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Jeong Gyeoul, who had rekindled the dying ember, took the lead.

Thanks to Jeong Gyeoul, the students who had overcome their fear followed her, and a fierce battle broke out between the Academy and the Satan Church.

Among the students, Jeong Gyeoul and Lee Ha-yoon stood out the most.

Perhaps because of that, the enemy’s attacks seemed to be focused on Jeong Gyeoul and Lee Ha-yoon.

As the number of enemies they had to face increased, they were busy moving their hands and feet when a warning voice was heard from somewhere.

“Gyeoul! Watch your back!”

A sword was flying towards her from behind, but she had already lost her balance while blocking other attacks, and it seemed she couldn’t block the attack from behind.

‘Just block it with my body.’

Trusting her Hero Suit, she turned her body to block the sword with her back, but the necklace broke, and the Hero Suit was deactivated.

She had dodged an attack aimed at her neck earlier, but it had grazed the necklace.

“…Damn it!”

Although her body had become stronger, she wasn’t at the level where she could block weapons bare-handed like Jeong Ha-yul.

‘No choice, I’ll have to take the hit.’

Just as she was about to block the sword with her body, the suit deactivated, leaving her in a helpless situation.

If she stayed like that, her back would definitely be pierced.

She tried to block the attack with a part of her body that could withstand being stabbed, like her shoulder or arm.

Thud—

“Gasp.”

“…!”

From somewhere, Lee Chae-song flew in and shielded Jeong Gyeoul, taking the sword. She contracted her abdominal muscles to prevent the sword’s tip from reaching Jeong Gyeoul.

Swoosh—

Jeong Gyeoul, who had regained her balance, instantly beheaded the enemies in front and behind her and checked Lee Chae-song’s condition.

“…Are you okay, Gyeoul?”

Even though she was the one with a hole in her body, Lee Chae-song was worried about Jeong Gyeoul.

“…Why did you do that! No, we’ll talk about that later! Hurry to the infirmary! Let’s go to the infirmary!”

Lee Chae-song smiled faintly and replied.

“Gyeoul, I think this is as far as I go.”

“…What are you talking about! You’re not dying! Why would you die, unnie!”

Lee Chae-song had reached the end of her life, the end of her journey.

She looked at Jeong Gyeoul, whom she had protected, with her eyes.

“Thank you for everything.”

“If you’re thankful, then repay me! Don’t die like this!”

Her faint breath gradually weakened and eventually disappeared completely.

Slowly.

She stopped breathing with her eyes open.

“….”

“…Unnie?”

Lee Chae-song’s death was a huge shock to Jeong Gyeoul.

Even though Jeong Gyeoul, who aspired to be a hero, had prepared herself for her own death, she had always thought about the possibility of those around her dying.

But when faced with that death, she felt like she was losing her mind.

Lee Chae-song, who had stood firmly blocking Jeong Gyeoul, slowly collapsed.

She was so out of it that she didn’t even think to catch her as she fell.

Thud—

“…Quick! The infirmary! Someone with a potion! Give me a potion, quick!”

Lee Chae-rin, who had rushed over, hugged Lee Chae-song’s body and screamed for someone to bring a potion.

But there was no way a potion would work on a dead person.

“Chae-song unnie, Chae-song unnie.”

“Move! If we stay still, we’ll all die!”

“Gyeoul! Jeong Gyeoul!”

“Protect her! Protect Jeong Gyeoul!”

After a moment of silence, the students, who had regained their senses upon hearing Lee Chae-rin’s shouts, quickly became chaotic.

Shouts erupted from all directions, the murderous intent of the followers, and the sticky magic power.

Even as a massive wave of evil surged, Jeong Gyeoul stood silently with her sword lowered.

The seal in her mind began to crack.

The sealed magic power leaked out and spread throughout her body in an instant.

“Ahhhhh!”

A scream escaped Jeong Gyeoul’s lips without her realizing it.

A disgusting pleasure that sent shivers through her entire body, something she had never felt before.

The feeling peaked the moment the seal broke.

A magic power that surpassed her previous levels instantly filled her entire body.

Like a rolling stone dislodging a stuck one, it invaded the place where her original magic power had been.

Her circuits were forcibly opened, swelling as if they were about to burst, and the pain was unbearable.

“Gyaaaaaah!”

“Gyeoul! Jeong Gyeoul! Snap out of it!”

Only Lee Ha-yoon realized what was happening.

‘The seal, the seal is breaking!’

Even Lee Ha-yoon, an S-Class magic category ability user, had no idea what to do in this situation.

If Gyeoul’s master were here, maybe there would be another way.

Thinking that, she turned her gaze to the stage where the president had been, but…

The stage was a mess, indicating that a fierce battle had taken place there, and now he was nowhere to be seen.

Seeing the hole in the stage ceiling, it seemed he had left the auditorium.

“Snap out of it, Gyeoul!”

Jeong Gyeoul couldn’t even hear Lee Ha-yoon’s shouts.

As all the sealed magic power was released, the fatigue in her body, which she hadn’t even been aware of, disappeared.

It felt like every cell in her body was breathing.

Soon, her eyes began to act strangely.

It was as if a 100x zoom was being pulled in and out rapidly, the magnification fluctuating wildly.

Lee Ha-yoon’s pupils dilated, and it felt like she was looking at the universe.

Suddenly, her field of vision expanded, and she could see the entire auditorium.

Even though it was impossible for a human, her field of vision was almost 360 degrees.

Of course, it was impossible given human anatomy, but it was a vision assembled in her brain using synesthesia.

It felt as if she was seeing it directly.

A burning heat rose in her body, and power surged.

Her existing magic power and the magic power released from the broken seal were tangled and boiling.

She began to feel omnipotent, as if she could crush anyone with just her magic power.

And the thoughts of Lee Chae-song’s death that had been clouding her mind disappeared, replaced by a desire to kill the enemy.

“All… die!”

Sssssss—

Magic power began to form at the tip of Jeong Gyeoul’s fingers.

The magic power gathered like a bead, forming a monstrous mass.

Bang—

A sound like a gunshot was heard, and the released magic power split into dozens of strands.

The strands split into dozens more, and then dozens more, enough to envelop the entire auditorium.

“Block it! It’s dispersed, so the power should be weak! Surround yourself with magic power and block it!”

A follower who saw it from the front shouted a warning.

Some followers were too far away to hear, but they instinctively surrounded themselves with magic power, preparing for the unknown attack.

But their flimsy magic power couldn’t block Jeong Gyeoul’s attack.

With the last seal broken, Jeong Gyeoul had gained an S-Class Awakened One level of magic power in addition to what she already had, and all 365 circuits were forcibly widened, making her a user of all categories.

In an instant, the magic beads, which had increased to thousands of strands, began to pierce the followers’ defenses.

Moreover, the attacks didn’t disappear after hitting once.

As if they had a will of their own, they shot towards other targets at high speed and eventually killed all the followers in the auditorium before dissipating.

“…What is this…?”

“Who, who did this? Was it Lee Ha-yoon?”

“Is this the power a human can unleash?”

Except for those near Jeong Gyeoul, no one could even figure out who had launched such an attack.

And even though this wide-ranging attack had saved them, instead of being grateful, they began to be terrified.

When faced with something incomprehensible, people tend to avoid or deny it, and that was human nature.

It soon led to fear and silence.

***

Jeong Ha-yul, who had received a call from the Association, rushed to the Academy with all her might.

‘It must be the Satan Church…’

No matter how much she denied it, her mind understood that Jang Gil-yong’s words were true.

At the same time, she was convinced that this attack was the work of the Satan Church.

She bit her lip until it bled as she ran, and soon arrived at the Academy.

‘What is this!’

An enormous magic wave was felt from the auditorium for a moment.

A wave that even Jeong Ha-yul herself couldn’t easily produce.

Could it be that the Satan Church’s cult leader had appeared? Thinking of the worst-case scenario, she headed to the auditorium.

“….”

When she arrived in front of the auditorium, Jeong Ha-yul was speechless.

Blood was flowing on the floor, and pieces of corpses were rolling around like stones.

They were parts of bodies that had been pierced and torn apart by Jeong Gyeoul’s magic beads.

The students seemed to have lost their minds, staring blankly, and the instructors were the same.

Except for the cries of those mourning the deaths of their comrades and family, there was no other sound.

“Jeong Gyeoul! Gyeoul!”

Jeong Ha-yul, who had no idea that Jeong Gyeoul had caused this horrific scene, frantically searched for her.

It didn’t take long to find Jeong Gyeoul.

Lee Chae-rin, holding Lee Chae-song’s body.

Lee Ha-yoon, still gathering magic power, preparing for something.

Jeong Gyeoul was standing with them in the center of the auditorium.

“Thank goodness…”

She had been worried that Jeong Gyeoul might be lying among the numerous corpses, but thankfully, she was safe.

Jeong Ha-yul, shouting “thank goodness” amidst the pile of corpses, might have seemed selfish to those who remained, but she didn’t care at all.

To Jeong Ha-yul, Jeong Gyeoul was the most important.

Jeong Gyeoul’s head turned towards Jeong Ha-yul.

“Unnie…”

“Yes, Gyeoul, unnie is here.”

“My body hurts so much…”

“What? Are you hurt? Let me see!”

Thinking she was fine since she was standing, Jeong Ha-yul was relieved, but her heart sank when Jeong Gyeoul said she was in pain.

The child who never said she was in pain, even when her ribs were broken, her bones were crushed, or her organs were torn, was now saying she was in pain.

Jeong Gyeoul, who had slowly collapsed to the floor, was caught and examined.

‘The seal is broken, and the magic power is running wild… That might be why.’

Only two people came to mind who might know how to solve this symptom.

Grand Mage Heinz and alchemist Park Seol-hwa.

Since she couldn’t take the sick child to England, the destination was set to the Daehyun Guild.

No matter what the situation around them was, whether enemies remained or not.

Jeong Ha-yul, carrying Jeong Gyeoul, left the battlefield at an incredible speed.

 

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