Chapter 49: Running Into (Each Other)

I just… I hated being alone.

Now that I’d figured out the problem and become true to my feelings, there was no need to turn away from reality.

This city, one of the few decent cities left in the world, was blinding so many people.

Riots, rebellions, and terrorist attacks happened because some things couldn’t be hidden, no matter how hard they tried.

But still…

In the underground, they were feeding kidnapped children human meat, and many people seemed unaware that the meat came from villains.

I wasn’t planning on telling them.

It’s not like I was trying to justify my actions by saying, “I suffered this much, so I deserve this much compensation.”

Most people would think, “Why don’t you just die alone? Why bother me with this?”

So, I wish they would all just die.

Resentfully, thinking, “Why me?”

Being pitied was exhilarating and enjoyable, but only when it came from Seo-jun or Si-hyun “unni.”

If the sausages on my plate suddenly looked up and cried about how pitiful I was, I wouldn’t know how to respond.

“If I inject any more, I’ll die, but you seem fine.”

My hands trembled as I injected myself with a large dose of drugs.

The Ghibli movie soundtrack I used to listen to morphed into jazz, and I tapped my foot to the beat of the small drums.

I think I also heard a Turkish pianist’s jazz arrangement of the Turkish March.

This would give jazz a bad reputation as drug music.

As I was enjoying myself, lost in pleasant thoughts, a familiar person sat down and watched me tremble from the drugs before speaking.

“You won’t die. As long as your head remains, you’ll be fine.”

“Did they pour boiling uranium water on your head in the lab?”

“I don’t know about uranium water, but I think I ate pickled meat.”

“You’ve been through a lot.”

“So have You used to act all moral and proper, but now you’re gathering a bunch of lunatics and ups and killing people.”

“Someone who makes the same mistake twice isn’t even worthy of being called an idiot.”

“I agree. That’s me.”

“So, when are you going to that school we talked about?”

“Are you rushing me?”

“No, I’m putting together a team, and I was wondering if you wanted to join them.”

“When is this happening?”

“Now.”

Come to think of it, this man seemed familiar.

Was it appropriate to call a middle-aged man “mister?” I couldn’t call him “old man” either.

An eyepatch and a limp…

Since he was still alive, he must have played a significant role in the novel.

“If you’re not going, I’d like you to visit a research facility, or… no, they’re all hiding underground. Then how about a government agency? Preferably near the school.”

“If I feel like it.”

He nodded repeatedly, seemingly satisfied.

He seemed like a serious and solemn person when we first met, but I was mistaken.

He was quite lighthearted, and even more so when working.

Maybe he was pretending, or maybe he was just adapting to me.

“If you keep doing this, they’ll send someone to eliminate you. Neither of us will live long anyway, so we might as well become famous. You seem to be a regular on the news, but I’ve only been on twice.”

“I’ve probably been on hundreds of times, so you need to put in more effort.”

“Right, I should.”

He took out a cigarette and lit it.

Judging by the slightly sour, ammonia-like smell, it was probably marijuana.

“I’m not sure if you’ll be okay with your friend possibly dying.”

“No problem. She won’t die. We should be the ones worried.”

“Right, we should.”

He said that and then gulped down the liquor from a small metal flask on his waist.

Probably vodka.

He seemed slightly tipsy. He leaned back on the sofa, his eyes half-closed, staring blankly at the ceiling. Then he got up and walked away without a word.

I didn’t say anything.

This was our daily routine.

The sounds around me became distorted.

Countless people surrounding me, their mouths open in silent screams.

I mixed the powder on the table with warm water, filled the syringe, stuck the needle into my heart, and pressed down. My body trembled, and then everything disappeared.

All sounds morphed into the mellow tones of a trumpet, a crawling piano, and the faint beat of drums.

I sat up.

I shouldn’t become the kind of person who regrets what I did at the hospital.

People who regret killing so many are the most useless and evil kind.

Because they’re proving that they wasted those resources, that they used them up meaninglessly.

They all changed like that for me.

The flesh and blood in the pool… they changed like that to bring me and Seo-jun together, to solve all the problems surrounding me.

I stumbled out of the hideout, walked down the stairs, and jumped out the window.

Instead of doing something crazy like just throwing my head and legs out, I stepped onto the windowsill and jumped.

I landed on the ground with a thud and continued walking, staggering.

Towards somewhere near the school, anywhere would do.

How do you kill a monster that regenerates even after its whole body explodes, whose wounds heal instantly even after being shot in the head?

The monster who stole my first kiss. The one who deceptively pretended to be a normal human being.

The one who was bullied as soon as she entered the school, killed the bullies, was bullied again, killed them again, was bullied even after being promoted to a decent class, and then… massacred everyone in her class…

The students in the A-rank class rarely attended lectures.

Their abilities were almost on par with the teachers. The only things they lacked were experience and skills.

So, they usually trained, and when there was a request or a villain attack, they would head there.

I’d been doing nothing but training in the training grounds for almost a month.

Sometimes, I asked my classmates or Seo-ha to attack me with magic from behind while I sparred with Seo-jun.

I couldn’t find a way.

Seo-jun had completely avoided talking about Yoo Ha-rin since that day.

The only thing she mentioned was that So-hyun “noona” was recovering in the school infirmary.

Even now, as we sparred and chatted lightly, she avoided the topic.

I didn’t say anything either, not wanting to make things awkward.

It wasn’t like I did nothing after seeing Yoo Ha-rin that day.

She reacted when my life was in danger.

I knew.

If we fought, I would lose, explode, and become a sea of blood, killing everyone.

But I couldn’t just stand there and watch her massacre people.

If she had just burned down the research facility, or just caused chaos at the school and stopped there, I might have pitied her.

But for some reason, she attacked the hospital.

She crushed a small child with a pile of flesh, drowned the doctors and nurses who tried to stop her in a sea of blood, and exploded countless people.

I could only watch helplessly.

Seo-jun blamed me for not stopping her, for leaving her alone.

But that wasn’t fair.

If she had been there, she would have saved her.

I knew the world was different from what they taught us at school, but still…

After experiencing things firsthand, listening to stories, and taking action, I started to think that teaching them how to fight might be enough.

IF we were talking about right and wrong, Yoo Ha-rin was definitely in the wrong for attacking the hospital.

But it was the research facility that turned that powerless girl into what she was.

Then was the research facility the only problem…?

An annoying alarm blared, and a warning message popped up.

Terrorists were attacking a bank near the school.

Seo-jun took out her phone, checked the message, and put it back in her pocket.

“T-they’re attacking… the bank… aren’t you going…?”

“No.”

“T-then I’ll go.”

I tossed Seo-jun a practice sword and left.

Moving my body usually helped when I felt down like this.

Sending those who didn’t deserve to live to their rightful place always made me feel refreshed, like I’d picked up some trash.

I remembered when I was very sick at the hospital, and my dad brought me a shot from somewhere, and I recovered quickly.

And then I awakened my ability soon after.

He loved his family and was more righteous than anyone else, that’s what all his colleagues said.

Those who should die lived, and those who should live always clung to life.

I hated that.