Chapter 140
Chapter 140
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 140
Chapter Title: Terror (2)
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Two beauties in their mid-to-late twenties were chatting in a café.
"It seems like our Sol has been loving chocolate a bit less lately? She used to down three chocolate parfaits at a time."
"Eh, just... looking for something sweeter than chocolate."
Slurp, slurp.
Im Sol was meeting a friend at the café.
She usually focused more on research than people, but with the festival underway, she was knocking out all the promises she'd been putting off.
Min Ye-ji, team leader of Iron Blood Guild.
They'd originally planned to meet yesterday, but it got pushed to today because of an appointment with Baek A-young.
Having not seen each other in ages, they had plenty piled up to talk about.
"So yeah, I had a massive blowout with that old fart association chairman."
"Sounds rough."
Slurp.
"On top of that, the guild master was nagging me to do something quick. Ugh, so much crap to handle."
"That's why I said guilds are all about the work."
Of course, it was mostly Min Ye-ji starting conversations and Im Sol responding.
They'd known each other since their cadet days. Im Sol had a short stint as an active hunter before switching to professor for her magic research, while Min Ye-ji joined a major guild chasing money and fame.
One was a visiting professor at Victoria Academy, the other a team leader at a big guild—both had climbed the ladder successfully.
"Even so, being a professor like you is a bit... I can't just sit still. I want to earn more money too."
"What's with you and money? You have plenty already."
"You can never have enough money."
Min Ye-ji tapped at her smartwatch—probably another message from a superior.
Every time Im Sol saw that, she was glad she hadn't joined a guild.
"Sigh... We should've made contact with Cadet Lee Ho-yeon during the festival too. You really have no idea where he is?"
"Nope. No clue. I haven't seen him once during the festival either."
Im Sol hated the idea of Lee Ho-yeon getting annoyed more than her friend getting chewed out by superiors.
'He's already busy enough. Getting tangled up with her would just make it a headache.'
"Argh, seriously. No response to messages, no idea where he is—how the hell are we supposed to make contact? Those lunatics."
"Calm down. Pray to the heavens, and we'll run into him eventually..."
Boom—Boom—
At that moment, unidentified explosions rang out from outside.
"...!"
Both shot up from their seats and rushed out.
Smoke rose from spots all over the festival grounds, and people were plunged into panic.
"...It's terrorism. I'll go help with containment."
As a professor at the academy, Im Sol had a duty to stop the terror attack.
But as she moved to dash toward the smoke, Min Ye-ji blocked her.
"Sol, hold on. This is suspicious."
As a team leader in a major guild, Min Ye-ji was used to fighting Pandemic. That's why she could sense something off about this terror attack.
"The smoke's too thin for those explosion sounds. There might be follow-up attacks. We need to assess the situation first."
"...You're right."
Im Sol calmly took stock too. Sure enough, no injured people despite the noise.
As they scanned the surroundings for suspicious figures, Im Sol spotted Lee Ho-yeon.
"Huh?"
"Spot a shady guy?"
"No, over there..."
Min Ye-ji looked too once she noticed.
Lee Ho-yeon was weaving through the crowd with flames blazing in both hands, then slamming fire into a security guard's face.
-Gaaah!
The guard clutched his face and rolled on the ground.
"Wh-what the hell?"
"...!"
Min Ye-ji and Im Sol paled in shock and raced toward him.
*
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ I plunged into the panicking crowd clinging to the security guards.
Thanks to my Mana Sensitivity, I sensed the mana surging inside a demon disguised as a security guard.
Crack!
I didn't hesitate and drove a fire punch right into the demon's face.
"Gaaah!"
"Get away from me! It's a demon!"
Gurgle—gurgle—
The demon's face I'd punched was writhing. Demonization was progressing.
I yelled to make people back off from me.
I could shout that there were demons among the security guards, but disguised demons made up only about a fifth of them.
Better for me to just quickly take out the demons than cause more chaos.
"Wh-what!"
"Someone's dead! Lee Ho-yeon attacked him!"
"He said it's a demon! Run!"
Of course, people near me seemed even more panicked, but better than dying to demons.
-Grah, gaaah! Grrk. Grrrruk!
Inhuman voices started spilling out.
I ramped up the firepower on the demon spewing its gross, ugly noises.
"Ho-yeon!"
Then a familiar voice called to me.
"Professor?"
Professor Im Sol came rushing over in a panic.
Hearing her call me "Ho-yeon" outside was a first—caught me off guard.
Trailing her was that cat-like beauty from the commendation ceremony.
'That must be Min Ye-ji.'
I remembered looking her up after all the messages—she was quite the looker.
Figured they were acquaintances since I'd seen them together, but close enough to meet personally. Closer than I thought.
"What is this... Huh?"
"It's a demon. Disguised as a security guard."
Im Sol seemed to notice the demonization up close now.
-Kreee... grrrk!
Crunch—
The demon hit by the fire punch tore open from the shoulder, revealing a new body.
What to call it?
Unpleasantly bulky, muscular build.
-Gaaaaah! Die! Die!
The demon, unable to bear the pain from the fire punch still scorching its face, reached for my arm.
I'd had Clairvoyance active, so I yanked my hand free and put some distance.
"What a pain in the ass."
I shook off the weird liquid on my fist and reignited the flames.
With so many people around, better to handle it this way than with full magic.
'Acceleration.'
I slammed a punch into its gut at a speed it couldn't react to.
Thud—
"Kgh?!"
Speed meant power too, naturally.
The demon, hit by my Einstein fire punch, dropped dead on the spot.
"Kyaaah!"
"R-run!"
Civilians who'd seen the security guard turn demon started fleeing from the guards.
"Everyone! Don't separate from the security guards! Stick together!"
Professors from somewhere were trying to control the situation, but a handful couldn't manage the masses easily.
Most people milled about in confusion, not even recognizing the professors.
"Ho-yeon. What's going..."
"Professor. Let me tell you how to spot demons. Help me out, please. And you too, Ms. Min Ye-ji, even if it's our first time meeting."
Pandemic executives each had unique traits.
Some brute-forced through traps, others operated meticulously like strategists.
This terror attack was meticulously planned, clearly.
Among the early-appearing executives, only one pulled off something this precise.
Gil Steven.
"What? You said spotting demons?"
Professor Im Sol questioned my claim.
"Not perfect. Just the ones here now."
Spotting perfectly hidden demons was impossible.
That's why the war against demons in this world never ended.
But Gil Steven's underlings were different.
They all had the same magic circle etched into their hearts, so knowing it let me identify them.
I immediately drew the magic circle in the air.
The one I'd parsed from killing that demon just now.
"Any security guard with this magic circle is a demon. I'll handle elsewhere—you and Ms. Min Ye-ji take this area."
"Ho-yeon! Wait!"
"Cadet Lee Ho-yeon?!"
I heard them calling, but this was a chance I couldn't miss.
Gil Steven.
Even in Pandemic, he was the brains behind annoying ops.
Best to take him out early.
His plans were always clever and hit weak spots, but had one fatal flaw.
His perfectionism.
He obsessed over flawless execution and always worked to fix mistakes for next time—a real try-hard.
And craving that field experience desks couldn't provide, the bastard always oversaw sites personally.
Right in the center of operations.
Knowing that, I'd scanned with mana sense mid-fight and pinned his location.
"Urgh... ngh."
"Grandpa, you okay?"
"Ow, ow. Help this old man out..."
I approached an old man collapsed in the heart of the terror, leg injured from an explosion.
I gave him a concerned look and helped him up. He groaned and grabbed my offered hand.
"Hup!!"
At the same time, his free hand thrust a dagger at me.
Crackle—
Lightning-fast, but my prepped Cotton Guard blocked the dagger effortlessly.
"...How long have you known?"
"Obviously from the start. Gil Steven."
I smirked at the flustered old man's face.
Guys who think they're smart always look hilarious when shocked.
"How the hell do you even know my name? Few in Pandemic have seen my real face. A spy?"
"None of your business."
Thump.
My heart raced a bit.
Meant Combat Sense had triggered faintly.
My judgment was spot on.
The first executive was one I could crush easily.
My growth had long surpassed the original.
Pat-pat—
Gil Steven stood, mana surging.
"For my master... I'll claim the offering before me."
"Fucking psycho."
Most Pandemic execs were fanatic like that.
Maestro's power.
Gil Steven's body rippled red-black as mana surged.
Of course, I wasn't tense at all.
"Die...!"
His mana peaked, magic circle forming.
Tap.
I disrupted the core circuit of his circle, and the spell crumbled.
"Wh-how!"
"Hmm... Wanted lab data for a paper, but your level's too low to be useful."
"What bullshit!"
Realizing magic wouldn't work, Gil Steven turned and fled.
He'd felt the skill gap physically.
"Man, rat bastard's got quick instincts."
He stopped by the academy auditorium near the central fountain. I followed right up.
"Just give up already, yeah?"
I'd dragged it out hoping to extract info, but it seemed like a waste of time.
"Heh, heh... I'll burn my final spark. For my master!"
"..."
As he finished, mana drained rapidly from his body.
'What? Trap?'
He stood at the Academy Honor Hall.
Display of alumni statues, portraits, artifacts owned by the academy...
'Artifacts?'
I immediately mana-sensed the Honor Hall.
An hour since the terror started, most people had evacuated.
Good—no one inside. But mana fluctuations. Massive magic circle flow.
"If I trade one life for thousands of offerings... that's worthwhile."
Gil Steven closed his eyes, smiling serenely like a man at peace with death.
Clearly plotting something with his sacrifice.
'What can he do with artifacts?'
I slowly recalled. Artifacts. Yeah, something like that in the original.
"Got it."
Artifacts were mana-charged gear.
There was a way to weaponize that mana.
Overload the artifact mana into a bomb.
It appeared briefly in the original—definitely remembered.
Recognizing that let me parse the magic circle in the Honor Hall.
It was for liquefying artifacts and detonating them.
'Gotta stop it.'
In the original, even if this existed, they probably left it as insurance without triggering—too risky.
This magic guzzled mana, inevitably requiring Gil Steven's sacrifice.
Dead anyway, so he activated on his way out, taking offerings with him.
'No wonder he bolted the second he felt the gap.'
What to do?
I thought it through slowly.
Fear the bomb? Defuse before it blows.
So, for artifact bomb?
'Just smash the artifacts before they become bombs.'
Artifact power needs the gear intact. Smashing doesn't let you absorb mana like elixir.
I began gathering mana in my hand.