I Became A Flashing Genius At The Magic Academy-Chapter 497

Baek Yu-Seol carried Kaya on his back as he exited the forest. The path out posed no challenge to him.

Whoosh! Snap!

Even as the corrupted trees attacked savagely with relentless precision, Baek Yu-Seol walked out calmly, as if on a leisurely stroll. Workers and mages busy clearing the forest stopped and stared at him, their faces filled with disbelief.

"How is he...?"

"Not a single branch even touches him!"

"Maybe it's not as dangerous as we thought?"

Emboldened by Baek Yu-Seol's casual demeanor, a few reckless warrior mages couldn't resist their curiosity and stepped into the forest.

"Aaaahhh!"

"You idiots!"

"Get out of there! Now!"

"Set it on fire! Burn it down!"

A minor uproar ensued, but fortunately, no casualties occurred.

“What on earth...”

Jelliel’s face was as pale as a ghost, but when Baek Yu-Seol approached, the medical mages hurried over with a stretcher to take Kaya from him.

“Who’s this?”

“An elf. She’s under a curse and hasn’t been able to wake up. She’s about ten times older than you.”

“She could be my big sister, then.”

The elf’s age was an astounding 200 years, but only an elf would make such a casual remark about someone that old.

"Though for an elf, even 200 years is considered ancient..."

Kaya, however, had been asleep for those 200 years, so her effective age was likely far younger.

“A curse? What kind of curse?”

Althericia, showing a rare spark of curiosity, gazed at Kaya’s sleeping form. Though curses were far removed from the field of alchemy, her interest was piqued nonetheless.

“It’s called the Sleeping Elf of the Forest curse. As the name suggests, an elf who enters the forest falls into an eternal slumber. It’s a vile curse.”

“A curse like that exists?”

—"W-what?!"

Twilightis’s translucent face appeared, her expression one of sheer panic as she processed Baek Yu-Seol’s words.

—"A curse that forces them to sleep eternally if they’re in the forest? And I... I left Kaya in the forest all this time? How could I have been so stupid?!"

Twilightis was so agitated that her ethereal form materialized fully, becoming visible to everyone present.

Naturally, the bystanders were stunned.

Even those seeing her for the first time could sense the overwhelming presence emanating from her, a clear sign she wasn’t an ordinary being.

“Calm down. Leaving her in the forest wasn’t necessarily a bad decision.”

—"But you just said she’d fall into eternal sleep if she stayed in the forest...?"

“Yes, but if an elf afflicted with the forest’s curse leaves without any precautions, they lose their strength and slowly wither away until they die. In her case, staying asleep in the forest was the better option.”

—"Oh... I see... Wait! Then isn’t this dangerous? She’s out of the forest now!"

“As I said, leaving without precautions is dangerous. But she’s fine.”

Baek Yu-Seol pointed to the talismans tightly gripped in Kaya’s hands.

“With those, she should be safe outside. She might even wake up soon. I can’t say exactly when since I don’t know how long she’s been under, but...”

In the game, there hadn’t been any explicit mention of Kaya waking up either. Still, rumors of her survival and well-being suggested the curse had been lifted, and she eventually lived peacefully.

“Anyway, I’ll take care of the curse, so don’t worry about it...”

Before he /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ could finish, Twilightis suddenly lunged forward, wrapping him in a tight hug.

—"Thank you! Thank you so much!"

—"If it weren’t for you, I would’ve..."

Baek Yu-Seol wanted to tell her to let go, given the number of people watching, but her joy was so genuine that he couldn’t bring himself to say it.

Suppressing a chuckle, he resisted the urge to ruffle her hair. Even if she looked like a child, she was, after all, over a thousand years old.

"...The ritual to lift the curse is going to be another hectic ordeal," he thought.

The path ahead was clear, and it promised more challenges. Still, seeing Twilightis’s happiness made it all feel worthwhile.

"If only things could always turn out like this," he mused.

Twilightis, still furious at having been manipulated by the Returner of the Void, had only scratched the surface of what was to come.

Baek Yu-Seol, on the other hand, was already bracing for the storm.

The Returner’s machinations, not present in the game, required Baek Yu-Seol’s pure skill and insight to counter.

The silver lining was that, so far, the Returner’s schemes had been relatively restrained. However, there was no telling what he might be planning next, hidden in the shadows.

"In the end, the best defense is a good offense," Baek Yu-Seol thought grimly.

If his plans were correct, their paths would cross again soon enough.

Meanwhile.

The Galeo Count’s Territory, Trimann Lake.

The Forward Base of Blengra Island.

The once-thriving Blengra Island, reclaimed by humans under the courageous leadership of Count Galeo, had transformed into a picturesque tourist destination. The victory over the Black Mages, who had long dominated the island, was a tale of legend celebrated for a decade with annual festivals to honor the gods and Count Galeo.

But that chapter seemed to have closed as of today.

Whoooosh...

A dry, sandy wind swept across Blengra Island. Amid the crumbling ruins, no trace of life could be felt.

Who could believe it?

Just the night before, this place had been filled with people dancing under the stars, dreaming of a bright future. Now, those same people were cold corpses scattered across the desolate landscape.

Step.

The Returner of the Void walked through the ruins.

Occasionally, a few Black Mages, oblivious to the vast gap in power, would lunge at him. With a mere flick of his hand, they were crushed and obliterated.

“What a rare sight—filth like you defiling a sacred place,” a voice growled.

At the center of the ruins, the corpses of Black Mages were piled into a grotesque throne, upon which sat the Black Mage King. His glowing eyes peered out from his helmet as he fixed his gaze on the Returner of the Void.

“Leave this place. While I’m still asking nicely.”

The Returner of the Void ignored the threat, leisurely surveying the surroundings.

“Resorting to mass slaughter? How uncharacteristic.”

“Hardly. Your son’s forces stirred trouble, claiming they’d conquer Blengra Island. I was passing by and decided to handle it myself.”

Indeed, the Black Mage King had come alone, slaughtering the Black Mage forces—numbering in the thousands—with his bare hands.

His followers, arriving later, occupied Blengra Island, creating the misconception that he had orchestrated the entire situation.

“A war among Black Mages?”

“War? Do you call this a war?”

“Your arrogance is boundless. This skirmish must have taken its toll on you.”

“I am weary, true. But I still have enough strength left to make you kneel. Your insolent gaze displeases me.”

The Returner of the Void stared silently at the Black Mage King.

He extended his hand, and the surrounding space distorted, gathering mana with overwhelming force. Immediately, the Black Mage King tensed, adopting a defensive stance.

"I could kill him."

The Black Mage King was visibly exhausted. Old wounds still hadn’t healed, and an air of unease betrayed his once-unshakable confidence.

"He’s talking too much."

Was he stalling for time to recover his strength? No, that didn’t fit.

Even at death’s door, the Black Mage King’s pride wouldn’t allow such cowardice. For a warrior so consumed by his own strength and honor, engaging in idle chatter to buy time was unthinkable.

The reason for his verbosity was something else entirely.

"He knows his time is nearly up."

Realizing this, the Returner of the Void withdrew the gray energy swirling at his fingertips and turned away.

“...What is this, Twelve Moons? Are you not going to fight me?”

The Returner of the Void didn’t answer, stepping through a gray portal and vanishing.

The Black Mage King felt a strange mix of relief and bitterness. The mightiest of the Twelve Moons had walked away without a fight.

"It seems my time has truly come," he thought.

Such idle musings were uncharacteristic of him. His vision was already blurred, and his once-sharp senses had long since dulled.

The keen instinct that had once allowed him to perceive the future was now gone.

"I thought meeting my end at the hands of the Returner would be fitting..."

The Black Mage King realized that the Returner’s actions weren’t out of respect or mercy but pure efficiency. To him, there was no need to waste effort on a dying opponent.

"But you’re mistaken, Returner."

If the Returner’s goal had been his death, he should have struck here and now.

The Black Mage King opened his palm, revealing a glowing aurora of mystical energy.

This was the source of his power, a force he had kept hidden, intending to pass it on to his son, Mayusung.

He had hoped to see Mayusung face to face, to earn his recognition before entrusting him with this gift. But fate had other plans.

Flash!

Clenching his fist, the aurora scattered, vanishing into the void.

Though it disappeared from sight, it wasn’t destroyed.

When the time came, when Mayusung proved himself worthy, this power would awaken once more for his sake.

“...It’s time.”

Rising to his feet, the Black Mage King felt a surge of strength return to his body.

The source of this c𝓸ntent is frёeweɓηovel.coɱ.

It is said that flames burn brightest just before they extinguish.

The Black Mage King hoped to end this war before his final breath. He couldn’t bear the thought of leaving such a cruel legacy for his son.

“This ends with me.”

He grasped a massive staff, thicker and sturdier than most pillars.

This was the staff of Abelain Staberk, the legendary mage who became the Black Mage King.

Since the day he had renounced his humanity and embraced the path of the Black Mage, he hadn’t touched this weapon.

"Perhaps the heavens will allow me this one day to be human again."

His glowing eyes radiated a terrifying intensity, far from anything a human could possess.