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Chapter 216: Academy Heroine's Right Diagonal Back Seat

Chapter 216



It’s burning.


The fire burns.


My body is endlessly consumed by flames.


Aaaaaaagh─!


The pain of my body burning alive is so excruciating that, with every bit of agony, a constant scream escapes from my mouth.


When did it all begin?


When did I start screaming instead of speaking?


- That bitch was a witch! Our children died because of her!


- Evangeline ordered the beasts to kill the children!


- We treated you so well, so why did you do this?


Even when I desperately shouted that it wasn’t true to the people pointing their fingers at me, calling me a witch, no one listened.


- Revenge! Burn the evil witch to death!


- We’ll return the pain the children suffered, tenfold!


- Witch hunt! Witch hunt!


I tried to plead my innocence to those lighting the pyre beneath me, screaming for revenge, but no one believed me.


- Burn her!


- Burn her!


- Burn her alive!


Or was it when I begged, as the flames scorched my body, that I was in pain and asked them to save me, realizing that no one would ever reach out to help?


It didn’t really matter when exactly it was.


If no one was willing to listen to what I had to say...


If none of my words mattered to these people...


Then the only thing left for me to do was scream.


Aaaaaah─!


So, amidst unending torment, came the unending screams.


You’d think the world would be filled with nothing but screams if you screamed long enough.


But even my screams couldn’t drown out the voice echoing in my head.


Burn her!


Burn her alive!


The cries of those who demanded revenge, urging to burn the witch.


Every time that demand echoed in my mind, the flames, born from my hatred and anger, blazed even more fiercely.


With each blaze of the flames, the pain surged anew.


Each wave of pain gave rise to fresh anger toward the world that had tormented me.


And with each surge of anger, the flames roared again.


Caught in this endless cycle, the voice in my head grew louder and louder.


The voices that once belonged to the villagers eventually became my own, howling.


At some point, my body began to move in tune with those voices.


Burn.


When the voice commanded me to burn, I burned.


Burn it all.


When the voice told me to burn it all, I burned it all.


Even when people pleaded, begging for their lives.


Even when they apologized, admitting their wrongs, asking me to stop.


I burned the entire forest they lived in.


Ah, if only someone had listened when I spoke... I could have stopped.


But because no one did, I made sure they could only scream, just like me.


I returned the pain of being burned alive, the pain of being ignored, to all of them.


All that remained at the end was regret.


Yet, even after all that burning, the flames still hadn’t extinguished. Despite my will, they continued to roar, screaming at me even now.


Burn.


Burn them all.


Burn those who did this to me.


Burn this world that tormented me so.


Let the hatred, the resentment, the sorrow, the curse, the rage—let the entire world feel it.


Burn it all, burn everything to the ground.


Aaaaaaagh─!!


As I screamed, red tears, thick with emotion, streamed down my face.


Through my blood-stained vision, I saw things I hadn’t yet burned.


I heard the voice again.


The voice wanted me to burn everything my eyes could see.


So, just as I was about to take a step to follow that voice...


I felt something lightly grab my ankle.


Looking down at the strange sensation,


"…No."


There was a girl.


Even as she writhed in pain from the burning agony, the girl with red hair was gripping my ankle with her hand.


"…No, you can’t."


The girl holding onto my ankle was shaking her head, muttering that it couldn’t happen.


Her voice was faint, so weak it seemed like she would lose consciousness at any moment.


The strength of her grip on my ankle was so feeble that I could easily shake it off if I wished.


I should have shaken off her hand and burned everything before me, as the voice in my head commanded.


…But why couldn’t I shake off her hand?


Why did I start to think, like she said, that I shouldn’t do this?


As I stood there, confused by this inexplicable feeling, the girl, with her flickering red eyes, as though fading into unconsciousness, looked up at me and murmured.


"…You promised. You promised to protect the people."


…What was she saying?


My name is Evangeline.


With this cursed name, the people were meant to be burned.


And yet, she was saying that I would protect them?


It was a story that truly couldn’t be.


The moment I heard the word "promise," I found myself deeply shaken.


Why? I asked myself.


I, Evangeline, never made such a promise.


I never promised to protect people.


The only vow binding me was the one I made to myself: to burn down the world that had made me like this.


So why did that word—promise—shake me so profoundly?


As I wrestled with these thoughts, my gaze accidentally landed on my left arm.


My left arm, engulfed in flames.


I felt an inexplicable sense of unease looking at that arm.


Something was missing, something that should have been there.


As I stood confused between the discomfort and the voices in my head urging me to burn, I suddenly looked down.


There lay the red-haired girl, unconscious, unmoving.


But even in her state, her hand still clutched my ankle.


And at the moment I saw the arm connected to that hand, I finally realized what had been causing the strange feeling.


My own left arm was also made of metal, just like hers.


That left arm had my name engraved on it.


And the name engraved there was not Evangeline.


Everything.


That’s right.


I... no, I...


I am Scarlet Evande.


“Huh...?!”


The moment I realized it, my separated consciousness snapped back.


I gasped for air and looked at where I had been moments before. There, a girl engulfed in flames, with blood-red tears dripping from her eyes, stared at me intently.


[...I thought we had completely merged, but it seems you still have some self-awareness left.]


With those words, I understood. I had been completely fused with her until just now, but somehow, I had broken free.


Since we had been one, I didn’t need to ask to know who she was.


The Witch of Wrath, Evangeline.


It was the very thing I had so desperately tried to avoid.


I had even gone as far as taking the beasts down with me to avoid losing my sense of self. Yet, here I was.


I shuddered as the worst-case scenario unfolded before my eyes, knowing my very identity had almost disappeared. I glared at her.


For a moment, Evangeline glanced at me, but soon lost interest. She turned away and muttered as if it no longer mattered.


[...Well, it’s fine. Since it’s come to this, you won’t be able to interfere anymore.]


She muttered this as she casually shook off the hand of the girl—most likely the original Scarlet Evande—who was still gripping her ankle, and took a step forward.


Having shared consciousness with her just moments ago, I knew exactly what she was planning to do. In a panic, I shouted.


"...! Stop!!!"


[...]


But she didn’t even acknowledge my cry.


If I left things as they were, she would undoubtedly move to burn the entire city. Desperate to stop her, I racked my brain for something, anything, to draw her attention.


"Stop!! You don’t actually want to burn people, do you?!"


I knew it.


Because we had become one, I could see it.


Evangeline regretted her actions—burning people alive.


But...


[...So what?]


Her cold response hit me harder than I expected.


[You know by now, don’t you? My will doesn’t matter. If the curse that haunts me, if these flames, want it, I can’t resist. Just like you couldn’t.]


“Ugh…”


Having experienced it myself, I couldn’t refute her words.


Your body and mind move against your will, following the voice that commands you to burn. It’s not something you can resist just because you hate it.


But I couldn’t let her burn everything down either. What I needed to do was clear.


Just as Scarlet had done, I had to grab hold of Evangeline’s ankle.


Without hesitation, I acted. I leaped into the flames surrounding her.


“─Agh, aaagh?!”


A blood-curdling scream tore from my throat as the unbearable pain of my entire body burning consumed me.


It was strange.


I had experienced the pain of burning alive many times before, so I thought I could endure it.


But no. This pain wasn’t something I could bear.


Why? Why?


[How foolish. In your current state, you’re no different from an ordinary human. A human without resistance to fire can’t survive within these flames. And if you burn completely, you’ll vanish. If you want to at least preserve your consciousness, you’d better stop.]


At her words, I looked down at my burning body.


How long had it been since I jumped into the fire? My body was already charring, blackened like coal, crumbling away.


As I watched my body turn to ash and scatter, a deep, primal fear overtook me.


Am I going to disappear? Like this?


Gripped by terror, my legs instinctively moved, ready to leap out of the flames.


But just then...


- Damn it!!


Somewhere, I heard Yoon Si-woo’s voice.


What? Where...?


In the middle of burning alive, I was confused by this sudden, out-of-place sound. Evangeline chuckled bitterly and muttered.


[...Seems the lingering effects of our merged consciousness remain. Still, your friend is quite the fool. I even advised him last time to wield his sword.]


As she spoke, an image suddenly flashed in my mind.


The image of Yoon Si-woo, running toward me.


It was clear he wasn’t coming to kill me, even though I had become a witch.


I could tell at a glance.


There was no murderous intent in his expression—only a determination to save me.


“Ah…”


- Agh, aaagh!!


With a flick of Evangeline’s hand, flames surged toward the approaching Yoon Si-woo.


But even as his body burned, he didn’t slow down.


That’s because he was constantly regenerating every time the fire consumed him.


“No…”


The sight of him running so desperately, even as the flames ravaged his body, was enough to take my breath away.


Knowing the price he was paying for that regeneration, I couldn’t help but cry, whispering, "No" under my breath.


But Yoon Si-woo didn’t stop. He kept running toward me, ignoring my plea, his body regenerating as it burned.


“Stop…! Please, stop...!”


How much of his lifespan was being shaved away at this very moment?


Yoon Si-woo was burning through his life, running toward me, determined to save me.


Why, why would he go so far for someone like me?


I wished desperately for him to stop doing something so reckless.


"Stop!!!!"


But no matter how much I shouted, my voice didn’t reach him. So, at the very least, I threw myself toward Evangeline with all my strength, hoping to do something—anything—to stop the flames that were burning Yoon Si-woo.


Just like Yoon Si-woo was running toward me.


- Ah…!


“Ah…!”


Our screams overlapped.


Unlike Yoon Si-woo, who could regenerate instantly, my body continued to be consumed by the flames, disappearing bit by bit.


But even so, I couldn’t stop.


Because Yoon Si-woo was screaming like that.


So, for Yoon Si-woo, I had to do something.


“Aaaahhhhhhh!!!”


I screamed with all my might and took a step forward.


But unlike Yoon Si-woo, who managed to reach me...


“Ugh…!”


I didn’t reach Evangeline.


By now, my legs had long since crumbled into ashes.


It wasn’t just my legs—my arms, my body, even my head.


My consciousness, too, scattered.


I became ash, drifting away.


Through my fading vision, I saw Yoon Si-woo, battered and broken, bringing a sword toward my heart.


I also saw Evangeline, reaching out as if to burn him to death.


In the end, because of me, Yoon Si-woo was going to die.


No, that… that I couldn’t allow.


In that moment of regret and unresolved feelings...


Come back,


Scarlet.


Faintly, Yoon Si-woo's voice echoed.


At that moment—


"—Like hell I’ll leave things like this!!!"


*Whoosh*, flames flared up from within the ashes.


[What…?!]


From the rising flames, my lost consciousness returned.


The body that had turned to ash began to regenerate within the fire.


Like a phoenix reborn from the flames, once again, I rose.


[What is… happening?!]


I heard Evangeline’s voice, laced with shock.


What was going on?


I wasn’t sure.


Perhaps, due to having merged with her, or perhaps from having lived as something akin to a witch for so long, a remnant of the witch's power remained within me.


I didn’t fully understand what was happening.


But that didn’t matter.


What mattered was that I could walk again.


I extended my newly restored legs and rushed toward Evangeline.


[Ugh…?]


I ran to stop the flames that were about to consume Yoon Si-woo and grabbed Evangeline's hand just as it was about to reach him.


[I don’t know how you managed to come back, but do you really think you can stop these flames like this?]


Though she was clearly shocked by my sudden revival, Evangeline soon yelled at me, as if it was pointless.


And, as if to support her words, the flames burning her body spread to mine as well.


Then, just like when we had been one, the voices began to wail inside my head.


Burn it. Burn it all.


Return the hatred, the resentment, the sorrow, the curse you’ve felt—return it to the world.


Those horrifying, overwhelming emotions tried to consume me.


But…


“Like hell I will!”


There was already one emotion inside me that pushed all those feelings away.


It was a feeling I was all too familiar with.


Rage.


“Don’t you dare lay a hand on Yoon Si-woo—on someone precious to me!!”


Pure anger, at the thought that she would dare touch someone I cared about, boiled hotter than ever inside me.


And that anger…


[Ah…?]


Ignited a crimson flame within me.


Small but fiercely hot, a hongyeom—a red flame.


That small flame began to consume Evangeline’s fire, turning it back upon itself.


[The flames…!]


The flames howled as if they were in agony, but their desperate struggle was meaningless. The hongyeom slowly absorbed the fire and, before long, consumed it completely.


[Only a stronger flame… can subdue the fire…]


There were no more flames to burn Evangeline.


Only my flame remained, flickering brightly.


[Ah… I see. I only ever grieved and raged for myself. But you—you can feel those things for others as well.]


Evangeline murmured as she gazed at the scene before her, as if she were mesmerized.


[So it’s only natural that your anger would be stronger than mine.]


And with that, Evangeline—


The witch, who had been bound by the cursed flames for countless ages—


Finally murmured with a look of peace, as if she had been released.


After a brief moment of quietly savoring her newfound freedom, she bowed her head to me in thanks and spoke.


[While I am grateful for being freed, there’s something I must tell you.]


She looked at me with a worried expression.


[Living as something apart from others will be harder than you can imagine.]


Her question seemed to ask, Are you sure you’ll be okay?


I nodded in response and replied.


“I have to go. Someone is waiting for me.”


I made a promise. To grant his wish.


At my answer, Evangeline smiled faintly and whispered.


[...I see. You’ll make it through, I’m sure.]


Beyond my fading consciousness, I could hear her voice.


Now, Scarlet Evande.


Now, you are Wrath.


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


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Comments

  1. Tfnc :33 Was that mean Evangeline personality disappeared so Scalet became new Witch of Warth and inherit Evangeline's power? Or was Evan still there?

    ReplyDelete
  2. 😰😡🥶

    ReplyDelete
  3. Bro why is this SO PEAK

    ReplyDelete

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