The Conjurer of the Academy

Chapter 38

“What… what is that?”

Jin So-yul could see it too, which meant it wasn’t a yokai or a spirit.

“Is that you… Ha-baek? You, you—are, are you?”

The figure that had burst through the ceiling took the shape of a human but was certainly not one.

It had a disturbingly pale face and unnaturally twisted joints. A brand reading ‘7-A’ was etched on its chest, and its bloodshot eyes, twitching violently, exuded an uncanny valley vibe.

Most striking was…

‘Those bloodshot purple eyes.’

They looked as if they might start bleeding at any moment, and were fixed on us.

‘C-Virus infected?’

But why now?

An infected human wasn’t supposed to appear until much later in the scenario…

[Aaaaah! My final note!]

With a piercing scream, the utterly destroyed piano shook. Moments later, Beethoven’s spirit twisted its way out of the wreckage.

[You soulless creature, how dare you—]

Beethoven started to protest against the infected human.

Thwack

[Huh? You grabbed me?]

A grotesquely twisted arm grabbed Beethoven. The spirit might have found it as surprising as Baek-ah did when a human made contact with her.

However, what was about to happen next would not be surprising at all.

Crunch!

“J-Jeonghwa, Jeongju, it’s time to eat.”

[Graaaaah!]

The infected creature began devouring the spirit of Beethoven that it had grabbed. Beethoven screamed endlessly, turning into fragments of spiritual energy before vanishing completely.

‘Damn it, my body…’

We were paralyzed by its overwhelming presence, unable to do anything until the infected creature had consumed every last bit of Beethoven.

“Yum yum, thanks for the meal!”

The infected creature patted its stomach, stained with purple mucus that looked like saliva around its mouth.

Chills ran down my spine.

In the game, this kind of oppressive force was merely an effect, but in reality, it exuded a tangible aura of killing intent and fear.

“What is that thing?!”

Yomi screamed sharply.

The presence was so overwhelming that even the great yokai Yomi couldn’t identify it. It was the first time I had seen her so visibly shaken.

“That’s…”

Just as I was about to say something.

Zzzzt-!

Suddenly, the quest window updated with a loud static noise, altering its content.

Circle Quest!

Q. Eliminate the Infected creature

‘The quest content changed?’

An unprecedented situation. Even the quest seemed to react to the circumstances, updating in real-time.

“What is that…?”

Even the usually reckless Jin So-yul was trembling with unknown fear.

Thank goodness. So Jin So-yul can see it too. This makes it easier to explain.

“Run.”

Like we were under a spell, we all simultaneously bolted out of the music room.

* * *

With Beethoven’s spirit gone, the immense aura that had been blocking the music room vanished. Though we fled the music room, we couldn’t escape the infected creature’s presence.

“C-c-c-come out, come out, wherever you are. I-I-I can see your hairrr~.”

The infected creature’s voice echoed loudly.

“Daddy’s coming to find you…”

Thankfully, the voice of the infected was growing distant. Perhaps it was taking its time, not hurried in its pursuit of us.

“Wait, wait, wait.”

With the voice fading, Jin So-yul was the first to stop.

“Why are we suddenly running away, Ha-baek? And you too, Ha-na?”

“Because I don’t want to die?”

“I mean, couldn’t it just be like a surprise event or something?”

“Do you think any school would set up a surprise event for students sneaking into the music room at 3 AM?”

“Hmm, now that you mention it, that does sound unlikely.”

Jin So-yul nodded.

“Still, it broke through the roof! With all this noise, the hunter team might come to help soon!”

“No, that’s impossible.”

Yomi tapped the nearby window with her hand.

“Even if people start dying in here, no one will come until dawn breaks.”

“But didn’t we make a lot of noises?”

“If you don’t believe me, try breaking the window. If you can break it, we can escape the building right away.”

“Ha-na, that’s a great idea!”

Jin So-yul nodded at Yomi’s suggestion. She then turned and swung her arm forcefully at the hallway window.

“Hi-yah!”

Thud!

The glass didn’t even crack despite Jin So-yul’s punch. The window, which should have shattered like ice, remained as unyielding as steel.

“What on earth…?”

“It’s a barrier (결계).”

Yomi muttered as she watched Jin So-yul stare at her own hand in disbelief.

‘A barrier?’

A barrier.

Originally a term from Buddhism used to prevent outsiders from entering sacred spaces, it’s now a concept frequently seen in subcultures. The barrier Yomi mentioned is more like the latter.

“With the barrier in place, no matter how much noise we make, no one from the outside will notice. They probably can’t even see this building.”

“Even my smartphone’s out of service.”

I placed my hand on the window’s surface. A thin purple film, almost like a coating, covered the surface.

‘Come to think of it, in the game, when facing infected creatures, communication often got disrupted or the hunter team arrived late.’

I had thought it was just an in-game effect, but looking back, it all made sense.

“Someone has set up a barrier around this building. And it’s a very high-level.”

At that moment, Yomi and I exchanged glances.

“The Moon Rabbit that pounds rice cakes.”

“Correct.”

Yomi nodded.

“It’s unfortunate, but with my current strength, breaking this barrier is impossible. However, I can’t fathom why it’s going through all this trouble without showing itself.”

“That’s…”

I remembered.

In the game, the first appearance of an experimental subject had “132-D” marked on its chest. The 132-D infected looked far more human than the 7-A infected.

“We’re being experimented on.”

The first appearance of an infected was a crucial plot point in the original storyline.

It revealed that the C-Virus had spread to humans.

And the one who released the infected—the Rabbit—wanted to showcase its specimen as a completed work by that point.

‘But why now?’

The 7-A infected, even at a glance, appeared less complete than the originally introduced 132-D. The reason for suddenly releasing such an incomplete specimen into the school was puzzling.

‘It’s not just a random release.’

There were too many factors to consider it a mere coincidence. It was reasonable to see this as an attack targeting Yomi and me.

“Hold on, hold on. Don’t just mumble things you guys understand; explain them to me too! Barriers and whatnot, it all sounds like some occult stuff!”

“You’re curious about that even in this situation?”

“Of course! It’s a chance to see real ghosts in person!”

“…”

I was momentarily speechless.

It wasn’t just because of Jin So-yul’s reckless behavior.

‘Is she serious?’

Jin So-yul’s spirit was burning brightly. Moreover, the seriousness in her eyes was something I had seldom seen in her.

“Why are you so obsessed with the occult, senior—?”

Just as I was about to voice a question I’d held for a long time…

“F-f-f-found you~!”

Crash!

With a jarring shout, the ceiling above us came crashing down.

“Get out of the way!”

“Kyaaa!”

Yomi grabbed Jin So-yul by the collar of her blouse and swiftly dodged.

“W-w-well, you’ve been caught, so now you must be punished?”

The 7-A infected broadened its smile, tearing its mouth wide. Its eyes, unfocused, spun in different directions.

“There’s no way we can completely hide from that thing.”

Infected by the C-Virus, the creature was highly sensitive to spiritual energy. While someone without spiritual energy might escape its pursuit, all three of us were brimming with it.

“But is this really okay?”

Yomi whispered as she moved close to my ear.

“Last time, you were so worried about her finding out.”

“Today could be the turning point.”

“Turning point?”

“There is such a thing.”

I shrugged my shoulders.

Until now, I had hidden my abilities because the demerits outweighed the merits of revealing them. In inevitable situations, especially with someone like Jin So-yul who has a knack for spiritual abilities, things were different.

“Senior.”

“Yes, Ha-baek?”

“You know this is serious, right?”

“I’m aware.”

Jin So-yul pulled something from her pocket and gripped it tightly in her fist.

‘Is it that thing from earlier?’

Yomi had noticed it, but now wasn’t the time to figure it out or ask questions.

“Be careful until your abilities are revealed.”

“Alright, got it!”

As we prepared for battle, the infected creature also slowly contorted its body.

“Well then, let’s get punished!”

The concentrated burst of air exploded outwards.

Whether it was a wave of spiritual energy or pure killing intent was unclear.

“Heh, this is perfect. I’ve been wanting to test my regained strength!”

Yomi was the first to face the infected creature. I was curious to see how much strength Yomi could muster in her human form.

『Spirit Conjuration – Yomi: Release Yokai Energy』

Whoosh

Blue flames ignited all over Yomi’s body. Her elongated claws and sharp beast-like pupils gleamed menacingly. Yomi instinctively placed her hands on the ground and arched her back like an animal.

“Kyah!”

Yomi and the infected creature lunged at each other, their arms swinging ferociously, intersecting at high speed. For a brief moment, both of them froze.

“Uh, uh?”

The one to waver was the infected creature. A massive gash marred its chest where Yomi’s claws had slashed through. A violet blood spurted out like a fountain from the open wound.

“Hmph, I imitated what that red-haired girl does.”

Yomi grinned mischievously.

The red-haired girl must be referring to Shin Seo-ha. Her abilities involve more than just manipulating flames; they also drastically enhance her physical prowess when enveloped in fire.

Though Yomi was merely imitating, her speed was so swift it was almost impossible to track with the naked eye.

“I-it hurts…”

However, the attack didn’t deal a fatal blow to the infected creature. The gaping wound began to stick together like dough, and soon the injury was entirely healed.

“You’re so scary…”

“Hmph, it’s humiliating that I took a step back just to gauge your strength, only to find you’re this weak.”

As Yomi assumed a feline stance, a tail made of blue flames swayed gently behind her.

“I’ll drive it back; you need to pierce its heart with the Sain-gum Sword.”

“Understo—”

“Wait!”

Just as I was about to draw the Sain-gum Sword, Jin So-yul stepped between us.

“Wait a minute, I hear something.”

Jin So-yul’s eyes trembled.