“Almost got into real trouble there.”
If I had been a second late, that black liquid would have surely gone into Hong Bi-yeon’s mouth. It was a close call, but since I managed to stop it, that’s that.
“You, how did you manage to… ”
“Miss Bi-yeon, please stay there quietly. And you over there, step forward quickly.”
I kept Hong Bi-yeon restrained with psychokinesis while glaring at someone who was surely watching us from afar.
“……”
– Plod, plod
Since the person who disappeared into the darkness was also held in place by a wall of telekinetic force, the dark figure gave up without a fight and raised both arms.
“…… Ah, indeed worthy of the Student Council President from Raon.”
“…… I don’t know who you are, but if you surrender now, I can at least guarantee you will retain your human form.”
I created a gravity sphere and aimed it at them while they were lowering one hand and moving it to their hood.
“Of course, our great Student Council President wouldn’t know my name.”
When he lifted his hood, a student appeared with a name tag fitting an ‘Extra #1’—a real nobody.
Except, he was also carrying a basket full of the potion Hong Bi-yeon had almost swallowed.
“Did you sell this substance to students who were eliminated in the tournament?”
‘To be honest, I already know the main goal, though.’
A group that worships seven demons was feeding potions filled with the blood of demons to cadets, attempting to transform those with potential into low to mid-level demons while turning others with less talent into simple monsters, thereby increasing their power.
‘What was his name again… I recall it being pretty rustic.’
“Don’t call the holy water imbued with the great power of the moon a drug!”
As the student yelled, a name I faintly remembered surfaced.
“Ah… was it Black Moon? Black Moon Cult? Honestly, what a silly name.”
“It’s the Rehelren Church!”
“Ah, that’s right.”
‘Thought so… completely wrong.’
The moment those words left his mouth, the student began drinking the dark liquid from his pocket as quickly as possible.
– Clang!
After drinking just one bottle, the student’s aura changed significantly, and seeing it, I issued my final warning, as he still had the chance to walk away.
“Are you sure about this? This is a decision you can’t take back.”
“Hold your tongue! This is holy water! The path to a new world, the elixir of evolution for the chosen ones…!!”
With that, the student downed bottle after bottle of the black liquid, and as the final bottle emptied, an immense magical power began to emanate from his body.
“I’ll show you a power several times more concentrated than that so-called holy water in your hands…!!”
‘Hmm… should I use the Eye of Mara?’
No, if I break the earrings again, I might really get in big trouble… Moreover…
“Handle it, Chun-sik 2.”
“My name is Azathoth, my comrade!”
Firstly, Azathoth, who’s rid of his restraints, is powerful enough to evenly match me when I use the remains of the mara-eye and Mephisto at maximum output, so he’ll surely handle it properly.
Leaving the student to Azathoth, I took the dark potion clenched in Hong Bi-yeon’s hand.
“Take a good look at what happens if you drink that potion.”
Hong Bi-yeon’s eyes were filled with immense fear, but she was still listening to me well. Since her gaze was still fixed on the student…
-Gulp, gulp…!
“KRAAAAH, KRAAAAH!!! My entire body is overflowing with power…!!!”
In the blink of an eye, all trace of human form was lost, and a grotesque, terrifying creature wielding saw-like things on elongated tentacle arms started charging toward me.
“Ugh, you’d better run..!”
“There’s no need to move.”
By now, having lost all reason, Hong Bi-yeon could do nothing, and I too merely watched the monster’s attack without moving.
The reason was simple.
– KRAAAH!!!
“Have you forgotten me? Judging from your lack of battle intent and targeting of helpless women, your decorum has indeed rotted beyond repair.”
There was no way that attack could have reached me.
Until the student drank the potion, he thought Azathoth was just a familiar I summoned. However, as his perception improved with the heightened power from the drug, he must have realized Azathoth’s true strength.
Given how he subconsciously lunged toward me and Hong Bi-yeon instead of Azathoth, it must be true.
-KWAHHHHH!
The student, grabbed by the torso, was thrown violently into the wall, and I timely erected a barrier to block the sound and any collateral damage.
-ZIIIING…
“Good, it’s up.”
“Azathoth, 100% authority granted.”
“That’s more like it!”
Azathoth’s gemstone sword became enveloped in black flames.
-Fwoooosh…
The gemstone armor turned into pitch-black armor in the blink of an eye as chunks of gemstone and building debris attached to his gemstone sword, transforming it into a giant mace.
‘Maybe I should have made it into a mace from the start. This looks so much better.’
As Azathoth’s presence began to overflow like molten lava, resembling a character from some AOS game, the student, realizing the gem knight he previously thought was a mere minion was the most dangerous entity here, tried to attack Azathoth with his tentacles in a panic.
“AARRRRGH!!! Don’t stop me and the Rehelren Church’s plan!!”
-Fwoosh!
“KRAAGH! My tentacles!!”
Still, his efforts proved futile.
“How laughable. Such tentacles cannot even restrict my movements. Instead, your tentacles are merely fuel for my flames.”
“What… What are you…!!!! Don’t come near me, stay back!!!”
Having realized that the gem knight he had underestimated was actually the deadliest presence here, the monstrous student fled in cowardice… but…
“Perish!”
-KWAHHHHH!
“KRAAAGH…!!”
“Too slow, even in realizing your death.”
-CRACK!
Azathoth’s mighty mace came down on the student, crushing him flat. The remains of the ‘student’ immediately burst into flames, spilling black blood as it burned.
-Fwoooosh…
‘As expected, they erased the evidence by burning. Although some might’ve died from Azathoth’s flames.’
I knew this already from the original work, but I couldn’t pass this information to Eve, which was quite regretful.
If I use the Eye of Mara and destroy the earrings, Eve will certainly come running. Besides, I will be criticizing Yoo Eun-ha for putting me in a situation where I had to destroy them. Though I ran away unilaterally so Yoo Eun-ha couldn’t follow.
Moreover, there are plenty of self-executing magic spells that activate upon confessions, so the risk of attempting an interrogation wasn’t worth it.
‘If I use my suggestion magic while Azathoth suppresses magic, it might work for interrogation…’
But why go through the trouble when I already know who gave the order?
“… How about it? If you had taken that potion just now, you’d have ended up like that.”
“…”
With psychokinetic control released, Hong Bi-yeon collapsed on the spot.
Thanks to the sound barrier and Azathoth’s abilities, only Hong Bi-yeon and I know about this situation.
“I fully understand the frustration of being so powerless.”
“So… what, you’re saying you’re going to stop me from drinking that stuff in the future?!”
Hong Bi-yeon wasn’t glaring at me with eyes full of resentment, but neither were they eyes full of affection as she glared.
Plain and simply, I cut to the chase.
“First of all… as the Student Council President, I have to stop you. A cadet was about to die, after all.”
After putting the potion she almost drank into my pocket, I dismissed Azathoth’s summon and bent my head, looking at the seated Hong Bi-yeon.
“…”
Hong Bi-yeon thought she was talented in magic since she could wield potent fire magic since she was young.
But, that was the talent that had bloomed too early in her youth. Having felt superior over children who hadn’t yet blossomed, she must have found it unbearable that those she thought were inferior were actually much stronger than her.
“Training so diligently that you even rented the gym until night…”
“… How do you even know that…”
“Because increasing physical strength doesn’t increase magical power, even if you’re not a moron.”
What is he, not even a Striker? What’s this strength training nonsense?
I remembered Hong Bi-yeon’s appearance if she had taken the black potion and gone berserk.
The slightly less talented Hong Bi-yeon would fail to evolve into a low-level demon. Instead, she would become a beast-like monster attacking Seong Ah-rin.
Naturally, Seong Ah-rin, not wanting to hurt Hong Bi-yeon, would attempt to counteract the red flames emanating from Hong Bi-yeon’s body. However, for some reason, Seong Ah-rin wouldn’t be able to reverse-engineer the magic, resulting in her being gravely injured and falling.
And that’s how it became a major episode at the Student Council President election: disposing of the berserk Hong Bi-yeon.
‘Here’s a question I have.’
Why couldn’t Hong Bi-yeon control her own fire magic?
Why couldn’t Seong Ah-rin reverse-engineer Hong Bi-yeon’s magic (presumably fire-based) from when she had turned into a beast?
‘I’m curious too.’
I had never seen Hong Bi-yeon’s stat window, so I didn’t know what stats she had before transforming into a monster. Given the situation, it was probably best to check.
When I unconsciously murmured something after seeing Hong Bi-yeon’s stat window…
“Would you like to undergo a class change?”
“…… Huh?”
“Ah, really, why did you aim to be a Magician with stats and skills like those? If I were you, I would’ve gone for Defender a long time ago…”
It was a rapid-fire critique from a seasoned player spotting a new player who’d chosen the wrong skill build.
