My Disciples Became Scoundrels - Chapter 9

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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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“Right. Let’s hurry.”
We rushed deeper into the cave. The further we penetrated, the more Crystals embedded in the walls gleamed around us. The stench of blood grew thicker with each step.
That’s when we spotted the workers—crouched low on the ground, their bodies torn at by creatures the size of hunting dogs. Crystal Bats.
They were Crystal Bats. Their wings shimmered like crystal itself, beautiful to behold, yet they were Demon Beasts of considerable strength.
Though admittedly, not as formidable as the Slime Wolves we’d encountered on the way in.
—Crack!
Chejare’s spear shot true, striking the Crystal Bat squarely. It shrieked and fell, blue blood trailing behind it.
Without giving it time to react, Chejare closed the distance in a heartbeat. His movements were decisive even without the weapon in hand.
“Craven things—they’ll stick to the ground where they belong.”
—Rip!
Chejare tore through the bat’s wings without hesitation. In the moment he stamped the creature into silence, its hideous screams dying beneath his heel—
another Crystal Bat dove at him from behind with terrible speed. It wasn’t strong, but it was fast—faster than anything we’d faced.
—Crack!
Chejare caught the bat’s skull in his grip. With a vicious twist, he snapped its neck. The creature plummeted limp and lifeless.
With the immediate threat quelled, the workers finally dared to lift their heads. They stared at Chejare, trembling visibly.
“Th-thank you. If not for you, we would have—”
“Brown hair, black hair, bald, bald.”
Chejare counted them off on his fingers, then seized one worker by the collar and shook him with menace.
“Where’s the skinny old man with blonde hair? Start talking before I decide to make you dig for him.”
The workers’ expressions shifted in an instant. The savior they’d just glorified now terrified them. They began shaking again.
“Th-that elder was dragged deeper in. The Crystal Bats took several of our people—”
We left the workers behind and charged forward. In the darkness of the cave’s depths, Crystal light danced and flickered. So too did a fierce, unsettling Mana.
Chejare scanned the tunnel as he spoke.
“The Director mined here for ten years despite Demon Beasts roaming these depths? Maybe he’s more skilled than we thought.”
“Crystal Bats are usually docile enough, but they’re in their Breeding Season now—that’s made them savage. They’ve taken the workers to feed their young.”
If the bats meant to feed the young, there was still a window—time, albeit precious. But the Director wasn’t in immediate mortal danger. The urgency remained nonetheless.
Teeth gritted, legs pumping—then suddenly the passage opened wide. Light flooded in from all sides. A cavern far grander than before spread before us.
The ceiling hung open above, a chasm of at least thirty feet high. The width was equally vast.
Sunlight poured through a small opening in the roof. Where it struck the raw Crystals, the entire chamber blazed with radiance.
Under any other circumstance, it would have been breathtaking—a sight worthy of awe. But there was no time for admiration.
As we turned toward the far exit, a piercing shriek tore through the air. Something hurtled toward us.
—Shrieeek!
Crystal Bats poured down from above in torrential waves. Not merely a handful—a waterfall of them.
They cut off our path. Were they protecting their young ahead?
Chejare began cutting through them, pressing forward by force, but it was a brutal, exhausting struggle. Then a bat descended from the upper reaches with lightning speed.
It came straight for Chejare—he was too occupied with the ones in front to see the danger above.
I drew my sword and charged. As I raised the blade to sever the creature’s wings—
—Clang!
Spear and sword collided. A sharp cry rang out. Chejare, who had blocked my strike, shouted urgently.
“Master, I can handle them! Please don’t kill them!”
Blood dripped steadily from Chejare’s body. Wounds from the bats covered him head to toe. In his voice and gaze, I sensed desperation—near panic.
Because of my oath.
I grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and yanked him back hard. Bleeding and gasping, he stumbled backward with me.
“Keep your distance. Once you’re far enough away, they’ll stop their assault.”
The Crystal Bats remained watchful but did not advance. Chejare’s blood was smeared across their bodies.
At this level of hemorrhage, he had to be growing anemic. Yet he strained forward again, desperate to rejoin the fight.
“I’ll finish them quickly and come back.”
“Wait. Listen to me first.”
“I can kill them all. I have Recovery Potions—if I use them as I fight, I can—”
Chejare couldn’t see anything beyond his need. He tried to wrench free, lunging forward once more.
A master’s role is to be a lighthouse to the student’s darkness. And if the student is lost because of me—all the more reason to be that light.
“If you trust me, stop. Chejare.”
Chejare stiffened. Every fiber of him strained to hurl himself back into the fray, yet he held. For his trust not to be betrayed, I opened my mouth.
“Chejare. To infuse Mana into an object or a living thing—how is it done?”
“Sir?”
Confusion washed over his face. At the sudden question, he fumbled for an answer.
“You have to be in direct contact with the target, or—or use blood infused with Mana.”
“Exactly. And your blood is all over those bats.”
A moment passed. Then Chejare’s eyes widened. As understanding dawned, he looked up at the creatures above.
A smile spread across Chejare’s lips. At last, he’d found his rhythm.
“You don’t need to explain further.”
The moment those words left his mouth, Chejare vanished. A shadow fell across my head.
Chejare hung suspended in the air above. The Crystal Bats, caught off guard by this sudden attacker, faltered.
He hovered behind them, his blood already smeared across their fangs and claws.
Chejare could teleport to any location where he’d infused his Mana—but whether that ability worked on living creatures remained an open question.
Now he had his answer. Chejare laughed with terrible delight.
“Tough little bastards, aren’t you? I thought you’d burst apart from the Mana alone.”
Crack!
His spear pierced through a Demon Beast. The bat plummeted; Chejare was already gone.
He flickered like lightning—vanishing and reappearing in rapid succession. Five bats fell in less than ten seconds.
The enemies moved at high speed, but Chejare moved through instants.
The Crystal Bats’ reactions came too late. The sky above was thick with Demon Beasts, now drenched in Chejare’s blood.
At this rate, they’d be wiped out soon. Then the Crystal Bats suddenly began rushing toward a single point.
Shriek!
They packed tightly together, forming a massive cluster—as if to prevent Chejare from teleporting elsewhere.
But it was futile.
Shatter!
Crystal exploded outward in all directions, scattering like falling stars. Each fragmented crystal caught the light, glinting brilliantly.
Chejare now stood near the cave wall. Red blood bloomed across the transparent crystal like scattered droplets.
The Crystal Bats clung to the elongated formations, their bodies pressed against surfaces where Chejare’s blood had already been deposited.
The entire crystal cavern had become his playground.
Shatter, shatter!
Each time Chejare teleported, crystals that couldn’t withstand his Mana shattered. Light poured in all directions. Even in daylight, it conjured the image of a galaxy.
Gliding between the rays of light, Chejare resembled a meteor. As the glittering crystal fragments multiplied, the number of Demon Beasts dwindled.
“Now for the last one…!”
He laughed, gripping his spear inverted, and delivered the final blow as he plummeted through the galaxy of light.
Boom!
The Crystal Bat was impaled on the spear and driven straight into the ground. Chejare landed atop it.
“You little wretches, weren’t worth much—”
Mid-sentence, Chejare collapsed. I rushed to him and found his face drained of all color.
“Chejare, are you alright?”
“Yes, yes, of course I’m fine.”
Chejare struggled to his feet on trembling legs. Supporting my wavering student, I clicked my tongue.
“Enough of this posturing. You’re depleted—both Mana and blood.”
Having unleashed those techniques in rapid succession, his Mana must be exhausted. In his excitement, he’d paid no mind to his reserves and simply rampaged on.
“No, truly, I’m fine. I could keep fighting. You should just stay back, Master.”
“I appreciate the sentiment, but I need no coddling. Your teacher isn’t so incompetent as all that.”
I had no intention of becoming a burden to my student. Not when I possessed sufficient strength otherwise. Chejare scratched his cheek sheepishly.
“Save your strength for later. Catch any cockroaches that show up, will you?”
“Of course. I’ll catch any insects—roaches, moths, whatever comes.”
“Good. Now walk on your own. You’re getting heavy.”
Though he couldn’t expend more Mana, walking seemed to pose no problem. We pressed deeper into the cave.
Beyond the passage, a vast chamber opened before us. But here, sunlight barely penetrated—the space hung in shadow.
In the gloom, I could make out a nest. A massive structure woven from branches.
Inside it, I saw silhouettes. Perhaps four of them. Chejare pointed at the nest and shouted.
“There! The skinny blonde geezer!”
A man who appeared to be the Director lay groaning. Thankfully, he still clung to life. Chejare rushed toward the nest, but—
“Chejare, move back!”
Crash!
Something massive plummeted from the ceiling. A Crystal Bat easily two meters long.
The ground where Chejare had stood caved inward. If it had hit squarely, his bones would have shattered.
Such an unusually large frame. This must be the mother.
The Crystal Bat spread its wings again. I thought it might charge at us, but it didn’t.
Instead, it rocketed upward and hurled itself directly at the ceiling. The violent impact reverberated through me as well.
The stalactites began to sway, unable to bear the shock.
Boom, boom!
Stalactites the size of a human torso rained down ceaselessly. Their tips were sharp as spear points and fell with lethal speed. A direct hit meant death.
“Huh—the rat’s got a brain?”
Chejare gasped and dodged the plummeting stalactite by a hair’s breadth. One crashed beside me with a deafening screech, embedding itself in the ground.
The Crystal Bat wasn’t trying to seize us directly. Instead, it continued battering the ceiling relentlessly.
The stalactites were a threat, certainly, but they would all fall eventually. If we dodged long enough, the assault would cease.
Then a deafening boom echoed from behind us.
Boom!
In an instant, the world darkened. The thin shaft of light from the opposite end vanished.
The entrance had been sealed by fallen stalactites. Complete darkness descended. From somewhere distant came Chejare’s panicked voice.
“Master! Where are you? No!”
My disciple’s scream pierced the blackness. And with it, the smell of blood.
I could see nothing. But did you think I had never fought in darkness before?
More than half my life had been darkness.
I drew my blade. I didn’t need sight. Scent, the sounds of living breath, temperature—all of it became my compass.
I heard the rush of wings cutting through the air, diving at me. The sound of a mother defending her young.
Hunters have a cardinal rule: never touch the young. Once you do, the beast goes mad.
And I too was a beast with young to protect.

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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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