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The instructors at the Academy were running around from morning till their feet were drenched in sweat.

“…What kind of chaos is this?”

“Exactly. Instructor Kim Gae-soo was going crazy, saying the monster’s seed dried up or something. This makes it the fourth one in the Academy alone.”

“Telling an instructor to go crazy, fix your mouth.”

“…And whose fault is this?”

“Probably the world’s.”

“It’s the Master’s fault.”

“A disciple blaming the Master? The end times are truly here.”

Yoo Soo-gap, the Villain Capture Techniques instructor, and his assistant instructor, Im Soo-ryeon.

They were bickering while looking at the neatly head-pierced corpse of a monster.

“By the way… do you know what this is? I’ve never seen it before. All four of them are species I’ve never seen….”

“Me neither. Instructor Kim Gae-soo is obsessed with rare monsters like a madman, but even he might not know.”

“…See? It’s the Master’s fault.”

Beep beep beep—

Yoo Soo-gap and Im Soo-ryeon’s phones rang simultaneously.

“Emergency alert? Looks like it’s not just the Academy in chaos, huh?”

Im Soo-ryeon shoved her smartphone forward as if to say, “Look at this.”

[Breaking news. Monsters of unknown origin have appeared nationwide. The academic community has yet to identify their species, and while they are classified as ordinary due to the lack of special abilities, their combat power is reportedly stronger than existing ordinary species. The Hero Association is…….]

“…Looks like we’re going to be busy for a while.”

As the news reported, the monster outbreak wasn’t just happening at the Academy.

“Wait, is it my fault the Academy didn’t get the cooperation document? Why are they calling people in the morning to do butcher work?”

Jo Se-hee, cursing Association President Jeong Ho-min while staring at the monster’s corpse.

“…Freedom from potion grinding.”

Park Seol-hwa, smiling faintly while looking at the monster’s corpse.

Many other heroes were catching monsters and protecting citizens, but one person stood out the most.

“That makes thirty-two… why are there so many? Feels like a wave.”

“Ha-yul, just catch them and record them. They said they’re busy.”

“Looks like it’s not just here, huh?”

“Yeah, it’s chaos nationwide.”

Baek Kang-woo, Jeong Ha-yul’s manager, was just an ordinary person, but he walked around the monster-filled streets without a care.

This was possible because Jeong Ha-yul was keeping an eye on his safety.

Of course, he avoided anything above Disaster Species.

“Then the Academy must be in chaos too, right? Should we go?”

“…No matter the situation, that place seems the safest.”

“But… Gyeoul is still weak.”

“Gyeoul is weak? Were you weak?”

“What’s that… a joke?”

“Yeah, a drug joke.”

“Stop with the trash jokes and just drive.”

“…Okay.”

Jeong Ha-yul climbed onto the car roof instead of sitting in the passenger seat.

***

Thud—

A thud echoed from somewhere, and the building shook slightly.

At first, no one paid attention.

They were listening to Choi Ye-na’s voice like a lullaby….

Thud—

The ground shook again.

This was the tenth time.

‘This is a bit much.’

Whether someone’s fighting or construction is happening or whatever.

Is it okay to disrupt class like this?

“Teacher! Did something happen?”

“Exactly… it’s been like this for a while.”

“Should we go check?”

“Kids, I know you’re strong for your age, but… there are instructors and seniors stronger than you. Even if a situation arises where first-years need to step up, they’re all older siblings to you. You’re the ones who need to be protected first.”

“….”

Protected?

Hayan and me?

Choi Ye-na seemed to be misunderstanding something.

Well, she’s known us for a long time, but she’s never seen us fight.

‘Didn’t Hong Yeom say he was 5th in last year’s ranking?’

I haven’t seen any exceptionally strong freshmen this year.

Which means, at least Hayan and I could easily make it into the top 4.

Instructors having trouble?

We’d probably be the first ones to jump into action.

Just as I was about to correct Choi Ye-na’s misinformation—

Beep beep beep—

An emergency alert rang.

[Sudden monster appearances nationwide, situation being stabilized…….]

It said to stay indoors and wait safely, but the rest didn’t matter.

The point was, there was a sudden monster outbreak.

“…Something really did happen.”

“Kids, kids! Stay calm, calm and… calm! Don’t panic in this situation…….”

Faced with the sudden disaster, Choi Ye-na turned into a stuttering mess.

“Unless an extinction-level species appeared in the middle of Seoul, don’t worry too much.”

“Y-yeah, right. Everyone, stay calm… c-calm? Is that even the right word for this situation? Gestalt collapse phenomenon….”

I tried to calm the stuttering mess by giving her water, but…

She, who always carried a tumbler, happened to leave it today.

“Hayan, water.”

“Okay.”

I had no choice but to use Hayan as a makeshift water dispenser.

Using telekinesis to keep the water from spilling, I guided it into the stuttering mess’s mouth.

“Phew… thanks, kids. Never thought I’d drink magically made water in my life.”

Lately, water made by elemental mages even sells at a premium.

Water sommeliers who can identify brands in blind taste tests say magic water tastes slightly better.

Thud—

It seemed quite a few monsters had appeared inside the Academy too.

The thudding sound had echoed about fifteen times already.

But something felt off.

Why wasn’t there any broadcast from the administrative office today?

“Hayan, stay close to the teacher. I’m going to check the situation outside.”

“Huh? Okay, come back soon.”

“…You’re going? Outside? Monsters are still roaming around, right? No, Gyeoul.”

The stuttering mess panicked and tried to stop me.

“I can fly, so if it gets dangerous, I’ll just bail. Don’t worry. The emergency alert went off, but the administrative office isn’t broadcasting anything, so I just want to check.”

“No! There might be monsters faster than you! Just wait here…….”

To reassure the worried stuttering mess, I levitated and quickly moved through the classroom.

“Don’t worry, we’re probably the strongest among the students here.”

Hayan backed me up, and we finally managed to calm the stuttering mess.

On my way to the administrative office, I ran into Instructor Yoo Soo-gap and his assistant.

What was the assistant’s name again…?

Something similar to Im Soo-hyang.

Her face and name were so similar to Im Soo-hyang that I almost remembered.

But in the end, I forgot.

“Jeong Gyeoul? It’s dangerous outside, don’t come out… wait, no. A monster that Soo-ryeon can handle alone wouldn’t be dangerous to you.”

“Wow, you’re really crossing the line now. No matter what, I’m stronger than Gyeoul, right?”

“Can you be sure? Should we have a public spar at the end of the semester?”

“That’s a bit… Master, do you have a personality problem?”

Ah, Im Soo-ryeon. That’s right, Im Soo-ryeon.

No matter when you see them, they seem so close.

If Yoo Soo-gap were just 10 years younger, people would say they’re dating! They got along that well.

‘They’re not actually dating, right?’

There’s a 20-year age gap, so probably not.

“By the way, where are you headed? Isn’t it class time now?”

“…Our teacher told us to check the administrative office. It’s weird that there’s no broadcast.”

“That’s why it felt off… The Academy hasn’t made any announcements?”

“Definitely strange. The government even sent out an emergency alert….”

The two hadn’t thought of it until I mentioned it.

Their playful expressions gradually turned serious.

“Let’s leave the monsters to the other instructors and head to the administrative office.”

“Okay.”

Unintentionally, I ended up with two party members.

Heading to the administrative office with my party members…

“What the… what is this….”

“Who on earth….”

“…Gyeoul, don’t look at this.”

Im Soo-ryeon quickly covered my eyes, but I’d already seen everything.

Administrative office staff were lying on the floor, blood splattered everywhere.

No one seemed to be alive.

On the wall in front was a massive Reverse Paradox symbol.

Below it, the English word “Jealousy.”

‘These lunatics….’

The Reverse Paradox symbol confirmed it was the Satan Church.

I’m not sure why they wrote that English word.

Jealousy, meaning envy.

If it’s the Satan Church, maybe they’re referring to the Seven Deadly Sins?

Pride, greed, envy, lust… what else.

Anyway, the Seven Deadly Sins.

I vaguely remember Jo Se-hee complaining about it while drunk at home.

She said the 12 Apostles were incredibly lustful women.

Jeong Ha-yul panicked and covered Jo Se-hee’s mouth, so I didn’t hear more.

If this situation is caused by envy…

And if the 12 Apostles represent lust…

Then the Satan Church Apostles’ motif is the Seven Deadly Sins…

“Gyeoul, stay here for a bit.”

“Okay.”

The assistant instructor pulled me to a spot where I couldn’t see inside the administrative office and went in.

Probably to check for survivors or clues about the culprit.

I couldn’t just stand still either.

I took out my smartphone.

What did I save it as…?

I changed the name after our last call, so I’d have to search through my contacts one by one.

Luckily, I had less than a hundred contacts.

So I found it quickly.

[Magic Otaku]

Right, I teased her by calling her an otaku, and she liked it, so I saved her as Magic Otaku.

Thinking the Magic Otaku would know best about Reverse Paradox and the Seven Deadly Sins, I called Lin Hazel.

“…Hello.”

Her sleepy voice was oddly sensual.

Was this Magic Otaku trying to seduce me?

But it was more likely she’d just woken up.

“Were you sleeping? What time is it there?”

“It’s 1 AM in London….”

“…Sorry, go back to sleep.”

In my haste, I forgot about the time difference and woke her up.

I’ll just search it online.

“…Don’t suddenly start being considerate now. Just tell me why you called.”

After hearing my explanation, the sleepiness disappeared from Lin Hazel’s voice.

“That sounds like an Apostle.”

“Got it. Thanks.”

“…It’s dangerous, so don’t do anything stupid and just go to the Demon King.”

“Okay, get some more sleep, sis.”

“…I’m wide awake now. I’ll request the Clock Tower and head to Korea right away.”

I didn’t plan on it, but I ended up with another party member.

 

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