I Became The Only Healer In The Academy [EN]: Chapter 118

118

The plan had seemed flawless.

I’d even accounted for the academy-issued equipment’s potential resistance to the initial smoke grenade.

But I hadn’t anticipated its complete failure to respond to the simultaneous attack from behind.

Moreover, this wasn’t just any smoke grenade.

It released a smoke that inflicted excruciating pain in the lungs, even with minimal inhalation.

While its potency diminished over time, the initial impact was undeniably significant.

Yet, his reaction was indifferent.

As if such pain was negligible.

It almost made me wonder if he had developed a tolerance to it.

‘I can’t back down now. Where else would I find such a perfect opportunity?’

Even Section Chief Cha of the Association is barely contained by the barrier. If I miss this chance, another won’t present itself.

“Use it…!”

The second method was, of course, prepared.

To attempt assassinating South Korea’s top-ranked Hunter with a single plan would be absurd.

But then, an overwhelming aura began to emanate right before my eyes.

A feeling subtly different from the aura of a typical top-ranked Hunter.

There was palpable murderous intent, yet it also felt strangely sacred, as if dying now would lead to paradise.

“Orders!”

The urgent cries of my subordinates.

Their voices, filled with immense pain, suggested they believed failure here meant the end.

“Activate.”

I immediately retrieved something from my pocket and crushed it in my hand.

Instantly, the floor beneath Seonghyun began to shimmer.

Even the ground where everyone, including myself, stood.

But the expected event didn’t occur.

“…?”

There were no errors in the preparations.

The academy equipment’s failure to activate was unexpected, but given the preparations, it wasn’t a critical obstacle.

Even that equipment had limitations to the attacks it could block.

“H, how…”

Originally, a massive pillar of fire should have erupted from the magic circle on the floor.

Its power should have been comparable to an attack from a top-ranked fire-attribute Hunter.

But nothing was happening.

The magic circle was flawless, and the academy equipment hadn’t activated.

The smoke cleared completely, and I gritted my teeth at the sight before me.

“This crazy monster…”

It was an unbelievable sight.

Which Hunter would block the activation of a magic circle through such brute force?

The center of the magic circle was where the most intense magic power converged, making it the strongest point.

Seonghyun’s feet, planted precisely at that center, were infused with even greater magic power.

“Unbelievable. Blocking it with magic power?”

An immeasurable amount of magic power gathered at his feet, suppressing the core of the magic circle.

The standard method for dispelling a magic circle was to identify and destroy its weak points.

“I have no choice.”

I didn’t want to resort to this, but there was no alternative.

The magic power emanating from that magic circle also had its limits. Now that he’s focusing his magic power on his feet, I had to deal with him before this magic circle reached its end.

“Let’s begin.”

I drew a specially crafted dagger from my pocket.

A dagger so excessively ornate that I considered it a waste to stain it with blood.

The dagger wasn’t intended for Seonghyun.

But for my own neck.

“I’m sorry.”

My ability was sharing.

More precisely, the ability to share wounds and pain, with one crucial exception.

I could exclude myself from the sharing.

Of course, it only worked on the same species, requiring someone to bear the pain in my stead.

And the subordinates present were sacrifices for this ability.

“Farewell.”

Thus, I attempted to slit my own throat.

If someone hadn’t seized my hand.

“…?”

Something shining in his hand seemed to be made of light.

I tried to wrench my hand free, but it wouldn’t budge.

“Wh, who…”

Could another top-ranked Hunter from South Korea have arrived?

If so, it would be the worst-case scenario.

“…Light?”

Barely turning my head to see the owner of this hand, I saw a figure composed of light.

“A summoned creature…!”

I knew Seonghyun controlled summoned creatures.

But unless summoning was the primary focus of the ability, the summoned creature’s abilities were typically mediocre.

Moreover, Seonghyun was channeling a massive amount of magic power into suppressing the magic circle.

‘In that situation, he summoned a creature?’

Now that I think about it, even the word monster is an understatement.

Could the person before me be a demon?

‘But if I can’t move my arm…’

I just need to move my neck.

In that instant, I tried to force my neck onto the dagger, but of course, that was impossible.

“Kuaaaak!”

The situation unfolded in a flash.

Pain erupted from the arm holding the dagger.

Even without Seonghyun using a stigma [a mark of power or curse], the arm felt as if it was being torn off.

“…”

I thought it was just the sensation of being torn off.

But the arm was actually being torn off.

By the summoned creature.

The moment I felt that pain, something grabbed the back of my head, and with that pain, my head was slammed into the ground.

With a cracking sound, cracks appeared in the ground, and blood, matching the volume gushing from the severed arm, began to stain the floor.

“An assassin…”

But strangely, I didn’t lose consciousness.

Instead, the pain seemed to be receding.

No, the pain was actually disappearing.

Was it because I was close to death?

Was it because I lacked the strength to feel pain?

It wasn’t that kind of feeling.

It felt as if the life force that had been fading was returning to my body.

Barely clinging to consciousness, I was forcibly lifted by the hand gripping the back of my head and forced to look around.

“…”

No wonder I couldn’t hear any voices.

The subordinates I had brought were long dead.

Their hearts pierced precisely by that sword I had seen in the video, unable to even scream.

“Who sent you?”

“…Kill.”

What was it about those three words that provoked the Hunter before me?

Soon, I screamed again as I felt the fingers of my remaining arm being severed.

“Keueuk…”

Seonghyun lowered himself to my eye level.

Normally, he would have done so kindly, but this opponent wasn’t worth the effort.

Floating in the air, with the back of my head gripped by the summoned creature, I was forced to meet Seonghyun’s gaze.

“The outcome of your death won’t change. Even if you tell me everything from A to Z about who’s behind you right now.”

“Keuk… how predictable. What, are you going to kill me painfully or something?”

Thanks to Seonghyun’s healing, all the pain had vanished, and I spoke confidently without even a stutter.

“You’re different from the others. At least you seem to grasp the situation.”

As Seonghyun said, the situation was over.

The assassins’ complete defeat, unable to touch even a strand of Seonghyun’s hair.

“Wh, what’s going on!”

Just then, Section Chief Cha’s voice echoed, as if the barrier had dissipated.

“Th, this is…! I’m sorry. It’s my fault. I should have been within the range where the barrier was created…”

When Seonghyun entered the door, the person being guarded temporarily disappeared, causing Section Chief Cha to be slightly careless.

He hadn’t grasped the moment the barrier was erected.

After the barrier was created, it was meaningless. From the outside, it appeared as if nothing was happening.

“It’s alright. More than that, I want to have a conversation with this assassin in private…”

Section Chief Cha immediately understood Seonghyun’s request.

A very private space for a solitary conversation.

“I’ll guide you.”

At Section Chief Cha’s gesture, a rift appeared in the air, and the summoned creature entered, still gripping the back of my head.

“Those people… are they already too late?”

The Hunters guarding the entrance were nowhere to be seen, and no presence was felt.

Having prepared thoroughly to capture Seonghyun, they wouldn’t have spared them.

After a brief scan, Seonghyun gave up and stepped into the rift created by Section Chief Cha.

A perfectly clean space, completely enclosed by walls.

“No one knows about this place except me. Unless you have my ability, you can’t enter or leave.”

“It’s a good place.”

The perfect place for a private conversation.

“Then, I’ll be going…”

Section Chief Cha soon departed through the rift, leaving only Seonghyun and me in the room.

“Okay. Put him down now.”

The summoned creature released me onto the floor and vanished.

“Is it time for torture now?”

Seonghyun wouldn’t be able to extract any information.

Even if he did, it would be false.

“There’s something to do before that.”

Seonghyun placed his hand on my body and purified the mass of unpleasant energy he sensed within.

“Wh, what…”

“There’s no suicide. Not ever again.”

“H, how did you know!”

“It’s a predictable thing.”

I received my own words back, but I still had no intention of divulging information.

A body already conditioned to withstand torture.

“Are you thinking of torturing me while healing me? Then I welcome it. Aren’t you going to feel the pain I feel when you heal me?”

With that thought, I felt capable of enduring any pain.

But Seonghyun’s expression was one of pity, as if looking at someone ignorant.

“So that’s why you were so confident.”

Soon, with a piercing gaze, pain surged to the point where I couldn’t even support my body.

“Section Chief Cha said you wouldn’t be able to escape, but you never know.”

Everything is better when thorough.

Seonghyun used his authority to create a sword of light.

“Kuaaaak!”

Then, he impaled my hands and feet with the sword, pinning them to the wall.

“From now on, you won’t be able to eat anything, and you won’t be able to see anything. Except for feeling pain.”

Seonghyun began to search my belongings.

The only items he found were a letter and cigarettes.

I didn’t even have a cell phone.

I couldn’t understand the letter, written in a foreign language, but I could identify it.

“Russian…”

My expression as he confirmed the letter was as if I had been caught doing something forbidden.

Of course, it was a feigned expression.

“It’s strange. For someone who claims they won’t speak even under torture, a very important-looking letter conveniently falls out of their pocket.”

“Th, that’s…!”

“Shut up. I didn’t tell you to answer.”

And coincidentally, it was in the outer pocket of the jacket, making it easy to drop.

“As if it was deliberately placed there to be dropped.”

In a fleeting moment, my composure wavered, but Seonghyun noticed.

Because that was his intention in the first place.

Seonghyun smiled and said.

“It’s an obvious trap. Isn’t it?”