Magic Academy's Genius Blinker - Chapter 88

Chapter 88

Unexpected Event (3)

Hyeijin Macaron could wield various elemental magics, but her main specialty was illusions.

Since her illusions were completely nullified, she had no choice but to step back.

“…Step back, Vice-Captain.”

Kaen, unusually addressing her by her title, also stepped back. He felt that the situation needed to be taken seriously.

“State your affiliation.”

“Stella Academy, 1st-year Class S, Magic Combat Department…”

“No. State your ‘real’ affiliation.”

When Baek Yu-seol didn’t answer, Kaen’s eyebrows twitched.

“Fine, I suppose you can’t say.”

Kaen pointed his wand and spoke.

“I won’t ask or interfere with where you belong or why you’ve infiltrated Stella. Just don’t involve yourself in our matters. I want to avoid unnecessary conflict.”

“That’s troublesome. You intend to kill that student, don’t you?”

“…Yes. That’s our way.”

If there’s a hint of Dark Mana Erosion, they eliminate the person to prevent future disasters.

There’s no point in making emotional appeals to them. ‘Would you still kill them if it was your friend?’ or ‘Please spare them, they’re my friend.’

Such sentiments mean nothing to them. These mages from the Tower of the New Moon must act even more robotically than those devoid of emotions.

However, Baek Yu-seol couldn’t back down. Though he knew he would die within five seconds if he fought them, Hae Wonryang was someone worth protecting with his life.

‘How did it come to this…’

While everyone else was watching the World Tree Birth Celebration, he was shopping in the market.
T h i s w a s c o p i ed fr o m k i n g mtl . o r g

Then, a sudden message appeared.

[An episode variable has occurred.]

[‘EP008 Hae Wonryang Dark Mana Erosion Route’ is in progress.]

Originally, only one student would be affected by Professor Maizen’s Dark Mana Erosion.

Jackie, Hae Wonryang, Arshuane.

In the original story, one of these three would randomly undergo Dark Mana Erosion during a specific event.

The ‘Jackie Dark Mana Erosion Route’ occurs during EP006 Persona Gate practice.

The ‘Arshuane Dark Mana Erosion Route’ occurs during EP007 Familiar Contract Ceremony.

The ‘Hae Wonryang Dark Mana Erosion Route’ occurs during EP008 Dark Mana Erosion.

T h i s w as c o p i e d fr o m k i n gm t l . o rg
The Jackie Dark Mana Erosion Route was already cleared successfully, and frankly, the Arshuane Dark Mana Erosion Route was too easy to even mention.

The problem was the Hae Wonryang Route.

The Hae Wonryang Route was an event branch with an extremely low probability, and a veteran user from a certain community who wrote a strategy guide said this:

[If you end up on the Hae Wonryang Dark Mana Erosion Route, there’s a 99% chance you’ll get a bad ending. Just give up and create a new character.]

Thi s w a s c o p i e d from k i ngmt l. o r g
[If you still want to clear it, read this guide.]

[After all the hardship, you’ll realize it was a futile effort.]

Why was it so difficult?

Not only was Hae Wonryang incredibly strong and hard to deal with, but even after defeating him, the choices you made determined whether you’d get a happy ending or a bad ending.

‘…But Flame seems to have almost resolved it.’

In this world, the main protagonist was Flame. Even if Baek Yu-seol didn’t intervene, the future would continue to progress in some direction.

Amazingly, Flame chose the 1% chance of a happy ending in the [Hae Wonryang Dark Mana Erosion Route], which had a 99% bad ending probability.

She probably didn’t even realize she made such a miraculous choice. He didn’t know how she managed to sway Hae Wonryang’s heart, but all that was left was to use the purification magic.
T hi s w a s c op i e d f r o m k i n g mt l . org

But of all times, the mages from the Tower of the New Moon had to intervene.

‘Sigh, I should’ve come to help a bit earlier…’

Being significantly weaker at sensing Dark Mana, Baek Yu-seol arrived at the scene too late.

What should he do?

If he could just persuade them once, Flame’s magic could completely purify Hae Wonryang.

But the mages from the Tower of the New Moon were not ones to compromise.

If they saw a Dark Mage in front of them, they wouldn’t rest until they dismantled its head.

They weren’t bad. Dark Mages were evil, so technically, they were guardians of justice.

But that shouldn’t be the case now.

One step.

If he could make the mages from the Tower of the New Moon retreat just one step.

‘…There’s no way such a convenient method will just pop into my head.’

Baek Yu-seol wasn’t particularly smart. He didn’t have miraculous strategies popping into his head like in a manga.

‘There’s no choice but to go all out.’

He drew his Terivon. He didn’t release the magic sword, but it was enough to show his intention to fight.

“You intend to kill my classmate, and I see no reason to just let that happen. You want to fight, right?”

“…You won’t gain anything from fighting us. You will surely die.”

“Well, even if I die, I can cause a lot of noise. You lot don’t seem like people who operate openly, so how about I shout until people gather? I’m confident I can annoy you until then.”

Kaen was silent for a moment before he spoke again.

“What do you want?”

“Trust me and let me purify that friend just once.”

“It’s a futile effort. Even if you purify the Dark Mana, the emotions won’t return.”

“That’s why I’m asking you to trust me. That kid’s magic can restore emotions to their original state.”

Pointing to Flame, he spoke, and she flinched, her eyes shaking. It wasn’t Flame’s ‘magic’ but rather the ‘method’ she used, but there was no need to go into detail.

Flame stared at Baek Yu-seol’s back, sweating coldly.

‘How is he able to move…?’

Hyeijin would one day reign as the supreme authority on illusion magic. She wasn’t quite there yet, but her illusion magic was still incredibly difficult to break.

Yet, Baek Yu-seol moved as if it was nothing. Even Ma Yuseong looked shocked, his expression visibly shaken. It was as if he couldn’t believe Baek Yu-seol could move so freely.

‘…Considering he’s a returner, he must have managed somehow.’

The important thing was whether Kaen would accept his proposal.

“If the emotional purification fails?”

“I’ll back off quietly.”

“…Fine.”

For Kaen, it wasn’t a bad deal. If they fought someone capable of easily breaking Hyeijin’s magic, they would surely attract the attention of the Fairy King and Elf King, Flowerseorin.

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That would be really bad.

So, stepping back now seemed like a better decision.

“If you break your promise… I’ll make sure you die painfully, regardless of any commotion.”

“Kehum, why so threatening?”

Feeling Kaen’s genuine killing intent, Baek Yu-seol’s arm trembled, but he hid it as best he could.
T h i s w a s c o p i ed f ro m ki n gm t l.o r g

“Hyeijin. Release the illusion.”

“Do you believe what he’s saying, Captain?”

“…I just want to avoid unnecessary noise. If he’s lying, we’ll kill him then.”

“Ugh, fine…”

Hyeijin sighed deeply and waved her staff. The illusion was lifted, and Flame’s body was freed.

“Ah…”

Forcing her trembling legs to stand, she dragged her staff towards Hae Wonryang.

She then collapsed in front of him. The strain from resisting the illusion left her legs weak. However, she had already completed the spell, so there was no problem in purifying Hae Wonryang.

She placed her staff on Hae Wonryang’s forehead and began chanting. No, it sounded more like a hymn.

Angel magic manifested through song. Though she sang alone, it sounded like a choir of dozens of voices flowed from Flame’s mouth.

It wasn’t a human language, so it couldn’t be understood, but the melody touched the heart.

“Captain, isn’t that holy magic?”

“…Yes.”

“But she’s not from the Holy Order… Even that level of power is almost on par with a saint or saintess…”

“I heard there was a unique student this year who uses the power of angels directly.”

“Amazing. Truly amazing.”

T h i s was co pi ed f rom k i n g mt l .o rg
Light scattered from Flame, forming seven pillars.

Soon, golden chains wrapped around Hae Wonryang, and the pillars of light pierced him.

“Cough…!”

Dark Mana began to expel from his body. The Dark Mana that had tainted his essence was expelled, and his body, which had been grotesquely transformed, returned to its human form.

The purification process didn’t take long.

In a brief moment, Hae Wonryang was restored to his human appearance.

“Cough…”

Spitting blood due to the internal damage caused by using magic beyond her level, Flame collapsed, but there was no time to worry about her.

Kaen immediately restrained Hae Wonryang’s body.
T h i s w as c o p i e d f r o m ki n g m tl . o r g

“…Let’s confirm.”

As Hae Wonryang slowly opened his eyes, Hyeijin pointed her staff at his forehead.

“Who are you?”

“…Hae Wonryang.”

“How do you feel now?”

“…Not bad.”

“Do you want to kill anyone?”

“…No.”

“What do you dislike?”

“…Losing.”

It sounded like a strange interrogation, but it was Hyeijin’s specialty—extracting fragmented responses from a subject’s subconscious.

While it couldn’t reveal deeply hidden information, it could at least determine his state.

“Then what do you like?”

“Tell me.”

“Hmm, he’s absolutely unwilling to say that? Well, it can’t be helped~”

“Results?”

“Completely normal? It’s hard to believe he underwent Dark Mana Erosion. He’s just an ordinary human. Negative emotions are almost gone. No, it feels like he never had those emotions to begin with. It’s like they were forcibly implanted. The ‘host’ must have been incredibly powerful.”

“I see.”

Kaen nodded impassively but was actually very surprised.

No… More than surprised.

This event had shaken his entire worldview.

Until now, he thought that anyone who had been tainted by Dark Mana couldn’t return to normal and killed them all.

But now, a mere seventeen-year-old girl had completely restored someone’s emotions so easily. It was unbelievable and hard to accept.

Yet, the reality before him forced him to accept the truth.

“Captain, what should we do?”

“…We withdraw.”

“Alright~”

Seeing Kaen’s sour mood, Hyeijin didn’t tease. She knew how to gauge the situation.

However, she couldn’t help but chuckle quietly because the situation was too amusing.

Look at our captain, so flustered~

What should he do? He had lived his entire life believing in his conviction as if it were a religion, only to be contradicted by mere seventeen-year-olds.

“Erase the traces.”

After saying that, Kaen turned away as if he had no reason to look back.

“Then, little friends~ See you next time~!”

With that, the captain and vice-captain of the 13th Extermination Squad completely disappeared.

Baek Yu-seol collapsed, clutching his trembling legs.

“Wow… I really thought I was going to die…”
T hi s w as c o p ied f ro m k in g mt l .o r g

He had faced Kaen, known to kill with just his gaze, and even argued with him, yet survived.

But somehow, knowing he made enemies of the most dangerous people left a bad taste in his mouth.

‘…Well, it’s not like I can avoid death.’

He thought nonchalantly and lay down. He didn’t want to move a single step now.

* * *

…After everything had ended.

Flowerseorin, having successfully completed the World Tree Birth Celebration, returned to her castle and immediately headed to the Heavenly Flower Cradle without a moment’s rest.

Of course, she had completely changed her attire, so no one could recognize her.

‘There’s not much time…’

She had already exposed herself to the world for nearly an hour. If she wasn’t careful, someone might be affected by her curse, so she needed to handle the situation quickly.

‘It was definitely Dark Mana.’

Dark Mana so subtle that even veteran mage warriors couldn’t detect it. But for some reason, that Dark Mana completely disappeared midway.

Someone might have eradicated it, but she didn’t want to leave such a risk unchecked.

Finally, Flowerseorin arrived at a clearing where she sensed the Dark Mana and closed her eyes, extending her palm.

“Wind, tell me your memories.”

The scent of memories lingering at the tip of her nose swiftly seeped into her mind.

‘This is…’

She saw nothing. Memories filled with black and white. Someone had intentionally erased them with magic.

Memories that had already been erased couldn’t be restored even with high-level magic.

But Flowerseorin was the greatest fairy. She wouldn’t be deterred by such magic.

‘Whisper more clearly to me.’

The earth and wind, flowers and leaves, trees and rocks.

Everything around her whispered to Flowerseorin about the scene.

The memory erasers had been thorough, making it hard to see anything, but she could catch glimpses of the situation.

…Someone was using purification magic on a presumed Dark Mage, and in the midst of it, two mages and one mage were confronting each other.

Their faces weren’t visible.

But it seemed like they were wearing Stella uniforms…

“Ugh…!”

Forcing nature’s memories caused a throbbing headache.

But at that moment.

A familiar scent brushed past Flowerseorin’s nose.

‘T-This is…!’

It was an unforgettable scent.

Her very old friend, whom she could no longer see…

The scent of Spirit Leafanel.

It was very strong.

‘How…?’

Leafanel was eternally asleep in her garden. She could never come outside, so why was her scent present in this memory?

…No. There was another possibility.

‘If it’s the one who stole Leafanel’s heart…’

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If it was that person.

The one who stole her dear friend’s heart and disappeared.

Only that person could emit such a strong scent of Leafanel.

She focused her eyes in fury. She wanted to see the memory more clearly.

But the memories faded, and nature lost its strength.

“Ugh…”

As the sharp headache, like her skull was being split open, added to the strain, Flowerseorin could no longer read the memories.

“Haah, haah…”

Sitting on the ground, she breathed heavily, biting her lip until it bled.

“I will definitely…”

She would find the one who cast her dear friend into eternal suffering.

“I’ll make you pay…”

Flowerseorin’s anger deepened even further.

End of Chapter