“It’s exhilarating! Absolutely exhilarating!”

The guy was laughing maniacally, twisting his body in all sorts of directions as he looked at me.

“And what’s so exhilarating?”

“What, you ask? A foolish question! Your expression is utterly hilarious! Your face, twisted in every direction!”

“Well, it’s good to have so much to be happy about.”

I’m not happy at all.

It’s horrifying.

I never thought I’d see those green eyes again.

“Mercy, my foot. It’s a disaster.”

“Disaster? What a delightful ring to it. A compliment! I, Venomous, thank you for your praise, brother!”

Just like last time, he’s unbearably loud.

I can’t stand dark wizards, and you’re the worst of them all.

Congratulations.

…And seriously, what’s with the name Venomous on an Asian face?

I know it’s your dark cult baptismal name, but still.

“Anyway, I must be lucky. Retrieving the sacrifice and getting revenge.”

“Oh, is that a blessing from the devil too?”

“Oh, you! Finally! Finally, finally, finally, finally!! You’ve come to understand!!!!”

He clutched his cheeks, trembling as if in ecstasy.

Even as blood trickled from the scratches on his nails, he didn’t stop.

It’s disgustingly maddening.

“You. I understand. I’ll overlook your past mistakes.”

“You’re forgiving me?”

“Indeed! This too is mercy. For I am merciful.”

“That’s quite tempting.”

“You can be forgiven! Just hand over the first sacrifice…!”

“Sorry, but I’ll have to decline.”

Take a middle finger instead.

Don’t try to pull anything on me.

I don’t negotiate with dark wizards.

‘The current situation is…’

Even as I talked to him, I assessed the situation.

I had a decent number of mana stones, but no pre-drawn magic circles….

No pre-engraved spells either.

‘Not great.’

Can I defeat a bishop-level opponent with just eight mana stones?

Probably not easily.

Fortunately, without Gemut, he can’t use that massive form from last time….

“Heh, I can hear it. The sound of your eyes darting around!”

“You’ve got good ears.”

Well, I can draw a magic circle, can’t I?

If I can just buy some time, I might win.

“Right. Venomous, was it?”

“Yes. The merciful name of the one who will kill you. When you die and go to the afterlife, please tell the devil of my achievements.”

“Oh, you should tell him yourself.”

Why would I die?

“I’ll kill you. Go tell him in person.”

No matter what, I won’t die at your hands.

“Kill me? Me? Hahaha!!!!”

You’re going to split your mouth laughing like that.

If you want to split it, just say so.

“Foolish. You. Well, that’s the limit of someone who rejects the devil. What do you think death is?”

“Let’s see. Something you’ll face?”

“Me? Face death? As expected! As expected, you are foolish! You cannot kill me!”

He pulled out a pitch-black sword about 30 cm long from his robe.

Judging by the glowing magic circle on the back of his hand, he seemed to be channeling dark mana.

“Let me show you something interesting.”

He said with a sly grin.

I prepared to defend myself, but soon realized it wasn’t necessary.

– Slash!

The pitch-black sword slashed across his own neck.

A thin red line appeared on Venomous’s neck, and soon the trickling blood turned into a torrent.

– Thud.

His head fell to the ground.

Sudden suicide?

No, that can’t be it.

“What is death! The death of the flesh? No! Wrong!”

See?

The head on the ground was still talking.

“I have transcended the flesh. Even if you cut my throat! Even if you rip out my heart!”

He began to mutilate his own body.

“I no longer die!”

Black mana poured from his body.

His wounds healed instantly.

Even the severed head reattached itself.

“I am no longer bound by human flesh. Yes, my body has transcended death!”

“How did you do it?”

“Curious, are you? Very well, I’ll mercifully explain! I’ve long sought a way to transcend human flesh….”

“Oh, I get it. It’s a homunculus, isn’t it?”

“No, let me explain….”

“Right. You’ve been researching for a long time, and it seems you’ve finally achieved something.”

The stories I heard about the lab and the scene unfolding before me.

All of it led to one conclusion.

“…So you finally did it.”

How many were sacrificed in that lab?

They must have used countless people as sacrifices for their magic.

If Hana hadn’t escaped, she might have been one of them.

Her name was the first sacrifice, after all.

“Do you understand? This body is immortal! Burn it, electrocute it, drown it, and it will still revive! So, what do you think?”

“What about?”

“Didn’t you notice? I, Venomous, want you! Your talent! It’s too precious to waste! You, who have already undergone the dark wizard’s baptism, should return to the dark cult!”

Venomous grinned, showing his white teeth.

“An immortal bishop stands before me, and I’m in a situation I can’t win?”

“Indeed, brother. You are astute.”

“And this enemy wants to recruit me?”

“This too is my mercy.”

“Really?”

The situation isn’t great.

The firepower I can muster with my mana stones is limited, and I’m not sure I can win.

“Screw you.”

Of course, my answer is a middle finger, you idiot.

“Don’t try anything funny.”

“…Mercifully. I’ll overlook this prank once.”

His large eyes flickered with a green light.

Yeah, a twisted face suits a dark wizard better than a smiling one.

“Let me make it clear.”

I pulled out a mana stone.

“I have no intention of negotiating with dark wizards, not even in death.”

“This is disappointing. Disappointing. Disappointing. Disappointing!”

He twisted his waist, biting his fingers.

Blood splattered everywhere, but he didn’t seem to feel any pain.

No matter how many times I see it, it’s still unpleasant.

“You will regret this.”

He said quietly, looking at me with those green eyes.

– Whoosh….

The black mana surrounding his floating body swirled menacingly, as if ready to kill me.

“Sorry, but the only regret I have is.”

I didn’t back down, infusing mana into the mana stone.

“Not wiping you all out in my past life.”

– Whoosh….

A gust of wind rose from the tip of the mana stone.

“Another wind spell? I, Venomous, won’t be fooled twice!”

The magic circles on Venomous’s left and right hands glowed black.

– Shwoosh!

A black spear shot towards me.

“Die! I’ll offer your blood to the devil!”

Stop using others as sacrifices, you idiots.

– Whoosh!

The wind from the mana stone tore through the black spears and trapped Venomous in a fierce whirlwind.

“…Tricks!”

Venomous fired black spears wildly, but the wind didn’t subside easily.

Of course not.

I spent days devising this to trap you.

‘There’s no way to kill him right now.’

I can’t overpower a regenerating body with sheer firepower.

…I’ll need another method.

– Tap, tap

I quickly ran to Hana, who was hiding behind a tree next to the restroom building.

“Hana.”

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry for just hiding!”

No need to crouch on the ground like that.

“No, that’s fine. But can you help me?”

“Me?”

“Yeah. It’s something only you can do.”

“But all I can do is run away….”

“How long are you going to keep running?”

I crouched down to meet her eyes.

“Don’t you want to get back at him?”

“Get back…?”

“Yeah. Give him a good hit.”

I pointed my thumb at Venomous.

“The wind barrier will last for two minutes.”

It’s great for trapping, but I can’t attack through it.

So I need to come up with a plan in these two minutes.

“What do you say?”

Will you keep running?

Or will you help me give him a good hit?

I do have a way to mess with him, but it’d be easier with your help.

“I….”

After a long moment of hesitation, she finally spoke.

“…I’m sick of Brit bread.”

It really is awful.

Honestly, it’s not fit for human consumption.

“I’ll trust you, teacher. So.”

For some reason, she blushed as she spoke.

“Can I have another bowl of ramen when this is over…?”

“…You’re still hungry after all that?”

“It’s embarrassing.”

“Alright. I’ll get you ramen and tonkatsu.”

“Tonkatsu? What’s that?”

“It’s about twice as delicious as ramen.”

“!!!”

Hana’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

“…Let’s start right away, teacher! What do I need to do?”

She’s eager.

The reason might be trivial, but who cares.

“I’ll explain.”

I quickly laid out my plan.

“You’re really good at explaining….”

“Well, I’m your teacher. So, are you ready?”

She nodded and stood up.

Her eyes were still filled with fear, and her hands were trembling, but.

At least he didn’t try to run away.

He didn’t even attempt to hide behind a tree.

That’s a real improvement.

“Let’s go. Time to give him a taste of his own medicine.”

***

“You, my brother, have a knack for getting on my nerves.”

He had tried reaching out into the wind several times, only to have his hand shredded each time.

“At this rate, I can’t even attack from outside.”

His fingers, though, were miraculously intact, as if nothing had happened.

An immortal homunculus.

As long as there was black mana, his constructed body would never die.

“The spell will end soon anyway. Running won’t help you.”

Venomous twisted his body in frustration, contemplating his next move.

What should he do once he got out?

Should he twist that arrogant brother’s neck first?

Or maybe dismember him and use him for experiments?

“Ah! Either way sounds delightful! Hurry up and end already, damn wind!”

– Whoosh….

As if responding to his wish, the wind barrier lost its strength and subsided.

At the same time, a green glint shone in his eyes, and a manic grin spread across his face.

The dormant black mana began to swirl around him once more.

“Now! Let’s finish this! I’ll kill you right away! This is my final mercy… huh?”

“Oh, hello there, Bishop.”

“The first sacrifice…?”

Despite his words, Venomous had assumed Lee Jaesang and Hana would have fled.

But when the wind cleared, the first sacrifice was standing right there.

“Well, well. Why make it so difficult if you were going to come back so easily? Let’s retrieve you!”

Venomous, cloaked in black mana, swiftly approached Hana.

“Eek!”

Her terrified scream only seemed to amuse him, making him quicken his pace.

And at that moment.

“Gotcha.”

A familiar male voice rang out.

– Flash!!!

A barrier of light shot up right in front of him.

***

– Flash!!!

– Flash!!!

The barrier of light, initiated by the first spell, encircled Venomous, trapping him.

“Yeah, I figured you’d be unable to resist when it came to Hana.”

Thanks to her baiting, it was easy to trap him.

“Again with the tricks! Why do you keep disappointing me, brother? I had such high hopes for you, Venomous!”

Hana quickly ran to hide behind me.

“These petty tricks! I’ll break them right away!”

– Ting, ting, ting!

The countless black spears he launched made the light barrier tremble violently.

It was slightly damaged, but it didn’t break immediately.

“No matter how strong you are, it’ll take some time.”

I approached the trapped figure and began drawing a magic circle on the ground with a stone I had picked up earlier.

“Magic? It’s useless! I’ve transcended the physical form! No matter how powerful the magic, even if it turns my body to dust, I’ll come back!”

“So, only your body regenerates, huh?”

Perfect.

I’ve been wanting to try out a new spell.

– Scritch, scritch.

The stone made a satisfying sound as it traced the magic circle.

A spell with him at the center, trapped within the light barrier.

Seeing the completed magic circle, Venomous burst into laughter.

“Haha! Such a ridiculous spell! Do you think I’ll run away just because it looks impressive… wait.”

“Oh, you recognize it?”

I took a few steps back, humming as I tossed and caught the stone in my hand.

“Thanks to you, I get to conduct an interesting experiment.”

I’m genuinely grateful.

Without you, I might never have had the chance to test this spell.

Trying out new magic is always a thrill.

“You… who are you really?”

“Me? I’m just a school teacher.”

“That’s nonsense!!! How could a mere teacher use soul-themed magic!!!! Lies!!!! Aaaah!!!”

– Ting, ting, ting!

– Tingtingtingting!

– Tingtingtingtingting!

His frantic thrashing caused the light barrier to start cracking, but…

Sorry, but what can I do?

The magic circle is already complete.

“This spell is rarely useful.”

One of the seven great mysteries, the soul-themed magic.

I was wondering where to use it.

“Your body is invincible?”

Then how about separating the soul from the body?

“Let’s see if your soul regenerates as easily as your body.”

“You!!! You!!!!”

– Tingtingtingtingtingting!

– Crack.

The light barrier was on the verge of shattering, but…

“Experiment start.”

I smiled leisurely and activated the spell.

Simultaneously.

– Whoooosh!!!!

A brilliant light erupted from beneath him.

The park at night was illuminated in dazzling brightness.

Hana shielded her eyes with her arm, but…

‘I can’t miss this!’

I kept my eyes wide open, watching the scene unfold.

The first activation of the soul-themed magic.

This historic moment!

“No, no, no, no!!!!!!”

He twisted his body.

Scratched himself madly.

The way his form flickered, as if his soul was about to be extracted, suggested the spell was working.

The black mana would sweep over and restore his body, but…

“Ugh… ugh….”

The green glow in his eyes gradually faded.

So, even the soul isn’t invincible?

“Thanks for the valuable data, you fool.”

“Impossible… how could you…”

His eyes, now clouded, darted around as he reached out to me.

Honestly, it was a satisfying sight.

Messing with a dark sorcerer is always a pleasure.

But then.

“The magic… Min Haejin used… it….”

What?

Startled by his words, I rushed over to him.

After the spell ended, his body lay crumpled on the ground.

“What did you just say…!”

“Devil… lord….”

But he only muttered incoherently with eyes that had lost all light.

“Devil….”

Soon, his body began to disintegrate into dust.

I hurriedly tried to use a memory spell, but in my haste, I dropped the mana stone.

– Ssshhh….

All that remained was the dust of Venomous and the black mana that enveloped me.

The black mana I had worked so hard to eliminate was flowing back in.

But I couldn’t care less about the black mana right now.

‘Min Haejin?’

How on earth does he know Min Haejin?

“Um… teacher?”

I turned my head.

A woman who looked so much like her younger brother.

“Hana. I have a question for you.”

Thinking she might have the answer, I asked her.

“…Do you know Min Haejin?”