Magic Academy's Genius Blinker - Chapter 86

Chapter 86

Unexpected Event (1)

T hi s w a s c op ie d f r om k i n g m t l. or g
Flame carefully walked through the alleyway. She had rushed out to find Hae Wonryang, but the distance had grown too far.

As the World Tree Birth Celebration was about to begin, everyone was flocking to the inner sanctum of the World Tree, leaving the outskirts almost deserted.

In the middle of the chilly, wind-swept alley, she let out a deep sigh.

‘What on earth is wrong with him…’

In the original romance fantasy, Hae Wonryang was a main character who grew alongside Ma Yuseong, akin to the protagonist of a shonen manga.

But somehow, the Hae Wonryang she met in person felt different.

‘Is it because of me…?’

If there was any difference from the original, it was that Flame herself had a significant impact on Hae Wonryang.

Knowing that, she felt a sense of guilt in her heart. She had eagerly intervened in the original storyline to prevent the world’s destruction, but she wondered if she was having a negative effect instead.

Such thoughts crossed her mind.

While she was wandering around, lost in thought.

Shiver.

‘…Huh?’

Suddenly, she felt chills all over her body. It wasn’t a familiar sensation, but instinctively, she knew what it was.

‘This is… could it be…’

Dark Mana.

The moment she thought of that, someone walked out from behind her.

The boy had black hair tinged with red and purple eyes.

He was wearing the Stella uniform, and his glasses perched on his nose made his expression seem cold.

That boy was none other than.

“Hae Wonryang…?”

And he was in a state almost fully consumed by Dark Mana.

Their eyes met.
T hi s w a s co p i e d f r o m k i n gmt l .o r g

The whites of his eyes, tinged red, indicated that his sanity was barely hanging on, but he still stood upright, staring at Flame.

She spoke cautiously, as if addressing a wild beast.

“…Calm down, Hae Wonryang.”

“Calm down…?”

“Yeah. All the emotions and feelings you’re experiencing right now aren’t yours. You hate losing to others, right? You wouldn’t want to succumb to this, would you?”

Hae Wonryang didn’t respond, but he slowly approached her. However, the moment Flame stepped back in fear, Hae Wonryang paused.

Tilting his head, he asked.

“Why… are you running away?”

Th is w a s c o p ie d f r o m kingm tl.o rg
“Huh?”

T h i s wa s c opie d from k ing m t l . o r g
It was only a single step.

But that single step of retreat seemed to provoke Hae Wonryang.

‘Oh, crap…’

She didn’t even know what state he was in, but stepping back out of fear was a mistake. Flame hurriedly opened her mouth.

“I wasn’t running away. I was just—”

“…You don’t…”

He shook his head painfully and spoke with difficulty.

“Like me…?”

“No, no! Please, don’t think like that!”

She had thought something was off with Hae Wonryang recently. But she never imagined he would undergo ‘Dark Mana Erosion’…

In the original romance fantasy, Hae Wonryang was a great mage with exceptional emotional control.

She bit her lip, thinking of someone. While she hadn’t anticipated Hae Wonryang becoming like this, it wasn’t hard to guess who was responsible.

‘Professor Maizen Tiren.’

The early main villain who became a dark mage and put Aiselle in danger.

According to the setup, ‘Dark Mana Contractors’ could spread seeds that tainted others with Dark Mana, but fortunately, there were no such victims in the original.

But maybe reality was different from the original.

Maybe her existence had acted as a variable, causing Hae Wonryang to become like this.

‘I must reverse this somehow.’

Flame possessed magic that could purify Dark Mana, and although Hae Wonryang’s state was dangerous, it was still reversible.

Of course, just casting a purification spell wouldn’t suppress the erosion. If it were that simple, every magic warrior would have learned holy magic.

Weakening the opponent as much as possible was crucial. For that, combat was inevitable.

But… Flame knew well from the original romance fantasy.

Fighting wasn’t the only solution.

The protagonist of the romance fantasy, Aiselle Morf.

She didn’t fight but purified numerous dark mages through conversation alone, earning the nickname ‘Saint of Confession’ at one point.

‘It feels a bit unfair to use that method first, but I have no choice.’

The most important thing was to restore the infected person’s original feelings through conversation.

“Hae Wonryang. Tell me what’s on your mind. Why, how did it come to this?”

“There must be a reason, right? Something must have pressured you, stressed you out.”

From academic stress.

From the burden of competition.

From being tired of magic.

From the fear of fighting.

Any reason could be valid. Any emotion could be the trigger for Dark Mana Erosion.

And once she knew the reason… there would be plenty of ways to resolve it.

Even though she lacked the warmth of Aiselle and couldn’t genuinely empathize… she had seen enough to believe she could do it.

So she thought.

Th i s wa s co p i e d fr o m k i n g m t l. o r g
Whoosh…

Hae Wonryang suddenly approached her.

From the beginning, he had no intention of conversing.

‘Oh, no…’

She felt her hair fluttering in the wind. Hae Wonryang’s black nails extended towards her neck, and she wasn’t prepared to cast any magic in response.

But before his nails could reach her neck, a fierce black lightning bolt struck from the sky.

…Boom!!

The lightning was so powerful it caused temporary deafness. As Flame blinked in shock, a boy in a Stella uniform fell in front of her.

‘Ma Yuseong…?’

As she stepped back in surprise, Ma Yuseong shook his head, brushed his hair aside, and turned to her.

“Are you alright?”

With a calm smile, he asked, looking so composed that it was hard to believe he was facing a dark mage. Yet, Flame could sense it.

The subtle hint of bewilderment within him.

It was probably because he had exposed his ‘Black Lightning.’ Flame knew its true nature. But to avoid revealing that, she had to pretend to ask.

“…What was that magic just now?”

“Sorry, forget it. Please.”

“…Alright, sure.”

T hi s w a s c o p ied f r o m k in g m t l . o r g
That’s enough, she thought, and approached Ma Yuseong’s side, pointing her staff. As Hae Wonryang slowly got up, Ma Yuseong glanced at her.

“Why didn’t you try to fight? You were completely unprepared; it was very dangerous.”

“I was trying to resolve it through conversation…”

“Conversation?”

Ma Yuseong’s expression turned a bit peculiar.

“Yeah, conversation.”

Flame bit her lip. She had tried to resolve it through conversation, but he hadn’t listened.

How on earth did Aiselle manage to persuade such people through conversation? She wondered, but.
T h is w as c o p ie d from ki n g m t l . o r g

Bang!!

Before she could think further, Hae Wonryang rushed at them with his black, crystal-like nails. This time, without using the black lightning, Ma Yuseong deployed a rock-based spell to block it and stepped forward.

“I’m not sure what your plan is, but we have to fight. Can you do it?”

“Yeah, sure.”

She didn’t know how things had come to this, but the situation was favorable. She was fighting alongside Ma Yuseong, who had protagonist-level abilities.

She drew upon her pure white mana, inherited from an angel.

Combat was inevitable.

But she would surely bring him back intact.

Swish.

As Ma Yuseong used a power jump to charge, a whip of earth spiraled from the ground to the sky from the end of his wand.

Hae Wonryang dodged or cut the whip with beast-like movements, pursuing Ma Yuseong.

No matter how much he used power jumps, it was a limited means of movement. The direction was fixed, the speed was set, and the casting delay was long.

In contrast, Hae Wonryang, with his enhanced physical specs from the Dark Mana Erosion, moved freely and pressured Ma Yuseong, so in terms of pure mobility, he was at a disadvantage.

However, Ma Yuseong’s magic was destructively oppressive.

Blades of flame fell from the sky, roughly tearing Hae Wonryang’s back, and spikes of rock pierced his abdomen.

With Flame providing support from behind, the battle was much more in their favor.

“Light Bind!”

Whoosh!

Two chains fell from above Hae Wonryang’s head, binding him instantly. In that moment, Ma Yuseong summoned a flaming fist and kicked Hae Wonryang’s abdomen, sending him flying backward.

“Grrr…”

Hae Wonryang let out a steam-like groan. Flame tried to seize the opportunity to talk to him, but his body started changing before she could.

Th i s w a s c op ie d f r om k i n g m t l . o r g
His joints twisted unnaturally, and his body’s structure began to mix. It was a sign that the Dark Mana Erosion was progressing. Flame became more anxious.

“The erosion is progressing! We have to stop it quickly!”
Th i s w as c o pi e d f r om k in g mt l .o rg

At her cry, Ma Yuseong nodded and prepared to cast a spell, but.

Thwack!!

“Ugh!”

Moving swiftly like a beast, Hae Wonryang grabbed Ma Yuseong’s neck with one hand, preventing him from casting.

“Ma… Ma Yuseong!”

Ma Yuseong struggled to break free, but the difference in raw strength made it impossible.

In desperation, Flame had to prepare a spell she intended to use later once Hae Wonryang regained his emotions.

Drawing upon all her mana, Flame completed a spell.

It was nearly a 4th-class spell that was practically impossible to use normally, but theoretically perfect for this situation.

‘Dark Mana Purification Barrier’

However, to use this spell, she had to burn her internal mana paths, consuming all her mana, so she only had one chance.

Moreover, casting such a spell beyond her capacity meant a long casting time.

Buzz…!

As a golden magic circle formed at Flame’s feet and at the end of her staff, the casting slowly progressed.

Hae Wonryang, watching Ma Yuseong’s pained expression, faintly smiled.

“Ma… Yuseong…”
T h i s w a s co p i ed f r o m k in g m tl .o rg

Ma Yuseong was right in front of him.

And he had him by the neck.

‘I can win.’

Since Ma Yuseong appeared, a single thought had dominated his mind.

‘I will defeat Ma Yuseong.’

He felt an overwhelming surge of power.

Unlike the past when he had to struggle with a trickle of mana, now, he felt he could kill even a monster like Ma Yuseong in one blow.

Just as he was drowning in that intoxicating sensation, about to draw more Dark Mana.

“…This is disappointing, Hae Wonryang.”

‘What?’

At some point.

Ma Yuseong, no longer in pain, was looking at him with cold eyes.

Eyes that he had never shown before.

Even though Hae Wonryang was largely emotionless due to the Dark Mana Erosion, he felt a certain fear.

That fear didn’t come from a difference in power. If anything, he was stronger now.

It was purely…

“I thought you were living in the same world as me… but in the end, you’re just this.”

…The fear came from realizing that the rival he had thought was disappointed in him.

‘Ah.’

So, Hae Wonryang felt fear.

End of Chapter