Join us on Discord
Click Here

Chapter 212: Academy Heroine's Right Diagonal Back Seat

Chapter 212



Step, step. I kept moving forward through the rain without stopping.


Just holding onto the fragile thread of my sanity was exhausting, but the incessant noise around me kept clouding my mind.


The endless sound of pouring rain.


The crackling of flames that refused to die, even in the downpour.


And the voice, relentlessly urging me to burn everything to ashes.


A voice, a voice, a voice.


Even if I covered my ears, the sound wouldn't stop.


It continued gnawing away at my mind.


"───!!!"


Suddenly, amidst the cacophony, another sound broke through.


It was faint and distant compared to the others.


But, as if drawn by some unseen force, I turned my steps toward the source of that sound.


As I moved closer, the faint sound became a bit clearer.


"──Aaaah!!"


"──Damn it, another one got caught! Fill the gap!!"


It was the sound of life fading away.


The voices of those locked in a hopeless battle brushed past my ears, and from that alone, I could feel their emotions.


Fear, anxiety, and despair.


"Don’t falter, hold the line!!! We just need to survive until the captains get here, no matter what!!"


"You bastard! Do you think I'll just let you pass?!"


And yet, there was an unyielding will to never retreat.


The shouts of those burning their last bit of life, even as they were being extinguished, reignited my fading resolve.


Remember. Why was I moving forward?


As I reaffirmed my purpose and used the voices as my guidepost to advance further, the scene of a fierce battle came into view through the curtain of rain.


Countless heroes surrounded a massive monster.


Burn it all─!!!


As people came into sight, the voice in my head went wild, and flames burst forth from my body.


One of the heroes, who had been relentlessly attacking the monster, noticed my conspicuous arrival and shouted.


“Ugh, it’s a student?! This place is too dangerous, hurry and escape─”


The hero, who had been turning his head to warn me, suddenly froze mid-sentence, his face stiffening.


The expression on his face was one of shock and disbelief.


Of course, anyone would react that way.


Seeing a student exuding such a menacing aura.


I let out a bitter smile, looking at the hero frozen in place as he stared at me, and thought to myself.


It’s only natural that I’d be suspected of being something else.


But it couldn’t be helped.


I couldn’t control this right now anyway.


And besides,


If I burn everything, none of it will matter.


Flames erupted from my body.


The flames that surged toward the shocked hero incinerated a tentacle that had been flying at him, and it burst into flames with a loud crackling sound.


I barely managed to divert the flames, cursing silently.


Burn everything, huh? What a load of crap.


But the flames, as if acting on their own, surged forward again.


Instinctively, I knew.


It was impossible to stop the flames.


So the only thing I could do was direct this rage.


I shifted my gaze.


The massive monster came into view.


I looked at it and muttered to myself.


Look.


The one who tore a hole in your belly is right over there.


How does that make you feel? Angry? Don’t you want to burn it to ashes?


In response to my muttering, the flames on my body roared higher.


I realized then.


This thing doesn’t care about who it burns.


It plans to incinerate everything, in turn.


But I’ll be damned if I let it touch anyone.


I carefully maneuvered past the man, making sure the flames wouldn’t lash out at him as I approached the monster.


Looking at the enormous beast, with tentacles sprouting from all over its body, fighting against the heroes, I was reminded of how formidable it was.


Despite being surrounded by so many heroes, the monster was still dominant.


No matter how many times its tentacles were cut off or its body was wounded, it regenerated quickly, as if none of it mattered.


It had probably been in this war of attrition for quite some time, yet the monster seemed even stronger than before, which made me wonder why. It didn’t take long to figure it out.


A hero, caught by a swinging tentacle, was impaled by another and spat out blood.


The hero’s body, mingled with the rain, turned into a dark, murky stream that flowed toward the monster.


And just like sucking water through a straw, the monster’s tentacles absorbed it into its belly.


Just as its name, the Gluttonous Beast, suggested, it was devouring greedily.


That’s how it was recovering the energy it expended.


The beast gurgled in satisfaction as it consumed what had once been a hero, mixed with the rainwater.


In stark contrast to the desperate struggle of the heroes, the monster seemed to be enjoying a feast.


To him, this wasn’t a battle. It was just a meal.


“Hah.”


A hollow laugh escaped my lips.


And at that moment.


Whoosh─!


[■■■■■■■■?!!]


The flames erupting from my body incinerated one of the tentacles that had been busily sucking up rainwater.


[■■■■■■■!!]


The scorched tentacle quickly regenerated, but the monster turned its full attention to me, roaring in fury.


Having its meal interrupted mid-bite must have pissed it off.


But, you see, I’m far more pissed off than you are, you bastard.


As if echoing my rage, the flames burned even fiercer.


The flames engulfed several of the tentacles sprouting from the monster’s body.


I could sense the commotion among the surrounding heroes as the monster’s focus shifted entirely onto me.


This time, I didn’t hear any warnings to retreat because it was dangerous.


Anyone could see that the figure standing there, leaking dark energy along with flames, wasn’t an ordinary person.


Before the heroes could even make a judgment about the appearance of this strange being, the enraged monster launched a barrage of tentacle attacks at me.


Tentacles swung, slammed down, and shot toward me.


Given the size of the monster, every one of those attacks was a terrifying threat that couldn’t be ignored.


And it didn’t stop there.


“You bastard...!”


No matter how many tentacles I burned...


As much as I burned, the monster regenerate its tentacles.


The battle hadn’t gone on long, but I could already tell.


No matter how hard I fought, I wasn’t going to be able to defeat this monster.


“Damn...!”


Even though I had used up all the capsules the man had given me, the gap in power between me and this thing was just too large to close with something like that.


Dodging its tentacles and setting them ablaze didn’t matter. Even if I managed to land a hit on its body now and then, I couldn’t deal any critical damage.


This was the same monster that an army of heroes couldn’t bring down even when working together.


No matter how much I pushed myself, my flames weren’t stronger than the combined attacks of those heroes.


I already knew that.


I had always known that much.


[■■■■■■■!!]


In the midst of our clash between flames and tentacles, the monster finally grew frustrated and moved its body.


It leaped with a speed that didn’t seem possible for something of that size, and in an instant, its massive foot came crashing down toward me, casting a shadow over my entire field of vision.


“Aagh...!!”


Dodging was impossible.


Even if I took ten steps, I couldn’t cover the same distance as one step from the monster, so there was no escaping an attack from its fully committed body slam.


With a loud *thud*, the immense weight crushed my body, and a scream ripped from my throat as pain shot through me, as if my bones were being shattered.


The monster, as if it were squashing a bug, pressed down lightly with its foot before finally lifting it again.


In just that brief moment, my body had been completely wrecked.


For some reason, the once blazing flames had also diminished, quietly losing their intensity.


“Cough...”


Before I could even recover enough to move, the monster wrapped its tentacles around me and lifted me into the air.


As I was dragged along without resisting, I could feel the beast sniffing at me.


It was disgusting, but I didn’t resist.


Even when the monster opened its maw wide.


Even when it brought me closer, ready to swallow me whole.


I didn’t resist.


As the jaws closed, darkness consumed my vision.


And at that sight,


“Haha...”


I allowed a smile to creep onto my lips as I thought to myself.


Just as planned.


From the start, I never expected to win in a one-on-one fight against this thing.


But from experience, I already knew.


Even in a weakened state, there’s a way to take down a powerful foe.


If my left arm wasn’t enough, I just had to use my entire body.


The problem had been how to get the monster to eat me.


But it had been all too eager to devour me, and I couldn’t help but laugh.


Did it really want to eat me that badly?


Well, it does see humans as food after all.


And since I was leaking dark energy, I probably seemed like a gourmet meal, emitting the most irresistible scent.


With a loud *gulp*, the monster swallowed me, and immediately after, I felt my body beginning to melt at a terrifying speed, as if the creature were digesting me.


The intensity of the disintegration was even worse than when I’d been impaled by its tentacles.


It was so severe that I wouldn’t last long, even if I resisted. Before my body could completely melt away, I gathered all my strength and set myself on fire.


I had pushed my body to its limits, even taking the risk of doping to ensure the flames would be strong enough, and it paid off.


Using my body as fuel, the flames burned hotter than ever before.


The pain was unbearable, my mind feeling like it was being ripped apart as my body burned, but I gritted my teeth and endured.


I had no intention of stopping.


This wasn’t a matter of you dying or me dying. I had come here with the intention of dying alongside this monster from the very beginning.


At that moment, I remembered the promise I once made to Yoon Si-woo.


When I had asked Yoon Si-woo to kill me, what had been going through my mind at the time?


I wanted to protect people.


I had thought that living as Scarlet Evande, protecting people until the very end, would be my happiness, and so I made that promise.


And in the end, I had achieved that, so I could say that I was truly happy.


Yoon Si-woo had also promised that he wished for my happiness, and I had fulfilled that promise as well.


So, undoubtedly, this was the best solution.


It was the only way to eliminate both the monster and the looming threat of me becoming a witch.


It also meant that Yoon Si-woo wouldn’t have to kill me.


After all, asking a friend to kill you was too much of a burden.


I had still owed Yoon Si-woo so many debts, so I didn’t want to add this to the list of burdens I left him. At least this way, I could lighten his load, even if just a little.


Ah, my consciousness is fading.


Even so, I wasn’t able to keep the promise not to push myself too hard.


I wonder if he’ll be angry after all.


With that thought as my last,


Amidst the blinding flames,


Hoping for a happy ending to this world, which had far too many people I held dear,


I quietly closed my eyes.


---


The sound reverberated.


The sound of the monster engulfed in flames screaming as it collapsed.


The sound of the prosthetic arm, engraved with the name of a girl, shattering into pieces.


And then,


The sound of the seven scattered fragments of a heart finally becoming one and beginning to beat.


With a resounding thump,


That heartbeat echoed throughout the world.


"..."


------------------------


TL Note: Rate us on NOVEL UPDATES


Read ahead by supporting me on Patreon. Tiers starting at $5 per month and you can access upto 50 Chapters.


PREVIOUS | TOC | NEXT

Comments

Post a Comment

Join us on Discord
Click Here