Academy Gumiho is a Magical Genius – Episode 357
Academy Gumiho is a Magical Genius 357
A Swordsman Without Limbs (2)
While I was recovering my body, my options were limited.
“Finish that last part for me. I’ll start on the next one.”
─Just the final incantation, right? Easy peasy.
“Should I make ten more explosion talismans?”
─Ten? Seems excessive. Resources are finite, remember? Variety might be better.
“Good point.”
I had numerous resources and monster byproducts stored in my ring.
After a nap to shake off the fatigue and let my wounds mend, I immediately started combining the byproducts to make weapons.
I tore paper with a high affinity for magic into strips and inscribed disposable talismans with powerful spells.
“Talismans are done.”
─No more needed?
“Even if I wanted to, I’m out of paper and metal for engraving.”
─Tear the paper thinner! Half the size, double the talismans, right?
“Nah, it’s already as thin as it can get. Any thinner, and the spell won’t activate; it’ll just explode when I cast it.”
─Even better! Explosion spells with an explosive side effect would be efficient.
“…I guess?”
I even had some unexpected successes.
I cut, joined, and reassembled mantis monster shells and bones into equipment to support my arms when wielding the sword, pouring my heart into making usable items.
“What’s that…?”
─A muscle support device. What do you think?
“The frame seems too weak for muscle support. I doubt a 4th Circle Mantis Fiend’s exoskeleton will boost my strength much.”
A giant mantis with jet-black scythes for arms.
I was modifying the Mantis Fiend’s exoskeleton into protective gear to cover my arms. Tamamo, focused on her crafting, smiled knowingly at my words.
─Your strength, fueled by shortening your lifespan, is impressive, sure. But how long can you keep that up?
“…34 hours of continuous fighting.”
─Not long at all. Think you can kill those monsters in two days?
“…”
I was silent.
Not because I couldn’t find the words, but because I had nothing to say.
Silence was the answer. Tamamo’s question hit home.
‘I got lucky catching the first three in half a day.’
Disasters are living natural disasters, beyond the ranks that measure monster danger. Catching three in a day was luck and compatibility.
Expecting that luck with the remaining four was unlikely.
Not only was the compatibility not in my favor, but it was sometimes disadvantageous.
─One more time: can you win? Yes or no?
“No.”
─Succinct. I like it.
I can’t kill them all, even burning my life away.
No matter how many weapons I make, facing the disasters simultaneously is insane. If I could have killed four or more before hiding in this dimensional fault, I would have burned my life away, but…
─Now that the hostility and fire in your head have cooled, listen: going out there now means a 100% dog’s death.
“…Not exactly a dog’s death. I’m taking down a lot of disasters first.”
─You. Remember what you always used to say?
Tamamo could confidently say she knew her contractor well. Their time together wasn’t short, and its intensity was extraordinary, giving her a special affection for him.
Their master-disciple relationship also played a part. That’s why Tamamo knows why Seungwoo tries so hard to live.
─I want a meaningful death.
Tamamo grabbed my face.
Her hands, able to touch me as a materialized spirit, were different now.
As her fox status grew and she pioneered the Eight-Tailed Fox realm, the divine power that made me up reached a transcendent level.
This divine power was soon my contractor.
It was also transmitted to Tamamo, who shared my view through the ring. Tamamo squeezed my cheeks with her hands, now imbued with divine power.
Squeeze!
She squeezed hard.
Tamamo lifted my face.
Our eyes met.
─You said that, didn’t you?
“…Yeah.”
─Look me in the eye. Did you or didn’t you?
“Right. I want a meaningful death.”
Facing her unwavering gaze, I muttered unconsciously.
“I want to end my life meaningfully, like others do.”
─Don’t twist my words with different nuances.
“So what?”
I said, looking straight at her.
“Now’s the chance I’ve been waiting for.”
─Dying fighting those monsters is a meaningful death?
“Of course. People die to kill one disaster. Military units sacrifice themselves to learn their patterns. I caught three alone, and I have more chances.”
Eve said it, and I remember it clearly.
The key I found in the garden could open a shortcut to the final boss.
The seven disasters are the final bosses that must be defeated for world peace. If I reduce their numbers, the people of this world have a better chance. They can survive.
─So, you’re satisfied with that?
Tamamo’s tone was incomprehensible.
I smiled.
“Of course.”
─…Really?
I said it without hesitation.
Because.
“All my precious people left me this way.”
─…Ah.
“You don’t understand, do you? Honestly, neither do I.”
And I still don’t.
So even more.
I want to meet the same end as them.
“I want to understand my comrades. My teacher.”
─So, you’ll die here?
“I never said that. If I live, I live; if I die, I die. I won’t put down my sword until they’re all dead.”
─You crazy bastard! That’s just saying you’re going to die!
“If I’m lucky, I might kill them all before my time runs out?”
─You think that’ll happen?!
Nonsense.
I knew it better than anyone.
Even fighting desperately, my chance of returning alive is near zero. I’ll definitely die. But as I put on a detached, resigned expression, Tamamo sighed.
─What about your promise to the kids?
Flinch!
My hands and feet trembled.
I clenched my hands, but the trembling remained. My heart sank. The cause was clear.
─Aren’t you going back to play with them?
“…They’re not my children anyway.”
─You tried to love them sincerely.
“Baekhyunah is there. I created him to protect them and give them love for their emotional stability.”
Tamamo knew that.
So she pressed that point relentlessly.
─What happens to them if you die?
“…There’s enough wealth to leave them.”
─What if the elders try to take it?
“…I’ve prepared for that. I left a will to my sisters, conditional on them transferring all my rights. With the old and new elderships in conflict, they can’t threaten the children now.”
Huh?
Not working?
Tamamo asked the next question, flustered.
─Th-then what about the children’s safety?!
“Baekhyunah is there. He’s strong now, and training based on my memories will make him stronger. If I die, a message goes to my students, asking them to help the children in exchange for learning my vision.”
─They might not help.
“True. They could ignore it.”
─So. You go and…!
“But I trust my students. I can entrust them to them.”
No matter how much you repay them.
Tamamo knew how meaningless trusting people was. She’d been betrayed countless times from the top. She repaid betrayal with betrayal.
But Seungwoo’s students were generally kind.
Some had twisted personalities or rough exteriors, but none were bad. Tamamo knew, watching them from behind her contractor’s back. If the modified smartphone recognized his death and sent a request for help, none would ignore it.
─Ah, you’ve prepared everything so thoroughly.
That damn preparation.
The preparation, beyond morbid and into madness, refuted everything Tamamo said.
What can you say?
Tamamo, trying to persuade me logically, surrendered and threw the talisman she was making on the floor.
She looked annoyed.
‘Understandable.’
A sly fox, around for a thousand years, defeated by a twenty-year-old without a single refutation.
Anyway, I was preparing to fight again when.
“Excuse me!”
“…?”
“Why aren’t you calling me? Why are you only talking to each other?”
“…?”
“You didn’t forget me, did you?!”
“Ah.”
Right. I forgot about her.
I really didn’t know.
I stared blankly at Luna.
I was so busy making weapons and talking to Tamamo that I’d forgotten she was there.
“Y-you! You said you’d talk to me!”
“…”
“I thought I needed time to calm down after what you said. So I’ve been waiting, but you’ve been talking to someone else. Is it right to ignore me like this? Is this right?”
“…Ah.”
Ah, right.
I nodded to talk to Luna.
It was unconscious, and making weapons was more important, so I excluded it from my mind.
“Shall we talk now?”