Chapter 197: Sure
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 197: Sure
White Chapel District.
Muen walked down the deserted streets, a sense of nostalgia rising within him as he looked at the familiar modern buildings lining the road.
This place... was actually where he and his Senior had their last date.
Neither the original host nor the current Muen visited the Lower District often, so he hadn't realized the connection until he stepped onto this specific street.
"Senior said she used to live on this street..."
Would she hide somewhere familiar?
Whether it was intentional or not, the thought made Muen uneasy. He quickened his pace.
The renovated commercial buildings blurred past him as he reached an area he hadn't explored during their date. At the end of the street, the new construction came to an abrupt halt, as if a fault line had opened in the city. Dilapidated houses and a vast, empty lot stretched out suddenly into the distance.
"Rocada Academy..."
Muen’s gaze drifted to a battered wooden sign hanging from the fence.
According to his intel, this had originally been an academy established for poor children. However, to make room for a planned commercial street, it had been decommissioned despite protests from the local populace.
Ironically, the commercial project had stalled due to a mysterious lack of funding, and the construction never reached the academy grounds.
Thus, the academy remained abandoned. Surrounded by unfinished, skeletal buildings intended to complement the commercial district, the area had become an eerie, desolate void in the middle of the densely populated Lower District.
Muen scanned the empty grounds and the gloomy buildings lurking in the shadows. He reached out, intending to pick the rusted lock on the iron gates.
"Dammit, force of habit."
He caught himself. Picking locks was starting to feel like a professional hazard. Muen slapped his own restless hand away, adjusted his top hat, and looked around.
Confirming no one was watching, he leaped lightly over the fence and entered the grounds.
Beyond the overgrown lawn lay a man-made grove, typical of most academies. Muen drew Elizabeth, using the blades to silently clear a path through the dense thickets of thorns and shrubs.
Past the trees, the grim buildings loomed like the shadows of demons hidden in the deep dark.
The door was unlocked.
Muen glanced at the entrance, his body flickering into a blur as he slipped inside.
The silent corridors smelled of dust. Cobwebs spun messy nets in the corners of the ceiling, and fat rats scurried into the darkness, startled by his presence.
It truly looked as though no one had set foot here in a long time.
Muen tapped Elizabeth lightly, and an invisible arc of electricity rippled along his silhouette, masking his presence and scent. He moved slowly down the hall, peering into each classroom through the windows.
First floor. Empty.
Second floor. Empty.
Third floor. Empty.
He continued all the way to the sixth floor—the highest level.
From here, the view opened up. There weren't many buildings in the Lower District taller than six stories. Through the windows, he could see most of the district, and even the bright lights of the Upper District reflecting in the distance made this floor seem lighter.
Yet, it remained deathly still, like a realm of ghosts.
Muen remained cautious, keeping his back to the wall as he searched the rooms one by one.
One room. Two. Three.
Until the very last one.
Still nothing.
Forget people—after he had scared off the nocturnal rats, the entire building was as silent as if it were submerged in a vacuum.
"I guess it wasn't going to be that easy," Muen thought, a flicker of disappointment in his eyes.
The academy wasn't large. If she wasn't here, finding her elsewhere would be even harder.
"Is she not here, or was the intel wrong?"
Regardless, he had to keep looking. Muen turned to head back the way he came.
But in that moment, a sharp chill washed over him. Out of the corner of his eye, a dark shadow flickered past.
"Who's there!"
Muen spun around.
There was no one. Only the curtains in the empty classroom swaying in the night breeze, restless as ghosts.
Was the chill just the night wind?
He scanned the room again, searching for any sign of life. Finding none, he turned back, disappointed.
Were his nerves just too frayed?
"Let's go. I can't waste too much time here. There are still many places to investigate."
Muen prepared to leave.
But as his gaze swept the room one last time, a strange sense of familiarity struck him. A spark of realization flashed in his mind.
The curtains?
He whipped his head back around.
His eyes locked onto the classroom again, but this time, he wasn't looking for a person. He looked at the layout.
This room was much wider than the others, but the back half was piled with junk, making it appear roughly the same size as a standard classroom. The front half, however, had been cleared of all clutter. A single desk sat by the window, its pale blue curtains fluttering in the breeze.
Everything looked so familiar.
Though the details differed, the layout was a clear imitation of... the Ancient Potions Society classroom.
Muen’s heart hammered against his ribs. Ignoring the fact that the rusted hinges might alert someone, he pushed the door open and walked straight toward the lonely desk.
If his hunch was right, knowing his Senior's habits, this was where she would most likely leave a trace.
But as he reached it and touched the surface, his heart sank. It was ice-cold.
It didn't feel like anyone had been here recently.
"Did I get it wrong? Is the layout just a coincidence?"
Muen stared at the desk. After a moment, he pressed his hands together and whispered, "I'm not a pervert. I'm not a pervert. I'm just making sure!"
Having issued his "not-a-creep" disclaimer, Muen slowly leaned down and pressed his cheek... against the desk.
Don't get the wrong idea; he was truly just checking.
But his cheek felt no warmth. The wood was cold.
He took a deep breath, his nose twitching, but he caught no lingering scent. It seemed to be just an ordinary desk.
Still, Muen didn't give up. He opened his eyes, a look of grim determination on his face as he muttered solemnly, "Maybe... I should try licking it?"
"..."
Before the words had even fully left his lips, a surge of killing intent erupted in the silent room.
A terrifying chill rose behind him. From the shadows above the door frame, a long, slender silhouette lashed out like a coiled snake, striking toward the center of Muen’s back.
The air shrieked as it was torn apart.
Muen, already on high alert, twisted his body just in time to dodge the sudden ambush.
The strike still grazed his shoulder. His custom-made suit was sturdy, but he still felt a searing, stinging pain.
Muen shifted his gaze to the slender shadow.
The faint light from the window revealed its true form—a long whip. A whip he had seen before.
Before joy could even register in his eyes, the whip, having reached its full extension, suddenly snapped back!
Its sharp tip, carrying the shadow of death, whistled toward his face. The whip seemed to have a mind of its own, micro-adjusting its trajectory to lock onto Muen’s head.
Muen retreated. Again and again.
But eventually, he ran out of room.
In his confusion, Muen curved his fingers into claws like a beast.
The long-lost basic version of Thunder Roar!
A shockwave rippled out. The auto-aiming tip of the whip was knocked aside.
Muen seized the opening, using Shadow Step to put distance between them.
But before he could find his footing, he heard a rapid, melodic chanting.
A massive amount of profound incantations were compressed into a single, short sentence—like a recording played at ten times speed. It sounded almost comical.
But behind that comedy lay a powerful magic being unleashed at high velocity.
Sure enough.
Amidst the buzzing death warnings in his mind, Muen heard a cold, beautiful whisper.
"Explosion!"
In an instant, the air was compressed.
The figure in the corner, shrouded in a black robe, closed the distance instantly. At her fingertips, infinite light and heat were erupting!
In this world, there was likely only one person who would shove an Explosion spell directly in someone's face. Muen didn't have time to marvel at the irony; only now, facing it himself, did he realize the terrifying pressure that the macho High Priest must have felt back then.
Without hesitation, he flooded his alchemy core with mana.
A searing heat rose behind him.
Ten-fold Time Dilation!
It was as if the world had been put into slow motion. Everything in his vision became leisurely.
Muen could see the figure. Even hidden by the black robe, her graceful curves were unmistakable. Beneath the hood, he saw a glimpse of that familiar, cold, beautiful face.
The moment he saw her, a thousand thoughts collided in his mind, and he finally understood the problem.
But he couldn't dwell on it yet. If he looked away for even a second, he would see the slender jade finger about to deliver a "head-exploding gift."
He dodged.
Even with time slowed by ten times, the difference in their realms and physical capabilities was apparent. In Muen’s eyes, that finger was still moving with abnormal speed.
Fortunately, he cleared it.
The infinite light and heat from her fingertip grazed the top of his head. It incinerated his top hat—which he had a habit of adjusting—into ash before instantly swallowing the junk at the back of the room in a sea of fire.
Time returned to its normal flow.
"Eh?" The figure let out a soft sound of surprise, seemingly confused as to why her guaranteed hit had missed.
But it didn't matter.
A second Explosion spell was already forming.
Her finger tracked downward, aiming at Muen.
Amidst the high-speed chanting, the signature light and heat of the spell began to coalesce again.
"Crap."
Cold sweat poured down Muen’s face.
Forgetting everything else, he threw his hands up in a standard military salute.
"Senior, it's me!"
The figure paused.
Relief flooded Muen’s eyes. He reached up and tore the human skin mask from his face.
Dammit, the mask was too realistic—that was its flaw. The skin-thin, lifelike texture had made him almost forget he was wearing someone else's face.
If he got killed by his Senior because she thought he was some random pervert, it would be the most pathetic death in history.
Luckily, he realized it just in time.
"Senior, it's me. Muen."
A faint light glowed in Muen’s palm, illuminating the area so she could see his face clearly.
Muen let out a long breath. "Senior, stop. We—"
Before he could finish, his pupils shrank.
The rapid chanting started again!
But unlike the Explosion magic from before, this chant was more melodic, like a symphony shifting keys.
The air began to flow, turning into wind, then a gale, then... a hurricane!
A massive current of air flooded the small classroom, turning into a howling vortex. The burning debris was instantly extinguished. While Muen was still dazed, the hurricane suddenly contracted like an invisible sledgehammer, slamming into his chest.
Muen was pinned against the wall. The condensed wind felt like a deep sea drowning everything. The terrifying pressure enveloped his entire body, rendering him immobile.
He struggled to open his eyes and look at the figure.
"Senior... why?"
The figure walked closer.
In the howling wind, her oversized hood was blown back, finally revealing her face.
That face was still as moving and exquisite as ever.
But there was no playfulness, no tenderness—only a stone-cold indifference.
And those eyes that had once been so enchanting had now turned into cold... serpentine slits!
Anna stepped toward Muen and placed a finger on his chest.
Muen heard her heavy, ragged breathing and saw the flicker of desire in her cold snake-eyes.
It wasn't lust. It was... hunger.
The hunger of a starving traveler seeing a feast.
"You..."
Anna stared straight at Muen. When she finally spoke, her voice was raspy.
"Your heart... looks delicious..."
Muen’s breath hitched.
His heart felt as if it were being squeezed by an invisible hand, throbbing with pain.
The Banshee's words flashed through his mind.
Perhaps it would be better to let you see what she looks like now.
"So, that's how it is?"
Muen’s fists clenched. He finally understood why the Banshee had let his Senior leave.
Because from the very beginning, she had never escaped the Banshee's control.
Had the Snake Transformation Disease already progressed this far?
But he had no time for heartache. He saw Anna grip her whip again. The sharp tip slithered through the air like a viper, aiming for him.
A chill ran down his spine.
Pinned by the wind pressure, Muen had nowhere to run.
In this moment, his only path to survival was...
Muen twisted his wrist, pressing his palm against the wall. Then... Thunder Roar!
The shockwave rippled out, instantly cracking the wall.
In that instant, like a cracked cup filled with water, the wind pressure filling the room expanded violently.
The wall couldn't withstand the sudden force and shattered. Without the wall to contain it, the air that had been compressed by magic finally found an outlet.
The hurricane erupted through the broken wall, sweeping the rubble and Muen himself nearly a hundred meters into the air.
As he fell, Muen saw Anna standing at the edge of the ruined classroom.
By the light of the stubborn embers still glowing on the debris, he caught a glimpse of something familiar shimmering on her chest, visible even through the black robe.
That was...
Before he could confirm it, Anna lashed out with her whip again.
The whip, carrying the remnants of the wind pressure, shot toward the falling Muen. There was no way to dodge.
In a rush, Muen drew Elizabeth, crossing the twin white blades in front of his chest.
Clang!
Metal clashed, sparks flying.
A massive force surged through the blades, numbing Muen’s hands.
Suspended in mid-air, Muen had no leverage. As the even more terrifying wind pressure descended, he was swatted like a fly, turning into a blur as he was sent flying backward.
He crashed into the academy's empty lot, but the momentum didn't stop. He plowed a half-meter-deep furrow into the ground, smashing through the perimeter fence before finally coming to a halt on the deserted street.
Anna stood at the gap in the classroom wall, looking down with a cold gaze.
Dust and smoke filled the air, cloaking half the street and obscuring Muen’s form. His condition was unknown.
In a house across the street, a light flickered on, someone likely awakened by the commotion.
Anna stopped.
"Too far," she said. "A pity."
She turned to leave.
But as she took her first step, before she could even hear the sound of her own footfall, a whistling wind rose.
Her magic had ended. Where was the wind coming from?
Anna whipped around. Through the deep night, a man with torn clothes and covered in dirt leaped up like a leopard.
In his hands were the twin white blades. As he flipped them, a chilling flash of blade-light descended!
Anna instinctively raised her whip to block.
But against the sheer momentum the man displayed and the unstoppable sharpness of his weapons, her whip seemed frail and useless.
However, the expected snap never came.
Muen had struck with the back of the blades.
As Anna watched in shock, Muen roared, "Elizabeth!"
Then, he let go.
Hum—
Elizabeth vibrated as if coming to life. The blades spun automatically, wrapping around Anna's whip and stripping it from her hand before rolling far away.
The tip of the whip tried to rise, but Elizabeth slammed down on it, knocking it "unconscious" and dragging it into a dark corner.
With the obstacle gone, Muen lunged forward, grabbing Anna's wrists and pinning her... beneath him.
Looking down at the familiar yet cold girl, Muen finally managed a smile, saying the words he had been waiting to say:
"Senior, long time no see. I finally caught you... wait, wait, wait!"
Before he could finish, a massive force surged from her hands.
Before he could react, the world spun.
The positions were instantly reversed.
Muen was pinned to the ground. Anna was on top.
Muen’s cheek twitched in disbelief.
What was going on? Hadn't he reinforced his physical body? Why was he still being pinned by a woman? This wasn't scientific!
But there was no time to debate science.
Anna looked down, her cold snake-pupils fixed on Muen.
"I'm going to... eat your heart."
Her voice was soft, yet filled with absolute coldness.
It was as if the person beneath her wasn't her junior, but a long-awaited delicacy.
It was enough to make anyone's blood run cold.
But as he looked at the girl pinning him down, cold as a monster, Muen smiled. His smile was warm and brilliant.
"Sure," he said. "If it's you, Senior... you can."