the continents disappeared, leaving only oceans behind.

When Destruction of Heaven descended and rampaged for a single day, 99% of Earth’s lifeforms were wiped out.

And there’s something else.

The Black God slumbering within his body.

Although Seo-ha obtained a body upon reaching transcendence, the Black God remained enigmatic.

It seems oblivious to the fact that Seo-ha had acquired black energy…

‘Could it really be?’

Perhaps it’s only pretending to be dormant within his body, waiting for an opportunity to take over.

Though uncertain, Seo-ha kept many possibilities in mind.

He stored this thought in a corner of his mind and moved his body.

For now, the immediate issue in front of him required attention.

‘Let’s take this guy along.’

Seo-ha opened a spatial gate.

Mad Evil extended a white hand.

Seo-ha extended his own, blackened hand, which shattered Mad Evil’s white sphere with a crack—!

Mad Evil gave up on escaping at that moment.

‘A clone, huh.’

This body was merely a clone.

But that power—the blackened force—could even bypass that and deal a blow to the main body.

The power that could dye everything in black screamed danger to his instincts.

“I surrender…! I surrender.”

“That’s your problem.”

Seo-ha smirked and twisted his lips.

“First, let’s make sure you can’t even think about running away.”

“So, this is what you’ve brought back?”

Ershil looked at Mad Evil with amusement.

“…I thought I’d feel an overwhelming urge to kill the object of my revenge.”

The Electronic Witch gazed at Mad Evil with a complex expression.

His limbs were completely engulfed in black, and his barely breathing body had been dragged back.

When his ridiculous clown mask was removed, a featureless black egg-like face was revealed.

“So, do you not want to kill him?”

“No, that’s not it.”

The Electronic Witch spoke firmly.

“Heh. Are you someone who holds a grudge against me, Electronic Witch? You were quite the dangerous one.”

Mad Evil looked at Seo-ha with a strangely ecstatic expression.

“But my life won’t end so easily. That’s because your representative wants my information.”

Not really.

It was necessary for Deceptive Evil to summon the Evil God.

Seo-ha already knew where Deceptive Evil was attempting to summon the Evil God.

“Our representative wants your information?”

“Yes. Because Deceptive Evil is currently summoning the Evil God.”

“……”

The Electronic Witch closed her eyes.

“A summoning of the Evil God…”

“Yes, one of the things you all fear the most. No matter how monstrous your representative is, Evil Gods are beyond comprehension.”

Mad Evil may not be a fanatic for the Evil God, but he knows full well how horrifying they are.

They possess the power to toy with lifeforms as if they were mere playthings.

Transcendents may be revered by humans, but to the Evil Gods, even such transcendents are nothing more than slightly superior toys.

At least, that’s what the Evil Gods would think.

Though, to be honest, I’m not really sorry at all.

‘I already know everything.’

Even the fact that the information Mad Evil holds might be wrong.

Deceptive Evil, Mad Evil, and Holy Evil were schemers who craft intricate plans. They created the stage where the Great Evils can rampage freely.

It’s only natural they’d understand Mad Evil’s tendencies to some degree.

“…Representative, your expression is peculiar.”

Ershil approached me and spoke.

“Almost as if you already know the information.”

Her words echoed in my mind.

Using Cheong (a sensory technique), I quietly explained what I knew:

The information Mad Evil had was likely false and not something we needed anyway.

“Then I suppose we’ll have to rewrite the plan…”

Ershil flashed a sly smile, one tinged with an ominous, malicious air.

“Come to think of it, Seo-ha, you don’t seem to know why the Merchen family is so dangerous.”

A butterfly landed on the back of Ershil’s hand.

It glowed with an unnatural golden light, as if in a dreamlike state.

“An illusion? Illusions don’t work on me.”

One of Mad Evil’s abilities is Absolute Supremacy.

If fully developed, it evolves into Absolute Supremacy Under Heaven, an ability to rewind space and time within his own body.

Though he hadn’t reached that level, the incomplete skill still granted him near-immunity to all mental abilities.

‘Of course, even that alone makes him almost immune to all forms of psychic powers.’

It didn’t matter.

Ershil’s powers weren’t something so trivial.

Even if Mad Evil’s immunity was nearly complete, Ershil might still be able to penetrate it. If not, I could leave it to her regardless.

I explained this to the Electronic Witch in front of Mad Evil.

“…But is that really okay? If Deceptive Evil is summoning the Evil God, shouldn’t we extract as much information as possible from Mad Evil?”

“It doesn’t really matter. The information he has is probably false anyway.”

“…What nonsense. I swear on the Evil God that this is true—”

“You were deceived by Deceptive Evil.”

Mad Evil’s expression froze as if struck dumb by my words.

Well, he’d never know the truth.

“And pass this message to the other transcendents. If innocents or heroes are being sacrificed to the Evil God, they should begin their search immediately.”

“Innocent civilians and heroes, you say?”

The Electronic Witch hesitated after hearing my words.

“Yes. Spread the word as much as possible, through public announcements.”

“Heh, heh heh. Don’t tell me you plan to…”

“Exactly.”

“You’re insane! Just because you captured the essence of the Black Sun, you think you can glimpse a fraction of the Evil God? He is fallen and fallen again! Comparing him to the other Evil Gods is a grave insult!”

“…I’ll make sure to teach him thoroughly,” Ershil said with a hint of worry in her eyes as she approached Mad Evil.

I turned my back.

‘From others’ perspectives, this may seem like insanity.’

In reality, it was the most effective strategy. It was also the cleanest method.

‘At least three.’

The number of Evil Gods remaining was greater than that.

However, not all of them demanded our attention.

Some Evil Gods remained on their planets out of laziness, while others were deluded enough to believe the Creator God would eventually destroy the other Evil Gods for them.

At most, we needed to deal with five.

Or maybe just three.

I glanced at the guild’s training facility.

The Elder was meditating.

The Witch Maiden and someone else were sparring.

Seolhwa Ryeon and Eternal Heaven were meditating together.

Hong Yu-hwa was off in the distance, frowning over a book.

‘Train them as much as possible.’

And train myself.

I’d be grinding relentlessly during the remaining time.

Closed Door Training.

There wasn’t much to gain from this world as it stood. So, I needed to figure out how to control my power.

I opened the world of my mental image.

Creak.

A sound like a door opening echoed as I entered my inner world for training.

And just like that, a year passed.