I Became the Academy’s Genius Shikigami Summoner – Chapter 294

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟗𝟒

“. . . . . . .”

Polar Night did not give any answer.

However, in its quiet expression, I could find a different reaction from before.

“You are not a yokai. To be exact, you are not a living being.”

I honestly can’t fully explain why I made that judgment.

It was just that the information I had gathered so far and the impressions I had received from actually meeting Polar Night led me to that answer.

“. . .Junior, what are you talking about?”

“I’ve always felt like there were several parts that didn’t fit together. At least from what I’ve heard so far, Polar Night wasn’t something that could be easily defined in a single word.”

And now I think I know.

No, it became a little more certain when I said what I had been thinking out loud.

“Your identity. . . . . .isn’t it the embodiment of someone’s wish that’s neither a yokai nor a human?”

In other words, Polar Night is not a living entity.

I concluded that it was a kind of phenomenon with clear laws and purposes, a spell cast by someone unknown.

Everyone in the group was surprised at such an unbelievable statement, but they began to consider the possibility internally, and even then, Polar Night did not react at all.

“It seems like that’s the right answer.”

After a long silence, Polar Night, after a little more time had passed, smiled again and opened its mouth.

“. . .Well, I don’t know what to say.”

“Am I wrong?”

“No, I think you’re close to the right answer. As you said, I wonder if my existence can be defined in a single word.”

When I asked him as if I were pursuing the matter, Polar Night admitted it coolly.

At those words, Yoo Ha-on and Han Seo-ah sighed, and I could see the expressions on their faces changing from moment to moment.

This was because we had finally uncovered one of the core mysteries of Polar Night, which had been completely veiled.

“However, does that change anything?”

“. . . . . . .”

“The outcome of this world has already been determined. I don’t think you have the power or the right to stop it.”

That’s right.

We had uncovered one of the most important facts, but that alone did not provide a clear solution.

For some reason, Polar Night didn’t seem to want to fight us, but we didn’t have any other tactics to show either.

It’s a bit embarrassing to say, but I’m sure of it.

Even if we were to fight Polar Night here and now, it would be very difficult for us to win.

Seo Cheon-ye, who had noticed this, sighed and stepped forward again.

“I guess your role is over. If you don’t want to do it, get out of the way. Now. . . . . .it’s time to settle the original conclusion.”

“Master. . . . . . .”

We would definitely lose if we fought.

Seo Cheon-ye must have realized that much.

However, I could also understand that she had no other choice.

I thought about backing down at this point, but I shook my head, thinking that I could still get something more.

“Who created you as a phenomenon through sorcery?”

“. . . . . . .”

“Why aren’t you thinking of using our souls and bodies to go outside?”

I asked several key questions, but Polar Night did not answer any of them.

However, even then, there was one thing I could be sure of.

“You don’t seem to have any intention of touching us.”

There are two possibilities.

It can’t do that, or it shouldn’t do that.

Polar Night didn’t answer this time either, but I realized that my guess was right and turned around.

“. . .Let’s go back to the outside world.”

As Seo Cheon-ye said, there is nothing more we can do here.

The group hesitated without taking a hasty step, but I was sure that now was the time to retreat.

Even as everyone turned their backs to escape the black fog, only one person remained there and gave us a final farewell.

“I guess it’s the end of the road for me too.”

“. . .Are you thinking of staying here?”

“Yes. It is the duty of a disciple to support his master.”

Shin Pyo-eul is also a human being in this world, and she can no longer be with us.

Since we could easily guess her end, we looked at her without saying anything.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m just going to do my duty as part of a failed history.”

“. . .You’ve worked hard all this time.”

“Yes. It was an honor to be with you for a short time.”

As we turned away, unable to hide our bitterness, Cheong Juhwa, who had stepped forward, took something out of her arms and put it around Shin Pyo-eul’s neck.

“It’s my mother’s relic that my grandmother gave me when I was young. Even if it falls off, please know that we are together.”

This was in return for the necklace that Shin Pyo-eul had given us after realizing the truth of this world.

Shin Pyo-eul, who received it, smiled brightly and turned her back completely to go to Seo Cheon-ye’s side.

“. . .Let’s go fulfill our responsibilities to each other.”

There was regret, but no hesitation.

We immediately escaped from the black fog and returned to the battlefield of yokai and Taoists, and we were able to face Ho-chung, who was leading everyone at the scene of the fierce battle.

“Donors! What happened?”

“Polar Night’s identity was a spell that someone brought into this world. Also, for some reason, he didn’t seem to have any intention of attacking us or going to the outside world.”

“That. . . . . ., I see. Is Taoist Seo Cheon-ye still inside?”

Ho-chung muttered with a bitter smile, as if he had already guessed the ending.

“Then I, too, must have a regret-free end. I will open the way again!”

Soon, Ho-chung showed the same grand spell as before, without showing any signs of fatigue, and a golden barrier soared up to the end of the yokai horde, blocking our retreat.

At the last moment, I grabbed Ho-chung’s shoulders tightly and told him my last determination.

“We will definitely defeat Polar Night. We will not forget the will of both Ho-chung from the original history and Ho-chung from this place.”

“Thank you, Donor. Even though it was a false relationship, I am glad to have met you Donors. Now. . . . . .it’s time for each of us to go to where we belong.”

Ho-chung patted me on the shoulder as he gave his last greeting, and we were finally able to escape the battlefield through the open path.

“What do we do now, Oppa?”

“We have to go back. If we don’t hurry, the Sancheon’s horn will soon run out of effect.”

I pulled out the Sancheon’s horn, which had broken into several pieces in the Formless Box, and gathered everyone together.

“Although we cannot be sure of victory, we have obtained a clue. From now on, this will be the real final battle.”

“Yeah. We have to do it, because there are so many people’s wills at stake.”

“. . .Junior, you can do it. We’ll do our best to help.”

Sophia and Arietta were determined, and the rest of the group nodded with determined looks.

As we were about to retrace the traces of Taoism and prepare to return to our original world, I felt a strange energy and turned my head to look at its owner.

“. . .What’s going on here?”

“If you go back like this, it seems like it will be a little difficult.”

The boss of Satou-pai, Hong Lin, was the identity of the uninvited guest who had suddenly appeared.

Echinacea Lianqi, who had returned to the geomantic map to avoid Polar Night’s control, had also joined her, creating a strange sense of tension.

「. . . . . . .」

In the boundary’s imaginary space, Baekryeo said at the last moment.

She said not to trust Hong Lin too much, that she was someone who could not easily guess the minds of anyone, including herself.

And above all, the fact that she had appeared before us at this critical moment raised inevitable doubts.

“What are you thinking?”

“Haha, don’t be so wary. I just came to give you one more option.”

After finishing speaking, Hong Lin slightly lifted the hem of her dress to show her bare legs, and strangely, her form dissipated and the energy she possessed gradually disappeared.

“We have already decided our own end. It’s better to be like this than to be dominated by that guy and used as he pleases.”

“. . . . . . .”

“Rather than that, I want to go back to my original self before it’s too late, but you shouldn’t go to the outside world like this.”

It was a remark that was difficult to understand for the time being. However, Hong Lin seemed to be sure of something.

“I didn’t think about it, but I found out. You must have judged Polar Night’s identity to be some kind of sorcery itself?”

“. . .Yes. However, we could not find out anything more than that.”

Hong Lin firmly stated her opinion to us.

“Do you have any idea why Polar Night gave up on going to the outside world and why it’s not trying to hurt you?”

“. . . . . . .”

“I think those actions violate the laws that Polar Night possesses as a sorcery itself. I don’t know the exact details since I’m not the one involved, but it’s clear if you look at his actions.”

It was certainly a reasonable statement. However, we had no way to cause a variable with that alone.

And as if to deny such thoughts, Hong Lin soon gave us a solution.

“Sacrifice one of you to send Polar Night out of this world. That’s the answer I came up with.”

“What, the hell. . . . . . .”

It was a ridiculous statement, but Hong Lin seemed to have some kind of conviction, strangely enough. However, the group members rushed to drive Hong Lin fiercely before she could get ahead of herself.

“Do you think that makes sense? Just because Polar Night didn’t try to go outside, you’re saying that if we do the opposite, something will happen? Is that what you’re trying to say?”

“. . .There’s certainly no need to take such a risk by sacrificing someone.”

Hong Lin smiled bitterly as if she had expected such a reaction and continued speaking.

“It may sound strange, but I’m not saying it without thinking. If my guess is correct, probably. . . . . . .”

And the one word that Hong Lin finally uttered gave us a great shock.

“The two Polar Nights that meet will definitely try to eliminate each other.”

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