I Became A Flashing Genius At The Magic Academy-Chapter 440

Baek Yuseol’s sudden declaration of intent to kill caused no alarm to the disheveled-haired woman before him. Instead, she responded calmly.

"You’re going to kill a witch hunter? Why?"

Though he had made the statement to test her reaction, her unexpectedly lukewarm response left Baek Yuseol second-guessing himself.

‘Did I mess up?’

He briefly wondered if pretending to be a witch hunter from the beginning would’ve been a better approach. However, since he had already committed to the persona of someone out to kill witch hunters, there was no turning back now.

Determined to see it through, he decided to add some depth to the story to bolster his act.

"This bracelet..."

He raised his wrist, displaying the accessory.

"Do you recognize it?"

"That... carries the essence of a witch."

"Sharp observation."

The woman before him was undoubtedly a witch hunter. However, all Baek Yuseol knew about her was that she had abandoned her pursuit of witches and secluded herself in the forest.

Beyond that, even his Magpie Goggles provided little additional information.

All he could do was rely on his instincts.

"This bracelet was a gift from my mentor and closest friend—a witch."

At those words, the woman’s expression slowly hardened.

This was a gamble.

If any trace of her former identity as a witch hunter remained, Baek Yuseol would likely face her wrath.

As a human mage who had befriended a witch, he could very well be killed on the spot. History had proven that some witch hunters would annihilate entire villages for sheltering witches, regardless of whether the villagers were aware of the witch’s identity.

Announcing such a connection was, without a doubt, a life-threatening risk.

But...

‘She didn’t retreat into this forest for no reason.’

Behind him, Finarette, the guide adventurer, stood nervously. Despite being diluted, her blood unmistakably marked her as a witch.

The fact that this woman not only allowed Finarette into her cabin but also interacted with her in a familiar manner suggested that she had likely abandoned witch hunting long ago.

The most convincing evidence was Finarette’s knowledge of the path leading to this location.

A witch knowing the hideout of a witch hunter and still being alive?

This wasn’t an ordinary story.

"The one who gifted me this bracelet disappeared. For a long time, I was in despair, but when I finally composed myself and thought about it rationally, the cause became clear."

"...You’re saying she was killed by a witch hunter?"

"Yes. That’s why I’m tracking down every witch hunter—to personally slit their throats."

“W-wait a second! What are you saying?!”

Finarette, panicking, tried to interject, but the disheveled-haired woman lowered her head and let out a dry chuckle.

"Hah."

Seeing this, Finarette, already fearful, retreated a full 100 meters and hid behind a tree trunk.

Unbothered by her actions, Baek Yuseol deliberately furrowed his brow.

"What’s so amusing? I’ve already killed three witch hunters. You won’t escape, either."

Adding a number to his story made it sound more detailed and believable.

Though he had killed a witch hunter before, it wasn’t three.

‘A little exaggeration adds life to a lie.’

Whoosh—!

A gust of wind swept through the towering trees, causing them to sway ominously.

The woman, silent, stared at Baek Yuseol with her dark-ringed eyes for a long moment before finally speaking.

"...I see. I could sense the thick scent of a witch. So, that’s your story."

As she raised her head to the sky, Baek Yuseol felt a chilling sensation run through his entire body.

‘This...!’

He flinched.

An overwhelming surge of mana swept across the area, covering the entire forest with an immense energy that defied comprehension.

The sky shifted colors—red, yellow, lavender, and then back to blue—as if nothing had happened.

Baek Yuseol broke into a cold sweat.

If...

If he had fought her with his life on the line, could he have won?

‘...No chance.’

Witch hunters were beings outside the bounds of normal strength.

In Aiter World, they were irregulars whose power was nearly impossible to gauge.

‘They do have the limitation of only using their strength for witch hunting... but still.’

Considering how many witch hunters had used the pretext of "witch hunting" to slaughter countless innocent humans and mages, they could easily be deemed one of Aiter World’s greatest threats.

This woman, however, seemed to have completely abandoned that path.

"You don’t need to be tense. Even if you wish to harm me, I won’t attack you."

"...Why not?"

At last, the woman smiled faintly.

"Because you share the same mission as I do."

Finally, the answer he wanted. Baek Yuseol quickly dropped his threatening posture. Not because he was afraid of being attacked, of course. He simply no longer needed to intimidate her.

"You’ve given up your mission as a witch hunter, haven’t you?"

"Yes. It’s left me as a useless shell, but at least I can enjoy my own time in the forest. What’s your name?"

"Baek Yuseol."

"The name I used long ago was Cyclen. Call me that."

With that, Cyclen turned and began walking back toward her mansion.

The mansion, oddly placed in the heart of the forest, had a strange fairy-tale-like quality, though its presence felt out of place.

No, its mysterious grandeur was almost beautiful.

‘So, she’s a former witch hunter...’

It was rare to find a witch hunter capable of having a conversation.

Cyclen had hunted witches for a long time, so she undoubtedly had a wealth of information about them.

Perhaps, she even knew something about Scarlet’s true body.

"What are you doing? Not following?"

As Baek Yuseol stood there, Cyclen turned back and called to him. Quickly, he stored his staff in his subspace and followed her.

"W-what about me?!"

"You can leave."

Baek Yuseol’s response to Finarette was curt. Yet despite being told to leave, she clenched her fists and clung to his back, following them.

A witch daring to enter the hideout of a witch hunter...

She had guts.

The interior of the mansion was as cold and empty as its vine-covered exterior suggested.

There was hardly any furniture, and the occasional statues and abstract paintings added an eerie atmosphere, as if they were watching.

Cyclen led Baek Yuseol through the hallway, her gait unsteady as though she might collapse at any moment.

When she finally opened a door at the end of the hall, Baek Yuseol, who had been expecting a reception room, was taken aback to find a bedroom instead.

"Um... this is?"

"Sit over there and rest for a bit..."

With that, Cyclen collapsed onto the bed.

"Uh... excuse me...?"

No response.

"Hello...?"

It seemed she had fallen asleep.

Baek Yuseol had never encountered such an absurd form of hospitality in his life.

***

Unable to force Cyclen awake, as she had fallen into a deep sleep, Baek Yuseol began exploring the mansion.

Though there wasn’t much to see, the soft sunlight filtering through the cracked windows created a serene and purifying atmosphere that seemed to soothe his mind.

Even though he was pressed for time, itching to wake Cyclen up, he held back.

When someone shows goodwill, patience is required in return.

"How did you end up getting close to a witch?"

Trailing after him, Finarette bombarded him with questions.

"All encounters begin with chance."

"You were probably in a very close romantic relationship with her, weren’t you? I can tell just by looking!"

"It was a deep connection."

"How much did you love her?"

"The grace of a mentor is as vast as the sky; it would be disrespectful to measure it."

No matter what Finarette asked, Baek Yuseol gave vague answers, leaving her bored and muttering in frustration.

"Fine, whatever."

It seemed like the conversation would end there, but clearly finding the silence dull, she began talking again.

"You know, you and Cyclen are kinda in the same boat."

She walked alongside him, gazing out the window. Though she had started the conversation, her expression didn’t seem particularly cheerful.

"Cyclen loved a witch too. Isn’t that funny? Why is it that the one you fall in love with always has to be the nemesis you’re sworn to kill?"

After a moment of silence, Baek Yuseol chuckled softly.

"Maybe it’s because they’re your nemesis that you fall in love with them."

"Oh, so you’re saying you were the same? Like, were you a former witch hunter or something?"

"I wasn’t."

"Ugh, boring."

Despite her complaints, Finarette added, "Still, you’re probably in a similar situation to Cyclen. So, don’t hate her too much. You might actually be able to talk things through."

He had no intention of hating her.

He had only pretended to be antagonistic.

"From what I hear, she’s the type who hates being despised. Sure, she’s hiding out here now, but it sounds like she couldn’t even fulfill her witch-hunting duties properly because she loved humans too much... Huh?"

As she rambled about Cyclen’s past, Finarette suddenly squinted and looked out the window.

The sourc𝗲 of this content is freēwēbηovel.c૦m.

"Do you smell something burning?"

"Burning smell?"

At her words, Baek Yuseol sniffed the air but didn’t notice anything unusual.

Then, he glanced out the window and froze when he saw dark clouds rising in the distance.

It wasn’t clouds.

It was smoke.

Smoke rising from a burning forest.

"W-what’s going on...?"

Baek Yuseol leapt lightly out the window and used a teleportation spell to land on the mansion’s roof.

With the zoom function of his Magpie Goggles and his superhuman eyesight, he saw a group of people approaching from afar.

"Burn it all! Burn everything!"

"Kill the witch!"

"Kill the witch!"

The faint shouts, carried by the wind, reached his ears like a whisper.

He turned his head.

There stood Cyclen, dressed the same as before, with dark circles under her eyes as she gazed silently at the forest.

"...It’s been a while since I’ve had visitors, but it seems I’ll be showing them a rather unsightly scene."

"What’s going on here?" Baek Yuseol asked calmly.

Cyclen let out a self-deprecating smile.

"What else? A ‘witch hunt.’ They must not like the idea of a creepy woman living in the forest."

"A witch hunt...?"

For a moment, Baek Yuseol was dumbfounded and looked back at the forest.

Unable to enter due to Cyclen’s magic, the humans had apparently decided to burn the entire forest down instead.

"A witch hunt, huh?"

They weren’t hunting anyone else but a former witch hunter.

The irony and absurdity of it all were staggering.

"It’s karma, don’t you think? When you consider the atrocities committed by my kind in the name of witch hunting..."

Cyclen’s tone was bitter as she spoke.

"Hanging witches in front of crowds, burning them at the stake. Destroying entire villages under the pretense of hunting witches. Sacrificing and killing innocent women, slapping them with the label of ‘witch,’ and ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) spreading vile rumors."

"Now it’s come to this: if someone finds a woman unsettling, she’s branded a ‘witch.’ It’s become easier for witch hunters."

Of course, there were hardly any witches left in the world.

Cyclen gave Baek Yuseol a bitter smile.

"You should leave. I’m going to burn along with this forest today."

Witch hunters couldn’t use their power indiscriminately against ordinary humans.

Many witch hunters had slaughtered countless innocents under the guise of identifying witches, but if they used their powers without reason against regular people, they were dragged into eternal torment.

It didn’t look like Cyclen intended to run.

In other words, she was prepared to die today.

Saving a stranger from such overwhelming odds was an arduous task.

But this wasn’t about altruism—Baek Yuseol needed to get information about Scarlet.

With a sigh, he gripped his staff.

"I’ll try to talk to them."

"It won’t be easy."

"If it doesn’t work..."

He scratched his head with his staff and said,

"I’ll beat them up until they listen."

In a situation like this, violence seemed like the most efficient solution.