Academy's Savior

I summoned Hwaryeonbido.

If lightning wouldn't work, I'd just go cut the thing down myself. Fortunately, my eyes could see exactly where the mud giant's heart was.

Acceleration.

I closed in on the mud giant. Stepping on its foot, its knee, its side, I climbed onto its shoulder. Over ten meters up. The view opened wide — but there was no time for sightseeing.

Charna.

In the slowed world, I settled into position in an instant. Crimson current raced along the blade.

I severed the mud giant's neck. Its head slid free and tumbled downward. I looked at the stump. Mud, packed tight.

Thrust.

I drove the blade into the cut neck.

The edge reached the mud giant's heart — its core. But it couldn't pierce ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠through. The heart had suddenly shifted toward the chest.

Damn it.

I stared at the cross-section of the severed neck. The mud writhed like water. From within it, a hard chunk of rock began to show.

It's going to fire another rock.

I kicked off its body and landed on the ground. A stake of stone locked onto me.

A small peal of thunder rolled from my feet. I danced through every one of the mud giant's attacks.

In that short time, the mud giant had regenerated its head.

I was hoping to make this easy. No such luck.

I called to mind my second trait.

My body grew hot. Instinct was screaming. Tear apart the mud giant in front of me, then track down the demon hiding somewhere out there.

Superhuman Might.

With overflowing strength, I swung Hwaryeonbido.

A massive shockwave of air pressure rose and split the mud giant's body in half. I hadn't used a scrap of mana. Pure force alone had made that scene.

That's the heart.

A round red stone.

I swung Hwaryeonbido again. Tremendous wind pressure locked onto the heart. The mud interfered — gathering in front of the core and forming a shield. The pressure shredded the shield but failed to finish the heart.

Ignoring my trembling arms, I planned the next strike. If I didn't end it here, things would only get more annoying.

I was about to use Charna when a spear came flying from behind and smashed the heart dead-on. The mud floating around it collapsed to the ground.

I turned my head. Seong Ha-ri was walking toward me with a confident smile.

"It's a little different from the mud giants I know. Still, nothing special either way."

"Kill stealer."

"…Kill stealer? I don't know what that means, but it sounds rude."

"I could've handled it alone even without you."

"Without me, you would've had a much harder time, Oppa."

She wouldn't give an inch. I shut my mouth for lack of a comeback.

"We'll split the mana stone half and half."

The mud giant's heart lost its light and became a mana stone.

"Just take the whole thing."

"Really?! I've been short on allowance lately, so this is perfect… this is way past allowance money! Today's my lucky day~"

Allowance money. Listening to her was enough to leave me speechless. This was a mud giant reinforced by a demon's power. I didn't know the exact figure, but it had to be worth billions.

Even back then, her spending habits were something else. …Not that her spending is what matters right now.

Ignoring the delighted Seong Ha-ri, I scanned the surroundings.

Notification windows stacked one after another.

I could feel the will behind them — find the demon and kill it no matter what — and I snorted a laugh.

To the right, a reddish smoke shimmered. It swayed as if beckoning me. The demon's trail, shown to me by Demon Hunter (S). I ran right.

"Wait, Oppa! Where are you going all of a sudden?!"

Seong Ha-ri came after me.

"Go home."

"…No. I have no reason to listen to you."

"Fine. Do what you want."

There was no point bickering with a fake version of her. What mattered now was the demon.

The demon's probably fake too… but Demon Hunter (S) reacted, so killing it should still grow the trait. I might even pick up another demonic authority.

A chance to grow Demon Hunter (S). Opportunities like this didn't come often. I wasn't about to miss it.

"……Something's off."

Seong Ha-ri muttered.

"Off? What is?"

"…A monster appeared right near our house, but there's no reaction from home at all. The spirits would've detected the combat situation first and reported it."

"Now that you mention it, that is strange."

It wasn't particularly strange to me.

Every demon had a different personality and authority. Some reveled in open destruction; others preferred working from the shadows. When a demon was involved, nothing that happened was truly odd.

The demon's trail led toward downtown. Seong Ha-ri rolled her eyes and followed behind me. She clearly had no idea what was actually going on.

BOOM! CRASH! BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!

Explosions thundered.

A battle was underway downtown.

Monsters from somewhere were running wild. Black markings covered their skin — they'd received a demon's power.

The red smoke grew clearer.

Ignore everything else and go for the demon's true body. That was the message. This was a fake world anyway. No reason to clean up ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠trash mobs.

"Wait, Oppa! There are monsters nearby! People are in danger!"

"You go help them."

"…Oppa. Is this the kind of person you are?"

"Yeah. This is the kind of person I am."

"……."

Seong Ha-ri kept following me.

"Why are you still tagging along? Aren't you going to save people?"

"The Hero Association is already moving. The heroes will handle the rescue. That's a hero's job."

"You're a hero too."

"I'm not a hero yet."

"Ah, right…."

I was racing through downtown on the trail when one of the fleeing civilians recognized my face and screamed in horror.

"A t-terrorist!!"

The atmosphere went cold. I could feel Seong Ha-ri staring hard at the back of my head. I scratched my hair.

"Terrorist? What is he talking about?"

"Ah. I'm actually a terrorist."

"……."

"……."

A deflating sound escaped Seong Ha-ri's mouth. She seemed to have written my words off as a joke.

The thought suddenly hit me that once she knew I was a terrorist, she might attack me.

I can't fight a demon with a liability hanging off me…. Time to shake her off.

I kicked my speed higher. I shot forward faster than a car at full throttle.

"Wh-what?!"

Seong Ha-ri's startled voice reached me. Her presence grew steadily more distant.

Future Seong Ha-ri might be another story. Middle-school Seong Ha-ri can't keep up with me.

I grinned and worked my legs. The night wind felt cool.

BOOM! CRASH! CRASH!

Explosions sounded behind me. Battles were breaking out all over, so I figured it was just that — but the blasts kept getting louder. Getting closer. I twisted my head back to check. Seong Ha-ri was grinding her teeth and chasing me. Her eyes blazed like fire.

…Did I just step on her pride?

She wasn't running — she was leaping with mana. The explosions were the sound of each jump.

What a crude way to run. Never mind the mana drain — that's going to wreck her body.

I clicked my tongue and eased off the speed. I'd underestimated middle-school Seong Ha-ri's stubbornness a little too much.

"Enough. Go home."

"I do what I want."

Seong Ha-ri wiped her sweat as she spoke.

I didn't like it, but there was nothing I could do. The destination was right in front of us.

At Olympic Park, in the plaza before the Gate of Peace, a man was standing.

A man in a suit. A fedora on his head, a cane in his hand. A cat's tail swayed at his back.

I felt power stronger than ever before. That was not a good sign. If Demon Hunter (S) was pouring this much strength into me, the demon on the other side was no ordinary opponent.

That outfit…. And that cat tail…. Don't tell me.

Having grasped the demon's identity, I hardened my face.

The demon looking at the Gate of Peace turned around. A middle-aged man with purple skin. No beard, pointed ears. Pupils red as blood.

"A pleasure to meet you, our natural enemy."

He opened his mouth. His teeth were black.

"I am called Laplace."

My breath caught in my throat.

A Legion Commander never appeared in Seoul in the past. If one had, Seoul would have been wiped off the map and then some. A being of that rank wouldn't move carelessly either.

In other words, like me and Ryu Hana, he had entered the dungeon from outside. He'd gotten in first by some means, I figured.

I recalled the notification window I'd seen upon entering the dungeon.

Three question marks.

Proof that the dungeon had been corrupted for some reason. And that reason was standing right in front of me.

"Damn it…. Why is a Legion Commander here?"

"I can see the future. I knew you and the Sword's Shaman would come to this place."

"So you came here to kill me? This world is going to be your grave."

The moment I saw him, I dropped the lightning I'd prepared.

KRRAAAAK.

A massive bolt lit up the dark night sky.

"Did I not say?"

Laplace was unharmed. Smoke curled up from the blackened ground around his feet.

He had dodged the lightning. My lightning, which boasted perfect accuracy under the influence of my marksmanship trait.

"I can see the future."

Laplace said it leisurely.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

I gripped Hwaryeonbido and charged him.

I closed on Laplace while swinging my blade. He stepped back and slipped past my attacks.

"Your attacks are especially fatal to our kind. Frightening. Truly frightening."

Laplace dodged the fluid chain of cuts by a paper-thin margin, as if ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠performing a tap dance.

"It's the one wish of my life. Please just take one hit."

"An unreasonable wish. Well, I am a demon, after all — if the price is appropriate, there's nothing I couldn't grant."

"What's the price?"

"Your life."

"Bullshit!"

I called down thunder. Before the current could reach him, he kicked off the ground and soared into the sky.

I clenched my teeth.

That bastard can't use his full power right now. If he forced his way into the dungeon, there have to be restrictions. I have to kill him here no matter what it takes.

"I dislike fighting in person. It rather lowers one's standing, don't you think?"

Laplace pulled something from his suit pocket. A lump of flesh. It writhed in his hand as if alive.

"I prepared something for you. I can already picture the look you'll make."

He tossed the lump of flesh into the air. It floated upward, multiplying in size as it rose. It resembled a woman's genitals.

Clitoris, labia minora, urethra, vaginal opening…. To put it bluntly — a pussy. Except a single enormous eyeball was embedded where the clitoris should be. The bloodshot eye rolled as it looked down at the ground.

"You crazy bastard. You made a monster like that? You've lost your damn mind."

"Why? Isn't this something you like? I merely reflected your tastes with one hundred percent accuracy."

"Well, I do like them, but…."

That was just a monster that looked like a pussy.

I grabbed hold of my blanking mind.

The labia of the pussy-monster fluttered. The vaginal opening gathered a massive wind, then expelled it again. A lukewarm gale swept over the ground. The wind of a pussy.