Chapter 192
Chapter 192
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 192
Chapter Title: The Mad Saintess
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“Divine Spear!”
Dozens of glowing spears materialized in the air.
They should have been brimming with holy energy, but instead, they were filled only with gloomy, impure aura.
“The ‘Saintess’...!”
“Dodge! We can’t block them!”
The knights who saw it cried out in horror and scattered in all directions.
But their movements were far too slow compared to Seong Yura’s.
Kwaaaaang—!
“Uwaaak!”
“Keuk!”
With the explosion, the knights’ torn flesh scattered through the air.
Their blood, spraying amid screams, began to dye the academy red.
“What? What happened now?”
The heroes, arriving late after hearing the commotion, widened their eyes at the horrific scene unfolding before them.
They prided themselves on having seen many deaths by now.
But most had been monsters or demonic beasts.
Not scenes like this, where dozens of people were dying.
“...Seong Yura?”
Someone muttered upon recognizing the perpetrator of the massacre.
“Crazy! Why her?”
The might of an SS-rank was overwhelming.
Even top A-rank heroes hesitated to step forward, and those below could only freeze and watch.
Seong Yura’s gaze turned toward the heroes.
The sparkle in her eyes from her gunslinger form was gone, replaced entirely by madness.
Flinch—!
The heroes instinctively took a step back without realizing it.
The killing intent radiating from her felt so overwhelmingly threatening.
“Dong-hwan.”
At that moment, Kye Soo-ji stepped forward and called out to Goo Dong-hwan.
“Ugh, we have to stop her first.”
His massive frame pushed through the heroes and stood beside Kye Soo-ji.
And it wasn’t just him.
Lee Ji-ah, Jin Tae-seong, Yoo Hong-seol, Kang Byung-gyu, Park Min-seong.
Excluding Kim Woo-ram, who was training under Ban Slane, all of Seo Woo-jin’s comrades stepped to the front.
“Byung-gyu, you have something else to do.”
Kye Soo-ji said to Kang Byung-gyu, whose face was grim.
“...You want me to bring Woo-jin, right?”
“Finding people is your specialty.”
As a B-rank ‘Explorer’, Kang Byung-gyu wasn’t much help in combat.
While the others held her off, it might be better for him to find Seo Woo-jin and bring him here.
“Got it.”
As Kang Byung-gyu nodded and turned to retreat, Lee Ji-ah blocked him.
“I’ll go.”
“Huh? No, I’m faster...”
“I’m faster. I already know where Woo-jin oppa is right now.”
If she knew Seo Woo-jin’s location, the physically superior Lee Ji-ah would be much quicker than Kang Byung-gyu.
“Yeah. Then I’ll leave it to you.”
Kang Byung-gyu smiled at Lee Ji-ah, and she immediately turned and dashed off.
Toward the indoor training hall where Seo Woo-jin and Kim Da-hye were practicing.
“You guys, huh?”
Seong Yura bared her neat teeth in a smile.
“Where’s Seo Woo-jin?”
Her expression and voice seemed like she was missing a screw somewhere.
Seong Yura was clearly not in her right mind.
“Why are you looking for Woo-jin?”
Kye Soo-ji answered her question.
In that short time, she had already fully assumed her battle stance.
“You... who were you again?”
Seong Yura tilted her head at Kye Soo-ji.
But only for a moment.
“Ah, that A-rank nobody who buzzed around that human.”
Seong Yura grinned creepily.
Her lips stretched wide on both sides, looking utterly grotesque.
“I’m not interested in you guys? So just die.”
Hwaaaaak—!
Her figure shot forward.
“Block her!”
Seong Yura’s speed was unbelievable.
Even as an SS-rank, the ‘Saintess’ wasn’t a direct combat class.
In sparring training, she hadn’t even placed highly.
Kye Soo-ji, positioned at the top of A-rank, was confident she wouldn’t lose to Seong Yura one-on-one.
But...
Kwaduk—!
Seong Yura’s knee slammed into Kye Soo-ji’s side.
“Keuk!”
The impact was so severe her vision went black.
‘No way...!’
Her thoughts cut off there.
Kwaaaaang—!
Unable to withstand the shock, Kye Soo-ji flew back like a cannonball, smashing through an entire building.
“Soo-ji!”
Startled, Goo Dong-hwan instantly transformed into his ‘Magical Girl’ form.
“Haaap!”
Without time for skills, he swung his massive magic wand at Seong Yura.
Kwaaaa—!
Even just raw strength carried tremendous magical power.
Clack—
But Seong Yura caught the huge club barehanded.
“What?”
Goo Dong-hwan couldn’t believe his eyes.
He knew it wouldn’t deal a fatal blow.
But he’d thought it would at least give her some impact.
‘This easily...?’
He hadn’t expected it to be stopped cold.
Kwaaaang—!
Seong Yura’s elbow drove into Goo Dong-hwan’s jaw.
With the sound of bones shifting, broken teeth flew out.
“Fuck, block her!”
It had all happened in a flash.
Before the others could react.
Only now grasping the situation, Kang Byung-gyu shouted, and the heroes began to move.
But with their two biggest assets neutralized in an instant.
Stopping Seong Yura with the rest seemed hopeless.
* * *
“Hmm.”
Philoyan watched the ‘Saintess’ from a distance.
“Wouldn’t it be wise to retreat?”
A knight from the Holy Knights escorting the envoy cautiously probed his intentions.
Philoyan shook his head.
The ‘Saintess’s power was stronger than expected.
But he knew she posed no threat to him at all.
“Lupera.”
Philoyan called the cardinal.
“Yes?”
“Aren’t you curious about His Holiness the Saint King’s intentions? There must be reasons beyond my humble understanding.”
Lupera simply listened to Philoyan’s words.
“But I’d like one answer. Is this truly beneficial to His Holiness the Saint King?”
The ‘Saintess’ slaughtering knights and fighting heroes.
No matter how he looked at it, the situation didn’t feel normal.
But Lupera replied as if it were obvious.
“Of course. It’s an order His Holiness gave me directly, so please dispel your doubts.”
“Doubts...”
Philoyan shook his head.
He would never doubt Saint King Marnotain’s will.
He was merely curious.
What gain could come from this.
“Why keep it secret from me?”
“I believe it means for Your Excellency the Bishop to focus solely on the envoy’s duties.”
“I see...”
Philoyan’s face slightly hardened as he turned his gaze to the sky.
“This must also be the will of His Holiness the Saint King, who carries God’s will.”
Glancing at the ‘Saintess’ once more, Philoyan turned away.
“We’re leaving.”
The Holy Knights surrounded him.
“Escort His Excellency the Bishop.”
That’s when they began to leave the academy.
Wuuuuung—!
The air began to vibrate.
No, not just the air.
The ground, the buildings, the world...
Everything around trembled in fear before the endless, colossal power.
* * *
‘Hurry.’
Leaving Lee Ji-ah and Kim Da-hye behind, Seo Woo-jin moved first.
As soon as he exited the indoor training hall, he began to sense thick killing intent and madness.
The magic circle etched inside had kept him from noticing until now.
‘Tch.’
They said Seong Yura had gone mad, and it seemed true.
‘Not demonic energy, though.’
The vibe was similar.
But it wasn’t demonic energy.
‘Closer to corrupted holy power.’
He couldn’t pinpoint it exactly.
It had fragments of holy power, so definitely not demonic energy.
The two could never coexist.
“That doesn’t matter right now.”
First priority was stopping Seong Yura, who was killing people in her madness.
Why she was doing this.
What this aura really was.
He could ask later.
‘Anyway, it’s a good opportunity for me.’
He didn’t know what was going on, but with Seong Yura mad...
‘Now I have legitimate grounds to deal with her.’
With that thought, Seo Woo-jin accelerated.
At a speed unbelievable for a human.
In the blink of an eye, he arrived where Seong Yura was rampaging.
‘...She’s lost it.’
The first thing he saw were the corpses.
Whether from Seong Yura’s skill or not, the knights were torn to shreds.
Few were intact, so he couldn’t count exactly, but at least dozens.
Kwaaaang—!
An explosion rang out.
He reflexively turned toward it.
‘Damn!’
Seong Yura’s hand blade was falling toward Kang Byung-gyu’s neck.
Bulging eyes.
Trembling pupils.
And the other heroes rushing to help Kang Byung-gyu.
‘Too late.’
They were giving it everything, but they couldn’t stop Seong Yura.
But Seo Woo-jin could.
Thud—!
Seo Woo-jin kicked off the ground, and surrounding objects stretched like streaks of light—an optical illusion from the extreme speed.
The uncontrolled chaos aura poured out, crushing everything.
Nothing living or dead could resist it.
“You crazy bitch, what the hell are you doing!”
Appearing before Seong Yura like teleportation, Seo Woo-jin kicked her side.
Kwaaang—!
An unbelievable sound for a mere kick erupted.
“Kyaaaak!”
Seong Yura flew.
Kwaaaa—!
The buildings she passed through were utterly demolished and collapsed.
“...Woo-jin.”
Kang Byung-gyu, who had narrowly escaped death, gasped raggedly and called Seo Woo-jin’s name.
“You okay?”
Seo Woo-jin whipped around, checking his condition.
‘Not good.’
Kang Byung-gyu had no uninjured parts.
Both arms broken, a chunk of flesh torn from his abdomen, blood pouring.
“The, the others...”
“I know, so rest for a bit.”
Seo Woo-jin activated ‘Dragon Eye’ to gather all surrounding info.
‘Fortunately, they’re all alive.’
Unlike the countless dead knights, his comrades were all alive.
But none were unscathed.
Especially Goo Dong-hwan and Kye Soo-ji—they had massive injuries that could be fatal without immediate treatment.
“I’ll take over here, so handle the wounded.”
Seo Woo-jin said to the knights holding swords a short distance away.
Then, without waiting for a reply, he started walking toward where Seong Yura had flown.
“Hey, you crazy bitch. You’re still alive, right? Crawl out already.”
Rustle—
The debris where she was buried shifted, and Seong Yura emerged, covered in dust.
Seeing it, Seo Woo-jin bared his teeth.
“You...!”
Seong Yura’s eyes were bloodshot with madness.
But Seo Woo-jin met her gaze head-on without flinching and spoke.
“You’re dying today.”
Overwhelming killing intent, incomparable to hers, radiated out.