Correcting the Villainess of the Academy

The dense green mist was filled with bangs and shouts.

In the midst of the chaotic mud pit where one couldn’t tell who was an enemy or an ally, Baek Seoyeon calmly walked forward, surrounding her body with barrier magic to block the toxic fog.

Some enemies suddenly attempted to attack her, but she mercilessly fired particle bullets, easily taking care of them.

Soon, a shadow of someone constantly unleashing bright flashes appeared before her.

Standing in the mist, Yeon Jeongmun had blood streaming from every orifice of his face, with eyes bloodshot red. He was like a demon that had crawled out from the depths of hell.

As he turned his head, creating a honeycomb-like face for anyone who dared attack him, he suddenly paused.

Just as Seoyeon recognized him, he too sensed her presence, abruptly stopping his smile and locking eyes with her.

Then, with a hint of regret, he clicked his tongue.

“Tsk. It seems it doesn’t work on those of higher ranks yet. I wanted to see the so-called greatest of the current generation go insane and rampage.”

“Yeon Jeongmun. You’re seriously out of your mind.”

Seoyeon spat out her words filled with genuine contempt, but he merely grinned wider, showing no concern.

“It’s a pity. If you’d been here just a few more days, I could have covered the entire capital city in this mist. Not seeing your father die in it is a regret I’ll carry for a lifetime.”

“You’re going to be executed. Surely you don’t expect to survive after all this?”

Seoyeon pointed the finely honed ice blades at him, her gaze so chilling it felt like it could freeze.

“Hahaha! At the moment I messed up, my life was already over! Does this Yeon Jeongmun seem like someone who would fret about such trivialities?”

Laughing carelessly, Yeon Jeongmun suddenly stopped. He stared at Seoyeon with piercing eyes.

“But I can’t just offer my neck up meekly. What face would I show to my ancestors and that beloved child? I must take at least one head of Paecheon with me to the afterlife!!”

Before he even finished his sentence, he lunged at Seoyeon, spraying blood in his wake.

His speed was so ferocious it was hard to follow with the eyes. Seoyeon stood her ground, merely glaring at him.

And just before his hand could clasp her neck.

Pwoook!

A sticky sound pierced her flesh, a chilling pain radiating through his entire body, and Yeon Jeongmun instinctively looked down at his chest.

“Cough…!!”

What he could see was the sharp tip of an ice spear piercing through his abdomen from behind.

He was hanging upside down, entangled with a massive icicle that sprouted from the ground. His feet flailed helplessly in mid-air.

He continuously spat out sounds like air escaping from a balloon.

The man had never truly had a way to take Seoyeon as a companion from the start. His body had reached its limits, and his capacity for rational thought had also evaporated.

As he hung there, looking like a victim on the executioner’s block, Seoyeon slowly opened her mouth.

“Yeon Jeongmun. Don’t feel too wronged. This is revenge for your sins.”

“Cough…! Revenge…!! What the…”

“Two years ago, you sent demons to a small village in the north. Do you remember?”

“That happened… cough…! I think…”

Seoyeon struggled to calm her rising anger.

“Yes… that’s right… At the request of the heir of Paecheon, you commanded the beasts that came from the south… So that woman managed to steal such information… But why…”

“The person in that village… was me.”

“What…?”

Yeon Jeongmun’s eyes widened as if he finally realized something.

And at that moment, Seoyeon thrust the sharp, cold blades of ice emanating a piercing chill directly into his heart.

Cough…!

He let out a loud cough, now transformed into a quivering porcupine.

His hands and feet, which had been flailing with effort, dropped limply toward the ground.

“Finally… that child… once again…”

The light in the man’s eyes gradually faded, and eventually, reason reached its limits and vanished without a trace.

“Baek Seoyeon!!”

Boom!

“Ugh…!”

Seoyeon frowned at the immense shockwave that suddenly surged. Yeon Minha’s directionless wrath and anger, pointed directly at her, required no explanation.

“…Ha.”

Facing Yeon Minha’s rage, Seoyeon let out a small sigh in a cold voice.

*

Boom! Crash!

Clang! Clang!

Ack! My eyes…!

Whew!

The chaotic noise assaulted her ears.

She had barely managed to surround herself with a barrier to block the toxic fog, but the poison coursing through her veins started to take effect, making her condition less than ideal.

Her skin felt hot, and her mind was in a haze. Her vision was blurred, making it difficult to even keep her bearings straight.

Looking around, it seemed that due to the shockwave, Yeon Minha’s figure was nowhere to be found.

I lifted my heavy body. Then I picked up a blade that had fallen amidst the chaos and ventured into the mist to find her.

I desperately tried to organize my complicated thoughts.

There was only one undeniable fact. The Jeokhwa had ended. Yeon Jeongmun’s actions were undeniably suspect. The host was already dead at his hands, and he wouldn’t survive this.

Yeon Minha had nothing to do with him, but the ones who had attacked, armed and ready, were the elite of Paecheon.

They were the bitter enemies of Jeokhwa, ever on the lookout for a chance to take each other down.

If Yeon Minha fell into their hands, the aftermath would be predictable. No matter how I thought about it, the possibility of a proper investigation being conducted seemed much slimmer than the prospect of her being entangled and dealt with alongside him.

But they had justification; rash actions could jeopardize even Yeon Minha’s safety.

For now, my best option was to find her and get out of here to hide.

However, there was no suitable place to hide.

The Cradle was too far, and I had no connections in the capital.

What on earth should I do?

As I trudged through the mist, lost in thought, something I had forgotten suddenly floated back into my mind.

There is a place where I could put my trust in.

‘Just remember this well.’

‘…What is this?’

‘You’ll find out later. If anything happens to you, we’ll come, but if things get urgent, just find this address to seek help.’

Before leaving the northeastern outpost for the Cradle, the commander had given me a note with an address written on it.

I had taken it but had tucked it away in the corner of my mind since nothing had happened afterward.

I only knew the address, but nothing else was certain. However, it was the only place I could cling to hope.

Surely, the commander hadn’t given it to me without thought.

While I was lost in my musings, the flapping sounds of wings drew closer, and suddenly, Yeon Minha’s crow dove into my arms.

It had created a round shield, similar to a barrier, to protect itself from the mist. Despite its appearance, it was surely a first-rate monster.

Caw!

Yeon Minha’s crow took a moment to breathe, staring at me. Its eyes seemed to silently urge me to hurry and find its master.

As I stood up, the stout crow resembling a sparrow spread its wings and began to lead me once more.

Beyond the mist, shadows and cries collided, collapsing and reforming in a chaotic dance.

Among them, some rushed towards me, but most seemed like madmen charging blindly, making it not too difficult to subdue them.

As I followed the crow’s lead, a familiar armored woman suddenly blocked my path.

With round glasses and hair braided into twin tails, it was Choi Ireh, a sophomore of the Cradle.

She greeted me with a bright smile, clearly seeming pleased.

“Nice to see you, junior.”

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