Episode 77: Return to the Demonic Academy
Thud! Thud! Thud!
In the blink of an eye, three cadets were struck by daggers and fell to the ground.
Amazingly, all three were hit in their vital points.
Dead.
Behind a large boulder, Jo Moon-tak stared blankly at his own hands, unable to believe what he’d just done.
Gok Bo-ok, equally stunned, turned to him with wide eyes.
“Was he always this skilled with throwing weapons?”
But neither of them realized the truth.
The daggers had been imbued with the power of Neung So-so.
Neung So-so clenched her fist in triumph.
“Great!”
She quickly called out to Jo Moon-tak in a low voice.
“What are you doing? Do it again!”
“Huh? Oh, right!”
Jo Moon-tak pulled out more daggers from his sleeve.
This time, he held four between his fingers.
Swish!
With a flick of his wrist, the daggers flew through the air.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
In that moment, Neung So-so called out in her mind.
“Silape! One more time, please!”
Silape grumbled, but in an instant, she caught the four daggers and redirected them toward the Nang-a group cadets.
To the untrained eye, it seemed as if the daggers were gracefully curving through the air.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Thud!
“Argh!”
“Ugh!”
Two cadets cried out in pain.
Clang! Thud!
However, one dagger was deflected by Sang Pil-ji’s sword, and another missed its target, embedding itself in a tree trunk.
Even so, the Nang-a group had lost five members in an instant.
Sang Pil-ji narrowed his eyes.
“What a peculiar technique.”
Typically, throwing weapons travel in a straight line, the shortest distance to their target.
Only a true master could make them curve through the air.
“Could it be Tang Yi-hyeop?”
But Sang Pil-ji shook his head.
Tang Yi-hyeop of the famous Sichuan Tang Clan could certainly manage such a feat, but he was known to be on guard duty.
He wouldn’t interfere in this inter-group competition.
“Well, we’ll find out once we catch them.”
Sang Pil-ji turned his gaze to the top of the cliff.
Following his lead, Yo Gwang and Jo Mi-mi smirked.
“So that’s where they are.”
“Really gave us a scare, didn’t they?”
The two began to make their way toward the cliff.
Panicking, Jo Moon-tak pulled out four more daggers and threw them.
“Silape!”
At Neung So-so’s call, Silape once again caught the flying daggers and sent them toward the cadets.
In a flash, Sang Pil-ji leapt into action, deflecting three daggers at once.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
But one dagger managed to strike a cadet in the side.
“Ugh!”
Fortunately, it wasn’t a vital point, so the cadet was only injured.
“Interesting opponents.”
Sang Pil-ji chuckled coldly.
Instructors generally refrained from directly intervening in cadet battles, except to protect themselves or the cadets.
However, when instructors faced off against each other, it was a different story.
Sang Pil-ji’s sole objective in this competition was to face Sa Bi-gang.
Though a formal duel was scheduled later, he wanted to test his skills against him first.
“But… he’s not here.”
Only three presences could be felt atop the cliff, and they were clearly cadets.
Meanwhile, Neung So-so sprang to her feet.
“Bo-ok, push this!”
Gok Bo-ok, who had been rolling up his sleeves for a fight, looked back in surprise.
“This…?”
“Yes, hurry!”
Neung So-so glanced down the cliff.
The Nang-a group cadets, angered by the continuous attacks, were quickly climbing the slope.
Neung So-so’s initial strategy was simple.
Push the large boulder they were hiding behind into the narrow path between the cliffs to block the way.
Jo Moon-tak gaped.
“How are we supposed to move this?”
“If it’s you, Bo-ok, you can do it.”
Gok Bo-ok, who had been nodding along with Jo Moon-tak’s words, flinched and looked at Neung So-so.
She gazed at him with eyes full of trust.
“You can do it, right? I believe in you!”
“Of course! I can do it!”
Gok Bo-ok shouted, determined to give it his all.
He glanced down the slope, seeing the Nang-a group cadets entering the narrow path.
“Damn it!”
Gok Bo-ok placed his hands on the boulder and began to push with all his might.
“Haaah!”
As he let out a battle cry, the boulder shifted slightly.
Jo Moon-tak’s eyes widened.
“It’s moving! It’s really moving!”
“Stop gawking and help me, you idiot!”
“Oh, right!”
Jo Moon-tak quickly joined in, pushing the boulder.
“Uryaaaah!”
Creak.
The boulder began to move slowly.
Neung So-so extended her staff.
“Silape!”
Silape, summoned once more, lazily placed her hand on the boulder and began to push.
To others, it seemed as if a strong wind was pushing the boulder from behind.
Unaware of this, Gok Bo-ok exclaimed with a flushed face.
“Great, even the wind is helping us! Uryaaaah!”
Creak, creak, creak!
Boom!
Finally, the boulder rolled down the slope.
Yo Gwang and Jo Mi-mi, who were climbing between the cliffs, widened their eyes.
“What the… crazy…!”
The two quickly turned and used their light footwork to retreat.
Boom, boom, boom!
The boulder rolled down and wedged itself between the cliffs, finally coming to a stop.
“We did it!”
Jo Moon-tak pumped his fist in triumph.
“Now what?”
Neung So-so quickly grabbed Jo Moon-tak and Gok Bo-ok by the wrists.
“Now we run!”
“What?”
Instead of answering, Neung So-so took off, using her light footwork to sprint away.
With Silape’s help, she moved faster than her own abilities would normally allow.
Jo Moon-tak and Gok Bo-ok simply thought they were lucky to have the wind at their backs.
Meanwhile, the Nang-a group cadets, blocked by the boulder, could only stare in amazement.
“Wow. How did they move that?”
“Heh, those special class kids are always the most fun.”
Jo Mi-mi and Yo Gwang muttered as they looked at the boulder blocking the path.
Just then, No Chi-eun approached Sang Pil-ji.
“Hmm. What do we do now?”
“Step aside.”
Sang Pil-ji walked forward and drew his sword.
Shing.
In an instant, his robe billowed as his internal energy surged.
The pressure from his aura was overwhelming.
As the Nang-a group cadets watched with interest, Sang Pil-ji let out a battle cry and swung his sword.
“Haaah!”
Whoosh!
Clang!
The clear sound of metal echoed through the forest.
Sang Pil-ji’s sword struck the surface of the boulder precisely.
”…”
As he sheathed his sword,
Crack! Crack!
The surface of the boulder began to crack.
Crash.
With a loud noise, the boulder shattered into pieces.
“Hmm. The path is clear.”
No Chi-eun murmured in a slow voice.
Yo Gwang smirked and stepped forward.
“Let’s go!”
**
“Huff, huff, huff! How much further?”
Gok Bo-ok panted, struggling to catch his breath.
Among the three, he was the heaviest and least skilled in light footwork, so the physical exertion was taking its toll.
Finally, Neung So-so came to a stop.
She, too, was sweating profusely as she glanced back.
A loud noise had echoed earlier.
It was an immense aura.
“It must be the instructor.”
Only someone of that caliber could emit such energy, meaning it was only a matter of time before the Nang-a group caught up.
She looked up.
In the distance, she saw the thicket they had passed earlier.
A particularly dense patch of undergrowth.
Maeseol had suggested hiding there, but Neung So-so had opposed it.
Jo Moon-tak frowned.
“Over there…?”
“Moon-tak, where’s the best place to hide?”
“The best place to hide…?”
“We don’t have time!”
Jo Moon-tak hesitated, then pointed to the sky.
“Up there… maybe? But they’re just cadets.”
He meant the branches above.
But he wasn’t confident they could fool Instructor Sang Pil-ji.
Neung So-so nodded.
“That’s good enough. Let’s go up.”
“Do you have a plan? Even if we hide well, Instructor Sang is…”
“We have to try.”
Neung So-so interrupted.
Jo Moon-tak nodded.
“Alright. Let’s give it a shot.”
In an instant, he leapt up, landing on a branch with ease.
His agility was impressive.
“Silape, help me!”
Neung So-so also leapt, and with a gust of wind, she was lifted onto a branch.
Jo Moon-tak reached out and pulled her up.
“Bo-ok! Hurry!”
Jo Moon-tak called out, but Gok Bo-ok was flustered.
“I can’t… get up there…”
“You can do it! Come on, Bo-ok!”
When Neung Soso shouted, Gok Bo-ok bit his lip hard.
He slowly stepped back, then hurled himself forward with a battle cry.
“Hiyaaaah!”
As Gok Bo-ok kicked the wooden pillar with a thud, both Jo Muntak and Neung Soso felt the tremor.
‘Silape! Help Bo-ok!’
‘Silape!’
Grumbling, Silape finally lifted Gok Bo-ok and soared upward.
Whoooosh!
‘Huh! Another gust?’
Caught off guard by the sudden updraft from the ground, Gok Bo-ok found himself on a tree branch.
By now, Gok Bo-ok shot a meaningful glance at Neung Soso.
“Soso… you…”
“Shh. Be quiet.”
Neung Soso narrowed her eyes, sensing the whispers of the sylphs.
‘As expected…!’
Once again, the cadets were approaching from the front.
Sang Pil-ji, as always, followed leisurely behind them.
“Keep as quiet as possible.”
At Neung Soso’s warning, the two held their breath and waited.
Just as the Nang-a class cadets appeared below, the three exchanged glances.
‘Just a little more…’
Neung Soso clenched her delicate fist tightly.
They couldn’t rush. They had to lure the cadets in for sure.
Finally, when the Nang-a class cadets were almost directly below them, Neung Soso whispered urgently.
“Now. Throw the darts into the bushes.”
“What?”
Jo Muntak looked puzzled.
Why throw darts into the bushes when the target was right in front of them?
But Neung Soso was firm.
“Do it!”
“Alright…”
Jo Muntak pulled out four darts and hurled them into the bushes.
At that moment.
‘Silape!’
At her call, Silape appeared again, snatching the darts from the air and flying them toward the cadets.
Jo Muntak’s eyes widened at the bizarre sight.
Meanwhile, the Nang-a class cadets, who had reached the dense bushes, quickly dodged the incoming darts.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Thud! Thwack!
Three darts missed, but the first one struck Yo Gwang in the left shoulder.
Injury confirmed.
Yo Gwang’s face twisted in pain.
“This is getting… annoying.”
“Hiding in a place like that won’t help,” Jo Mimi grumbled, furrowing her brow.
“Hmm… let’s go… and fight.”
Despite his slow speech, No Chi-eun dashed forward like an arrow.
“Heh, this is fun!”
Yo Gwang and Jo Mimi followed suit.
The cadets rushed toward the bushes one after another.
“Fools. Stop.”
Sang Pil-ji shouted from behind them.
But most of the cadets had already disappeared into the bushes.
Watching this, Neung Soso silently cheered.
‘Got them!’
Meanwhile, Sang Pil-ji stared intently at the bushes, then suddenly looked up.
“Gasp!”
Neung Soso, Jo Muntak, and Gok Bo-ok all inhaled sharply in surprise.
Sang Pil-ji’s eyes met theirs directly.
“Heh. Playing tricks, are we? Tell Instructor Sa I’ll be seeing him soon.”
With that, Sang Pil-ji began to stride into the bushes.
Jo Muntak, finally able to breathe a sigh of relief, turned to Neung Soso.
“What exactly is in there?”
“I’m not entirely sure… but I think there’s a trap set up.”
“A trap? Then Instructor Sang…”
“He must have realized it and went in to save the cadets.”
“I see…”
Jo Muntak murmured, unable to hide his admiration.
In that desperate, fleeting moment, Neung Soso had thought to use the trap to outwit them.
‘Soso is much smarter than I thought.’
Just then.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom…!
The sound of drums echoed.
It was the signal that 30% of the cadets had been eliminated in the inter-group competition.