Academy's Savior

Seong Ha-ri strode forward with absolute confidence.

I fell into step beside her and felt an odd sense of dissonance.

Has Seong Ha-ri's presence gotten stronger...?

I had a convenient ability for moments like this.

She had only devoured a single spirit, yet several of her stats had already risen since the last time I checked. Strength in particular had skyrocketed straight to S-rank.

...That was no ordinary spirit. She ate a high-ranking wind spirit.

A high-ranking spirit. The same tier as Mocha. Once a spirit reached high rank or above, it could freely materialize even outside the Spirit Realm and claim a territory in the real world, receiving worship as a local deity.

Seong Ha-ri had grown stronger by consuming one of those.

If she were to devour every spirit here...

I can't even begin to guess how powerful she'd become. That trait is a complete cheat key.

Seong Ha-ri, who had been walking straight ahead, suddenly changed direction. I tilted my head and looked at her.

"Ha-ri. Is that the right way? It's a little off from the operation zone."

"Hmm? Oh, I just ended up going this way without thinking. But I think this is correct. It feels right."

"If your gut says so, then it is."

Our relationship with the Chinese Hero Association was already over, so there was no need to stick to the original plan. I simply followed Seong Ha-ri.

[Let's go! Let's go! Let's go! Let's gooo!]

Makina, nestled in Seong Ha-ri's arms, was far more hyped than usual. Probably the influence of an environment so close to the Spirit Realm.

Rumble, rumble.

The ground shook. The paved path shattered, and a two-meter mole erupted from the earth.

A high-ranking earth spirit.

The spirit that had appeared so boldly began trembling the moment it saw Seong Ha-ri. Pure terror.

[Y-you can't pass through here...!]

Even its voice was shaking.

Seong Ha-ri's steps faltered for a fraction of a second, then she approached the earth spirit with a blank expression.

Before I could stop her, boulders erupted from the ground. They fell with the sole purpose of crushing Seong Ha-ri. She kicked off the earth and dodged the descending rocks. With her Barrier Field serving as footholds, her movement was freer than anything else.

Rocks she couldn't avoid were either deflected with her spear or smashed apart.

...It's not just raw power. There's high-level technique woven into every motion.

I already knew Seong Ha-ri was strong. I had long since accepted that her pure skill put her a tier above me.

She's grown again.

Not only physically, but technically as well.

Or maybe the rise in physical ability simply expanded the ceiling of her technique...?

Either way, Seong Ha-ri was now strong enough that even the current me could not ignore her.

She tore through the rock storm and split the earth spirit's core with her spear.

[It hurts...! It hurts!! Aaaaaaagh!]

The rock spirit screamed in agony as Seong Ha-ri consumed it.

She grew stronger again. Yet her expression was anything but good. Her eyes were full of sorrow and worry.

This time Agility jumped to S-rank.

I broke out in a cold sweat.

Physical stats barely moved once they hit A-rank. Climbing higher required talent, elixirs, and effort all at once.

Seong Ha-ri shook off the sorrow—or rather, postponed it—and kept advancing.

Spirits appeared to block her path.

Low- and mid-ranking spirits fled in terror the instant they saw her.

[M-monster!]

[Spirit slaughterer!]

[R-run! If it catches you, you'll be eaten!]

Seong Ha-ri did not chase them. Her goal was to resolve this crisis, not to kill spirits. She could not afford to lose sight of that purpose.

High-ranking spirits were different. They feared her, yet they did not flee. They staked their very existence on stopping her.

Spirits that had appeared one by one began coming in pairs or threes, attacking Seong Ha-ri together.

She cut them all down and absorbed their power.

[Auntie looks so sad...]

Makina was worried enough that Seong Ha-ri's condition was clearly not good.

Before I realized it, every one of her physical stats had climbed into S-rank.

Even I no longer had the confidence to stop her.

......Seong Ha-ri can't control Spirit Devourer.

From what I could tell, Spirit Devourer (S) was a passive. In game terms, it reduced damage taken from spirits and increased damage dealt to them. On top of that, if a spirit took a fatal wound, the trait simply absorbed the spirit's existence and made the user stronger.

It was broken. I wanted to call it broken, but if I had that ability myself... I wouldn't be able to use it half as well as she was.

Anything mid-rank or lower would barely give any efficiency. She'd have to fight high-ranking spirits and above... and those things are never easy opponents.

I looked behind us. The aftermath of Seong Ha-ri's battles with high-ranking spirits had reduced everything within a one-kilometer radius to scorched earth.

...The Hainan incident happened in the real world outside a dungeon. This is why Seong Ha-ri became the world's strongest hero in her early twenties.

Seong Ha-ri, who had been walking while cradling Makina, suddenly stopped. She handed Makina to me.

"Oppa. From here on, I'll go alone."

"What are you talking about all of a sudden?"

"There's an enormous presence ahead. I think it's a supreme-rank spirit. You're a spirit tamer, so you know, right? How dangerous a supreme-rank spirit is when it can use its full power."

Spirits could not exert their full strength in the human world. The higher their rank, the more restrictions they faced. In the Spirit Realm, however, they could use everything they had.

And if a supreme-rank spirit unleashed its complete power... wiping out a city would be trivial.

"If you get caught in the fight... you'll be in danger, Oppa."

"Don't worry about me. If it gets dangerous I'll just run. I still have spatial transfer scrolls, remember?"

Seong Ha-ri looked at me with clear dissatisfaction.

I stepped closer, took her shoulders, and brought my face near hers. I kissed her lightly. Her cheeks flushed a soft pink.

"We're going together. And when this is over... we go home and live it up. We still have to get revenge on China."

"Revenge? Do we really have to? So many people will die. And do we even have the right to take revenge?"

"Ha-ri. If the Chinese Hero Association had handled things properly, none of this would have happened in the first place. We almost died because of them. Taking revenge is our natural right. No—even if it weren't a right, we still have to do it."

"You hate the Chinese Hero Association that much?"

I nodded.

"Why?"

"They tried to use us. And... you almost died."

Seong Ha-ri's eyes went round and her lips parted slightly.

"...You're right. You almost died too, Oppa. Like you said, we have to take revenge."

"Good. We'll save that for later. Let's go together."

"Okay. If it gets dangerous, you use a scroll and run immediately. Got it?"

"You too."

I walked forward with Seong Ha-ri.

I could feel it.

The colossal presence waiting ahead.

I wiped the sweat from my forehead. Makina, clinging to my shoulder, had gone completely stiff.

Dark clouds that had not been there a moment ago now gathered in the sky.

Rumble. Crash! Boom!

The pitch-black clouds paradoxically shone brilliantly. Lightning was striking the ground without pause.

A bolt fell toward Seong Ha-ri. She swung her spear. Amazingly, the lightning ricocheted sideways and slammed into a tree. The tree turned to dust and vanished. This was no ordinary lightning.

A bolt came for me as well. I activated Charna. Seong Ha-ri tried to protect me, but I was curious about that lightning.

I have lightning affinity, so one hit shouldn't kill me. If I die... I'll just revive.

I reached out and took the bolt. Lightning raced through my body. I tried to control it, but it was far too violent. The current rampaged freely.

[You crazy bastard!]

Makina jammed a syringe-like device into my thigh. The lightning that had been trying to destroy me from the inside was sucked out through the syringe.

"Cough."

I coughed. Instead of blood, a clump of lightning spilled from my mouth and hit the ground.

"Oppa!!"

Seong Ha-ri rushed over and checked my body. Makina yanked the syringe out of my thigh and flung it far away.

"I'm fine. You know I handle lightning. I thought my resistance would be enough... but it's stronger than I expected. Alien, almost."

"Oppa. Never do something like that again. Next time I'll actually kill you myself."

I felt her sincerity. I shut my mouth and nodded. Seong Ha-ri sighed and walked forward again, far more carefully than before.

I feel like I'm on the verge of understanding something... but it's still hazy.

We approached the center.

Unexpected figures came into view.

Wang Zixin.

The Chinese S-class hero known as the Death Spirit Emperor stood before a pit with twelve men. All of them were staring down into the hole.

Those twelve... aren't human.

Not jiangshi or zombies. Evil spirits summoned through necromancy. I had seen evil spirits before, so I was certain.

"You've finally arrived."

Wang Zixin spoke while looking at Seong Ha-ri. The black-clad man beside him translated into fluent Korean.

"How did you get here first?"

Seong Ha-ri asked Wang Zixin. The black-clad man translated her words into Chinese for him.

"Thanks to you. All the high-ranking spirits flocked to you, so I was able to reach this place easily. Were the high-ranking spirits delicious?"

"......"

Killing intent poured from Seong Ha-ri. She gripped her spear and stepped toward him.

"I have no intention of making an enemy of you. What we must do is restore stability to Hainan. I have already finished the minor tasks... so you only need to handle the finishing blow."

"Finishing blow?"

Snap!

Wang Zixin flicked his fingers.

Clank, clank, clank.

From the pit rose a supreme-rank spirit bound in violet chains. Its body was composed of pure current. Its form was close to human.

The eyeless, mouthless being glared at Wang Zixin as if it wanted to kill him.

[I will stake everything I am and slaughter every last one of you!]

The spirit roared.

The violet chains rattled violently. Multiple bolts of lightning crashed down from the dark clouds toward Wang Zixin. A transparent barrier protected him.

"There is no time. Kill it before its restraints fully break."

"You think I'll just do that?"

Seong Ha-ri growled. Wang Zixin continued staring at her with a completely blank face.

"If you do not, everyone dies."

"......"

"Even if you kill me, everyone still dies. 'Everyone' includes the man behind you and the millions of people on this island. Do you intend to stand by and let millions die?"

She gripped her spear so hard it seemed ready to shatter.

"...Let me ask one thing. What exactly did you do to the spirits? If you don't tell me... I'll choose for everyone here to die."

No—even if he said nothing, Seong Ha-ri would still kill the spirit. That was the only way to save millions. She had come this far to save those millions.

"I believed spirits could be controlled like death spirits."

"...Necromancy and spirit arts are different. Death spirits and elemental spirits are different too. That has already been proven."

"I thought it was possible. Arrogance, I admit. After several experiments I realized necromancy simply could not control spirits. So I changed my approach. Do you know possession?"

"...Don't tell me you forcibly possessed people with spirits."

"Spirits are a type of spiritual body, a soul. I believed possession should therefore be possible. The goal was to use flesh as shackles to control the spirits... but the dungeon collapsed before proper research could even begin. Parts of Hainan Island became Spirit Realm and now teeter on the brink of annihilation."

Spirit possession.

Successful cases already existed.

Spirit Invocation.

The secret art of the Jinryeong Seong Family that allowed one to invoke a spirit into oneself.

If the dungeon had not collapsed and the research had continued... Wang Zixin might have succeeded.

"You talk about it like you're proud... Do you even understand how insane what you did was?"

"Spirits are not human. There is no moral responsibility."

"If you! If you people hadn't done that filthy shit, none of this would have happened!"

"The cause of this incident is the dungeon collapse. It can only be called bad luck."

"You could have just cleared the dungeon! Spirit dungeons can be cleared by meeting conditions without necessarily killing the spirits!"

"As you say, spirit dungeons are relatively safe. That made them perfect for experiments. If the dungeon had not collapsed..."

For the first time, Wang Zixin showed emotion.

Regret.

He felt regret that he had been unable to continue the experiments.

"I'm going to kill you."

"Kill the spirit first. The Nine Spirit Death Chains are reaching their limit. If you do not kill the spirit, millions die."

"......"

Seong Ha-ri clenched her teeth. She approached the spirit, hesitated for a moment, then drove her trembling spear tip into it.

The supreme-rank lightning spirit quietly watched Seong Ha-ri.

Spirit Devourer (S) activated. The spirit's existence was sucked into her. For an instant Seong Ha-ri's face went blank.

"Now!"

Wang Zixin flung both arms wide. The twelve black-clad men surrounded Seong Ha-ri. In unison they began chanting incomprehensible words. A spell.

"I knew you'd try this."

I clad myself in Stormbreaker and charged Wang Zixin. With Makina's power I could kill him before he finished whatever he was doing.

But before I could reach him, Seong Ha-ri's spear moved.

In a single stroke the twelve black-clad men surrounding her were bisected. They collapsed, upper and lower halves separated. No blood, no entrails.

"How... I embedded spirit poison into the spirit core! How are you unharmed?!"

"Looks like you misunderstood something. My trait eats spirits, but it's different from actually eating them."

"...Damn it. So the spirit poison wasn't absorbed because it has nothing to do with spirits. Success was right in front of me... and now it's all tangled."

Wang Zixin raked his left arm with his nails. Blood droplets pattered onto the ground. His mana surged and something began to form—then Wang Zixin's head flew through the air and hit the dirt. Seong Ha-ri had beheaded him without the slightest hesitation.

I couldn't even see the movement.

I swallowed hard and checked Seong Ha-ri's information.

Her physical stats had become absurd, and a new trait had appeared.

She sighed and walked toward me.

"Oppa, it's over. Let's go back to Korea. There's no reason to stay here. I'm a little tired... I want to rest."

The world that had turned alien began returning to normal.

"Ha-ri. You met the Spirit King, didn't you?"

Makina's voice rang from inside the armor.

"You noticed because you're a spirit too, Makina. Yeah. I met the Spirit King."

I checked her status window again. There was no Spirit King's Curse (SS).

"...What did you talk about with the Spirit King?"

"It's a little hard to say... but since it's you, Oppa, I'll tell you. I made a contract with the Spirit King."

"A contract? With the Spirit King? That's amazing!"

"It's not the spirit contract you're thinking of. In exchange for forgiving the sin of killing spirits and stealing their power... the contract is to kill every human involved in this incident. If I hadn't accepted the Spirit King's contract... I probably would have died."

"A forced contract, then. Well, if that's the content, it's no big deal."

"......"

Seong Ha-ri's expression was not bright.

...I misspoke. It's nothing to me, but it's a big deal to Seong Ha-ri. There won't be a small number of people involved in this. China is huge and has a disgusting population... just the related ones alone might number in the thousands.

I thought of the Seong Ha-ri outside.

She was growing weaker over time because of the Spirit King's Curse (SS). I now understood why that curse had appeared.

Seong Ha-ri kneaded her own body with one hand.

"Ha-ri. Why are you suddenly doing that?"

"Hmm? Oh, my body aches a little. It feels like... growth pains? From my flesh suddenly becoming too strong. I'll be fine after a good rest once we get back."

"Are you going to do it?"

"Do what?"

"The contract with the Spirit King. Are you going to fulfill it?"

"Of course. You said earlier we should take revenge, Oppa. You'll help me, right?"

"...It's my revenge too, so of course I'll help. I'll help with the body massage as well."

I removed Stormbreaker and approached Seong Ha-ri. I massaged her body with both hands.

"Ah. Oppa. My chest is, my chest is fine... nngh..."

"You never ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠know."

"Honestly..."

Seong Ha-ri wrapped her arms around me. She buried her face in my chest. With one hand I kneaded her breast; with the other I stroked her large rear.

"Oppa. As long as I have you, everything's okay."

"Me too..."

"Oppa?"

I looked up at the sky with a hardened expression. A purple-skinned demon with a cat's tail floated in the air. Dressed in a suit, he bowed like a gentleman.

"A pleasure to see you again, our natural enemy."

"Laplace...!"

I spat the name like a curse. The moment I tried to summon Hwaryeonbido and Stormbreaker into my hands, Seong Ha-ri moved from my arms. She leapt into the sky and swung her spear at Laplace.

Laplace barely dodged the spear. He failed to avoid it completely; his right eye was crushed and fell downward.

"Dear me."

Laplace snatched the falling eyeball and shoved it back into the empty socket.

"How frightening, how frightening."

Laplace looked down at the ground. A massive scar over three hundred meters long had been carved into the earth—the aftermath of Seong Ha-ri's spear swing.

"So this is the strongest human. Impressive. But in your current state, that must be your limit."

Seong Ha-ri's body fell.

I ran and caught her.

"O-Oppa. My body... won't move."

Seong Ha-ri trembled violently.

"What did you do to Ha-ri?!"

"I did nothing at all. I merely dodged an attack."

Laplace grinned. He waved a hand through empty air. The mid- and low-ranking spirits that had fled at the sight of Seong Ha-ri gathered. Their number easily exceeded eight hundred.

The spirits fused into the form of a giant. Its flesh was pitch black. These were no ordinary spirits; they had been corrupted in an instant into demonic spirits.

"Even for mid- and low-ranks, corrupting this many spirits at once is... a bit tiring, even for me."

Laplace rolled his wrist and flew higher into the sky.

"Unlike last time, this is an opponent you cannot handle... so I shall take my leave."

Laplace vanished, and the corrupted spirit giant took a step. It staggered. The giant's body swayed heavily. But only for a moment. It quickly regained its balance.

"We need to get out of here too."

I grabbed Seong Ha-ri's hand and tore a scroll. Seong Ha-ri was supposed to transfer to the set coordinates... yet nothing happened.

Laplace...! That bastard did something...!

I ground my teeth and forced myself up. I combined Stormbreaker with Hwaryeonbido and gave Makina an order.

"Makina! Take Seong Ha-ri and run! I'll buy time!"

"Got it! Don't worry about Ha-ri! I'll get her somewhere safe no matter what!"

"...No. It's fine."

Seong Ha-ri rose. She picked up her fallen spear and walked toward the spirit.

"It's supreme-rank or higher. You can't handle this thing, Oppa."

"Ha-ri, you just said your body wouldn't move."

"I'm pushing myself hard right now. If I don't, you'll die."

"......That's a fact, so I can't argue."

The giant raised its fist, but the fist never came down. Seong Ha-ri's spear had already pierced the corrupted spirit giant's core.

The giant's existence seeped into Seong Ha-ri.

The crisis ended anticlimactically.

Thud.

Seong Ha-ri collapsed.

I ran to her. She had fainted.

Her stats rose even further... She really became ridiculously strong.

I lifted her into my arms. First we had to escape somewhere safe. Even if I couldn't use spatial transfer scrolls, I still had Makina.

"Makina. Drill car."

"Drill? Nice!"

We fled through an underground tunnel in the drill car. At the outskirts of Hainan Island the spatial transfer scroll finally worked.

Three days later, Seong Ha-ri woke on the bed with a bright face and stretched.

"Aaaah! That feels good!"

"...Does anything hurt?"

I asked from where I sat beside the bed.

"I'm completely healthy. But Oppa, why that face? I told you I'm fine. And why are there so many scrolls next to me?"

"Ten scrolls. Use them if it gets dangerous. Though I doubt anything could be dangerous to you right now."

"......Why does the atmosphere feel like this? Like someone's about to leave. Makina, why are you making that crying face too?"

Makina was shedding fat tears like chicken droppings.

"Hic... Ha-ri. Stay healthy."

"...Makina?"

I glanced out the window. The sky was collapsing. That meant the dungeon was collapsing. In other words, Makina and I were being expelled from the dungeon.

This is a dungeon. The entire world is fake. The Seong Ha-ri in front of me is also... fake.

I forced myself to maintain mental control.

I still have two more chances to enter this dungeon. Laplace is a nuisance, but this dungeon is perfect for digging up past secrets.

Leaving her ten spatial transfer scrolls was because there was a chance that the next time I entered this dungeon, it would continue from the previous one, just like last time.

No—let's be honest.

I was worried about the her who would be left behind.

"...Oppa. No, right? You said we'd stay together!"

Seong Ha-ri clung to my shoulders, on the verge of tears.

"I'm sorry. There's no other way. Makina and I... aren't beings of this world."

"What does that mean?"

"......"

This is a dungeon, and you are fake.

I couldn't say that. Seong Ha-ri would believe me, but I didn't want to shake her mind.

When I remained silent, Seong Ha-ri began to cry.

"Oppa! Please! Don't go! You said you'd stay with me! We have to take revenge together!"

"I'm sorry... This is beyond even my control."

"Th-that's your answer?"

"......"

I tried to pull her into my arms and kiss her. Seong Ha-ri turned her head and refused the kiss.

"Don't try to brush it off with a kiss...! Explain properly!"

"We'll meet again later."

"...Are you really leaving?"

"......"

"D-don't be ridiculous! You think I'll just let you go? I'm stronger than you now, Oppa! You can't go anywhere without my permission!"

Seong Ha-ri held me tightly. It was useless.

Makina and I watched the collapsing dungeon world and knew the end had come.

I grabbed Seong Ha-ri's shoulders in return.

"Seong Ha-ri! Listen carefully!"

"Oppa?"

"You're my woman! Once my woman, always my woman! Don't even think about cheating! I'll check later!"

"Oppa! You don't trust me?! You think I'd leave you for another man... Wait! This isn't the time for that kind of talk! O-Oppa, your body is disappearing... Oppa?!"

Ryu Hana stood in front of me. Makina immediately turned into a spirit form and flew off somewhere with a tearful face. Probably to meet the real Seong Ha-ri.

"...Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I was just glad you're safe. But how did you get out of the dungeon?"

"Not long after you got captured by people, the dungeon collapsed."

"Ah. Is that so."

Ryu Hana and I had exited the dungeon ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at different times.

Probably because the dungeon was corrupted.

I checked Ryu Hana's complexion. She looked refreshed. The Mark of Suzaku seemed to have disappeared.

"Yujin. Want to spar?"

"No. I have something after this. Next time."

Suzaku Sword, Azure Dragon Spear, White Tiger Blade, Black Tortoise Armor.

I had already used the Suzaku Sword and Azure Dragon Spear and passed their trials, so I couldn't enter those dungeons again.

The White Tiger Blade and Black Tortoise Armor were hard to obtain at this point in time.

I'll plan re-entering that dungeon later... Right now I just want to see Seong Ha-ri.

In a place with no one around, I tore a scroll and entered the house where Seong Ha-ri lived. Appearing in the room I had used before coming to the academy, I walked into the living room.

"Oh, Yujin?! Wh-when did you get here?!"

Seong Ha-ri, sitting on the sofa in panties and a camisole while tearing into fried chicken, greeted me with a smile.

"Just now."

"Showing up out of nowhere... Did something happen?"

"No. I just missed Mom."

"Ah, is that so. Here, eat some chicken. Mom already ate all the drumsticks... but there are wings!"

"Wings are kinda meh."

"...Should I order another one?"

She was different from the Seong Ha-ri in the dungeon.

I felt complicated emotions and let out a sigh.

"Wh-what's wrong? Not craving chicken? Pizza... no, should I get jokbal? Or maybe... you want to eat Mom?"

"Mom. Call me Oppa today."

"Yujin Oppa?"

I pounced on Seong Ha-ri. Midway Makina appeared and tried to interfere, but I gave her a Spirit Jade and she left on her own.

And the next day.

I ended the recreation and returned to reality.