Chapter 14: Completely Overhaul Part 3

‘Thanks to Karen stepping in, Erin was able to buy some time to return.’

‘Although she ended up in a bloody brawl, considering she fought a dragon, getting away with just a few torn skin wounds was actually decent.’

‘If it had been a real battle to the death, she would’ve had to endure breath attacks and all sorts of elemental magic—she wouldn’t have come out of it in one piece.’

‘And yet, Karen, despite being a dragon who absolutely detests demons, didn’t kill Ayla.’

‘She must’ve been quietly respecting my intentions and showing me consideration in her own way.’

‘I appreciate it, but…’

She pulled a bold stunt before leaving.

I could understand her leaning in close to keep others from hearing.

But I didn’t expect her to suddenly kiss me right after saying her piece.

Karen was a dragon with a mindset different from humans and a very open personality—I knew that much.

‘She probably meant the kiss more as a sign of getting closer, not as a romantic gesture.’

‘Still, the problem was how others would interpret it.’

“Master, do you have a thing for dragons?”

“What are you talking about? Of course not!”

“Then how do you explain kissing Miss Katraren? I won’t accept any vague answers.”

“I—I was caught off guard! It wasn’t my idea, and I had no such intention!”

“Are you absolutely sure?”

“Yes, really! You saw how flustered I was afterward, didn’t you?”

“Hmm…”

Erin continued to stare at me closely.

It felt like she was trying to figure out if I had feelings for Karen.

Her suspicious gaze was uncomfortable, but I had nothing to hide, so I stood tall.

“Anyway, even if I was in a relationship with Karen, it wouldn’t really concern you, would it?”

“Excuse me?”

“We’re just an ordinary master and disciple. Who I like is none of your business.”

“I suppose that’s true…”

As I laid down the facts, Erin’s voice grew noticeably quieter.

She didn’t argue anymore, but she pursed her lips like she was disappointed.

‘Wait… does she have feelings for me?’

‘But that didn’t really add up—Erin and I hadn’t interacted much.’

Our connection started when I took her in as my student; before that, we were strangers.

‘If I had the face of someone like Itshin, I might’ve understood. But sadly, my looks were barely above extra-level.’

“To be this clueless about women’s feelings… you’re disqualified from playing Tao Jr.!”

“I don’t know. A student who’s completely oblivious might still beat you to the altar.”

“What did you just say?”

“Your life’s greatest achievement, old hag.”

Itshin still went around asking for a beating, and Sherthia still had no resistance to being teased.

Their dynamic was oddly pleasant to watch, though it was strange nothing romantic had ever developed between them.

“Tao, no matter how you feel about your student, I think we should praise Erin for carrying out her task so dutifully.”

She wasn’t wrong.

I nodded and placed my hand on Erin’s head.

She had looked downcast, but she flinched at my touch and looked up at me with wide eyes.

“Thanks for bringing the materials back in time.”

“Ah…! I—it was only natural.”

When I gently patted her head, she responded in a way I didn’t expect.

I had no idea Erin could stumble over her words like that.

When she was with Luke, she always carried herself with confidence—more like a dependable ally than a heroine.

Come to think of it, I don’t think Luke ever patted her head.

‘Who knew Erin’s sensitive spot was the crown of her head?’ I’d just discovered something new.

“Oh my! To think you’d do that to Miss Erin in front of everyone!”

“You’re bolder than I imagined!”

“A romantic relationship between a professor and student is forbidden—but what about a staff member?”

That’s when I belatedly realized we weren’t alone.

I’d unnecessarily drawn everyone’s attention, so I quickly pulled my hand back.

More importantly, the situation wasn’t over yet—this wasn’t the time to enjoy a sweet moment.

The most crucial part—the surgery—was still ahead.

***

“Ugh…!”

Ayla staggered out from the building.

Her tail had grown longer, and a pair of unfamiliar ram-like horns were sticking out of her head.

The stench of demonic energy thick in the air meant her corruption had worsened.

“Tch! We need to deal with her before it’s too late!”

“Hurry! Kill her now!”

The professors watching Ayla’s transformation began shouting in alarm.

Still only a half-demon, Ayla had shown terrifying strength despite her unstable state.

‘If she fully transformed into a succubus, what kind of destruction would she cause?’

It could spell disaster for the entire academy.

That’s why everyone was clamoring to eliminate the threat before it was too late.

“Erin.”

“Yes, Master.”

“While I work, don’t let anyone approach me.”

“Understood.”

I took the materials from Erin and issued her next task.

Even if she complained about me dumping all the annoying work on her, she simply nodded again.

Returning to her usual composed self, Erin drew her sword.

Ironically, the hero’s blade—which was meant to be pointed at demons—was now aimed at humans.

Everyone present widened their eyes in disbelief at the sight.

‘I barely caused a scandal earlier, and now I’ve gone and triggered another huge mess.’

‘I decided to worry about the consequences later and focused on Ayla.’

‘She no longer rushed me blindly—perhaps her sanity was beginning to return.’

‘But even if she regained her reason, she wouldn’t be the Ayla I once knew.’

‘She’d be a demon, completely stripped of her humanity.’

“Tao, can someone corrupted into a demon really be brought back?”

“Of course! I’m about to begin the purification surgery, so watch closely.”

I used magic to pull the shovel lying on the ground into my hand.

“First, the anesthesia.”

Since anesthetic poison doesn’t work on demons, I had no choice but to knock her out the old-fashioned way.

Which meant I was about to give her a serious beating.

“This might sting a little.”

Dragging the shovel, I slowly approached Ayla.

Once I was within range, I swung it wide toward her solar plexus.

Ayla used her tail to yank the shaft of the shovel and tried to block her vitals with her wings.

But against the force of my full-strength swing, her resistance was meaningless.

Thunk!

The blunt, heavy impact landed squarely.

Ayla clutched her stomach and gagged.

As she staggered, I circled behind her and slammed the shovel onto her back.

Then I followed up by striking her thigh repeatedly, the blade of the shovel cutting into her flesh.

Ayla dropped to one knee, and I struck her temple with the shovel.

Clang!

A harsh vibration ran up the handle and into my arms.

Though Ayla lay sprawled on the ground, she still clung to consciousness.

Sensing danger, she summoned a barrage of spells—but I dismantled them all instantly.

“Even as a demon, your magic’s still nothing but fluff.”

“Graaaaah!”

She must have understood my mockery, because she screamed at me, her voice laced with fury.

I answered her by tapping the top of her head with a shovel.

I kept hitting her, again and again, until she couldn’t say a word.

“Hey, are you sure this is treatment?”

“Looks more like you’re turning her into minced meat.”

“Seems more like an execution disguised as physical therapy.”

“Then I guess all that’s left is to return her to nature.”

Hey now, that’s pretty rude!

You all sure know how to talk down to someone who’s actually trying to save Ayla.

“Whew! I think that should be enough?”

***

After smacking her with the shovel a good number of times, Ayla finally stopped screaming.

Though she twitched faintly, so it looked like she wasn’t dead yet.

Having completed the essential part of the operation, I reached for the supplies Erin had brought.

The first thing I picked up was a white, semi-transparent flower.

“That’s a Selunere,” someone said.

“Right.”

Named after the goddess of light, Selune, the flower contained holy energy and was known for its exceptional purification effects.

It was typically used to treat areas contaminated by demonic energy or held in the mouth when entering heavily tainted zones.

“I’m going to use the Selunere to purify the demonic energy in Ayla’s mana core and turn her back into a human.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

Shertia frowned and looked at me like she disapproved.

Maya and Bjorn were shaking their heads too, while only Itshin wore a slightly conflicted expression.

“What’s the problem? If we feed her the flower, it’ll purify the demonic energy, right?”

“You idiot! Eating a Selunere doesn’t send it to the mana core—it goes to the stomach!”

“To demons, Selunere is a deadly poison. Ingesting it means instant death.”

“It’s already been proven that Selunere can’t revert someone who’s been transformed into a demon.”

“That’s true. Simply feeding it to her would kill Ayla. But what if I do this instead?”

I pulled out a flask filled with shimmering blue mist.

When I channeled a bit of mana into it, the mist swirled with an iridescent glow.

“Mana mist? What are you planning to do with that?”

“What else? I’m going to mix the Selunere with it.”

I crushed the white flower, extracting its sap, and added it to the flask.

The deep blue mist turned into a pale sky-blue color.

The sacred purifying energy of the Selunere infused into the swirling mana.

“I’ll inject this Selunere-infused mana mist into Ayla’s mana core to purify the demonic energy.”

“That’s not a bad approach. If the demonic transformation is rooted in her mana core, then focusing purification there should drive the corrupted energy out of the rest of her body naturally.”

“But Tao, how are you going to inject it into her mana core?”

“With this artifact.”

“Wait, that’s Atra’s Needle!”

I pulled out a bright red needle.

It looked like a sewing needle, but it was a very special magical artifact.

When the tip pierced an object, it could open a portal to the space beyond.

To put it simply, if you stabbed a wall, it would open a passage to the other side.

“Ah! You’re planning to use Atra’s Needle to open a portal directly to the mana core inside her body!”

“Exactly.”

I stabbed the needle into Ayla’s chest, where the demonic energy felt the thickest, and opened a portal.

Through it, I could see her mana core, swirling like a vortex.

It was supposed to be blue, but it had turned black from the demonic corruption.

“The core is wrapped in a mana barrier. If I just pour the mist in now, it’ll leak out before reaching the core.”

“Then break the barrier and pour it in directly.”

“Are you insane? That much concentrated mana bursting out would cause a massive explosion!”

“It’s fine. I’ll stabilize it with my own mana while guiding the mist in.”

“One mistake and it’ll be irreversible.”

“It’s okay. I already made peace with the risk.”

***

Crack!

I slammed my fist down and shattered the barrier around the mana core.

At the same time, I bound Ayla’s mana with mine and began spinning it like a vortex.

Then, I carefully began pouring the flask’s contents into the core.

‘If I poured too much at once, the Selunere could act as a poison and burn her from the inside out.’

To prevent that, I introduced the mist in tiny amounts so that the purifying light could gradually consume the demonic energy.

At the same time, I had to keep a tight grip on Ayla’s mana and maintain its rotation, which quickly left me breathless.

“Haa… haa… ngh!”

‘If even a drop of mana leaked out, or if I misjudged the dosage, it would all be over.’

I focused to the absolute limit of my concentration.

Sweat beaded on my forehead from the sheer difficulty of the task.

At one point, a droplet nearly fell into the core, but thankfully, a wind spirit blew it away.

My heart pounded from the tension, but my hands never stopped.

“Haha! It’s really working!”

“I knew it was theoretically possible, but to actually pull it off!”

“We’re witnessing a miracle in real time.”

“Amazing… You’re amazing, Tao!”

The core, once stained black, was slowly regaining its natural blue hue.

Ayla’s tail shrank, her wings withered, and her horns crumbled into dust.

She was successfully returning to human form, so I pushed through to the very end of the purification.

‘Just a little more…! Just a bit more…!’

At some point, all the sounds around me disappeared.

‘Maybe I had entered a trance without realizing it.’

‘But that was fine—it made it easier to focus.’

“Done!”

***

As soon as I confirmed that her mana core had completely turned blue again, I wrapped it in a protective barrier.

Then I immediately pulled out the needle to prevent any contamination and marked the end of the purification surgery.

“Haah… haah…!”

I had held my breath the entire time, pouring everything I had into the operation.

Gasping for air, I collapsed onto my back.

‘Maybe I had stared at the core for too long, because even the blue sky above was swirling like a vortex.’

‘Ugh, I’m beat.’

But even though the operation was over, I still couldn’t hear anything.

I had already let go of my tension—’so what was going on?’

“A—A miracle! A miracle just happened!”

That was when it began.

Someone shouted in disbelief, calling it a miracle.

And like a signal flare, cheers erupted from all directions.

“No way! A demon turned back into a human!”

“Am I dreaming right now?”

“This isn’t a dream. It’s real! As unbelievable as it is, this is reality!!”

Their amazement and joy sent chills through my skin.

Cheers like thunder echoed everywhere, turning the atmosphere into that of a festival.

I just wanted to rest quietly, though.

“Turning a demon back into a human? That’s an unprecedented miracle!”

“Who is that guy?”

“I know! He’s a Saint! The Savior Saint!”

I’m not that kind of person, really.

But I didn’t even have the strength left to argue, and people kept shouting “Savior Saint” over and over again.

At this point… I give up.