Evil Spirits (2)
Spirits provided benefits to humanity and served as the source of the supernatural powers they wielded. Most of them did.
However, there was a tiny fraction—spirits that didn't fall under the category of "most spirits." Ominous entities known as evil spirits.
These evil spirits devoured their contractors. Sometimes they outright seized the body, while other times they drained life force or gnawed away at lifespan.
Did that mean evil spirits were fundamentally different from ordinary ones? Not quite. They started out the same as any other spirit. But through some trigger, a spirit would go berserk or corrupt, transforming into an evil spirit.
Clarice Levatein had ended up like this because someone had deliberately driven her spirit into a frenzy. And it didn't take much thought to figure out who that someone was.
Seong Hyun-jin scowled and muttered, "…Willis Graham, where the hell did that bastard go?"
"I didn't see anyone leave…"
"Junior! Over there!"
Yeonhui's voice, back to its usual polite tone, rang out urgently. Seong Hyun-jin whipped his head around and spotted Willis Graham limping away stealthily.
Apparently, when Clarice's spirit had rampaged moments ago, it had blasted a hole big enough to slip through in the wall.
"…Serena, hold things down here."
"Huh? You're going after him alone…!?"
Serena's shocked retort fell on empty air—Seong Hyun-jin was already gone. Stunned, she shouted after him.
"Seong Hyun-jin! He's an instructor, for heaven's sake—how do you plan to take him on by yourself…!!"
"I'll follow him. Yeonhui sunbae, stay here and watch things with her."
"O-okay…!"
Seong Hyun-jin burst out of the restaurant and sprinted in the direction Willis had fled. He caught a glimpse of Ciela chasing after him but didn't have time to stop and wait. He just hoped she'd keep up on her own.
The moment he saw Willis duck into an alley in the city, Seong Hyun-jin gave immediate pursuit.
Willis must have realized he was being chased, because he didn't slow down after entering the alley. He kept pushing deeper into the quieter backstreets, away from crowds.
Not missing a beat, Seong Hyun-jin closed the gap swiftly and rounded the corner.
"!"
Whoosh!!
A sword came flying at him the instant he turned the corner. Seong Hyun-jin bent backward at the waist to dodge, then used the momentum to leap to the opposite side.
"…Hah."
"…Dodged it, huh."
If his senses hadn't kicked in fast enough, his head might have been split in two. It wasn't a sloppy swing—it was a precise, high-level strike. A bead of cold sweat trickled down Seong Hyun-jin's temple.
That sword strike just now… Willis Graham had fully intended to kill him.
"…Forgot this is inside the academy grounds? Laying hands on a student?"
Seong Hyun-jin shot back incredulously. "You know who the academy head is, and you're still pulling this crap?"
"I'm not that stupid, Seong Hyun-jin."
Willis Graham's face was cold and ruthless, unrecognizable from their previous encounter.
"The head's away from campus today. This is our last chance."
"…Away?"
"Word is the Sword Star is coming soon. Looks like she's stepping out to greet her."
Seong Hyun-jin blinked in surprise at the news.
Master's coming?
It was the first he'd heard of it. No prior heads-up, and now she was showing up out of the blue? His heart started pounding.
Assuming Seong Hyun-jin would already know, Willis smirked at his reaction. "You call her master and you didn't even know?"
Seeing that, Willis gripped his sword tighter, convinced this was the right call.
"If she's keeping it secret even from her disciple, that seals it. She's probably coming to take me down."
"…So you struck first?"
"Exactly. Makes perfect sense."
Willis continued, "With the outlier that is a Palstar Hero out of the picture, and just green academy brats and peace-loving instructors left—this is the perfect moment to maximize the damage."
"Why pull something like this?"
"Well, simply put, I had no choice…"
Willis's brow furrowed slightly, fine lines creasing his face. A flicker of anguish and sorrow crossed his expression, but he didn't make excuses.
"You won't care about my personal sob story, so I'll skip it."
"…Who put you up to it?"
"Yeah, put up to it."
Seong Hyun-jin paused, piecing it together from Willis's words.
Had to hit the academy hard, and he didn't want to but had no choice…
Willis Graham was a former senior knight of the Empire. Senior knights were the elite of the military powerhouse—fewer than a thousand in the entire nation. Someone of his caliber wouldn't be easily blackmailed by a lone individual.
From that, Seong Hyun-jin inferred it wasn't personal—it came from a higher power.
"…The nation's orders, then."
"You're sharper than I thought."
Willis let out a hollow chuckle at Seong Hyun-jin's quick wits.
"Figures. That's why you suspected me and chased me here."
"You knew I suspected you?"
"Of course. I was shocked to see you in the restaurant, honestly. But the plan had to proceed as scheduled."
Willis raised his sword, cold killing intent radiating from it as he aimed at Seong Hyun-jin.
"I've made my choice. Now, all that's left is eliminating the witness."
"…If that's your choice."
Seong Hyun-jin replied coolly. "I'll make you pay the price."
"……."
Thump. Willis's bad leg advanced. In that instant, Seong Hyun-jin stepped forward too.
"Jerugasias Style, First Form."
"Spirit Exorcism Sword, First Form."
Seong Hyun-jin surged at the limping Willis in a flash, long sword and shortsword clashing.
「Red Sword」
「Gui Strike Kill」
Clang!!
Kaaaang!!!
The weapons collided fiercely and passed by. Seong Hyun-jin and Willis had swapped positions. After exchanging one clash, they turned to face each other.
"Thought you'd get cocky because of my leg?"
Willis flicked his long sword lightly, shaking off bits of skin and blood droplets.
"I've cut down hundreds of cocky pups who think they know a thing or two about swords. Impressive technique, sure—but not uncrackable."
As Willis said, blood dripped from Seong Hyun-jin's forearm. Willis had gained the edge in that exchange.
But Seong Hyun-jin didn't seem rattled.
"…Still a bit short."
It wasn't a deep cut—the long sword had grazed his arm just before their blades met.
He could see the sword clearly. In terms of swordsmanship insight, he was on par with the Sword Star.
But seeing and matching were different beasts. Seong Hyun-jin's frame was smaller than Willis's—shorter height meant shorter limbs, creating a reach disadvantage.
Even matching timing perfectly, the gap in reach meant he took the hit inevitably. He'd figured the limp would throw off Willis's balance enough to botch the block.
…At senior knight level, a limp isn't even a hindrance?
Willis had demonstrated as much effortlessly in that clash.
He's better than I thought.
Seong Hyun-jin thought, curling his lips in a sly grin.
Willis frowned, puzzled. "What's so funny?"
"Not funny—fun."
"What?"
Willis wondered if he'd misheard. A wound on the swordsman's vital arm, against a superior foe, and he called it fun?
As Willis stared in confusion, Seong Hyun-jin grinned like he was genuinely enjoying it.
"Didn't expect much from a retired cripple, but senior knights live up to the hype. Better than I hoped."
Seong Hyun-jin sheathed his sword.
Willis eyed the move warily. "Decided to let me go?"
Seong Hyun-jin shook his head. "Master was right."
"…What're you on about?"
"Said there are plenty of so-called experts out there, and sparring them would help."
He'd sheathed the blade but kept his hand on the hilt.
"Fighting an Empire senior knight like this? Pretty thrilling experience."
"…You think this is a game?"
Willis scowled. "I'll make you regret that delusion."
Thump. Willis advanced his bad leg again. This time, he charged first.
Incredible agility for a limper—hard to believe. His long sword thrust straight at Seong Hyun-jin in a blink.
"Soul Severing Sword, Second Form."
Seong Hyun-jin thumbed the guard, and with a click, the blade slid out slightly. Just before the long sword pierced his neck, he drew fully in a split-second.
「Ghost Soul Annihilation」
Craaaack───────────!!
Ciela chased after Seong Hyun-jin, leaving Serena to face the rampaging Clarice alongside Yeonhui.
The spirit contracted to Clarice Levatein wasn't a branch of the fire attribute—it was classified under the rock attribute as the rare lava type.
Lava was scorching hot, but it had clear limits. Fire could melt steel; lava couldn't.
That's why it couldn't compete with Serena, who wielded a superior fire attribute. Once Serena nearly perfectly blocked the lava's heat, the evil spirit judged it futile and took direct control of the body.
It hadn't fully overtaken Clarice's flesh yet—her movements looked awkward and jerky.
Serena glanced at her and asked Yeonhui, who had stayed behind.
"Yeonhui sunbae, is there any reason a spirit would suddenly go berserk like that?"
"Almost never. Spirits are influenced by their contractor's mental state, but it takes extreme emotions to have any effect. Hard to imagine something like that flaring up out of nowhere in a restaurant…"
Yeonhui explained, "Circumstantially, someone forced the spirit into a frenzy. And that someone is Instructor Willis."
"You can force a spirit to rampage?"
"…I've heard there's a black-market potion that does it. Especially easy to get in places like the Empire, where wars never stop."
"……Hah."
Serena recalled Willis Graham's imperial origins and sighed bitterly.
"Now I get why he targeted Clarice Levatein of all people."
"The Levatein Dukedom clashes with the Empire often. Revenge, maybe?"
"Not sure about the exact reason, but one thing's clear."
Serena stated firmly, "We have to stop her here somehow—before she hurts anyone else."