Chapter 50: The Angel Who Creates a Club (3)

Episode 50

Leffrey, leaving the archery department, thought,

‘Hexi…’

There were many bad things about Hexi.

It wasn’t just the mental instability caused by the side effects of being an ‘Artificial Hero’… she was also the only professor colluding with an outside force.

And the name of that outside force was…

‘The Seocheon Yu, right? They secretly provided Hexi with addictive drugs. And it was later revealed that they used those drugs to control her.’

The Seocheon Yu, the world’s most powerful superhuman family, always kept a wary eye on the Central Academy professors, beings who were on par with them in terms of strength.

‘That’s why they targeted Hexi, the most unstable among the professors.’

Perhaps by now, Hexi had practically become a spy for the Seocheon Yu.

‘…It’s better this way. If she had agreed to be the club advisor and then betrayed me later under the Seocheon Yu’s orders, that would have been even more troublesome.’

Leffrey swallowed his bitterness and moved further away from the archery department’s territory.

At that moment, he heard voices from behind him.

“Professor!”

“Professor Hexi…!”

The archery department, which had been maintaining silence, suddenly became frantic.

“What’s happening…?”

Leffrey looked in the direction of the archery department.

Even Leffrey, who didn’t know much, could tell that something was wrong.

He didn’t know what the problem was, but Hexi had collapsed, clutching her chest, and the other students were running around in confusion.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but it seems like something an angel should handle…”

This was not something Leffrey could ignore.

If he could gain so much Angelic Power from saving future heroes, how much would he get from saving a current hero?

Leffrey shook his head.

“…No, it’s not about the Angelic Power.”

[An Artificial Hero is about to go berserk. It is your duty as an angel to stop this.]

[Danger.]

[Danger.]

Countless status window messages suddenly appeared.

The boy looked at the archery department once again.

Hexi, collapsed and clutching her chest, and the students who didn’t know what to do.

And some were even running away.

“No way… Don’t tell me…?”

The boy vividly remembered Hexi’s final moments. The battle where the Artificial Hero Hexi went completely berserk and died along with one of the demon army’s Four Heavenly Kings.

The aftermath of that battle had wiped out a small city in America.

‘The Central Academy is about the size of a small city too, right?’

Leffrey couldn’t help but run.

* * *

“Ugh.”

Hexi, curled up, was fighting against the sudden wave of pain.

And she clumsily swallowed a pill from the bottle.

‘Please…’

But her body, once it started to go berserk, couldn’t be calmed with mere medicine.

“Run away…!”

Hexi, squeezing out another word, muttered again,

“Professor!”

“Professor…”

But most of the students couldn’t bring themselves to leave Hexi’s side, tears welling up in their eyes.

“Sob… sob…”

Some were even crying.

This emotion went beyond a simple student-teacher relationship. It was a deep and heartfelt affection.

As explained earlier, most of the archery students were from noble families in the other world empire. And Hexi, during the demon army’s invasion, when the other world empire fell…

…had gone berserk, saving these children.

Of course, the price of going berserk was losing her companions, family, and friends, all by her own hand.

Perhaps Hexi was taking those drugs not just to suppress her berserk episodes… but also to forget that fact.

Hexi looked at the students fleeing with apologetic eyes. She wanted to tell them it was okay to run away. The rage emanating from a rampaging hero… was truly frightening and terrifying.

Besides, Hexi’s berserk episodes were notoriously cruel.

So it was natural for them to run away.

But some students remained. Those students seemed to have already made up their minds. To stay with Hexi until the very end.

To stay with a fake hero, created through filthy necromancy.

No, to stay with their true hero.

“I’m sorry.”

Hexi muttered, seeing them.

Even though their bodies had been brainwashed and modified when they were young and clueless…

She was a ‘hero’ to them. So she had to fulfill her duty as a hero.

“I don’t want to lose anyone anymore…”

Thud-

She tried to kill herself with an arrowhead.

But the arrowhead, made of adamantium, was the one that shattered.

…It was too late.

“Heh.”

Hexi laughed maniacally.

“Ah… this world abandoned by Heaven… this hellish world without angels…”

Her vision gradually turned red.

And then…

“Let it all burn. Hehehe.”

The hero’s rage flooded the entire academy. Hexi’s hands moved as if they were beyond her control, slowly reaching out towards the students.

Hexi screamed inwardly.

Please, someone stop me.

With a single gesture, the abandoned buildings crumbled. Within those buildings were various devices hidden to seal the Artificial Hero’s madness.

The moment those devices were destroyed, Hexi was instantly freed.

But as if those screams didn’t matter, the berserk Hexi approached the students with a cruel smile.

“Hexi! What’s wrong with you all of a sudden…?!”

By the time Park Jin-ho and the other professors realized what was happening, it was already too late.

In that sliver of time, Hexi smiled wickedly.

“Hehehe… if I kill all of you… will an angel descend to judge me?”

Just as she was about to tear her student, the one who believed in her, to pieces with a single gesture…

A boy blocked her path.

“No.”

“…?”

Hexi tilted her head.

In front of a monster who could destroy a small city, a monster powerful enough to die alongside a Demon King’s Four Heavenly Kings…

Leffrey declared boldly,

“I will not judge you.”

* * *

Why do Artificial Heroes go berserk? Leffrey had pondered this question for a long time (well, 3 minutes, actually).

First of all, what was a berserk episode? It was a state where a magical creature, triggered by something specific, surpasses its limits and rampages, losing all reason…

…That was what people called a berserk episode.

‘That’s what I learned in magical creature biology. Berserk episodes are often caused by a sophisticated biological mechanism, triggered when a magical creature faces a dangerous situation or when it doesn’t get the nutrients essential for its survival.’

Simply put, vampires went berserk to drink blood when they lacked blood, essential for their survival… and werewolves went berserk because they could only reproduce in that state.

Thus, berserk episodes were a sophisticated biological mechanism.

‘Then why do Artificial Heroes, the ultimate magical lifeforms, go berserk?’

Leffrey pondered for another 2 minutes.

And then carefully came to a conclusion.

‘It seems that Artificial Heroes… have a berserk mechanism similar to vampires. But while vampires go berserk because of blood, Artificial Heroes go berserk because of Angelic Power.’

Then the conclusion was that he could stop Hexi’s berserk episode by supplying her with Angelic Power.

So Leffrey ran.

Because only Leffrey could stop Hexi’s berserk episode.

‘This kind of episode can be easily calmed by providing the necessary element… I need to calm her down before things escalate!’

But the archery students, unaware of Leffrey’s thoughts… muttered “Is that first-year crazy?” as they saw Leffrey running towards them.

With Professor Hexi going berserk, instead of running away, he’s running towards her? They couldn’t help but think he was suicidal.

“Hey, first-year! What are you doing?!”

One of them, unable to just watch, grabbed Leffrey’s arm.

“I can stop her.”

“What?”

“I can stop her episode.”

He said with an air of responsibility. The senior archery student momentarily felt ashamed of himself for running away.

Of course, Leffrey was running towards Hexi because he judged this as the safest option, but the archery students didn’t know this.

To them, it just seemed like the boy was sacrificing himself.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Only other professors can stop the professor’s episode!”

“There’s no time.”

“You…”

“Someone has to stop her…! I have a way!”

The fleeing archery students looked at each other with confused expressions.

Finally, the student who had grabbed Leffrey, spoke up again in a trembling voice,

“Please…”

He was crying.

“Please save the professor.”

At this moment, most of the archery students were watching the foolish boy who was rushing towards the berserk Hexi.

No, they were cheering for him.

Ki-ki-ki- Hexi’s laughter of the began to reverberate throughout the archery department’s grounds.

“Hehehe… If I kill all of you… Will an angel descend to judge me…?”

Just as she was about to harm an innocent student…

A boy spoke up without fear.

“No.”

The boy, as if he were an angel, spread his arms wide and…

Hugged Hexi.

“I will not judge you.”

Leffrey embraced Hexi gently and radiated warm Angelic Power.

Hexi, feeling the warm Angelic Power emanating from the boy who was embracing her, muttered in disbelief,

“Wh-What are you doing…?”

Leffrey, with an angelic voice, said, holding Hexi,

“I’m late, aren’t I?”

“Y-You… You’re…?”

“Hexi, I’m your guardian angel.”

Leffrey, standing on his tiptoes, barely managed to pat Hexi’s head.

“Sorry I’m late.”

“Angel…”

Sob- Sob-

“Angel…”

Hexi started to cry.

Hexi’s body slumped, collapsing, and she knelt, clutching Leffrey tightly.

“I-I’ve been waiting for you for so long. Really…”

Haa- haa-

With those words, Hexi fell asleep.

‘Phew… It worked…’

Seeing Hexi peacefully asleep, Leffrey whispered softly,

“…Thank goodness.”

With utmost sincerity, Leffrey wished for her peaceful sleep.

[Saving the lives of countless future heroes is truly an angelic act!]

[You have gained a large amount of Angelic Power.]

[Saving an abandoned hero is truly an angelic act!]

[You have gained a large amount of Angelic Power.]

“Leffrey!”

At that moment, he heard a familiar voice.

It was the voice of Park Jin-ho, a voice that he had become all too familiar with, almost annoying.

“You stopped Professor Hexi’s berserk episode. First of all, allow me to express my gratitude.”

Park Jin-ho quickly continued,

“But how on earth did you calm Hexi down so easily…? Even with all our professors working together, we always had a hard time.”

“Ah, that’s…”

Leffrey, maintaining an angelic smile, confidently lied to Park Jin-ho.

“Professor Hexi kept mentioning angels… so I lied and said that I was an angel.”

“…Hmm, so you’re saying you acted like an angel to calm down Professor Hexi?”

“Yes, it’s embarrassing to say this myself, but… I do look like an angel… and besides, I’m confident in my divine power.”

Park Jin-ho asked in disbelief,

“Does that even make sense?”

And stared intently at Leffrey. Honestly, he did look like an angel, and his divine power was truly immense.

“No, perhaps…”

There were no angels left to protect heroes in this world.

But if this clumsy lie could calm Hexi down…

“If this method could control Hexi… humanity’s hand will be much stronger… Hexi’s episode is a necessary card to defeat the demon king… if we can control her with Leffrey…”

Park Jin-ho continued,

“It can’t be helped.”

And then, completely uncharacteristic of his nickname, Iron Blood, he opened his mouth, his face full of guilt.

“Leffrey, I have an unfortunate request for you.”