The Academy’s Deceased Ate It All

How on earth had she gotten caught?

Belluna kept up the awkward smile on her face and kept waving both hands, but inside her head she was working out exactly how she'd been spotted.

In truth, she'd been right there beside them from the moment Yu Ji-hyeok and the red-haired girl had sat down facing each other and started talking.

She had come to find him at her son Ivan Hunt's request, but the mood and situation between the two of them made it awkward to step in, so she had decided to just wait until their conversation wrapped up.

It hardly needs saying again, but Belluna Hunt was a high-rank wind spirit.

And wind could go anywhere — no one could ever pin it down.

A wind spirit of her caliber could blend so seamlessly into her surroundings that her presence couldn't be picked up at all — she could dissolve completely into the place she stood.

Her abilities could be gauged by the ease with which she'd slipped through countless barriers, traps, and mana devices to break into the very place where Natalia Milited, a True Ancestor-class vampire, was being held.

It wasn't that Alice Blesbuck was lacking — it was that Belluna Hunt was exceptional.

Put another way: short of pulling a move that out of step, no one could detect Belluna's presence once she'd melted into her surroundings.

For her, this was a point of personal pride — even bragging rights, in a sense.

The only ones who had ever been able to pick her up in that state were the Seven Calamities, a handful of other high-rank spirits, and her husband.

So she'd decided to wait at a slight distance until they finished up, and while she was at it, she'd remembered the popcorn in her pocket and started munching on it.

And yet, she'd been caught.

Yu Ji-hyeok had looked straight at where she was and recognized her.

Now, that much she could understand.

Say what you would about him — he was off-the-charts to a degree that made calling him "human" awkward.

He carried the energy of three Seven Calamities inside him and was perfectly fine, so it wasn't strange that someone like him would recognize her and pick her out.

But she'd never imagined, not in her wildest dreams, that the red-haired girl beside him could detect her too.

"Mm, not sure if this will be much consolation, but… I'm a different species from the two of you, so I really don't think you need to be embarrassed. I mean, you don't get embarrassed just because you see some random puppy going at it in the street, right?"

At a loss for what to say, Belluna spoke up as if making an excuse.

The red-haired girl replied in a flat voice,

"It is embarrassing, though."

"Oh my."

At Han Su-yeong's blunt answer, Belluna's expression turned to surprise.

She had her lips pressed tightly together, her cheeks flushed red, trembling slightly.

Meanwhile, Belluna's eyes glinted faintly as she caught sight of the crystal circling around Han Su-yeong.

"More importantly, would you mind if I asked what brings you all the way out here, Belluna?"

Yu Ji-hyeok spoke up, unable to fully hide the discomfort he was feeling.

The moment he opened his mouth, Belluna caught the scent that came drifting out of it.

The sharp, almost fishy smell of poison. A breath unbelievably heavy. The reek of something not human.

Something with scales. The smell of a dragon.

She looked at him, slightly taken aback.

"…Belluna?"

"Ahem, it's nothing major, Yu Ji-hyeok. I heard from my son that you'd asked him to set up a meeting with me?"

Belluna said this as she fixed her gaze steadily on both Yu Ji-hyeok and Han Su-yeong.

He looked back at her with disbelief written on his face.

"Yes, I did say that. But — don't tell me that's why you came all the way out here?"

"Yes."

Belluna nodded, as if to say what was wrong with that?

Yu Ji-hyeok scratched at the back of his head, looking awkward, while Han Su-yeong frowned slightly as she glanced at Belluna, then turned to look at Yu Ji-hyeok.

"Mm, since things have ended up this way, maybe I should wait a bit longer before I get into it?"

Belluna murmured, looking not at the two of them but somewhere else entirely.

Then, from out of the darkness, someone stepped quietly out, footsteps soft and padded.

Even in the dark, those crimson eyes were sparkling like stars.

"So you had noticed after all?"

"As if the presence of a being like yourself could be hidden so easily, fallen though you may be."

Minerva slowly revealed herself, parting the darkness as she walked.

She'd come in such a hurry she hadn't even put on shoes — she was barefoot.

"I came running, worried that some unseemly business might be afoot between him and my dear friend. Fortunately, my worry was misplaced."

"Y-yes… pardon? Dear friend?"

"Yes. A dear friend."

Minerva crossed her arms and looked at Belluna, who wore — rare for her — a startled expression. Her tail swayed gently behind her.

"Her name is Su-yeong. Han Su-yeong. Should you ever offer her rudeness, know that it is rudeness offered to me."

"…The Minerva, calling a human her dear friend."

Belluna muttered, her voice not quite able to believe what it was saying.

She wasn't the only one who'd been startled.

Yu Ji-hyeok, who knew Minerva well, looked at Han Su-yeong with surprise written on his face, while Han Su-yeong looked at Minerva like she had no idea what was going on either.

The only one composed in the situation was Minerva herself.

"And you, my dear. Is your body alright? Anything feel off — any nausea?"

Minerva turned her head and asked Yu Ji-hyeok.

The eyes that had dropped ice-cold when she'd looked at Belluna had softened into gentle curves.

"Huh? Oh, no — I'm fine, thanks to you worrying about me, Minerva."

"What a sweet reply — sweeter than honey itself."

Minerva murmured, her voice all but dripping.

Then, without saying anything more, she looked at Yu Ji-hyeok with eyes brimming with affection, and at Han Su-yeong with a gaze that was slightly less so but still warm and friendly, before nodding.

"Right on time, I'd say."

The moment she finished, the sound of someone else approaching reached them.

It was Lee Yu-na.

"Ah!"

She'd just so happened to be on a walk, which was why she'd made it here faster than anyone else.

Her eyes lit up softly at the sight of Yu Ji-hyeok standing there safe and sound.

"J-Ji-hyeok. You're alright—!"

"……!!!"

But before she could get the rest out, Rauné — which had been in her arms — leapt out ahead of her.

Spreading its roots out wide like a flying squirrel, Rauné came sailing straight into Yu Ji-hyeok's chest.

"Huh, what? Rauné? Hey, what the heck are you doing here?"

"……! ……!!!"

Looking as offended as if to say those are the first words out of your mouth when you finally see me?, Rauné started thumping its tiny limbs against him.

It wasn't really putting any strength behind it — it was more ticklish than anything — so Yu Ji-hyeok smiled and patted Rauné with a finger.

"Alright, alright. I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"……"

Only then, as if its temper had finally cooled, did Rauné scramble up his clothes and settle in next to his shoulder.

Then it slid down — whoosh — like a kid coming down a slide, and slipped straight into his shirt's front pocket.

Ever since he'd found out Rauné liked being inside pockets, he made a point of wearing clothes with inner or front pockets — and today was no exception.

"Yu-na."

"Y-yeah?"

Caught off guard by his sudden call, Lee Yu-na — who'd been watching awkwardly — stumbled over her response.

"Thank you. You're the one who's been taking care of this little guy, right? And on top of that, when I… turned into a dragon, you really worked hard helping out. Thank you. Really."

Lee Yu-na froze for a moment at that, then broke into a shy smile.

"A-aw, it wasn't anything…"

"It was definitely something. Honestly, I felt so guilty and grateful toward all of you, I didn't know what to say. But I felt like I had to at least say this much. Thank you. Really."

"Aw… Ji-hyeok, come on. You're making me embarrassed."

Seeing her cheeks pink up, Han Su-yeong got a no way look on her face.

After that, rustling sounds came from one side, then another.

Lee Ye-eun. Then Jin Ye-seul.

And finally, with Choi Hyun-woo's arrival, everyone was gathered.

"Haa… Thank goodness."

"Ji-hyeok."

Lee Ye-eun, the second she saw him, let out a sigh of pure relief, while Jin Ye-seul murmured his name like she was struggling for breath.

"Clan Head. Ye-seul."

"…Why am I 'Clan Head' again."

"Yeah, yeah! It really is Ji-hyeok… That other form was nice too, but I like this one way better…!"

Watching Yu Ji-hyeok exchange a few words with those two, Choi Hyun-woo gave a small smile.

He was just about to drop some teasing line when he caught sight of Han Su-yeong, eyes wide and fierce, glaring at him — and he silently closed his mouth.

"Mm. Well, looks like everyone's pretty much gathered now."

Belluna, having watched their brief exchange, deliberately made her presence felt as she murmured this.

Only after confirming that all eyes were on her did she turn her gaze back to Yu Ji-hyeok.

"Yu Ji-hyeok. I have a rough idea why you wanted to meet me."

Belluna casually swept her hair back behind her shoulder as she spoke.

"You called me here because you wanted to take this Belluna Hunt into your embrace too, didn't you?"

Unable to process what she'd said for a moment, Yu Ji-hyeok barely managed to squeeze out a reply.

"…Excuse me?"

"I was joking. Was it not funny?"

Catching the strange glint that flashed in Minerva's eyes right next to her, Belluna hurriedly spoke up.

When Yu Ji-hyeok nodded with a strained look, she muttered with a look of genuine bewilderment,

"That's strange — I was sure I was told that when you tell a joke, everyone laughs."

Then she eased a step back from Minerva and cleared her throat.

"Ahem, anyway… It seems what you wanted to ask about was something to do with Milited's children. Is that right?"

"Oh, yes. That's right."

Yu Ji-hyeok nodded.

"Belluna, since you were a member of Milited's children yourself — forgive me if this is rude — but I figured you'd know the internal details. If possible, I wanted to ask you a few things."

"Hmmm…"

Belluna chewed at the inside of her lip for a moment, as if mulling it over.

"I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but it's been quite a while since I cut ties with them. So I don't really know what they're thinking these days, exactly."

She spoke as though she were explaining it to everyone gathered there.

"That said, to go through what I do know… Yes. Gracius is dead, and Natalia has been captured. In practical terms, the only one left is Landschi, who was effectively their leader."

"Landschi?"

"He's a dragon. Just like you."

Belluna said that to Yu Ji-hyeok with a slight tilt of her head, then went on as if she were singing the words.

"Even among dragons, he's a traitor and a black sheep — there's a kill order on his head. Which only makes sense, since he's a high traitor who slaughtered his own kind. Well, 'slaughtered' isn't quite right… He captures dragons, neutralizes them, strings them up in rows like sausages, and butchers them like pigs once they've outlived their usefulness. There are over thirty dragons he's caught and killed that way. I hear he also runs various experiments on his own kind… I don't know exactly what kind of experiments, but I think all of us can guess what he's doing all this for, can't we?"

Someone muttered, "A dragon's heart."

Belluna gave a couple of small, dry claps.

"Correct. He's gathering dragon hearts to form one massive mana body. Now, why would he be doing that? Yu Ji-hyeok, I have a feeling you'd know."

"…To break Milited's seal."

"That, too, is correct. Aren't you clever."

Belluna's eyes crinkled in a small smile.

"They say that to break Milited's seal, four great alchemists are required. To be more precise, what's required is the mana of such alchemists and their synchronization. He's scraping together dragon hearts to substitute for one of those four shares."

"But Gracius is dead, and Natalia is about to become 'a different person from who she used to be.' All that's left is Landschi. Even if every dragon heart he's gathered over a lifetime serves its purpose, he's still two short."

"To stop him, you'll need to pinpoint the whereabouts of alchemists who are off-the-charts in skill, and make sure the mana body — with output equivalent to dozens of dragon hearts braided together — never falls into his hands."

As she said this, Belluna slowly turned her head to look at Han Su-yeong.

More precisely, at the crystal floating around her.

"Yes. Like that one, for example."

As she murmured, a quiet but violent wind began to gather in her hand.

"If you hand it over to me, I'll smash it to pieces right here and now. So you won't have to worry about it later."

At those words, Han Su-yeong gave a small startled flinch and reflexively clutched the crystal against her chest.

Belluna murmured, her expression cold.

"Variables are best minimized wherever possible, Han Su-yeong."

Belluna Hunt gave her warning, articulating Han Su-yeong's name with care.

"That's not something an ordinary human can be carrying. You may not realize it yourself, but I can tell that karmic burden is piling up on your soul. …Something like that can't be right."

Karma on the soul.

Karma.

Yu Ji-hyeok's eyes wavered hard the instant he heard it.

No one knew the danger of letting your karma count rise better than he did.

"Right about now, Landschi is probably on the move, trying to gather mana to make up four people's worth."

Belluna said it quietly, as if she were coaxing a small child.

"There's no time to waste, Han Su-yeong."

She extended her hand forward.

"Please. Hand it over to me, now."

"I was wondering what kind of little rat was sniffing around — turns out you're no ordinary rat."

The old man's gravelly voice rang out low.

The old man who had lost his disciples, his position, his power base — everything.

Isaac McDowell — who had once led the force called Big Watch — cleared his throat and shot his visitor a sidelong glance.

A man of massive build.

It was none other than Landschi.

Landschi glanced at the corpses scattered around Isaac McDowell and asked,

"What's all this, Isaac McDowell?"

The old man let out a wheezing burst of laughter at the question.

"Drop the obvious theatrics. You're the one who put them up to it — what answer do you expect from me when you ask who did it?"

"That's not what I'm asking."

Landschi answered back in a quiet voice.

"I'm asking why you suddenly disappeared and went into hiding. These fellows were just the ones I sent to track you down, since your whereabouts had become a mystery."

He murmured as he lightly stomped on the head of one of the men at his feet, bursting it open.

"I'd had hopes for them, being Natalia's children — but just as I thought, ones who haven't even been given proper names are nothing but half-measures."

"Sloppy beyond belief, really. At that rate, my own disciples would've been better."

Isaac McDowell muttered as he rose to his feet.

"My disciples — every last one of them dead because of you lot, with even their corpses defiled."

"Don't dwell on trivialities, alchemist."

Isaac McDowell's eye twitched at Landschi's reply.

"To gain something, one must lose something. Equivalent exchange isn't just a principle of alchemy — it's one of the laws of the world. They were sacrificed for your goal — they didn't die from some petty grudge of ours. Don't let your emotions make you lose sight of the greater cause."

At those words, Isaac McDowell briefly looked as if he had nothing to say.

After staying silent for a long stretch, he slowly nodded.

"…You're right. Now that I hear you say it, you're absolutely right."

With that, Isaac McDowell abruptly thrust out a hand.

As he watched a flash-like explosion burst from his hand and swallow Landschi whole, he murmured quietly,

"Then surely you'd gladly offer up your own life for that greater cause too, wouldn't you?"

As if in answer to his sunken voice, Landschi appeared — cleaving the smoke and flames in two as he stepped through.

"Of course."

Not a speck of damage on him, he opened his mouth.

"Although it'll be you going first. Alchemist."

Isaac McDowell grinned.

"Then by all means, try as hard as you like, you ground-crawling snake whelp."

On that cue, the old man and the dragon hurled themselves at each other.

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