Episode 380: Return to the Demonic Academy
Fortunately, the thick liquid beneath the ceiling didn’t rise high enough to overflow through the hole.
But staying under the ceiling any longer would have surely meant being submerged.
The cadets, having narrowly caught their breath, glanced around the dim space.
Below the hole, the area had transformed into a complete swamp, obscuring even the once-glowing red pillars.
It was utter darkness.
The stifling view was suddenly illuminated as Sabikang cast a spell.
“Light.”
A white glow appeared in the air, and in that instant—
Screeeech!
A piercing shriek echoed, and dark shadows swooped in from all directions.
“Whoa!”
“What the—?”
Startled, the cadets fumbled and looked around in confusion.
Then,
Swish!
Sensing something slicing through the air, Yeosojung instinctively swung her sword.
Clang!
Sparks flew with a metallic clash.
“What was that…?”
Yeosojung blinked in surprise.
“Black bones…”
Jingyeongsan, puzzled by her muttering, asked, “Black bones? What do you mean?”
“They’re flying around.”
“That doesn’t make any sense…”
Just then, a dark shadow lunged at Jingyeongsan.
“Gah!”
He gasped and swung his sword, but the sudden attack caused his blade to cut through empty air.
Instead, the shadow grazed his shoulder as it passed.
“Ugh!”
As Jingyeongsan staggered with a groan, Sabikang spoke up.
“It’s a Darkburn. Stay alert and on guard. They’re made of black bones, fly at high speeds, and their wings are as sharp as blades.”
With that, Sabikang conjured more orbs of light into the air.
Though the visibility improved, the Darkburns were so fast and dark that tracking their movements was nearly impossible.
In terms of speed alone, they were faster than most seasoned masters.
Sabikang watched the flustered cadets and clicked his tongue inwardly.
‘Perhaps I rushed things.’
If he had anticipated this level of difficulty, he wouldn’t have brought the cadets along.
It would have been easier to come alone or with the elite Heavenly Extermination Squad.
But who could have known?
This was the first dungeon to appear in the central lands, and its difficulty was unexpected.
In truth, Darkburns aren’t particularly tough monsters to deal with.
They’re fast and good at hiding, but their attack and defense are weak.
A simple shield could prevent most serious injuries.
However, the cadets hadn’t yet learned to use shields.
Had they had just two more weeks, they would have mastered mana manipulation and shield techniques, but they ended up in the dungeon before that.
Keeping a protective aura active would drain their internal energy too quickly.
Using a ki barrier could conserve energy, but it wouldn’t offer the same protection as a shield.
Thus, the cadets struggled against the blade-like Darkburns.
“Damn it! Where are they attacking from?”
“These things are so annoying!”
Several cadets were already bleeding from cuts on their shoulders and thighs.
Sabikang surveyed the cadets with a critical eye, deep in thought.
‘What on earth did the Demonic Cult do to accelerate the summoning like this?’
This was no ordinary situation.
Summoning monsters with this level of intelligence…
‘If they wanted, they could terraform the land…!’
Terraforming was something that was supposed to happen seven years later.
Through terraforming, the Demon King’s castle would descend upon the land, and the Demon King would begin to consume the central lands.
If terraforming was truly possible now…
‘We must stop it at all costs!’
While Sabikang was lost in thought, a cadet suddenly screamed amidst the clashing of metal.
Clang!
“Ah! Aaaah!”
A cadet, having blocked a Darkburn’s wing with his sword, was flung into the air.
Unfortunately, he was falling straight into the hole in the ground.
In that split second,
“Sillaphe!”
Whoosh!
At Nungso’s shout, a strong wind blew, pushing the cadet away from the hole.
As Nungso retracted his staff, the fierce wind subsided.
He refrained from summoning a full storm, fearing it might endanger the other cadets.
Unable to watch any longer, Sabikang stepped forward.
Originally, he intended to give the cadets real combat experience, but the dungeon’s nature was too unpredictable, so he decided to intervene directly.
‘We can’t afford any more casualties.’
Sabikang extended his left hand slowly and spoke.
“Everyone, brace yourselves.”
“Huh?”
As the cadets looked on in confusion, Sabikang thrust his left hand forward and shouted.
“Gravity!”
Rumble!
In an instant, a heavy pressure bore down on the cadets’ shoulders.
“Ugh!”
“My body…!”
The invisible weight pressed down on them.
Some cadets fell to their knees, hands on the ground.
If they hadn’t mustered their internal energy to its fullest, they might have been crushed flat against the floor!
Screech!
Creak!
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Finally, the Darkburns, which had been darting through the air, began to fall.
They occasionally flapped their skeletal wings in defiance of gravity, but they couldn’t take flight again.
Maintaining the gravity spell with his left hand, Sabikang drew his sword, Veritas, with his right.
As he channeled his internal energy into his right hand,
Vroom!
Veritas hummed, and a fierce blue aura enveloped the blade.
In the next moment,
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Sabikang swung his sword, sending the blue energy slicing through the air, cutting down the fallen Darkburns.
Screech!
Creak!
With a cacophony of unpleasant cries, the Darkburns were mercilessly cut down.
In truth, casting a high-level spell would have made it easier to eliminate the Darkburns, but it might have endangered the cadets.
So, he opted to practice channeling both mana and internal energy simultaneously.
‘It’s been a while, but it feels good.’
Channeling mana and internal energy separately has its advantages.
By combining large-scale spells with precise internal energy techniques, one can minimize ally casualties while decimating the enemy.
After confirming that no Darkburns remained alive, Sabikang finally released the gravity spell.
“Phew!”
“Ahh!”
Freed from the intense pressure, the cadets gasped for air, regaining their composure.
Meanwhile, Jinbaek, released from the gravitational hold, rushed to the fallen Darkburns.
He examined them for a while before pulling out an empty pouch and collecting pieces of their remains.
He planned to use them for various experiments back at the Demonic Academy.
“Even with just bones, they could fly. Do these creatures have any other unique traits?”
At Jinbaek’s question, Sabikang paused to think before replying.
“Ah, Darkburn bones generate heat when soaked in blood. So if you’re cut by them, the wound burns intensely. That’s why their bones are sometimes used for arrowheads.”
“Oh, so getting hit by one of those arrows would cause burns?”
“Exactly.”
“Then it would be more suitable for the Divine Hand Pavilion.”
The ‘Divine Hand Pavilion’ was the forge at the Demonic Academy, overseen by Josinryang.
Though called a forge, it was dedicated to developing new weapons through various experiments.
Sabikang had brought Josinryang to the academy for that very reason.
The weapons currently available in the central lands were insufficient against the demonic forces.
“Everyone, collect the Darkburn bones. As you’ve heard, avoid getting blood on them if you don’t want burns. Oh, and only the wing bones are needed.”
“Understood!”
Following Sabikang’s instructions, the cadets began gathering the Darkburn bones.
With the situation somewhat under control, Sabikang led the cadets further down the path.
As they ventured deeper into the cave, the heat intensified.
‘This is no ordinary dungeon. I have a bad feeling about this…’
Hoping his instincts were wrong, Sabikang continued onward.
If there had been a way out, he would have sent the cadets back, but the path only led deeper.
Occasionally, monsters would appear.
But Sabikang, leading the way, dispatched them with a single strike.
Without fully understanding the dungeon’s nature, it wasn’t the time to train the cadets.
He couldn’t comprehend it.
How many dungeons had he explored in the demonic realm?
Yet this place felt so unfamiliar.
Was it simply because it was a dungeon in the central lands?
Or had something changed when the dungeon was summoned here?
Perhaps.
‘This is giving me a headache.’
It was then, after venturing further in, that—
A faint sound drifted from deeper within the cave.
It was unmistakably a woman’s voice, humming a melody.
“What is that sound?”
“Is someone in there?”
“Who else could it be? Probably another monster!”
No one was letting their guard down now.
The unfamiliar fighting style of these creatures was the most challenging aspect for the cadets to handle.
Finally, as they emerged from the passage, a large chamber unfolded before them.
It was then that Sabigang and the cadets realized where the faint humming was coming from.
“My bad feelings are never wrong,” Sabigang sighed softly, gazing at the massive door standing before them.
A door that seemed ancient, as if it had existed since time immemorial.
Covered in indecipherable hieroglyphs carved in relief.
From behind it, the woman’s humming continued to seep through, faint yet persistent.
The melody was both sorrowful and strangely soothing, causing the cadets to momentarily relax.
But they couldn’t afford to let their guard down, not even for a second.
The cadets quickly focused their inner strength, steadying their minds against the entrancing hum.
Sabigang murmured quietly, “It’s a boss monster.”
“What?”
“It means there’s a leader monster. And… if we’re unlucky, there might even be an altar.”
In truth, Sabigang was almost certain.
With a door this grand, there was bound to be an altar inside.
‘Once we get out of here, I need to find out how the Demon Cult managed to pull this off.’
Sabigang’s expression hardened.