episode_0222

It has been said that there are things that can only be seen after realizing them.

Maybe now is that very moment.

-You…! You were that guy last time…! The one who helped me…!

Memories of the entrance ceremony day ripple like water. Yena’s face, smiling bashfully and shyly reaching out her hand, is still vivid in my memory.

But it was all an illusion built on lies and deception. I wasn’t the only one wearing a mask.

I don’t know if I can call him a human now…

“Haha, it’s embarrassing when you look at me like that… ”

Yena continued speaking, looking at me blankly. She slightly lowered her head and covered her mouth as if she was shy.

“… ”

That thing in front of you is clearly an enemy.

But apart from the overwhelming sense of betrayal and emptiness, I also clearly felt a strange sense of longing and intimacy.

I just now realized that I had felt something similar before.

Once to a nun in the first city.

And the first time was on the day of the entrance ceremony when I held that outstretched hand.

Since I couldn’t figure out what that feeling was, I pushed it to a corner of my memory and forgot about it.

But now I can guess the cause and effect to some extent.

The path was still unclear, but it was clear that my power came directly from them.

“Still, it was true that you said it was fun. After all, you were… the first precious friend I ever made.”

Yena still had her signature bright smile on.

“That’s why I called you here. To give your precious friend the most special end.”

“Special last? What does that mean?”

“I mean, I’ll kill you with my own hands.”

The harsh words did not match the bright smile at all. However, what appeared on her cheeks was a blush. Yena covered her cheeks with both hands like a teenage girl suffering from love fever.

“Isn’t that much better? Rather than just melting away like dust without any meaning.”

“… That’s what you were talking about? That you’d kill me yourself?”

“Well, I guess it’s a bit of a mixed bag. Lastly, I wanted to enjoy some time alone together… ”

She let out an exclamation as she blurted out something incomprehensible, then added a word she had forgotten.

“Oh, don’t worry. You still have to wait 15 minutes for the core to explode. That’s enough time for a date, right?”

And then he smiled a mocking smile. It didn’t match his expression at all and actually seemed unnatural.

“Well, if Hyun-i upsets me, I could just blow it up before that… ?”

People’s faces flash through my mind. The lives of those I care about are now in my hands. Yeonmin-ha, Jinye-seo, and…

“… ”

And then I thought of someone and started blaming myself.

Even after going through all that, you still haven’t let go of your foolishness. You deserve to be called stupid.

I shook my head and steeled myself. There were only two things I needed to focus on right now.

To buy as much time as possible to give people time to evacuate, while also finding a way to prevent the core from exploding.

Fortunately, Yena’s attitude was very relaxed. The composure that she was in control of the situation was evident in her attitude.

Rather than doing anything to me right now, it feels like he enjoys talking to me more.

In that case… I guess we have no choice but to drag out the conversation.

“Professor Shin Jae-yu, did you do that?”

“Yeah.”

Yena simply nodded after hearing the question.

“I couldn’t help it. The professor discovered that the core in the basement was activated. Oh my… It’s pointless to be so quick-witted… ”

She let out a deep sigh as if she was really in trouble. Then, in an instant, her expression changed and she laughed again.

“So I punished him. Make him pay for his sin of daring to interfere with the sacred cause. Well, it ended up being boring because of someone… ”

Yena said, glancing at me sideways.

“Maybe that would have been a better ending for her? It would have been better to be beaten first. It would have only delayed her death… ”

“If an explosion of that scale were to occur, you wouldn’t be safe either, right? And you can just sit back and relax like this?”

After all, they are also living beings with obvious limitations, such as their physical body. The original form I saw of them was that of an alien monster whose entire body seemed to be made up of tentacles.

Although she is said to be a witch who wields powers that are almost like a living disaster, that does not mean she is some kind of omnipotent divine being.

They were the ones who died struggling after just a few stabbings.

Moreover, there would be absolutely no way to survive such a huge explosion.

“That’s a secret!”

But when she heard the question, she put her finger to her lips and made a shhh gesture.

“Can’t use it. If you try to find out a woman’s secret without permission.”

“… ”

Yena didn’t seem to have any intention of telling anyone.

It doesn’t look like he’s prepared to die. Is there some way to do it?

“Then… ”

“Hehe, so cute. Are you just killing time now? To evacuate people and find clues to stop the explosion. ”

“… ”

Yena shook her head. She was momentarily speechless because her intentions were quickly revealed.

Then, Yena covered her mouth and burst into a refreshing laugh as if she was truly happy.

And then he said something I never expected.

“Hmm… If you really want it, I can tell you… ”

“What…?”

“Shall I tell you? How to calm the core’s rampage.”

For a moment, I wondered if she was trying to taunt me with another lie. But she hummed and opened her mouth as if it were no big deal.

“We’re friends. Since Hyun came all the way here to see me, I can tell you that much.”

“… ”

“Huh, the answer is simple. Right now, there are about 543 million ruby particles spinning very fast inside the core. They are colliding with each other and causing a huge overload. ”

Yena raised her finger as if giving a lecture.

“I put my hand in and stirred it, and that’s what happened. The particles that are about to harden by combining with minerals are actually very unstable. If you spend time in that state… fireworks… bang! ”

A small lightning flashed above her head as she spread her arms out wide.

“And to stop this… we can just inject the same amount of particles into the stellite ore to neutralize the collisions! How about that? Easy?”

She muttered, pretending to think deeply.

“Let’s see… The average Rubin value of the students in the Yoram is 4000… So we just need to gather about 140,000 students in 15 minutes… ?”

“… ”

Even after finishing his explanation, a mocking smile never left his lips.

Even if we leave aside the 15-minute time limit, the total number of graduates who have passed through the cradle over the past 100 years will never reach 140,000.

Even if we could gather them all together, it would be absolutely impossible to reach the number of 543 million that Yena mentioned.

That’s why she opened her mouth willingly.

To thoroughly taste and mock me as I fall into even more despair.

But in those words, which had such obvious intentions, I could feel a surge of hope.

Because there is only one person here right now who can do it.

It’s me.

***

“You know what I mean? So just give up and come sit next to me. Let’s watch the sunset together. Wow… It’s really pretty… ”

Yena gestures nonchalantly. She seems unaware that her earlier taunts have actually opened up a way out for her.

It’s to the point where you might even feel a sense of emptiness. The solution is simpler than you think.

Judging by the way she treats me, it’s clear that Yena is currently unaware of the existence of my power.

If that information had reached him, he wouldn’t have been able to remain so calm like he is now. He would have been taken by surprise and killed a long time ago.

I had no idea that Yena was a witch. That would have been dozens of times more effective than this farce.

And now that we had figured out how to do it, the task at hand was clear.

Instead of approaching her, I put my hand on the blade I received from Professor Shin Jae-yu. Yena let out a disappointed voice when she saw me like that.

“… You’re going to cut me with that? We’re friends… This is really too much… ”

What the hell are you talking about when you just said you’d kill me with pride?

A surprise attack is impossible anyway. We could clearly see this from the last match.

Even though I can use magic indefinitely like them, I have fatal physical limitations.

Reaction speed, magical sensitivity, physical regeneration – nothing in the human body can compare to them.

“Are you sure you’re okay…? I know your skills, Hyun… But it’ll be hard for you to beat me… ”

I, and the thing in front of me, are well aware of that fact.

That is why there is hope.

“Hmm… I was planning on leaving our last date as a memory… ”

“I don’t need those kinds of memories.”

They rush in blindly, pretending to be desperate. And they approach as close as possible, finally releasing and spreading their power. Because within that range, they are just pieces of meat.

By stabbing the blade into its head, it destroys the main body inside. Afterwards, it heads straight to where the core is and uses the witch’s power to suck in particles from the atmosphere and neutralize the core.

It was a hasty plan, but it turned out pretty well.

“… Huh. Hyun-i is an idiot. Do whatever you want. ”

She didn’t even bother me, but rather watched me like that with interest. She had a relaxed attitude, as if she were already a champion.

I immediately started drawing the magic formula in the prediction. Since my opponent is my opponent, I have no intention of sparing my strength.

If you give it your all from the beginning, you’ll be able to close the gap.

“… ”

For some reason, I still feel a sense of longing whenever I see her… but it’s already been decided.

With that in mind, I finally engraved all the magic formulas into my body.

A peculiar sensation of the clock being wide open and the world slowing down engulfed my body. Even the screams and chaos beyond that building seemed vivid as if they were happening right next to me.

And then, as I was stepping forward like that, I was about to rush in.

“Cough… !”

Suddenly, a terrible, excruciating pain, as if my entire body was being torn apart, came over me.

“Coolook… ! Coolook… !”

The expanded field of vision instead narrows and the body feels heavy as if carrying a rock.

Drop. Drop. What was flowing down my eyes wasn’t tears, but dark red blood.

“What is this…?”

My hands were shaking. Blood was gushing from every orifice in my body. I vomited blood clots out of my mouth.

-Collapse Syndrome. It is a phenomenon in which the body itself literally collapses.

And then, what suddenly crossed my mind was the indifferent explanation of the old doctor I had sat across from a few days ago.

-… The most horrible and miserable death, the death in which existence itself is erased.