Academy’S Gumiho Is A Magical Genius [EN]: Chapter 174

Academy Gumiho is a Magical Genius – Episode 174

Maintenance (4)

Underground, where light doesn’t reach.

In a place perfect for plotting schemes, two men were making preparations.

A demon with red hair and black horns meticulously examined armor and clothing he’d acquired from an unknown source, preparing himself for… something.

A man with black hair and a black robe, exuding a gloomy aura, was stuffing various items into a small bag.

Food, clothing, money, hundreds of IDs, and even human corpses treated with magic to prevent decay. All sorts of miscellaneous items were stored in the bag.

The volume far exceeded the bag’s apparent capacity.

Normally, the items wouldn’t fit, or the bag would burst, but the bag, imbued with space magic, swallowed everything whole.

“Hey, this corpse stench is overwhelming.”

The demon, who was happily tapping his armor, said.

It seemed the smell had wafted over to him as the black-robed priest, Simon, was putting the corpses into the bag. He straightened his attire and bowed slightly.

“I apologize. I did apply preservatives, but I couldn’t completely eliminate the odor.”

“Then let the smell out.”

“Haha, I’m sorry, but if the smell of rotting corpses gets out, both you and I will be in serious trouble, you know?”

“……I don’t want to admit it, but I suppose you’re right.”

“Haha.”

“Don’t laugh like that, it’s creepy.”

“……Hehe?”

“This damn livestock bastard. You’re getting cocky without knowing your place.”

A fierce gaze and palpable murderous intent emanated from the demon.

An ordinary person would be terrified, foaming at the mouth, and even an A-class player would be wary, but Simon calmly brushed it off and instead held up his phone to his face.

“Haha, I don’t mind you getting angry, but if you release that much energy, they might pinpoint our location, you know? So, I recommend watching something like this rather than getting angry.”

A phone.

It was an era before he was buried in the Cradle, an era without anything that could be called electronic devices, and the red-haired demon was a living witness to that era.

So, using this small box wasn’t easy, but at least he could decipher the words written on it.

[Did everyone see the video? It’s so cool, lol]

[The quality wasn’t good, so I watched with my eyes wide open, and his abs were so hot.]

└[I wonder if you really opened your eyes wide because of the quality?]

└[Looks like you brought your face right up to the screen.]

└[Who installed CCTV in my room?]

└[It’s obvious at a glance. But are you a woman? Looking at the comments you left on other posts, you’re no different from a man.]

└[Huh? I’m a healthy man in my mid-20s?]

└[……?]

└[Blocked, damn it.]

……Difficult?

The demon’s mind went blank at the incomprehensible array of words. Simon, seeing this, said with a smile.

“Look at this. Isn’t the public’s reaction enthusiastic?”

“Ha, I don’t care about the opinions of livestock. More importantly, let’s hurry to the place you mentioned.”

“Yes, of course.”

The demon, who didn’t want to look at the phone anymore, and Simon left for a distant place that night. The destination was filled with numerous demons and magic power vibrating in all directions.

That was Pandemonium.

A group of demons that disturbed the world.

Above them were four executives.

Strange Strength, Chaotic Spirits.

Armed with strangeness and valor, tyranny and ghosts, they were the predecessors of the current Pandemonium. If classified as a novel, they felt like the final boss group of Part 1 in a long novel that ends with Part 1 and Part 2.

However, as with the power inflation in any novel.

In the demons’ aristocratic society, their treatment was that of a Baronet [a low-ranking noble].

The names of the were hereditary, the title of Baronet was not. In reality, it was just a nominal title.

So, what would happen if among those Baronets…

Crack──!!

What if a Baron crushed someone’s head and sat in their place?

The red-haired demon answered that question himself.

“Applaud. I am the worthless one, Satana. Foolish citizens, instead of a nominal man, I will be your 「Valor」[courage and strength]. I will be the absolute standard of power.”

In the 21st century, where the class system had lost its meaning except for the nine families.

It was the birth of a new monarch.

* * *

Consciousness surfaced from a deep sleep.

What came into view through the blurry vision was a pure white hospital room.

The sensation of the whole body was heavy, as if crushed by the overwhelming pressure of the deep sea, but as it remained still like a dead corpse, the senses of the whole body gradually returned.

The first sensation felt was…

This damn tail.

What, why are there two more?

A metamorphosis had occurred that skipped two stages while I was unconscious.

It would have been difficult even if my consciousness was clear.

“……Tamamo, what did you do to my body?”

─Your *mal-too* [manner of speaking] is back to normal.

“……What?”

Why suddenly the *mal-too* [manner of speaking]?

That shouldn’t be such an important factor.

The reason I called her now was because, other than Tamamo, there was no one who could have had such an impact on me while I was asleep.

So, I was going to press her.

─Before talking about the tail, look at the difference between your *mal-too* [manner of speaking] and expression. In my opinion, that seems more serious. If you want to know about the tail, why don’t you check your expression first?

“……Alright.”

It’s not like the tail will fall off if I bring up this topic later.

I decided to do as Tamamo said first.

There seemed to be a reason for her words.

Smoothly, smoothly.

I touched my face.

I didn’t think about using the phone camera or looking in the mirror.

It had been so long since I had fallen into a deep sleep that I was dizzy, not just drowsy. As I touched my face like that, I could tell something was wrong.

“Oh, uh……?”

─You know you have a really scary expression right now?

I know.

The stiff facial muscles, though unseen, were making a ‘face that looked like it would kill someone at any moment’.

The subtle murderous intent emanating along with the expression was a bonus.

“Why is my expression like this?”

─How would I know?

Her cynical attitude.

Normally, it would have bothered me, but with my mind muddled, my facial muscles were more important than her *mal-too* [manner of speaking].

Unlike the usual *mal-too* [manner of speaking], the face was very tense.

The more I touched it, the more I could understand why my facial muscles were so tense.

‘The settings have clashed.’

Multiple personality disorder, defense mechanism, mental illness, etc.

There are several words that can describe my current state, but I chose the expression setting among them.

I abandoned the weak human spirit and chose the mask of an iron man in order to hide my worn and broken mind and more efficiently fulfill my duties.

Everyone liked the flawless iron man.

The iron man created countless masks in order to efficiently deal with more diverse situations. Kind teacher, cold-hearted monarch, strict prosecutor, and various other settings eventually became the biggest axis that made up me.

And now.

Those settings have clashed.

The cause is.

“There are too many to reduce to one.”

Clearly, the mask I wore in this world was that of an immature young man.

Then, as I took on the job of temporary teacher, I added the setting of a kind and talented teacher. There was no better setting to win the hearts of the children.

‘Clearly, it was fine until then.’

The problem started after that.

‘I’ve become too sensitive since entering the inner world.’

Not only the safety of the students, but also the thought that the lives of countless people would be at stake in the future made me unknowingly oversensitive.

If I had stopped here, nothing would have happened.

However, there had to be a reason for the disharmony between the stiff face that looked like it would kill someone and the gentle *mal-too* [manner of speaking].

‘The horned woman’s mental attack. The fact that I endured longer than I thought in that vivid, dreamlike world was the root cause.’

From there, my personality slowly began to clash.

The kind teacher was nowhere to be found, and only a mad swordsman appeared who would not hesitate to overwork his body in order to slaughter his prey.

It was definitely a necessary task in order to overcome the situation at the time.

However, it was not a very good choice for my mental health.

‘After that, there’s nothing to think about.’

I knew what the cause was.

If so, then I just need to solve the cause based on this.

There was no need to worry about failing.

Because I know what I need now.

“Cold-heartedness……. A personality that calculates profits and losses in any situation, and a personality that does not suffer losses before creating a situation to calculate profits and losses. I need the arrogance to oversee everything and rise above it.”

I muttered blankly, holding on to my still dazed mind.

……Oh, damn it.

I thought I was reciting it in my head.

I moved my mouth without realizing it.

Maybe it’s because I’ve been asleep for too long, but it’s hard to distinguish between inner thoughts and monologues.

At least for today, I shouldn’t open my mouth carelessly in front of others.

“……Well, I don’t have any close friends now or in the past, so there won’t be any problems.”

No one will come to visit me in the hospital.

Furthermore, looking at the surrounding traces, there were no traces of a doctor or nurse entering. The only footprints were those of a woman.

Even that stopped a day ago.

Yes, this is my life.

This is Baek Seung-woo.

The same appearance. Even if there is a special story intertwined with this body, it reminds me once again that ‘my’ life has always been lonely like an outcast.

Until now, I’ve been too busy to feel this piercing loneliness in a while.

‘The more lonely and painful it is, the more I must not forget my essence.’

I, who didn’t have the strength to get out of bed, created a mirror with magic.

The mirror ruthlessly reflected my emaciated appearance, and soon reflected the scenery outside the window to me.

The night view is beautiful.

However, judging from the fact that there are no people on the street, it was a quiet dawn.

‘The cold scenery reflected in the mirror and my pathetic appearance go well together. Maybe it’s because I’ve experienced pain close to the brink of life and death, but I’m strangely sentimental today.’

I didn’t have a subject called ‘me’.

I don’t know if I forgot it or if it broke.

I’m just running towards the goal every day, wearing a new skin called a mask.

……I want to find the real me.

I don’t have the same childish thoughts anymore.

I don’t know about the past me.

A wandering journey to find the self is not very beneficial to me.

‘If I find myself, I’ll go crazy in a different sense.’

I’m already quite crazy, but I need to prevent going any crazier than this.

At least, if I’m going to go crazy, it’s better to go crazy in a competent way, right?

So, I play a new me again.

I, who made a mirror with magic, raised the corners of my mouth with my fingers and smiled.

It’s my face, but.

It’s an attractive face that I never get tired of looking at, no matter how many times I look at it.

Hehe, when I mixed in an eye smile, I saw a bewitching fox that captivated humans.

“Good. Very good.”

─I was lacking. That’s why I lost my left arm. From now on, I will use any means, including assassination, massacre, and seduction.

The words I still remember vividly.

The words I uttered at that time are by no means empty words or metaphors.

I don’t care about the means or methods.

I will use all the means and advantages I have to save the precepts entangled around my neck, the laws that are the foundation of my existence, and eventually, based on this, save people’s lives.

I, who am prepared for the end, no longer hesitate.