I Became The Only Healer In The Academy [EN]: Chapter 281

281

“V, Vice President?”

Park Yeon-seok and Choi Gi-ju couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

The Vice President, who never used daggers, had pulled one from his pocket and slashed his own arm.

The sight of the Vice President, bleeding heavily yet looking strangely accomplished, bewildered not only the two top-tier Hunters but also the Agent.

“Interesting. A race more sensitive to pain than any other… voluntarily cuts off their own arm.”

Was he trying to sacrifice himself for something?

I was curious about the consequences, but I didn’t intend to wait around.

If he was planning something, he needed to at least survive.

Killing the Vice President would be a matter of a few flicks of my fingers.

“Vice President…”

“…”

The Vice President nodded towards them.

As if this was their last hope.

Park Yeon-seok and Choi Gi-ju.

Top-tier Hunters representing South Korea.

Having been Hunters for quite some time, they retained the habits of those who had long reigned at the top.

Namely, the conviction that they were the strongest.

Confidence that beasts were no match for them.

Of course, that confidence had vanished like smoke today when faced with the Agent.

‘Save the Vice President.’

They instinctively exchanged glances.

The Vice President wouldn’t have cut his arm for no reason.

The two top-tier Hunters, having exchanged glances, turned their gaze towards the Agent, who disappeared from sight the moment he noticed their attention.

“Now!!”

The Agent’s next target was obvious.

The Vice President, of course.

They had to protect the Vice President at all costs.

Even if it meant sacrificing their lives.

Otherwise, they would all die anyway.

Park Yeon-seok and Choi Gi-ju used all their abilities to protect the Vice President.

They wanted to anticipate and defend against the Agent’s attack, but, frustratingly, they knew they’d be too late.

They would only realize it after the Vice President’s head hit the floor.

However, the Agent was well aware of their intentions.

The human who directly cut his own hand.

His purpose was clear to anyone, and knowing his purpose, his next action was equally clear.

“The nuisances must be eliminated first.”

The Agent’s target wasn’t the Vice President.

He aimed to eliminate these two obstacles first to prevent any variables.

The variables these two could create were deemed greater than the time it would take to eliminate them.

“Be careful…!”

Thanks to Sung Hyun’s influence, the Vice President could perceive the Agent’s movements, albeit slightly.

‘This is bad.’

The Agent reappeared.

Behind the two top-tier Hunters who had focused all their abilities on protecting the Vice President.

They tried to use their mana to block the attack, but, of course, their mana wouldn’t reach the Agent.

“Two first.”

Was it the fear of certain death?

Or the memory of his arm being cut off?

Normally, their heads would have been severed before they could even locate the Agent, but instinctively, they could at least sense his position.

But that was all.

Just that the Agent was behind them.

And that they were about to die.

The Vice President’s chances of protecting them were slim to none.

Which meant they were about to die.

“N, no…”

Truly an overwhelming difference.

Not just any Hunters, but top-tier Hunters, yet the gap was so vast.

Were Sung Hyun’s efforts in vain?

His grand goal and dream of raising the level of Hunters, were they all for naught?

No Hunter could stand against the being before them.

Two spheres fell to the ground.

They knew what those were without having to check.

They wished they didn’t, but.

‘Top-tier Hunters dying so meaninglessly…’

Should they not have entered in the first place?

He thought that with two top-tier Hunters and himself, they could at least retreat without casualties, even if a perfect subjugation was impossible.

Was it arrogant to think that simply eliminating the danger posed by the opened gate’s overflow was possible?

Now, there were no living humans left inside except for the Vice President.

It was a very slim chance, but he couldn’t help but wonder if this was all a dream.

The fact that everyone in this place had died in such a short time, about a minute, was unbelievable.

“I… everyone…”

“Haha. A human with broken will.”

Humans were weak for this reason.

If their decisions and beliefs were even slightly shaken, they would shatter like glass.

It was one of the greatest joys for the Agent.

More valuable than dying eyes, eyes devoid of life.

Those eyes, clearly alive yet resigned and giving up on everything, were incredibly satisfying to the Agent.

Of course, he had no intention of letting him live.

Dying eyes and lifeless eyes were satisfying enough, so all that remained was to watch those eyes turn into dying ones.

There was no need to take out a weapon or anything.

Just like he dealt with the two top-tier Hunters, a single finger would suffice.

“If there’s a next life, I recommend being born in our dimension.”

The Agent extended his finger towards the Vice President’s neck above the corpses of Park Yeon-seok and Choi Gi-ju.

Then, as if telling him to savor his death, he slowly moved his finger sideways.

The Vice President, blankly staring at the finger, searched for something he could do, thinking and thinking.

The thought of dodging the Agent’s attack never even crossed his mind.

The odds were not just low, they were nonexistent.

However, the Vice President was the only one in this place who could perceive the Agent’s movements, even slightly.

He couldn’t protect the two top-tier Hunters from the Agent’s attack, but the Vice President himself was different.

Of course, that wasn’t easy either.

The difference between him and the Agent was probably as great as the difference between Sung Hyun and himself.

‘Arm… no, shoulder.’

The best option was simply not to die.

Even that, to be clear, was just delaying death slightly.

Merely changing the cleanly severed body part from the neck to the shoulder.

An injury that would be almost instantly fatal to an ordinary person, but not so much for the Vice President.

Just enough to hold on a little longer.

“You are a little different from ordinary humans. To only groan once with that kind of injury.”

The Agent spoke as he drew his finger again.

This time, from top to bottom.

A will to completely split him in half.

The second attack was unavoidable even for the Vice President.

His mind was already becoming hazy with pain, and even lifting his head to look at the Agent was too much.

‘Is this the end?’

Perhaps because he had arrived right at the doorstep of death, time began to flow very slowly.

And things that were invisible began to appear.

A thin strand of mana flying towards him.

So thin that even a fishing line wouldn’t be that thin.

As time flowed slowly, that mana was also approaching him very slowly, but the Vice President’s movements also slowed down in time with it, so he couldn’t avoid it.

Little by little.

The mana was getting closer and closer.

One step ahead, half a step ahead.

It quickly came within a distance where only a fist could fit.

Zziiik.

The sound of flesh tearing.

The first thing that mana touched was the Vice President’s forehead.

The forehead tore as soon as it touched the mana.

Soon, that mana would pierce through him.

Cutting through everything in its path.

The moment the part touched by the mana passed the skin and reached the bone.

“…He’s here.”

Along with the Agent’s low voice, he felt the emptiness in one arm filling up again.

At the same time, the pain disappeared, and the mana in front of him vanished.

“What on earth…”

The only hope in this situation.

Sung Hyun had appeared.

“Are you alright?”

Sung Hyun didn’t take his eyes off the Agent in front of him and asked about the Vice President’s condition.

If he had been even a little, even a fleeting moment, later, the Vice President would probably be lying on the floor as well.

“Haha… I thought I was going to die.”

The pain had completely disappeared, and the severed body part had been perfectly restored.

“The others…”

“…I’m sorry.”

“No. Why should the Vice President be sorry? More importantly, get out of here.”

“…”

“Now.”

Was it right to go back like this?

His head was undoubtedly ordering him to, but his instincts were screaming no.

“I… understand.”

But what could he do by staying in this place?

He would be lucky if he didn’t hold Sung Hyun back.

The Vice President bit his lower lip until it bled and turned around.

“Very good.”

The Agent didn’t even seem to think about chasing the Vice President.

No, it was as if he had forgotten that the Vice President was even in this place.

‘Now that you’ve entered this place, it’s all over.’

Now, all he had to do was activate what he had prepared in advance.

The Agent slowly closed and opened his eyes.

The things prepared in advance were activated by the Agent’s will, not his mana.

Unless Sung Hyun could open the opponent’s head, he wouldn’t even be able to sense the signs.

Mana fluctuations did occur as the activation began, but it was already too late.

“Is it… already too late.”

Sung Hyun looked at the things rolling on the floor.

There were familiar faces and unfamiliar faces, but their commonality was that they couldn’t be undone.

It wasn’t anyone’s fault.

The Vice President must have had a reason to come to this place, and he couldn’t have imagined that the being inside would be such a strong beast.

Bringing in two top-tier Hunters showed that he had done everything possible to prevent any variables.

“You…”

Suddenly, a clear, ringing sound was heard.

It wasn’t a strange sound, just out of place, but there was one difference.

It wasn’t heard through the ears.

It was like a rupture echoing from inside the body, and at the same time, there was a brief feeling of constriction in the heart that disappeared.

‘…What is it?’

Then, the rupture sound was heard again.

This time, mana fluctuations were felt again and disappeared, and the feeling of constriction in the heart was felt a little stronger than before and then disappeared again.

“A confused face. I like it.”

“What are you doing…”

This rupture sound didn’t seem to want to stop, and it was heard repeatedly at regular intervals.

Each time, the mana fluctuations became more intense, and the feeling of constriction in the heart also became stronger.

“A vessel is just a vessel. It can never be more than that.”

Unlike when dealing with others, the Agent took out his sword with a serious expression.

A sword where the handle and blade were not separated.

Even though he held a sword where the handle was the blade, blood didn’t flow from the Agent’s hand.

Sung Hyun, ignoring the steadily increasing pressure on his heart, also drew his sword with a more serious expression than ever before.

“Yes. A vessel cannot escape being a vessel.”

Sung Hyun, who was infusing mana into his sword, also looked at the Agent with a more serious expression than ever before.

“However, it can grow. Enough to hold everything.”