The Academy’s Deceased Ate It All - Chapter 124

Chapter 124

Come to think of it, there were not one or two facts that were strange.

The fact that Isabelle Gaudi had several roots of Mandragora, the legendary herb.

The fact that Cass Lyle, who is more versed in alchemy than anyone else, could not properly answer the questions I asked about Mandragora.

The fact that Mandragora, which should have withered and died long ago, was still alive and communicating with me.

The fact that he was particularly obsessed with Spirit Stones.

And above all, the fact that he had just cried out and showed the effect of instant death, even though there was no instant death effect other than the first cry.

Lastly, the guy’s very friendly attitude towards me after I killed Margo.
Margot and Svengali had a relationship that was so bad that even after years I vividly remember.

No way, really… .

“…… .”

As I lowered my gaze, Mandragora was trembling in my pocket.

As soon as I saw it, I knew immediately that it was not because of injustice, but because of the fact that the secret he had hidden was discovered.
Seeing this, Svengali tilted his head as if he didn’t really know.

“There are also natural Mandragora, but they do not have the will I had created. As you can see, I really did not know. I had originally ordered them to wither away and die as soon as they made a sound once, so that no one could use them… .”

He murmured curiously.

“It looks very healthy. And when I watched it earlier, it seems to be able to think very autonomously and communicate at a high level… How on earth did you nurture it to grow up so interestingly? Huh? Tell me a little about it.”

I ignored Svengali’s words and looked at Mandragora.
He was just quivering in my pocket and as if he noticed my gaze, he glanced at me.
Then he opened his mouth to say something, but soon lowered his head again.

“…!”

When I raised my hand, he was startled, and he wrapped his roots around his head as if frightened.
Slightly finding his appearance absurd, I poked his head with my finger.

“Hey, I kind of knew. That you’re not an ordinary guy.”

Then he quietly lowered his roots and looked at me in surprise.

It really was.
I had already known he was hiding something.
I just… .

“…?”

I just didn’t have to ask because I had a lot of fun with him.
To be honest, he was always very friendly to me, and his presence, which always made me feel welcomed every time I came back to the room with the lights off, was definitely a great help to me.

So I just ignored it, thinking that one day he would explain, and that he would have his own reason.
Because while literally living under the same roof, I was well aware that he didn’t mean anything bad to me.

… Of course, I thought he might have something to do with the spirits, but I never dreamed that he would be related to the Seven Evils.

“… Have I not given you that much faith?”

When I muttered as if I was hurt inside, he immediately shook his head.
Then as if saying, that’s it, I tapped his head a few more times and smiled lightly.

“~~~!”

Mandragora shook his body as if he were shy and slipped into my pocket.
But after a while, as if he had forgotten something, he poked his head out and looked at Svengali.

“…!”

“Well, that is true. It is rather embarrassing.”

Mandragora fed him so-called potatoes, insulting him with concise and powerful movements.
Then he went back into my pocket again.
Seeing that, I smirked and looked at him.

Svengali.
A Seven Evil with a similar yet different personality from Margo.
The greatest similarity between the two is that they cleverly grasp the psychology of the other and drive a wedge between them, causing distrust and division.

So, when facing Svengali, one should not listen to his words at all.
Because he cleverly deceives and wraps up the truth and makes up a plausible story.

In fact, when I faced him in the original story, he made all the colleagues I had gathered so far leave, albeit temporarily, giving me a sense of emptiness.

Svengali, perhaps not liking my calm reaction, clicked his tongue and looked at me and Lee Ye-Eun.

“…Are you sure you do not want to be with me more than him? Even if I look like this, I can interfere with people’s minds… I can do a lot more than you think. If you become my compatriot who shares my will and understands me, I am willing to lend my strength as a compatriot to you.”

Svengali, who was muttering like that, looked at Lee Ye-Eun.

“Yes, if you allow me, I might be able to help you get comfortable.”

“What are you talking about, you filthy… !”

“Right now you are being swept up between a lot of big emotions, are you not? And you do not even know properly what they are, so you are suffering more distress and pain.”

Lee Ye-Eun shut her mouth at Svengali’s words.
He muttered in a very businesslike tone, like a doctor examining a patient.

“First of all, a sense of shame, inferiority, and disappointment in yourself. It stems from the fact that you are the only one present here who could not possess a branch of the World Tree. Now you are thinking with all your heart that… even that monster has it?”

I could hear her swallowing her breath.
He nodded as if he knew everything.

“And then there is emptiness and a sense of freedom. You have succeeded in killing the enemy, which had been your long-cherished dream, but it was not as refreshing as you thought it would be because you have defeated him so vainly. Above all else, it is because you did not take the revenge with your own strength, but it was as if it were being put on someone else. As a result, various emotions such as dissatisfaction and anxiety are appearing indirectly.”

“Stop.”

“And lastly, um… How should I put it? It is the biggest emotion. Firm reason, disgust and contempt for oneself, a desire to protect that borders on maternal love, guilt and debt, and confusion and indecision. Doubts and conflicts about oneself, and finally, lov… .”

“I told you to stop!”

Lee Ye-Eun let out a shout in a hysterical voice.
Svengali clacked his beak awkwardly as he watched her breath heavily.

“I am trying to help you solve the problems that are plaguing you. Is it not the order to solve a problem by recognizing that there is a problem and figuring out what it is?”

At Lee Ye-Eun’s desperate cry, he tilted her head as if to ask, what’s the problem?

“In my judgment, you harbor conflicting and contradictory feelings toward him. From what I can see, you have never experienced such an intense whirlwind of emotions. Because of that, you have been suffering from stomach pain, migraines, inexplicable fatigue, and even depression symptoms… .”

But do not worry.

“I think you are just mistaken. It can be fixed in no time.”

“… What?”

“You have never experienced anything like that in your life until now, so you are just mistaken. Considering your age, that is very wrong. From what I can see, you did not have a proper socialization process and did not interact with your peers, right? In such a case, when push comes to shove, you will walk down the wrong path.”

He nodded regretfully.

“If you had experienced that feeling for someone else, you would have suffered the same. To put it a little straighter, if you had felt it for the same sex, you would probably be struggling with your gender identity right now. And now, do you not feel that way towards your half-brother and are seriously struggling with morality and human ethics? But do not worry. If it is me, I can easily get you out of such worries and make you feel at ease… .”

At those words, Lee Ye-Eun literally fell into contemplation and let out a painful groan.

And I had no need to listen to his bullsh*t anymore.
I moved my fingers and cut off his neck with Henir’s shadow that had been spread out.

“Aaaa.”

I know very well that this kind of thing won’t kill him.
But at least it would keep his mouth shut for a while.

“Senior.”

“Ji, Ji-Hyuk… I, I would never… .”

“I know.”

I said that to Lee Ye-Eun, who shook her head and trembled.
Then I took out a blackened piece of wood from my inner pocket.

If Margo had a weight, Svengali had this piece of wood.
When dealing with Margo, adding weight was a key item.
And this piece of wood could block the energy of brainwashing and sympathy contained in Svengali’s words.

I have one I got from the orchard and one I just robbed from Lee Jae-Joon.
There were two in total.
I put one of them in her hand.

“The reason you are so shaken up is because of his ability. He shakes the minds of others with his words. But with this, it won’t work.”

I nodded and looked at Svengali.
Then I gathered the branches of the World Tree I had spread out while he and Lee Ye-Eun was talking.

The reason why I kept silent and let him speak was simple.
Because I needed to recover my mana since I had spent a lot of mana healing her and fighting earlier.

The mana absorbed from Svengali’s body was certainly abundant, but it was ominous.
Perhaps a normal person would be dead by now, looking terrible.

However, after killing Margo before, I knew that I had a hidden characteristic in me that could negate the curse of the Seven Evils.
And, as I expected, due to that characteristic, I was able to filter out all the curses and negatives of Svengali’s mana and absorb only the pure part.

“… What, how are you still okay?”

His severed head looked at me and muttered.
Vines and branches came out of his body, and his head was connected again.
He muttered as if he didn’t like it at all.

“Really, it is not going as I expected.”

He rolled his eyes so hard that I could hear a rattling sound.
His eyes, which were looking here and there, suddenly seemed to go to the back of his eyeball, then went back to normal again.

His eyes were now staring at me, full of displeasure.

“My alter ego and that woman. They really do not help me move as I please.”

“Didn’t I tell you? I hate you so much. So I don’t want you to get what you want. ”

I spat on the floor.
It was something I normally wouldn’t have done, but this was his body.
If I could, I wanted to poop and pee here.

“Yes, it is a pity that I can not kill you even if I want to.”

He nodded.

“Because for my plan to work, you and she have to be alive. I shall let you know, since there is nothing you can do anyway, even if you knew. My plan is this.”

The next head of the World Tree family who has been transported to a mysterious place.
And a man with a branch of the World Tree who is connected to the head of the clan.
The two of them join forces to defeat the head of the Thorns Cross Society.
However, when they faint from exhaustion, others rescue them, and in the process, they go through various psychological changes and take different steps than before….

“It is hard to find a group with as much influence in this world as the World Tree clan. And the power of the World Tree is essential to my plans. In other words, the next head of the clan… no, now that she is the real head of the clan, her presence is a must for me.”

At those words, Lee Ye-Eun put on a disgusted expression on her face.
Of course, no one in the world would be happy to hear that they are going to be turned into puppets.

“And you… .”

Svengali tilted his head.

“I shall be honest with you. I have never seen anything as unusual as you. It is from the fact that a branch of the World Tree has taken root in your body. So… Well, it is a little awkward to say, but.”

“So you want to dissect me?”

“What, how did you know?”

I sighed.
I’m not some kind of laboratory frog, but why are there so many guys who want to rip my belly open?

“… To whom does this birdbrain dare now?”

Lee Ye-Eun muttered like that and raised her bow.
Pulling out a spear and a sword from the shadows, I walked out a few steps as if to stand in front of her.

“It is a shame that the negotiations have broken down.”

With those words, Svengali slowly spread his wings.

“Then I suppose it can not be helped. I shall make a little mess.”

With a crunching sound, his body grew larger and larger.
Crunching sound.
Crunch-crunch.

“A healthy mind resides in a healthy body. Conversely, a wounded body is inhabited by a wounded mind.”

Even as he said that, he chuckled as if his words were funny.

“Nothing is as easy to penetrate as an unstable mind. So I am going to make both of them a little, messy.”

The middle of his body split open and something like a bird’s beak poked out.
Clicking his beak, he muttered.

“It will be hard to hold back so that I do not eat you by mistake.”

With those words, he slowly flew into the air.

Every time he flapped his wings, various things began to grow around him.
Vines, weeds, mushrooms, trees, flowers… .

The Seven Evil that encroaches on the mind of the opponent and dyes it with its own color.
Svengali muttered, gradually eroding his surroundings into his realm.

“This is my body. That is why I have the confidence not to lose to anyone here.”

The human mouth and the bird’s beak opened at the same time.
Inside, with a crunching sound, the thorns were constantly wriggling.

“Anyway, be careful not to die.”

It is a lot of work to trample a worm without killing it.
Along with his words, a warning notification window floated in front of me.

[The quest ‘Second Evil’ begins.]

[The Seven Evil ‘Svengali’ recognizes you as an enemy.]

[I hope you do not lose who you are.]

At the same time, the three of us began to act individually, without anyone saying so first.