Chapter 17: Education (8)

The girl’s actions were excessive for a mere virtual test.

She charged in as if avenging her parents, disregarding her own safety to such an extent that even Instructor Yang Joya was overwhelmed and could only watch.

At the end, she even forgot her promise to Mia and started burning her own body.

…What? Why am I suddenly feeling this pain?

Mia’s consciousness, which had been dormant during the peaceful temple life, awakened.

At the same time, she felt an incredible burning sensation and pain as if she’d thrust her hand into a furnace.

Even Mia, who was used to pain, momentarily blanked out, involuntarily groaning at the horrific level of agony.

[Hey! Wake up!]

Immediately grasping the situation, Mia forcibly took control of the girl’s body without hesitation.

‘Ugh… Really! This stupid bitch!’

Controlling a body already synchronized with the girl wasn’t easy.

Even for the exceptional Mia, it required such intense concentration that her consciousness wavered.

The one fortunate thing was that the girl’s deep consciousness remained firmly intact.

‘Demons, demons must burn and die.’

‘I shouldn’t hurt Mia’s body…’

‘But I have to kill demons.’

Mia seized on this point.

She forcibly disrupted the power of ‘wishes’ by exploiting the girl’s weakness.

“Get lost!”

She shattered the wooden dummy that had caused this situation with one punch.

Fizzle- Everyone watching gaped as it crumbled to dust with overwhelming force.

The result?

[Stage 5 100 points!]

A perfect score.

It was a perfect clear from Stage 1 to Stage 5.

Though not that impressive compared to active Awakened, it meant the girl’s ability was on par with active Awakened.

“…G-good job. You shouldn’t have any physical issues, but go rest in the back.”

How should I report this?

The instructor’s worries deepened at this unexpected score.

Would the Guild Master believe her if she reported exactly what she saw?

That the girl summoned modern weapons like RPGs and Javelins to destroy the dummy, and ended the most difficult fifth stage with her fist like physical Awakened?

From the instructor to the students.

Everyone was dazed, unable to come to their senses, as if drunk.

[…You’re really in for it this time.]

Mia avoided their gazes and quietly headed for a secluded corner.

“Teacher! I, I want to take the Stage 5 test too!”

She didn’t care what happened after she left.

Behind the building.

Mia sat down, leaning her back against the wall with her knees pulled up.

As she rested her forehead on her knees, her blue hair flowed down like a curtain.

She’d been surprised every time she looked in the mirror, but…

‘Looks like the synchronization worked properly. Now it’s clearly not my body to anyone who sees it.’

As if the girl’s wish had taken full effect, no trace of Mia remained in this body.

Just looking at the appearance, it seemed like it could be the boy’s twin sister from the past.

However, Mia didn’t reveal this fact.

She knew the girl… would take care of this body if she thought it was Mia’s.

Mia spoke softly.

“Do you remember the day we first met at the cult?”

It was both a monologue and a whisper to the girl.

“You looked so pretty with long hair, and acted even more feminine than me, so I thought you were a girl at first.”

In fact, when she first regained consciousness, she’d been fully prepared to scold the girl.

But… Mia soon composed herself.

“But when they stripped everyone naked to ‘cleanse the filth of the secular world’ and washed us with ice water, that’s when I realized you were a boy.”

She knew the recent actions weren’t the girl’s fault.

Unlike Mia, who had escaped before the brainwashing was complete thanks to her help, the girl had been trapped by those scumbags for years.

Mia closed her eyes, quietly recalling a moment from the past.

The girl and Mia’s first meeting was at the cult’s indoctrination headquarters.

A place for fresh believers, whether willing or not.

A place so terrible she’d never forget it as long as she lived.

The first ‘indoctrination’ was to break the resistance of boys and girls, to tame them.

“If you want to eat, throw away your pride. You’re all sinners.”

Chained by the neck, they had to crawl on the floor and eat from dog bowls.

Was that even food to begin with?

Seeing the viscous brown lumps that looked like vomit, Mia naturally refused their absurd demand.

“No! Why should I?!”

Even though she was young, she instinctively realized that worse things awaited if she gave in to their demands.

But…

“Oh really? Then let’s see how long you can hold out. Let’s see how long the demon inside you can last.”

Such defiance was exactly what they were waiting for.

One day, two days, three days, four days.

As time passed, Mia couldn’t eat a single grain of rice or drink a drop of water.

She was just left like that.

Until she had no choice but to break her own will and give up.

That’s when the girl appeared.

“…Aren’t you hungry?”

The little one who crawled around just fine in front of the priests, without a shred of pride.

She quietly approached, avoiding people’s gazes, and slipped something to Mia.

“What’s this.”

“Nutritional supplement…”

“So what.”

“Want to… eat it…?”

At the time, she thought he’d stolen it from somewhere or received it from the priests.

How could she have known he’d made such a supplement by consuming his own blood because he felt sorry for the constantly starving Mia…

“Hah… Well, you were always that stupid.”

Mia shook her head forcefully, trying to shake off the memory.

There was no point in recalling such unpleasant memories; it would only taint them further.

The girl had become like this during the brainwashing process after Mia escaped.

From what she’d heard while rescuing various cult members, it seemed truly horrific things had happened, to the point where it was hard to believe they were done by fellow humans.

“Fuck. I thought it’d be fine if she moved to a different body.”

She’d been too naive.

If their brainwashing was really engraved on the soul, she needed to find a solution.

Mia quickly healed her ruined hands and nails, gathering her healing power.

The girl’s brainwashing remaining meant that perhaps they could also notice the girl’s survival.

Considering the cult’s power, they might have already started searching for her.

“Listen carefully, idiot.”

After the hand’s healing was complete and the pain had somewhat subsided,

Mia continued speaking as she returned control of the body to the girl.

[If you don’t want to be dragged back there, pay attention in class from now on and find ways to use your ability.]

Still in a daze,

The girl reflexively responded to Mia’s words.

“Whyyy…?”

Despite the drooping voice, Mia remained firm.

[You know this is my body, right?]

“Mmhm…”

[What do you think will happen if demons catch my body?]

Mia deliberately didn’t mention that the ‘demons’ were the cult.

There was no point in saying that now; she wouldn’t understand or accept it.

[Lust. Think about what you were taught. You know well what will happen to this body.]

“……!!”

At Mia’s blunt words, the girl finally jerked her head up.

The seven deadly sins she’d been taught in the cult.

Thinking of those horrific scenes happening to Mia’s body made uncontrollable anger boil up.

Intense killing intent burst from her pupils, which had narrowed like when she faced the wooden dummy.

“I won’t let that happen.”

[You, who just burned your own hands trying to kill a fake dummy?]

However, even the girl trained as the almighty God’s sword was helpless against Mia’s harsh words.

“…Th-this time I just got a little excited because it’s been a while since I fought.”

[So if you get excited twice, my body will be crippled?]

“O-okay. I’ll be careful…”

Heeeng- The girl’s head dropped dejectedly.

This was enough for now.

Until they found a way to undo the brainwashing.

[Looks like the instructor’s looking for you. Go on.]

“Okay.”

After the girl jumped up and hurried off.

Crackle- Crackle crackle-

Time stopped, and the world started shrinking like a deflating balloon.

As this seemingly real world turned into a small marble and returned to someone’s grasp,

“Guild Master. Are you finished?”

“Yes. Thanks for making time in your busy schedule.”

Beyond that, the Guild Master, who had been carefully observing the entire test process, quietly raised a cigarette.

“Guild Master? Didn’t you say you quit smoking?”

Despite the man opposite him being alarmed, Hiss- smoke finally rose from the cigarette.

Cigarettes…

Right. He’d thought it was best to quit since they were harmful and he couldn’t smoke in front of children.

But after seeing this memory, he just couldn’t resist smoking.

“…I’m sorry, but I’d like this record completely destroyed.”

This was a memory others shouldn’t see.

Because it revealed the girl’s incredible ability to ‘create’ something?

Because she acted as if she had multiple personalities, like she was mentally ill?

Both were things that shouldn’t be revealed to others, but there was something even more important.

‘The cult… the cult, huh…’

The cult’s appearance was a problem in itself.

In the past, extremist Islamic terrorist groups were the issue.

Now, after the Gate incident, cults following something called the ‘Almighty God’ had become the problem.

In Korea, they’d been completely pushed out through large-scale suppression operations, but their influence still had a massive impact in many parts of the world.

The collapse of the Vatican, the great explosion in Mecca, the bombing of Sarnath…

And these bastards were still in the country?

There were two possibilities.

One was that those who survived the suppression operation had stubbornly survived like cockroaches.

If it was this, it would be rather fortunate.

No matter how well they hid, it was just a matter of finding and killing the few that remained, right?

The problem was the second possibility.

‘The possibility that the real mastermind, untouched by the suppression operation, remains.’

In the latter case, even Korea’s wealthy and powerful might already be cult members.

It meant they had lured the President and the three Guild Masters who led the suppression into a fake cult.

In the worst case, it might even be a betrayal by the other Guild Masters or the President.

“I’ll have to meet the kid in person to know the rest.”

The Guild Master stood up, exhaling cigarette smoke.

He patted his suit, dispersing the smell.

“Keep a closer eye on the Eunpyeong District Head. Take direct action if necessary.”

He took preemptive measures in case the District Head hovering around the girl was a cult member.

And.

“Ah, prepare a gift that a ten-year-old girl would like.”

He couldn’t go empty-handed, so he prepared a thick envelope.

For him, it was dealing with a serious matter, but.

“Did the Guild Master have a child…?”

To his secretaries, it just looked like he was going on a casual visit.

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