Chapter 707
Chapter 707
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 707
Chapter Title: Academy's Savior
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I rode in the car, peering out the window with my Spirit Eye active. Amid the winds blowing through the city, one anomalous stream caught my eye.
A pitch-black wind.
It was heading toward the wind demon spirit. They say wind spirits generate wind just by existing, and it seemed demon spirits were no different.
"Turn left up there."
"Yes."
Sara, gripping the wheel, gave a curt reply. Han So-hee in the passenger seat kept glancing at me through the rearview mirror, clearly uneasy about something.
"Yu-jin. Won't you turn back now?"
"So-hee noona. It's too late for that, no matter what you say. If I head back now, what happens to the people tailing us?"
I gestured toward the cars behind us. Vehicles pursuing ours carried heroes intent on eliminating the demon spirit.
Fools wasting their efforts.
My goal was to kill the demon spirit myself and boost my 'positive karma' score, but theirs was to take it down before it harmed anyone. Since the demon spirit hadn't fully corrupted and was self-destructing, it would vanish on its own even without their interference.
"...Yu-jin. Just relay the location and turn back. Don't get involved in anything dangerous."
"I know, I know. That was the deal—just pass on the position."
I lied nonchalantly. Moka had recovered, and at the very least, I needed to land one solid hit on the demon spirit.
The car sped out of the city and across open plains. Unlike Korea, there wasn't a single mountain in sight—not even a hill. Vast flatlands stretched endlessly.
"Um, Yu-jin-nim. Is this the right direction?"
Sara asked cautiously.
"What, you think I'm leading you astray? Don't you trust me?"
"N-No, it's not that... It's just unexpected..."
"This is the way. The demon spirit's wind is heading this direction."
"...Yes."
Sara responded unenthusiastically.
Her lukewarm reaction suggested something lay ahead.
'From afar, nothing stood out. What's hidden here?'
The car drove for twenty minutes before coming to a stop.
"...Is this it? The wind is definitely stronger here than elsewhere."
"It's right up ahead. But Sara noona, you're surprised by the wrong thing."
"No, it's just..."
"Because it's the dungeon your mom entered?"
"...You noticed?"
"Couldn't tell from a distance, but up close, it's obvious. I can see the space warping."
"Spirit Eye truly is remarkable."
To my eyes, the space looked distorted. It didn't form a proper entrance. Naturally, since the dungeon had closed.
'Normal dungeons don't seal their entrances. This must be a special one.'
I stepped out of the car.
Startled, Han So-hee followed and grabbed my arm.
"Yu-jin. This is the place, right? Let's go back now. We've done what we came for."
"So-hee noona. I'm curious how the heroes fight. Let's watch a bit. Please?"
"No. Get in the car."
"Just a little. Just watch for a moment."
As I tussled with Han So-hee, the trailing cars pulled up, and heroes disembarked. Five in total. Two were A-rank heroes, I recalled. True to American style, they all wore skintight suits, two even masked.
"Can't see the demon spirit. Where is it?"
The man in the black suit asked me. He'd introduced himself as Black Stone when we first met.
"Up there."
I pointed above the dungeon. The demon spirit hovered motionless. Affected by the dungeon, it was dissipating even slower than yesterday. It must have sought the most comfortable spot for itself and ended up here.
"This was the site of an S-rank dungeon... Did the demon spirit sense something?"
Black Stone seemed to intuit something. He raised his hand, and the heroes readied weapons, assuming combat stances.
"Yu-jin! Our job's done! Let's go!"
"Just a bit longer. Just watch a little."
Though So-hee tugged my arm, I held firm.
Moka soared overhead, awaiting my command to strike the demon spirit with lightning.
"Can't see it, but I feel its presence. Good that it's away from the city. Let's begin. For the people's sake, we end the demon spirit here."
Black Stone moved first. He carved a spear from black rock in the ground and hurled it at the demon spirit. No ordinary spear—it carried a faint spirit-like energy.
'That spear could even harm a spirit in ethereal form. As expected of an A-rank hero.'
But it never reached. A sudden fierce whirlwind blasted the rock spear away.
The hitherto still demon spirit stirred. It gazed at me and spoke.
-Go back. Leave now, and I won't harm you. I'll vanish soon. I just want to savor this wind a little longer before I do.
The demon spirit's voice rang out—not just in my ears, but everyone else's too.
"We can't leave a dangerous creature like you near the city. Fallen spirit... We'll nip this threat in the bud before you harm anyone."
-Fools who don't value their lives.
Winds howled around the demon spirit. Dust surged upward in a spiral. I retreated, with Han So-hee and Sara sticking close.
Han So-hee deployed a barrier to shield us. She was one of the Korean Hero Association's top defense specialists.
"The demon spirit's materialized! This is our chance!"
"Wait. Don't spirits normally can't materialize?"
"Spirits of upper rank and above can with their own power. They just don't because it's inefficient. Demon spirits are different—they materialize with high efficiency. But they can't return to the spirit realm. Its materialization is our opportunity."
The heroes charged into the gale. They moved in perfect sync, as if they'd fought together countless times.
But the demon spirit was no pushover. Burning its own existence to unleash power—even A-rank heroes couldn't take it lightly.
'Still, it's only a matter of time. Moka, get ready. Strike with lightning the moment an opening appears.'
My golden eyes gleamed as I watched the battle. Black Stone stood out most, conjuring black rock from the earth to block the demon spirit's razor winds. He was the linchpin.
'Perfect. Right now... Huh?'
One of the five heroes acted unpredictably. A man in his early-to-mid thirties with an X-shaped scar on his mouth and dark circles under his eyes. Instead of targeting the demon spirit, he rushed us and attacked.
Bam!
His fist slammed into Han So-hee's barrier, already weakened from fending off the demon spirit's assaults. Cracks spiderwebbed across it.
"Norton! What the hell are you doing?!"
Sara cried out in shock, her rapier aimed precisely at Norton's head.
Norton smirked. He drew back his fist and hammered the barrier again. The cracks widened. Sweat beaded on Han So-hee's forehead.
"Nothing major. Orders from above, and I'm just following them."
"Above? You don't mean... Guirak Valley?!"
Sara gasped.
"Wang Xian wants revenge and this pesky brat dealt with. For Guirak Valley's future—die."
Bam!
The barrier teetered on the brink of shattering.
I frowned. If Guirak Valley wanted revenge, they'd send a proper force—not this. Their real aim was to clean up Norton.
"Norton! It won't go your way!"
Sara tensed, ready to strike the moment the barrier fell.
Norton gritted his teeth and swung.
Kaboom!
The barrier shattered in a blast of fierce wind, and Norton charged me. Sara's rapier pierced his chest dead-on, yet his legs didn't falter.
"Even if I die, I'll take you with me. For Guirak Valley!"
"Y-You're insane. What the hell is Guirak Valley to you?!"
Sara's rapier impaled his throat. Still, Norton pressed on. His fist reared back, humming with mana flow.
"Guirak Valley will resurrect me in this world! I can't wait!"
"Yu-jin!"
Han So-hee lunged to shield me with her body.
'Moment.'
Time slowed. I dodged So-hee and leaped upward.
'Moment. Body Reinforcement.'
Moment again, bolstering my body with Body Reinforcement. For the next minute, Body Reinforcement skyrocketed my physical abilities—no force could impede me, not even the raging winds.
I evaded Norton's fist by a hair and smashed my knuckles into his face.
Pow!
"Guh?!"
Too much mana packed in, perhaps—my right fist exploded from the impact. Blood sprayed from us both. I seized Norton's forehead with my palm as he reeled.
'Lightning.'
Zzzzzap!
He was a B-rank hero—no holding back. With the opening seized, I'd kill him with everything I had.
"Grrrrrrgh!"
Blue lightning crackled fiercely enough to incinerate his body.
When I released my hand, his brain was charred, flames licking his corpse.
"Yu-jin!"
"Yu-jin-nim!"
Han So-hee and Sara rushed to embrace me. Overkill, perhaps, but the scene unfolding demanded it. The demon spirit, resolved to self-destruct, was summoning a massive tornado. Without So-hee's renewed barrier, we'd have been hurled skyward.
'This guy's all-in on dying. Moka! Lightning!'
A bolt pierced the colossal winds from above, smiting the demon spirit. It staggered and plummeted.
The winds meant for the tornado reversed, sucked into the demon spirit. I'd landed the final blow, yet danger intensified.
'Shit. Did I mess up?'
It felt like an explosion loomed.
-This ends it. No peaceful farewell for me.
The winds funneling into the demon spirit halted. A vacuum formed around it.
-Without you, I wouldn't have gotten revenge. I'm grateful. Take this.
BOOM!
A deafening roar tore the air as winds exploded outward. Han So-hee's barrier quaked and cracked.
I fixed my eyes ahead. Something hurtled toward me—visible only to me, judging by So-hee and Sara's reactions.
I snatched it mid-air. A translucent orb, more than half blackened.
'A spirit core?'
Spirit nucleus—the source of a spirit's power and existence.
Even if the ethereal body dissipates, an intact nucleus allows recovery in the spirit realm.
'But this is an empty shell. Like a corpse for a human. No spirit power left.'
The wind spirit couldn't recover even in the spirit realm. Over half-corrupted, it wouldn't be accepted anyway.
'Think later. Escape now.'
I pocketed the spirit nucleus.
The heroes were flung far by the winds.
"Yu-jin! It's the limit! Sara! Hold Yu-jin tight!"
"Yes!"
The two beauties clung to my sides. The barrier broke. We expected to soar backward like the others. But no—the barrier's resistance dragged us inward instead.
Spirit Eye revealed a rift inside.
'A spatial rift appearing out of nowhere doesn't make sense!'
A sudden realization hit. The demon spirit had been at an S-rank dungeon site. Its entrance was sealed, but the near-suicidal blast had surely cracked the dungeon.
'No time to pull out a spatial transfer scroll... Damn, too late.'
We were already swept into the dungeon by the winds. Endless falling sensation gripped me as I looked up. Moka flapped white wings, following behind.