Chapter 706
Chapter 706
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 706
Chapter Title: Academy's Savior
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"My God...."
Sarah gasped in shock. The power emanating from the evil spirit was no joke. She held her rapier out in front of me, but her body was trembling.
The evil spirit glanced my way. But it neither spoke to me nor lunged. Instead, it shot up into the sky.
-I'll kill you! WangWang Xian!!
The evil spirit soared through Chicago's skies in search of WangWang Xian.
I scratched my head while staring at the heavens. My eyes could see the trail it left behind. The evil spirit was burning through its spiritual body, driven purely by vengeance.
'I thought it had fully devolved into an evil spirit, but not quite. The Spirit Jewel can't purify a corrupted spirit, but it does amplify the evil spirit's power.'
That wind spirit would self-destruct if left alone. It had already forsaken its own existence.
"Yu-jin-nim! Can you explain what just happened?"
Sarah asked me with a serious expression. In the distance, police and heroes were heading our way.
"Sure. I'll tell you what I know."
Tonight, Chicago's night would be a long one.
Riding back to his hideout on the back of a jiangshi, WangWang Xian frantically packed his things, tossing useless items aside and grabbing only the essentials.
The only chance to escape this city successfully was tonight, with over a hundred jiangshi drawing the attention of the Hero Association's Chicago branch.
WangWang Xian pulled out a hidden red fan from deep in the room and gripped it. It used life force instead of mana, but in exchange, it granted tremendous power.
'The wind spirit's corruption into an evil spirit is nearly complete. Even if the barrier is broken, the process won't stop. The base for the forced contract is already etched in. In three days, I can summon it and finalize the contract to claim the wind evil spirit.'
Anticipating that moment three days from now, WangWang Xian doused the house in gasoline and struck a match. Flames roared up, incinerating his documents.
'I absolutely cannot let these documents fall into the Hero Association's hands.'
Once outside, he mounted the jiangshi again and set off to flee Chicago.
Moments later, on a quiet road outside the city, he sensed an unnatural wind and turned his head. The wind evil spirit was hurtling toward him.
"Wh-what? Why are you here?!"
It made no sense.
Even without the barrier, a mid-level wind spirit this far into corruption couldn't seek him out on its own.
-WangWang Xian!! You think I'll just let you get away with turning me into this?! Even if I vanish... I'll kill you! I will kill you!
"H-heck!"
Startled by the evil spirit's ferocity, WangWang Xian pounded on the jiangshi's head with his fist.
"Run faster! Faster!"
But the jiangshi's speed didn't change. It was already at its maximum.
The wind howled. Swirling black wind blades sliced off the jiangshi's legs. The jiangshi toppled forward, sending WangWang Xian tumbling onto the dirt.
He saw it clearly: the jiangshi shattering like dropped pottery amid the vortex.
Kwaduduk! Kwak!
-You're next. I won't let you die easily. Suffer the same pain I endured!
"D-do you even realize your body's dissipating right now?! I can save you! Make a proper contract with me! Wouldn't that be better than fading away?!"
-Better to die than become an evil spirit.
"You damn...!"
WangWang Xian drew the red fan. Its spread blades glowed crimson, draining his life force. He bit his lower lip. It didn't hurt, but the queasy sensation of his vital organs being pulled out was unpleasant.
-Should I start with the legs? The arms? ...No. Better to grind you down finger by finger.
"You arrogant failure!"
Red energy lashed out from the fan toward the evil spirit. The evil spirit whipped up wind. Black gusts shredded the red energy and shattered the fan.
"......!!"
WangWang Xian collapsed to his knees in despair. This wasn't supposed to happen. He tried to flee, but invisible winds pinned his limbs. Immobilized, he screamed.
"I-I'm sorry! I was wrong! Spare me!"
-I begged you like that once. But you ignored me. I'm ignoring you too.
The evil spirit radiated vicious malice.
Kiiiiiiiiing.
The wind it summoned let out a chilling whine.
-Humans don't live long... WangWang Xian. You will. Live long.
As I explained the situation to the Hero Association's Chicago branch, a notification suddenly popped up before my eyes.
'WangWang Xian's dead?'
I'd strengthened the wind evil spirit with the Spirit Jewel. It broke the barrier on its own and went after him. I didn't kill WangWang Xian myself. But without me, he wouldn't have died.
'On the flip side, the evil spirit could have been killed by him too... Though given WangWang Xian's skills, that's unlikely.'
Either way, it was a huge win for me.
"Aaaahhh!"
"Help! Heroes! Save us!"
"Zombies! The zombies are killing people!"
Screams echoed from all over the city, accompanied by the sounds of destruction. The scattered jiangshi were rampaging, attacking people indiscriminately.
I picked my nose with my index finger. The jiangshi were none of my concern.
"Sarah noona. Let's head back to the hotel. I'm sleepy."
"Th-that's..."
Sarah glanced around nervously. The situation was dire. Chicago was already under martial law.
A hero who seemed to be the association's representative looked at me and said,
"Isn't that the son of Thunderclap? A VIP among VIPs. If anything happened to this kid, Thunderclap would go berserk. Terrifying just to think about. Sarah, assign a few heroes to escort him. Get him back to the hotel and guard it tightly."
"Yes, sir."
"We'll talk about this incident later."
Back in the hotel room, I stripped off my clothes and flopped onto the bed. Han So-hee, who'd been sleeping the whole time I'd been gone, groggily asked,
"Yu-jin-ah. How was your walk?"
"Yeah. It was fun."
I lifted Han So-hee's arm and snuggled into her embrace. Her B-cup breasts were warm and springy, great to the touch. The only issue was the faint smell of my semen on her body.
The next morning.
Chicago lifted martial law. They'd eliminated all the scattered jiangshi.
There were 2,170 casualties, 1,055 dead. The citizens' outrage was inevitable, and the Chicago branch chief scheduled a press conference for the afternoon.
The branch chief would reveal Guirak Valley to the public. That way, the anger could be directed at them instead of the Hero Association.
'Once they hear Guirak Valley, the citizens won't blame the association too much. Everyone knows how terrifying they are.'
Guirak Valley.
A shadowy faction of death mages—necromancers, evil spirit summoners, jiangshi masters, and the like.
People thought they were insane, but over half who joined were ordinary folk.
They sought to resurrect lost loved ones—partners, parents, siblings—clinging to that hope. And Guirak Valley slyly manipulated them toward their goal of blurring the line between life and death.
'Researching and conquering death. Plenty are drawn to that. The rich and powerful dread the inevitable end that money can't buy.'
I speared some salad from the hotel spread and popped it in my mouth. The crisp veggies and tangy dressing were delightful.
'Come to think of it, the Guirak Valley guy's name was Wang Wei. Sharing a surname with that jerk yesterday suggests he might be direct kin.'
Not certain, though.
Wang was as common in China as Kim in Korea.
'Did Guirak Valley learn about me? If kin, they might come for revenge.'
My head was getting complicated.
"Um, Yu-jin-nim."
"Yeah?"
"The Hero Association Chicago branch chief from yesterday wants to talk to you."
"About what?"
"I don't know the details."
"Hmm."
I stood from the chair, dropped my pants, and wiggled my dick. Sarah hesitated, glancing at me, then knelt and began fondling it.
"If Sarah noona's going this far, I'll meet him. When and where?"
"He said in an hour."
"An hour's plenty of time. Suck it properly."
"...Yes. Mwah."
Sarah kissed the tip and started sucking.
'The branch chief's coming to see me... Not to hold me accountable, that's for sure.'
If anything, I deserved thanks. Without me, WangWang Xian would've kept draining Chicago's mana, birthed the evil spirit, and unleashed the jiangshi before fleeing.
'I can guess what he wants.'
Oliver Davis, head of the U.S. Hero Association's Chicago branch, arrived exactly on time. He was a bald man in his early forties with a red mustache—the same guy who'd told Sarah to escort me back last night.
"Sleep well last night, Yu-jin Sung?"
He greeted me calmly. Unlike others, he didn't treat me like a regular kid. Sarah must've reported on me, or he had a sharp eye for people.
"Yeah. Nice to meet you, Branch Chief."
"Call me Oliver. And the lady beside you is So-hee, right?"
"Yes. I don't know what business you have with Yu-jin, but he's still a child."
"I know. I'm not asking him to do anything dangerous."
Oliver eyed me. His gaze was heavy. They say eyes reveal the soul—Oliver was solid as a rock.
"Yu-jin. I hear you can see not just spirits, but winds too."
"Yes. If I focus, I can."
"Impressive. No wonder you spotted that place yesterday."
"It was plain as day."
"Thanks to you, we're inspecting the whole country. Found odd energies in a few cities."
So there were more like WangWang Xian in other U.S. cities.
"That why you're here?"
"...Embarrassing to admit, but we lost the evil spirit. Can't even track it. We need your help. Use those eyes to find it."
Han So-hee frowned beside me and spoke up.
"Branch Chief Oliver, are you joking? Yu-jin's just a kid. What if Sung Ha-ri finds out?"
"Don't overreact, So-hee. Just tracking—we'll handle the rest. I guarantee his safety."
"Still no!"
"If we leave that evil spirit alone, who knows the damage? Thousands... maybe tens of thousands dead. Understand my position protecting Chicago?"
Before Han So-hee could retort, I stepped forward.
"Okay. I'll help."
"Yu-jin-ah! What are you saying? What about Ha-ri unnie?!"
"It's fine, noona. They need help. I'll be a hero someday. I don't want to ignore people in need."
"Yu-jin-ah...."
Han So-hee looked at me anxiously. Oliver seized the moment.
"Thank you, Yu-jin. Just give us the general direction."
"Sure. But if it's too far, I might not see it clearly."
A lie. I already knew where it was.
"Understood. I'll assign heroes. I'd join myself, but I've got a press conference soon."
I smiled. This was a golden opportunity. Killing the evil spirit with heroes would net me good karma.
"Not for free, right?"
"Of course not. I've got a great gift for you. Look forward to it."