Restoration.

Restoration was a Voodoo spell that was similar to divine-powered healing magic. As the name suggested, it was a spell that could fix a damaged body part by ‘restoring’ it to its original condition.

Among the Voodoo spells, it had the highest difficulty. The curse array for restoration was several times more complicated than other curse arrays. However, even the restoration spell wasn’t too difficult for me.

The real problem was that this was Florence Academy. If I used the restoration spell, the fact that I was a Voodoo Cult Leader would be discovered.

[It should be fine if we use lesser restoration. If we do that, the chance of getting caught will be very low.]

Indeed, if I used a lesser restoration spell, the chance of getting caught would significantly decrease.

The words ‘chance of getting caught will be very low’ could also be reversed to mean ‘a chance that we could get caught exists.’

Furthermore, there was an instructor here. If it were only students, it might have been fine, but if we factored in the instructor, the chance of getting caught would exponentially increase. I couldn't risk using the restoration spell if there was even a slight chance of getting caught.

[So what are you going to do? You’re a guy who can’t use healing arrays or blessing arrays. What sort of trick are you going to use to heal the injured dog then?]

Legba began to speak curtly as if expressing his annoyance. Legba was absolutely right. At the moment, there was no way for me to cure the injured dog.

Until now, I had never successfully created a healing array. However, there was no guarantee that I couldn’t create one right now. So I started to draw a healing array. It was my first time trying to draw a healing array.

It was going more smoothly than I expected. Considering that it was my first time drawing a healing array, the result was surprisingly neat. This was all thanks to listening in class without dozing off and spending my free time studying.

Just as I was able to draw 30% of the healing array…

"I’m done."

A clear tone tickled my ears. Kim Jin-Seo had completed the task in less than three minutes after starting. The injured dog she had treated gently wagged their tail, expressing its thanks to Jin-Seo.

Jin-Seo swept awards in martial arts and sacred brawl competitions from an early age. Thus, I was already aware that she had a natural talent for fighting. However, I had no idea that she had a talent for not only blessings but also for healing.

This is just my two cents, but I couldn’t help but think that God was unfair.

"Phew, I’m done!"

"The treatment is done."

"Instructor, the treatment is complete."

And that wasn’t the end of it. Starting with Jin-Seo, the other students also succeeded in treating the dogs one after another. Of course, Jung In-Ah and Koo Jun-Hyuk were among them.

Meanwhile, I had not even completed half of the healing array. My hands abruptly started shaking. My heart was beating like crazy, and cold sweat was forming on my forehead. I was getting impatient with the thought that I might be falling behind.

The instructor walking about evaluated the students who finished the treatment and said, “Five minutes left.”

Unfortunately, time did not wait for me.

[You should've just used restoration earlier. It's too late now.] Legba reprimanded me.

Including me, five students had not yet succeeded in the treatment.

All the students who finished the treatment were observing us five intently. It wasn’t possible to use restoration with so many people watching us. If I was going to use restoration, I should have used it earlier.

As a wave of meaningless regret washed over me, the healing array reached 75% completion.

“Only one minute left. It’s time to wrap up.”

Progress was slow, and time passed quickly. The completion rate was 90%.

"Thirty seconds left. You're disqualified if you time out. Hurry up."

100%.

At long last, I was able to get light to flow out from the healing array, and I somehow managed to complete the healing array. However, it was far from perfect. It was because my hands had started shaking mid-way nervously.

The light of healing soon enveloped the body of the injured dog. The injured dog’s leg gradually recovered strength. Fortunately, I was able to heal the dog successfully. I wiped the sweat off my face as I savored the moment. It was a lesser healing array at best, but that was enough.

"I’m done."

"Yes, that student is the last one. Everyone else is disqualified."

Just before reaching 15 minutes, at approximately 14 minutes 59 seconds, I was able to heal the dog successfully.

With that, the practical training session came to a close. The instructor wandered amongst the students with his score sheet to check the condition of the dogs. The teacher finished scoring the students and went to stand in front of Jin-Seo.

“Good job, everyone. Now then, shall we take a look at the injured dog that Jin-Seo treated first?”

The teacher patted Jin-Seo’s injured dog. The dog wagged its tail as it panted.

“Obviously, the faster the treatment, the better. It’s best to finish healing before the injury becomes more severe. However, the more impatient you are, the more likely you will miss the details. No matter how quickly you heal the dog, it’s meaningless if you neglect the small details.”

The instructor laid the injured dog down. The dog exposed its stomach and wiggled around. The instructor caressed the injured dog’s stomach.

“This doggy injured its legs, stomach, and airways while saving a citizen from a fire. The legs and the stomach are easy to heal because they are visible, but burns in the airways are not immediately visible. Jin-Seo completely healed all those small details. She’s an excellent role model."

The teacher listed a long string of compliments. A few claps of applause leaked out from the students, but it was not long before the applause spread like a wave. Eventually, the students gave Jin-Seo a full-blown round of applause.

Regardless, there was no change in Jin-Seo's expression. It was a dull face with no hints of delight, joy, or accomplishment. Rather, it was a face that seemed to be filled with boredom.

“Right, the student who placed first in the freshman evaluations is in the Class of Charity. Who was it again? I'm looking forward to seeing their result."

The teacher praised Jin-Seo extensively and looked for the student who placed first in the freshman evaluations.

I had wanted this situation to pass by quietly. However, some students who knew me began to stare in my direction. Thus, I had no choice but to raise my hand.

"That's me..." Not only was I late to the training session, but I had also just barely finished the treatment in under fifteen minutes. I felt embarrassed to raise my hand.

“Oh, um, well… Do Sun-Woo, right? Let's also check Do Sun-Woo’s injured dog.”

The instructor examined my injured dog in detail. There were times when he gave a small nod. However, there were far more times when he frowned with dissatisfaction. I watched the entire process anxiously as if I were on pins and needles.

“It’s not bad. The dislocated part has been attached properly, but some parts are lacking. Did you use a lesser healing array by any chance?”

"Yes," I answered weakly.

It was practically a public execution.

“The tendons in the joints haven’t healed properly, so there is a risk that it may dislocate again soon. This part was a little disappointing. Anyway, good job. Don’t get too discouraged about this.”

The teacher softened the blow with some words of comfort. However, there wasn’t much respite because my mental state had already long since collapsed into oblivion.

Eventually, the teacher moved toward In-Ah to showcase the next exemplar to the class. The teacher explained how amazing and sophisticated In-Ah's healing was, but I couldn’t process anything they said.

[Hang on, look at that.]

I could hear Legba's voice through the gaps of my shattered ego.

[It's not a blessing. It's a Pentagram!]

"Huh?"

I came to my senses when the word Pentagram came out of Legba's mouth. I frantically observed the area. As Legba said, someone was drawing a magic circle in the corner of the barn far away. It wasn't a blessing array or a healing array, and it wasn’t even a curse array.

It was a black magic array.

A black magic array was used for casting black magic. Black magic arrays were always created with a pentagram shape as the base, so they were commonly referred to as Pentagrams. And the Satanists used black magic.

In other words, it meant that the man drawing the Pentagram in the corner of the barn was the Satanist who had infiltrated F.A.

"Kyaaa!"

Before I could even open my mouth, an ear-splitting scream resounded through the barn. A military dog was biting the arm of a female student from the Class of Patience. The military dog’s eyes no longer contained the innocence they had before. There were only bloodshot eyes filled with madness and desire.

"Oh, my God! Ahhhhhhhhh-!”

“Save me. Instructor, please save me…!”

The screams did not end there. The military dogs had been turned into demonic beasts through the influence of black magic that the Satanists had cast. Now, they were attacking the students in unison.

The barn, which had previously been quiet with the familiar smell of dirt, was now filled with only screams and the strong smell of blood. The students with no practical experience could only helplessly collapse in front of the might of two hundred demonic beasts.

In front of the pandemonium, everyone lost their composure. Except for three people.

"Calm down. Let's stick together for now. I’ll deal with this situation somehow.”

The first person was Jin-Seo. She pacified the terrified kids and gathered them in one place. She faithfully followed the standard protocol, which stated that when facing demonic beasts, it was better to group up than to spread out. After gathering as many students as possible, she used a number of blessings, including the blessing of strength, to defend the students.

The second person was me. The first thing I did was find In-Ah and Jun-Hyuk. My plan was to eliminate the demonic beasts one at a time with the help of those two. As long as I acted calmly, it would be possible to deal with the situation.

However, In-Ah had already lost her composure and was panicking. Fortunately, she was able to hide her body in a relatively safe place, but it seemed like a stretch to ask her for help in this situation.

Jun-Hyuk was different. He was calmly analyzing the situation. His eyes were unperturbed without the slightest hint of disturbance.

"Koo Jun-Hyuk!" I yelled out Jun-Hyuk’s name and asked him for help. "Stick with me. We have to reduce the numbers by dealing with them one at a time!”

Jun-Hyuk listened to my words and looked at me with a sad face.

"Sun-Woo, I'm sorryyyy-!"

With that, he ran away like a madman.

No matter how he looked at the situation, it must have looked like there was no chance of victory, so he must have made the choice to retreat and preserve his own life. It could be said to be a rational and logical decision. Of course, from Jun-Hyuk’s perspective, this must have been the case. However, from my perspective…

“Hey, you bastard-!” He was nothing but a traitor.

No matter how much I cursed and screamed, Jun-Hyuk didn't look back and just ran. I had no idea that bastard was such a fast runner. When running away, his speed was comparable to an Olympic track and field athlete.

Hence, the third person was Jun-Hyuk. And he made the logical decision to run away. I hate to admit it, but out of the three of us, he was probably the most composed one.

[This is too cruel. Just who the hell would do this, and for what reason?]

I watched the situation from my current position.

Jin-Seo fought by breaking the heads of the demonic beasts with her fists or kicking them. Since she had no weapons, the lethality of her blows was weak, and her stamina would gradually give out.

A demonic beast had bitten off Bae Sung-Hyun’s ear. The bleeding and the pain were so severe that it was impossible for him to continue fighting. While healing the injured students, the healing instructor’s ankle was bitten by demonic beasts. As a result, he was unable to walk.

There was not a single person who was uninjured. On the other hand, there were still countless demonic beasts. As a rough estimate, there were still around 180 of them.

Due to the Pentagram, the demonic beasts had thicker legs and sharper teeth. The beasts roamed the barn and tore at the students’ flesh. The screams of terror and the sound of barking dogs mixed together into a cacophony.

It was a tragedy.

It seemed to be a tragedy filled with endless despair. Jun-Hyuk had run away, and everyone else could not fight due to panic or injury.

I was the only one left still able to fight. However, I had no means to deal with hundreds of demonic beasts alone. If it were someone more competent, they might have been able to come up with a solution. However, since I was the only one left, there was not even a ray of hope.

The two hundred or so students gathered here would all become food for the demonic beasts and die a miserable death.

[I wonder about that...] Legba murmured quietly as if he disagreed with my idea.

[I understand how you feel, but do not lie to yourself.]

"…Ha."

I could only laugh in despondency as Legba could read my heart.

Truthfully, there was a way. It was just that I didn’t want to use it. With that method, I could save the lives of the two hundred people here.

And I would die. No, to be precise, I could die. I hesitated to save them because the risk was too high. However, it was a risk worth taking because there was no guarantee that I would ‘absolutely’ die.

Within the chaos, I opened my mouth and called for Loa.

"Granbwa."

It was the Loa that oversaw plants, forests, and nature.

[Granbwa answers the call.] With her power in motion, a brilliant green light shined from the tips of my five fingers.

I spread my hand on the floor and listened to the sound beyond. I heard lush weeds, flowers, tree roots, and many other things within the barn, all screaming. I could hear them all with my power, and I could deliver my thoughts with my power.

Crack, creak!

The moment I activated my power, the earth distorted and cracked. Weeds and tree roots grew through the rifts and soared high into the sky. They moved as they were conscious and soon rushed toward the demonic creatures.

Swoosh!

One by one, weeds and tree roots trapped the demonic beasts that were running rampant. No matter how hard they struggled, they couldn’t escape. Biting and scratching had no effect, but the demonic beasts’ meaningless resistance continued.

The plants that grew rapidly with the power of Granbwa were not soft enough to be cut off by the claws of the demonic beasts. The scenery of the barn had changed. The demonic beasts were now all struggling while bound by the plants. The students just looked at the incapacitated demonic beasts with dumbfounded eyes.

It was still a tragedy, but the difference was that now there was hope. Taking advantage of the brief respite, the students started fleeing one by one.

"Cough!"

While I was imprisoning the demons, my body was already at its limit.

[If you continue like this, you’re going to die! Prophet, stop! Stop it, please! Stop! Power, stop!]

Granbwa urged me to stop, but I didn’t. Just because I wanted it to stop didn’t mean I could stop.

I managed to stall the demonic creatures, even as blood poured out from my nose, flowed down from my eyes, and I vomited out blood. Meanwhile, most of the students had fled the barn. Even as blood poured out from every orifice in my body, I continued to use my power.

No one recognized my sacrifice. After all, everyone was in a situation where they couldn’t even take care of themselves. But this wasn’t something I did for recognition in the first place. I felt like I was going to collapse and die right away, but I was satisfied that I could save them even if it meant that I had to sacrifice my life.

"Ah…"

There were less than forty people left in the barn.

It was becoming difficult to maintain my power while vomiting blood. I faded in and out of consciousness, and I could feel my body slowly leaning backward. I figured that this was enough. I wanted to lie down and rest, so I relaxed my body and collapsed onto the floor.

Tap.

However, my body did not touch the ground.

"Good job."

Someone supported my body and complimented me with a tired voice.