Chapter 932 – 932. Savior Of The Academy
Heavenly Demon Divine Art, Heavenly Demon Asura.
I channeled Heavenly Demon energy into both hands and slammed the incoming fireballs into the ground. The fireballs exploded, setting the walls and floor ablaze. I kicked at the flames, creating a powerful gust of wind that extinguished them.
“Hiss…”
Raptor inhaled sharply, narrowing his eyes as he observed me.
“That power you wield… a demonkin, are you? Why would a human trash like you target us?”
Demonkin.
A term for those who have made a pact with a demon.
Demons are the enemy of humanity. Therefore, those who have gained power through a pact with a demon are also considered enemies of humanity.
Demonkin are more despised than monsters, and even among villains, they are ostracized.
“Does this look like demonic power to you?”
“…Is it not? Now that I look closer, it doesn’t seem like demonic power…”
His words were absurd. Well, I admit it’s similar. It’s a dark and destructive power, just like demonic power. But Heavenly Demon energy is completely different from demonic power. I can be certain of that.
Heavenly Demon Divine Art, Heavenly Demon Sword.
I manifested a black sword aura on the blade that sprouted from the back of my hand. A temporary sword. I can’t maintain it for long. At most, five seconds is my limit.
“Hah!”
Startled, Ji Seong-oh quickly twisted his body to avoid the sword. Even then, his long tail wrapped around my knee and pulled me down. Losing my balance, I fell hard to the floor.
“Sword aura… I was momentarily terrified. If I hadn’t looked closely, I would have really believed it was sword aura. Heh heh.”
Ji Seong-oh, who had climbed onto my back, opened his mouth wide and bit my arm.
Crunch! Crack!
-Ah, no…! What kind of grip strength is that! It’s too strong!
My armor shattered, and my right arm was crushed. I gritted my teeth, suppressing the scream that threatened to escape.
I tried to use Heavenly Demon Divine Art to get up, but Ji Seong-oh’s weight on my back was too much.
‘Machina! Change the armor’s shape into spikes!’
-Alright!
Spikes.
Steel spikes protruded from the surface of the armor, attacking Ji Seong-oh.
Ji Seong-oh didn’t react at all. The armor spikes couldn’t pierce his skin. Ji Seong-oh finally tore off my entire right arm and chewed it up.
“Gulp. Human flesh tastes good in this state. Especially you, you were among the tastiest humans I’ve ever eaten. …Your insides must be delicious too. I can’t wait.”
-Kyaa! What do we do! Your arm…!
‘Don’t act.’
-Ah, did you catch me? Hehe.
‘Machina. Use all my mana and increase the output. Is it possible?’
-Are you sure you want to use all of it?
‘Use it.’
-Limit Break! Here we go!
The mana within me surged out to Machina. At the same time, the suit began to glow red.
[Savior of the Academy] In my world, I was confident in my mana, if nothing else. I had focused on mana training since I was young.
I used the suit’s power to get up.
“Uh, uh-oh?”
Startled, Ji Seong-oh opened his mouth wide, trying to bite my helmet.
‘If you were going to bite, you should have bitten my head from the start. Well, even if you bit my head, I wouldn’t have died.’
Clack! Crack!
Unlike when he bit my arm, the helmet was intact. The suit’s durability had also increased.
Heavenly Demon Divine Art, Dragon Fist.
I used Dragon Fist with my one remaining left hand. My fist landed squarely on Ji Seong-oh’s chest. But unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to finish him off.
“Guh-erk!”
Raptor flew backward, rolling across the floor. Blood gushed from his mouth.
‘Tch. Now that I’m out of mana, I can’t use Heavenly Demon Divine Art…’
I’ll just use my aura. The current performance of my suit is enough for that.
As I approached Ji Seong-oh, he suddenly crashed into the wall. The wall shattered, and the sky was visible.
“I’ll repay this humiliation… later! In the meantime, keep that body of yours safe! I’ll chew you up without leaving a single bone!”
Raptor, bleeding from his mouth, staggered and ran outside.
Suicide? No. Ji Seong-oh’s body transformed into a pterosaur and flew into the sky.
-What? He could transform into a pterosaur? That’s a strange ability!
“Complete recovery.”
My body recovered. The right arm that Ji Seong-oh had eaten regenerated in an instant, and my depleted mana surged back. Whoosh. The suit covered my right arm again.
‘Machina. How long can the suit maintain its current output?’
-If you don’t do anything and just stay still, about 15 minutes?
‘That’s more than enough.’
I ran towards the broken wall. The suit’s power propelled me up to a height of 10 meters in an instant, but due to gravity, my body naturally fell back down.
“Hahaha! You stupid fool! Trying to fly without wings? There’s a limit to how arrogant you can be!”
Ji Seong-oh, instead of escaping, circled in the sky, mocking me as I fell.
‘Machina. Wings.’
-Sigh. Do you think I’m some kind of all-purpose cat? There’s no way wings will just appear out of nowhere… or will they?
Machina’s ability, mechanization.
If I can turn part of the suit into a gun, then I can certainly create wings.
Steel wings appeared on my back. They were jagged, and while they resembled wings, they were actually closer to jet engine boosters.
Whoosh!
My body shot up into the sky. Startled, Ji Seong-oh flapped his wings, trying to escape. He was slow. Did he really think that a reptile’s membrane could outpace a jet engine? It was laughable.
I quickly flew to Ji Seong-oh and grabbed him by the back of his neck.
‘Ultimate move on! This is the grand finale!’
I spun once in the air and then plummeted towards the ground.
“Mech Slam!”
I mentally commanded Machina. Increase the speed. To the maximum speed.
-If we go any faster, you’ll be in danger too?
Do as I say.
-Ah! I don’t know, don’t blame me if you die!
The jet engines on my back roared, unleashing their maximum output. I fell towards the asphalt with Ji Seong-oh beneath me.
KABOOOM!
A shockwave erupted, sending dust into the air. The shockwave spread in all directions, and a small crater was carved into the center of the asphalt.
Ji Seong-oh, who had been slammed into the asphalt from a height of over 300 meters, had returned to his human form, but he was in a terrible state. His body was shattered like a broken dish. Blood and organs flowed out, and pieces of flesh and bone were scattered everywhere.
『Karma: Good +1.』
I slowly got up. My whole body throbbed as if screaming. Blood filled my mouth. The shockwave from the fall hadn’t been completely blocked by the suit.
Of course, the suit wasn’t in perfect condition either. There were cracks all over it.
Click.
I heard the sound of a shutter.
I looked up and saw a man in his early thirties taking pictures of me with his smartphone. He hiccuped when our eyes met, then stammered, asking,
“U-um, may I ask what your name is?”
His eyes were filled with fear. But he wasn’t running away; he was still taking pictures of me. It was a bit absurd.
‘Machina. Voice modulation with a mechanical tone.’
-Yes sir!
“I am Jeokgwang.”
“I, I’m Kang Su-yeol, a hero manager working for Hero Management! Here’s my business card.”
I glanced at the business card. I didn’t take it. There was no reason to take a business card from some guy.
“I am not a hero.”
“I know. But… the one who died there, isn’t that the A-class villain Ji Seong-oh? Aren’t you a dark hero, Jeokgwang-nim? I… no, our company can help you!”
Dark hero.
In this world, it refers to heroes who operate outside the Hero Association.
Most dark heroes are extremely violent, so they are officially labeled as villains, but the citizens praise them as another kind of hero.
“I don’t need it.”
“P-please, don’t say that.”
I ignored him and activated the jet engines. My body shot up into the sky.
“Jeokgwang-nim!!!”
Kim Su-yeol called out loudly behind me. I didn’t look back.
I flew to a mountain where there were no CCTV cameras or people, then immediately took out a space-time teleportation scroll from my inventory and returned to the dormitory.
“Transformation release.”
Stormbreaker fell from my body, and Machina released her possession. Machina, now a tiny 60cm human, floated around me.
“Hey, you know, wouldn’t it be good to work with that guy? Having a hero manager would be convenient in many ways. Even if you’re a dark hero, you can get unofficial support.”
“I have no desire to get involved with someone like that. And I told you, this is just dark hero play.”
Stress relief.
And a way to steadily accumulate good karma.
This time, I gained a whopping 2 karma points.
“But it’s a waste. That dinosaur guy’s bounty was a whopping 12 billion! Aren’t you sad too? Huh? 12 billion! That’s enough to buy several buildings!”
“That’s just pocket change. I’m not interested.”
I sat on the sofa. My body still throbbed. I couldn’t help but frown.
“I’m interested! I need compensation! How hard did I work to help you! How can you do this to me! If you give me compensation, I can help you even harder in the future! We’re partners, right? Huh?”
I don’t know when a slave became a partner.
Machina didn’t give up and kept chattering beside me. If I threatened her a few times, she would be quiet for now, but she would become annoying again later.
“Here.”
I summoned a spirit orb and tossed it. Machina’s eyes widened like a puppy seeing a treat, and she quickly flew to where the spirit orb had fallen.
“Spirit orb! Delicious spirit orb!”
She picked up the spirit orb from the floor and hurriedly put it in her mouth. Machina’s cheeks puffed out. She was licking the spirit orb like a candy.
“Hehe. Hehehe~”
Machina looked as happy as if she had everything in the world.
‘Are spirit orbs that delicious?’
I put a spirit orb in my mouth. I couldn’t taste anything. I spat it out.
Come to think of it, I remember eating a spirit orb when I was in a spirit possession state.
‘…It’s been a while, so my memory is hazy, but I think it was delicious.’
Machina came running and snatched the spirit orb I had spat out with her small hands.
“This is mine!”
“Isn’t it dirty? I was eating it.”
“I-it’s okay if it’s dirty, I can wash it! I can’t give up a spirit orb for such a small reason.”
“I’m suddenly curious, if I put a spirit orb in dog poop, would you eat it?”
Machina looked shocked and on the verge of tears. Her eyes welled up.
“I-I can wash it! And you’re not really going to do that, are you? If you really do, I’ll tell Auntie that you bullied me!”
“I’m just kidding, just kidding. Here, have another one.”
Machina smiled brightly as I tossed her a spirit orb. Machina is also a spirit. Eating spirit orbs makes her a little stronger, but since she’s not a normal spirit, there’s no dramatic change.
By the way, the thunder owl Mocha has been steadily eating spirit orbs, and lately, he’s been showing signs of reaching the advanced stage.
I turned on the TV.
On the TV screen, a news flash about ‘Jeokgwang’ was being broadcast.
•••
Ko Yu-rim, the executive director of the 4th Executive Department of the Korean Hero Association, received a document from her subordinate.
The document contained information about Jeokgwang, who had been making headlines lately. Ko Yu-rim, an A-class hero with the alias ‘Gold Lady,’ frowned.
Most of the document was blank.
“What’s wrong with this? There’s no basic information.”
“How can we have it when it doesn’t exist? That guy is thoroughly hiding his identity.”
“They found Jeokgwang’s blood at the scene of the battle, right? And they said he raped the C-class villain Park Seol and his semen was collected? Then at least half of this document should be filled.”
“That information is also written there. On the back.”
“You expect me to believe this?”
“It’s the truth. He probably has some kind of special ability.”
Ko Yu-rim looked back at the document. No matter how much she looked at it, she couldn’t understand it.
It was the result of a genetic test using blood and semen, and the conclusion was that Jeokgwang’s genes were not human. More precisely, they were not from a living creature.
It was as if the genes themselves had been tampered with.
Looking at the blood, the red blood cells looked like the face of a demon, and the sperm in the semen looked like the face of a clown. It was clearly not normal.
It was impossible to find out Jeokgwang’s identity using scientific methods.
“Isn’t it fortunate that he’s a dark hero?”
“Dark hero? Don’t talk nonsense. He raped Park Seol.”
“Park Seol is also a villain. And he didn’t kill Park Seol. Isn’t that fortunate for Park Seol?”
“Fortunate my ass. I’d rather die than be raped. What does the higher-up say?”
“They said not to disclose the rape.”
“They’re planning to use him by making him a dark hero.”
“Even if we tell the public, they won’t believe it. And since the one who was raped was a villain… public opinion will still be favorable towards the dark hero.”
The ordinary citizens of this world suffered from villains. The fact that a villain was killed or raped actually made the citizens feel relieved. Especially the villain group Opid, who not only took on murder contracts but also kidnapped children. None of the citizens sympathized with them.
“Dark hero my ass. This guy is a villain. Has his villain rank and bounty been decided?”
“Yes. His villain rank is B. His bounty is 6 billion.”
“That’s appropriate.”
Ji Seong-oh, whom Jeokgwang killed, was an A-class villain, but his pure skill was only B-class. Since Jeokgwang killed such a Ji Seong-oh, he starts at B-class. He might rise in rank later, but for now, B-class is appropriate.
“What should we do?”
Her subordinate asked. The 4th Executive Department she belonged to was also in charge of Jeokgwang.
“What do you mean? We don’t have any clues. Let’s leave Jeokgwang alone for now and do other things.”
“Yes, Director.”
