Academy Gumiho is a Magical Genius – Episode 249
Doppelganger (4)
The Gumiho and the royal vampires had more in common than one might think.
Living in darkness and worshiping the moon, not to mention their rarity—with only a few having existed throughout history—and the ferocity with which they could drive certain races to extinction if provoked, were all meticulously recorded in various chronicles.
They hadn’t shown themselves in the last 1,000 years, so they were called ancient races, earning the title of Ancient Ones.
They simply hadn’t revealed themselves. Their power was steadily passed down to their descendants. The Gumiho traits manifested as black fur, along with disdain.
Although everyone in the family ignored Baek Seungwoo, they knew that if anyone were to rise to the highest position among them,
it would undoubtedly be Baek Seungwoo, who was born with a strong Gumiho bloodline, rather than descendants born with a diluted Celestial Fox lineage like themselves.
Everyone believed it without a doubt.
However, while there were children born with the Gumiho bloodline intact, there had never been such a case with vampire traits. Perhaps it was because they were a race greatly influenced by blood and lineage.
Even finding half-vampires, human-vampire hybrids, or quarter-vampires with only 1/4 of vampire blood was nearly impossible. Unlike the Gumiho, who left behind a pure lineage, the royal vampires had essentially become extinct.
That’s what everyone thought. Some even suggested they should be excluded from the Ancient Ones category. With royal vampires only recorded in manuscripts and no relics ever discovered, they were gradually losing their significance.
The existence itself couldn’t be false, as it was written in numerous records.
However, some people don’t believe it unless they see it with their own eyes, no matter how much physical evidence there is. It’s not necessarily because they are wicked or lack knowledge.
Of course, there are people like that too.
In Leona’s case, she didn’t believe anything unless she saw it with her own eyes.
Even if it was an Ancient One with extraordinary power, she wouldn’t acknowledge its existence until she witnessed it herself. Occasionally, there are people like her.
And those people usually reluctantly accept the truth when they see it with their own eyes.
“So, what is it? If what you’re saying is true, those two are mixed, right?”
“Rather than mixed, it’s more accurate to say they’re using different abilities simultaneously while maintaining balance and harmony. Coincidentally, Gumihos and vampires have many similarities, making it easier to use their abilities together.”
“……I never imagined I’d be saying this to you, who’s copying me, but I’m glad you’re here. Are you an encyclopedia?”
Leona’s gaze swept around Baek Seungwoo.
Knowing his face behind the mask, she found it strange that she couldn’t see his tails. Were they small enough to hide somehow?
It didn’t seem like he was hiding them in his clothes, nor did it seem like he was making them transparent. The only thing that could be considered a tail was the hazy mist swirling around Baek Seungwoo.
The mist was divided into six or seven strands.
It was so faint that it was hard to see clearly, but it felt like they were tails. And that something, whether tail or mist, was connected to the shadows, rooted in this land.
Seeing that, Leona sensed it. That faint form was the link connecting Baek Seungwoo to this world made of shadows.
The words of the guy who imitated her appearance and came from who knows where were right.
The tail is Gumiho, the shadows are vampire. Baek Seungwoo was harmoniously wielding both abilities. For example.
“…….”
“B, Vine? Why isn’t the bleeding from my chest stopping…? By now, I should be able to stop the bleeding, even if I can’t fully recover my internal organs.”
“You know why. It’s obvious. You were stabbed to death by that guy’s thorn-like thing. A demon putting on a melodrama.”
“!!!!!!”
The demon, Vine, died from having his chest pierced.
To delve more accurately into the cause of death, shadow thorns pierced his chest, turning his heart and internal organs into mush, which weakened his natural healing abilities. Then, the shadows that penetrated his internal organs were given the rule of absorbing the opponent’s energy and magic power in this shadow world.
Thus, while Vine’s internal organs were being turned into mush, all of his life force was sucked away by the shadows. Afterward, he naturally died, having lost all the magic and mental power to heal even the bleeding, let alone his internal organs.
“Not yet.”
“Instructor, what did you say?”
“Biologically, he may be dead, but I haven’t allowed his death yet. He can’t die yet.”
*Then what are you going to do?*
Leona, who had asked the question, widened her eyes as soon as she finished speaking. Her bright eyes gave up trying to understand what was happening before her.
Clatter!
Clatter!
The sound of bones and muscles meshing together. It was a bit grotesque, but it was the sound of a body moving. However, if you exclude the fact that it was a corpse with a hole in its chest, dripping pieces of internal organs and blood, well.
There was nothing strange about it.
That’s the most important thing, though.
“……Necromancer?”
“I’m not a necromancer. It’s just that his body is moving on its own because I haven’t allowed his death in this space.”
Clatter, clatter, the corpse moves. It was undeniably a necromancer’s ability, but Baek Seungwoo denied it.
Necromancers raise corpses and communicate with spirits.
On the other hand, Baek Seungwoo rejected Vine’s death.
No one knows where people go when they die. It was not yet a revealed area. However, when people die, the body and soul separate, and necromancers use this as a resource.
Thanks to this, people have gained knowledge about the body and soul, namely the *honbaek* [a Korean concept referring to the spiritual components that separate upon death]. Past magicians realized this fact and were excited.
They hugged each other and danced, saying they had finally found the source to uncover the secrets of death. But it was only a superficial knowledge of death.
The concept of death was too broad and profound. Even with magic that folds time and space, it was one of the few areas that magic had not yet conquered.
Until now, death was truly the realm of God.
But if you change your perspective, the saying ‘death is the realm of God’ also implies that if you become God, you can control death.
The criteria for God may vary depending on religion and person, but in practice, it generally refers to someone who creates or rules a world.
In other words, in this world made of shadows, Baek Seungwoo is like a god.
If he didn’t allow death in this space, even a demon whose internal organs were destroyed and whose heart had stopped would have to live and move.
“This world moves as I wish. For example, if I want to keep that living corpse as it is, I can just freeze it like this.”
Whirrrrrr!
Suddenly, a cold wind blew in the empty space without even a sky.
The wind was so strong that it obscured everyone’s vision, and everyone defensively closed their eyes tightly. When they opened their eyes after the wind stopped, they saw a frozen corpse.
The ice was so hard and cold that it seemed impossible to break it by ordinary means. Baek Seungwoo’s strong will not to yield Vine’s corpse to other demons was felt.
“I can easily handle the cold, which is the opposite of the Fire Magic I wield. It’s truly amazing.”
This shadow world brought so many possibilities to Baek Seungwoo. In this world, when extracting information through torture, there is no need to control the power anymore. You can go all out.
Even in this space, Baek Seungwoo has a perfect advantage against anyone.
“This world, from beginning to end, exists entirely in the palm of my hand. From simple laws to causing natural disasters, shaking abstract concepts like time and space, and temporarily controlling life and death.”
Starting with modifying the light physical law that objects fall from top to bottom as he pleases, he can freeze others with a north wind colder than permafrost.
He can distort space to manipulate the opponent’s movements, and he can revive someone who is clearly dead, limited to this shadow world. It was possible because I am a god in this world.
Creating a world.
That means you can manage and control everything in the world. Of course, this near-omnipotent ability is greatly affected by proficiency, so it is not easy to use.
Even now, sweat is dripping down.
It was not only that my head felt like it was going to explode because I was handling so many abilities at once, but also that I had to use so many abilities at the same time.
The main axis that makes up the shadow world, *Murciélago* [Spanish for “bat,” often used in fiction to denote a powerful ability or domain].
Centering on the S-class skill that consumes a lot of magic power, the fox’s tails are erected as pillars of the shadow world. In addition, all kinds of skills and magic, including the Magic Citadel, must be linked to build and maintain this world.
If anything is missing, this world will not function properly.
But the bigger problem was the pain. This damn pain.
Even I, who had experienced all kinds of pain, was experiencing this kind of pain for the first time. Overload occurs in the brain and body due to handling vast and diverse abilities.
It’s really dizzy, heavy, and difficult.
So much so that, although I didn’t show it, my consciousness flew away several times while maintaining this world. It was truly a double-edged sword.
In fact, this shadow world is a bizarre space that I wouldn’t have even attempted if I hadn’t completely suppressed the Gumiho in my mental world and couldn’t somehow control the deeply rooted curse called “Solar Meridian Severance.”
Perhaps because it was such a space.
Even though my real consciousness was flying away and I felt like I was going to vomit blood and faint, I needed even more information and trials and errors because of this ability.
Solar Meridian Severance no longer harms my body.
If there was a way to become stronger even if it harmed my body, I would gladly endure even greater pain than the intensely burning Solar Meridian Severance that burns my body. So I rolled my head faster.
Even though I can’t calculate as freely as a computer.
I started to control this space more precisely.
─────!!
The brain screams. Well, the brain doesn’t have a mouth, but if it could speak, it would have screamed that it would kill me.
Enduring that much pain, my consciousness flickered on and off like a light bulb about to break. That’s how time passed.
Before my eyes, when I finally came to my senses.
“S, Save me…….”
“…….”
Bepar, crawling on the floor in a state more emaciated than a corpse.
Vine, who was indistinguishable from whether he was alive or dead, was lying there.
It seems that I had definitely subdued them in a situation where my consciousness was fluctuating due to pain. Now I just need to extract the information, oh. I almost forgot about those two.
I glanced at the two girls with the same face.
Their eyes clearly showed a sense of dread.
Then, they looked back and forth between me and the two living corpses lying on the floor, and it seemed that they were quite impressed with my performance.
“Um… Why are you looking at us?”
“W, We haven’t done anything since we came to this world.”
Without saying anything, the two of them lowered their tails just by being stared at.
Baek Seungwoo said to them.
“I need a doppelganger, which one of you is the fake?”
“This one is the fake!”
“……What?”
Leona answered quickly at the same time as the question.
I looked at her and then looked at the other Leona.
She was glaring at her opponent with an expression as if she was spouting nonsense. Then, realizing the situation belatedly, she shouted urgently.
“No! This one is the fake!”
“What? You’re slower to answer than me, but you’re pretending to be real.”
“Do you think this is a quick-matching quiz show?!”
The two are a mess. What on earth did they do while I lost consciousness so many times?
When I looked at the traces left on the two demons out of curiosity, um… I felt like I could understand roughly.
Yeah, well, I wouldn’t want to be in such a state of living death.
Suddenly, I began to fully understand their feelings.