Chapter 48

“What’s going on?”

The door opened, revealing Han Kangyoon, who had changed his clothes.

After briefly scanning the room, Kangyoon found a chair and handed it to Yoo Haon, then immediately sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for a response.

Haon, who had been watching with a slightly flushed face, first expressed his gratitude.

“Um, thank you.”

“For what?”

“The Spiritual Elixir you gave me last time was a huge help. I feel like I haven’t properly thanked you until now…”

It had been weighing on his mind.

The high-grade Spiritual Elixir, Cloud Carved Water, which he had received from Kangyoon just before vacation began, had truly remarkable effects.

Thanks to it, he had been able to endure the grueling training under Baek Seoha, the master of Dongaksan, and achieve significant growth during the vacation period.

“Well, that’s good to hear.”

“And you were a great help today too. The situation changed so suddenly that, honestly, if it had just been us, we would have panicked right away.”

In truth, Haon hadn’t noticed at all the old man’s trick of mixing poisonous herbs with the medicinal ingredients, nor the fact that all the villagers were fakes.

Clearly, if Kangyoon hadn’t been there, things could have gotten quite dangerous.

“I didn’t do much. It’s just that your skills have improved.”

As always, he was downplaying himself again. Haon gave him a slightly dissatisfied look as he stared at Kangyoon.

“There you go again. The one who really didn’t do much is me.”

A hint of fluster seemed to radiate from Kangyoon’s skin. Seeing that, Haon somehow felt a touch of humanity.

Honestly, from Haon’s perspective, Kangyoon truly felt like someone far ahead of him.

“…Half of that is sincere.”

“Now that sounds like a slightly more honest answer.”

With the lingering tension easing, Haon relaxed his posture and smiled faintly.

Among the upperclassmen at Cheonghwa Academy, there were many remarkable talents, but the one who stood out most to him was none other than Han Kangyoon.

It wasn’t just that Kangyoon seemed to know something about his past; he gave off a feeling of being different from the other students.

Or perhaps ‘otherworldly’ was the word? From the moment Haon first met Kangyoon, he had continuously felt this instinctual intuition.

“Any parts you’re stuck on during training?”

“No. Thankfully, not yet.”

“You sound so lacking in confidence, yet your growth is fast.”

“…Is, is that so?”

As he spoke, Haon remembered how he had previously complained to Kangyoon about various things, and a sense of shame welled up.

Kangyoon spoke to Haon, who was hurriedly trying to cool down.

“The fact that Cloud Carved Water worked for you means you have the corresponding talent. There’s no need to doubt it now.”

“…Yes. Thank you.”

Kangyoon had definitely heard that before Haon entered the academy, he was branded as talentless and faced a lot of discrimination.

However, nothing about the Kangyoon Haon knew reminded him of that.

Cold, precise judgment and a dignity beyond his years. On top of that, combat skills that had already reached a state of perfect maturity.

Simply put, Kangyoon was like a Master who utilized one hundred percent of his abilities to their fullest.

‘…He must have put in tremendous, bloody effort.’

And after becoming a second-year, he finally Bloomed his talent, and now that effort was bearing fruit.

If Sophia or Hwang Jihak, the top second-years, were objects of admiration, then Kangyoon was literally someone he wanted to emulate.

“Um, how did you improve your skills, Senior?”

“……”

Kangyoon, slightly flustered and pondering, gave Haon an unexpectedly offbeat reply.

“Hard work, and skillfully?”

“…Well, of course.”

Then again, all those years of effort couldn’t possibly be summed up in a simple phrase.

Haon glanced briefly at the sky outside the window and finally laid out the real reason he had come to find Kangyoon.

“You’ve been troubled by something since earlier, haven’t you?”

“……”

“It might be presumptuous of me, but is there anything I can help with?”

Just as Kangyoon had uncovered the villagers’ identities based on his own constitution, Haon also possessed a unique constitution from the start.

Moments when, regardless of time or place, a powerful feeling that he must do something would suddenly strike.

So far, he had never suffered a loss by following that impulse.

And today, after returning to the mansion, a strong intuition stabbed at his head, telling him he had to go find Kangyoon. That’s why he was here.

“……”

Hearing that, Kangyoon made a slightly surprised expression, then soon opened his mouth with a serious look.

“It could be quite dangerous.”

“I don’t mind. I have mountains of obstacles to overcome anyway.”

The moment he heard the answer, Kangyoon’s shadow rippled.

And from its depths, something sharp and emitting Spectral Energy leaped out.

Whoosh!

[Kyeek!]

A hideous appearance, as if an old turtle had transformed into a Specter.

Gesturing for it to step back, Kangyoon opened his mouth with a meaningful expression.

“Can you break through this thing’s defenses?”

In response, Haon opened his eyes wide and straight, pulling out a Talisman.

[Kehihik…]

The Old Man Tree Specter, having retreated into the shadow, let out a dissatisfied groan, but I ignored it completely and finished my preparations.

‘I never imagined things would unfold like this.’

Though I had only experienced it in the game, seeing it in person made me realize instantly.

That was the effect of the Blue Lighthouse Trait that Yoo Haon possessed.

【Blue Lighthouse (A)】

▶ Points toward a more correct path at crossroads or within major currents.

A Trait considered one of the protagonist’s identities in the first part of Exorcism Academy, an ability that acts as a link in the story and a compass-like guide.

In other words, its activation was consistent with the meaning that this Sorisoe incident wouldn’t be resolved by mere observation.

‘As expected, the Hell Difficulty has its effects.’

Surely the Exorcists from Headquarters had begun tracking Sorisoe with full preparedness, but if that wasn’t enough, it meant the situation had already escalated beyond the original work’s difficulty.

“Will the two of us be enough?”

“It’s not something we can openly ask for help with, and having more people would just make movement more cumbersome.”

Given the changed situation, I couldn’t blindly assert anything, but Sorisoe’s abilities were likely still mostly based on the information I knew. In that case, I could take responsibility and protect Haon alone.

Since there might be obstacles beyond my awareness, having just the two of us—me and Haon—was perfect for making a retreat if necessary.

[Kkiiik!]

[Kkik!]

I sent out several Black Bird Shikigami, primarily to scout points where Sorisoe might have hidden, but as expected, randomly searching wouldn’t yield any traces.

I stopped moving and looked at Haon with serious eyes.

“Did you figure something out?”

“Point in any direction with your finger.”

“Huh?”

One of the reasons for bringing Haon was to borrow the power of the Blue Lighthouse Trait I mentioned earlier.

Now that it had already activated once, the Blue Lighthouse Trait would inevitably aid in resolving this incident.

“…Are you sure that’s okay?”

“There’s a reason. Don’t worry, just pick.”

Haon, with a half-doubting expression, pondered and then pointed his finger at one spot.

It was a direction to the west from Dongaksan, and north from the village.

“Let’s go.”

Without hesitation, I sent out the Black Birds and began moving in the direction his finger pointed.

As we ventured deeper into the forest, increasingly rugged terrain blocked our path, and naturally, our movement speed slowed.

After moving for about two more hours, we finally discovered the first trace of Sorisoe.

“…This is, from earlier.”

“The blood hasn’t completely dried. It probably hasn’t gone far.”

One of the three Exorcists dispatched from Headquarters, and the first victim in the original work as well—the 3rd-Rank Exorcist Choi Jinhee.

Her corpse lay in a grotesque state, collapsed on one side of the forest.

I didn’t know the whereabouts of the other two, but they were likely in a difficult situation as well.

I thoroughly combed the area ahead through the Black Birds and soon found Lee Jeongil, an Exorcist from Headquarters, hiding while injured.

Crunch.

Rustle.

“Mr. Lee Jeongil. Are you alright?”

“Kheuk, wh-why are you here…?”

Jeongil’s condition was, to put it mildly, not good. He seemed to have barely avoided fatal wounds, but his body was in no state to fight.

Haon, looking worriedly at the wounds, urgently spoke up.

“What happened to the others?”

“It’s over. I’m the only one left…”

Jeongil contorted his face as if in frustration and spoke to us with trembling eyes.

“…I can’t move. Hurry and run before it comes.”

“What about the request for support?”

“Kheup. The signal couldn’t get through. I sent Shikigami, but they were all intercepted by it.”

In other words, those present here had to resolve the situation somehow.

“Can you describe its characteristics as best you remember?”

“Kheuk, no! It’s not an opponent mere Academy students can handle. We, we need to call at least a 2nd-Rank or higher…”

“It’s already too late anyway.”

As my words ended, a chilling Spectral Energy began to permeate the surroundings. And multiple presences approaching.

Sensing it, Jeongil groaned and urgently spoke.

“I-it’s not the type to physically charge directly. It can devour animals or humans using Cursed Technique and control them. Individuals controlled that way have enhanced physical abilities, and you must destroy the Art Formula inside them to stop their movement.”

So far, this matched all the information I knew about Sorisoe.

However, next, Jeongil, trembling as if still unable to believe it, conveyed one more fact.

“And it can control the bodies of the Exorcists it has devoured and use their Cursed Techniques.”

“…That can’t be.”

Haon’s eyes widened in shock, and I also frowned.

If that was true, it made perfect sense why Jeongil’s group had been defeated.

‘…So this is the Hell Difficulty, huh.’

Rustle.

Thud.

Thump.*

Soon, what revealed themselves were beasts like wild dogs or leopard cats, and two humans.

Recognizing one of them, Jeongil bowed his head with a sorrowful expression.

Kim Joonsik, who had been dispatched together from Headquarters, was staring this way with a dull, vacant face, no longer containing his own will.

‘The other one…’

He was definitely a character who appeared in the original work too. Probably one of the Exorcists from the Guard Unit who had gone missing first in the village.

From the mouth of Kim Joonsik, Jeongil’s comrade, a low, thick voice began to spill out.