episode_0046

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Ellen is always busy.

As the student council president, as an awakened person who cooperates with the military, and as a sort of celebrity, there is much waiting for her.

If nothing else comes up, I do some self-training so I don’t create any gaps in my schedule.

However, there is one thing I absolutely must follow, and that is the rule regarding sleep. I make sure to keep to the time I go to bed to maintain my physical condition.

Otherwise, she argued, we wouldn’t be able to properly respond when emergencies arise.

So, just like now, the fact that you fell asleep right after finishing dinner and ended up lying down in bed must be proof that this is an emergency.

Yuren checked his watch. It was now 10:00 PM. There were still 15 minutes left until Elin asked him to wake her up.

I took out a notebook from the bag hanging on the wheelchair. I picked up a pencil and started drawing a picture of Elin sleeping.

Elin’s face, free of the mental burden she had always carried, looks like a child’s.

While sketching the scene, Yuren’s heart also sank a little.

15 minutes later.

Elin woke up exactly as Yuren had expected.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Then. The guardian angel was watching over you.”

Elin said that with a serious face, without even smiling.

After checking the time, I went into the bathroom, took a shower, and came out. I went to sit in front of the vanity and Yuren came with a hair dryer and a brush to dry Elin’s hair.

“Okay, that’s it. Let’s put on makeup.”

Even after saying that, Elin hesitated and held onto the bath towel. Yuren frowned.

“What are you doing, take it off quickly.”

“… Ugh.”

Elin groaned slightly and dropped the bath towel. Her beautifully trained, artistic body was revealed. Her smooth skin, with almost no body hair even down to her pubic area, was enough to make even Yuren, a fellow woman, envious.

However, his body was covered in traces of terrible wounds. Wounds that had not been treated during the fierce battle, or wounds that had been treated but were so serious that they left scars.

Yuren picked up a small brush.

After making sure that the paint brush had a rainbow of colors, he painted over Elin’s wounds.

The brush didn’t really have anything on it except water, but the marks on Elin’s body where the brush had passed had disappeared. Only smooth skin remained, like other places where there were no wounds.

It’s something that’s been painted over a wound.

“Ugh♡”

A shy moan.

In fact, Elin has extremely sensitive skin and can’t stand being tickled. She’s been like that since she was little.

Yuren loved this moment when her always confident older sister became vulnerable.

“Spread your legs.”

“… Yeah… .”

Elin nodded, her face red.

Yuren, who is confined to a wheelchair, has difficulty changing positions, so Elin has to work hard to apply a brush to the wound on her inner thigh.

A pose commonly called the I-challenge, where one leg is lifted vertically and held on. Yuren’s brush went back and forth between Elin’s thighs that were lifted like that.

If things were as they were, Elin could maintain this posture for tens of minutes. However, every time Yuren’s brush passed, she groaned and shook her body.

“Can’t you be quiet, sis? This isn’t something you’re going to do for a day or two.”

“But, but this is… so embarrassing… .”

“Isn’t it bad that my sister hurt herself here without permission?”

Elin’s protesting words were cut off like a knife. Elin puffed out her cheeks like a child, but she couldn’t protest anymore.

After finishing the skin care(?), it’s time for clothes.

“I’ll do this today. It’s my confidence.”

Yuren took out his design notes.

Today’s black gothic lolita dress. There’s a large ribbon attached to the back like wings.

However, since there were so many frills and lace that it seemed excessive, it might have been more appropriate to classify it as sweet lolita if only the colors were bright.

“It’s pretty, but… isn’t it too cute for me?”

“That’s right.”

“Ugh… . You’re not bothering me, are you?”

Ellen reached for her notebook hesitantly.

The next moment, a dazzling light enveloped Elin’s body.

First, an extremely thin and fine band completely covers the entire body from the neck down to the fingertips. It adheres perfectly to the skin as if it has become one with it.

This belt can adjust its detailed form according to the wearer’s will. It can cut like a blade, burn, or freeze its surroundings.

Elin can use this band to ‘cut herself however she wants’ anywhere on her body, while also acting as a compress or pressure bandage to stop bleeding or wrap up wounds.

A dress was finally put on over it. This one doesn’t have any unique effects like the inner suit, but it has level IIIA bulletproof/level 3 swordproof performance.

“My waist is a little tighter than usual… .”

“Maybe it’s because of the ribbon. Try to focus and move.”

Today’s dress had one more gimmick.

As Ellin concentrated, large ribbons like cushions behind her back spread out in an X shape and began to move as if they each had their own will.

“This is fun.”

Elin muttered a little in surprise, then focused on the ribbon’s movements. At first, the movements were cautious and slow, but they seemed to get faster and bigger, and soon they began to show very slow and precise movements.

“It looks like I’ve gained four arms. Is my strength that much?”

“Yeah. I think I can do it with the strength my sister can exert with one arm.”

“Where… .”

Two ribbons were laid on the floor, and in the next moment, Elin’s body was floating in the air. She was standing up, supported by the two ribbons below.

As if that wasn’t enough, I started walking. At first, there were some precarious moments, but I quickly got used to it and was able to move without any problems.

“If I use all four, I might be able to run? Thanks. I think I can use it usefully.”

“… No. This is not it… .”

Yuren shook his head. When Elin gave him a puzzled look, he started to grumble.

“The visuals… The visuals are so bad… . It’s not pretty. It looks like a villain.”

“Oh, by the way, there was something like that in the movie. Was it Doctor Octopus…?”

“… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … Take it off.”

“Don’t do that. It’s cool. Don’t you feel like a boss when you sit with your legs crossed like this?”

Elin floated in the air with four ribbons placed in front and behind her, crossing her legs. She definitely gave off a bossy vibe… .

“I thought of the Fairy Queen, but this looks like the Spider Queen everywhere you look!”

That’s how the name of the dress was decided. ‘The Spider Queen’s Dress’.

After checking the movement a bit more, Elin gathered the ribbon back around her waist and tied it, then stepped down in front of Yuren.

“Thank you. I think it will be a great help.”

“… .”

“Don’t be so crazy. Oh, did you see anything else?”

Yuren swallowed.

Yuren’s awakening ability [Angel’s Paint] has two effects.

One is ‘the ability to make what is drawn into reality.’

This is how Elin’s skin was painted and the dress was made. The duration of the drawing is about 24 hours, so if you can draw it in detail, you can do things that were originally impossible.

However, there were several limitations, the most important of which was that one could not implement something without a solid image of it within oneself.

You can’t make complex electronic devices or living organisms. You can make a slingshot, which has an easy-to-understand physical basis, but you can’t make a gun.

What she wanted most was a pair of beautiful wings that would suit Elin… but no matter how hard she tried, it was impossible to make someone fly by flapping their wings.

Another is the ‘ability to envision the future or the past’.

The activation condition is random. At some point, as if receiving a revelation, someone’s past or future is drawn. It’s a fairly precise sketch, so you can recognize the characters that appear and, depending on the situation, understand the surroundings to some extent. You can also intuit whether this is the future or the past.

That’s all we know, but if you have a specific goal or have a lot of clues about that person, the chances of obtaining information related to them are quite high.

The Master Skill [Heavenly Vision] obtained upon awakening as a Master is combined with the existing awakening ability.

Through her own knowledge and reasoning, as well as the sketches shown by Yuren, Elin was able to figure out who the Masters were within the military academy and how they were operating. She even took out some of them herself.

but….

“Sorry. Still nothing comes out about that kid. The kid named Suin is completely gone now.”

“If you get closely involved with that kid, you won’t be able to see the future or the past… .”

I have seen the past and future of Saya, Yuna, and Suin, the members of the Saya Group, many times.

However, right after Se-ha appeared, the content related to Saya disappeared. A few days later, Yuna disappeared, and after a while again, the content related to Su-in disappeared.

“Do we have something in common? What do you think?”

“Don’t say weird things. There’s nothing in common between you and that guy.”

Yes. There was another person besides Seha that Yuren could not see. For some reason, he could not see only Elin, who was right in front of him.

In fact, Yuren had a guess as to why, but it was a reason that could never be applied to Seha. That’s why the doubts are growing.

“Hmm… I don’t know what he’s hiding, but we’ll find out when we bump into him. Don’t worry too much. You’ll find out in a few hours.”

Ellen smiled boldly.

Saya is clearly incompetent, and her ability to create drugs doesn’t help her much in battle. Yuna is the only Awakened with combat abilities, but she also doesn’t get along well with Elin.

Seha’s case is unknown.

Even without being the subject of hallucinations, it is clear that he is not an ordinary person.

Even while suffering from menstrual cramps, you can see that she is alert to her surroundings and does not lose her freedom of movement. Moreover, you can see that she does it unconsciously.

Veteran soldiers who occasionally work together have often shown this kind of behavior. It is definitely not the kind of attitude a girl of her age would have.

Things like that must be what makes Yuren uneasy.

Even though Elin spoke confidently, Yuren’s dark expression did not disappear.

However, Elin also had a lot of combat experience, and was confident that she had experienced life-threatening fights just as much as anyone else.

It’s not that I don’t have the fear of fighting an unknown enemy. I’m afraid of losing and the consequences that will come if their humanity turns out to be different from what I thought.

That’s why Ellen couldn’t help but smile.

To hide his fear. And most importantly, to keep Yuren from making a dark expression.

“If you want to stop those trash guys from shaking up the world, you have no choice but to keep fighting and winning. I’ll come back victorious, so don’t wait for me and go to sleep first. I’ll make you something delicious in the morning.”

Yuren, who had been avoiding eye contact by lowering her head, answered after a while.

“… Yeah.”

I didn’t raise my head until the very end, but that was enough.

Elin pushed Yuren’s wheelchair to her room. She carried Yuren tightly in her arms, placed her on the bed, and kissed her forehead. It was a good night’s sleep.

When she was young, her parents used to greet her, but after her parents became busy with work and were out of the house at night, Elin took over that role.

“Okay, I’ll be back. Sleep well.”

Ellen said so and turned her back.

Yuren does not accompany her. It would be madness to expose her to the enemy, as she has no fighting ability and even has a bad leg.

All the experience points I’ve gained so far have been used to secure the hideout. Even in the worst case scenario, it might buy time for Elin to return.

…but that’s a story about when I can come back.

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Yuren was watching Elin’s back as she left the room from the bed. Even after the door closed, the image of her back was still clearly etched in his mind.

No matter what her feelings are, she is always confident. She never shows weakness even in front of her only younger sibling.

I really like that look. I really… I really, really like it. So… .

Yuren took out her cell phone.

I entered the number of the person I’ve talked to the most over the past few days.

A mean voice answered the phone. After saying a few words expressing distrust of the other person, he finally asked:

“… Are you really going to keep the promise you made last time?”

The answering voice was firm.

“Of course. It’s a promise I made because I like you, senior.”

The voice spoke as if it were worth more than anything in the world.

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The time of the duel was 1:00 AM.

There was still plenty of time left, but Elin hurried her pace somewhat. If possible, she wanted to get there first and learn how to use the ribbon on her back more thoroughly.

The ribbon’s maximum extension distance is 2 meters. Since the duel takes place inside the old school building, depending on how you use it… .

As I walked with those thoughts in mind, I must have become a little less aware of my surroundings.

Elin, who had been hastily avoiding the person who suddenly appeared right in front of her, immediately apologized… and jumped back, stretching out her ribbon.

The ribbon wrapped around the basket of an outdoor air conditioner unit in a nearby building, then rose up and pulled Elin up.

I repeated that process until I reached the roof of the building, and at the same time, the strap around my ankle turned into a sharp blade, and I tried to… kill myself, but I stopped.

“Hmm. Tying your feet and evading with three-dimensional maneuvers, you have good judgment. ”

A look of confusion crossed Elin’s eyes. Now, she was unable to recognize the opponent who was several meters below her… She could hear a voice, but she couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman.

“Isn’t it better not to push yourself too hard? If your brain rejects something, if you try to force yourself to see it, it will overload and break down?”

Since this was a new situation, the obvious decision was to keep a distance and assess the situation.

But ‘he’ was right in front of where Ellen had landed. It was so natural that it felt like she had voluntarily landed there.

Elin gritted her teeth. The voice she heard must be real. Her eyes were clearly capturing the other person, but her brain was refusing to interpret that information.

However, her ability cannot be used if she does not recognize her opponent.

So… Elin stared. She forced her brain, which was rejecting her, to interpret. Even in the pain that felt like her head was going to burst, she barely managed to read the other person’s appearance.

“What is this… .”

A voice that flowed out in despair.

The man had a head made of a 9×9 Rubik’s Cube.

A man with colorful hair that swung up and down and left and right raised his hand. What he was holding was a glass dagger. He swung it lightly and plunged it into Elin’s heart.

As it melted into thin air, blood also flowed out from the man’s chest.

“Ahaha, what the. You can use that ability without harming yourself? It’s a good thing it’s not a physical attack.”

But Elin couldn’t answer. She lost consciousness as the [Fragment of the Jomakyung] dug into her heart.

“That golden sun and the two tops of Wolmyeong Military Academy are pretty good. You can look forward to the results.”

The man, the [Apostle of the Goddess of Madness], muttered as he disappeared. The blood that the man had shed also turned into red smoke and melted into the air, leaving no trace of his presence on the rooftop.

Five minutes later, when Ellin came to her senses, the image was not even in her mind.

Only the [Fragment of the Jomakyung] embedded in her chest proved that something had happened.

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