SRS 107

“Yo-Yohan, is that really true?”

“Wasn’t this invalidated after getting good scores in the end-of-month evaluation?”

“Does the angel professor still covet you?”

The other first-years looked just as shocked. Their reactions seemed to lend credibility to the story, making the upperclassmen’s expressions ambiguous. The eagerness to pounce on him like before vanished completely, replaced by a gaze that seemed to be judging something.

Yohan rode the momentum and continued.

“Additionally, Professor Shinbi has also shown interest in my special ability.”

“……!”

“Yohan….”

“Are you crazy? If you say that, Professor Shinbi will…!”

Glimpses of concern and fear flashed between the students. Yohan deliberately ignored their intense reactions, fixing his gaze solely on the fourth-years before him. With another prestigious professor’s name added to the mix, they seemed too busy tapping their calculators to react, growing noticeably quieter.

“I’m just a powerless first-year. If a professor requests something, I have to comply… So, whatever you seniors came to ask of me, if it involves abilities, I’m afraid I can’t help. I apologize.”

Yohan apologized politely. Silence fell all around. It was just as Suhyeok had calculated.

They’re facing two professors, no less.

If he said it like this, they’ll give up, right?

Or else…

Yohan recalled what Suhyeok had said.

He had whispered that if he said this, the upperclassmen would either give up on him or buy time to escape the professors’ pressure.

Yohan understood the first part, but he still didn’t know why the second had been mentioned.

Steadying his heart, which was racing with tension, he slowly straightened his bowed back. He saw the fourth-years exchange glances.

Soon, one of them spoke up.

“Is that so?”

“Hmm… the angel professor and Professor Shinbi?”

“Who are they?”

“You already forgot? They’re the professors in charge of the first and third years. It was just last year, how could you forget already?”

“Ah, right.”

“So what are we going to do?”

“What do you mean ‘what are we going to do’?”

The red-haired fourth-year with wavy hair, who had drawn the seniors’ collective gaze, lifted his chin.

“We just have to beat the professors.”

“…Huh?”

Yohan was dumbfounded by his confident answer. The fourth-years, however, quickly agreed with their red-haired senior.

“Yes, better to fight them than lose the ability recovery potion like this.”

“Let’s settle the grudges from our first and third years while we’re at it!”

Thump thump.

A huge senior stamped his foot and shouted.

“Let’s have a match!”

The other seniors stamped their feet in unison and echoed.

“Let’s have a match!”

“Wohoo!”

The fourth-years shouted and ran out of the lecture hall like an ebbing tide. Only then did Yohan, who had been staring blankly until that moment, understand Suhyeok’s words.

So that’s what he meant by buying us time…!

Oh my. Goosebumps are rising on my skin.

Now Yohan couldn’t tell if he should fear the fourth-years, who seemed far more deranged than he’d imagined, or Suhyeok, who had already figured them out and set this whole scheme in motion.

Suhyeok approached Yohan, who was frozen in place, his soul seemingly drained by the absurdity of the situation.

“See? Just like I said.”

He winked as he smiled. The other first-years, caught up in the aftermath of the commotion, swarmed toward Yohan and Suhyeok.

“What was that just now?”

“Did the seniors go fight the professors?”

“Damn… those crazy bastards.”

“Kitty. Watch your language!”

Buzz, buzz. The area was chaotic. Yohan stared at the spot where the upperclassmen had vanished for a long while before splashing water on his face and pushing his friends aside.

“Sorry, but I’m really tired. Can I go in first?”

“Oh! Of course it’s fine!”

“Yes. You must be exhausted after being pushed all day. We really didn’t consider you enough.”

“Huh? Where are you going? I still have questions… Ugh!”

“We’ll shut Melek’s mouth for you!”

“Huh? Getting tired over something like this… ugh!”

“I’ll cover Kitty’s mouth, so get some rest.”

“…Yes, thank you.”

Thanks to their thoughtful yet extreme consideration, Yohan secured his rest time and returned to the dormitory. When he told Mikael and Kylus everything that had happened so far, the two looked at Suhyeok with expressions of shock.

“You’re seriously out of your mind. ”

“Hah. It’s nothing.”

Suhyeok rubbed the bridge of his nose, embarrassed by Kylus’s remark.

“That’s not a compliment.”

“I’ll take it as one.”

Yohan, seeing the two showing signs of another fight, left them be and rubbed his eyes.

“Are you really tired?”

“…A little.”

“…Do you to skip the general education class? I’ll explain it to the professors.”

“What?”

“Hmm… You got caught up in a fight between upperclassmen and professors and became a casualty?”

“…Forget it, I’ll just attend.”

If Mikael’s words were relayed, it would draw even more attention than now. When Yohan, visibly disgusted, refused the offer, Mikael chuckled.

“I was joking.”

The study whispered, smoothing Yohan’s bangs as he lay down. The tips of his hair tickled Yohan’s eyelids, and Yohan unconsciously closed his eyes, then blinked and dozed off.

***

A space as dark as pitch. Someone walked silently down a deep, long corridor. Shortly after his muttering, flames leapt from the wood he held, birthing a black torch that narrowly illuminated the surroundings.

He moved slowly, relying on that light. The corridor was so quiet and wide that footsteps echoed.

Yohan watched this figure from above. His body moved without his accord, following the movements of the one clad in the black robe, his mouth closed. All Yohan could do was watch.

Seemingly unaware of Yohan, the robed figure traversed the corridor for some time before opening the door to a vast chamber.

The sight that met Yohan’s eyes was so shocking he nearly fainted.

Countless corpses were piled high like towers, and the blood they had spilled formed a river so deep it soaked the ankles of the robed figure. As if some powerful barrier had been erected, not a single drop flowed outside the door; the blood filled the entire room.

Even though his sense of smell wasn’t functioning properly, Yohan felt as if he were experiencing the illusion of smelling a very pungent blood scent. It was such an immense volume of blood that confusion was inevitable.

While Yohan’s gaze trembled at the absurdly horrific sight, the figure brought a torch to the wall. It was positioned too high to be obscured by the blood.

The flickering black light illuminated the wall, revealing a crimson rune etched there.

Yohan’s eyes widened as he recognized the diamond-shaped rune, drawn with intertwined patterns.

…Sorcery.

It was the rune of forbidden sorcery.

Only then did Yohan realize where this place was on the Yuphir Continent. That rune was an ancient sorcery passed down since antiquity on the continent he came from. As a High Priest, Yohan had been trained in succession and could not help but know about that rune.

On the Yuphir Continent, there was one single taboo that applied regardless of nation.

Do not attempt to revive the souls of the dead.

This was different from simply resurrecting a corpse. It was also different from summoning a spirit.

If a dead body was revived, it would come back to life without a soul, devoid of self-awareness, and would obey its master’s commands. This belonged to the realm of black magic.

Summoning a dead soul required special abilities, and the summoned soul could not remain for more than an hour. Those capable of this were called mediums.

However, resurrecting a dead soul to bring it back to life was something, according to the rules, no mortal could ever do.

For that was the domain of the ‘gods’.

Therefore, violating this taboo incurred the wrath of the gods, plunging the entire continent into a great curse. In the past, a mad demon contracter had violated the taboo, shaking the entire continent. While the high priest of that era resolved the curse, its remnants remained as monstrous beings, still threatening the continent. Thus, all nations had no choice but to guard against the taboo.

Yet now, someone is attempting to violate that taboo once more.

Yohan reflexively opened his mouth, but no sound came out. His body wouldn’t move either.

The figure groped for the ground and leaned his head against the wall.

“…Yohan.”

……!

Yohan’s eyes widened at the name that escaped his lips. In that instant, the figure tilted his head back, looking toward where Yohan stood.

Eyes stained pitch black, silver hair cut off so short it barely grazed his jaw, black veins rising up to his neck.

Much was different from the man Yohan knew, yet Yohan recognized him instantly.

Cheplen.

His fallen friend and mentor.

The moment he recognized the man, Yohan gasped. Then, a blinding light blocked his vision, and his body was flung backward as if repelled from that realm.

As Yohan was hurled several meters, a piercing voice struck his mind.

“Child. Your work here remains unfinished.”

The echo of that piercing voice gradually faded into the distance as time passed.

“…Han!”

“……”

“Yohan!”

“Ah!”

Shaken by a hand, Yohan opened his eyes and gasped for breath. Like someone who had drowned and resurfaced, he drank in air desperately, struggling to catch his breath. Mikael, flustered by Yohan’s state, half-raised his upper body and patted his back.

“What’s wrong?”

Yohan frowned at the worried gaze. White hair swayed in his vision. It overlapped with the hair of Cheplen he’d seen in his dream, and his expression distorted as he clutched Mikael’s sleeve.

“Mikael…”

What on earth was that dream?

It was a scene that could never be dismissed as a mere nightmare. The voice he’d heard in the dream was still vivid, and Yohan, flustered, closed his eyes within the arms that held him.

Cheplen…

As he repeated that name, Yohan felt the urge to cry.