An Angel Lives in the Academy
Chapter 152: The Angel Who Crossdresses (2)

As the light faded and the dust settled, only a single silhouette remained standing through the hazy smoke.

The other was just lying on the ground, twitching.

Gulp—Just as Yumari with a cold expressionless face, clenched and unclenched her fist, preparing to intervene. At that moment, a faint groan came from beyond the smoke.

“Ughh…”

A voice that evoked pity, yet was also incredibly alluring. The owner of that groan was Leffrey.

The boy, unable to remember how he was defeated, simply looked up at Lusa, who wore a meaningful smile.

‘What, what exactly happened?’

Leffrey tried to recall the battle that had just taken place.

‘The plan was perfect. Somehow get behind her. And then strike with an unavoidable attack, amplified by light…’

He had believed it was an attack that would be difficult to avoid, even from the front. That’s why he thought he would surely land a hit if he could attack from behind.

And he was right.

However, the moment Leffrey’s fist made contact with Lusa’s back, she had parried it with her shoulder, then using the momentum from the parried fist, she launched Leffrey with an iron mountain technique.

‘How is it that she’s able to react so quickly.’

It was a realm Leffrey couldn't even imagine. A realm that could only be reached by someone who had spent their entire life taking supposedly unavoidable attacks and learning to counter them one by one.

Looking at the confused Leffrey, Lusa spoke.

“Leffrey, you’re strong. Your Fairy Martial Arts has surpassed the expert level and is entering the realm of a master. And your Strength and Agility are nothing to scoff at. On top of that, those leather gloves and shoes are items that suit you perfectly, I’d say you’re also top-tier in terms of equipment.”

The elf dressed in a dobok twitched her ears, then muttered as if she had no choice but to acknowledge it.

“Against a professor who isn't fully equipped, you might even have a chance of winning.”

Murmur murmur—The students were thrown into confusion by Lusa’s shocking statement. Lusa silenced them with a single glare before continuing.

“But you’re missing the most important thing.”

Lusa’s eyes sparkled.

“You haven’t grasped the essence of martial arts. The struggle, the karma, the curse that has flowed through the blood of humanity for tens of thousands of years.”

They were dark words. So dark that even the speaker’s expression seemed a little sad. Lusa quickly erased that sadness from her expression, then asked Leffrey as if nothing had happened.

“What exactly is martial arts?”

What *is* martial arts (武)?

Is it cultivating strength? Mastering combat skills and techniques through training? Or is it being proficient in wielding weapons?

Lusa asked while looking at the collapsed Leffrey. But Leffrey had no strength left to answer.

Lusa muttering ‘Did I go a little too hard?’ then answered her own question.

“Let me make a somewhat awkward analogy. Let’s say there’s a novelist who wrote a novel. Then can we say that the novel was solely created by that person’s writing skills and imagination?”

Lusa continued,

“No, all novels called masterpieces have the author's life melted into them. Beyond just novels, whether it's paintings, sculptures, and songs. To be a masterpiece, they all must contain a part of the creator’s life.”

Then Lusa recommended ‘C.R.E.A.M’ by Wu-Tang Clan, a hip hop song that Leffrey had never even heard of, let alone know the name.

“Now consider Strength and Agility to be writing skills, and combat skills to be imagination. Then what would the author’s life be?”

“Is that what martial arts is?”

Lusa nodded at Leffrey’s answer.

“Yes, that’s martial arts. The struggle inherent in the word 'life' itself. All the karma that one can't help but accumulate while living. To express all of it through combat. That is martial arts.”

Lusa whispered in a quiet voice.

“Show me your life. Sublimate everything you’ve seen, experienced, and felt into a form of combat. If you don't do that, you'll never be able to defeat me.”

Leffrey couldn't bring himself to answer those words.

‘My life…’

The life he had lived as Leffrey was only for a year. Then the life he could truly express through ‘martial arts’ was…

His life in a world that had already been destroyed.

The struggles and the karma he experienced in that life.

And a boy who had become the last survivor of humanity.

Needless to say, there's no way a talentless child could survive until the very end of the world.

If he expressed that through martial arts... then surely Leffrey might be able to reach a new level.

‘But, those memories…’

A familiar darkness beckoned. The scent of blood, one that a sleepless child would smell, lingered in his nose. Leffrey closed his eyes and waited for this moment to pass.

“So, you understand what I’m saying?”

“Yes, I understand.”

Hearing Leffrey's answer that was almost a whisper,

Lusa nodded.

“From what I can see, you probably have a very powerful martial art within you.”

“….”

And so ended the Martial Arts Department class. Leffrey, with questions he couldn’t easily ask weighing on his heart, trudged back to the cathedral.

“I’m so tired…”

* * *

“Leffrey.”

And just as Leffrey collapsed into sleep upon returning to the cathedral, a familiar voice he hadn't heard in a while reached him.

“L-Leffriel?”

The Angel of Judgment residing in Leffrey’s mind.

It was Leffriel.

Although he had been severely injured by the Inquisition Sword and had fallen into a deep sleep, he had somehow awakened.

“Thank goodness. I knew you were still alive!”

“Yes. I’m also glad to be alive.”

Leffriel smiled faintly and pulled up his robe, hiding his scarred body.

“However, I can’t stay awake for long. I’ll be going back to sleep after this conversation ends.”

“I-I see.”

The urgency felt in Leffriel's resolute expression. Leffrey had no time to be happy about the reunion and had to quickly ask.

“Leffriel, did something happen?”

“Yes.”

Leffriel hesitated for a moment, biting his lip before speaking again.

“Angels can protect humans. You know of this, correct?”

“Yes, that’s why I’m a guardian angel.”

“And the demon king is also an angel.”

It was a fact he’d always forget, but the demon king was also an angel. Although he is a fallen angel who had destroyed heaven and now sought to destroy humanity, but still an angel.

“What does that mean? You mean that the demon king is protecting humans?”

“Correct, The demon king protects certain humans. Those who can corrupt karma. Or those necessary for his plans. And…”

“And?”

“Those who truly desire the destruction of this world.”

Leffriel continued.

“He’s trying to raise something called ‘Fallen Heroes’ by selecting talented children from among such people.”

Fallen Hero, it was a concept Leffrey had never heard before.

“Fallen Hero?”

“Yes, heroes who can wield dark karma.”

Just like how Soya, Hongwol, and Yumari had awakened to karma, the demon king could also awaken someone to karma by becoming their guardian.

Although he was inside his mind, Leffrey stumbled.

The demon army was already difficult enough as is, and two of the Four Heavenly Kings are still alive and kicking… and now he had to defeat something called a ‘Fallen Hero’ too?

“Wait.”

Squeezing his aching head, Leffrey looked at Leffriel and asked again.

“You said he was *trying* to raise Fallen Heroes, right? Then does that means he’s failed so far?”

“Yes, most of them failed.”

Leffrey's expression immediately brightened at hearing that most had failed. But the next words that followed made that bright expression vanish instantly.

“But there’s one girl who is on the verge of awakening as a Fallen Hero now.”

Leffriel didn't say anything else.

“We have to stop it.”

“How?”

Leffriel’s eyes slowly began to close. The archangel, who looked just like Leffrey, slowly began to fade.

“Go to St. Lucia Academy. The candidate is there.”

Leffriel squeezed out his last words.

“We have to stop it. No matter what.”

*Beep beep beep—*Leffrey opened his eyes at the high-pitched beeping. He was happy to see Leffriel after so long, but worry about the Fallen Hero instantly filled his heart.

“Fallen Hero? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

He had never even heard of it in his past future. Humanity had never used the term ‘Fallen Hero’ before.

“If we're talking about the Demon King's subordinates. First there's the Four Heavenly Kings, the monsters that serve the demon king and the corrupted cults like the New Truth Church…”

Corrupted cults, like the New Truth Church.

They had declared that Luciel was the new Heaven and did everything they could to make him the one true god. And the moment Luciel took control of the human world, they were the first to be massacred by the monsters.

‘Why, why do you forsake us!’

The believers cried out, but Luciel only mocked them.

‘Just as the New Angel Church had a saint called Sori, the corrupted cults also had a girl called a saint.’

A saint who was infamous for her strength and her cruelty.

That saint had graduated from St. Lucia Academy and was known for killing Rebecca, the theology professor, after a long battle.

‘Could that saint be… the Fallen Hero?’

But that didn't solve the problem. Leffrey didn’t know the identity of that corrupted cult’s saint.

‘She always wore a thick black veil. And she was only ever addressed as the ‘saint’ so I don’t know her name let alone what she looks like.’

“Ugh…”

If that saint were a Central Superhuman Academy student, he would have immediately activated his Silver Shoes and started searching, but St. Lucia Academy was an all-girls school and an absolute no-boys zone, so…

…Leffrey couldn’t search.

Then what if he infiltrated and searched secretly?

‘The overall karma of this era is very dark. It would take an incredible amount of concentration to distinguish the demon king’s influence in this already darkened karma. Plus, it would take a long time.’

As explained before, the difficulty of using a top-tier item is akin to piloting a spaceship. That meant it was incredibly complex no matter how much training you had.

To focus on the Silver Shoes for a long period while also maintaining his concealment for an even longer time? It was impossible for Leffrey.

‘I'd barely be able to focus on the Silver Shoes alone.’

But St. Lucia Academy was a no-boys zone. There’s no way for Leffrey to enter through normal means.

“Haah…”

At that moment, Leffrey…

…remembered something a student had once said.

‘Wait, didn’t they say that our academy was having an exchange program with St. Lucia Academy.’

An exchange program. They would choose a few students and have them live at each other’s academies for a week. A week would be more than enough to find her. A week is enough.

Leffrey opened his smartphone with a glimmer of hope. Surely they wouldn’t exclude male students from the exchange program?

He opened the Central Superhuman Academy website. The first thing that popped up was a notice about the St. Lucia Academy exchange program.

‘The program starts the day after tomorrow. The location is St. Lucia Academy, and only female students are allowed to apply…’

Well, that made sense.

Since the Central Superhuman Academy was co-ed, they could simply select and send only female students.

‘There’s… There’s no way…’

Even the Stupid Angel Leffrey could feel it. If he were to let this Fallen Hero awaken, then humanity’s chances of victory would fly far away.

He had to stop it, no matter what.

‘Wait.’

A thought suddenly flashed through Leffrey’s mind.

“Maybe there is a way after all.”