Chapter 222: Attack

Saturday afternoon. Iron Blood Hospital.

"Thank you for your hard work, Holy Maiden."

"Thank you. I'll be leaving first."

Having finished her tasks, Baek A-yeong stood up from her seat.

"Yep! Thank you for your hard work!"

- Thank you for your hard work!

"Thank you."

When Baek A-yeong was leaving work, everyone in the hospital bid her farewell. Even the patients.

After finishing her greetings by making eye contact with everyone one by one, Baek A-yeong headed outside.

Click, clack.

Since she had finished all her work for the day, she planned to go home and rest.

'Only two days left now.'

Once she returned to the academy, she would have to work as the school nurse again.

The position of school nurse was hastily created by the academy just to take Baek A-yeong in, so honestly, it wasn't a busy job.

'Rubbing shoulders with patients after so long isn't bad.'

The intense emotions she felt every day when working at the association.

Helping people and being thanked for it.

For Baek A-yeong, that was her healing.

"A-yeong~ Are you done?"

As soon as she exited the building, a high-pitched voice struck Baek A-yeong's ears.

"... Ye-ji?"

"I missed you so I came to see you~."

A beauty with a cat-like face, Min Ye-ji.

She was Baek A-yeong's acquaintance.

She was a team leader in the Iron-Blood Guild, and it was thanks to Min Ye-ji that Baek A-yeong could directly enter the Iron Blood Hospital where Lee Ho-yeon was hospitalized.

"I thought you were busy with work, what brings you here?"

"I happened to have some business this way. There's something I need to investigate."

"Investigate?"

"Yeah. They say the child of a famous guild seems to have become a demon."

"Aha."

A hunter becoming a demon.

It was rare, but that didn't mean it never happened.

Both Min Ye-ji and Baek A-yeong brushed it off as nothing serious.

"I also came to see if our A-yeong is working hard. I can't have someone I pulled strings for slacking off, you know~."

"Hehe. Thanks. Still, I'm glad you pulled some strings for me."

"Don't mention it. Having the Holy Maiden at Iron Blood Hospital, even briefly, is a huge help. Come to think of it, did you have a good hospital stay with Cadet Ho-yeon?"

"... Yeah."

Her hospital stay with Lee Ho-yeon.

It was barely a week, but it was a happy time.

Because they had confirmed their feelings for each other and established a solid relationship.

Especially when they confessed to each other... That time was really great.

Thinking about that night, Baek A-yeong's face turned slightly red, and seeing this, Min Ye-ji linked arms with her.

"Wow, you must have really enjoyed it. Look at our A-yeong's expression. You used to be so innocent."

"... These things happen."

Baek A-yeong pushed Min Ye-ji away and managed her facial expression.

Because the corners of her mouth kept trying to rise unwittingly.

"Alright. Let's get together again once your work at Iron Blood Hospital is done. How about the three of us grabbing a drink, including Sol-i?"

"I'm not much of a drinker, but... sounds good. By the way, is Sol-i still doing research?"

"Yeah. But she says she's in the final stages. Next week, she's supposedly going to some Magic Expo or whatever."

"Magic Expo?"

"That's what she said, though I have no idea what they do there."

Min Ye-ji threw her hands up in a gesture of ignorance, but Baek A-yeong remembered hearing about it from Im Sol.

'She definitely said she was going with Ho-yeon.'

Im Sol and Lee Ho-yeon.

They were a teacher and student, but she couldn't let her guard down.

"Isn't she doing that with Ho-yeon?"

"Ah... was she? Now that you mention it, I think she did say that."

"..."

"Hey, don't worry. Sol-i doesn't care about men. When I tease her, it's just teasing."

"... Yeah. I know that, too."

However, Baek A-yeong still remembered the feeling she had before.

When Im Sol had talked about Lee Ho-yeon.

It didn't seem like massive favorability just yet... but there was definitely some favorability there.

'She could become a competitor at any time.'

Even if she was in the lead right now, she absolutely could not afford to be careless.

Because Lee Ho-yeon was just that kind of man.

Baek A-yeong clenched her fists, hardening her resolve.

*

"Will you be okay? It'll be hard to follow."

Inside the training ground at Rebecca's Hideout, Rebecca and I stood facing each other.

I didn't know where she brought it from, but she was holding a staff with a purple crystal ball on it, though it didn't seem to be a particularly helpful artifact.

"Is that staff an ornament?"

"Ah, yeah. You noticed? This makes me look a little scarier."

Seeing her like that, she really did look like a witch.

"Well, it still might be better to stop now..."

"Why?"

Rebecca had been repeating that phrase for a while now.

Was it really that hard to just teach me the Rune Barrier?

Seeing how she was trying to revive the Rune Clan, it couldn't be that she didn't want to teach it.

"... The Rune Barrier isn't something simple."

"I'll just try it out for now."

Anyway, coming to a training ground after so long felt strange.

Because it had been a long time since I'd gone to the one at the academy, too.

"This isn't a realm that can be covered by talent... You need the discipline passed down through the Rune Clan..."

Why was she worrying so much?

We just had to give it a try.

"I know, Ms. Rebecca. It's fine. I'll just give it a try."

I spoke somewhat firmly.

"... Hmph. Alright. Listen closely. Don't be hurt if it doesn't work out."

Ah, she was doing that because she was afraid I'd get hurt.

There was no need for that.

Swish-

A moment later, Rebecca's magic power began to envelop the inside of the training ground.

It was the familiar Rune Barrier.

I observed the slowly expanding sphere of magic power, but again, there was nothing different from my magic circle.

"The Rune Clan must completely dominate the Rune Barrier."

Rebecca muttered quietly.

It was a completely different appearance from the atmosphere she had shown so far.

Thump, thump-

At the same time, the air around me grew heavy.

A tremendous sense of pressure crushed down on my shoulders, and my [Combat Sense] began to activate.

"Try activating your Rune Barrier."

"..."

I furrowed my brow, withstanding the pressure as I created a Rune Barrier.

I activated it by enveloping my body to block the heavy pressure weighing down on me.

- Crackle!

But as soon as my barrier manifested, it collapsed instantly.

It was because it couldn't withstand the pressure sent from Rebecca's Rune Barrier.

"That's not what the Rune Barrier is."

Approaching me, Rebecca smiled slightly and collapsed her own Rune Barrier.

The Rune Barrier, which was slowly losing its shape, suddenly stopped at some point.

"Wow..."

The magic was activating, but at the same time, it was in an unactivated state.

"Wait, how is this possible?"

I hadn't seen or heard of such a phenomenon until now.

If I showed this to Im Sol, she would probably fall backwards in shock.

"The Rune Clan learns only one magic in their entire lives. That is why the space inside the barrier belongs to the rune."

Rebecca reached out a hand, and I could see the magic power escaping from her hand connecting with the barrier.

"You're not... actively maintaining this. It's just... like it was connected from the very beginning..."

"That's right. My magic power is already of the same structure as the Rune Barrier. ...But I haven't used visualization yet, so how did you see it?"

"Something like that is possible?"

Rebecca expressed her doubts, but I opened my eyes wide in surprise.

How on earth was it possible for magic and a human to possess the exact same magic power structure?

"Because that is the Rune Clan. Well, this is why I didn't want to show you. I figured it would just drain your motivation."

In truth, my motivation didn't drop.

If anything, it only went up.

Because there was a concept of magic that I hadn't known about.

"B-But it's fine."

Misunderstanding my eyes full of enthusiasm, Rebecca started saying something.

I let Rebecca's words go in one ear and out the other as I observed the Rune Barrier she had manifested.

The fusion of magic power and human.

'Could I do that too?'

No. Absolutely not.

That was a phenomenon only possible by spending a long time during the period when one's body was still developing.

I was already too late. Even if it were possible, I needed other magic as well, not just the Rune Barrier.

If so, I had to find another way...

"Your talent is more than enough... If we just have a talented child, I can raise them from a young age..."

"Ah."

Rebecca was saying something, but I didn't hear it.

Because something had begun to happen inside my head.

When I, who possessed [Magic Power Resonance], learned of a new concept I hadn't known about, my talent forcibly evolved my body the moment I understood it.

This was an awakening.

Just like when I first felt mana.

Just like when I first used [Combat Sense].

Just like when I created a new skill.

Just like when I awakened while having sex with Liriana.

Perhaps an even greater evolution was taking place.

I couldn't completely change my body's magic power circuit like Rebecca.

Because her body was solely for the sake of the Rune Barrier.

Rebecca's very magic power property had changed to be identical to the Rune Barrier.

Because of that, every time she set up a Rune Barrier, it connected with her body.

Unlike directly controlling it, she became completely one with the barrier, making it all the more powerful.

It was a phenomenon different from normal magic.

It wasn't something that could be copied, nor should it be copied.

However.

This body made it possible.

'If it doesn't connect naturally, I just have to grab hold of it.'

By force, if necessary. And adding my own method on top of it.

"... Rune Barrier."

I unfurled a Rune Barrier once more.

The threads of magic power emerging from my body rapidly drew a magic circle, merging into the core formula that was constructed at the very end.

Since I couldn't grab the whole thing, I would only grab hold of the core formula.

In this state, I changed the core formula.

'To match the magic power property of my body.'

Then, like this...

Crunch-

A spherical Rune Barrier formed around my body, and simultaneously, the sense of pressure disappeared.

I had created my own domain inside Rebecca's barrier.

"Haa... I think it worked? What do you think, Ms. Rebecca?"

I looked at Rebecca with a proud smile.

This sensation of my magic proficiency increasing.

It always felt good no matter when I felt it.

Rebecca stared at me with her mouth agape before quietly opening it.

"... Our baby daddy really does have excellent genes."

*

The article stating that Shin Dong-min, the eldest son of the Shin-young Guild, had made contact with demons.

The public, who had initially flared up with outrage, one by one left to find other things to chew on.

Even the articles about Shin Dong-min's disappearance only garnered initial interest before gradually quieting down.

Thus, the public's interest in the Shin-young Guild slowly dwindled, and even though the timing was right for a quiet return, Shin Dong-min did not go back to his main house.

The treatment he would receive upon returning home was obvious anyway.

He would be locked up in some mansion, monitored for the rest of his life, unable to ever leave.

Because he was a demon.

'He won't kill me, but keep me under his control.'

He wouldn't abandon his son even if he was a demon.

His father was that kind of person.

He might have even hired hunters to track me down.

If I have to live like that... I'd rather pay them back for what I suffered.

The cause of him ending up like this.

Lee Ho-yeon and Moon Su-rin.

Throb-

Veins bulged out all over his body.

A hideous face and horns that barely retained any trace of his original appearance.

Having completely turned into a demon, Shin Dong-min had fled his home and made contact with Pandemic.

Because he had packed a large amount of secret funds when leaving home, he was able to hire demons from Pandemic.

"... And the operation?"

"Yes. They have already departed for Lee Ho-yeon and Moon Su-rin's dormitory."

Clack, clack-

On the monitor in front of Shin Dong-min, two men wearing familiar skull masks were heading somewhere.

"... You got the right ones, didn't you?"

"Yes. They are S-Rank demons who volunteered personally."

"I've heard there are many crazy bastards among the S-Rank demons. I paid a lot of money for them, so they better handle this properly."

"That may be true, but... there won't be any problems with how they handle the job."

"... Good."

This was the end.

Hiring just two S-Rank demons had depleted all the money he brought, and he had nowhere to return to.

"..."

Shin Dong-min stood up from his seat, watching the demons disappear from the monitor.