episode_0147

Episode 147: A Wise Teaching Assistant Life (6)

The moment I attacked the blood-red sphere, a tendril of flesh swelled in size and blocked my sword. It seemed to react to any harm inflicted.

At the same time, unfamiliar figures are summoned around it.

Black mages. Not the guys Velok and his subordinates are fighting, but different ones. Perhaps they are in another space, and when the sphere is attacked, magic is activated just like the lump of flesh.

“You’ve prepared well.”

Well, it wouldn’t make sense to just leave such an important item made with so much money and manpower unattended.

I surveyed the 10 black mages surrounding me. As soon as they found me, 9 of them began casting black magic. An evil energy bloomed from their fingertips.

Swish-!

But I wasn’t just standing still either. I quickly swung my sword and cut off one of their heads.

Thud, a head falls. For a moment, astonishment flickers across their faces. But they didn’t stop using black magic.

A barrier is erected around me. The black barrier completely isolated the space. It felt as if I was left alone in the world.

The black mages’ attack didn’t end there. The inside of the barrier rippled. At the same time, black magic crashed into me.

Exhaustion, weakening, sensory deprivation. They poured out every curse they could. They even tried to neutralize me by stealing my mana.

I resisted by releasing mana. I wasn’t weak enough to be affected by such curses. But the space isolation was so complete that no matter how much I expanded my senses, I couldn’t feel what was happening beyond the barrier.

But that’s not a problem. I held my sword and took a stance.

But at that moment, the barrier twisted and black mana coalesced into thorn shapes.

The sharp thorns, created from all directions, soon rushed towards me. The thorns that filled the inside of the barrier gave me no room to dodge.

I quickly deployed a shield.

Clang!!

Black thorns were blocked by the shield, and sparks flew. I didn’t stop there, but pushed back the thorns with the shield, widening the space.

The black mages didn’t let that happen. Black magic wrapped around the tips of the thorns. The points of contact began to melt.

If this continued, the shield would be pierced and I would be hit by the thorns. My decision was quick.

Reverse-engineer the thorns and the black magic covering them. Subtly mix my magic into the analyzed black magic.

Immediately after, the thorns pierced me. There was no pain. That’s because I had assimilated the black magic and part of my body while reverse-engineering it.

I waited still, pierced by the thorns. Through my senses, the outside situation was conveyed. I had connected the barrier and my senses.

“Is he dead?”

“There’s no response.”

“Be careful. He’s the one who brought in the largest organization based in the capital.”

Words like these were exchanged, and to ensure a definite finish, they stabbed me several more times with the black thorns.

After that, thinking I was completely dead, they slowly removed the barrier. And at that moment, I kicked off the ground and swung my sword.

Slash!!

A black mage was cut in half, and blood spurted from the cross-section. I didn’t stop. I swung my sword twice more, killing the two next to him.

Six left. If I exclude the one slightly behind, I only need to kill five.

“……”

“……”

The moment I killed three in an instant, the guys were enveloped in silence. Unlike before, this time they were clearly flustered.

“How did he get out of there…”

“You don’t need to know, you bastard.”

I didn’t give a long answer and killed the guy who opened his mouth. Blood flew in the air.

Of course, I didn’t stop attacking and continued to move my arms. The remaining black mages died easily. Even if several gathered together, a mage could not beat a swordsman in close combat.

“Now you’re the only one left?”

The man who was guarding as if blocking the blood-red sphere. He was the last black mage left in this place.

“You should have all attacked together. I have to admit, the black mages have no camaraderie.”

“…You seem to know who we are before attacking.”

“Oh, yeah.”

“For the leader of an organization, you don’t have very good judgment. If you mess with us, the consequences will be…”

I scoffed at those words.

“You’re just a black mage anyway. And who’s the leader? I could be a subordinate.”

“Don’t underestimate our intelligence. We’ve already figured out that you’ve taken control of the Cantia criminal organization.”

It wouldn’t make sense for the guys working in the capital not to have investigated that much.

“So what? You’re about to die anyway.”

“…I don’t know the reason for the attack, but if you back off now, I promise you compensation.”

The guy tried to appease me. Of course, I wasn’t the kind of person to fall for that.

“Sorry, but I’m a patriot. I can’t betray them.”

“You’re making a foolish decision.”

Immediately after finishing his words, the guy swung his arm from below to above. Then flesh gushed out from the ground. A gigantic lump of flesh tried to crush me.

“So he was a manipulator.”

I didn’t fight the flesh and stepped back.

As a result of the clash earlier, that’s not an ordinary lump of flesh. It’s tough enough to easily block my attacks. So to destroy that, I need a much stronger blow than the attack earlier.

Of course, there was no reason to choose a difficult path.

Whoosh-!!

I spread a magic circle under my feet. But not ordinary magic, but black magic. It was the barrier that had just tried to kill me, and that I had finished analyzing.

The black magic that spread from me instantly took over the space. This magic doesn’t pour out curses, but the pitch-black mana blocks the view.

But that’s not the end of it, it blocked all senses except hearing with curses. I’m also inside the barrier, but as the caster, I’m not affected by the magic.

“…How do you know this magic.”

The guy stood still and muttered. He looked questionable about me using this magic. I said to the guy who was contemplating.

“It sucks to experience it yourself, right?”

“…Were you a black mage.”

“What black mage? Do I look like you?”

“But….”

“Shut up.”

Swish─

I held a knife to the guy’s neck and slightly eased the curse. As the senses slightly recovered, and he felt the coldness of the knife, a drop of cold sweat ran down the guy’s forehead.

“You’re killing innocent people, so why are you talking back.”

“……”

“Anyway, you trash bastards. You can’t do anything without Ruina-sunbae, but you’re just cruel.”

“How do you know Ruina-nim… What is your identity?”

“Me?”

I separated the space. What happens inside here will not be known outside. So I took off the mask I was hiding with magic.

“I’m Ruina-sunbae’s junior, you bastard.”

“……”

When I showed my face, the guy was speechless. But the flustered look was obvious. Then, after a long time, the guy opened his mouth.

“I have a favor to ask.”

Quite a calm tone. Since he had already come this far, there was no way to resist, so I decided to watch and see what kind of nonsense he would say.

“What, you want me to spare you?”

“No. Holy One, please…”

At that moment, the guy pushed off the ground and moved his upper body. The direction was towards the blade. I thought it was a delay to escape, but I didn’t expect him to do such a thing, so my reaction was slightly delayed.

“Please save Ruina-agassi…”

The guy couldn’t finish his words. Karsa’s sharpness easily cut his neck like tofu. The severed head rolled on the ground.

“Shit….”

What the hell is he saying as he commits suicide? A strange feeling of uneasiness washed over me.

I emptied my dirtied insides. And I removed the barrier and returned my appearance to normal.

“Haa… Why is nothing working out these days.”

I sighed in frustration and picked up my sword. It was to destroy the altar and the blood-red sphere.

“…Let’s go back.”

Boom!!!

Immediately after, a roar filled the underground waterway.

***

Several days have passed since that incident.

Time passed and finally the joint practical training time for the 1st and 2nd graders arrived.

As the professor in charge of the 1st grade, Ruina-sunbae participated in the event, and I also had no particular schedule that day, so I was with sunbae.

The joint practical training content was [Finding Materials]. The practical training was about how well the 1st and 2nd graders, who were thrown into a wide area, could work together to find high-quality materials.

I watched the students’ practical training on the shared screen.

But someone next to me was staring at me intently. Of course, that someone was Ruina-sunbae.

At that sight, I asked sunbae as I had been doing for the past few days.

“Why are you doing that?”

“…It’s nothing.”

She turns her head. Recently, such scenes have been unfolding between sunbae and me.

There was only one reason why sunbae was doing this. It must be because her father no longer calls her for the summoning ritual.

It was natural since I had destroyed the altar and everything else. So it was difficult to call Ruina-sunbae.

In addition, I was currently having Velok monitor the capital. To do the same thing again, I would probably have to pour in more than 10 times the money and manpower that I had consumed so far.

But sunbae also has a sense, and I have a history of saying that I would help, so she suspected me. She wondered if I was the one who did it.

So recently, she has been probing in this way. Perhaps unable to bear her curiosity, she asked me today.

“Did you do it?”

“Yes? What are you talking about?”

“You know.”

“Well, I don’t know what sunbae is talking about.”

Saying that, sunbae stared at me so intensely that it was burdensome. She didn’t pay any attention to the joint practical training.

“You’re a professor, shouldn’t you be watching the practical training?”

“…I can watch the recording. You really didn’t do it?”

“I told you I didn’t.”

I feigned ignorance at the continued questioning.

“…That’s a lie.”

“Sunbae.”

“Yeah.”

“Do I look like I’m lying?”

I said, meeting Ruina-sunbae’s eyes. Sunbae also looked into my eyes without avoiding them, and soon shook her head and said.

“I don’t know.”

“Then you’re suspecting me without being sure?”

“…It’s not like that.”

Whether she was embarrassed or sulky, sunbae turned her head. No matter what I said, she never looked at me.

That look was so cute that I couldn’t help but smile.

‘Well, I guess this is enough.’

Since the cause that was tormenting her heart had disappeared, Ruina-sunbae’s face was not dark. Of course, her face was still expressionless, but there was brightness within.

“Oh, Lana is coming back today, would you like to go to the capital?”

So, until that day in the future comes, I was going to continue to do this kindness.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

For her bright expression.