Chapter 159 – The Sword Lake (3)

All the instructors of Joaquin Academy were sprinting at full speed toward the voting center.

They were a ten-person team, composed solely of the most combat-specialized members.

Their official name, the Emergency Response Team.

All except for one member, Instructor Choi Seol-Ah, who was in charge of maintaining communication with the academy’s headquarters.

Splash, splash.

Footprints were imprinted in the muddy path as if stamped in place.

The team’s destination was the annex building, where the student council presidential election was taking place.

Not even the torrential rain and violent winds could wash away the tension reflected on their faces.

Crack.

Leading the group, Lee Won-Bin clenched his teeth.

‘How much farther?’

About ten minutes earlier, they had received an urgent message from the voting center.

An unexpected earthquake had shaken the area, trapping several students under the rubble, and to make matters worse, intruders had been detected.

Upon receiving the call, Lee Won-Bin had quickly gathered the team and rushed to the scene.

‘Damn it! What kind of lunatics are behind this?’

Security at Joaquin Academy was impenetrable. Not only was it difficult to find a breach, but crossing it was practically impossible.

If someone had managed to infiltrate, they could only be enemies. And even if they weren’t, just breaking into the academy was reason enough for punishment.

This place was the cradle of future heroes.

Whoever dared to desecrate its grounds would pay a very high price.

‘I’m going to burn their damn faces into my memory.’

Suppressing his anger, Lee Won-Bin looked at his colleague and asked,

“Instructor Kim, have there been any reports since the last communication?”

Choi Seol-Ah responded urgently.

“No, sunbae! I’ve been trying to reestablish contact, but with this weather, it’s impossible…! We’ll have to get closer or wait a little longer.”

“Damn it! And of all days, the weather had to turn into a disaster today?”

Lee Won-Bin cursed.

As an instructor, he had to set an example for his students. His behavior, his language—everything had to reflect the discipline he expected from them.

That’s why he never used vulgar language, not even in casual conversations with his colleagues. People often said he had an excessive work ethic.

It was a matter of principle. But right now, he didn’t care in the slightest.

Anxiety gnawed at him, along with uncertainty.

“What about the director? You informed Media, right?”

“Yes, I sent her a message before we left. The Hero Association has also been notified and will do their best to join us as soon as possible.”

“If the director is on her way, that’s a relief. But don’t let your guard down! Our absolute priority is ensuring the students’ safety! Understood?”

“Yes, sir!”

Nine instructors nodded at Lee Won-Bin’s command, their eyes burning with determination.

They picked up the pace. Finally, the voting center building came into view.

But what they saw left them speechless.

A lake surrounded the area, transforming it into a floating island.

No matter how intense the storms were, something like this couldn’t have formed overnight.

There was no time to dwell on it.

Lee Won-Bin furrowed his brow, assessing the situation.

Swimming to the building was an option, but the whirlpools on the surface made it impossible.

Moreover, lightning constantly struck, turning the water into a death trap.

Just as he was trying to devise a plan, an unsettling sensation crawled down his spine.

And then—

Snap.

A sharp sound echoed beside him.

Lee Won-Bin recognized it instantly.

It was the sound of a villain activating a spell.

“It’s an ambush—”

Pffft.

A whistle cut off his words.

“……?”

One of the team members blinked in confusion. A cold breeze brushed against his face.

Instinctively, he raised a hand to his forehead.

And felt something soft to the touch. That was when he understood.

There was a hole in his head.

He didn’t have time to scream. He simply collapsed, his corpse soaking in the rain.

Step, step.

Shadows approached through the rain. There were five of them. Their faces were hidden beneath the shadows of their hoods, but their grins gleamed white.

One of them, a woman with a long scar on her cheek, pulled down her hood and crossed her arms.

“Heh. I thought we’d find the director here, but it’s just a bunch of insects.”

“I know. If we had known, we could’ve attacked head-on instead of setting up an ambush. How boring.”

“Even so, don’t let your guard down. We need to buy time until ‘His Excellency’ completes the possession. If Sage Media arrives, things will get complicated. Finish these guys quickly, then we move to the voting center. That sashimi bastard is there too.”

The woman gestured with her head. The others removed their hoods and took combat stances.

Lee Won-Bin’s forehead was covered in bulging veins.

Even so, his voice remained calm.

“I was wondering what kind of bastards you’d be… but of course, it had to be a bunch of villains who sold their humanity.”

One of the enemies let out a mocking laugh.

“Wow, this octopus is acting like he has guts.”

At that, Lee Won-Bin felt his blood boil. The raindrops that touched his head evaporated instantly.

Amidst the ever-growing tension, Choi Seol-Ah’s eyebrows twitched. There were a few irritating words in their conversation.

Possession. Sashimi. With just that, she already knew what was happening.

‘One of the body commanders had descended… and her master was fighting him.’

Choi Seol-Ah swiftly drew her revolver. A faint glow flowed down the rain-soaked barrel.

It was the fruit of her harvest with the Reaper that night.

She spun the cylinder with an elegant flick.

“Won-Bin sunbae, we need to take these bastards down quickly and get to the main scene.”

“…Oh. Yes, Instructor Kim.”

Lee Won-Bin was momentarily taken aback by Choi Seol-Ah’s urgent request.

Choi Seol-Ah, who always cowered in fights, was volunteering to battle.

And since when did she have a gun?

Wasn’t the use of firearms prohibited at the academy?

But now wasn’t the time for questions.

He rested his metal bat on his shoulder and locked eyes with the enemies.

I will honor the team members who died in the ambush. And the hair I lost before this. By ending these bastards.

“You bastards are going to learn what it means to mess with Joaquin Academy.”

At his signal, the instructors charged into battle.

***

The roar of shockwaves thundered across the battlefield. An unrelenting rain of projectiles struck without pause, shaking the area with overwhelming force.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOOOM!

Thousands, maybe tens of thousands of water arrows chased after Kang Geom-Ma.

“Aqua Arrow.”

It was an incredibly basic spell. But the destructive power of each arrow was absurd.

The key was the firing speed.

At least twenty times faster than the speed of sound.

The sound arrived long after the projectiles had already been fired.

Boom!

The deafening roar shattered Kang Geom-Ma’s eardrums.

He felt a warm liquid trickling from his ear. He didn’t bother wiping it away.

Instead, he focused on moving. He tightened his grip on the two inverted sashimi knives in his hands.

“I can dodge them.”

His body reacted before his brain. He pushed his speed to the limit.

The burning sensation in his legs was unbearable. It felt as if they had been set on fire.

A reddish vapor rose from his calves into the air. Yet, the ground beneath his feet felt surprisingly light.

As if he were stepping on clouds.

TAP, TAP, TAP, TAP!

Kang Geom-Ma ran, leaving behind a trail of afterimages like a shooting star.

He was no longer touching solid ground.

He was running on water. Beneath his feet, the white sea of the surface churned, creating waves that crashed with a delay.

In the distance, Sung, mutilated and on the verge of death, watched the scene with a stunned expression.

‘I can’t keep up with him…’

Just moments ago, he had lamented not being able to stop Kang Geom-Ma.

He knew that even if Kang Geom-Ma was a prodigious student, his opponent was a monster of an entirely different level.

He had thought that the most reasonable course of action was to sacrifice himself and call for reinforcements.

It was the only thing he could do before dying.

But now…

‘Kang Geom-Ma’s power is beyond my calculations.’

It was absurd. The relentless barrage of water arrows.

The gigantic waves sweeping away everything in their path. The whips of water snaking toward him.

And yet, he dodged them all. With pure speed alone.

A speed beyond human limits. This was no longer a battle he could follow with his eyes.

Most likely, what he was seeing now had actually happened several seconds ago.

“…Is he really still human?”

Vesna also murmured in admiration. It was a sincere feeling that came from the depths of her heart.

She still hadn’t fully adapted to her new body, but even so, this human was evading her spells.

Agor’s death had shaken the foundations of the underworld.

A body commander being slain by a mere human.

It was as ridiculous as a fly killing a lion.

For Vesna, it was inconceivable.

When Basmon, the Sixth Body Commander, died in battle, she had ignored it. Because he was a useless fool who did nothing but talk.

But Agor was different. She was a true warrior.

Moreover, she was her blood sibling.

That was why Vesna had descended into this world with only one purpose—revenge.

To personally kill the human who had slain her brother.

And in addition, there was a second reason—to confirm something. The “vessel” that all the Body Commanders coveted.

She wanted to see it with her own eyes. That was why she had chosen this temporary body.

She whispered sweet words, amplified the darkness in her host’s heart.

With just a few words, this body had readily accepted the offer.

She didn’t even care about its name. It was nothing more than a disposable shell.

But right now, none of that mattered.

Vesna’s eyes gleamed with greed. Kang Geom-Ma’s movements reminded her of Lycan, the First Body Commander.

‘If I could obtain that exquisite body, ruling this world would become a real possibility.’

Perhaps she could even overthrow the Second Commander and seize absolute control of the underworld.

Just as she was about to smile, Vesna froze.

This battle wasn’t as simple as she had thought.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

Kang Geom-Ma was moving in circles, spiraling over the lake.

But with each turn, he was getting closer to Vesna.

Vesna’s eyes widened in surprise. Kang Geom-Ma’s speed was increasing even more than expected.

Was it even possible to go beyond this speed?

Now, even Vesna’s vision was starting to blur. If she didn’t focus, she would lose sight of him.

Vesna raised her magical power to its limit. Bright blue tendrils flowed from her fingers, and a force field spread across the entire lake.

Whooosh!

The lake bubbled with boiling water. Hundreds of water spikes jutted out like jagged stones.

Kang Geom-Ma let out a brief laugh.

‘Are you trying to block my path?’

As expected, it was difficult to find an opening in Vesna, as one would expect from a commander.

Especially since this battle had to be decided in less than a minute.

Naturally, impatience arose.

Kang Geom-Ma held his breath. He had to stay calm. The opponent’s wide-range magic was meant to block his approach. It was as if admitting that the other side was weak in close combat.

But that didn’t mean he could simply cross this field of spikes. One wrong step, and he would be swept away by the water arrows, water whips, and the water mist, drowning in the process.

Kang Geom-Ma suddenly recalled his memories of Avalon Island.

If only he could summon the same power he had back then.

He could turn that fish into sashimi.

But that was a power granted by a surprising combination of circumstances and environment.

No matter how much a human tries, it is impossible to break through a storm. Even if they are extraordinary.

…It was at that moment. A woman’s whispering voice echoed in his ears.

《Thousands of lives pray to you.》

“Please, have mercy on them.”

Kang Geom-Ma’s hair turned white. The sounds he heard became muffled. His pupils vanished.

“Show the enemy your true magic.”

Soon, his mind went blank.