I Became A Flashing Genius At The Magic Academy - Chapter 86

Flame cautiously walked through the narrow alley. She had hurriedly followed Hae Won-Ryang’s trail, but the distance between them had grown too far.

As the day of the World Tree's Birth slowly approached, people flocked to the inner perimeter of the world tree, and there were hardly any signs of people on the outskirts.

A cold breeze swept through the alley, prompting a deep sigh from her lips.

"Why is he like that...?"

In the novel, Hae Won-Ryang was like the main protagonist in a comic who grew up alongside Ma Yu-Seong.

But for some reason, the Hae Won-Ryang she encountered had a different vibe.

"Is it because of me...?"

The only difference from the original story would be that Flame had a significant impact on Hae Won-Ryang.

That realization stirred a deep sense of guilt within her.

Although she had enthusiastically intervened in the original storyline to try to prevent the destruction of the world, could it be that she was having a negative influence instead?

Such thoughts lingered as she wandered the empty alleys.

‘Huh?’

Suddenly, a shiver ran down her spine. Although it was not a familiar energy, she immediately realized what it was based on her instincts.

"This... can't be happening..."

Dark magic.

Someone approached her from behind.

The boy had black hair with a hint of red and purple eyes.

Dressed in Stella’s school uniform, he wore cold, calculating glasses perched on his nose.

The boy was none other than...

"Hae Won-Ryang...?"

But Hae Won-Ryang stood there, his body tainted by dark magic, corruption nearly complete.

Their eyes met.

His bloodshot eyes indicated that his sanity was almost gone, but he stood firmly on both feet, proving that he had retained little intelligence, and silently observed Flame.

She spoke, tense as if speaking to a beast. "Calm down, Hae Won-Ryang."

"Calm down...?"

"Yeah. All the emotions and feelings you're experiencing aren't yours. You don't like losing to others, do you? You don't want to be influenced like that, right?"

Hae Won-Ryang ignored her and slowly approached. But the moment Flame showed a frightened expression and took a step back, Hae Won-Ryang paused.

He tilted his head.

He asked, "Why... are you running away?"

"Huh?"

It was just one step.

That step backward stimulated Hae Won-Ryang.

"Oh..."

To think she would flinch and step back without even understanding his current state.

Flame quickly interjected. "I didn't run away. I just..."

"Me..."

He struggled to speak, shaking his head as if trying to fight off unbearable pain. His voice came out strained. "You... hate me...?"

"No, no! Please don't think that way!"

She knew that Hae Won-Ryang's condition was bad at times.

But she had never imagined he would succumb to dark magic corruption.

In the novel, Hae Won-Ryang was an exceptional grand mage with excellent emotional control.

Biting her lip, Flame’s thoughts drifted to someone else.  She didn't expect Hae Won-Ryang to end up like this, but it wasn't difficult to speculate who the culprit was.

‘Professor Maizen... Even in the novel, she’s the one who put Eisel in dangerous situations. According to the lore, a dark magic contractor contaminates others with dark magic by scattering seeds, but fortunately, such victims didn't appear in the novel. But... the original is just a piece of work on paper. Is it different in real life?’

Her existence could have been the variable that made Hae Won-Ryang turn out like this.

‘I have to find a way to reverse this somehow.’

She knew a purification spell that could dispel dark magic. Though Hae Won-Ryang’s corruption had advanced dangerously, it was not yet irreversible.

Of course, simply casting a purification spell wouldn't suppress the corruption. If that were the case, all magic users would have learned light magic.

One needed to weaken the other person as much as possible. For that, combat was inevitable.

However, Flame knew because she saw the original novel. 

That combat alone was not enough.

The protagonist of the novel, Eisel Morph.

She purified countless dark mages and touched their hearts with only conversations, gaining the nickname Saint of Repentance for a while.

‘I feel a little sorry for using that method first, but I have no choice.’

Restoring the corrupted to their original selves required rekindling the emotions buried beneath the darkness.

"Hae Won-Ryang, tell me what’s on your mind. Why… How in the world did you end up like this?"

"There must be a reason, right? Something pressured you. Something that caused stress."

Overburdened by studies.

Crushed under the weight of competition.

Burnt out from endless magic practice.

Terrified of combat.

It could be anything. Any emotion could be the fuse for dark corruption.

And once one knew the reason, there were countless ways to resolve it.

Although she didn't possess a warm aura like Eisel and couldn't offer genuine empathy, based on what she had seen so far, she believed that she could somehow make it work.

That was what she thought. But...

Whoosh...!

Hae Won-Ryang lunged toward her without hesitation.

From the start, he never intended to engage in conversation.

"Huh?”

She keenly felt the sensation of her hair fluttering in the wind. The black claws growing from Hae Won-Ryang's fingertips were aimed at her neck, and she hadn’t cast magic to counter it.

However, just before Hae Won-Ryang's claws touched her throat, a powerful black lightning bolt descended from the sky.

Crackle!

An overwhelmingly deafening thunderclap.

Flame blinked in astonishment, and in front of her, a boy dressed in Stella's robes fell to the ground.

"Ma-Ma Yu-Seong ...?"

Startled, she stepped back. Ma Yu-Seong shook his head and pushed his bangs to the side.

"Are you okay?" he asked with a calm smile. He didn't seem like he was facing a dark mage, but Flame could sense it.

The frustration hidden within him.

Perhaps it was because of his black lightning being exposed. Flame knew its nature, but she had to deliberately ask the question to avoid giving herself away.

“That magic just now?"

"Sorry, forget about it. Please."

"Well, uh, yeah."

‘Yeah, that should do.’

She approached Ma Yu-Seong and readied her staff.

While watching Hae Won-Ryang slowly get up, Ma Yu-Seong asked with a sidelong glance, "Why didn't you try to fight? It was very dangerous since you weren't prepared at all."

"I wanted to try resolving it through conversation..."

"Conversation?"

Ma Yu-Seong's expression changed subtly.

"Yeah, conversation."

Flame bit her lips nervously. She had intended to try resolving it through conversation, but since he wouldn't listen, it became a problem.

How did Eisel attempt to converse and persuade such people?

Thunk!

Without giving her more time to think, Hae Won-Ryang once again raised his black crystal-like claws and charged forward.

This time, without using the black lightning, Ma Yu-Seong stepped forward and deployed ordinary earth magic to block it.

"I'm not sure about your plan, but for now, we have to fight. Can you do it?"

"Yeah, yeah… I can."

She still didn’t fully understand how things had escalated to this point, but at least she wasn’t alone. Fighting alongside Ma Yu-Seong, the male protagonist, felt reassuring.

Flame raised her staff and summoned light magic infused with the blood of an angel.

A battle was inevitable.

However, she would definitely turn him back to his original state.

Swish!

Using a power jump, Ma Yu-Seong's staff emitted a burst of light, and from the ground, an earth whip wrapped around the space.

But Hae Won-Ryang evaded it with inhuman agility, darting toward Ma Yu-Seong like a predator on the hunt.

Despite the sheer force of Ma Yu-Seong’s power jump, it came with limitations… fixed direction, preset speed, and a casting delay that left openings.

In contrast, with his corrupted body, Hae Won-Ryang leaped around freely, which put Ma Yu-Seong at a disadvantage in terms of pure mobility.

However, Ma Yu-Seong's magic exerted destructive pressure on his opponent.

Flaming blades fell from the sky, tearing through Hae Won-Ryang's back roughly, and spikes of rock shot up, piercing through his defenses.

With Flame providing support from behind, the situation in the battle was much more advantageous on their side.

"Binding light!"

Swoosh!

Two chains suddenly fell from above Hae Won-Ryang's head, wrapping around his body in an instant.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Ma Yu-Seong summoned a flaming fist and delivered a powerful blow to Hae Won-Ryang's abdomen, pushing him back forcefully.

"Ughhh..."

A low groan escaped Hae Won-Ryang, like steam hissing from a boiling kettle.

Flame saw the opportunity and opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, a sudden shift occurred in his body.

His joints bent at unnatural angles, and his bones twisted grotesquely. The dark corruption was spreading.

The urgency in Flame’s heart grew with each passing moment.

"His corruption is progressing! We have to stop it quickly!"

At her outcry, Ma Yu-Seong nodded and tried to cast his magic.

Crack!

"Ugh!"

However, Hae Won-Ryang approached with beast-like agility and grabbed his neck with one hand.

"Ma-Ma Yu-Seong !"

Ma Yu-Seong struggled desperately to free himself, but it seemed impossible due to the vast difference in pure strength.

Seeing no other option, Flame braced herself and began preparing the magic she had reserved for when Hae Won-Ryang regained his senses.

Gathering every ounce of her mana, she began weaving the spell.

It was a spell that almost reached the level of a Class 4 spell, and it was almost impossible to use it under normal circumstances, but she had thoroughly memorized it in preparation for this situation.

"Dark magic purification shield."

Yet, the spell came at a price. It required her to ignite her blood, draining her mana completely, leaving no second chances.

Furthermore, since it was an attempt to use magic that was beyond her skill level, the casting time was quite long.

Boom...!

Golden magical circles appeared under Flame’s feet and at the tip of her staff, and the casting slowly progressed.

In the middle of the casting, Hae Won-Ryang observed Ma Yu-Seong’s distorted expression of pain and faintly smiled.

"Ma Yu-Seong..."

Ma Yu-Seong was right in front of him.

Moreover, he had his hands around his neck.

'I can win.’

From the moment Ma Yu-Seong appeared in front of him, there was only one thought dominating his mind.

'Defeat Ma Yu-Seong.'

His power boiled and raged.

Unlike in the past when he had to struggle with just a fraction of his magical power, he felt like he could kill even a monster like Ma Yu-Seong in a single blow.

Lost in endless exhilaration, Hae Won-Ryang was about to draw more dark magic power…

“This is quite disappointing, Hae Won-Ryang."

'What?'

Ma Yu-Seong was looking at him with cold eyes and a calm face.

That was a gaze he had never seen before.

Even Hae Won-Ryang, who was mostly worn out emotionally due to the progress of the dark corruption, felt some fear.

It was not fear stemming from a difference in power.

If anything, he felt more powerful than ever.

‘This is really…’

"I thought you were someone who lived in the same world as me. But in the end, you're nothing more than that."

The one he thought of as a rival was disappointed in him.

‘Ah…’

Hae Won-Ryang felt fear.