Ch. 437 - The Story of the Blood Witch (2)
I Became A Flashing Genius At The Magic AcademyThis chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
This chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
Dark mages Azmik and Kalivan had infiltrated the Core Gate that Baek Yu-Seol and his expedition team were currently navigating.
Unlike humans, dark mages could enter Persona Gates through unconventional means rather than the usual entry points. Using this method, they had frequently ambushed mages who were exploring Persona Gates.
Because of this, mages likely underwent rigorous training to prepare for potential dark being attacks.
"Will this plan really work?"
Kalivan, sitting atop the head of a massive jellyfish-like monster, asked nervously.
Azmik, who was perched on the neck of a 19-eyed monster, snapped in response.
"We don’t have a choice! Outside, mages are crawling everywhere. They’ll probably be under heavy escort all the way back to Stella. It’s better to collaborate with these monsters here than risk going outside."
"I’m not criticizing, but you’re overly sensitive."
"Hmph!"
Perhaps their string of recent failures had put Azmik on edge.
"Quiet. They’re coming."
The moment they sensed Baek Yu-Seol's expedition team approaching, Azmik and Kalivan immediately hid themselves.
The monsters the team had faced up until now were weaklings, allowing them to progress easily. But from here on, it would be different.
The monsters in this Persona Gate were mages from another dimension.
They didn’t follow conventional logic. To defeat them, one had to first observe them in battle, identify their weaknesses, and devise a strategy.
Azmik had formulated a plan to exploit this very process.
No matter how skilled Baek Yu-Seol was, it was impossible to discern a monster’s weaknesses at first glance. He would undoubtedly have to engage in combat to analyze the creatures.
The plan was simple: strike during that moment of analysis.
Though it seemed straightforward, it was an unavoidable strategy.
With two risk level 7 dark mages ambushing them while they were still analyzing the monster, even Baek Yu-Seol would struggle.
Moreover, the ‘boss monster’ of this Gate commanded hundreds of tentacles and swarms of insect monsters. This ensured a virtually unbeatable scenario.
The longer Baek Yu-Seol took to analyze the monster’s weaknesses, the more insect monsters would spawn.
However, if Azmik and Kalivan disrupted his efforts to analyze the monster’s traits and weaknesses...
The team would eventually be overwhelmed, wrapped in countless tentacles, and meet their demise.
"I hate relying on such a cheap tactic for victory..."
"Azmik, focus."
Kalivan clenched his fist and spoke.
"They’re right within reach."
"…Finally."
With a tense expression, Azmik gulped hard.
Hunting Baek Yu-Seol here and taking his head back as a trophy?
What a monumental achievement that would be.
‘You can’t escape, Baek Yu-Seol. Come in already.’
Just one step.
The moment he set foot in this place, it would all be over.
Thud!
And finally—
Baek Yu-Seol stepped into the boss room!
"Oh? Mage Baek Yu-Seol?"
"Something feels off about this place."
"Are we really going to be okay...?"
Rumble!
The floor began to shake, and the enormous chamber itself trembled violently.
Then, as the walls crumbled, a grotesque face emerged from the shadows.
It was a face resembling a human’s but without a nose. Beneath its chin, hundreds of tentacles extended like roots, writhing menacingly.
But that wasn’t all.
From the openings in the walls, monsters resembling black rhinos began pouring in and swarmed toward the team!
"D-damn it! We’re surrounded!"
"Mage Baek Yu-Seol! What should we do?!"
Azmik and Kalivan grinned in triumph.
‘Now’s the time. While Baek Yu-Seol is panicking, we’ll strike and hit him from behind!’
Even if their attack didn’t take him down, they could still team up with the monsters to overwhelm him.
"Let’s just set everything on fire."
"...What?"
"Fire? Why… Why fire?"
"Does it matter? Creatures like this are always weak to fire."
"Is... that true?"
"Now that you mention it, it does sound plausible..."
"I-I don’t care! I’ll just try it! Flaming Earth!"
"Burning Pillar!"
"Burn everything! Let it burn!"
Whoosh! Flash!
Lightning crackled and flames spread in all directions. Within moments, the rhino-like monsters let out piercing screams and began fleeing in all directions.
Adding to the chaos, Baek Yu-Seol pulled a container of oil from his bag and started teleporting around, scattering it everywhere. This wasn’t ordinary oil… it was a special kind imbued with magic, designed specifically to counter monsters resistant to fire by negating their anti-magic properties.
Screeeeeeech!
The tentacle monster, which had evolved to resist flames long ago, had forgotten the agony of burning. Its natural weakness was fire, so it had developed anti-flame properties to survive. However, its hundreds of tentacles had now become a liability instead of strength.
If it had fewer tentacles, it might have endured, but with so many, the pain of each burning appendage was magnified.
In the end, the creature couldn’t even put up proper resistance and was swiftly cut down by Baek Yu-Seol’s blade.
"...Should we call it a day and head back?"
"Ahem, that sounds wise."
Azmik and Kalivan, who had been preparing to ambush Baek Yu-Seol from behind, quietly retreated from the Persona Gate.
They had learned the hard way that no matter what strategies they devised, they would never succeed against Baek Yu-Seol.
***
Rumble...
The sky darkened as thunderclouds gathered. Scarlet sat on the ground, drenched in sweat, gasping heavily.
"This is exhausting! I’m not what I used to be... I’m getting old, so old!"
To think she was so drained after dealing with just a few low-ranking dark mages.
This was the limit of her avatar.
She had already consumed too much mana recently while training alongside Baek Yu-Seol at Stella.
'Still, now that I’ve taken care of the last one, I shouldn’t be bothered for a while.'
Scarlet struggled to her feet and tried to take off, but her lack of mana made it impossible.
‘Tch. Looks like I’ll have to get my broom.’
Scarlet pulled a broomstick from the folds of her skirt and gazed at the sky.
The sudden appearance of thunderclouds was undoubtedly a magical phenomenon.
Most likely… while the lesser dark mages were stalling for time, the ‘main dish’ had arrived and was now clashing with King Florin.
"Hmm, the Elf King will win, though."
If it had been one of the previous Elf Kings, Scarlet wouldn’t have been so confident about the outcome. But the current generation’s Elf King was exceptionally unique and powerful, and Scarlet couldn’t even imagine Florin losing.
The only concern she had was Florin’s overly kind nature… she might even spare the dark mages and let them go.
In any case, the situation seemed to be resolved.
‘I guess it’s time for me to head back and get some rest.’
Since Scarlet’s projection body couldn’t regenerate mana permanently, the only way to recover mana was to create a new projection body, which was practically impossible.
‘How am I supposed to recreate an avatar of this quality?’
While permanent mana recovery was off the table, she could brew an elixir with rare herbs and recover her strength within a month of rest.
Of course, she wouldn’t be able to use much magic during that time, but since she planned to hide away at Stella anyway, it didn’t matter.
If she skipped magic classes by claiming she had a headache, there wouldn’t be an issue.
After all, she never cared about her grades in the first place.
"Alright then… on my way back, I’ll grab a Rainbow Luxury Parfait—"
She froze mid-thought.
Suddenly, Scarlet’s eyes turned pure white as she detected a foreboding presence. Acting on instinct, she mounted her broomstick and took a step back, but that hesitation turned out to be her mistake.
"…Overly cautious, aren’t you?"
"You… Fawn Prevernal Moon?"
Realizing her error too late, Scarlet’s expression stiffened with a grimace.
The fact that she had detected Fawn Prevernal Moon’s presence late and responded defensively was a clear sign of how much Scarlet, the Witch Queen, had weakened.
In the past, no matter what Fawn Prevernal Moon attempted, Scarlet had always responded with calm confidence. The difference now was stark and undeniable.
"I came here because the plan involving the World Tree isn’t going as expected… but to think the Witch Queen was involved. And yet… you’ve grown disappointingly weak."
"Hmph. It’s just an avatar, so what does it matter?"
"For a projection, you’re being overly cautious."
Scarlet gritted her teeth internally at that comment.
'Damn it, making such a mistake at my age!'
Fawn Prevernal Moon must have known how much Scarlet had weakened the moment he detected her.
So he tested her.
He wanted to see her reaction.
"How convenient. You’ve always been a nuisance. In every future."
"...What nonsense are you talking about?"
Fawn Prevernal Moon’s lips curled into a faint smile.
The gray-cloaked man’s expression was one Scarlet hadn’t seen in all her thousand years of life, leaving her deeply unsettled.
"What are you scheming?"
"This is an opportunity."
"What?"
"A future without the bothersome Witch Queen... This is a first for me as well."
Danger.
The danger was unmistakable, even without the sharp intuition of a Witch Queen.
Realizing this, Scarlet hastily mounted her staff and launched a burst of radiant energy into the air.
But it was too late.
Just once.
A single exchange of magic was all it took for the situation to be decided.
"Ah..."
Scarlet’s staff, which had been supporting her body, lost its power and fell to the ground. Her body tilted and collapsed, crashing to the floor below.
Gush!
A mouthful of blood spilled from her lips.
Despite the gaping hole in her chest, it didn’t hurt as much as it should have.
Perhaps because only 50% of her senses remained intact.
‘Damn it... for me, the Witch Queen, to end up like this…’
If only she had even a little more mana left, she wouldn’t have been in such a state.
The reasons were many.
Her time at Stella had drained her mana due to the continuous use of various spells, including cognitive-reduction magic. She had also spent excessive mana sincerely teaching Baek Yu-Seol.
On top of that, she had meticulously hunted down every single dark mage to ensure no threats remained for the World Tree. Not a single one was spared, leaving her completely depleted.
If only even a fraction of her mana had remained...
If Scarlet had at least sensed Fawn Prevernal Moon’s presence earlier, she might have been able to feign strength, putting on an act.
Perhaps Fawn Prevernal Moon would have deemed attacking pointless and simply left.
‘…What’s the point of regrets now?’
Scarlet closed her eyes.
If her avatar were to disappear, she wouldn’t be able to emerge into the outside world for at least 100 years.
It was frustrating.
Humans don’t live even 100 years. While those who become Class 8 or higher mages might extend their lifespan slightly, Baek Yu-Seol couldn’t even wield magic.
Perhaps Baek Yu-Seol, like Ha Tae-Ryeong from a thousand years ago, was destined to fade away…
‘Nothing I do ever goes right, truly.’
Through her blurry vision, Scarlet saw Fawn Prevernal Moon opening a portal and disappearing.
His lips moved faintly, muttering something like, "I’ll finish the job…" or whatever it was.
But her hearing had failed her, and she couldn’t make out the rest of his words.
After all, this was only a projection body.
She would eventually return to the world 100 years from now and resume her activities.
But even so.
She didn’t want to close her eyes like this.
So she let out a faint, powerless smile.
'...Is this regret?'
She was attached to Baek Yu-Seol.
She wanted to stay by his side a little longer to watch him grow.
When he finally became a hero and saved the world, she wanted to stand beside him, shoulder to shoulder.
To gaze upon a peaceful world together.
It was regret.
It was undoubtedly regret.
And so, despite knowing it was an impossible feat, Scarlet squeezed out the last traces of her mana, barely enough to inscribe something onto her staff.
Even if it were only 0.1% of her mana, she could have sent a message to him from afar. But she didn’t even have that much left.
‘At best… just a few words…’
It was nearly impossible to convey her intended message with so few words, but Scarlet used all her remaining strength to carve a phrase into the staff.
Tap.
At last, with a satisfied smile on her face, Scarlet’s body turned into particles of light and scattered into the air.
Rumble! Crash!
A massive bolt of lightning struck down from the darkened sky. Moments later, the sky cleared, returning to its bright and tranquil state.
Florin had finally defeated Black Kaon, the class 9 dark mage and risk level 9 dark mage.
Contrary to Scarlet’s concerns, Florin showed no mercy.
When Black Kaon tried to make excuses, Florin decisively ended his life in one swift motion… a cold, calculated decision as a ruler.
Under normal circumstances, it might have been different, but Black Kaon had dared to threaten her people. That was an unforgivable crime.
Time passed.
By evening, Florin came to the area where Scarlet had last aided the World Tree, hoping to find her whereabouts.
‘Could she have finished her task and already left?’
With that thought, she searched the spot where traces of mana lingered the most. There, she discovered a staff lying on the ground.
Picking it up, Florin examined it curiously. As her gaze traveled over the staff, her eyes widened in shock.
"This is...?"
On the staff was a message.
Just two words:
[Find me.]
It was the last message Scarlet had left for Baek Yu-Seol.
———
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