Chapter 61

Read​ on ​KatRe​ading​Cafe

A few days later.

Eugene returned his hospital gown and changed into a new academy uniform, freshly issued to replace his previous one, which had been torn to shreds beyond repair.

“This doesn’t make sense. I can’t wrap my head around it,” Leo grumbled.

“What doesn’t?”

“Why are you getting discharged before me?”

Leo, lying in bed, wiggled his arm encased in a splint.

It was the result of taking a direct hit from the high rank monster’s tail, leaving his bones shattered. Although he had sustained minor internal injuries, his condition was relatively stable. For an ordinary person, such wounds could have been life-threatening. But for someone with supernatural abilities, hospitalization wasn’t even strictly necessary.

In comparison, Eugene had been admitted to the academy’s affiliated hospital with severe injuries.

He had faced the high rank monster head-on—an encounter that had left him thoroughly battered.

During the battle, adrenaline had masked the pain, but once it wore off, the state of his body had been impossible to ignore.

“Shouldn’t I be discharged first? I only have a broken arm and a bit of organ damage!”

“That’s still a serious injury. Just stay put and rest. Didn’t they say you’d be discharged within the week?”

Eugene’s recovery speed was unusual, even by his standards.

It was too fast. While he hadn’t been injured often enough to have a baseline, he could tell this was different.

He had a suspicion as to why.

It was due to his growing supernatural ability.

Supernaturals who achieved a high level often surpassed human limits in various aspects, including recovery speed.

“Well, I’m off. See you back at the academy.”

“Yeah, get out of here already,” Leo replied with a smirk, waving lazily as he yawned.

Eugene chuckled and left the room. The hospital corridors, now familiar after days of wandering them, stretched out before him.

“Before heading back to the dorm, I should say goodbye.”

Lucia, another student, had been discharged before Eugene. The teachers, however, were still hospitalized.

Their injuries were far more severe, even for supernaturals of their caliber.

Eugene already knew which room they were in. As he walked through the corridor, he stretched his legs, still stiff from lying in bed for days.

The plan was simple—exchange a few words with the teachers and then head straight to the dormitory.

But the vivid flash of that fateful battle still lingered in his mind.

He had replayed the moment countless times in his head. Now, it was a matter of practicing it and seeing if he could replicate it.

‘…Maybe I should stop by somewhere before going back.’

Life at the academy had been so busy that he hadn’t had time to visit a place he used to frequent. It had been over a month since he last went.

Yui’s grave.

Though only her severed arm was buried there, that grave was where his deceased sister rested.

Thinking about it, Eugene realized he wanted to share the recent events with her.

His first real battle.

It had been full of mistakes, but he had survived.

“Oh, Eugene?”

Lost in thought, Eugene froze at the sound of someone calling his name.

“Ms. Si-ul?”

“You’re discharged already? Ah, youth. Broken bones heal fast, wounds close even faster.”

“You’re still young too, Ms. Si-ul.”

“Being young and being a kid are two different things, you know. Ah, I miss those days. You’ve got it good.”

Si-ul approached him before he could reach her room.

Her face was wrapped in bandages, covering wounds from when her cheek had been torn open.

Combined with her light green bangs partially obscuring her eyes, only her nose was visible.

“Where are you headed? The hospital exit is that way, you know.”

“I was coming to see the teachers before I left. I wanted to thank you before heading back. Are you doing okay?”

“Of course. My cheek and ear are healing nicely, and I’ll be out of here soon.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Eugene still remembered the shock he’d felt when he first saw her injuries.

If the situation hadn’t been so urgent, he might have been paralyzed with worry.

The war against monsters had been raging for 300 years, driving rapid advancements in certain fields, especially medicine.

While other technologies lagged behind, medical science had evolved to deal with the constant influx of war casualties.

Si-ul’s injuries, though severe, were well within the realm of recovery.

“What about Ms. Angelica?”

“Don’t worry about her. She’s so tough I’ve never seen her sick or frail. She’ll probably be out of here before I am.”

It was a similar situation to Leo’s.

Unlike Si-ul, who had just started unlocking the deeper potential of her abilities, Angelica had already reached an advanced level.

Despite sustaining worse injuries, her recovery was much faster than Si-ul’s.

“Oh, if you were planning to visit Ms. Angelica, now’s not a good time.”

“Pardon?”

“She has a guest. They wanted to talk privately, so even I got kicked out.”

Si-ul’s voice carried an uncharacteristic note of caution. Though her face was hidden behind her bangs and bandages, she seemed to wear a serious expression.

“A guest?”

“Yeah, someone important. Best not to get on their bad side.”

“Who could it be…?”

Si-ul glanced away, her eyes settling on the direction of Angelica’s hospital room. After a small sigh, she answered.

“The captain of the Third Division.”

◈

“I believe I’ve made myself clear numerous times. I have no intention of returning.”

Angelica’s voice was resolute, leaving no room for negotiation.

This was not the first time she had received such an offer, and her answer had never wavered.

She had no desire to relinquish her position as an academy instructor.

“Oh, come on. Don’t be so stubborn,” replied the woman seated across from her hospital bed, her tone playful yet insistent.

The visitor was a striking woman with flowing platinum-blonde hair. Her casual demeanor belied her formidable status. She lazily bit into an unpeeled apple, juice glistening on her crimson lips, as she fixed Angelica with an expectant gaze.

“That old geezer is finally planning to retire. He’s been at it for over 50 years; it’s time to let him go.”

“So, the position of deputy captain will be vacant.”

“Exactly. With the spot open, it needs to be filled…”

“And you want me to take it,” Angelica finished, her tone tinged with mild exasperation.

The woman nodded, unfazed. “You know how special the deputy captain’s role is. It’s not a position you can just stick anyone into.”

Angelica sighed, her gaze steady. She had heard this argument too many times before.

“I am an instructor at the academy. I will not abandon my students.”

“You’re as stubborn as ever, aren’t you?”

The visitor arched her eyebrows in resignation, a faint smile tugging at her lips. She had once been Angelica’s superior and was all too familiar with her unyielding nature.

Pressing further would only backfire. Reluctantly, she decided to back off—for now.

“Fine. I’ll drop it. For now,” she added with deliberate emphasis. “But if you ever change your mind, you know where to find me.”

“Surely there are others better suited for the position. Kali, Horia, Mark… Even after I stepped down four years ago, there are plenty of qualified heroes,” Angelica pointed out.

“They’re not enough,” the woman replied bluntly. “At best, they can manage the role of deputy captain. But to rise beyond that? They don’t have what it takes. Not like you.”

Angelica fell silent. She understood what the woman was implying.

It wasn’t merely about filling the position of deputy captain. It was about finding someone capable of reaching the next level.

The captain of the Third Division, Isabella, had always been hungry for talent.

More specifically, she sought individuals with the potential to reach her level—a realm reserved for only the strongest.

The seven captains were the pillars of the Celestial Corps, and the more pillars there were, the better. Should one fall unexpectedly, there needed to be someone ready to take their place.

“You know as well as I do,” Isabella continued, her tone soft yet firm, “heroes are expendable. No matter how strong, they wear out and break eventually. Even captains are no exception. The problem is, we don’t have spares for captains.”

She let her words hang in the air, their weight undeniable.

It had taken four years to replace the captain of the Seventh Division after their death during the Great Catastrophe five years ago. Four long years during which the position had remained vacant.

“That’s why I hate to see your potential go to waste.”

“Regardless of what you say, my answer will not change,” Angelica said firmly.

“Fine. I’ll leave it for today.” Isabella replied, emphasizing the today as she licked the juice off her fingers.

A thin layer of frost formed on her fingertips as the residual moisture froze instantly. The apple in her hand had turned icy cold just from her touch.

“But speaking of potential…” Isabella’s eyes narrowed slyly.

“I hear you’ve got a student who fought a high rank monster and lived to tell the tale?”

“…That student is still in training,” Angelica replied, her tone warning. “They’re far from ready, so don’t get any ideas.”

“Can’t blame me for being interested. A first-year going toe-to-toe with a high rank monster? Every division will be vying to recruit them.”

Isabella leaned back, a calculating smile playing on her lips.

“To think, a first-year student managed such a feat. Not even a graduating third-year, but someone who’s been at the academy for just over a month. Impressive.”

The achievement was extraordinary. Most first-years would have been slaughtered within seconds against a high rank monster. Yet this student had held their ground.

“That’s a captain in the making. Even I wasn’t that good as a first-year,” Isabella admitted, the faintest note of envy in her voice.

Captains were the pinnacle of the Celestial Corps, unparalleled among all supernaturals.

It was no surprise that such figures often began to shine brightly even during their student days.

“Warn them,” Isabella said, her tone growing serious. “Standing out can be as much a curse as it is a blessing.”

The events at the National Research Institute were being kept under wraps, but secrecy could only last so long.

If the news only reached the general public, that would be manageable.

The real problem was the risk of it reaching dangerous individuals hidden among the populace—those who could exploit the situation.

“The Family has been making some unsettling moves lately.”

The Family: an extremist organization of supernatural supremacists who called themselves the Supernatural Liberation Front.

A terrorist group devoted to advancing their radical ideology.

“They’re a shadow of their former selves after the crackdown, but even a rotting Family is still the Family. As long as they’re breathing, they can always make a comeback.”

“Are you saying they might target Eugene?” Angelica asked, her voice edged with concern.

“They’ll try to recruit him first. If that doesn’t work, they’ll likely see him as a threat to eliminate. If he keeps growing at this rate, he might become a captain of the Celestial Corps. And if he’s not an ally, they’d rather destroy him now than to face him as an enemy later.”

It was a hypothetical scenario, but not an implausible one.

The Family had a history of targeting academy students who showed promise, either by attempting to recruit them or eliminating them outright.

With the sudden emergence of a new high rank threat, Astaroth, already straining resources, the Family’s renewed activity only added to the chaos.

This was also part of why Isabella was so insistent on Angelica returning. They were spread too thin.

The nation’s political climate was growing increasingly volatile.

Even now, the scars left by the Great Catastrophe had yet to fully heal.

And in such precarious times, a single spark could ignite a wildfire.

 

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
Angelica has no intention of returning because she loves her job as an academy teacher.

Isabella is burning inside because she feels like her captain-level talent is being wasted.

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Lucia causing problems for everyone but herself, truly a fiend, heh.