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Chapter 219: Academy Heroine's Right Diagonal Back Seat

Chapter 219



“...Scarlet... Scarlet...”  


Jessie stared at me intensely, muttering my name over and over.  


Meeting her gaze, I instinctively gulped. It was because I realized her eyes were no longer the same as before.  


The warmth and kindness that Jessie’s eyes once held when she looked at her friends had vanished, replaced by something unrecognizable, shimmering with emotions I couldn’t quite define.  


The only thing I could guess was that those emotions were far from friendly.  


It hurt—being looked at like that by her hurt so much.  


I wanted to say something, to explain myself, but before I could open my mouth…


“...Scarlet, I have a question.”  


Jessie spoke up, her voice aimed at me.  


“Please, answer honestly.”  


Then came her question.


“Is it true? That you're a witch... and that you put Yoon Si-woo in a coma?”


I felt my breath catch in my throat.  


Yoon Si-woo… in a coma?


Shocked by her words, I stared blankly at Jessie, and she continued to speak.  


“He might never wake up again. But you… Scarlet, you’re not the type of person who would hurt someone, right? Please, tell me it’s not true.”  


I felt like the world was turning white.  


I knew he had been seriously injured.  


I knew he had overused his abilities.  


But to hear that he might never open his eyes again...  


He was trying to save me, to help me.  


Because of me, Yoon Si-woo...


A wave of guilt, self-blame, and regret made me feel sick to my stomach.  


Seeing me like that, Jessie shouted at me, as if blaming me for everything.


“Why... Why aren’t you answering? If it’s not true, why won’t you say anything?!”  


“...”


But I couldn’t respond to her.  


Because, in the end, everything she said was true.  


I was a witch. And it was because of me that Yoon Si-woo ended up in that state.


What right did I have to make excuses? I kept my mouth shut, and Jessie seemed to take my silence as confirmation. Her face twisted in pain, and she muttered.


“So... it’s all true. All of it.”  


“...”


“I believed in you... I thought we were friends...”  


Jessie closed her eyes tightly, letting out a bitter laugh.  


I turned away from her. I didn’t have time to deal with Jessie.  


Yoon Si-woo wanted me to run, after all.  


At the very least, I should honor his last request─  


Thud.


“Stop right there.”


A sharp voice cut through the air as a heavy, blunt impact pierced through me.  


Looking down, I saw a sharp metal spike protruding from my chest.  


The pain forced me to stop in my tracks, and I slowly turned around.  


There, with an expression twisted in fury like a wrathful god, stood Jessie, her staff raised toward me.


“I’ll never forgive you...”  


Her voice, filled with malice, rang out as the spike in my chest began to vibrate violently, likely from her telekinesis.  


Blood spurted from the wound that pierced through my chest.  


It was hard to believe that this attack, filled with such murderous intent, had come from the normally gentle Jessie.  


More than the pain, it hurt knowing that fact, and I grimaced as I pulled the spike out of my chest with my hand.  


Though the wound began healing immediately, Jessie clearly had no intention of giving me any time to recover. She swung her staff again, sending another spike flying toward me.


“I’ll never forgive you...!!!”


Her scream echoed with vengeance.  


But this time, flames surged from my body, melting the spike in an instant.  


“Ugh… Die!!!”


Jessie, enraged that her attack had been nullified, slammed her staff onto the ground.  


The sharp stones and metal shards scattered around us lifted into the air, then flew at me all at once.  


For her, it must’ve been an all-out attack, pouring everything she had into it. But it wasn’t enough to harm me—now that I had become a witch, I was too strong for it to have any real effect.  


The stones, the metal spikes—none of them could penetrate the flames surrounding me.  


Even if I allowed them to hit me, they were injuries that would heal in no time.  


The difference in power between us was clear.  


As if to say she understood, Jessie bit her lip, realizing her attacks were futile.  


I looked at her, hoping that maybe now she’d stop.  


I was about to turn away, thinking it was over.


But contrary to my expectations…


“Die...! Just die already...!!”


Jessie didn’t stop attacking.  


She kept hurling curses at me, launching attack after attack, even though none of them could reach me.  


Again, and again, and again...


“Ugh… Kahh?!”


Suddenly, as she kept pushing herself to attack, blood started pouring from the holes in Jessie’s face.  


She had already used up all her strength earlier, and now, without proper rest, she was forcing her body past its limits.  


Shocked by the sight, I cried out to her.


“Jessie...!”  


“D-die... cough! Ugh… Just… die...!”


Even as blood sprayed from her mouth, she kept sending attacks my way.


Jessie’s unwavering determination to hurt me, despite her own body breaking down, was agonizing to witness.


It meant the betrayal she felt from me was that deep.


Her actions—hurting herself to get to me—were more painful for me than anything else I had endured. 

 

Yoon Si-woo being gravely injured because of me was already unbearable, but watching Jessie hurt herself, too, was far worse. I couldn’t take it anymore, and I screamed at her to stop.


“Stop, Jessie! Please, stop...!!”  


“Why…?! Why!!!”  


“Jessie, I said stop!”  


“I believed in you… My brother believed in you… Why did you deceive us?! Why...?!”


Despite my pleas, Jessie didn’t stop. Our cries of desperation echoed back and forth.


Then, suddenly, Jessie’s attacks ceased.  


Not because her anger had subsided, but because she stumbled and collapsed to the ground.  


“...! Jessie...!”  


“Ugh... Aahh...!”


Jessie, lying on the ground, weakly waved her staff a few more times, but she no longer had the strength to use her powers. Her eyes bloodshot, she grabbed a metal spike nearby and began crawling toward me, shouting with anguish.


“Why…! Cough… Why can’t I even get revenge on such a wicked witch…?!”


Watching Jessie, utterly powerless but still trying to reach me, broke me. I extinguished the flames around my body and ran to her.


“Jessie, please… Please stop...”


I was begging. I held her as she lay on the ground, still coughing up blood, and weakly stabbed me with the metal spike she clutched.  


Though her attacks couldn’t do any real harm to me, they were the most painful I had ever experienced.


But the pain didn’t matter.  


If this was what it took to make her stop...


I held her tight, whispering my desperate pleas for her to stop, again and again.


Eventually, as she continued to cough up blood, Jessie’s arm grew limp, and she stopped attacking.


“...Why...”  


Jessie met my eyes, her face twisted in sorrow, and muttered.  


“Why are you making that face…? I’m the one who’s hurt, I’m the one who wants to cry…”


Tears welled up in Jessie’s eyes.


“Why, when you’re a witch... Why didn’t you resist my attacks… Why... why do you still act like nothing has changed…?”


“...”


“The witch is supposed to be my enemy... So what am I supposed to do now… Hngh...”


With a clatter, the metal spike in Jessie’s hand dropped to the ground.  


She trembled, then buried her face in my arms, sobbing.  


I held her close, feeling a small sense of relief as she finally stopped hurting herself. I whispered softly to her.


“Jessie, I’m sorry... I’m so sorry...”  


“Sniff… What are you sorry for?” 

 

“For everything... For hiding the truth from you all this time, for unintentionally hurting Yoon Si-woo... And for breaking the arm you and your brother gifted me... Everything…”


“...You’ve healed now, so you don’t need that arm anymore.”  


Jessie mumbled, keeping her face buried in my chest.


After a short silence, she pushed me away, her head still lowered, and spoke in a low voice.


“Just go…”


“...What?”  


“...People will come soon, so leave quickly. Otherwise, I might change my mind and set this off.”


She pulled out a small device from her clothes and showed it to me.  


Recognizing it as one of the devices used to fire the signal fireworks that revealed my location, I shuddered and quickly stood up, speaking to her.


“Your body... It’s badly hurt. You should go to the hospital, Jessie...”  


“...I’ll handle it. Just go, already.”


I wanted to help her get to the hospital, but I couldn’t risk her lighting the fireworks in a fit of rage. Reluctantly, I turned and left quickly.


I didn’t say goodbye.


I hoped that someday, we might see each other again.


---


After Scarlet left, it didn’t take long for the area to become noisy again.


The heroes had resumed their chase.


Hearing the commotion, Jessie stared at the magical device in her hand for a moment before letting out a deep sigh, muttering to herself.


“...I don’t know if this was the right thing to do.”


She hesitated briefly, then tightly closed her eyes and pressed the button on the device.


With a loud bang, a firework in the shape of an arrow burst into the sky, sparkling brightly.


But the firework pointed in the opposite direction from where Scarlet had gone. 


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