I Became the Academy’s Genius Shikigami Summoner – Chapter 109

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟎𝟗

After Jang Han-soo left, I went back to the dormitory and thought deeply before going to bed.

「𝘼 𝙬𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙩𝙝. . . . . . .」

The reason I questioned that word was simple.

It was the very word used to describe Arietta, who appeared before Yoo Ha-on and her party as the story boss and was notorious in the world at that time.

「𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙪𝙣𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙩. . . . . . .」

However, there might be another reason that I don’t know about.

The moment I heard Jang Han-soo’s words, I instinctively felt that it might have something to do with the tragedy that befell Myung-yul and Arietta.

In my troubled mind, the words that Arietta had uttered in anger to Yoo Ha-on and her party in the original story began to replay.

『. . .The real wraith is right above you, so why don’t you know that?』

Since I had predicted that the incident would happen around this time, the speculation that it was somehow related wouldn’t leave my mind.

In the end, unable to let go of my lingering doubts, I finished my long contemplation and finally decided on a course of action.

「𝙄𝙩 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙄 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙘𝙠 𝙞𝙩 𝙤𝙪𝙩.」

Then, the first thing to do is to slowly retrace the situation.

There was a rumor that a high-ranking exorcist who lost their life during the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons incident had appeared in the present world as a wraith.

Why on earth would that rumor spread among the executors of the Exorcism Headquarters, of all people, and reach Jang Han-soo’s ears?

「𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙨𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚.」

Regardless of its true identity, it must be because there was actual damage related to it.

In other words, the existence that was once called the wraith of the past is not a complete fiction but has its own form. That much was clear.

Then, is that existence really the wraith of the past? Or is it just someone being called that?

If not, is it some kind of curse or phenomenon?

I had to find that out first.

『Is it the wraith of the past?』

“Yes, that’s right. Do you happen to know anything about it?”

Then, as soon as I had some free time the next day, I contacted Cheong Ji-yeon from the Cheongdam 2nd Defense Corps, using the connections I had built up in the past.

「𝙎𝙝𝙚’𝙨 𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙞𝙚𝙡𝙙, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙟𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙗𝙮.」

She probably has heard some rumors here and there.

My expectations weren’t wrong. After thinking for a moment, Cheong Ji-yeon told me various pieces of information that she knew.

『Oh, are you talking about that thing that’s been making noise recently? But why?』

“I’m a little concerned, so I thought it would be good to know.”

『Well, there’s nothing I can’t tell you, within the limits of what I know.』

Cheong Ji-yeon’s explanation was simple. Recently, many of the exorcists who were active during the first Night Parade of a Hundred Demons incident were attacked by an unidentified person, and in the testimonies of some of them, the word “wraith” was mentioned for the first time.

『Some of the victims died, while others were merely wounded. I heard that the attacker was an exorcist who died during the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons incident. That’s probably why they were called a wraith.』

“. . .It was helpful. Thank you.”

Click.

After hanging up the phone, I sorted out the information I had gathered and fell into deep thought again.

At least, I thought I could somehow understand the context of the situation.

I also clearly understood what a wraith refers to, and who its victim is.

Also, there was a part in Cheong Ji-yeon’s words that bothered me quite a bit.

「𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙫𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙫𝙤𝙧𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙉𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙃𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝘿𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩.」

If that’s the condition, then Arietta’s teacher, Myung-yul, also perfectly matched it.

After all, wasn’t he one of the heroes of the first Night Parade of a Hundred Demons?

「𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣.」

Then, now I have no choice but to actively chase this wraith or ask for opinions from the person involved, Myung-yul.

I secretly headed to the academy in Guryong Moutain, where Myung-yul was, using the weekend.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

Just like he had taken Arietta as his disciple, Myung-yul was running his own school and teaching children in difficult situations.

That’s why I waited patiently until he was free, and after all the children had gone home, I met Myung-yul and we went to a room together.

“I’m sorry to have kept you waiting.”

“No, I have something I’d like to ask you for a moment.”

After briefly exchanging recent news with Myung-yul, I eventually brought up the main topic and began to observe Myung-yul’s reaction without rushing.

“Have you heard of the rumors about the wraith that are circulating these days?”

“A wraith? That’s the first time I’ve heard of it.”

“. . .Then let me explain first.”

It seemed that the rumors hadn’t reached this place yet, so I briefly explained the situation.

Then, Myung-yul’s expression gradually twisted subtly as he listened to it.

“Well, that’s a very confusing story.”

“There’s also a rumor that the exorcists who were active during the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons incident are being targeted, so I came to you to ask for advice and information.”

“I wonder if there’s something that I can help you with.”

Myung-yul thought for a moment, then closed his eyes slightly and gave me an apologetic answer.

“I’m sorry, but I’ve tried hard to remember, but I don’t have any specific memories. It’s been so long that I don’t remember the details of that time anymore.”

“. . .Is that so.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more help. Since you’re here, would you like to have a cup of tea?”

After that, I had some tea with Myung-yul and talked for a while. As I returned to the academy, I became convinced of my thoughts.

「𝙈𝙮𝙪𝙣𝙜-𝙮𝙪𝙡 𝙞𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙝𝙞𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜.」

Not only his subtle attitude, but the decisive part was what Myung-yul said at the end about the fading of his memories.

「𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙚.」

In the setting, the Myung-yul that I know retired because of his deep regret and emptiness over his experiences at that time, and he was someone who never forgot those memories until the day he died.

In short, he was saying something he didn’t mean because he was trying to avoid talking about something.

Then, this is certain.

The wraith that is causing a stir these days is the unbreakable prophecy that Unyeon observed, in other words.

「𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙙𝙮 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙈𝙮𝙪𝙣𝙜-𝙮𝙪𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘼𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙖.」

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

After Han Kang-yoon left.

Myung-yul, who was left alone in the room and drinking tea, looked out the window at the sunset and raised his hand to look at it in the sunlight.

「𝙐𝙣𝙮𝙚𝙤𝙣, 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨?」

When he first heard Han Kang-yoon’s words, he was skeptical.

However, as the story progressed, Myung-yul was able to instinctively understand who the wraith was referring to.

「𝘼𝙣 𝙪𝙣𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙝𝙚𝙘𝙮, 𝙝𝙪𝙝?」

It was a very tricky situation, but those words were exactly right. Perhaps Myung-yul wouldn’t be able to escape from this shadow approaching him.

No, rather, he shouldn’t run away.

「𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙥𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙢𝙮𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛.」

Of course, he didn’t mean to sit still and give up his life. He had many new things that were precious to him now.

However, even so, he couldn’t avoid facing it.

「𝙄’𝙢 𝙨𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙮, 𝘼𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙖.」

Even if Myung-yul died because of it, he had to accept it.

This was that kind of story.

Clank.

Clank.

Click.

Creak!

Myung-yul took out a simple box from a corner of a secret room that had been firmly locked and, with trembling hands, unlocked it and took out what was inside.

「. . .𝙄𝙛 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨, 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩.」

It was something small and long, and its entire body was tightly wrapped in talismans, so its shape couldn’t be seen.

Myung-yul carefully removed the talismans and finally placed someone’s finger on the table.

「. . . . . . .」

10 seconds.

20 seconds.

30 seconds.

Myung-yul stared at it without blinking, and soon relaxed his hardened expression and let out a small sigh of relief.

「. . .𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮, 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙢𝙮 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙝𝙚𝙘𝙮 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚.」

However, the moment Myung-yul caught his breath, the finger that had been completely hardened and shriveled as if it were a mummy began to regain its color little by little.

Seeing that, Myung-yul clenched his fists and hung his head.

「𝙎𝙤, 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙡𝙡.」

Then, this was also a mistake that he had to accept.

Myung-yul resigned himself to his fate and sealed the finger back in the talisman and put it in the box.

And he began to make up his mind.

「. . . . . .」

He was determined to face his past, which he had only tried to forget.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

After returning to the academy, I recalled my conversation with Myung-yul and summarized all the information I had obtained so far.

「𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙣𝙤𝙬, 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮’𝙧𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙, 𝙨𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙈𝙮𝙪𝙣𝙜-𝙮𝙪𝙡 𝙙𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙛𝙪𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚.」

And judging from the original story, Myung-yul fails to overcome that crisis and eventually dies. That much was certain.

「𝙉𝙤𝙬 𝙄 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙞𝙜𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙚𝙭𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣. . . . . . .」

There was no way to know that. I could only guess that it wouldn’t be that far in the future.

That’s why I decided to change my way of thinking.

「𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙣, 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙧𝙞𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙩𝙝?」

If the cause of the tragedy is eliminated, it will naturally change the outcome.

However, to do that, I need to guess the wraith’s next target. There might also be friction with the executors of the Exorcism Headquarters.

Objectively speaking, it wasn’t a very good method.

「. . .𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩.」

And I still couldn’t be sure that the wraith was the cause of the tragedy.

After all, I needed more information.

「𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙙𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙉𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙃𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝘿𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙖 𝙡𝙤𝙩 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙈𝙮𝙪𝙣𝙜-𝙮𝙪𝙡.」

I wondered if such a person existed, but after thinking about it carefully, there was one person who came to mind.

「𝙈𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚, 𝘾𝙝𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙅𝙤𝙣𝙜?」

He was the central figure of the Cheong family during the first Night Parade of a Hundred Demons, and he would have known Myung-yul, who was called a hero, as their activities overlapped. On top of that, he was deeply connected to the upper echelons, so he was the perfect person to ask for information.

「𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙯𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝘿𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩.」

He must have already heard rumors, but I thought it would be better to go and talk to him in person.

I immediately made an appointment with Cheong Juhwa, and met her while she was engrossed in playing games with Jung Han-sol for some reason.

“Tomorrow afternoon. Got it?”

“Yes. I’ll prepare and go there.”

For some reason, Jung Han-sol gave me an incredulous look, but I ignored it and returned to the dormitory to start my preparations.

I hoped that I would be able to get useful information about Myung-yul from Cheong Jong this time.

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