Chapter 125.1

Chapter 125 – Rule 31. The Leader Restores Order in Academy City (27)

The Head Principal turned her head to look at the ruined Central Tower.

“But human emotions are so pathetic… I found my daughter… so endearing. As I aged, memories began to fade, my intellect deteriorated… and in this life, my daughter was all that remained. Desires, as one grows old, tend to dwindle away…”

“So, you decided to live for Lee Se-Ah? Not realizing you were being used?”

“I knew I was being used…”

The Head Principal turned back to look at Woo-jin.

“I thought my daughter could do anything… I believed my daughter would produce results better than I ever dreamed of… So I gave her power. At the cost of the dead children and the dark side of this city, I granted her an immense power…”

Those dead children were likely the discarded ones from the experiments meant to produce obedient tools.

“And even if that choice meant those children would suffer eternally?”

“A sacrifice of the few for the sake of the many. That’s how I accepted it… I thought of it as mere utilitarianism… At first, it was hard. I vomited every day, tormented by nightmares. But eventually… I got used to it. Over time, it felt ordinary and justified.”

The Head Principal smiled a self-deprecating smile, tears in her eyes.

“Yes, I bet everything on becoming the villain for my daughter. I wanted her to lead this city right…!”

“…”

“And this is my reward…! You are my punishment! I was wrong! I… I… Aaaah…!”

The Head Principal clutched her head, rocking back and forth.

Her eyes were wide and bloodshot, and she ruffled her hair in a frantic manner.

Having lost her daughter, who was her everything, the Head Principal had lost her sanity.

“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry… My daughter… Oh, my daughter… What was her name…? My daughter’s name… My daughter… My…”

“…”

“My… what was it…?”

Perhaps because memories of Se-Ah brought unbearable pain, the Head Principal’s mind was gradually forgetting her.

She was already suffering from dementia, so the sudden deterioration was not surprising.

And then.

*Stab!*

“…!”

Suddenly, a blade appeared from behind the wheelchair, piercing the Head Principal’s chest.

Woo-jin was stunned.

Ye-seo had used the last of her strength to stab the Head Principal.

The Head Principal looked down at the blade that had gone through her body, a shocked expression on her face.

Ye-seo squeezed out her voice.

“Lee Se-Ah… That’s your daughter.”

“Oh…”

“Do you remember now?”

The Head Principal’s face slowly regained its calm.

“…Thanks to you.”

Ye-seo smiled faintly.

“I’ve carried out your final order before you could forget your daughter… It was an honor to serve you, Head Principal… I regret that I couldn’t see you achieve your wish.”

The Head Principal’s head gradually drooped.

The faint wheezing sound of her breathing faded away.

In the end, the Head Principal slumped lifelessly in her wheelchair.

*Thud.*

Ye-seo collapsed to the ground and looked at Woo-jin.

“Disciplinary Committee Leader…”

“Why did you follow the Head Principal?”

“‘Why?’ You ask… At this point…?”

Ye-seo smiled broadly.

“I despised this Academy City… So I thought it would be better to be on the side that ruled… It was a sort of tightrope walk, I suppose…? Haha… So mundane…”

For the first time, Woo-jin saw it.

Through the torn nun’s habit and school uniform, damaged by the missile explosion earlier…

Scars that had long been there, beyond the help of healing magic.

“For some, this city was hell…”

Woo-jin didn’t need an explanation to understand why Ye-seo always wore the nun’s habit that covered her entire body.

“There’s nothing more to say…”

“…”

“I’m going to leave now, to be with the Lord… I wish you peace and happiness on your path, Disciplinary Committee Leader…”

Ye-seo stabbed her own heart with the blood-stained knife, dying instantly.

She had barely been clinging to life, already in a state where it would not have been surprising if she had died long ago.

Having shed the last of her burdens, she finally embraced an unbreakable, deep slumber.

“…How pathetic to the very end.”

With a calm, indifferent face, Woo-jin quietly muttered, then turned his back on the Head Principal and Ye-seo, walking away.

The streets were filled with nothing but ruins.

The Head Principal and Ye-seo were left behind together.

“?”

Soon, Goliath came into Woo-jin’s line of sight. Woo-jin stopped and looked at him.

Goliath’s clothing was shredded, and his right arm, which had clashed with Se-Ah while containing his unique ability’s ultimate skill, was utterly wrecked.

‘Wait, his body…?’

It wasn’t just damaged; red magic flared through the flesh, even protruding through the skin.

The magic had already spread up to his neck, with red pulses flickering near his throat.

It was the magic of the Hidden World.

“You…”

Woo-jin’s eyes widened.

He recalled Se-Ah’s words.

That if someone were to directly take on her ultimate skill, it would bring them close to death.

That power, like a nuclear explosion spreading radiation to kill people, had clearly succeeded in leaving its residual effects on Goliath.

But Goliath, baring his massive teeth in a wide grin, continued to walk forward unfazed.

As if he had expected this all along.

*Whoosh!*

Suddenly, Goliath’s magic surged like a gust of wind—a clear sign of intent.

Woo-jin narrowed his eyes.

The two of them had just been fighting the same enemy with the same goal.

No matter Goliath’s current condition, Woo-jin knew exactly what kind of person he was.

Now, Woo-jin was the only thrill left for Goliath.

*Bang!*

Goliath stomped the ground, causing it to crack.

*Slash!*