Academy’s New Guard is Unusual - Chapter 27

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 27
“Kgh! I’ll kill you! I absolutely will!”
I nodded, watching Raven heave for breath.
‘He’s got what it takes.’
Jongjung is a parasite attached to the heart. And that venom sharpens sensation. It should hurt like hell, yet Raven endured.
A cold gleam flashed. In his agony, Raven had thrust a short dagger at my throat.
‘So this is the kind of man who could become the King of Slaughter.’
I didn’t bother blocking the dagger.
As expected, it stopped just short of my neck.
“Let’s say your point stands.”
Raven glared at me with bloodshot eyes.
“But all that amounts to is changing who owns the Jongjung, doesn’t it?”
“That’s right.”
“Why should I risk anything just to change the Jongjung’s master?”
A fair question. Since we’re not destroying the Jongjung but merely swapping its master, opening up your heart for that sounds like a bad trade.
“Do you know where the Poison King is?”
I watched Raven’s jaw clench at my question.
Of course he wouldn’t know. The Poison King doesn’t trust even his own blood. The brass at Manwol don’t know his location—there’s no way Raven would.

“I’ll be at Elysium Academy. Isn’t that better than hunting a Poison King whose location you don’t know?”
I pointed to the pathetic blue shirt in front of me.
For just a moment, life flickered in Raven’s eyes. But true to his nature as a gloomy assassin, he didn’t bite immediately.
“Still, if there’s a Forbidden Seal in place, it’s useless, isn’t it?”
“The Forbidden Seal is the Poison King’s power. At best, I can only manage ‘obey’ or ‘wait.'”
“…And if you’re approaching my heart with the intention of killing me?”
“Why would I?”
“Why would you—”
Raven’s gaze dropped slowly. His eyes shook as he noticed the Guard Staff already leveled at his throat.
“So, will you do it?”
Instead of answering, Raven spun the dagger he’d been holding toward me. The blade sliced across his own chest.
Crimson blood sprayed my face. Raven, meanwhile, stared at me expressionlessly.
Trying to seize the initiative, apparently—
“Oh dear. I haven’t mixed the compound yet and you’ve already cut yourself. It’s getting sticky, so hold still.”
I shook the glass bottle lightly, and Raven’s eyes wavered.
I smiled and bit my thumb. The blood dripping from its tip mingled with the honey in the bottle, turning an strange color.
When I pressed the bottle against Raven’s split chest, the reaction came immediately.
A sickening crack echoed. The flesh inside tore wider, and something as thick as a thumb began writhing its way out.
The Jongjung.
It looked like a white earthworm, except its tip end was grotesquely lined with teeth.
“Cuter than I expected.”
“F-faster?”
As I studied the Jongjung, Raven urged me on in a strained voice.
For him to be in that much pain—it must have been excruciating.
“Still, since it’s your companion Jongjung, shouldn’t we give it a name?”
“Wh—”
Raven glared at me, his eyes thick with killing intent.
If looks could kill, I’d be dead a hundred times over.
Unfortunately, they can’t.
“Hmm, what would suit it? Lung-ie? Or Long-life, wishing it a long life?”
As I moved the glass bottle, the white Jongjung writhed after it.
Each movement brought brutal sounds from within, and Raven’s body convulsed.
Raven’s mouth gaped open. Between his teeth, the sound of bones twisting leaked out. The pain must have been unbearable, yet still he didn’t scream.
I felt a sudden urge.
“Anything goes—”
“No, we can’t be careless. It’s a companion Jongjung you’ll carry for life. There’s a saying that names shape destiny. Since it’s white, Whitey would work just fine.”
Raven was more stubborn than I’d expected. His entire body twisted and tore, yet he refused to scream.
Though, it wouldn’t matter anyway.
“Whitey it is. Come on Whitey, let’s eat.”
The Jongjung suddenly plunged its head into the glass bottle. It ate greedily, slurping away.
Once it emptied the bottle, the Jongjung looked back at me. Its appearance was gruesome, yet somehow oddly cute.
Soon the Jongjung retreated back inside. The problem was that it had grown noticeably larger after feeding.
Crack, crack—horrible sounds erupted in succession—
And finally, Raven couldn’t hold back anymore.
“SHRIEEEEEEK!”
A shrill, unsettling shriek that didn’t match the composure he’d maintained.
“Guess it’s Prickly, not Whitey.”
I laughed and traced the sign of the cross. Holy Power surged strongly.
As I even recited a prayer after so long, pure white light blazed fiercely.
Seeing that light, hope flickered in Raven’s eyes. He looked as if he’d glimpsed a saint.
Holy Power’s effects include anesthesia—to prevent death from shock due to pain.
The problem was, I wasn’t a proper priest. I was built purely as a Combat Priest.
Since anesthesia dulls sensation, my Holy Power carries no anesthetic effect.
Well, it should be fine.
He’s going to be the King of Slaughter, after all.
“This will sting a bit.”
After that kind warning, I pressed my hand, suffused with pure white light, against Raven’s chest. As the light settled, his torn wound sealed rapidly.
A miraculous recovery, truly—but Raven’s mouth opened even wider.
Raven fought desperately to suppress his scream. He really was a stubborn bastard.
After an indeterminate stretch—
Raven went rigid.
“Did he die?”
Even when I poked him with my foot, Raven didn’t budge. On closer inspection, he wasn’t breathing. He looked truly dead.
As I reached toward him, silver light gleamed coldly. A dagger aimed at my throat.
The pain had just ended. Yet he immediately targeted my neck.
Truly gloomy.
‘Good.’
That much talent in assassination, then.
Satisfied, I adjusted my grip on the Guard Staff.
* * *
Raven looked at the man and twisted his mouth into a smile.
Jongjung is a vicious parasite. With the Poison King, even the slightest impure thought made his heart feel like it would burst, but now—attacking this man with a dagger—he was fine.
Either the man had lowered the blood ratio as he said, or the man couldn’t handle Jongjung properly.
The reason was unclear, but it was an opportunity.
‘Die.’
Raven drove the dagger forward without hesitation.
Simultaneously, he spat a venomous fang from his mouth, and without stopping there, he aimed his thigh at the man. A sharp, poison-coated dagger jutted from the heel of his shoe.
Three attacks unleashed at once.
Since this secret technique had never been blocked before, Raven was certain of victory.
Then the man’s Guard Staff moved.
But its movement was strangely fluid.
The Guard Staff met the dagger. Or rather, it looked as if the dagger had pierced the Guard Staff.
The Guard Staff didn’t stop. It flowed. The venomous fang was blocked, and the thrusting heel connected with the Guard Staff.
All of it looked so natural, so inevitable.
‘He read my entire attack.’
As Raven stared in shock, the Guard Staff struck his head.
Thud! The impact was like being hit by a hammer, and Raven momentarily lost his center.
He quickly recovered his stance, preparing for a follow-up.
But the man didn’t attack.
“Tricks like that only work on amateurs.”
A technique that had never been blocked. Yet he called it a trick.
Frustration welled up, but the man had deflected it so easily that Raven couldn’t even argue.
“What kind of assassin attacks head-on? If you’re an assassin, you lurk in the shadows and go for the back of the head. Come on, again.”
The man twirled his Guard Staff.
‘Again?’
It was absurdly arrogant.
Raven tried to suppress his agitation. Agitation was poison.
The man was right. Raven was an assassin. He was most dangerous when attacking from behind, not head-on.
The room’s lamp went dark. Darkness swallowed the space. Raven melted into the shadows.
The man remained still where he stood.
Venomous fangs won’t work on him. Better to focus on the dagger.
Decision made, Raven carefully read the man’s breathing. Then, the moment the man inhaled, Raven moved.
No sound of footsteps, no sound of breath. Raven drove the dagger into the back of the man’s head.
A perfect ambush. Impossible to react to—
Then pain bloomed in his abdomen. The Guard Staff was piercing his gut.
‘How?’
Not a sound. It was a perfect ambush—how did he react—
“I told you to go for the back, and you actually did. You’re more naive than you look.”
At the man’s words, Raven bit down hard on his lips.
“Still, you were more useful than before. Come on, again.”
The man twirled his Guard Staff.
Raven sensed something strange but didn’t dwell on it.
Kill the man, gain freedom. That was simple.
…Except it wasn’t simple at all.
After countless attempts, Raven couldn’t so much as graze the man.
The worst part was—
“When you thrust your dagger, your shoulder moves too honestly. You’re basically pointing the exact path. Twist your shoulder.”
“Why only go for the back? Is that your preference?”
“Your heartbeat’s too loud. Lower it.”
Each failure brought corrections from the man.
The man parried every move and adjusted each one. As if conducting a private lesson.
Eventually, Raven arrived at a single conclusion.
‘I can’t win.’
Raven’s dagger stopped.
“Done already? Well, the space is too confined. You’d do better if we had more room.”
The man clicked his tongue lightly. He looked almost… as if he were expecting Raven to assassinate him.
“…Why?”
At Raven’s question, the man’s lips curved. A dry smile.
“Proper tension keeps the blood flowing.”
Raven was a promising assassin even in Manwol.
Yet the man was keeping him around for proper tension.
It made no sense.
The real problem was how little he was joking.
Raven found the man more difficult than the Poison King.
‘That can’t be right.’
Raven shook his head firmly.
There was no way this man in a guard’s uniform was stronger than the Poison King, master of Manwol.
‘The space was simply too small.’
The essence of assassination is that no one knows when or where you’ll strike. In cramped quarters like this, efficiency drops.
Then the man looked down at Raven and spoke.
“Each time you follow an order, I’ll give you an Assault Coupon.”
Assault Coupon?
At the strange term, Raven’s brow furrowed.
“If you attempt an assassination without an Assault Coupon, I’ll feed you to Whitey.”
Feed to Whitey!
Raven’s body trembled without his control.
The pain he’d just endured was indescribable. A second round might actually kill him.
‘First, I’ll accumulate these Assault Coupons. Understanding the target is fundamental to assassination.’
This wasn’t fear. It was the cold, rational judgment of an assassin.
“Now, let me give the first order.”
At the man’s calm voice, Raven knelt on one knee.
This man toyed with Raven like a child, knew the Jongjung’s secrets. The problem was Raven had no idea who he was.
Every commission carries intention. Trace the commission back, and the contractor’s identity would naturally reveal itself.
“The first order: clean the third-floor bathroom.”
…Completely incomprehensible.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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