episode_0233

A puff of white smoke rose from the center of the sunken land. The life form that had been standing there just a moment ago was nowhere to be found.

Then, someone slowly appeared through the fog of the battlefield.

A cold and haughty beauty who appears to be in her late teens at first glance.

But inside is a seasoned wizard known as the most powerful wizard in history.

“Principal… Teacher… ?”

“I feel like I’m going to die… How dare you touch someone else’s student… !”

It was Haewolhwa’s voice that I heard after a long time. I could feel the anger and displeasure flowing out of each syllable.

Is it because she saw the miserable state of the students at the academy where she was the principal? For me, who has always seen her grumble without reason, this is a very different sight.

But I guess adults are still adults.

Haewolhwa, who had been gnashing her teeth while looking at the spot where the witch had been standing until just now, suddenly turned her head towards me.

“… Long time no see, you troublemaker.”

And I could immediately tell that something was different than before.

An expression that somehow had a slightly more cool air flowing through it. A purple eye patch was faintly visible between the hair fluttering in the wind. It seemed to be made by tearing up a one-piece dress that she always liked to wear.

Although he only had one eye covered, his face was so small that it covered almost half of his face.

He looked more like a hero of reversals than a dignified and experienced wizard. Just looking at him made her feel like she had suffered a lot over the past few weeks.

“You were…alive…? And those eyes…?”

“How could this body die so easily? This is ridiculous. I haven’t even achieved my wish yet… ”

“Wish… ?”

I asked in confusion, but the principal calmly changed the subject.

“There is something like that. And don’t worry about my eyes. I just got lightly bitten while catching a pesky bug.”

“It’s light… ”

“It’s okay. It’s even better when you see it with one eye, because everything seems clearer. But… ”

And she rolled her eyes and looked ahead.

“I came home after a long time and was trying to relax, but who would have thought that flies would be running wild here too… ”

“You, you, you… !”

And beyond the smoke ahead, fog gathered and the witch appeared again. I thought she had died in one blow, but unfortunately, it seemed that was not the case.

“Oh, how…!”

The witch, who introduced herself as anthropologist Vega, shouted urgently at the headmaster.

There was no trace of the relaxed expression from just now on his face.

“, I saw you die in Sadalmelik’s suicide bombing… ?”

“Huh, did you think this body would be subject to something like that? As expected of insects, even their hopes are one-dimensional.”

Haewolhwa, who saw the witch barely opening her mouth, let out a hollow laugh as if it wasn’t even funny.

Soon she was looking at the witch with cold, sunken eyes.

It was a cold side of hers that she had never shown to me.

“… Well, thanks to that, we had a hard time. The Holy Land was destroyed, and the soldiers I worked so hard to raise and the Southern Command corps were annihilated… ”

She took a step forward.

“Your sins are heavy. Even with your life, you cannot repay them.”

“A monster, a monster… Are you really human? Are you actually one of our members who lost their memories… ”

“… Monster?”

Haewolhwa suddenly stopped walking. A dreary aura radiated from her. It was clear that the witch’s words had touched something on her nerves.

“… There is nothing he can’t say to a woman in her prime. Just by looking at the verbal abuse he spews, you can easily guess that he has no human heart. Then it is obvious which side is the monster.”

There was a definite note of malice in the principal’s words, but his tone was still calm, as if he were declaring an obvious truth.

And then the witch, who was taking a step back on her own, stopped in her tracks as she was blocked by a tall wall.

“This, this profit… !”

The witch turned around and ground her teeth at the headmaster like a cornered wild animal. As if she was making a life-or-death decision.

And after seeing some movement, I shouted urgently to the principal.

“Be careful! That witch uses the power to disperse and reappear like fog! If you’re not careful…!”

“Fog? You’re using all sorts of tricks.”

But the principal paid no attention and just mumbled indifferently.

“Well, they’ve been like that since long ago… ”

And then the woman’s pale figure disappeared again without a trace. Haewolhwa stood silently, and I was the one whose insides were burning.

Far from regaining my strength, my vision was gradually darkening. Right now, all I can do is hold on to Yeon-i. I can’t be of much help to the principal.

Soon she uncrossed her arms and began to draw something in the air with elegant gestures, and in an instant a gigantic magical formula of dozens of overlapping geometric shapes appeared.

In the middle of the magical ritual that slowly rotated through the air, a dazzling light appeared that seemed like the sun had appeared on the ground.

And from there, thousands of lightning bolts began to strike the ground at once.

-Bam! Kwaang!

“There’s nothing better than this to bring out what’s hidden in the shadows.”

Everything around me turned to ash and disappeared. The blinding wind made it difficult to even raise my head.

Even in the midst of all this, the principal simply stood tall and proud.

Then suddenly, she turned her head towards a certain spot and began to hum.

“Were you hiding there?”

-Bam! Kwaang!

And hundreds of lightning bolts flashed and rushed toward a single point. What could be heard was the desperate plea of something.

“No, no…!! I still… !”

“It’s noisy. You should just die quickly. I want to rest now too.”

The headmaster nonchalantly urged the witch to die. I heard a grotesque scream beyond the flashing lightning.

“Squeak!! Squeak!! No… don’t…!! Squeak!!!!”

Now, not only my vision but even my consciousness was becoming blurred. Everything was gray, as if I was on the edge.

“Don’t worry, just get some rest.”

Beyond that, the headmaster’s whispering voice warmly penetrated my ear.

“If you take a deep breath and wake up, everything will be over.”

And with that voice as the last, I completely lost consciousness.

***

Seoyeon, who was lying in bed, suddenly opened her eyes.

She stared blankly at the ceiling. Then she turned her head and stared outside the window, where warm sunlight was pouring in. She licked her lips at the peaceful scenery of the clouds playing around.

“Dream… ?”

She thought she had had a very long dream. She couldn’t remember the exact details, but she knew it was a terrible nightmare.

It was a dream that felt like walking through a long tunnel. The end of that terrible despair. Seo-yeon was able to recall the warmth of the person who reached out to her again.

Even the feel of that firm and reliable embrace.

And at that point, she was even more certain that she had just emerged from a dream.

Because it no longer made sense for him to hold her so dearly.

It was a clear fact that he had rebelled against his father and was struck by an unknown being. However, because his consciousness was hazy, he only momentarily mistook the illusion for reality at the end.

Seoyeon thought that perhaps the suppression force had moved her to the hospital ward.

“… ”

Seoyeon had a lonely smile on her lips.

It had been a very long time since she had been in the ward, but at one time she lived a life very close to the hospital bed.

Seo-yeon groans in pain as if needles were stabbing her entire body. And the sight of a boy who watches over her all night, looking at her with worried eyes.

Even if you don’t want to remember it, the memories that are ingrained in your body naturally bring back memories of your childhood.

A sweet, dreamlike memory that will never return again.

After letting out a faint sigh, Seoyeon finally looked at her body.

I don’t know how much time had passed while he was unconscious, but I could immediately tell that he had been receiving the utmost care.

Her well-groomed hair was shiny and glossy. She didn’t feel stuffy or uncomfortable at all, but rather, a refreshing feeling spread throughout her body.

Although he still felt a tingling pain near his stomach where the hole had been made, it seemed that his recovery was going well, as he was still alive.

… It wasn’t a situation I necessarily hoped for.

It was as if my mind had gone blank, and I couldn’t think of anything. Since I had set out with the determination to throw away everything in life, I had no idea what would happen next.

And Seoyeon was just about to raise her upper body.

“… Where is the call bell… Huh?”

When she discovered something, she stood there speechless.

There were clear traces of the heated nursing that had taken place all night.

A bucket full of water, a towel to carefully wipe her body with.

And… even the sight of Lee Hyeon sleeping soundly in a prone position.