Chapter 2536 – 2536. Savior Of The Academy

『Activating the Spirit Forcing Power of the Spirit Eye (SSS).』

As the Spirit Forcing Power activated, the Guardian Spirit froze, unable to move.

‘It works, just as I thought.’

The Guardian Spirit was a corrupted spirit, an artificial ghost created based on a demonic spirit. Even though it was a ghost, its essence was still that of a spirit.

‘It seems the Spirit King doesn’t consider corrupted spirits as spirits.’

Even if they were corrupted, their essence as spirits didn’t completely change.

I looked at the inscription on the Guardian Spirit. I didn’t know exactly what kind of inscription it was. I didn’t have knowledge related to this area. I just felt that it was more similar to spirit magic than regular magic.

“Guirak Gokju. Are you watching?”

The Guardian Spirit, which had been screaming, suddenly stopped. Then, with a bizarre movement, it turned its body and head to look at me.

-I knew you weren’t ordinary… but to even recognize the curse inscription on the Guardian Spirit. Jeokgwang. I know you as a dark hero active in Korea, but it seems there’s more to you than that. What is your true identity?

The Guardian Spirit spoke fluent Chinese. It was Guirak Gokju speaking through the Guardian Spirit. The voice was distorted, making it difficult to identify the person.

“Are you going to curse me if I tell you my identity?”

-I can curse you even now. Like this.

The Guardian Spirit’s body seemed to tremble, and then a red lightning bolt fell from the sky. To be precise, it was a curse in the form of lightning.

It fell so suddenly, without any warning, that I couldn’t avoid it. The curse hit me, and I felt a wave of nausea. I forced myself to endure it, and blood came out of my ears. That was all. The curse soon faded.

-Even with your body in the worst condition, you only bled a little after taking that curse. You have a high resistance to curses. Or do you possess a power I don’t know about?

“…I felt a moment of magical power. It was a curse using demonic power.”

The curse disappeared quickly thanks to my Demon Hunter (SS) trait. Unless it was a powerful demonic force or authority, something like this couldn’t harm me.

-Unlike Chamsalgwi, I’m the type to use whatever I can. Why save it when you can’t take it to the grave?

“Alright. Thanks to you, I know your level well. A curse from someone like you can’t harm me.”

-Curses require various conditions. A hastily made curse like this is bound to be weak. I would have been disappointed if you had died from such a curse.

I glared at the curse inscription on the Guardian Spirit. The inscription was slowly but surely disappearing. The time I had to talk to Guirak Gokju through the inscription was limited.

“Enough with the pointless mind games. Let’s get to the point. Where are you hiding? I need to kill you to completely destroy Guirak Gok.”

-You’re mistaken. Even if you kill me, the Ghost Lord, one of the four great gatekeepers, remains. He will take over Guirak Gok after me.

“The Ghost Lord? Ah. You mean that old man who’s been reduced to your puppet?”

In the original story, the Ghost Lord challenged Guirak Gokju and was defeated. Guirak Gokju made the dead Ghost Lord his puppet. It was to keep the other gatekeepers in check. But all the other gatekeepers were dead.

So, from my perspective, I only needed to eliminate Guirak Gokju. Then Guirak Gok would disappear from this world. And one of the contracts I made with the Spirit King would be completed.

-…You know far too much. How do you know secrets that even my family doesn’t know?

“Even your family doesn’t know? Do you really think so?”

I sneered at the Guardian Spirit. I carefully acted out my expression to make him as angry as possible.

-…….

Guirak Gokju fell silent. He was probably racking his brain. He would probably create a non-existent suspect and start suspecting them. That’s just the kind of guy he was.

-Let’s stop here.

Guirak Gokju said with a sigh.

-Guirak Gok is busy. You also don’t have the strength to face the entire Guirak Gok. So let’s end it here.

“You’re talking nonsense. I killed two of the four great gatekeepers with my own hands. And you think I’ll stop here? Do you think I’d believe that? No, even if I believed you, there’s no reason for me to stop here. My goal is to destroy Guirak Gok. That is, to kill you.”

-You arrogant punk…! Guirak Gok is China! Don’t you know that we can wipe out a small country like Korea in an instant?! I’m showing you mercy!

“If you’re so confident, let’s try it.”

Unlike in reality, Korea in this world was a unified Korea. Its population was over 100 million, similar to Japan. National power? This world was centered around Korea. It wasn’t as powerful as the United States, but it surpassed Japan. China couldn’t look down on Korea.

Above all, Gwimo and Yeokgwi, who actually ruled Guirak Gok among the four great gatekeepers, were dead. Chamsalgwi, who was feared, was also dead. The influence of Guirak Gok, which had been shaking China, had been wavering for a while.

-You turtle-like bastard…. I will definitely kill you with my own hands someday…!

“You should wash your neck and wait. I’ll cut it off soon.”

The curse inscription remaining on the Guardian Spirit completely disappeared.

Despite his threats, Guirak Gokju didn’t seem to have any intention of moving for the time being.

‘The fact that he said let’s end it first is proof. It seems he’s planning to reorganize Guirak Gok first.’

It was impossible to reorganize Guirak Gok alone in the shadows without the four great gatekeepers. Or, even if it was possible, it would take a long time and be inefficient.

‘He’ll show himself soon. Or he’ll have no choice but to leave traces. Either way, the moment I find Guirak Gokju, I’ll go straight to him and kill him.’

I could guarantee it. I would face Guirak Gokju in the near future.

‘Now, all that’s left is this guy.’

Chamsalgwi’s Guardian Spirit. It was forced to stay still by the power of the Spirit Eye (SSS).

‘In terms of power, it’s probably upper-level. The moment it leaves my sight, the forcing power will be released. Then it will either run away or go on a rampage.’

The easiest way to eliminate the Guardian Spirit was to ask Seong Hari. Its essence was a corrupted spirit, so it would be devoured by Seong Hari.

‘…Wait. Even if I feed this guy to her, the Spirit King won’t care. The Spirit King himself said that demonic spirits aren’t spirits. So this guy is… I’ll make him a lunchbox for Seong Hari.’

The next problem was how to store the Guardian Spirit. I couldn’t just keep watching it.

After a moment of thought, the answer came to me.

Wasn’t Shim Eunji, one of the top barrier masters in Korea, my fuck buddy?

It might be impossible for the highest-level spirits, but she could seal an upper-level spirit with a barrier.

‘I can’t leave here right now… I should have Moka bring Shim Eunji. If I give her two or three luxury bags as a reward, she’ll be happy.’

I took out my smartphone and contacted Shim Eunji.

After the call, Moka turned into lightning and sped through the dark sky. And in less than a minute, she brought Shim Eunji.

As soon as Shim Eunji arrived, she scanned the Guardian Spirit up and down, assessing its value.

“It has the power of an upper-level spirit. And it seems to have the power of a ghost, so it’ll cost a bit. I need high-quality materials. First, 200g of mithril….”

She rattled off high-quality materials without hesitation. All together, it cost about 5 billion won.

“It’s not that much.”

“How much money do you even have?”

“More than you think.”

“…It’s beyond my imagination. It’s also surprising that you’re Jeokgwang.”

“That’s a secret. If the secret leaks, I’ll kill you first.”

Shim Eunji answered with a cold sweat.

“I’m good at keeping secrets.”

• • •

December 23rd. The day before Christmas Eve.

Gangwon Province was experiencing an unprecedented amount of snowfall. The roads were naturally blocked due to the snow, and a state of emergency was declared in the city itself. Fortunately, the academy was fine because of the barrier.

The students were full of complaints. The final exams were over, and Christmas was just around the corner, but the academy was still controlling the students.

Originally, Maruhan Academy released students during the Christmas period. Christmas was a famous holiday, so it was natural. But this year was different. On Christmas Eve, all the students were gathered in the auditorium. Even those scheduled to graduate were no exception. The pretext was a Christmas party. All students were forced to participate.

‘Kang Ji-young decided to gather the students in one place to protect them. If the students were released outside the academy, the legion could invade various parts of the Korean peninsula instead of the academy. The damage would be terrible then.’

It was better to gather the students and lure the 3rd Legion’s invasion to the academy.

Kang Ji-young invited the academy’s graduates, the current heroes.

On top of that, she even invited an S-class hero. However, it wasn’t an S-class hero from Korea.

“Hehe. It’s been a while. How have you been?”

A woman with long black hair wearing a flamboyant kimono, with a hairstyle called hime cut in Japan, ran to me and hugged my arm. I could feel the sensation of her ample breasts through my arm. Judging by the way her breasts were squished and the sensation, she was definitely braless.

She smiled, her purple eyes folding seductively.

Tenrai Nagisa. Japan’s S-class hero and the princess of Suwol (水月), the head of Arashi Academy.

Unlike her usual appearance as a child, she was now a voluptuous adult.

“It’s been a while, Headmaster. I’ve been doing as usual. How have you been, Headmaster?”

“Hehe. I haven’t been doing well because of someone.”

“Because of whom?”

“Do I have to say it?”

Tenrai Nagisa glared and blushed. I checked her status window to confirm her favorability.

『Name: Tenrai Nagisa
Strength: B+ Stamina: B+ Agility: A- Durability: B- Mana: SS+
Trait: Tsukuyomi’s Half Moon (SS)
Skills: Sorcery (SS), Magic (S+), Space Control (S+)
Favorability: 78
Psychology: You’ve become even more dashing while I haven’t seen you! Ah… my womb is getting hot, how embarrassing…. It’s about time I lost my virginity.』

Her favorability had increased. Usually, favorability decreases if you haven’t seen someone for a long time. But her favorability had increased? It meant she had been thinking about me in her heart for a long time.

‘Is it because she’s been a spinster for decades? She’s really horny.’

If I pounced on her right now, she would probably be happy.

But now wasn’t the time. Tenrai Nagisa was also the best barrier master in Japan, so she needed to secure the barrier within the academy. As proof, I could feel a gaze looking at us from a short distance away. It was Kang Ji-young’s gaze.

“Tenrai-nim. We don’t have much time. Please check the barrier in the auditorium.”

Kang Ji-young said matter-of-factly. Tenrai Nagisa quietly clicked her tongue and moved away from me.

“It seems now isn’t the time. Let’s meet again later.”

She waved her hand seductively and walked away.

I was lost in thought for a moment. It was my idea to call her to Maruhan Academy. Fortunately, she didn’t refuse.

‘With this, there are three S-class heroes gathered at the academy. Kang Ji-young, Seong Hari, and Tenrai Nagisa.’

I wasn’t an S-class hero, but I could confidently say that I was more than an S-class hero if I used my full power.

‘The academy’s power is sufficient.’