Magic Academy's Genius Blinker Chapter 522: The Story of the Blood Witch (6)

Between the realms of science and the realm of magic.

‘Ever since that woman stepped into the village, everything started going haywire!’

‘Beat her right now and chase her away!’

‘Torch the house and smash all the furniture she touched!’

Superstitions refuse to fade away.

Maybe, for as long as human intelligence lingers, superstition will forever dwell beside it.

Regrettably, within the magical world, witches weren’t just baseless myths—they were genuine disasters.

A witch sneaking into a village would trigger droughts, unleash floods, shatter prospering lives, or unleash deadly plagues that claimed countless souls.

Every single time, villagers targeted the unluckiest, most somber woman among them, incinerating her alive or pummeling her near death before banishing her.

A true witch would never succumb to such laughable, phony witch hunts orchestrated by mere mortals.

It boiled down to nothing more than superstition.

What gain do witches get from sparking droughts or floods? Sure, some commanded monsters, but they seldom assaulted villages.

They understood perfectly that such moves would instantly summon witch hunters upon them.

Witches possessing any brains and strength chose to remain concealed.

Yet, witches’ reputation as wicked entities had firmly rooted itself in people’s hearts, courtesy of the atrocious crimes perpetrated by witches long ago.

They got pinned as harbingers of wicked acts, dark omens, illnesses—scapegoats for every calamity.

"That vile witch sparked all this!"

"We have to expel the witch from our sacred woods!"

"How dare she disrupt our forest!"

This enigmatic woodland, dubbed the ‘Secret Forest,’ bore different titles just fifty years back.

The Forest of Hunters, Forest of Slaughter, Forest of Beasts.

Even with hordes of fearsome monsters dwelling there, mighty beastmen tribes thrived within. Their fiercest fighters slayed beasts to safeguard their kin.

Those glorious eras had vanished into memory.

Suddenly, a enigmatic witch invaded the woods, warping its very space and plunging it into turmoil.

Warriors who once trusted their primal senses to thrive amid the trees now faltered against monsters and got fully ousted from their home.

Beastmen had persevered relentlessly until this point, yet barred from the forest, their aspirations and faith crumbled, self-worth plummeting to abyssal lows. Now, fifty years on, at last:

Emboldened by conquering worldly magic, the beastmen believed they could oust the witch through their own might and ignited the forest in flames.

To Baek Yu-Seol, the spectacle appeared downright ridiculous.

Yet the beastmen cared little for the consequences.

Burning the forest stood as the prime solution to shatter the space warp hindering their route to the witch.

Their strategy truly worked wonders.

Distorting the immense forest entirely lay beyond the witch’s grasp, so she employed subtle space twists and thick foliage for deceptive mirages. Without trees, those distortions weakened dramatically.

Thus, the hundreds of banished beastmen swiftly located the witch’s lair.

"That... mansion..."

"You filthy witch! Kicking us out, then lounging in luxury like this?!"

Expecting a shabby shack or dank cavern, the beastmen gawked briefly at the grand estate, but fury swiftly overtook their surprise.

Every beastman seized a blazing torch and roared in rage.

Syclen, labeled the witch, shot a glance toward Baek Yu-Seol.

"They’re branding me a witch."

"Quite the tale. Let’s take a closer look."

Baek Yu-Seol vaulted elegantly off the rooftop, touching down squarely before the beastmen.

Even beastmen found such a lofty leap challenging; they recoiled, quivering faintly while edging backward warily.

With no Class 9 beastmen yet emerging, their forms apparently clashed with magic mastery. Their collective prowess remained rather modest.

Frankly, Baek Yu-Seol could dispatch them all blindfolded.

"So, what’s your purpose here?"

"It’s the witch! She forced us from the forest!"

"The witch? Which one?"

"That lady right there!"

As beastmen jabbed fingers at Syclen and bellowed, Baek Yu-Seol unleashed a scornful chuckle.

"Her, a witch? Have you lot ever laid eyes on a real witch? What proof backs your claim?"

"Do we require expertise to spot a witch? She defiled our woods and cursed our settlement. Since her arrival, illness has spread wildly!"

"Sickness?"

Syclen showed no signs of wielding powers for such havoc.

Spotting their ragged clothing, Baek Yu-Seol’s brow furrowed.

"Do you guys even wash yourselves regularly?"

"Beastmen don’t bathe."

"...Well, now I understand why you’re always sick."

Magic proved to be an intricate art.

Yet, with more than 50 years of devotion, anyone could reach at least Class 4 mastery in magic.

These beastmen standing before him exemplified that truth perfectly.

They had pursued magic studies for ages yet clung stubbornly to their beastmen traditions' fundamental principles.

Rubbing his head using the staff's rear end, Baek Yu-Seol declared, "I’ve seen real witches and plenty of beastmen. That woman is no witch. And the reason you’re miserable is because you’re stupid."

"Don’t speak nonsense! Do not belittle the instincts of the beastmen!"

"Oh..."

Clearly, they wouldn’t heed him without a show. Baek Yu-Seol chose to reveal a glimpse of his strength.

He drew his Teripon, extracted the magic sword, swung it gently twice, then returned it to its sheath. The whole action lasted just 0.1 seconds.

That fleeting moment escaped even the beastmen’s keen vision, failing to catch the sword’s draw.

Still, the effect was impossible to miss.

A powerful wind blast rushed ahead, compelling the beastmen to cover their faces with arms while staggering back.

Once the gust died down, the view that greeted them left them in shock.

"Th-this is...!"

An enormous ’X’-shaped gash marked the earth. Its depth and breadth were so vast that one couldn’t fathom its bottom right away.

At last, the beastmen started viewing Baek Yu-Seol differently.

"Do you understand now? I am a far more skilled mage than you."

Actually, peak-honed swordsmanship had produced that outcome. But as no one today could perform such swordplay, it made sense they saw it as magic.

"So, why don’t you listen to me?"

Cold sweat soaked the beastmen as they nodded reluctantly.

"Fine, we admit it. You are indeed a more powerful mage than we are. But that doesn’t prove that woman isn’t a witch."

"No, you’re not only inferior in magical skill but also in experience and knowledge. I’ve met real witches before, and I’ve even killed one."

"You’ve killed a witch?"

"Yes. And do you know how absurd it seems to me that you accuse this woman of being a witch without ever having seen one yourselves?"

"Hmph, fine. Let’s say we believe that you’ve met a witch."

Baek Yu-Seol anticipated a call for proof, yet the beastmen surprisingly skipped it.

"But that doesn’t give you a reason to stand in our way."

"Why not?"

"It doesn’t matter whether that woman is a real witch or not. The fact is, ever since she showed up, we’ve been plagued by misfortune!"

"That’s right!"

"So stop interfering with us!"

"Get lost right now!"

"What...?"

Baek Yu-Seol stood there stunned.

Put simply, the beastmen cared little if Syclen truly was a witch.

He found it hard to fully object.

Even without being a genuine witch, Syclen had seized their homeland, a fact that stood firm.

Though Baek Yu-Seol backed her temporarily due to her crucial intel, could anyone deny she bore most of the fault?

"This is as far as I’ll go. There’s no point in continuing this conversation; it’s clear they won’t listen. Not that I didn’t expect this."

He glanced at Syclen, who gave a wry smirk before leaping from the rooftop. She vanished swiftly into the lavish mansion as the beastmen, restraint shattered, rushed ahead.

"Burn it! Burn the witch’s house!"

"Burn it all to the ground!"

"Waaaah!"

Without hesitation, the beastmen ignited Syclen’s mansion.

Baek Yu-Seol yearned to halt them, yet lacking any valid grounds or motive, he had no choice but to stay out.

Thus, for more than half a day, the beastmen reveled while torching the witch’s mansion, circling the inferno in dances, guzzling drinks, and belting songs.

Observing from afar, Baek Yu-Seol heaved a heavy sigh.

"Sigh."

"Hey, don’t worry too much. Do you really think that crazy woman will die in flames like that?" Panallet laughed, flashing a grin while chugging more booze.

"Of course not."

No witch hunter would perish in such a weak blaze, even on purpose—like attempting to submerge a fish.

"Let’s just wait quietly. Once those crazy beasts leave, we’ll get her out of there."

"That’s the plan."

Baek Yu-Seol agreed with a nod, biding time for the beastmen’s festivity to conclude.

Suddenly, something unforeseen happened.

"Th-this is...!"

"C-chief! Come quickly and look at this!"

"Unbelievable...!"

Baek Yu-Seol, perched on a nearby tree with eyes shut in wait, sluggishly pried them open.

"What’s that?"

Syclen’s lavish mansion was reduced to ashes in mere moments by the raging inferno. After the flames had devoured every last bit, astonishing symbols and designs emerged from the remnants, instantly grabbing the eyes of magic experts.

"A sealing magic circle...!"

This ancient magic circle, clearly more than 50 years old, had been carved deep into the earth under the mansion.

The beastmen of today, unlike those from 50 years back, had gained knowledge of magic.

Thanks to that awareness, they quickly grasped the nature of the magic circle and the immense threat of the being it was designed to contain.

Advanced spells, demanding at least class 8 incantations, powered the array—a detail no true mage could ignore.

"N-no way..."

Crack, crackle!!!

Cracks started spiderwebbing across the magic circle.

The blaze scorching the sealed ground had disrupted the magical circuits. Already weakened after 50 years of decay, the circle now failed completely due to the beastmen’s meddling.

Crack, boom!!!

Chaos erupted without warning.

A gigantic arm exploded from the magic circle, filling the beastmen with sheer dread.

"Ka-Kajilisk...!"

"Aaaaah!"

"R-run away!"

Mayhem broke out as beastmen fled in terror. Yet escape proved impossible. The beast called Kajilisk fully broke free, sowing destruction and massacring them without mercy.

"Wow, a Kajilisk. That’s the crazy monster that roamed the Secret Forest 50 years ago. I wondered why it suddenly disappeared, it turns out it was sealed here... Wait, where did he go?"

Panallet kept talking, but Baek Yu-Seol had vanished already. She whipped her head around and spotted him driving his blade straight into the monster’s throat.

"Pfft, what a ridiculous guy."

Regardless of the beastmen’s misdeeds, Baek Yu-Seol refused to ignore a life threatened before his very eyes. Such an odd quirk defined his character.

"I would never act like that. Isn’t that right, sis?"

Panallet glanced back slyly, and Syclen stepped out from the shrubbery.

"... It’s their karma."

She had labored to bind the berserk Kajilisk and expel the beastmen from the woods, all to stop its power from seeping free.

Still, they dared come back, branding her a ’witch’ in bitter ingratitude.

"By the way, you seemed to be enjoying yourself earlier. Are you a masochist or something?"

Syclen’s piercing stare made Panallet look away in haste.

Yet her words held a kernel of truth.

Even while scorned as a witch, a strange thrill stirred in Syclen. Maybe it stemmed from her past love for a witch.

Her fists tightened and loosened as Syclen let out a soft breath.

Confronting the Kajilisk lay beyond her current power. The true mistake might have been a witch hunter like her unleashing full strength on such a lowly beast to begin with.

A heavy backlash now crippled her, nullifying nearly all her skills.

Panallet wouldn’t lift a finger to aid her, and her arrival here was no mere coincidence anyway.

Syclen’s eyes shifted to Baek Yu-Seol, who hacked away at the monster with unyielding fury.

Though badly injured 50 years prior, the Kajilisk had once been a nightmarish foe that tested even Syclen’s limits. But Baek Yu-Seol dismantled it effortlessly.

In the mansion’s fiery wreckage, the serpentine Kajilisk bellowed upon rising, while a swordsman trailed azure flashes, blitzing with blinding speed as he slashed relentlessly.

The scene’s brilliance and allure captivated Syclen, holding her gaze captive.

It evoked echoes of the ’Story of the Blood Witch’—the legend of a supreme witch who succumbed to a swordsman from the era of mages.

"...He’s becoming more and more interesting."

Eyes alight with intrigue, Syclen observed Baek Yu-Seol.

No matter which witch he pursued, an intense urge welled up in her to assist his quest.