episode_0002

“Today, she’s going to die.”

At Lager’s heavy words, I forgot what I was going to say.

Lager spoke as he watched the girl with short black hair getting farther away.

“Lina Frilwood. A lightning attribute mage. Died trying to save a fellow in danger, only to be torn apart by monsters.”

“What…?”

“That’s the content of Episode 2.”

Episode 2.

At those words, I recalled the novel I had read just before becoming a girl.

The pitiful academy story where the girl, who looked like the main heroine to anyone, dies right away in Episode 2. I can’t quite remember her name.

Was that you?

Lina Frilwood, the girl who shone with righteousness, will have her body cut below the waist, pouring blood as she dies in a few hours?

“If you know, then just prevent it!”

I didn’t like that point.

If you know? So what if it’s already predetermined?

Shouldn’t you prevent it?

But Lager firmly shook his head.

“This is a strange world. And in this world, where academy students like Lina die without a second thought every day.”

“So if you know they’ll die, just save them.”

“If you do that, the story I’ve constructed will be ruined. There’s a huge difference between knowing what will happen in the future and not knowing.”

“You might become a big help later!”

“Trying to save an extra might put you in danger too!”

I know why Lager is anxious. Even Lager, who created this world and developed the story through it, is a stranger.

Because of me, the extra.

I still don’t know anything about this extra, not even its name ‘Ael Cloi,’ and I haven’t set anything about it, so I want to keep it by my side as safely as possible by eliminating as many variables as possible.

I appreciate his intention to protect his friend. But.

But…

“If you understand, then come with me. Don’t fall behind me.”

Before I could say anything else, Lager grabbed my wrist and started walking.

As I walked, led by Lager, I quietly bit my lip.

There was no connection with her. Even when I read the original novel, I didn’t pay attention to her name, nor did I feel sorry when she died. Instead, I just complained about the development.

But no matter how unrelated a person is to me.

It wasn’t easy to stay calm knowing the clear fact that person is going to die.

There was a large portal between the dormitory and the main building of the lecture hall.

While a man who seemed to be an instructor checked the number of arrivals, I once again met the gaze of Lina Frilwood with short black hair.

She smiled brightly, raised her thumb, and winked.

I awkwardly smiled and avoided her gaze.

In a few hours, or maybe even minutes, she will die.

I wanted to save her.

But there was nothing I could do for her.

“Ael Cloi.”

Lager looked at my student ID and tried out a new name.

“Such a pretty name.”

“…I told you not to treat me like a girl.”

“That’s not it. …Yujin, no. Ael.”

Lager, holding my student ID with determined eyes, said again as if making a promise to himself.

“I will definitely protect you. Stay close to me.”

“Now, let’s go!!”

Without a chance to respond to Lager’s words, the instructor led us inside the portal.

I swallowed my dry saliva and stepped into the large portal.

And there.

“Squawk!!”

“Squawk!”

Large crows were turning their heads and licking their blood-stained front paws.

Numerous cars stopped on the 8-lane road. Subway entrances blocked by waving blue barriers. And scattered blood of people everywhere.

Except for the bloodstains and the large blue portal, the scenery around Gangnam Station or Cheongdam Station would have been completely familiar.

Walking around the bustling streets, I saw crows picking at severed arms and chewing on them with gusto.

“Ugh…!”

Nausea rose in my throat, and some students couldn’t hold it in and vomited.

Even in movies, people would close their eyes during scenes of dismemberment.

But here, it was real. Mutilated bodies. And crows feasting on them greedily.

My legs trembled involuntarily, and my teeth clattered. Without realizing it, Lager grabbed me, stopping me from stepping back.

“Snap out of it, Aeil.”

His voice was low, but his grip on my wrist was trembling as well.

Just a few hours ago, she was a girl. If it wasn’t for the horror and fear, it would have been unbelievable.

There were about eight, sixteen, no, seventeen crows.

They looked at us, cocked their heads once, and then…

“Squawk!!”

They spread their wings and leaped towards us.

“All students, prepare for battle!”

As the instructor summoned his sword and stood in front of the crows, the students also summoned their weapons – swords, staffs, each ready for battle.

“Ahh!!”

The clash of crows and students’ weapons began. The crows tried to strike the students with their swift claws, while the students dodged and attacked back.

“Yujin!”

Lager, still not used to my new name, called out my old name and pulled out a long weapon with a blade attached to the spear.

In an instant, darkness loomed over me.

A crow leaped towards me, swinging its front paw at me.

“Where?!”

“Kyaah!!”

I leaped to dodge the crow’s front paw, and Lager swiftly thrust the spear into the crow’s belly.

The crow spilled blood, writhing in pain and anger.

“Kieeee!!”

The crow screeched and lunged at me. At the same time, Lager swung the spear and struck it hard.

The crow raised one arm to block the spear.

“Kieek!”

“Ugh…!”

The crow swung its sharp arm at Lager’s neck.

Just before the blade touched Lager’s waist…

“Hup!!”

Lager unexpectedly bumped into the crow’s shoulder.

It was a close call. With a thud, the crow was pushed back temporarily.

Seizing the opportunity, Lager readjusted the spear, aimed at the crow’s vulnerable neck, and thrust forward.

Thud!

Once again, the crow crossed its two front paws to block the spear.

Lager agilely pulled back the spear, stepped forward, and…

“Haaaah!!”

The spear’s tip pierced deeply towards the crow’s neck.

With a squelching sound, an unpleasant sensation was transmitted through the spear, causing Lager to furrow his brow.

“Kiiii, kiiii!!”

But the crow, even with its neck pierced, flapped its wings, flailed its front paw, and continued to attack.

After creating some distance, Lager swung the spear horizontally, cutting the crow’s waist, then neatly sliced off each sharp front paw.

With only four legs left, a final strike to the belly finished off the crow.

“Phew, phew….”

Lager, breathing heavily, his uniform jacket soaked with cold sweat.

“…When did you learn to handle a halberd like this?”

I asked belatedly, curiosity arising about when he had become so proficient with the halberd.

“I don’t know. It’s just over.”

The protagonist’s typical response of self-correction came back.

“Eek, ahhhh!!”

Meanwhile, a fierce battle was unfolding elsewhere.

Despite losing its head and front legs, the grotesque sight of the crow running excitedly towards them left the onlookers bewildered.

“Crunch, crack….”

A male student was caught by the crow, his throat torn out and devoured. With each gruesome movement of the crow’s jaw, blood gushed from the student’s neck.

“Russell!!”

A female student screamed desperately, trying to save the critically injured male student.

The righteous black-haired female student, Lina Frilwood, summoned lightning and struck the crow, causing it to shiver thinly.

However, the crow quickly recovered its strength and swiftly flew towards Lina, trying to bite her neck and grab her with its front legs.

“Suck!!”

Lina also charged forward, pushing her shoulder into the crow’s small body, sending a powerful shock through it.

Zap zap zap!!

“Kieee!!”

As the crow’s body trembled from the electric shock, Lina continued to cast lightning magic in rapid succession.

With a foul smell of burning flesh, the crow fell charred to the ground.

Despite the crow weakly flapping its front legs in a final attempt to attack her, Lina ignored it and ran towards the fallen male student, blood dripping from her.

“Russell, are you okay? Russell! Wake up! Someone, please help here!”

With a pale face, Lina shouted desperately, trying to save Russell, who was spitting blood from his neck.

Lager watched her for a moment, then fixed his halberd and turned away from her.

He seemed to know exactly what that action meant.

Soon.

She was going to die.

“Lina! Lina!!”

I called out to Lina until my throat was hoarse. If I couldn’t do anything, at least I thought I should let her know what fate awaited her.

Lina looked at me.

Before I could say anything.

“Ayle! Duck!!”

Instead, she urgently called out to me and threw lightning towards my head.

“Whoa?!”

Instinctively crouching and rolling on the ground, three crows flew towards me and were electrocuted, crashing down.

Even though Lager couldn’t handle three crows at once, I was in a situation where my head could be taken off at any moment.

“Lager! Ayle forgot to bring the tablet!”

“The tablet…?”

Although Lager looked puzzled at Lina’s words, she didn’t wait and immediately charged towards us.

“Protect Ayle! Look straight ahead!!”

As Lager turned around at her words, the front legs of three charged crows flew towards them.

“Argh!!”

He quickly raised his halberd to block their attacks, but he was slightly late. The thorned front legs pierced Lager’s shoulder deeply.

“Ah…!”

As he let out a short scream, lightning pierced through the waists of the crows standing side by side. With a sizzling sound, the smell of burning flesh filled the air.

“Get lost!”

Lina summoned lightning once again, attacking the crows as they recognized her presence and flew towards her.

“Squawk!”

“Suck!”

As she attacked the three crows with electricity while they tried to attack her, she rolled on the ground to escape the encirclement and ran towards us again.

But then.

With a sudden sound.

“Huh?”

Lina couldn’t take the next step and stumbled.

Her right ankle, barely touched, was severed by the front paw of the goblin.

In an instant, she crumpled to the ground in front of me.

Blood spurted from her injured right ankle.

“Kuk, ahhhh…!!”

She gritted her teeth against the overwhelming pain. Slowly, she looked up at the looming shadow falling over her with fearful eyes.

─ In an attempt to save a comrade in danger, she lost her footing and faced death at the hands of a monster.

In an attempt to save me, her comrade,

Lina lost her ankle.

Is it really true that she now has no choice but to die, as Lager said?

If there’s any way. If there’s anything she can do.

As she struggled with these thoughts,

[The extra rejects the original author’s development.]

[The setting of ‘Lina Frilwood’ is destroyed.]

An unknown message rang in her head, and her tail behind her coccyx moved on its own.

The only part of her body that could reach her from my position.

I pricked her palm.

And a transformation occurred.