Why Did I Have to Enroll

Why Did I Have to Enroll - Chapter 178

Lesson 35. The Final Changeling - 3

[Master ― Have you arrived? Really?]

[Me ― I told you I’d finish quickly. I’m heading to where you are now.]

[Master ― No… sorry, it’s fine here. Dokgo Yeon is currently fighting Ryu Cheol-myeong.]

[Me ― I’ll have to pamper you a lot afterward.]

[Master ― Please do. Be careful.]

Mira closed the mirror with a smile on her lips. The groundwork was laid. Losing the initiative to Luciel was infuriating enough to bring tears, but she had somewhat prepared for it since she heard Rebellion was going on a special mission to Luciel’s home planet. Still, she couldn’t delay any longer. She had to turn the tables now.

“Mira, I’m dying here.”

The reason they could finish the special mission, which was supposed to last up to two weeks, so quickly was simple. They had pre-negotiated with Professor Campanella to set the mission area in advance, prepared various things beforehand, and then used overwhelming force to swiftly resolve the situation. The full use of the student council’s connections and power was undoubtedly successful, but it also meant they finished in a day what was supposed to take two weeks, leaving them exhausted.

Originally, they planned to rest for a day and depart the next, but Mira, having witnessed the broadcast incident with Luciel and Ban Yu-won, went into a frenzy and set off immediately for E-1 Dimension. Naturally, the enthusiasm between the two was bound to differ.

“I really don’t want to give this to you, but… here.”

“You should have given it to me sooner.”

Mira opened the candy bag Ban Yu-won had given her and handed one of the individually wrapped Life Elixir candies to Shati. Shati, who had been acting tired and exhausted, caught the candy with a beaming smile and popped it into her mouth.

“Ah~ I feel alive. Just being able to eat this every day makes it worth dating the head of planning, don’t you think?”

“Yu-won isn’t your personal patissier.”

Mira replied curtly, tossing a candy into her own mouth. Feeling her depleted stamina and magic power being restored as she worked alongside Shati, Mira thought it was a relief. Without it, she wouldn’t have dared to tackle the mission so recklessly.

“Is the stealth mode still on?”

“Yeah, but we’ll probably get detected as soon as we enter the atmosphere. It seems Exodus is pulling back their ships…”

The spaceship they were on was approaching the only mana civilization of E-1, the Jade Star Jeda. With only a few minutes left before atmospheric entry, they were calmly observing their surroundings. Typically, Exodus would station a support fleet outside the atmosphere when invading a star, but they saw the support fleet retreating through the dimensional wall.

“Could Yu-won have taken care of everything?”

“The head of planning is talented, but not that much. It’s strange. Exodus wouldn’t retreat so easily after launching an invasion.”

“That’s because of Yu-won…”

“Why do you become an idiot whenever it involves the head of planning?”

As Shati analyzed Jeda’s situation on the spaceship’s display, she turned to Mira with an exasperated expression. Mira, her eyes filled with sincerity, spoke seriously.

“Shati, did you know? When love deepens… it can kill you.”

Mira clutched her chest with one hand as she spoke. It was probably because she was feeling Ban Yu-won’s presence through the candy he made or because the broadcast incident she saw earlier made her heart flutter.

“You’re seriously ill. You don’t need to die to prove it. Got it?”

Shati narrowed her demon-like slit eyes, playing along with Mira’s words. But the response she got was beyond her imagination.

“Of course. My life isn’t mine anymore.”

Shati was taken aback. She vowed never to indulge Mira’s love stories again and entered the spaceship’s coordinates to change its course.

“I’ve found Ryu Cheol-myeong. Let’s head there first.”

“The curse is mutually connected; we’ll be detected as soon as we approach, so a surprise attack is pointless. Let’s just charge in.”

“Wait a moment.”

Just as they were about to make a grand entrance and reinforce the restrictions on Ryu Cheol-myeong, Shati suddenly tensed up and manipulated the control panel. A small display appeared next to the one capturing Jeda’s scenery, showing a fleet moving in formation, captured by the rear camera of the spaceship.

“What… is this?”

“The Crimson Spear…”

The Crimson Spear was the name of a dimension pirate group notorious throughout the dimensional realm. Unlike Exodus, which harbored hatred for higher dimensions and their rulers, rumors abounded that the Crimson Spear was backed by S-grade dimensions, making them, in some ways, even more unscrupulous than Exodus.

“Things are already complicated enough, and now these guys show up.”

Shati let out a deep sigh. She didn’t need to ask why they appeared here. They must have rushed over after hearing about Exodus’s appearance. Perhaps they were also eyeing Jeda…

“So Exodus is retreating because of them. But why?”

“Shati… can you request support from the principal?”

“I’ve already reported it. …It’d be nice if they just clashed with Exodus.”

Shati increased the spaceship’s speed. Regardless of how things unfolded, she concluded that they needed to deal with Ryu Cheol-myeong quickly and reunite with Ban Yu-won.

“Mira, are you okay?”

“I have a bad feeling.”

Mira’s delicate forehead creased.

“It doesn’t seem like their target is Exodus.”

“Then?”

“Maybe… me.”

Shati momentarily forgot to breathe at Mira’s words.

“Why would they target you… no, never mind. That means Ryu Cheol-myeong anticipated our arrival and called them.”

“I’ll explain later. Let’s hurry.”

The spaceship breached the atmosphere. At that moment, the connection of the curse, manifested through Shati and controlled by Mira, intensified, pulling her strongly. Ryu Cheol-myeong, at the end of this connection, must have realized their presence.

“The Exodus fleet has fully retreated. They’re engaged with the Crimson Spear. Ah… maybe you were right, Mira. Some ships are breaking away from the battle and heading this way.”

“…”

Mira’s complexion turned pale. Shati knew well that Mira was one of the most important figures in A-1 Dimension. If an interdimensional conflict arose, she would be the first target. Or perhaps the opposite was true. If something happened to her, interdimensional conflicts could escalate. But why now?

“Mira, stay focused.”

“I’m here to help, but what if I become a burden to Yu-won instead?”

Ah, this. Shati sighed again, wishing she hadn’t let her thoughts go there.

“If it’s better for Yu-won’s safety that I die…”

“I just told you not to think like that five minutes ago. You said everything belongs to the head of planning. What would he think if you died on your own?”

“But…”

“Mira, calm down.”

Ah, there it is. A large ship floating in the air. While the Exodus fleet was retreating, a ship left alone, occupied by outsiders. The fierce battle on its deck was visible, with red and black auras clashing. One must be Ryu Cheol-myeong, and the other… Dokgo Yeon? Shati clicked her tongue internally. Even with the curse, the aura’s quality shouldn’t diminish. To face it head-on, what kind of monster is she?

“The request was accepted. Professor Jung is on his way for support. So there’s no problem, right?”

“Professor Jung? Surely not Cantone.”

“Of course not. The principal may be trash, but once he decides to support us, he’ll ensure proper assistance. Now, focus. We need to kill Ryu Cheol-myeong.”

“…Yes. I’ll kill him.”

The spaceship opened. The two of them leaped out, using their magic to float in the air. The spaceship quickly shrank into a small model and slipped into Shati’s pocket.

“Let’s go.”

“Yeah… oh.”

Shati, relieved to see Mira’s calm demeanor, noticed her mirror vibrating and checked it with a peculiar expression.

“What’s wrong?”

“No… I just realized my prediction was right.”

“Shati?”

“It’s nothing. I just checked the insurance. So… you and the head of planning will be fine.”

The two of them. Shati swallowed those words and unfurled her demon wings. After a long glide, the ship came into clear view.

“They’re here―!!”

A man’s voice, filled with hatred, echoed in their ears. He felt it too. The moment they laid eyes on him, his power was reduced to less than half.

“How dare you! Insolent wenches trying to bind me, Ryu Cheol-myeong!”

A crescent-shaped red aura shot toward them, aiming for their lives, but Shati summoned something in the air without any preparation, blocking and dissipating it. The unique power of the Evil One, summoning. Unlike her kin, who summoned uncontrollable monsters, Shati could precisely control the coordinates, making it easy to use them as sacrificial shields against enemy attacks.

“If you had acted like a professor, there wouldn’t have been any problems, you lustful dog!”

The restriction on him intensified, adding to his burden. Having attacked students, it was time for him to face the consequences. Shati extended her hand, aiming at him, and fired a dark, deep black laser. It was, of course, Dark Magic.

“Die!”

“Gravedigger of Purgatory!”

Mira also invoked the power of her contracted Constellation, amplifying the curse she had placed, weakening the enemy, and ultimately leading them to Death. The red aura that had been erupting endlessly from the ship visibly shrank.

“Khak!”

“―Haaah!”

And that was the moment Dokgo Yeon had been waiting for. With a valiant leap, Dokgo Yeon swung her Blade, severing Ryu Cheol-myeong’s waist. His lower body melted away, succumbing to Death, while his upper body soared into the air as if fleeing. Remarkably, even in that state, he was still alive.

“Not human, already a monster.”

Dokgo Yeon bit her lip, trying to pursue him, but realized the aura-filled blood pouring from his wound and quickly retreated. Meanwhile, with only half his body remaining, Ryu Cheol-myeong thought of one thing. If he could drag someone down the path of his confirmed Death… it wouldn’t be Dokgo Yeon, who had severed his waist, but the one who had reduced him to this pitiful state.

“Ugh…”

His blood, flowing below his waist, carried aura and temporarily formed legs. A fake leg, squeezing out Life, granted Ryu Cheol-myeong the power to leap. The tenacity of a human who had secured a professor’s position at the Academy left all his adversaries aghast.

“With such power, why…”

“Let’s go together.”

Ryu Cheol-myeong leaped again, each droplet of blood from him becoming a bullet of red aura, firing at the two. Dokgo Yeon, having exhausted all her strength in the final strike that severed his waist, couldn’t assist them. Mira and Shati deployed barriers to block it, but in the next moment, the aura-imbued Blade was already upon them.

If there was one thing the students who opposed Ryu Cheol-myeong overlooked, it was the resilience of those nearing transcendence. No matter how powerful the curse or how severe the injury, the will of a transcendent being could overcome limits and common sense. The students, still inexperienced, were unaware of this one fact.

―Thud.

Unable to withstand his tenacity, it resulted in a Death.