Chapter 79

“…….”

Indeed, if it was the scythe of Ideon, a top-tier Cursed Tool, it possessed power that went beyond simple attacks—it could completely sever the connection between me and my Shikigami.

For someone like me, who heavily relies on Shikigami, it was the worst possible matchup.

“You’ve had bad luck. If you had faced someone other than me, it would have been a good match.”

However, I slightly curled the corner of my mouth and sent a warning to Harvey.

“You really shouldn’t use that.”

“…It’s too late for that now. Please quietly pay the price.”

Without hesitation, Harvey channeled Spiritual Power to unleash the scythe’s power, and soon, a sinister energy began to flow from it.

But at that very moment. Suddenly, the entire Citadel began to shake.

Kugung.

Kugugugung!

“Kkh, what is this……?”

“I told you. You shouldn’t have used it.”

The scythe of Ideon, which harvests souls.

And the Citadel of the Dead, created through a Forbidden Art that uses various souls as Sacrifices.

When two incompatible Cursed Tools met, the reaction was bound to be unfavorable.

Sreureuk.

Sreuk.

In an instant, unidentified forms began to occupy the surroundings.

Cursed Tools derived from Forbidden Arts, like the Citadel of the Dead, tend to have relatively strong self-awareness and aggressiveness. Therefore, if someone threatened their existence—

Kieeek!

Kyaaaak—!

They would inevitably target that someone clearly and try to eliminate them.

The dead of the Citadel, recognizing their enemy, began to rush at Harvey, and in response, Harvey raised his Spiritual Power and frantically swung his scythe.

“Tsk!”

Seogeok!

Seogeoek!

Kieeeek—!

However, in such a situation, it was nearly impossible to block all of my relentless attacks.

Huuung.

“Fear-Bringing Delusion.”

Passeuseuk!

“Kheuuuk!”

Thud.

“Clear Chain Binding.”

Chwareureureuk!

Kwagak!

Eventually, Harvey, unable to withstand the combined assault from me and the dead, lost all his strength and collapsed on the spot.

Kwajijik.

Jjeoeong.

Sensing that the match was more or less decided, I approached Laura, who was staring blankly in this direction, while keeping Harvey restrained and releasing the Barrier.

“Are you alright?”

“Y-yes……”

A quick glance showed the situation was mostly resolved. Jose had already been knocked unconscious by Arietta, and even Ivan, the toughest opponent, was completely dominated by Sophia.

‘Not just evenly matched, but clearly superior?’

Even Harvey here would have been an extremely difficult opponent if I hadn’t lured him into a trap.

Yet, despite facing a powerhouse of Level 53, this was the result. Sophia’s true potential was indeed beyond estimation.

“Cough! Unbelievable. This is impossible. Even Bennett, the current Royal Knight Commander, couldn’t have fought like this at your age……!”

“Hmm. You were certainly a formidable enemy, but I guess I’m just stronger after all.”

Huuung!

Kwaaaaang—!

As soon as I finished that thought, a storm of Spiritual Power instantly formed, engulfing Ivan and completely blowing him away.

That was clearly the Advanced Art, Bay Current Turbulence. And at a glance, it boasted perfect completion.

It seemed Sophia had reached a realm far higher than I had anticipated.

“Ah, Kangyoon won too! So it’s a complete victory?”

“Don’t let your guard down. We can’t assume they’re the end of it.”

However, I too vaguely realized the situation was resolved.

By now, reinforcements should have already arrived outside the Citadel of the Dead.

We hurriedly bound the trio with binding techniques, guided the trapped students out, and exited the painting one by one.

Huuung!

Thud.

Tapak.

Thump.

“Deputy Unit Leader! Someone’s coming out from inside! They seem to be the kidnapped students!”

“What in the world……”

As expected, outside, reinforcements who seemed to have just arrived were breathing heavily, and we threw the bound Harvey and his group before them one by one.

“The three main perpetrators have been subdued. However, we don’t know if there are more accomplices.”

“…Huh. This is hard to believe. I’ll keep it brief and express my gratitude for now. Hey! Restrain those criminals immediately!”

The members of the royal family, confirming the safety of Princess Laura, busily contacted somewhere and took custody of her.

The subsequent measures were extremely swift.

Students injured during the kidnapping were moved to relevant facilities for treatment, and Yoo Haon and Baek Eunseo, who faced the enemies head-on, also left for treatment.

All that remained were the Academy professors, casting intense gazes at us from the surroundings.

“You’ve truly worked hard. Of course, it doesn’t change the fact that it was a dangerous action, but finding fault with such perfect results would be witless.”

These were the words of Hwang Mansoo, the professor of the Graduating Class responsible for this event invitation.

“…I only helped. The junior did all the work.”

“Yes. I know. To see through the opponent’s plan with just fragmentary information… truly unbelievable insight.”

After nodding briefly, Hwang Mansoo immediately turned his gaze elsewhere and did not withhold praise.

“Separately, you all performed remarkably. It’s not certain, but once the incident is resolved, there will likely be a reward from the authorities.”

After things settled down, we all cooperated with the authorities’ investigation and finally returned to the hotel to rest.

“Hey. Han Kangyoon. What exactly are you? How did you know all that while we were together the whole time?”

“…….”

Back at the hotel, Jeong Hansol, who couldn’t understand the situation no matter how much she thought about it, kept asking questions.

Well, from Jeong Hansol’s perspective, who saw and heard the same things as me, it must have seemed utterly baffling.

In response, I recited the excuse I had prepared while cooperating with the royal family’s investigation to Jeong Hansol as well.

“Due to circumstances, I knew a fair amount about the Forbidden Art placed on the Citadel of the Dead. Coincidentally, the exhibition hall was robbed, and the kidnappers hid in a place where all traces were erased and couldn’t be found. Given that, the possibility itself was certain, right?”

“You thought of all that in such a tense situation? That’s completely unbelievable. Then how did you find the location?”

“You saw it too. Black Yin. It has the ability to detect impure energy. The Citadel of the Dead was a Cursed Tool made with forbidden Cursed Techniques. Its scent was relatively strong.”

Since it wasn’t an unreasonable story, Jeong Hansol finally seemed to fully understand the situation.

Jeong Hansol, who sent me a look of pure admiration, suddenly seemed deflated and asked in a small voice.

“But why didn’t you take me, who was right beside you? Was I not needed? Am I a tier lower compared to Sophia or Jihak……?”

Come to think of it, Jeong Hansol had a setting where she often fell into depression over such minor details and sulked alone.

Sensing this could become troublesome, I roughly took a drink from the fridge, tossed it to her, and soothed Jeong Hansol.

“Originally, due to the urgent situation, I planned to go with just Hwang Jihak. The others followed on their own. There wasn’t really time to explain, even if I wanted to ask for your help.”

“Ah, really? I didn’t even know what was happening at the time. I should have followed too.”

I knew from the setting, but she was such a simple person. But she’s also a character who helps in a straightforward way in many aspects. A little service like this isn’t too much.

Talking like that, before I knew it, it was late at night. Lost in various thoughts, I fell asleep just like that.

Since the Spanish side also needed various post-incident measures, the return time to the Academy was delayed by about two days.

On the day we were finally about to return, summoned by the Spanish royal family, I went to the Zarzuela Palace with Sophia and the others and personally received the king’s words of gratitude.

And afterward, I briefly met with Princess Laura for a final conversation.

“I also want to formally express my gratitude. Thanks to you, I was able to be safe.”

“There’s no need to worry. Our students were also caught up in the situation.”

After exchanging miscellaneous talk, Laura hesitated slightly and conveyed what was on her mind.

“…How can I become someone as amazing as you?”

Her expression had been poor all along. As expected, it seemed she hadn’t fully processed her feelings about this incident.

“You might already know, but I haven’t been able to Bloom the royal family’s ability, and I don’t possess outstanding talent like my siblings. Because of that, some even say I’m not a true royal bloodline.”

“…….”

“This time too, in a situation where I should have protected the students, I did nothing.”

She seemed to have already hit rock bottom in terms of self-esteem. As a royal without an inherent ability, she must have been caught up in various rumors since childhood.

However, I knew for a fact that wasn’t the case.

And for good reason.

【Laura de los Lucia】

▶Level 35

▶Stats

【Stamina: B-】

【Spiritual Power: B-】

【Art Formula: B】

【Mental Strength: C+】

▶Traits (5/10)

【■■■ ■(-)】

【■■(-)】

【Commander (A+)】

【Endurance (B-)】

【Enhanced Concentration (C+)】

The Laura I saw was a genuine raw gem among gems, possessing no less than two Unidentified Traits.

‘Moreover, being of royal lineage with a four-character Unidentified Trait……’

To my knowledge, that is called one of the highest-tier abilities even within S-Rank.

A heaven-sent, cheat-like ability that ordinary people have no means of obtaining.

Despite having such a thing, her self-esteem was scraping the bottom. Frankly, even knowing the circumstances, it was frustrating.

I lowered my posture to meet Laura’s eyes and subtly gave her a hint.

“Let me say this in advance, I don’t make mistakes in this area.”

“Yes, um. Pardon?”

“You possess talent greater than even His Highness the Crown Prince or the First Princess. This is an undeniable fact.”

“Th-then, why…….”

Averting my gaze from Laura, who fell into silence, I gave her the answer, implying she should pull herself together now.

“Well, maybe it’s because you’re still a crybaby who stays up every night crying.”

“Eep.”

For reference, this is a fact I heard directly from her older sister, the First Princess, yesterday.

Finally realizing I was teasing her, Laura’s face turned red.

Even so, she had no way to complain. I had already left the audience chamber and was heading to where the others were.

‘…….’

Anyway, this place is essentially not the main stage of Exorcism Academy Part 1. Interfering further would only become ridiculous.

‘The real tasks to do are separate.’

Now, it was time to leave behind the brief new experience and return to the Academy.