Chapter 169
Chapter 169
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 169
Chapter Title: Subjugating the Demon
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A mana sphere without attributes materialized above my hand.
It wasn't the most advantageous magic against a demon with regenerative abilities, but that didn't mean I couldn't win.
All I had to do was cut off its breath before it could 'regenerate'.
If I could blow its head clean off in one shot, its stubborn regeneration would be utterly useless.
Pang—!
The spell left my hand and shot toward the demon's head at high speed.
Seong-hye flinched in surprise at the sudden burst of magic, trying to raise a barrier.
But the distance was too close for a proper defense.
There was no way she could block my spell.
Kwaaaang—!
"Gaaahhh!"
A piercing scream stabbed into my ears.
Seong-hye slammed hard into the distant wall and vomited black blood.
"Kuhuk…"
"Tch."
I'd failed to finish her in one blow. But failure just meant trying again.
I immediately activated Heart of Great Nature.
Dudum!
My heart pounded rapidly, filling me with mana.
Using that mana, I manifested multiple magic spheres at once and unleashed them toward her.
Kwang! Kwang! Kwang!
With deafening roars, smoke billowed around her body.
As the smoke cleared, Seong-hye appeared, riddled with holes from head to toe.
Her face was half-blown away, a gruesome sight.
Her eyes were entirely black, as if her demon rampage had begun.
"Keurk!"
Seong-hye spewed blood and collapsed to the floor.
She trembled violently, letting out groans of agony.
"...H-how, at your age?"
She stared at me in horrified shock, a far cry from her earlier disdain. Fear now dwelled in her eyes.
I didn't care about her reaction.
What mattered was ending her before her body could regenerate.
I extended my hand toward her.
At the same time, mana condensed in my palm, beginning to form a new spell.
Kwang—!
Seeing the messages pop up told me the situation was over.
"Hoo."
I let out a deep breath and turned around. Eun Seol-ah, who had been suffering from mystic fever, stared at me in shock.
Flash!
"Hup!"
At that moment, Lee Seo-jun broke free from the dark restraints.
It wasn't because Seong-hye died; he'd dispelled the barrier himself.
Lee Seo-jun scanned his surroundings warily before asking me,
"...The demon?"
"I took care of it."
"...You?"
"Yeah."
When I glanced toward the demon's corpse, Lee Seo-jun followed my gaze and looked stunned.
"...As expected."
His lack of surprise suggested he'd half-anticipated this.
"You hurt?"
"Nah. I'm fine."
"Good."
I nodded at his words and slowly approached Eun Seol-ah. She was still gazing up at me in astonishment.
"Now that the shaman's dead, your mystic fever should clear up."
At my words, Eun Seol-ah snapped out of it and gaped.
"Ah... R-really?"
"Yeah."
I stared intently at her face.
Sweat beaded on her forehead; the mystic fever hadn't fully subsided yet.
When I placed my hand on her brow, it was still burning hot.
"Hold on a sec."
I left her with Lee Seo-jun and stepped back. Glancing around, I pulled a gleaming golden chalice from my subspace.
It was the 'Cup of Life' I'd obtained in Incheon.
I filled it with spring water.
The water in the chalice soon shimmered with radiant light.
I poured it into an empty bottle and returned to Eun Seol-ah and Lee Seo-jun.
"What was that?"
"Just grabbed a potion."
"Potion?"
Lee Seo-jun looked puzzled, but I ignored him and handed the bottle to Eun Seol-ah.
"Drink this."
I brought it to her lips.
Eun Seol-ah drank without protest.
Gulp, gulp.
"...Huh?"
After finishing, she looked surprised. Unlike moments ago, when mystic fever tormented her, her expression was now relaxed.
"Feeling better?"
"Yes. The pain's much less. I've never felt it this mild..."
Eun Seol-ah murmured in amazement.
"Glad to hear it."
I smiled faintly, and she stared at me blankly.
Then, urgent footsteps approached from behind.
"Over there!"
They were Special Forces agents who'd detected my mana and Seong-hye's demonic energy.
The Special Forces had investigated today's demon incident and uncovered Seong-hye's identity, leading them to her home.
Her place was quite close to the home of Eun Seol-ah's mother, Eun Mi-yeon.
She must have figured that living nearby would let her eventually encounter Eun Mi-yeon's daughter, Eun Seol-ah.
That explained why they'd found her faster than I'd expected.
It was an unexpected coincidence for me too.
In the original story, it was never revealed that Seong-hye had targeted Eun Seol-ah and lived near her house.
Several mystic magic tools capable of 'shamanism' were found in her home.
Magic tools for curses and shamanism were Class 1 illegal items, like face-masking masks. The Special Forces confiscated them all for safekeeping.
Time passed, and a Special Forces officer appeared before me, Eun Seol-ah, and Lee Seo-jun.
"Whew, good work, Sorcerer Academy students. With all the demon incidents lately, the public's on edge, and you've done a stellar job. Haha."
The agent was Team Leader Shin, someone I'd met a few times while subjugating demons as Kim Jin-woo.
Not a major character, so no need to pay him much mind, but encountering him as Kim Seon-woo for the first time felt oddly tense.
"Man, I've heard rumors about Kim Seon-woo, but you really live up to them."
Team Leader Shin eyed me, trying to act friendly.
"Nah, just got lucky."
"Haha, humble too. From the demonic energy, she was pretty high-rank."
As he muttered, he suddenly stared at my face.
"...Huh?"
He rubbed his eyes and looked again.
"Kinda familiar."
Having seen this play out before, Lee Seo-jun chuckled quietly beside me.
I was sick of it too, so I ignored it and told Team Leader Shin,
"Looks like the investigation's mostly done. Can we head out?"
"Ah! Yes! Go ahead! We'll contact you if anything comes up. And the demon bounty..."
"Handle it however."
"Got it."
We parted from the Special Forces agents and walked aimlessly along the long sidewalk.
Looking up, the sunset was beginning.
It was 6 PM.
Considering I'd come to Seoul early in the morning, the investigation had dragged on.
I glanced at Eun Seol-ah.
"You okay?"
She shrugged and replied,
"Ah, yes! Thanks to you, I'm fine. I don't know how to repay this kindness..."
Eun Seol-ah fidgeted with her clasped fingers politely.
"And I feel some change in my body. Probably because the mystic fever's gone?"
"Yeah, probably."
At the mention of her mystic fever vanishing, her expression grew complex. It was hard to believe a lifelong incurable disease had suddenly disappeared.
Eun Seol-ah pondered for a moment, stroking her long silver hair, then spoke.
"Then will my hair color go back to normal too?"
"Dunno. The hair probably stays as is."
I was guessing, but her hair would likely remain silver.
In the original story, it always had.
She nodded glumly at my words.
"Why?"
"...No reason. Silver hair stands out. People might stare."
"It's pretty, though."
I said it casually, and she stared at me.
"...Really?"
"To me, yeah."
Eun Seol-ah thought for a bit, then smiled.
"Good."
"If it bothers you that much, dye it."
"No. I'll keep it like this."
She beamed at me, much brighter now.
I chuckled and turned to Lee Seo-jun.
"So, what's next? Incident's resolved. Head back to the Eunwol family?"
Lee Seo-jun shook his head at my question.
"Let's go back to that room first tomorrow. I want to check that diary again."
We returned to Eun Mi-yeon's villa.
I told Eun Seol-ah she could head to her clan first, but she insisted on coming with us, so we all went back together.
Before examining the diary, we asked Eun Seol-ah's permission to investigate her mother's diary.
She hesitated briefly but nodded it was fine.
"...But where'd we put the diary?"
Lee Seo-jun looked around.
I picked up the diary from the floor and handed it to him.
"Here."
"Oh, right. Thanks."
Lee Seo-jun smiled and took it.
"But why are you investigating my mother's diary?"
Eun Seol-ah asked curiously. Lee Seo-jun thought for a moment before answering.
"Something's bothering me."
"Bothering you?"
"I'm tracking Jin Cheon-woo's traces."
"...Pardon?"
"Jaun's active again lately. Figured following leads like this might turn up something."
He skipped details about his connection to Jin Cheon-woo.
We hadn't known each other long enough for that.
"Ah..."
Eun Seol-ah seemed curious but didn't press.
We reviewed the diary again.
After the Mystic Research Club mentions, it returned to mundane daily life.
Exam exploits, suffering from the sudden 'mystic fever'—all recorded.
There were entries about Eun Seol-ah's late father too.
Seeing them, she smiled faintly.
As we flipped pages, we found another that caught our eyes.
[The 'Mystic Research Club' discovered that immortality is possible through mystics. Our goal was set: find the spell of immortality. Senior Jin Cheon-woo always said he wanted to surpass human limits.]
"Spell of immortality."
Lee Seo-jun murmured blankly, then looked at me.
"It came up on Ghost Island too, right?"
I nodded.
"Yeah."
"Is Jaun collecting mystics for immortality, like here?"
"...Who knows."
We turned more pages. Daily life resumed.
Mystic Research Club bits interspersed.
Getting special painkillers from Jin Cheon-woo for mystic fever pain.
Jin Cheon-woo visiting the Eunwol family for a mystic and slaying a hidden demon.
Other heroic tales of Jin Cheon-woo.
[Looking back, it was so dangerous. If not for Senior Jin Cheon-woo, our clan treasures and secrets nearly stolen by the infiltrating demon. It even mind-controlled some disciples. I almost got caught too.]
[Mother deemed Senior Jin Cheon-woo a clan benefactor and taught him our secrets. She set up the club's hideout in the academy's back mountain with an illusion barrier from our arts. Our secret space was born.]
"This hideout—he means the one I found before?"
I nodded at Lee Seo-jun's question.
"Yeah, probably."
[Over a year chasing the spell of immortality, we gathered 5 mystics. It was thrilling yet terrifying. I felt drawn by the mystics' 'charm'.]
[We learned strong mental fortitude is needed to resist the mystics' 'charm'. Unlike the seniors, I lacked it. At Senior Jin Cheon-woo's urging, I left the club.]
"...No more Jin Cheon-woo after this."
Lee Seo-jun flipped quickly.
"Not much after all."