I Became the Academy’s Genius Shikigami Summoner – Chapter 47.2

When I gathered my spiritual power, Kim Jun-sik, an exorcist from HQ who had also hardened his expression, got into a fighting stance. He seemed to be planning to subdue me if necessary.

However, that wasn’t who I was after anyway.

I turned my gaze and threw the talisman toward the villagers while forming a hand sign with my finger.

Thwack!

“White Flower Advanced Brook.”

Whoosh.

As expected of an anti-demonic spell, as soon as it hit one of the villagers, there was a clear reaction.

“Caw!”

A strange scream that didn’t sound human at all, and the afterimage of demonic energy that suddenly started to leak out.

The HQ exorcists who felt it approached me from the side with hardened expressions as if they were escorting me.

“It’s a yokai!”

“We didn’t feel its presence at all? Was it hiding among the villagers?”

However, even though the villager right next to him was reacting like that, the other villagers didn’t even flinch as if they were blind.

I opened my mouth to the exorcists, who had doubtful expressions on their faces.

“It’s not just one.”

“. . . . . . .”

This much was as expected. Already. There wasn’t a single real villager left in this place.

“They’re all the same.”

“. . .We’ll take the lead. Stay back.”

And so, a fierce battle ensued.

The HQ exorcists took the lead, and Yoo Ha-on’s group also calmly helped them from the rear.

However, as the battle continued, more and more questions arose in my head.

「𝙒𝙝𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙚 𝙨𝙤 𝙖𝙢𝙗𝙞𝙜𝙪𝙤𝙪𝙨?」

The disguised yokai only charged at us, flailing their arms and legs, and the tactics that the original Sori-soe mainly used were nowhere to be found.

To make matters worse, their power was much weaker than I had expected.

「𝘾𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙗𝙚. . . . . . .」

Only then did I realize the identity of the discomfort that had been piercing my heart all along.

In the original story, it was mentioned in passing,

Sori-soe’s ability is that the farther away it is from the body it’s manipulating, the less precise it becomes.

「𝘿𝙖𝙢𝙣 𝙞𝙩.」

In a way, it was the worst-case scenario.

「. . .𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮’𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙩𝙮 𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙨. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢.」

Unlike in the original story, Sori-soe had already left the village, leaving behind only the empty bodies of the villagers it had devoured.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

𝘢𝙬𝘦ḃ̇𝕤𝚝𝕠𝘳ɪė̇𝘴.𝔠ᴏ𝙢

The sudden battle ended, and the first target of the investigation was none other than me.

I had stepped forward because I needed to confirm it right away, but it must have seemed suspicious to others, so it was only natural.

“An academy student. How did you know that they were yokai?”

“. . .I’ve felt a sense of discomfort from the beginning. I only became certain a little while ago.”

“Why?”

“I’ve had that kind of constitution since I was young.”

It might sound like nonsense at first glance, but in the exorcism world where traits exist, there’s no excuse that could be used as effectively as this.

“Are you saying that you can detect the presence of yokai better than others? You’re just like our team leader.”

At my words, Lee Tae-gil, an exorcist from HQ, nodded his head and scratched his head nervously.

“Wow, a yokai that can impersonate people to this extent. It seems like the main body is somewhere else, too.”

It’s definitely a troublesome being.

It’s hard to detect when it takes on a human form, and if you try to check everywhere to confirm it, you end up threatening innocent civilians.

The HQ exorcists, who had been contemplating for a while, came to a rough conclusion and called us together to firmly inform us.

“It was a good response in an unexpected situation. However, that’s it for the student. We’ll take you to Dongaksan Mountain, so don’t leave the Baek family’s territory for the time being.”

“Should we ask the family for support?”

“We appreciate the sentiment, but let’s decline. It’s unnecessary to complicate things.”

Of course, this would happen.

Now that it had been revealed that there was a clear enemy, there was nothing a mere academy student could do since the exorcists from HQ had been dispatched.

「. . .𝙈𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙤.」

Unlike in the original story, the HQ exorcists were clearly aware of the enemy, and they had also figured out its methods to some extent.

Since this was originally their job, it might be the right solution to leave it to the professionals.

Even if I expressed my willingness to cooperate, citing my achievements in the Defense Corps’ practical training, it would only be an unreasonable complaint now that things had turned out this way.

I hardened my expression and returned to Dongaksan Mountain, escorted by the exorcists along with Yoo Ha-on’s group.

That evening, I received a spacious room with Baek Eun-seo’s help, and I leaned my arms against the balcony of the old-fashioned mansion and fell into thought.

It was because Sori-soe’s matter weighed on my mind even though I tried not to think about it.

「𝙄𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙤𝙠𝙖𝙮?」

Of course, Sori-soe’s own ability isn’t that great, so I think the HQ exorcists will be able to subdue it.

However, that was originally something that the protagonist, Yoo Ha-on, was supposed to resolve.

Can that empty spot really be filled so easily?

「. . .𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨.」

This is reality. There’s no need to be obsessed with the original story anymore. Of course, I knew that.

However, even so, it was inevitable that I felt uneasy in the corner of my heart.

While I was deep in thought, I suddenly heard a knock on the door.

Knock.

Knock knock.

“. . .Excuse me, can I come in?”

The owner of the knocking sound was none other than Yoo Ha-on.

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