An Angel Lives in the Academy
Chapter 77: The Angel Learns the Style (8)

Episode 77

Leffrey took to the skies once again.

After taking a look at the world from above, he realized his mission.

To defeat ‘those who seek the sapling’.

To punish ‘those who torment the weak’.

He descended upon the world, as a judge.

Those who sought the sapling were the strong.

And those who tormented the weak were also the strong.

The top students of the Central Academy.

They were chosen geniuses, the culmination of humanity's superhuman studies, built upon a foundation of science and magical studies, and honed through a brutal way of life.

They were not opponents a boy who didn’t even have a family to support him could win against.

But.

[Angels become stronger when they do the right thing!]

Angels become stronger when they do good.

Leffrey, despite feeling his magic, Angelic Power, and stamina reaching their limits, still felt incredibly light.

Most of the first-years and senior students Leffrey faced were stronger than Evok.

He had to be prepared to get hurt if he wanted to defeat them, and there were countless times he was almost knocked down.

But Leffrey took to the skies again.

And after looking down at the world, he descended again to pass judgment.

‘This feels familiar.’

To be surrounded like this was a first in this life.

So was engaging in aerial combat like this.

And so was descending to pass judgment.

‘My body remembers it. How to fight.’

It felt so familiar.

And humans are good at things they are familiar with.

Thus, Leffrey slowly became more adept at combat.

In a world that was once destroyed.

The fighting style of an angel called Leffriel was slowly taking shape.

‘Fulfill your mission.’

A voice, he couldn’t tell if it was Leffriel or Leffrey, echoed within the boy’s mind.

Leffrey, looking down at his blood-soaked hands, lamented in this hellish world.

“Is this truly… the right way…?”

* * *

Lusa smelled a familiar scent.

The burnt smell of fire.

The metallic scent of blood.

The familiar aroma of sweat.

And the scent of youth unique to children.

“Damn it.”

Lusa hated that scent so much.

The smell of young kids, reeking of youth, holding swords, swearing loyalty to their nation, and dying on the battlefield…

It drove Lusa insane.

“Those kids, still so full of youth...”

Koo Sang-hyuk stood tall. Even though his left arm was broken and his eyes were swollen, making him look hideous, he was still smiling and shaking his head.

Yumari was also standing. Suppressing her horn that crackled with blue spark and electricity, barely holding back her dragon instincts by biting down on her lip until it bled.

But most of the students couldn't stand.

Most of the student council had been wiped out, and after Lusa’s relentless pursuit, the Connoisseurs’ Club students had met a similar fate.

They were all knocked unconscious and carried out of the arena.

“You don’t know how to give up. This kind of exam… why are you trying so hard?”

Yumari and Koo Sang-hyuk readied themselves once again.

Lusa, smelling the scent of youth once more and at the familiar scent of the battlefield that was mixing with it… Her face wrinkled in disgust.

“This is the exam you created, professor. We, we… only know this method!”

Is this the only method we know?

Is this the only way we can live?

What does it mean…

“Yeah, me too...”

To truly live?

Lusa shook her head.

“I also only know of this method.”

At that moment, she heard a soft voice,

“Kids, hold on.”

Lusa, unable to hide her annoyance, looked down at the owner of the voice.

A beautiful woman with long black hair, the kind you would only see on TV. A mischievous face. And the powerful aura unique to the Seocheon Yu.

She looked like a hornless Yumari.

Of course, there were many differences, but that didn’t change the fact that they were sisters.

Her name was Yu Si-hyun.

“Professor, you're quite serious for a mere exam.”

“Yeah, creating an exam is exhausting, so get ready to get your ass kicked.”

“Kukuku, and can you even hit me?”

Yu Si-hyun chuckled as if amused.

Yumari, as if their conversation was irrelevant, readied herself once again.

“Mari? What are you doing?”

“...”

Yumari didn't answer.

Her dragon's instincts had already consumed her entirely.

“Haah, this girl. Really. Do you want to be scolded by your big sister?”

At Yu Si-hyun's playful words, Yumari immediately stopped.

Yumari, trembling slightly, looked at the successor of the Seocheon Yu.

“Good girl. You’ll listen to your big sister, right?”

Yu Si-hyun naturally patted Yumari's head, then stood in front of Lusa, the martial arts professor.

“Professor, there seems to be something a bit off about this final exam.”

“What?”

“Ahahaha, I apologize. My head isn’t working very well right now, so I couldn't understand the professor’s profound intentions.”

Yu Si-hyun made an apologetic expression, then looked up at the platform.

“Is that the World Tree sapling? Our family elders would love this. It's cute.”

“This fucking…”

Lusa’s veins bulged.

Yu Si-hyun, amused by Lusa's reaction, covered her mouth and politely laughed.

“Ahahaha, so offering the sapling as the final exam prize wasn’t Professor Lusa’s intention after all. Then it was the World Tree, huh? For the World Tree to do something like this…”

Yu Si-hyun continued,

“Is there a mole in our academy?”

She then waved her hand, saying, “Just kidding~ just kidding~”.

“I'm just joking, Professor. Surely there couldn't be a traitor among the students you carefully selected, someone colluding with the demon army, right?”

“Ah, I really hate you. You son of a bitch…”

Professor Lusa, now genuinely furious, stomped over towards Yu Si-hyun.

“Ahahaha, this idiot doesn't know anything. Just ignore her. My apologies.”

Then, subtly turning around, Yu Si-hyun showed her back to Lusa.

Yu Si-hyun slowly looked at Yumari. Yumari immediately obeyed her command to stop. The blank expression taught by the family, the combat stance taught by the family.

...It was a bit boring.

"A sapling of the world tree, awarded to the top student of this final exam. The World Tree sapling."

Yu Si-hyun probed Yumari.

Yumari remained expressionless.

“There are many ways to use it. One of its arm or a leg can be used to create an elixir, and it’s so cute it can be used for experiments, our family elders would love her. Haha, for this final exam, I'll be sure to...”

At that moment, Yu Si-hyun saw it.

Yumari's eyes wavering, her hand momentarily twitching.

Yu Si-hyun smiled genuinely for the first time in a long time.

"Ahahaha, fun."

Lusa unleashed her Fairy Martial Arts to its limits. The ground trembled in response.

"...Hmm, surely she wouldn't use her Ultimate Skill against a student, right? This must be a secret technique."

Yu Si-hyun, without a hint of nervousness, looked at Lusa's stance.

"A Fairy Martial Arts secret technique."

Yu Si-hyun finally took a stance.

It was the basic position for a straight punch.

"This is intriguing."

"...Crazy bitch."

"I hear that a lot these days."

Thus, Lusa and Yu Si-hyun faced each other, both taking their stances. Lusa, forgetting she was a professor, was fully prepared to defeat Yu Si-hyun.

"Fairy Martial Arts, Chapter 10. Earth's Grace."

"Ahahaha."

Earth's Grace, the strongest secret technique of Fairy Martial Arts. It allowed the user to turn all the Earth's mana and spirits to their side, gaining the ultimate attack and defense, as long as their feet touched the earth.

Lusa, with this technique activated, as the representative of Earth, had never been defeated by anyone except Park Jin-ho.

"What should we call it… Si-hyun style?"

But Yu Si-hyun muttered, not even bothering to dodge such an attack.

"Random Si-hyun Style. Earth Breaker."

Yu Si-hyun, with a smile, stomped her foot, raising a cloud of dust.

To switch from a straight punch stance to a foot-stomping stance so quickly…

For a moment, Lusa forgot that Yu Si-hyun was her opponent.

"Ha, a feint?"

She couldn’t help but admire her, muttering those words.

The dust cloud obscured Lusa's vision.

'The power of earth, shattered?'

Cracks spread throughout the arena with a single stomp from Yu Si-hyun.

Yu Si-hyun smiled brightly and said,

"Professor Lusa, your techniques are... too well known."

And while Lusa was stunned, Yu Si-hyun instantly closed the distance.

"Even an idiot like me can easily understand them!"

Yu Si-hyun, now standing to Lusa's left, was preparing another straight punch.

"Si-hyun style."

Lusa's reaction was a bit delayed.

The punishment from the World Tree, her fatigue from single-handedly maintaining the Central Academy barrier, and the battles she had fought against countless students…

Had all delayed her reaction.

But there weren't many in this world who could take advantage of such a mistake. Even a high-ranking executive(general) of the demon army, or even one of the Four Heavenly Kings, would have a hard time striking Lusa, even if she showed such a weakness.

But Yu Si-hyun struck.

This was her talent.

An insane talent for martial arts, that made even the professors marvel.

The heir of the Seocheon Yu, the hero's family, a talent recognized by all as the next hero…

"Just break it."

Yu Si-hyun held a blue dagger in her hand.

It was a simple magic sword forged with Yu Si-hyun's power.

But even such a simple magic sword…

Combined with the teachings of the Central Academy…

"They raised a tiger cub."

"Ahahaha."

Lusa, barely managing to regain her footing, muttered those words.

And…

Crash- Boom-

The entire arena shook.

As if a bomb had exploded.

A cloud of smoke billowed, too massive to have been created by a human.

As the dust settled, Lusa still stood tall.

"...Huh?"

Yu Si-hyun, seeing that, finally stopped her arrogant smile.

"Haa… haa…"

Lusa was unharmed.

She was clearly unharmed, but she couldn't help but stare at the boy standing in front of her with a truly helpless expression.

"Leffrey!!!"

"Haa… haa…"

The moment Yu Si-hyun attacked Lusa, someone descended like the evening star, deflecting her attack and enduring the shockwave.

Her attack, that shattered the earth, unleashing power that rivaled a weapon of mass destruction.

"Ha…"

"Hmm."

Yu Si-hyun quickly assessed the situation.

Lusa was the Martial God. She might have shown a weakness due to being careless because she was fighting students + accumulated fatigue + the World Tree's punishment, but...

Now that she had shown that weakness, she would never show it again.

'Because that's what a hero does.'

Yu Si-hyun slowly stepped back.

The surrounding students muttered,

"What? He blocked… the next Hero's attack?"

"A mere first-year blocked the student council president's attack?"

"No, this, how is this possible?"

The student council and Connoisseurs' Club students were all in a state of confusion. And a few of them.

"L-Leffrey."

Yumari looked at Leffrey with concern, and…

"...Leffrey."

Jack White looked at him with admiration.

"Leffrey?"

And some of the student council executives, felt their hearts warming as they watched Leffrey.

The young student who protected his professor with his broken body.

"...How is this even possible?"

Yu Si-hyun tilted her head.

Her attack was something a first-year shouldn't be able to block. And that included first-years like Yumari and Hongwol.

To think that a boy with no backing could block an attack that even Yumari and Hongwol couldn't…

"What is he? A low-ranking angel?"

Yu Si-hyun looked at Leffrey once again.

There couldn't be any surviving archangels, but...

"This is too difficult, I don't understand."

Yu Si-hyun shook her head and turned around.

'It works. This method. Even against Yu Si-hyun...'

The method that won him victory against Hongwol. Leffrey's secret weapon that even Leffriel couldn't replicate.

Leffrey, looking at his broken arms, standing tall on his two legs, looked at Lusa and muttered,

"So, defeating Yu Si-hyun is how you become the top student, right?"

Leffrey continued,

"I-I'll defeat Yu Si-hyun."

The boy muttered as if making a promise to himself.

****

TL Afterword: I am a bit torn on just keeping executive or general. Well both could work but ehh, whatever it doesn’t matter? I think?