Chapter 19. A Sprout Grown with Beatings Turns Out Beautiful (3)

"...Kahak?"

The moment the unexpected final blow landed—

three-faced ghost No. 71, who had been rampaging in a Soul Eater frenzy, involuntarily widened all six of its eyes. A shock struck the back of its head. For about 0.1 seconds, it snapped back to its senses, however briefly. A sliver of reason detected danger. It even ran a calculation.

'Am I… going to be annihilated like this?'

That seemed likely.

The possessed state was powerful, but also unstable. Like a blade that would snap with the slightest touch. And now, it had been hit by an unforeseen strike—directly to the back of the head. All three heads at once.

The damage was immense.

A sense of crisis came with it.

Suddenly, fear crept in.

'I don't… want to die again…'

A death from a distant past resurfaced—back when it had ruled over the abandoned lands as part of the demon race. It had been painful. And now, to die once more? For it to truly be the end this time? It hated it. Desperately wanted to avoid that fate.

But then it happened.

'…Huh?'

Right before vanishing completely, at the very edge of its soul's flame, three-faced ghost No. 71 flinched without realizing it. Then, unexpectedly, it felt a sliver of hope.

From the object that had smashed into the back of its head like a triple-cushioned billiard shot.

'There's… life!'

A faint, minuscule trace of life force.

It didn't know what kind.

There was no time to find out.

But it was certain—this might be enough to survive. Enough to avoid total obliteration.

...Churrrrp!

Sensing that tiny, singular hope, three-faced ghost No. 71 made a decision. It would inhabit the "living being" that struck its head. It acted immediately. Its instincts as a Soul Eater surged to the forefront.

Violently and savagely.

Brutally.

It initiated possession to extract the life force of its target.

Pwoong!

three-faced ghost No. 71 possessed a potato.

And rolled off with a light thunk.

'It worked!'

No. 71 rejoiced.

Success.

In any case, it had successfully possessed a living creature. Now, to recover—

'Huuuup! Kahaaaaak!'

It absorbed the potato's life force to the fullest.

The potato, suddenly robbed of its "body" by the Soul Eater, underwent forced and accelerated aging. Thanks to that, three-faced ghost No. 71 recovered a fair amount of life energy. It even absorbed one characteristic from the potato, its extraction target. Then, without hesitation, it abandoned the potato and escaped.

...Kwaaak!

Rejuvenated, three-faced ghost No. 71 shot up into the air, triumphant. And exactly one second later, it plopped weakly to the ground.

Thud, roll...

That was it.

The trait it had absorbed from the potato—

Had turned it into a plant ghost.

"......"

three-faced ghost No. 71 was flustered. Kim Jangcheol, who had been watching, was even more flustered.

"Huh?"

He was a bit dumbfounded.

'What the...?'

Blinking in disbelief, Kim Jangcheol looked between the potato he had tossed in a panic and the three-faced ghost No. 71, lying stiffly beside it like some plant ghost.

He slowly walked over.

"Hey?"

"..."

"Oi?"

"..."

"You can't even talk?"

Smack! Smack!

Squatting beside it, he gave it a few light slaps for confirmation. But the three-faced ghost No. 71, now a full-on plant ghost, couldn't respond at all.

"Ha. Haha?"

Kim Jangcheol couldn't help but laugh.

He was finally starting to understand the situation a bit.

That potato he had thrown in desperation—

Not only had it landed the finishing blow, but it had also been judged a living being, something a Soul Eater would crave. Like a Poketball capturing a Pokémon, it had cleanly sucked in the ghost.

'Does this even make sense?'

If someone had told him this story, he'd never have believed it.

The more he thought about it, the more absurd it seemed.

"Anyway, are you okay?"

"…Yes, my lord."

Zephyros also looked dumbfounded. Jangcheol helped him to his feet. Thankfully, the guy didn't seem too badly hurt.

Only then did Kim Jangcheol feel a sense of relief.

'Thank goodness...'

Zephyros had been moving under his command. If Zephyros had died or been gravely injured here—

That would've been entirely his fault. He was the Demon King, and the Demon King was the king of the demon race. A king is a leader, and a leader bears responsibility.

'Truly… I'm relieved.'

It hadn't been like that in graduate school. The professors he had dealt with generally didn't take responsibility.

Did they genuinely care for the researchers who trusted and followed them?

Rarely. They just saw them as tools. Laborers who maintained their prestige, or slaves who secured funding through blind research grants.

"..."

Of course, not everyone was like that. He knew there were respectable professors out there. But what could he do? He hadn't been lucky. Had never met one.

'I won't be like those bastards.'

He vowed to cherish the ones who followed him. To always remember how precious they were. And so… he told himself not to be too heartbroken over the fact that he had sacrificed a truly precious potato—just one, but still—for Zephyros's sake.

'...Sniff!'

At the tail end of his resolve and reflections, Kim Jangcheol felt a wave of sorrow rising.

He was glad Zephyros was safe, yet deeply regretful, and ultimately—devastated.

'My poor potato…!'

It was just one.

But if he had salted and steamed it? Sliced it thin and fried it into chips? Or at least turned it into chuno and fed it to any random demon?

'It could've been useful. It would've earned me some happy points. Points that would've been efficiently racked up in my name. But now it's… gone. Far away. To a place it can never return from.'

Possessed by a Soul Eater and drained of life.

It had aged rapidly.

It was probably ruined.

Miserably.

Horribly.

It was...

'...Huh?'

As he sorrowfully examined the potato, mourning the tragedy it must've suffered, Kim Jangcheol suddenly froze. Then, without even realizing it, he muttered something he never expected to say:

"It… sprouted?"

At first, he thought he was seeing things.

But after another look—no, several—

It was real.

The potato he had thrown... had sprouted.

The Potato that got eaten by the Soul Eater.

The potato that had undergone rapid aging...

Sprouted!

"...Huh?"

Was this real?

He couldn't believe it.

'It should've been in complete dormancy, let alone sprouting, right?'

All the potatoes in the storage were like that. That's why they had been racking their brains trying to break dormancy even a little earlier.

This potato was no exception. When he picked it up to throw earlier, it had been smooth to the touch, nothing more.

And yet...

'In less than a minute… dormancy ended, and it sprouted?'

Dormancy had been broken.

The potato's growth had resumed.

No—beyond that, it had already sprouted!

He had reached the stage of scattered light sprouting—a farming method where you let the potato grow some sprouts before planting it in the ground to prevent diseases like black scurf!

'This is…'

Insane. Completely insane.

But how?

"...."

In this unbelievable situation, the prefrontal cortex of Kim Jangcheol's brain kicked into full gear. He alternated glances between the potato in his hand, now sprouting, and three-faced ghost No. 71, still lying on the floor in its plant ghost state.

The puzzle started fitting together.

'Most likely.'

It was because of the three-faced ghost.

That thing, in its Soul Eater state, had inhabited the potato.

Had drained its life force, forcibly aging it—

"........"

Dormancy meant its physiological functions were shut down.

Aging meant those functions were forcibly accelerated.

Which meant...

'The potato's dormant biological functions were forcibly accelerated through aging, and thanks to that, dormancy ended, and it reached the stage of scattered light sprouting?'

An absurd hypothesis formed.

It made no sense.

But it made sense.

It was ridiculous, but it needed testing.

Kim Jangcheol surveyed his surroundings.

There were still a few three-faced ghosts rampaging around in Soul Eater state. The young demon farmers of the Farming Corps were still running wild, trying to beat them down.

Swish.

He approached them.

Scanned the ground.

Spotted some potatoes scattered in the chaos.

They were all smooth, dormant ones.

Good.

Perfect, actually.

For a test.

"......"

He picked one up.

Aimed carefully.

Then a mighty wind-up!

…Thwoosh!

Powered by the body of a Demon King, the potato flew at 170 kilometers per hour, drawing a taut and beautiful arc like a clothesline. It split the air. If a Major League scout had seen it, they would've confessed on the spot. A perfect throw, on point.

It even hit with a triple-cushion.

Pop!

"...!"

One of the Soul Eaters—three-faced ghost No. 23—was struck in the back of the head out of nowhere and felt a crisis of existence. It didn't want to be extinguished, felt fear, desperation, and in that instant, made a decision. It possessed the potato. Drained its life force. Aged it.

Then, the potato sprouted.

Poink!

"Hell yeah—!"

Kim Jangcheol sprinted over and, upon confirming it, let out a cheer. He grabbed another potato.

There were still five more Soul Eaters left.

He hurled potatoes at them.

And then…

Pop! Pop-po-pop! Pop!

The Soul Eaters hit by the potatoes went through the exact same process as before. As a result, they all became plant ghosts, and without exception, each potato sprouted! Lush and vigorous! Sprout-sprout! Sprout-sprout!

Tremble tremble…

The ridiculous hypothesis he had guessed—

As the results kept confirming it, Kim Jangcheol's shoulders began to tremble like the vibration from a text message from a crush who never existed. He couldn't contain his excitement.

'Dormancy… that damn dormancy…'

He had wanted to plant the potatoes right away.

That way, the famine in this land could be resolved a little faster. The Four Heavenly Kings and demon race would be less dissatisfied, and they might not need to invade the human world. His own life would be safer, in the end.

But he couldn't plant them because of dormancy.

It had been frustrating, and nerve-racking.

But not anymore.

They sprouted.

Physical dormancy-breaking methods?

Chemical dormancy-breaking theories?

This was faster and more reliable than any method he'd known.

'Nice. Super-ultimate NICE!'

This would work.

He could do it now.

He could plant the potatoes.

With the method he just discovered, he could sprout every potato in the storage today and start planting them in the fields right away!

So...

"...Hey."

Kim Jangcheol turned around.

He looked at the members of the Farming Corps, catching their breath after the fierce battle.

"All of you go to the storage and bring back every single potato."

"…Huh?"

The corps members responded, confused.

A satisfied yet devilish grin bloomed across Kim Jangcheol's lips.

"We're going to take them all, storm the 1st Star Master's cliff—no, I mean, sprout them."