Academy's Genius Extra Chapter 22

The first episode of Superhuman Chronicles.

The defining feature of <VS Johan> is a time attack.

The targets the Heavenly Church aims for are six in total.

Save two in the lobby first, then save four more in the prayer hall.

“This is cutting it close.”

I ran toward the prayer hall.

The Heavenly Church’s targets are six children who cannot resist at all.

On Normal or Hard difficulty, it is manageable to protect them all, more or less.

On Hell difficulty, though.

Saving everyone is like trying to pluck stars from the sky.

Out of a hundred attempts, you might succeed once.

No matter how fast you move, one or two will always get kidnapped.

Even then, the clear score still comes out as an A.

“……”

I know it too.

The scoring system feels off somehow.

Rather than being generous with points, it feels like it is saying that saving everyone within the time limit is impossible.

As if losing one or two is the intended design.

“…Wow.”

The moment I entered the prayer hall, I could not help but admire the scene.

All the guns were smashed to pieces, and holes were scattered across the ceiling.

Bloodstains were everywhere, and there were easily more than ten fallen enemies.

In the prayer hall still filled with the heat of battle, only Han Taepyeong stood there, intact.

“You damn monster!”

One of the fallen fanatics suddenly sprang up and aimed for Han Taepyeong’s blind spot.

Clang!

The next instant, he collapsed again, spraying blood.

What. How did he do that.

“You monster bastard!”

I approached Han Taepyeong.

The innocent civilians huddled along the wall trembled when they saw me.

“Please relax. I am from the Superhuman Academy. I am friends with him. Hey. Right? We are friends, right?”

“……”

Even when I came right up to him, Han Taepyeong said nothing.

That broad back gave no response at all.

Hmm.

Does that mean we are not friends?

Or is he embarrassed to be introduced as friends.

[Lucy… can’t watch!]

[Lucy… so pitiful!]

“Hey, Han Taepyeong…. We are friends, right. Kkrupping….”

Han Taepyeong still said nothing.

Looking closer, it was not just that he was silent.

He was not even breathing.

“Are you sulking because I sent you here alone?”

But.

No matter how sulky he was, it could not be like this.

With no breathing, that usual golden aura was nowhere to be seen either.

He looked like an inanimate object.

“…Hey.”

Staring at that stone like back made me think of someone else.

He overlapped with another Han Taepyeong in my mind.

I remembered the countless protagonists who had fallen just to achieve a single clear.

Without realizing it, ominous words filled my head.

GAME OVER.

Thud.

When I placed my hand on Han Taepyeong’s shoulder, it felt damp.

My palm turned bright red.

The blood scattered everywhere came back into view.

“Han Taepyeong.”

“……”

“Hey, Han Taepyeong!”

When I shook his shoulder hard.

“…? Huhk.”

Han Taepyeong fell forward.

At the same time, the children who had been hidden behind him revealed themselves.

“Big brother!”

“Hyung!”

Han Taepyeong planted his sword into the floor and struggled, but he could not stand up in the end.

“…S-Seungtae? Cough. Why are you so late?”

“Hey! You scared me!!!”

I was seriously scared….

I rubbed my racing chest.

“Where…. Looks like you are pretty hurt. Are you okay?”

“Hwaaang! He got stabbed while protecting us…!”

I counted the crying children.

One, two, three, four.

Four.

They were all there.

No matter if the difficulty was Destruction or whatever.

Han Taepyeong did it.

He really pulled it off.

A real protagonist really is different.

I soothed the sobbing kids.

“Calm down, kids. This guy is super tough. This is nothing more than a daily scratch to him….”

“Man, I was wondering who it was, it is Seungtae? You are really late….”

Han Taepyeong greeted me again.

Even though he was grinning, his mind seemed half gone.

If that was the case.

Han Taepyeong was alive, so what happened to the Chapter 1 boss.

Finding him was not difficult.

Up ahead.

Someone was lying neatly beside the pulpit.

A man in priestly robes.

Father Johan.

His aura was slowly fading.

[Lucy… free win!]

[Lucy… boring!]

So he went down without even getting to face me once.

It feels a little anticlimactic, but for a side character like me, this is probably the right amount.

“Good work, Han Taepyeong.”

“Mm…. There were so many Heavenly Church guys, it was not easy… cough cough.”

“Good work. Yoo Eunha will be here in a bit.”

“Yeah…? Guess Eunha is busy too.”

“Not as much as you. At least she has a one on one over there. Where does it hurt the most? Your organs are not spilling out, right? Ah. They are coming out a bit….”

Do I need to put them back in….

I reached toward something protruding from Han Taepyeong’s side.

Then a message appeared.

[Destruction has descended.]

If Destruction had a color, would it be like this.

That thought came with a pitch black message.

Crash.

Out of nowhere, the church ceiling collapsed.

And beyond it, black sunlight poured down.

The black sunlight soaked Father Johan’s body.

It wrapped around him like a messiah’s blessing.

Crack.

Crack.

With the sound of bones, the priest’s body began to move.

I slowly stepped in front of Han Taepyeong.

Yeah.

I thought it ended too easily.

Just like with Ahn Eunho.

This is the start of Destruction difficulty.

“Lucy.”

[Lucy… hate priests!]

[Lucy… hate moving corpse priests even more!]

“Seungtae, be careful….”

Han Taepyeong crawled forward.

“Han Taepyeong. Take the kids and run back.”

“I am okay…. I am okay….”

“Huh? If you do not listen, you are going to get hurt.”

I pressed down hard on Han Taepyeong’s organs.

When he collapsed screaming, the kids dragged him away.

Good listeners.

[Destruction has descended.]

[Johan’s innate ability has changed.]

[Speech → Achromatic Spy]

[Father Johan has additionally acquired the following traits.]

[Evolution Society exclusive trait: Capsule LAST]

[Vatican City trait: Sacred Interceptor]

[Heavenly Church exclusive trait: Heavenly Killing Archery]

I dismissed the messages.

Johan was not originally a combat unit.

With his innate ability <Speech>, he was just a mid level manager who swindled churchgoers.

A command type, you could say.

But apparently not on Destruction difficulty.

I can tell just by looking at the newly acquired traits.

It seems he intends to show a true boss like presence.

“Destruction difficulty is so fun. Right?”

It is honestly boring as hell….

I opened my pill case.

Rattle.

Inside was packed full of Seraphimzepam.

How many pills would it take to get through this crisis.

“Who might you be? Pleased to meet you. I am the priest of Hope Grace Church…. Johan.”

The risen Johan adjusted his jawbone back and forth.

“Ah, stiff…. I had heard warnings, but this medicine is pretty strong.”

“Johan. You just took <Capsule LAST>, right? How did you even get connected with the Evolution Society to get that.”

“How do you know that?”

Johan smiled faintly.

“Yes. That is right. I do have some ties with the Evolution Society. I was secretly colluding with them. In return, I received <Capsule LAST>.”

Secret collusion.

Is this the power of the innate ability <Achromatic Spy>.

“Nice ability you have.”

“Thank you. I watched a lot of spy movies growing up…. Not that it is something to brag about, but my color is a bit faint. I blend in easily anywhere.”

There are countless villains in Superhuman Chronicles.

Some are fanatics who kidnap children, while others pray for the evolution of humanity.

The Evolution Society.

The enhancement drug created by that Evolution Society is <Capsule LAST>.

Once you take it, you die within an hour.

And.

For that one hour, even someone about to die becomes incredibly powerful.

Looks like he took it before getting beaten by Han Taepyeong.

Capsule LAST.

Amazing effect.

No false advertising.

A straightforward product name.

No hiding the side effects.

Other pharmaceutical companies should learn a thing or two from the Evolution Society.

“Feels refreshing to finally say it out loud. My mouth was itching. Nameless cadet. Actually, I am also colluding with the Heavenly Church.”

“That is not collusion. You are purely Heavenly Church born, so what do you mean collusion.”

“…You are right? I must have spent too long in the Vatican. Playing priest really stuck to me. But….”

How does he really know that.

Johan tilted his head to one side and muttered.

“You are an unpleasant cadet.”

“Like you are any better….”

Johan’s neck twisted to a grotesque angle.

It was the horrifying effect of <Capsule LAST>.

“Then let me correct myself. As I said, I am from Heavenly Church, so…. I was also <colluding> with Vatican City.”

A spear of light formed in Johan’s left hand.

<Vatican City’s secret art, Sacred Interceptor>.

That is a troublesome trait….

With the innate ability <Achromatic Spy>, he really stole all kinds of things.

“And this is the hometown of my dark heart…. A trick I learned at the deep and secret headquarters of the Heavenly Church.”

A black bow appeared in Johan’s right hand. It was probably the <Heavenly Killing Archery> he had formally learned in the Heavenly Church.

Capsule LAST.

Sacred Interceptor.

Heavenly Killing Archery .

“I’m getting dizzy….”

Those traits were not singlehandedly Tier 1.

However, what mattered was that each region’s specialty had been served together on one table.

Originally, one strength creates one weakness.

That is usually how it works.

But….

The Evolution Society’s “technology.”

Vatican City’s “holy power.”

The Heavenly Church’s “teachings.”

Heterogeneous elements had clumped together. Strengths buried weaknesses. Strengths brought out other strengths.

“Three in one body…. You have made it big.”

Johan was now, although faintly, embodying a trinity.

“Is this Johan’s cheat map or what?”

Does that mean he reached out everywhere and earned the trust of every faction.

A genius spy.

“How is it? I had a rough time squeezing benefits out of everyone, but the results are there, right?”

Results, my ass.

A petty criminal who staged hostage situations had become a great villain playing on top of the factions’ heads.

This had to be settled.

He had to be dealt with here, before he grew any bigger.

“Ah, honestly…. I am kind of a devoted Heavenly Church believer, you know. You could say the foundation carved into my bones is the Heavenly Church. So I was planning to just kidnap the brats I was told to and run away, but….”

Johan nocked an arrow onto the bowstring.

“At this point, I guess I have no choice but to beat all the witnesses to death. No matter how many brats I offer up, if the fact that I was colluding with other factions reaches the Pope’s ears, it’s all meaningless.”

“Hey. Cult priest. Think again. You only have an hour left to live. Why don’t you go look at the sea instead?”

At my suggestion, Johan smiled faintly.

Confident.

Not the face of someone prepared to die.

Did he have a way to survive.

Something that could block the backlash of <Capsule LAST>.

That must be it.

He was a genius spy, after all. He would have prepared more than enough.

“I will just kill everyone and move on to Plan B. The reason people die here is because you exposed the secret, okay?”

What a shameless bastard.

More precisely, he was pretending to be shameless.

For a spy, acting was basic.

Gulp.

I swallowed two Seraphimzepam pills.

The three things Johan had.

I at least had to catch up in scientific technology.

“Oh. Are you the type who gets a nice boost from drugs too?”

Johan snickered as he aimed his bow.

He had properly learned the Heavenly Church’s Heavenly Killing Archery .

His posture as he drew the string was smooth, without a hitch.

“Try blocking this.”

An arrow of light flew through the air.

But its incoming trajectory was not straight.

It twisted and warped chaotically.

The arrow that guards God’s will, the <Sacred Interceptor>.

“What a real piece of work.”

I muttered.

The arrow was not aiming at me.

What the arrow of light targeted was farther back.

It flew toward the hearts of the children with Han Taepyeong.

The arrow’s direction was chaotic.

There was not even a fixed rule.

But.

Bang!

The arrow that had been swimming through the air like a fish shattered powerlessly.

Holy power was crushed by an evil spirit.

“Oh…. What is that? Your marksmanship is pretty precise?”

“It’s precision.”

“You have been really picky about word choice for a while now, cadet. Did you major in Korean literature?”

I wiped my nose.

Pitch black blood came off.

Precision.

It was blood thick with Han Taepyeong’s precision.

[Spirit Energy -0.29]
[Spirit Energy -0.29]
[Precision +0.29]
[Precision +0.29]

Twenty percent of my spirit energy was converted into precision.

It exceeded the previous limit of ten percent.

It was a miracle created by two Seraphimzepam pills.

“Is that it? No more arrows?”

“…This is making me competitive.”

Johan’s eyes flashed.

With those eyes, he immediately drew the bowstring.

“Let’s see how far you can go.”

Two rapid shots.

Two arrows of light flew in like seals.

[Lucy… a terrifying evil spirit!]

[Lucy… will bite holy power to pieces!]

Heavenly Killing Archery versus precision.

Holy power versus evil.

Bang bang!

We won.

The two arrows were shot down midair.

Johan frowned and drew the bowstring again.

I could not fall behind in tempo.

While he was drawing the string, I quickly reloaded as well.

Whoosh! Beams of light spread in all directions.

Now the arrows were not targeting the hostages.

The arrows flew in aiming for my vital points.

Even the red trajectories that foretold my future wavered and twisted.

Just grasping the future rushing toward me was enough to make my head spin.

But.

I can see it.

Whether my head spins or not.

Bang!

If I can see the trajectory, I can shoot.

I can hit it.

Twenty percent precision made that possible.

Arrows flew in again.

Bullets intercepted them.

Long.
Short.
Long-lasting.
Brief.

Our duel continued fiercely yet quietly.

Clatter.

Arrows and bullets poured onto the floor.

The ground was already covered with arrows and bullets.

“…Hey. Gunslinger cadet. That was a good show. But this is my victory. That’s a revolver, right?”

[Lucy… not a revolver!]

[Lucy… terrifying evil spirit!]

“No. An evil spirit.”

“The maximum capacity is six rounds. Then I just need to fire seven shots, right?”

“Try it.”

I slowly reloaded my bullets.

Johan’s limit was six consecutive shots.

How do I know.

If he could do seven, he would have done it from the start.

Johan was that kind of guy.

“Ah, this hurts my pride…. Want me to show you?”

“What. You still haven’t? When are you doing it?”

“You little….”

“Are you on a smurf too? I’m actually Challenger…. You think this is my first time trash talking like this?”

“You really know how to push buttons….”

Johan clicked his tongue.

A stalemate.

The firepower we were squeezing out was completely identical.

Neither advancing nor retreating.

Then time was on my side.

We were both overdosing on drugs, but.

This was Alpha Nest.

We must not forget that.

Superhumans would already be mobilizing.

In other words.

Whatever Johan’s Plan B was.

Johan had to run away quickly.

Just standing here like this was already an astronomical loss for him.

“Time is on my side.”

That is what I said, but.

Drip drip drip.

A nosebleed poured out like crazy.

Now all I could smell was metal.

My limit was approaching. There was not much time.

For Johan and for me.

We were both fighting against time. An extension of the Episode 1 concept.

A time attack for both sides.

Whose time would run out first.

“Cadet. You’re bleeding a lot. Are you tired?”

“No? Not at all? I can do this all day.”

“…I guess I will have to take out the seventh arrow.”

Johan moved.

So something was finally coming out.

Bosses are always like this.

Johan shoved his hand under the podium.

“Good thing I prepared…. Come out.”

Did he hide something.

A secret weapon.

Was there really a seventh arrow.

“Ah, it hurts…!”

The secret weapon dragged out by Johan’s hand screamed.

The seventh arrow… really did exist.

The seventh hostage appeared.