Academy’S Gumiho Is A Magical Genius [EN]: Chapter 231

Anemone (1)

“This is unexpected.”

“I’ve restrained that bastard’s feet, Brother!”

While tracking the guys who kidnapped the woman, I ran into some thugs.

A group of about ten thugs.

It didn’t take long to figure out that they were directly or indirectly involved with the people I was tracking. They had a similar smell – the smell of money and dirty blood. So, I charged in, intending to kill them all except for one. It was a judgment call based on the fact that I could easily kill this many people.

The result was recklessness.

“I can’t believe I got caught.”

“Everyone we catch says that. They always say you’re a crazy bastard who fills the gap with cunning and tricks, even though your level seems infinitely low.”

“I didn’t rate myself that highly.”

Well, my feet were bound by shackles of light.

Even if it wasn’t a physical restraint, I could feel a considerable weight on my feet.

I can’t run with this weight.

In the end, I stopped in my tracks.

One of the thugs pointed at the [Korean shamanic dancer] mask I was wearing.

“You! Are you Japanese?!”

“I don’t know. But isn’t it a prejudice to say that only Japanese people wear fox masks?”

“If you’re Korean, you should wear a Hahoe mask [traditional Korean mask] or something!”

“That’s an interesting opinion. If I were Chinese, can you tell me which mask would suit me? Of course, you’ll die without knowing my nationality and the right mask for it.”

“A guy with his feet tied is all talk!!!”

My feet were bound by magic in the shape of a whip.

The unexpectedly powerful magic and the ability focused on “binding” gave the impression that escape was impossible.

It didn’t give me the confidence to kill him, as he appeared and disappeared so unpredictably, but at least it created a big enough gap for a low-level thug to snatch the item in my hand.

“I thought that black, shiny thing was a weapon… but it’s just a cigarette?! Dried grass with a fire on it. Did you really think you could beat us with something like this?!”

“If that’s true, you’ll be a guy who got caught and died for a really ridiculous reason! Hahaha!!”

“That’s not a cigarette.”

“Then what is it?”

Swish!

The thug roughly snatched the long pipe from my hand.

He was intoxicated by the dizzying, hazy smoke from the burning dried leaves… and collapsed.

That long pipe might be a cigarette to me.

But to you guys…

“It’s poison.”

Before I could finish speaking, the thug slammed his head into the ground.

Thud!

The thug’s head hit the floor limply, and blood flowed from his head. But he remained silent, even though he should have been screaming in pain.

He wasn’t reacting to the wound or the pain he should have been feeling.

His fellow thugs felt a chill down their spines and approached him.

“Hey, what are you doing? Get up.”

“You falling down is making the newbies uneasy. Aren’t you taking this joke too far?!”

“You’re probably the one who’s uneasy, not the newbies. By the way, that must be some really strong tobacco or drug.”

Sniff sniff.

Another colleague smelled the long pipe still in the fallen thug’s hand.

He didn’t swallow the smoke like me, or smell it up close like that guy, but the scent was surprisingly good. Why do expensive liquors sell for astronomical prices because they smell good and have been aged for a long time?

It was that kind of feeling.

Intoxicated by a deep, rich scent he had never smelled before, he…

Thud!

Collapsed, following the first thug.

“I told you, it’s poison.”

The thug who fell to the ground raised his left hand, which was holding the long pipe. Even though his body had been roughly slammed into the ground, he strangely trembled as he lifted the long pipe, trying not to drop it.

It seemed like an instinctive act, as if he had to.

I snatched the long pipe from the corpse’s stiffening grip within reach, and chuckled to myself.

Since those guys seem so interested in my long pipe…

I should finish them off with this.

“Let me show you something interesting.”

Inhale.

I inhaled the smoke from the burning leaves.

Exhale!

I amplified my weak lung capacity with magic and exhaled it as it was.

Then, a hazy smoke spread everywhere. The amount and range were so vast that it was unbelievable that a human had exhaled it.

It was closer to a fog than smoke now.

A thick mist.

The fox’s breath and poison were mixed together. Even though it was a path they frequented, they lost their sense of direction and got lost.

This fog alone turned them into simpletons.

Still, if they had time, they could have easily escaped this fog. This path was wider than they thought, but it was only “wider than they thought,” and they were confident that they could find their way quickly if they invested the time.

But.

Drip, drip.

Time was not on their side.

“Hey, what’s that puddle on the floor? Did someone piss themselves?”

“Puhaha! Honestly, I think I would have pissed myself too if I messed up.”

The men laughed cheerfully in the invisible fog.

It was a fake laugh that came out because they thought the opponent couldn’t do anything anymore. A clear numerical advantage.

Their opponent was even blocked in the legs.

They would not have cared if it was the arms that were blocked. With their legs blocked, they were sure of their victory.

But somehow, the chill that ran down the back of their necks…

They could only overcome it by laughing so heartily.

Otherwise, they felt like they would be seized by an unknown fear.

Drip, drip.

“I keep hearing water sounds from the floor.”

“Ah, my soles are getting sticky. What is this, really?”

“Huh? Brother, over there!”

And that fear.

“The guy is gone from where he was!”

“Damn it! Did he run away? How did he break free and run away?!”

“No. That’s not it! We must be seeing things!”

Squish, squish.

The squishy, red liquid under their footsteps gradually intensified, and eventually reached the end of the fog and deepened.

I spoke from outside the fog.

“I’m not particularly sorry, but just to be polite.”

Whoosh!

A small flame burning from my fingertips.

The owner was watching them from beyond the fog.

The thugs with hardened faces were clearly visible to me.

However, the opposite was not true at all. Black flames rippling beyond the fog.

It caused a bizarre optical illusion as it swayed with the fog.

In their eyes, I looked like an infinitely scary and distorted monster.

“This isn’t an illusion or hallucination, it’s reality.”

Reality?

That’s not a hallucination, that’s what it really looks like?

The timid newbies had already pissed themselves and collapsed with their legs giving way. Even the veterans, who prided themselves on their courage, had their legs stiffened with fear and couldn’t move.

But the fear didn’t end there.

Until now, it was visual fear, but now I was going to stimulate their imagination with hearing. I didn’t even have to make scary noises.

“And as a side note, this fog is flammable.”

The gang paused for a moment when they heard that.

Was the word “flammable” not translated well?

No. They had the ability to translate it.

The meaning and intent were properly conveyed.

Then what on earth made them stop?

“Brother, am I seeing things?”

“……I don’t know anymore. I don’t even know myself.”

“What are hallucinations even supposed to mean? That fox mask we met? The guys who collapsed as if they were dead after smelling the cigarette? The guys who didn’t make a sound, not even a movement, and were found with sticky blood all over the floor? Or that grotesque monster standing in front of us right now?”

“All of it. All of it. I think it would be much more realistic to be having a terrible dream.”

“That’s strange. I feel the same way. You’re talking well for a dream.”

“Haha, so are you, senior.”

Flammable. A substance that easily catches fire.

Even if I explained the properties of the fog, there was no big reaction.

It’s not like the guys suddenly went crazy.

It’s just that their heads couldn’t keep up with the current situation.

Originally, I was planning to use the flame as a threat to extract information from them by forcibly continuing the conversation, such as telling them that this fog was created using my experience with the 「Black Mist」.

What useful information could I expect from guys who couldn’t even quickly grasp the current situation? It would be much more profitable to kill them quickly and move on.

I threw the flame as it was.

Then.

Boom!!!

A huge explosion occurred.

The smoke after the explosion resembled a mushroom.

The smoke rode the thick night air and began to descend into the underground passage.

Just as heavy toxic gases sink to the bottom when a volcano erupts, the smoke, diluted by the explosion but still containing lethal amounts of poison, sank everywhere.

“We can’t let the citizens get hurt.”

The only area where I can cause a disturbance is within these guys’ territory.

If I cause harm to other ordinary citizens, I might clash with Leonhardt. Furthermore, the conflict between the families would intensify.

Unless I completely control the family internally.

A conflict at a time when power is divided among several elders, as it is now, would only tighten the noose around my neck.

“Fortunately, it hasn’t sunk to the bottom yet.”

「Pyrokinesis」

This time, black flames ignited.

But this was magic that I could freely manipulate, from its structure to its properties, even though it was only a flame in shape.

Flammable? Ignition?

Such things could not affect the flames that perfectly controlled the phenomenon itself. The fire of 「Pyrokinesis」 is not a normal flame.

Flame is originally the red aura in the burning flame.

Until now, I have been perfectly controlling that aura, manipulating its properties, and giving the flame physical power.

With the same principle, I manipulated the properties related to ignition and explosion at will.

‘The 「Solar Meridian」’s body doesn’t get along well with the energy of yang [positive, active principle]. In magic, it has the best compatibility with 「Fire Magic」.’

And that applies even if the flame loses its power as a flame. The flame does not burn objects.

It’s not hot even if you get close to it. The skin doesn’t burn.

There’s no smoke.

It doesn’t go out even if you block oxygen.

It has already lost its function as a flame, but its burning shape and appearance are unmistakably a flame. If so, the 「Solar Meridian」 boasts tremendous affinity with its massive yang energy.

So, if I want to.

Sizzle!

The flames, poison, and smoke that spread in all directions are extinguished by the fire.

A scene that cannot be understood with common sense. But it is magic because it deviates from common sense.

That’s how the fire disappeared, and only ten piles of burnt ashes were proving that a fire had occurred.

But even that was blown into the air by the wind.

A strong wind strong enough to carry the ashes far away. It was very strange that such a strong wind suddenly blew, but I shook my hand as I watched the ashes scattering far and wide.