Chapter 18
Chapter 18
Academy’s Gumiho is a Magic Genius – Chapter 18
Intense movement had torn my muscles.
Bones cracked, skin ripped openmy body was a total wreck.
But mana filled in the gaps.
It replenished the lost blood and held together the shredded muscle fibers in place of the originals.
It forcibly reassembled the bones in my mangled right hand, allowing me to grip the spear again.
Still, there were clear limits.
No matter how advanced my spear techniques were, my subpar physical abilities as a student couldn't keep up with Yuren's swift movements.
So I supplemented my lacking strength with [Body Reinforcement] spells that enhanced my body using mana and incantations.
I'd braced myself for severe aftereffects when casting [Body Reinforcement], but even that wasn't enough. As my tails multiplied, my momentarily expanded perception instantly pinpointed the deficiencies.
Resolving to become half-crippled, I unleashed a forbidden technique that pushed my body to its absolute limitsa move I hadn't used even at my peak. Only then could I finally react to Yuren's speed.
But now a new problem arose.
Sizzle, sizzle. The sound and smell of roasting meat filled the air.
The source was my right hand.
It was because of the purple flame spear.
Normal flames I could control even their intensity with .
That's why I always dialed down the heat when using fire around me.
But [Fox Fire] refused to be tamed.
Like a wild horse with the reins cut loose.
It was beyond my current skill to control.
Yet I couldn't afford not to use it.
Instead, I went ahead and removed even the saddle from the wild horse.
[Fox Fire blazes fiercely.]
[Flames of the fire demon engulf everything!]
Cursed flames roared to life, thick with malediction.
The purple flames spreading everywhere evoked the image of hell.
No, this place was already hell itself.
Eek, eeeeek!
Grrrrraaaah!
K-Kill meee!
Grotesque voices echoed from beyond the flames.
Some sounded like Illusion Monkeys, others like human speech.
These were all wails of the damnedghostly cries from the monsters I'd slain.
Even in death, their souls burned as kindling for the Fox Fire. How could they not scream?
"Haha, you're a total psychopath."
Yuren remarked, having grasped the source of the curse.
He wasn't one to talk, but flames fueled by the souls of the dead? That went beyond eerie or sinisterit was outright madness.
An instinctive revulsion welled up.
It wasn't physiological.
As a living being himself, Yuren simply felt a primal disgust.
What kind of skill even was this?
"Truly the blood of a Nine-Tailed Fox..."
During his mercenary days, he'd seen murals in China and Japan depicting foxes with multiple tails.
Invariably, in the corner of those murals, there was one fox smeared with a black stain.
Back then, he'd chalked it up to age and wear.
Why was that stain coming to mind now?
Yuren desperately suppressed the thought and focused on countermeasures.
First, he needed distance.
His gaze shifted to Seung-woo's body.
The overtaxed form was breaking down bit by bit.
It seemed to be moving solely through sheer mana.
If he created space and dragged this out, an opportunity would surely come.
Yuren rummaged in his pocket and pulled out five curse dolls.
Pop, pop the dolls exploded, splitting him into six copies.
Not a true clone ability, but the power of the curse dolls.
The six Yurons scattered in all directions. The fierce flames pursued, but split their pursuit across the multiples.
Nine streams might have caught one, but divided into two or three per target? No chance. Seeing this, his eyes gleamed wildly.
His ruby-red eyes flickered green, sparkling like amethysts.
[Demon Eye opens wide.]
[A baleful gaze observes the flow of mana and gaps.]
[It discerns the real from the illusory.]
The six figures entered his sight at once.
Five were illusions. That left one as the real body.
"...Six curse dolls, huh."
The number he'd shown was a feint.
So where was the real one hiding?
The surroundings, blanketed in roaring flames. A faint gap appeared.
A human trace no curse doll could mimic.
He reached toward it.
With that, a pillar of fire slowly rose from the ground, forming a massive wall.
Rumblethe new barrier blazed toward Yuren, its mana quality and structure utterly different from before.
He tried to slip outside, but...
No chance.
[Double Helix]
Another wall rising from the floor.
The two resonated, merging into one impenetrable barrier.
"No escape for you now."
Of course, the same went for me.
We were trapped inside together.
I wanted to call him a cornered rat, but this guy was inherently tricky. I couldn't claim victory lightly.
His future-sight eyes, arsenal of artifacts, battle-hardened mercenary experience...
Chopping off one arm and knocking away a gun didn't weaken him. If anything, I needed to be more cautious.
Veteran mercenaries like him only grew fiercer when cornered.
Even a rat bites a cat when desperate.
What more could be said of Yuren?
No need for long deliberations.
'End it fast. Quick and decisive.'
I crouched into stance.
It had been five years, so it felt a bit sloppy, but from there, I stepped forward with my left foot. A low stamp on the ground.
No dramatic crater or footprint left behind.
Just a simple step forward.
Yet that alone pressed Yuren with overwhelming pressure.
"...What the hell?"
A momentary weight bearing down on his body.
Fleeting, but unmistakably the sensation of facing a monster's Fear.
Could the Nine-Tailed Fox bloodline do that too?
Questions swirled, but no time to ponder.
I'd stamped again and launched like a bullet.
My left knee cartilage tore with the motion.
Mana substituted for it, but only momentarily. I had to finish this quick.
Thud thudmoving at high speed with footwork, I swung my body wide.
The spear in my hand spat flames, tracing a graceful arc.
A crescent from low to high, targeting groin and lower abdomen.
Yuren wrapped his legs in mana and retreated.
Whooshthe spear sliced empty air. No contact.
But one key point: this wasn't a cold weapon. It was manifested by skill and magic.
Roar!
The spear's shaft extended.
Like a whip, it stretched long and snaked around Yuren's ankle, binding it.
Perfectmovement sealed!
Slash!!
Red energy cleaved the purple flamesYuren's sword aura.
The embers that had chained his ankle scattered harmlessly into the air.
His blade parted the flames and came for me.
Mid-level stance, tip aimed at my head.
I swung the spear wide to block the strike.
Sparkblade and spear clashed, sparks flying.
Not by my will. Pure friction-born flames.
"Puhaha! What a frail little body. Why don't you go suck on mommy's tit some more!"
Sword and spear clashed repeatedly.
My pathetic physique couldn't endure the continuous exchanges.
Each clash wrecked me further.
Ribs cracked. Oxygen-starved blood dulled my fingertips. My palm burned steadily under the Fox Fire, third-degree burns spreading across my body.
I was practically dying.
Yet I didn't let go of the spear.
Silently, I swallowed the screams rising in my throat and bided my time.
There was a reason I chose to wield a spear directly amid all my options.
Spears are long and easy to swing.
They have the longest reach among cold weapons.
Ideal for parrying and deflecting swords.
I stuck to defensive spearwork, waiting for the moment.
When exhaustion made him attempt a big move.
That instant would prove my strategy's worth.
"Great technique, but your body's trash!"
Yuren swung his sword madly.
No sign of fatigue from him.
In contrast, my skin paled to the flames' hue.
Already oxygen-deprived from [Solar Vein Blockage], the violent motions and oxygen-devouring fire were sapping my strength.
Yuren's blade wouldn't miss that.
The moment my breath hitched a powerful slash targeted me.
The sword cut the wind, approaching.
A graze would be fatal.
I moved my leg immediately.
Squelchthe blade dug into flesh.
A groan I couldn't voice swirled in my mouth. Forcing my eyes open, I saw Yuren's shocked face.
Haha, first time seeing a lunatic like me, right?
The sword pierced near my abdomenfar from his intended trajectory.
He'd aimed for neck and face.
But I'd thrust my gut into it, twisting his path.
Blood overflowed, innards grazed.
Death loomed.
In that state, I swung the spear.
Notoo long. I shifted it to a short dagger.
Roarthe tangible flames morphed into a short dagger.
Yuren realized and tried to churn my guts with his sword, but...
Crunch!!!
It tore through his left shoulder blade entirely, leaving him defenseless.
Flesh severed, bone sundered.
The prize for sacrificing my abdomen.
Ah, now I'm truly defenseless.
Both arms gone, after all.
Armless Yuren versus me on death's door.
Pretty even now.
Time for the finishing blow
Thud.
Yuren collapsed.
I stared in confusion.
I'd cut arms, not legs.
Prod prod with my footno movement.
I've handled enough battlefield corpses to know.
No deathbed rally. He was done. The curse I'd jammed into the wound while severing his arm must've been fatal.
Closer inspection revealed why.
The curse had spread through his body. Same for me, but his case differed.
Opening [Demon Eye] wide made it crystal clear.
The purple flames clinging to him had used his deep-seated grudges as kindling, weaving a far stronger curse.
How many people had he killed to drop before oxygen-starved me?
"...So, I lose."
Yuren gazed hazily at the sky.
No dramatic dawn illuminating him.
Night remained dark and deep. Only the surrounding flames lit his view.
"D-Demon... cure my... daughter's illness...!"
Suddenly spouting a dramatic last testament.
I looked down at him, thinking.
A villain with a backstory. So novel-like in the useless details.
"Must... cure her."
"Sorry, that's the end of the line."
I reshaped the dagger back into a spear.
The flames blazed balefully. Sorry to interrupt your daughter spiel, but no mercy here.
Spear aimed at his heart.
Squelchit pierced without resistance.
"Aaaah..."
"One more for good measure."
Just in case, I readied another thrust.
To block any novel clich of brain-only revival, I targeted the head too.
Again, no resistance. Yellow brain matter on the tip cooked instantly, steaming away.
No guilt. No sin.
Just ensuring the kill.
No mercy for a man who'd murdered guards and targeted students.
If anything, I felt refreshedfinally some peaceful sleep.
Ah, but in this state, hospital stay incoming.
"Ugh... Gonna puke..."
I cauterized the abdominal wound with fire.
First aid. That'd sterilize and stop the bleeding.
The rest to the doctors.
Finishing up, my eyes grew heavy. Beyond my control.
Sleeping here meant catching a cold.
Wanted to reach the infirmary or shelter, but my body hit its limit.
I'd endured the fight somehow, but no more.
One nap it is.
I shifted position.
Better grass than dirt. Looking around...
No green in sight, however I turned.
All charred black by me.
Oh, right. I burned it all.
Resigned to dirt, I spotted Yuren's corpse while searching.
"...What's this?"
I stared blankly at the body.
Suddenly, residual mana flowed into the eyes.
Curious, I fully opened [Demon Eye].
A colorless world. Blue mana gathered in the eyes, performing some process.
Not a threat to me, so I waited.
"Byproduct...?"
Yuren's eyes, dyed green.
No life, but they glowed.
A familiar hue.
The color his [Ten-Li Eye] showed when activated.
Curiosity piqued, I plucked them out.
No respect or hesitation for the dead.
Screw manners for someone trying to kill me. Usefulness mattered more.
Felt rigid to the touch.
Like monster horns or bonescraft into a weapon or item?
Tested the strength with force.
Pop they burst, scattering.
Too fragile.
What the
The fragments resisted with mana sparks, then quietly absorbed into my body.
[You possess an Energy Drain series skill.]
[Absorbing Ten-Li Eye from the target.]
[Trait Ten-Li Eye integrates into skill Demon Eye.]
Status Windows popped up in sequence.
I let out a hollow laugh at the air.
"Do you just get stronger this easily?"
I'd stolen his ability.
Simply, absurdly soalmost disappointingly.
But how?
Energy Drain on the Status Window caught my eye.
Tried deciphering it, but vision blacked out.
Ah, sleepy.
That was my last thought.
I collapsed to the ground.
Body couldn't hold anymore.
Needed rest, even a bit.
Just close my eyes.
The crisis wasn't over.
The high-hierarchy monster targeting the protagonist and students was dead, the ringleader caught. But monsters still roamed the academy, threatening students.
"...Heh, hehe."
Still, a dumb laugh escaped me.
I survived. Alive.
That joy overwhelmed everything.
Then, far off, a powerful mana surge erupted.
A warm breeze blew with it. Cozyeyes closing on their own.
Ah, someone's fighting.
Yeah, cleanup's for others.
With that, vision faded, then consciousness.