I Became A Flashing Genius At The Magic Academy-Chapter 364
"Are you afraid of fire, sister?"
Long ago, in her younger years, Hong Biyeon had asked her older sister that question.
Her eldest sister, Hong Erin, often lived surrounded by flames due to frequent episodes of spontaneous combustion. But to Hong Biyeon, those flames were terrifying.
At the time, her sister had replied,
"For me, fire is like oxygen. I can’t live without it anymore... you could say it’s a part of me."
Hong Biyeon couldn’t understand. How could fire be like oxygen when it was eating away at her sister’s life day by day?
"You’ll understand someday."
Time passed, and as Hong Biyeon grew to the age her sister had been, she still didn’t understand those words.
---
Recently, she had been dreaming of her sister more frequently. Perhaps it was because the curse engraved on her heart was nearing its end.
"So hot..."
Feeling the searing heat of flames engulfing her body, Hong Biyeon forced her heavy eyelids open.
Her vision was blurry.
She blinked repeatedly before her eyes finally adjusted, letting her take in her surroundings.
*Whoosh!*
"This place..."
Everywhere was ablaze.
Flames surrounded her—bright red and golden yellow, filling her entire field of view.
Terror gripped her as her face turned pale. Her legs weakened, but she couldn’t collapse.
*Clink!*
"What...?"
Her arms were bound by red chains, suspending her midair.
“What is this...?”
No matter how hard she pulled, the chains didn’t budge, as if anchored to something immovable.
Where was she? Why was she chained? She couldn’t remember.
"Stay calm, Hong Biyeon."
She narrowed her eyes, her crimson irises scanning her surroundings.
“Who’s there?”
Although she could only see flames, Hong Biyeon was certain someone was present.
When she shouted into the void, the flames split apart.
A man with fiery red hair emerged, clapping slowly with a smug smile.
"Sharp as ever, aren’t you?"
Hong Biyeon’s expression hardened. She recognized him—**Crimson Abyssal Flames.**
“You’re the one who brought me here?”
"Who knows? I didn’t bring you anywhere. I merely came to you."
“I’m not in the mood for games.”
"You think this is a game?"
With a smirk, he gestured to the entire space around them.
"What do you think this place is? My secret hideout? Did you think I kidnapped you here?"
He clicked his tongue mockingly.
"Wrong! No one kidnaps princesses to a demon castle anymore. The moment they do, some prince on a white horse shows up, sword swinging."
"Enough nonsense—"
Hong Biyeon, irritated by his taunts, was about to retort when she froze, realizing something.
"No way..."
Her head slowly tilted upward.
Watching her movements, Crimson Abyssal Flames clapped again.
"Correct! This is your heart—your mind."
“What...”
She looked around at the space engulfed in flames. At first, she had assumed it was his lair. Such an intensely hot environment wasn’t common in the world.
But now, he was claiming it was her own heart.
“Surprised? Your heart burns this fiercely."
“What have you done to me?!”
When Hong Biyeon shouted in anger, Crimson Abyssal Flames burst into laughter.
"I told you, I’m going to live with you. I’ll make you my kin. Discard that fragile human body and become like me—become flames. Together, we’ll live forever."
When she glared at him with blazing eyes, he chuckled dryly.
"Ordinarily, you’d be cursing me out by now. But you’re surprisingly composed. Quite haughty, even. Almost makes me want to break you."
He reached out and brushed a hand through her silver hair.
“Lately, your heart’s been quieter. Did Baek Yuseol do something? That’s why I had to intervene personally. Don’t worry; it’ll all be over soon.”
---
Suddenly, a storm of icy winds swept through the space.
*Crack!*
Blue frost and icicles began to envelop and extinguish the flames in an instant.
"Looks like your prince has arrived."
Even as the frost spread, Crimson Abyssal Flames remained nonchalant, snapping his fingers to reignite the flames. The ice began to melt under the roaring heat.
“Agh!”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you, but your fake prince is being troublesome. This is all his fault, you know. If he had stayed out of it, you wouldn’t be in pain.”
Hong Biyeon didn’t respond to his mocking words. She bowed her head.
“Hm?”
In this mental world, losing consciousness wasn’t an option. Crimson Abyssal Flames frowned as he saw her shoulders tremble.
"What’s so funny?"
When he scowled, Hong Biyeon raised her head, meeting his gaze.
Both had red eyes, but only hers burned like true flames.
“You’re finished.”
“Finished? Hah! Do you even know who I am? I’m one of the Twelve Moons. You get that, right?”
“So what? Do you think being one of the Twelve Moons means you can escape death?”
This chapt𝓮r is updat𝒆d by ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom.
"Hah."
Her audacious words left him momentarily speechless.
"Fine, you’re right. We’re ageless, not immortal. But do you think some brat like you can kill me?"
Closing her eyes, Hong Biyeon recalled a summer day with Eisel and Full Frame, when they had uncovered Baek Yuseol’s secrets.
Thousands of repeated lives.
The Baek Yuseol of the past might have been able to slay even the Twelve Moons.
“Of course.”
But now?
She didn’t know.
Even so, she believed it. Her fiery red eyes blazed with clarity and conviction as she glared at Crimson Abyssal Flames.
"You’re nothing but a coward, hiding behind hostages. You’re no match for him."
“You little—”
For the first time, anger flashed across his face. He heated the chains binding her, intending to burn her.
*Whoosh!*
"Oops."
The power in the mental world responded to thoughts and willpower, making precise control essential. He had slipped.
But something was off.
"What’s this?"
The flames burning Hong Biyeon’s body began to fade.
This wasn’t Baek Yuseol’s doing.
It was her own.
Her crimson eyes shone even brighter, standing out starkly in the fiery space.
‘Why...?’
The First Magician had granted each of the Twelve Moons their unique color and attribute. For Crimson Abyssal Flames, it was red flames.
That red should have been his alone.
Yet here, in her mental world, Hong Biyeon radiated an even more vivid and commanding crimson aura.
"Are you... destined?"
He recalled when Return to Silver Moon had mentioned “children of destiny.” He had dismissed it at the time, thinking humans could never truly inherit the power of the Twelve Moons.
But now, he wasn’t so sure.
"You’re in danger," he murmured to himself.
The Twelve Moons were beings of unparalleled presence. For someone to encroach upon their symbolic essence meant their very existence was at risk.
"I see now."
"You see what?"
Hong Biyeon smirked.
"You’re here in person, aren’t you?"
"My real body slumbers in Alalmancha’s depths. What nonsense is this?"
"Then what are you? Just a ghost?"
Her question struck a nerve.
Were the Twelve Moons’ physical forms their true selves, or was it their spiritual essence that defined them?
For beings like Crimson Abyssal Flames, who could abandon their bodies and exist as spirits, the distinction wasn’t clear-cut.
"You thought you could imprison me here?"
Her words pierced through him, her defiance shaking the foundations of his control.
Suddenly, the sky above cracked.
A brilliant red fissure split the heavens, accompanied by a faint blue glow.
He felt it before he saw it.
‘This isn’t good.’
His instincts screamed at him to flee.
But—
“Trying to escape? I won’t let you.”
Hong Biyeon’s flames surged, binding his movements.
From the crack in the sky, a blue comet descended—a blazing streak of light crashing toward the ground.
It was Baek Yuseol.
---
With a deafening roar, Baek Yuseol landed in Hong Biyeon’s mental world.
His appearance was different this time, exuding an aura that couldn’t be described as mere “Class 7.”
Clutching a sword that seemed forged from moonlight itself, his glowing blue eyes fixed on Crimson Abyssal Flames.
"What... what is this?"
Without a word, Baek Yuseol raised the legendary blade, *Flash Reverence,* pointing it at Crimson Abyssal Flames.
There was no need for words.
