Chapter 230: Academy Heroine's Right Diagonal Back Seat
Chapter 230
A group of people appeared from the direction of the city, and the rain of arrows they launched poured down toward where I stood.
"Kill the witch!!!"
Amid the crowd of people charging toward me, the shout to kill the witch echoed loudly. For a brief moment, I wondered if this attack might be directed not at me, but at Beatrice, who had been standing in front of me just moments ago.
But that was just wishful thinking. I realized this the moment I saw the eyes of the people.
The malice reflected in their eyes was aimed squarely at me, without a shred of doubt.
This place was already dangerous, yet they had sent a whole unit from the city just to capture me. How badly did they want to catch me?
As I was thinking bitterly about this, I heard Beatrice’s voice, as though she hadn’t left yet, but was still nearby, hidden.
"Hmm, I was just getting into a good conversation with you, Eva."
A chill ran down my spine as I realized I didn’t have the luxury to be upset about being their target.
If they were targeting her instead, the situation would be far worse.
I didn’t even need to think twice.
If Beatrice wanted to, she could easily wipe them all out in an instant.
Panicked, I spoke hurriedly to Beatrice, wherever she might be hiding.
"Beatrice... don’t even think about touching them."
"Is that a warning? Or a request?"
Her voice had a teasing tone, almost mocking.
Desperate to prevent a disaster, I begged her.
"...I’m asking you, Bea."
Though it wasn’t what I wanted to do, I used the nickname she had wanted me to call her by.
Beatrice giggled, as if something about it amused her.
"Hehe. You’re really something, trying to save the humans who are attacking you. Alright then, since you’re asking so nicely, Eva, I’ll let them go."
Was this the right choice?
Relieved that I had stopped a potential catastrophe, I sighed deeply, only to hear Beatrice murmur again.
"By the way... arrows are still flying at you, you know?"
"...I know."
I raised my hand toward the sky and unleashed a burst of flames. The powerful fire, enhanced by the strength I had gained as a witch, painted the sky red and incinerated the arrows in an instant.
Seeing the barrage of arrows vanish in the fiery light, the archers who had launched them seemed shaken.
At that moment, a voice rose from among them.
"Do not fear just because the attack was blocked!"
It was a voice encouraging them not to be afraid.
Hearing that voice, which sounded familiar, I turned my gaze to where it came from. There, I saw an elderly man with silver hair and long ears, standing among the group and rallying the people.
I knew that face.
If my memory was correct, he was the First Elder of the Astra family, someone I had met while staying at Sylvia's estate.
Being attacked by someone I recognized, someone I had met before, left me feeling uneasy and irritated.
As I scowled, I saw the archers begin to draw their bows again.
"Prepare to fire once more—"
"Wait, wait! Please stop! I don’t want to fight...!!"
Seeing the First Elder about to order another volley, I quickly raised my hands, signaling that I had no intention of fighting, and shouted.
Surprisingly, my plea seemed to reach him, as he raised his hand to halt the soldiers who were preparing to attack again.
For a moment, it seemed like he was open to dialogue, which was a relief to me.
The First Elder looked at me for a brief moment, his expression curious as he muttered to himself.
"You don’t want to fight... I was worried you might be one of those witches who mindlessly burns everything around her, as the records described. But it seems you’re capable of reason. Good, good, that’s a relief."
He smiled, as if genuinely relieved, and for a moment, I allowed myself to hope that maybe we could resolve this peacefully.
But then, his next words dashed all my hopes.
"Now I understand why Sylvia was fooled by you. You’re still a child, so it makes sense she’d be taken in by your innocent act."
Fooled by me?
Stunned, I widened my eyes and stared at the First Elder, who now met my gaze.
His eyes were still filled with the same hostility they had held from the start.
"Yes, I’m relieved. Knowing Sylvia didn’t make an unforgivable mistake lets me fight you without any regrets."
The reason he was relieved wasn’t because I could be reasoned with—it was because now he could justify fighting me, having understood why Sylvia had been deceived.
With a resolute expression, the First Elder drew his sword from his belt.
I could feel it clearly—the murderous intent emanating from him.
It was then that I finally realized how deeply mistaken I had been.
There had never been an option for peaceful negotiation.
The only reason they had come here was to kill me.
Pointing his sword directly at me, the First Elder's voice rang out, sharp and filled with fury.
"Astra! There stands the vile witch who deceived our future, Sylvia!"
"No... no, you’ve got it wrong!!!"
I shouted in protest, but he ignored me, his voice growing louder.
"Astra! There stands the witch who took our homeland from us!"
"No, it’s not true!! I didn’t...!!"
I screamed with all my strength, but my voice didn’t reach the ears of those consumed with hatred.
"See? Nothing’s changed from the past," I heard Beatrice murmur softly in the background.
"Astra! Now is the time to repay the witch for all our suffering!!!"
"YAAAHHH!!!"
With that shout, the soldiers drew their swords and charged at me, arrows flying through the air.
"Tch...!"
As they rushed forward, I quickly created a massive wall of flames between them and myself.
I wasn’t trying to harm them; I just needed to block their advance and buy myself some time to escape.
The flames were high and fierce enough that they wouldn’t dare cross over. It should have bought me enough time to flee.
That’s what I thought, anyway.
"Haaah!"
"Wha—?!"
But then, I was forced to stop, shocked by what I saw.
The First Elder, without a moment’s hesitation, charged straight into the wall of flames.
I hadn’t expected anyone to be reckless enough to run into it, so I quickly extinguished the fire to prevent him from getting seriously injured—or worse, killed.
In the process of putting out the flames, I had no time to escape. And now, the First Elder was dangerously close.
"Die, witch!!!"
The First Elder lunged at me, leading the charge.
Behind him, a fresh volley of arrows rained down.
Dodging his attack and the arrows wouldn’t have been difficult. But the real problem wasn’t me.
The issue was that the First Elder wasn’t paying any attention to the arrows flying toward us. He was so focused on attacking me that he didn’t seem to care if he got hit by them.
At this rate, even if I dodged, he’d be killed by the arrows.
"This crazy old man...!"
Cursing under my breath, I deflected his sword with one hand and used the other to burn away the arrows flying toward us.
The First Elder, surprised by my actions, glared at me with a confused expression, as if he couldn’t believe what I had just done.
But I didn’t care about his thoughts. I was too angry at what he had just tried to pull. Furious, I shouted at him.
"You old fool! You’re out of your mind! If you’re going to try to kill me, at least care about your own life! What the hell are you thinking?!"
"...A witch... worried about an old man’s life? If that’s an act, it’s a rather impressive one."
The First Elder muttered as he looked at me and spoke.
"Are you still pretending to be close with Sylvia?"
"It's not an act...! Sylvia, Sylvia is my precious—"
"Sylvia was in a very precarious situation because she helped you escape. She almost got executed."
"What...?!"
My heart sank at his words.
Sylvia, executed?
Because she helped me escape?
As I stood there, frozen in shock, the First Elder continued speaking.
"To keep Sylvia from being punished, we came here. I don’t care what happens to me, but if we don’t defeat you, even if Sylvia avoids execution, she will live her whole life under the stigma of having helped a witch."
"Ah..."
"Do you understand now? Your very existence is poison to Sylvia. If you truly care for her, then..."
His sword swung toward me.
"For her sake, die."
I grimaced and blocked his strike.
I hadn’t expected this.
That Sylvia would face such consequences just for helping me.
And it wasn’t just her—this meant that all my friends who had helped me were in similarly dire situations.
The shock was overwhelming.
It wasn’t just because I was a witch.
Just by being alive, I was causing harm to the people I cared about.
Maybe that’s why I didn’t notice the arrows flying toward me after I blocked the Elder’s sword.
"Gah?!"
Pain surged through me.
It made sense that being hit by arrows would hurt, but this wasn’t just any kind of pain. The spots where the arrows pierced my skin weren’t healing properly.
They were regenerating, but not as smoothly as usual—something was interfering.
"It's mithril," came Beatrice’s voice from somewhere nearby, explaining the source of the pain.
"Mithril, a metal that can counter magic. It’s dangerous for you, Eva, even more so than for me. Evangeline was defeated by it in the end. You can survive a few hits, but if you keep getting struck, you might actually die."
Mithril... The arrows lodged in my body had mithril tips.
I realized I was in real danger now and frantically dodged the incoming attacks.
But the damage I had already taken, combined with the turmoil in my mind, made my body sluggish.
Thud, thud.
More attacks began landing, one after another.
It hurt.
So much.
"Aren’t you angry?" Beatrice’s voice echoed in my head. "All those people attacking you right now—you're the reason they’re alive. And this is how they repay you? Just like how Evangeline saved her village from monsters only to be burned as a witch."
Why were people like this? Why did they always—
Again.
They were doing it again.
Tears, red as blood, began streaming down my face.
"Doesn’t it make you furious?" Beatrice continued. "Don’t you want to get revenge on those ungrateful fools? Why don’t you burn them all like Evangeline did?"
Revenge, revenge...
The word rolled around in my head as I looked at the people attacking me.
Yes, if I wanted to, I could burn them all to ashes in an instant.
I could return the pain they were causing me, tenfold.
Burn them... Burn them all...
But—
I shook my head.
"No."
"Why not?" Beatrice murmured, almost puzzled. "This time, you have the power to fight back. If you don’t want to do it, I could do it for you."
"Still... no. Don’t touch them."
As I shook my head, Beatrice muttered again.
"I see. Even if you're both Eva, you're different from the others."
Her words echoed in my ears like a faint ringing, and then I heard a soft thud.
What was that sound?
It was me, collapsing to my knees on the ground.
Oh, the blood.
Maybe I had lost too much.
Kneeling on the ground, my body riddled with arrows and wounds, I watched as the First Elder walked toward me.
I looked up at him, my vision blurry, as he gazed down at me with an expression I couldn’t quite read.
"Why haven’t you fought back? Even when you’re like this?" he asked, his voice tinged with something I couldn’t place.
With difficulty, I parted my lips and answered.
"...Because... I don’t want to make things... even more painful."
That’s right. Because of me, Sylvia had already suffered enough.
"You... you’re Sylvia’s family."
I didn’t want to cause her any more grief. Maybe it would be better if everything just ended here...
Hearing my words, the First Elder let out a heavy sigh, his face filled with a mix of emotions.
"A witch who’s not completely evil... I didn’t think such a thing could exist..."
He muttered softly and spoke in a voice laced with guilt.
"So... the fault lies with us, for making you into something that suffers so much. I’m sorry. But even so, for Sylvia’s sake, I can’t let you live."
The First Elder raised his sword, preparing for the final strike.
"When this is over, I’ll spend the rest of eternity in the afterlife atoning for this."
The sword came down.
"Stop!!"
A voice cried out, as starlight descended upon the ground.
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