Chapter 85: The Manipulation of a ‘Well-Meaning Citizen’.

“What did you say?” Yukina’s expression immediately darkened after answering a phone call.

Following that, she quickly left the Kendo Club, leaving her companions, Zhong Shuixi and Huangquan Ai, behind.

“Eh?”

At that moment, Zhong Shuixi didn’t realize the severity of the situation.

However, when she returned home and casually turned on the television, the news broadcast utterly broke her spirit.

The news reported that a high school boy had been in a severe car accident and died after being transported to the hospital.

The image of the boy was strikingly similar to her Senior.

“No way!”

Zhong Shuixi’s face showed shock.

She quickly pulled out her phone and called her Senior.

They had exchanged contact information while working together a few days ago.

However, no matter how many times Zhong Shuixi called, the other party never picked up.

Zhong Shuixi refused to believe any of it until she saw with her own eyes the sight of her Senior lying quietly in the hospital morgue. Only then did the tight string in her heart snap completely.

Senior was dead.

The Senior who was her life mentor, who guided her forward like a landmark, and who would protect her friendship with Yukina no matter the cost, was gone forever and would never return.

It felt as if a piece of her heart had been brutally torn out. Zhong Shuixi felt an unbearable pain and tears streamed uncontrollably from her eyes.

She tried to lock herself in her room to calm down, but she couldn’t forget that her Senior was dead.

From that moment on, she realized that her Senior was even more important in her heart than Yukina.

‘If gods exist in this world, can they bring Senior back to this world? I’ll do anything if he can just come back.’

And so, she shut herself in her room for almost a full day. Seeing her haggard face in the mirror, she realized that if she continued like this, she would break down.

Thus, to try and ease her mind, she went out onto the street. She then happened to see Yukina pulling the hand of a silver-haired little sister, furtively rushing into a nearby park.

The look of excitement on Yukina’s face utterly shocked Zhong Shuixi.

‘Yukina, your brother is already… Why are you still smiling so happily?’

Zhong Shuixi followed them and spoke with Yukina, learning that the silver-haired little sister was Yukina’s distant cousin, who had coincidentally come to the city to live with Yukina and needed her care.

Zhong Shuixi dismissed her suspicion of the silver-haired little sister. However, when they talked about her Senior, Yukina’s expression was abnormal.

It wasn’t the face of someone who had just lost a brother.

It was as if her brother’s death meant nothing to Yukina.

‘Yukina, do you really feel that the brother who constantly cared for you and protected you was a relief to be rid of?’

Zhong Shuixi began to have deep suspicions about Yukina.

And that suspicion was confirmed the next day.

Through some special means, Zhong Shuixi received the news of her Senior’s burial. She went to the funeral home to see her Senior for the last time.

But unexpectedly, when she walked out of the funeral home onto the street, she saw Yukina and the silver-haired little sister walking down the street, chatting and laughing.

Despite the utterly tragic event, Yukina was full of cheer. Zhong Shuixi felt an intense, agonizing pain in her heart.

Yukina had completely forgotten about her Senior. Now, only she remembered him.

“Senior… Senior…”

At that moment, rain poured down from the sky, soaking her clothes and disheveling her hair.

A liquid, which was indistinguishable from rain or tears, dripped down her cheeks.

Despair.

Passersby came and went. The world continued to operate, but all she could feel was deep despair.

Zhong Shuixi no longer had the courage to continue living in a world without her Senior.

Just then, a figure suddenly approached her from behind.

“Young lady, you seem very desperate. Why don’t you tell me about it? Maybe I can help you find hope!”

It was a tall, short-haired young man wearing a demon mask.

Both his words and his attitude were tinged with a hint of pleasure.

“Who are you?”

“I’m just a helpful citizen. You can call me Mr. Qing. Rather, something very serious must have happened to you, which is why you’re so distressed.”

Although Zhong Shuixi was suspicious of the stranger, she still confided her troubles in him.

“I see. You’re desperate because your best friend betrayed her brother? That’s simple! All you have to do is take the place of her brother and punish the rebellious sister.”

“Punish?”

“Exactly.”

Saying this, the man handed a silver dagger to Zhong Shuixi.

“If you use this, you can easily achieve that.”

“What is this…”

“Haven’t you realized it yet? You possess a very powerful superpower. It’s just that this power is still unstable, and you haven’t fully awakened it yet. But if you use this, you’ll be able to skillfully use your superpower and make the sister who betrayed her brother pay the price she deserves. If you can do this, I think your Senior will be very happy!”

“Is, is that so?” Zhong Shuixi looked at the silver dagger in her hand, her heart beginning to waver.

‘Perhaps the man is right. If I just punish Yukina properly, she will go back to the way she was, and she will regret the sin of forgetting her brother.’

But the situation hadn’t reached a point of complete hopelessness.

As Yukina’s best friend, she wanted to give Yukina one last chance. After all, Yukina was her most cherished, and only, friend. She didn’t want her last sanctuary to be destroyed.

Holding onto this slim hope, Zhong Shuixi went to the classroom.

Then, the appearance of the silver-haired little sister completely shattered Zhong Shuixi’s delusion.

No one cared about the Senior who was no longer in this world.

At this moment, only divine punishment remained.

‘Senior, I will make sure Yukina realizes the terrible mistake she has made! I’ll use both their blood to pay tribute to your spirit!’