Chapter 156

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She crushed the ember of the burnt-out cigarette butt with her fingers.

The hot breath she exhaled was mixed with cigarette smoke.

Dozens of cigarette butts were scattered messily on the floor.

Wiping away the sweat dripping down her face with the back of her hand, Angelica narrowed her eyes.

The training room reserved for instructors.

In the center of it stood a white-haired woman.

“Huu…”

She rested a stone spear diagonally on her shoulder.

With the zipper of her jacket halfway down to cool her heated body temperature after intense training.

Angelica was slowly calming her rough breathing.

The homeroom teacher of Class A, first year at the academy.

Though she now stood in front of a lectern teaching students, just a few years ago, she had been an active Hero.

She was practically the disciple of the 3rd Division captain and had been a promising candidate for the next captain.

If she hadn’t left the Celestial Corps to come to the academy, she would have risen to the position of vice-captain by now.

There are many talented people in the world.

If you look for them, their numbers are too many to count.

People call those who surpass common sense “geniuses”.

Angelica was a genius. A unique genius among countless geniuses.

The fact that she was considered a candidate for captain clearly demonstrated her potential.

The captain of the Celestial Corps.

It signifies the pinnacle.

A peak that even geniuses, whom ordinary people admire and envy, look up to.

Countless geniuses have been blocked by a massive wall, unable to move beyond it.

Desperate effort, life-and-death battles, heaven-sent luck.

Even with all of that, they couldn’t reach the ultimate realm.

Angelica had never felt the presence of a wall.

Her innate talent allowed her to overcome all obstacles too easily.

While others were repeatedly blocked by walls and stagnated.

She effortlessly surpassed limits with just a little effort.

Because of this, the young Angelica found it hard to understand other supernaturals.

‘Why can’t they do it? Just do it. Can’t they do this? Why? I can do it, so why can’t they?’

Every time she made such remarks, she received cold stares but Angelica was sincere. 

A genius cannot understand ordinary people. Their way of thinking is different. Their perspectives differ, so misunderstandings are inevitable. 

Every time she saw people struggling with even simple tasks, Angelica would give them a look of incomprehension.

‘…Looking back, it’s embarrassing. My face is burning.’

But now she understood.

Why do they look at her that way.

What it feels like to face a limit.

The feeling of a wall that seems impossible to overcome blocking your path.

Angelica is witnessing a massive wall.

It’s too thick, too big, too wide.

No way to break it. No way to go around it. No way to climb over it.

A solid wall where nothing seems to work.

‘Beyond this is the pinnacle.’

Angelica felt a renewed sense of respect for the captains.

They are the ones who succeeded in overcoming this wall.

Her former superior, the 3rd Division Captain Isabella.

The 5th Division Captain, who makes you wonder how she became a captain.

The 7th Division Captain, who sometimes makes you question if she even thinks.

All of them had transcended their limits and reached the ultimate pinnacle.

‘Five years.’

The time Angelica has been blocked by the wall, unable to move beyond it.

During the Great Calamity, she was blocked by a wall for the first time.

Facing the first wall in her life, Angelica was plagued by a sense of helplessness.

It’s impossible to overcome. No way to break through the wall comes to mind.

Angelica finally realized that this was the limit of her talent.

Even the always confident Angelica couldn’t be sure.

Could she overcome this wall? Could she surpass her limits?

Everything was uncertain. Maybe it would be impossible for her entire life.

Despite her relentless efforts, not even a small scratch appeared on the wall, and Angelica remained stagnant for years, unable to move forward.

‘I saw it.’

Only after five years had passed.

Angelica finally found a clue to overcome the wall.

Slowly, cracks began to form in the solid wall.

Dust fell. She caught a glimpse of what lay beyond.

‘I can break it.’

The turning point was a few months ago.

The day she led the students for their field training.

Angelica faced an overwhelming monster.

She fought with all her might to protect the students.

But the monster destroyed everything Angelica had built.

The girl with the Red Fox Mask.

A nightmare-like monster.

The suffocating sense of helplessness gripped Angelica’s ankles.

The despair of feeling like there was no way out pushed Angelica into a corner.

She felt fear, a heart-freezing terror.

If it were her own death, it would be fine. She was prepared.

But not being able to protect her students was unbearable.

“Please…”

Moreover,

“Please… I’ll… be a, a slave…”

Seeing the student she was supposed to protect trying to sacrifice herself to save her.

“I’ll do anything… so… please… let go of the teacher…”

It felt like her insides were twisting; like her flesh was being chewed apart.

The sight of her student prostrating herself so pitifully, begging the enemy for mercy, is unforgettable.

The image of Lucia, willing to sacrifice herself to save her teacher, won’t fade.

At that time, all Angelica could do was watch.

All she could do was shout out words she couldn’t back up.

A sense of self-loathing so intense it felt like her heart would burst.

The feeling of loss as everything she had built crumbled.

How long had it been since she last shed tears from such wretched emotions?

‘Never again…’

She doesn’t want to see such a sight again.

She doesn’t want to see her students trying to sacrifice themselves.

She doesn’t want to fail to protect them and end up being protected instead.

To do that, she had to overcome the wall.

She had to reach the pinnacle.

The captains of the Celestial Corps.

The strongest supernaturals.

She had to reach the same level as them.

‘Just a little more, just a little bit. I’m not far.’

I can reach it. I can touch it.

That conviction ignited a fire in Angelica’s heart.

Since the field training ended, she has been pushing herself relentlessly.

To grasp the clue that flickers before her eyes and fully internalize it.

The wall, once as solid as a fortress, is slowly, very slowly, crumbling.

The cigarette, chewed like gum, splits in half.

Angelica took out a new cigarette from her pocket and put it in her mouth.

As always, she trained herself harshly.

Step by step, slowly but surely, she moved forward.

Towards the goal she dreamed of, she continued to walk without stopping.

“…What?”

But today.

Angelica had to stop her training midway.

Something that would never happen under normal circumstances, but this time was different.

“What did you just say?”

She asked again, as if she couldn’t believe it.

News like a bolt from the blue had reached her.

It was a nightmare-like piece of news.

◈

“There are many things to be concerned about, such as minor abrasions, bruises, stab wounds, fractures, lacerations, etc… but the most serious is undoubtedly the penetrating wound in the chest. If it had veered slightly to the right, she would have undoubtedly died on the spot. I guess you could say she was lucky… the fact that it missed her heart is nothing short of a miracle. However, the damage to her lungs is severe. Very severe. If she was an ordinary person, she would have died dozens of times over.”

The doctor at the academy’s affiliated hospital spoke with a grave expression.

Having just finished a surgery that lasted several hours, his face showed unmistakable exhaustion.

Pressing the corners of his eyes with his fingers, the doctor explained in a low voice.

Alice’s condition was critical.

Her fingers trembled as if they might snap off.

Multiple organs had been shaken by external impact and lost function.

Her lungs, responsible for breathing, were torn to shreds.

She couldn’t breathe properly, and her blood wasn’t receiving enough oxygen.

If she wasn’t a supernatural with far greater durability than an ordinary person, she would have turned cold long before reaching the hospital.

“As you know, once the lungs are damaged, recovery is difficult. For supernaturals, the story is different. Recovery is possible, but I can’t guarantee there won’t be lasting disabilities.”

Excessive bleeding and psychological shock.

With her lungs destroyed and unable to breathe, Alice had lost consciousness.

The surgery was successful, but her injuries were not the kind that would heal easily.

“Will Alice’s life… be in danger?”

“To be blunt…”

The doctor struggled to hold back a sigh in response to Angelica’s question.

As a doctor, he couldn’t show weakness to the patient’s family.

“She’s in a coma.”

“…”

“It’s hard to say when she’ll wake up.”

Angelica’s vision darkened.

Supernaturals are fundamentally much tougher than ordinary people.

Injuries that would be severe for an ordinary person can be endured relatively easily by a supernatural.

Yet, the fact that she had fallen into a coma meant her condition was extremely serious.

Her tightly clenched fist trembled.

Angelica forced herself to calm down.

Getting worked up wouldn’t solve anything.

A few hours ago, Angelica had received an urgent message.

An invasion of otherworldly monsters had occurred in the plaza of District 6.

A situation similar to the cherry blossom festival had unfolded once again.

Students from Class A had been at the scene, and they had fulfilled their duty as academy students.

As a result.

‘Lucia is missing.’

Angelica bit her lip hard.

A sharp pain spread through her mouth, accompanied by the taste of iron.

It was hard to control the emotions boiling inside her.

Suppressing her supernatural abilities, which reacted to her emotions, drained her energy.

‘Alice and Eugene… are also in bad shape.’

At least Arin was unharmed, which was a relief.

Her right arm was fractured and in a cast, but at least her life wasn’t in danger.

However, she seemed to have suffered a great psychological shock.

It was only natural.

Two of her friends were half-dead, and another was missing.

As their homeroom teacher, Angelica needed to provide mental care, but even she was struggling to stay composed.

It’s those kids again.

This time, it was those kids again.

They were caught up in the incident during the cherry blossom festival.

And now they’ve been dragged into another horrific accident.

Back then, they were lucky enough to resolve things smoothly, but it seemed that luck had run out.

‘What was I…’

What was I doing?

While my students were fighting for their lives.

Where was I, and what was I doing?

Of course, she hadn’t done anything wrong.

Who could have known that a spatial rift would open at that place, at that time, on that day?

No one can predict the future unless they’re a precognitive.

Even precognitive supernaturals can only see fragments of the future.

But Angelica felt her heart tearing apart with guilt.

Even though her mind understood that it was unavoidable, her heart couldn’t accept it.

The self-reproach wouldn’t stop.

“And…”

The doctor’s voice cut through Angelica’s thoughts.

The doctor’s explanation wasn’t over yet.

“About the results of Eugene’s surgery…”

The doctor’s voice was even lower than when he had spoken about Alice.

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
Alice was badly hurt.

If Lucia knew, she would be sad.

But she doesn’t have time to be sad right now.

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Angelica is trying her hardest!

Too bad, her hardest isn’t enough to make results, a genius of the past is now facing the brutal truth of reality, heh.