Academy’S Gumiho Is A Magical Genius [EN]: Chapter 338

Academy Gumiho is a Magical Genius – Episode 338

Academy Gumiho is a Magical Genius 338

Five Minutes to Chaos (3)

Fire rained from the sky.

It wasn’t a metaphor; literal fireballs poured down.

Fireballs, larger than human heads, plummeted, setting the Union’s buildings and barracks ablaze. Buildings were consumed by the conflagration.

All the buildings in the Union were especially vulnerable to fire because they were constructed from trees blessed by the high elves, who were deeply connected to nature.

Thanks to this, the Union was instantly engulfed in flames.

“……!”

“Someone’s burning alive!”

“M-My foot’s stuck in the pillar! Someone, please help me!”

Chaos descended upon the Union.

Amidst that hellish scene, a soldier in a crisp uniform, seemingly a commander, shouted in a loud voice.

“Everyone, listen up! Warriors and soldiers, hold your positions! Civilians who are able, suppress the fire and rescue the citizens!”

“Hey, you crazy bastard! Aren’t you supposed to be saving us?!”

“A soldier dropping his weapon to put out a fire during an enemy attack? That’s insane.”

“Save me! Save me! Please save me!”

It was clearly an enemy attack. The soldiers had to quickly grab their weapons and stand on the front lines, but the screams of the people held them back.

“What a terrible sight.”

Seungwoo slowly moved his feet as he listened to the screams.

─Aren’t you going to save the people?

‘Of course, I am.’

─For someone who’s going to save people, you’re walking awfully slow, aren’t you? And you’re walking in the opposite direction of the sounds.

‘Saving people isn’t as easy as you think.’

Seungwoo had his own plan.

Saving the people engulfed in flames was important, but something even more important flickered before his eyes.

“Rescuing people and suppressing the fire are important, but there are people who can help with that. So, I must catch the arsonist who started the fire.”

Seungwoo took out a sword from his chest.

While others hauled water and dirt to combat the fire, he took on the role of saving people by cutting down the enemy with his sword.

Seungwoo, who first stood on the ramparts that were about to collapse from the massive fire, looked down.

“What a sight. So many armors.”

Over 200,000 *gisu* [magical energy users], armed with solid armor, surrounded the Union’s ramparts, naturally camouflaged with trees, soil, and mountains.

Since the armor wasn’t their main body, the *gisu* only took the advantages of the armor and offset all the disadvantages. Therefore, even the weakest low-level *gisu* possessed considerable power.

“I’ll have to use some strength.”

─Are you confident you can win?

“Winning is a given.”

─Are you confident you can win cleanly?

“I have to make up my mind from now on.”

Seungwoo hardened the expression hidden behind his mask.

When he first saw the *gisu*, he was confident he could win.

He thought he only had to worry about minimizing the damage to the people.

“I have to make up my mind very firmly.”

The moment he made eye contact with the red armor at the vanguard.

He instinctively knew that he was the strongest.

He was probably the Red Knight, in the same position as the White Knight [referring to a position of high rank or power].

The armor was flashy, and the aura that overwhelmed the surroundings was also telling.

As soon as he made eye contact with Seungwoo, he drew his sword and took a stance, sensing that he was coming.

Swish─!

He held his sword and responded.

It was then that a heavy sensation was transmitted through his hand.

Thud!

The bones in his entire body vibrated.

A dull impact swept through his body, and when he fixed his gaze forward, he saw a 5-meter-tall giant wearing red armor, wielding a greatsword larger than Seungwoo’s height with one hand.

“……It looks heavy, but as expected, the inside of the armor is empty. The speed is unbelievably fast.”

Gulp.

A handful of blood poured from his mouth.

He couldn’t capture the Red Knight’s movement as he moved from under the ramparts to Seungwoo’s front. Thanks to his animalistic instincts and reflexes, he barely managed to respond with his sword to the Red Knight’s high-speed swing, narrowly avoiding being cut in half.

‘I don’t want to admit it, but his strength is considerable too.’

The speed that couldn’t be seen with the eye and the strength at a similar level.

Even though it was an instinctive response, his weight was evenly distributed in his lower body, and his posture was properly set.

Nevertheless, his bones vibrated, and his internal organs were slightly damaged.

“A frontal battle is not a good idea.”

─Why, are you a little scared?

“Honestly, a little. It would be different if I only had to face that one guy.”

Seungwoo’s gaze turned to the distance.

It wasn’t a distance that could be seen with the naked eye, but two more presences, not inferior to the Red Knight in front of him, were felt not far away.

‘The Earth Spirit King and the Water Spirit King.’

The Black Knight and the Blue Knight, respectively.

The two who freely manipulated nature were definitely formidable opponents.

If he poured all his strength into the Red Knight, it would be difficult to face the other two.

But if he conserved his strength and fought, he would be concerned about the fight with the Red Knight.

A situation where there was no opponent he could easily win against.

“Okay, let’s kill you first.”

In a situation where his head was aching, Seungwoo eventually chose the most direct path.

He swung his sword with the determination to cut down the opponent in front of him without thinking about the consequences.

Clang─!

He lightly swung the long sword, which was difficult to hold with one hand, with only his right hand.

The ominous energy contained in the sword. The sword, swung in a straight line, cutting through the air, collided with the Red Knight’s greatsword.

‘The trajectory was slightly unstable!’

Originally, it was a sword aimed at the gap in the armor, but.

The Red Knight defended Seungwoo’s attack with his greatsword.

The trajectory of the sword that was obliquely deflected by the face of the greatsword.

Clank!

Eventually, Seungwoo grabbed the sword with both hands and put strength into it.

He raised the sword upwards, slashing vertically at the greatsword that was deflecting the attack.

A vertical slash with full force.

The sword of his soul, with all his strength, grazed the greatsword.

“……!”

At that sight, the Red Knight’s armor.

Especially the vocal cords where the neck would be, trembled.

It was as if he was mocking Seungwoo’s sword.

From the beginning, the difference in the mass of the swords was too great.

Seungwoo’s sword was by no means small, but compared to the greatsword wielded by the Red Knight, it was like comparing an umbrella to a toothpick.

‘You would laugh like that.’

Seungwoo was not one to miss the subtle trembling of the armor.

As a result of swinging the sword upwards with a large motion, Seungwoo’s posture was slightly misaligned.

Seeing Seungwoo unable to take the next stance, the Red Knight stepped forward with his right foot. He intended to put strength into his lower body and swing it greatly.

However, no matter how much difference there was between an umbrella and a toothpick.

Creak!

A strange sound came from the Red Knight’s greatsword, and a crack appeared.

Unable to withstand its own weight, the sword was torn in half with a loud noise.

“……Go!”

Clank!

The mouth of the armor moved wildly.

The Red Knight’s eyes stared blankly at his broken greatsword.

The giant metal fragment of armor, trembling, was like a giant brass instrument just by its existence.

──────!!!

It was a really loud noise.

Seungwoo wanted to cover his ears, but.

─Why is he doing that?

‘……He’s coming.’

The armor, which had been trembling relentlessly, suddenly stopped making strange noises.

He threw the half-sword in his hand to the ground.

Thud!

As the handle of the badly damaged sword fell to the ground, the floor suddenly caved in.

He casually threw away a tool that wouldn’t be bad to use as a throwing weapon.

The Red Knight took a stance to throw a punch with his gauntlet-clad hand.

Whoosh─!

He unleashed a fist wind with his punch.

Then my body─

Whooooooooooosh───!

─Flew backward.

There was no time to defend.

Unlike the wind and storm wielded by the White Knight, the wind caused by the Red Knight’s fist was a hot wind filled with warmth. If the White Knight controlled the wind, the Red Knight controlled the heat, so the heatwave he wielded contained an indescribable amount of power.

It felt like he was determined to push Seungwoo away.

And the principle was something Seungwoo was familiar with.

‘Pyrokinesis!’

Seungwoo’s unique magic that perfectly controlled heat.

The art of giving mass to fire and manipulating it at will was being handled casually by the Red Knight.

Well, that’s right.

The Red Knight was the best among the fire spirits.

All flames and heat were under his control, and he didn’t need to go through complicated formulas and calculations like Seungwoo. With just his power to freely manipulate heat, the Red Knight blew Seungwoo away.

「Saintly Aura Manifestation」

A translucent sphere, sparkling with golden light, enveloped Seungwoo as he flew backward.

The ability inherent in the earring perfectly protected him from the pain and injuries that would result when Seungwoo pierced through trees and buildings with his bare body.

However, even after piercing through five buildings, there was no sign of slowing down. Even the Saintly Aura had no way to stop his flying body.

Eventually, just as Seungwoo was about to sacrifice the sword in his hand and stick it into the ground to slow down.

Thwack!

A long tree root accurately grabbed Seungwoo’s ankle.

To prevent his ankle from breaking, the tree root snatched Seungwoo in the air and spun him around.

Then, the speed slowly decreased.

Thanks to this, he lived, but it seemed that the tree root didn’t account for the fact that he couldn’t lift his head because he was dizzy. Seungwoo closed his eyes and stroked his dizzy head, unable to protect his vision, even though he had protected his sword.

“You seem to be okay, except for being a little dizzy.”

“A little dizzy? Would you have a similar reaction if I threw you?”

A young girl’s thin, beautiful voice.

When Seungwoo lifted his head while holding his dizzy head, there was a small high elf girl there. Luna was sitting on a tree root, watching me.

“Aren’t you going to fight?”

“Even if it’s just one unit of low-level *gisu*, if the Union’s leader comes out to this war and dies a meaningless death.”

“The Union will end that day.”

“You know it well.”

As you can see just by looking at the Union’s architecture.

Luna’s existence is indispensable for the Union’s survival.

“But from what I see, the Union might end today regardless of your life or death?”

“It could be.”

A calm voice without any excitement.

What was contained in the very comfortable tone was not resignation, but an unknown conviction.

I stared silently at Luna, wondering if she had a way to win against that crazy armored legion.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You seem to have a good method.”

“……You’re quick to notice. That’s why conversations with you aren’t fun.”

“Enjoy the fun later, and tell me about that method first.”

Let me know and enjoy it too.

Luna maintained silence for a while after hearing those words, then turned her head.

Her gaze was directed towards a giant tree that pierced the sky. Her gaze was fixed on the tree.

“Hey? You have to finish what you were saying.”

“…….”

No matter how much I spoke to her, there was no answer.

Seungwoo then realized that Luna was answering with her actions.

The method she was talking about was to get rid of that tree.

I don’t know why she didn’t say this in words.

It seemed like there was some reason why she shouldn’t talk about that tree carelessly.

Explaining with only her gaze was the best option.

‘Anyway, this is really something.’

Seungwoo followed Luna’s gaze to the giant tree.

He looked up at the Demon Realm Tree.

Even though it was a distance that would take days to travel by horse, the enormity of the Demon Realm Tree could be felt even from here.

“To cut down such a big tree─”

─Twice.

The felling of a tree so large that it covered the sky.

This was already the second time.

Really. It seems like it will be a truly rare experience.

Even in a woodcutter’s family that has been chopping wood for three generations, no, 100 generations, no one will ever have this experience in their lifetime.

“So, we just have to cut that down, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“…….”

“No, before that, can you cut it down? You’re not suddenly scared, are you? Right?”

“Why are you suddenly like this?”

“I was just wondering if you were scared because you were silent in the middle.”

“……Don’t worry.”

I’ve already cut down such a big tree before.

Of course, an absurd amount of weapons and money.

And human resources were swept away like a tsunami.

“It would be a little difficult for me alone, but.”

But here, there is the Union, a good ax to use.