Correcting the Villainess of the Academy – Chapter 57

Chapter 57

Dream’s Boundary (12)

“…Doesn’t it seem suspicious from the start? How could you leave such a person without reporting them?”

“You noble mages might not understand, but in the frontier, these kinds of things happen all the time. Science and reason don’t mix well with villagers. We’re more inclined towards superstition and the bizarre.”

The old man replied with a hollow laugh to Ryu Sehwa’s question.

“And besides, when someone performs such unbelievable miracles, who cares if they’re suspicious? Even if that person were a dark mage or a calamity in human form, those who received their miracles wouldn’t mind one bit.”

“…”

“Most people here are from lowly backgrounds, uneducated. I’m the most educated one, having completed elementary school. I was the one who felt even a slight discomfort and secretly reported to the police. Witnessing the dead coming back to life right before my eyes…”

“Aren’t you afraid of them? Living in the village with people who’ve come back from the dead?”

“How could I not be afraid? But what else can I do? Where could I go if I left this village?”

“…I see. So, where did that healer go?”

“They left through the eastern exit, probably to check on the other nearby pioneer villages. But it’s pointless to follow them now. They said they were leaving the East and would never return.”

“…Tsk. What a mess. We should have hurried more.”

Sa Jaehyuk muttered with a deeply furrowed brow. They had missed the most crucial evidence to confirm their suspicions.

“We can still decide after checking the surrounding area. Elder, where is the burial ground where the bodies were buried?”

Ryu Sehwa calmed Sa Jaehyuk and turned to ask the old man.

“There’s a cemetery at the sunny foothills. It’s not far. I’ll show you the way.”

Sa Jaehyuk and his team exchanged glances and nodded. They stood up with grim expressions and prepared to head to the cemetery.

“Oh my, what’s this…?”

As they stood, Yejin’s eyes widened at something. She was looking at a shabby cabinet next to the dining table.

On top of the cabinet was a picture frame tilted slightly, containing a photo of someone.

A girl with brown hair and brown eyes, smiling brightly with cute freckles.

The girl reminded Yejin of Lee Hyun, appearing to be around his age.

“Who is this?”

Sa Jaehyuk asked, and the old man answered.

“She’s my granddaughter.”

The old man’s response raised some doubts. Although the house wasn’t small, there were no signs of a young girl living there.

“…Is she also…?”

The old man shook his head calmly.

“She’s not involved in this. She died a while ago from an incurable disease.”

“…Did you cremate her body?”

“No. I sent her down the river. She wanted to be as free as water. She always wanted to go to school and play with friends, but I couldn’t afford to send her. It’s my eternal regret.”

Yoon Chaewon looked at the photo with pity. At the bottom of the frame, small, cute handwriting read:

– 21XX Year X Month X Day. Happy times. Yena.

***

The daylight in the mountains is exceptionally short. The setting sun cast its last light on the cemetery.

Headstones filled the valley, marking its long history.

However, this place was no longer a sanctuary. Many graves were disturbed from within, with mounds of earth pushed out.

Rotten, decaying coffins lay scattered, some with lids open, revealing their contents.

“…Ugh.”

“The smell…”

Chaewon grimaced and gagged at the sight of the cemetery. Ryu Sehwa wrinkled her nose in disgust and muttered.

Sa Jaehyuk walked to the center of the valley, counting the headstones one by one.

“…Ha.”

He stopped before a headstone, read the name, and let out a cold sigh into the air.

He knelt and grabbed a handful of earth.

The soil was charred black, devoid of any signs of life, and reeked of sulfur.

He knew that charred earth and the smell of sulfur meant one thing.

Corruption.

“These damn witches…”

Sa Jaehyuk gritted his teeth so hard they almost cracked. He clutched the locket around his neck tightly.

Even though he hadn’t seen the healer, what he’d observed and heard in this village was more than enough.

The mysterious young woman who reappeared after disappearing.

The miraculous phenomena attributed to her, impossible by contemporary magic.

These were miracles described by words, not refined formulas and theories, thus, authority.

And the corruption that began to appear wherever she stayed for a long time.

The nightmare he had tried to bury was reawakening.

It was eerily similar to what happened 15 years ago.

This journey was supposed to clear away his lingering regrets, yet once again, he found no peace.

“…Enough. Let’s go back. There’s nothing more to see here.”

Without looking back, Sa Jaehyuk left the cemetery.

When they returned to the village, the sun had already set, and darkness enveloped everything. The narrow, quiet paths were filled with a spooky, supernatural atmosphere. The shadows in the alleyways obscured their faces.

“How did it go?”

The old man greeted them as they returned to the house.

“We’ve pretty much finished our investigation.”

“Is that so? You must be tired. Please come in. It’s too late to send guests away now…”

“Elder, may I ask you something? Do you know what day it is today?”

The old man furrowed his brows and thought for a moment.

“Let’s see, it’s January 7th. Time sure flies…”

Sa Jaehyuk closed his eyes tightly.

The date the old man mentioned had long passed even before he received the intelligence report.

“Hey, elder.”

“Why do you keep calling me? You never know what might happen out there, so let’s hurry inside…”

“Isn’t it time for you to rest?”

“…? Well, it is late…”

“Elder, you know that’s not what I mean.”

“What do you mean…”

“I checked the headstones at the cemetery. There’s one with your name on it.”

“…”

The sound of the team members swallowing hard came from behind Sa Jaehyuk. A cold wind swept past their ears.

“…Oh, oh? That, that can’t be…”

The old man’s body began to tremble violently. He looked at his hands in shock, stammering.

With realization came the shattering of the illusion. The pioneer village they were in was already in the land of the dead.

What had been there were not people but decaying flesh and brittle bones, held together against nature’s laws by some force. They had been conversing with phantoms all along.

“No, no way… keh, keh…”

The old man clutched his throat with both hands, coughing dryly. His mouth could no longer form words. It was a mystery how he had been speaking up until then, as his vocal cords had long decayed.

“Kahak… kahk…! Clatter…!”

“…Rest in peace.”

With a flash of light, Sa Jaehyuk’s blade, which had been strapped to his waist, was now in his hand.

Thud- The old man’s head fell to the ground. Thump, thump. Sa Jaehyuk immediately sliced the head in half vertically.

Looking inside, he could only let out a hollow laugh. There was no evidence of the old man being a ghoul. No mycelium filled his brain, and no mushrooms extended from his neck, just empty void.

This was expected. No ghoul could converse so coherently and file a report to the police.

The old man’s only mistake was believing he was genuinely alive.

Sa Jaehyuk turned his gaze to the table where they had sat. One leg had rotted and was about to give way.

The plate of refreshments contained thin finger bones, and the teacup held a dark liquid, likely rotting for years.

The only intact item was the photo of the granddaughter.

“…Chaewon, Sehwa, Yejin.”

“…Yes.”

At Sa Jaehyuk’s words, the team members nodded and stepped outside. Soon, the sound of a burning inferno and the cries of the damned filled the air.

All they could do now was put those souls back to rest.

-Why, why are you doing this…!

-For what reason…! Kerlk…!

-Clatter!

-Boom!

The cries of the unaware dead echoed incessantly. The sound of bones clattering to the ground was loud. The old building crumbled in the flames, the explosions resonating far and wide.

Ignoring all that, Sa Jaehyuk deepened his thoughts. Two questions plagued him.

If the witches had resurfaced, there should be widespread chaos by now.

Also, they should be heading for populous cities, not lingering in the outskirts.

This was an instinct etched into their very genes.

Though the behavior differed from 15 years ago, Sa Jaehyuk stopped pondering.

He didn’t need to understand the witches. He only needed to deal with what was before him.

“…What’s the count?”

He asked the team members as they returned.

“…54. Same as the number of headstones.”

“Good work. Where’s the nearest unit?”

“Probably the 33rd Mountain Battalion. It’s a few days’ journey, though…”

Sa Jaehyuk clicked his tongue at Chaewon’s reply.

“Tsk. Cutting it close. Chaewon, you go to them and request reinforcements. Use my name or Heukryeon’s if you have to. Block all routes to the nearby city.”

He began issuing orders to his team.

“Yejin, Sehwa, return to the capital. Explain the situation at the top council and persuade them to declare an emergency. Take the corrupted soil as evidence. Those fools. I told them…”

“Then what about you, oppa…?”

Yejin asked, and Sa Jaehyuk answered immediately.

“Of course, I’ll track the witch. I can’t leave them be. I don’t know what they’re planning. So…”

“That’s nonsense!! How could you go alone…!”

“You know what I mean. It’s too dangerous. You must return…”

Sa Jaehyuk’s firm words were cut off by Sehwa, who was clutching his collar.

She looked up at him with a face ready to cry.

“…You promised… never to do it alone again…”

“…”

Sa Jaehyuk was at a loss for words and looked around. Chaewon and Yejin’s expressions were no different from Sehwa’s.

He sighed inwardly. For once, he had to agree with the general opinion about them.

Foolish and, in a way, pitiful women.

“…I’m sorry. I misspoke. Let’s go together. First, let’s send out the crows.”

“…Okay.”

Sehwa finally released his collar. The team whistled to summon the crows, which carried letters and items into the sky.

Sa Jaehyuk gazed at the sky through the ruined house’s roof. He thought of a masked boy, a pitiful child caught up in the waves.

“…Tsk.”

He had planned to submit his discharge papers after this journey. He had intended to visit the capital to check on Lee Hyun.

But it seemed he still had unfinished business.

“I wonder if he’s found a girlfriend…”

His voice echoed emptily.

End of Chapter