episode_0199

LILI.

That day.

The day that history books record as the ‘Grey Scare’ was the day that candidate Gray put his declaration into practice at Evergreen Square.

The reason why the word ‘horror’ was added to Gray’s name that day was because the way Gray carried out the execution seemed to be a completely undisturbed being, as if he were some other being that had transcended humanity.

And from this day on, the continent will enter full-scale wartime mode.

As a warning and announcement from candidate Gray.

―Excerpt from “Heroes of the Continent”. Author: Na Gwan-jong

◈

When one person kills another, whether in a big or small way, it causes wear and tear on the soul.

So, usually we rationalize.

If you don’t kill me, I will die, that’s the same kind of rationalization.

Or, people with a slightly unique and strange mentality may turn people into animals or objects. This is a self-defense mechanism that is used to minimize the wear and tear on the soul.

Anyway, in that sense, I also don’t feel comfortable watching people die. Not only is the sight of them burning to death painful, but the auditory screams of pain and the foul smell of burning flesh are also painful.

But because it was something that had to be done, I went about my work with an indifferent expression, not showing any signs of reluctance or caring about the foul smell or screams.

But to those watching, that side of me seemed to have come across completely differently.

“What?”

“Gray horror. Gray horror.”

Even if I can’t understand the feelings of a clown who is so proud that he heard that his son got first place in the entire school for the first time, it’s still unfair to be given such a cringey title.

But what can we do?

What has already happened.

It was I who ordered that their surviving family members be ‘burned to death’ in front of the nobles.

Because I was the one who silently watched that scene and calmly proceeded.

“Okay. The first title was weird anyway.”

“Pfft!”

Since the first title was ‘Sibal’, should we say that I gained the ability to resist being greatly shaken by whatever I am called after that?

“By the way, why is it so quiet at home today?”

The mansion is unusually quiet.

The Arcanas who always chattered beside me were nowhere to be seen, and Catherine who used to come running to me after training was over was also gone.

“Huh? Honey. I’m right here with you, and you’re thinking about another woman?”

“Huh?”

Is this happening again?

To the clown’s joke-like truth,

“No, that’s not it. I asked because the house was particularly quiet.”

I was so flustered that I couldn’t help but make excuses that weren’t really excuses. It’s all because of that crazy Hongcha girl.

“Hohoho. Our honey is cute even when he’s flustered. Everyone went to do their business~.”

“What are you doing?”

“Yeah~. Our Walpurgis bitch went to see the headmaster because she was running low on materials to set up some traps around the mansion. She has some things to get, so is that okay? And… … .”

The clown’s explanation continued with the witch visiting the dean to obtain materials for the purpose of securing the mansion.

May went out with Catherine to a newly opened chocolate shop today – in fact, the Shadow boss hired a pastry chef just for Catherine.

Catherine, do you have money?

Her grandfather was the Dean of the Later School, and her maternal grandfather was the Shadow Master. The second generation of the conglomerates on Earth where Confucius lived? Catherine is richer than these people.

Even the name of the continent’s highest and wealthiest merchant is not Catherine Merchant.

With May following her, there’s no need to worry about Catherine’s escort, but recently Catherine has two strong escorts, so she often goes out without May.

The spirit of light that the demons hate and detest, Luminare, a female spirit nicknamed ‘Lumi’,

Tenevelai, a dark spirit with the power to escape from any situation, a boy spirit nicknamed ‘Tei’.

When I explained this far, he was nodding and smiling.

but,

“The punishment became a daily teacher.”

“… What happened every day?”

“Teacher. Teacher. Hohoho.”

“That…punishment?”

When the clown brought up the subject of punishment, I had to doubt my ears.

“Yes. Hohoho.”

This can’t be happening.

Isn’t this a place you absolutely must see?

“Krrr. Hmm. What about the other Arcana?”

“Sangta said he was going to visit the temple for the first time in a while. So Hwang-i followed him to be his escort and to look around the temple together.”

“What about the two horns?”

“… Two-horned went to find the two dragons. He went to capture the military flag. While we were stuck in the labyrinth and dealing with the disgusting tentacle plants of the demon world, did he slack off somewhere else?”

Come to think of it, after dealing with the labyrinth and the demon beast, I returned to the mansion and the two dragons were nowhere to be seen.

“Where did you go?”

“I don’t know~. When Toppori gets angry, it’s really scary. His face just hardens and the corners of his eyes go up like this! He says, ‘These damn kids have been taking it easy lately… …!’ and then magically disappears?”

The clown laughed heartily, imitating the angry owl who was raising the corners of his eyes with both fingers.

“So while I was training in the martial arts studio, everyone else went out like that?”

“Yeah~.”

“But why was the clown so excited?”

“Huh~? Are you really asking because you don’t know~? Why am I so excited?”

It’s dangerous.

My instincts give me a sharp warning that I must answer well.

It’s a question of the same rank as when a girlfriend asks, “Honey, what’s different about me today?”

“Oh, I know!”

“Huh~? Really?”

“That, then!”

My brain heats up as I ponder what could have excited the clown, coming up with a number of hypotheticals and then letting them disappear.

And finally,

“It’s just the two of us at home… … ?”

“Hohoho. As expected, my dear~. You have the same mind as me, so why are you asking back~? Are you asking politely before you pounce on me?”

“Right. Hmm.”

Fortunately, I guessed the correct answer. Before I could breathe a sigh of relief,

“But no.”

The clown said this, taking me by the hand and lifting me up.

“What?”

“Since there are only two of us, we want to play adult games, but we can’t right now. We have somewhere to go.”

“Huh? Right now?”

“Yeah!”

Is there something so urgent that the clown would give up this time alone with me to do something?

“Aren’t you curious? Our punishment brother is a teacher? Doesn’t it seem like he’d say, ‘Don’t talk loudly during class. I’ll cut you up.’?”

I found myself nodding my head and laughing out loud at the clown’s example.

If it’s punishment, it will definitely be like that.

“Don’t run in the hallway. If you don’t want to run all day. I’ll say that. In a low, whispering voice.”

“Hahahahahahaha! That’s right! I think so! Let’s go! Honey! Let’s go see!”

“Okay.”

It was a sight I had already wanted to see. Jingbeol’s class. In fact, Jingbeol is an excellent teacher when viewed objectively.

If you ask me how I am sure of that, I would say it comes from experience.

Clown. May. Santa. Hwang.

Unfortunately, none of them are capable of teaching anything.

Ah, Huang Yi can do it, but her divine magic is a unique system of techniques that only Huang Yi can learn. It is so unique that neither wizards nor priests can learn it. So it is impossible to teach it.

Above all, except for the Punisher, the other Arcana are all geniuses, which is why it is difficult for them to become good teachers.

It is not easy for geniuses who can roughly calculate the intermediate process in their heads to teach others. The person being taught will not know what is being said, and the person teaching will not know why he or she does not understand it, which will lead to a total mess.

The witch’s guidance of Lina is in the same context. Lina was a genius who could follow half of what the witch understood.

Anyway, Jingbeol is a good teacher. Our Jingbeol, who has a clear voice, doesn’t know how to beat around the bush.

It doesn’t say things like “a mountain is a mountain” and “water is water” like the Zen question and answer.

Point out what is wrong and tell them clearly, as if you were explaining the solution to a math problem.

But why did the clown and I come to watch this noisy punishment’s daily lesson?

“Using Mana and Force simultaneously requires constant effort, until you can use them as if they were one divine power.”

“If you continue to use swordsmanship while using magic, and there is a delay like this, even the strongest players will be able to tell whether the next attack is magic or swordsmanship. Then you will die. And you will be listed in history books and textbooks as a typical example of ‘magic swordsmanship is mediocre.’”

It is because of the violence that is so brutal that it breaks bones and tears flesh. It is violence that hits with facts.

I told you, our punishment is the same.

Tell them very harshly about what they did wrong. With 100% facts.

“Okay, I understand.”

Sword Mage Phoebe Noah listened to the Punisher’s advice with a pale face. We watched from afar.

“Hmm. This is the fourth time you’ve told me you understand and I’m not getting any better. Focus.”

The punishment was to punish the sword mage who had risen to the rank of semi-superhuman with facts, and then he approached the next student, or rather, the candidate.

“Get ready.”

And the protagonist, who had already been hit so many times, was the special mage Summerholic, whose lips were trembling as the punishment approached.

Among the candidates who were said to have some potential, he is the only one who has not reached Circle 8, the level of a quasi-superhuman.

The punisher stands still and waits for Summer’s attack.

“Start.”

“Armor! Mirror Image! Misdirection!”

At the words of the punishment to begin, Summer shouts and three sparkling lights burst out from her body in succession.

“Armor”, the most basic defensive magic that grants defense power equivalent to that of a sturdy steel armor.

“Mirror Image”, which creates an illusion that behaves exactly like the real thing.

「Misdirection」 that causes confusion in detection magic such as Detect or qi sense.

The three spells were basic spells below Circle 3.

Summer, who had established a unique magic system called Special Mage, was definitely showing the effectiveness of her training, and she simultaneously displayed defensive magic suitable for battle and linked attacks like flowing water.

“Stinking Cloud, Pyrotechnics!”

A thick green vapor rises like a cloud from the ground where the punishment is standing.

The clown explains that the vapor is a toxic vapor that causes adverse effects on the body simply by inhaling it.

and,

“Pyrotechnics… … . You know how to use that magic. That’s amazing.”

When I arrived, the witch sat down next to me and continued the clown’s clumsy explanation.

“Come on in.”

Unlike me who welcomed me warmly,

“Walpurgis bitch~. You have no sense at all~.”

The clown hugged my arm even tighter as he harassed the witch. The squishy, soft, and squishy feeling is always right.

“What kind of magic is that?”

At the moment I asked while looking at the red, flickering light,

“You must cover your eyes.”

The witch covered my eyes with her white hand,

Flash―!

My eyes were covered by the witch’s hand, but I could see a blinding ‘flash’ bursting out through the gap.

“A spell that allows you to draw one of two effects from a source of fire. The first creates a flash of flame and a blazing fire that turns the atmosphere red. The second… … .”

While the witch was taking a break and taking a breather, the surroundings of the punishment had changed.

“It creates a cloud that suffocates the opponent by releasing toxic smoke from the flames of incomplete combustion. When combined with the previously manifested Stinking Cloud.”

Phuss …

The weeds that had been tenaciously surviving around the deliberately wide smokescreen are melting away.

“It becomes a very dangerous poison gas.”

It certainly seems dangerous, just as the witch described. If the opponent were a human.

“Hmm… … . Not so good.”

As expected, it’s our punishment.

He is the ‘Paul Phoenix’ of the fact assault world. With one blow of the Bungkwon with a shout of ‘Oh!’, half of the health gauge will disappear!

“If you’re fighting humans, this is a pretty good combination. Especially if you’re fighting against regular soldiers. But the enemy is a demon. This toxic gas will only make you cough a few times and then stop. You’ll be able to swing your claws while coughing, so by then you’ll already be dead.”

There is not a shred of guilt on the face of the punisher who sentences an innocent person to death.

As I said, it is true, so there is no way to refute it, talk back, or even gossip about it.

“I’m sorry.”

“Yes.”

After answering like that, the punishment stepped back.

“Overall, the battles between the candidates are disappointing. The biggest problem is that they overlook the fact that their opponents are not human beings like you. To be more honest, even if everyone here jumps in, they probably won’t be able to handle the Master.”

“Huh?! Really?”

At Ella Stone’s screaming question, Jingu nodded without a moment’s hesitation.

and,

“Isn’t that right, Master?”

He turned to me and asked me that.

“Huh? Haha, hello… … ? Long time no see?”

He greeted me awkwardly, as if he had been caught doing something bad.

“You saw it two days ago!!”

In order to legally beat up that clueless holy thug Ella Stone who shouts,

“Hmm. It’s like a four-person attack, I guess.”

I threw a provocation. It was a kind of bait.

“Okay! Let’s have a go!”

That stupid and simple-minded holy thug took the bait so quickly.