Chapter 8: I didn't mean for this to happen…..(3)
Past midnight.
Yoon Se-a made her way toward an abandoned warehouse.
The exterior paint was peeling in patches, and the metal plating was thoroughly rusted over.
Yet despite that outward appearance, the presence she could sense inside the abandoned warehouse exceeded ten people.
Gathered in a circle as though performing some kind of ritual, they bowed repeatedly.
She spread her Mana upward to check whether anyone was keeping watch.
But nothing caught on her Mana.
That didn't make her think the security was lax, however.
Even just the entrance leading into that abandoned warehouse was packed with traps.
To walk up to that entrance without any countermeasures—
There was no doubt something terrible would be waiting.
Not only the entrance, but even the outer walls and windows were densely riddled with traps.
These were the kinds of traps that most people would find difficult to even sense.
Laden with dark energy.
But unless you concentrated, that dark energy was completely imperceptible.
Had she not had the experience of her past life.
She probably wouldn't have even thought there were traps there.
And just how horrifying a breed these Demon Followers were—
She knew all too well from her past life.
So she drew her sword without hesitation.
Sshring!
A beautiful blade drawn out with a cold ring of metal.
The ones inside were Demon Followers—those who had betrayed humanity and devoted themselves to the Demon Tribe.
In the memories of her past life, the Demon Followers had relentlessly attacked Arion Academy.
Even if they were low-ranking, there was much to extract from them.
Starting from what route they used to get here, to what they planned to do going forward.
And…… the monster transformation incident—also known as the academy's worst disaster.
Even the smallest clue would do.
With that, I can increase the Family's support further.
She slowly breathed Mana into her sword.
And the moment she was about to bring it down—
"What a fine evening. My Lady."
At that instant, goosebumps prickled across Yoon Se-a.
A voice from directly beside her.
Someone had approached right next to her, yet she hadn't noticed.
She hurriedly leveled her sword at him.
But he didn't so much as blink.
No—he didn't even twitch.
The figure draped in a worn Cloak and wearing a strangely shaped Iron Mask slowly raised both hands.
"Ha ha. My apologies if I startled you."
A low voice tinged with gloom.
On top of that…… his presence was barely perceptible.
Even face-to-face like this, right in front of her eyes.
If she lost focus for even a moment, she felt she might lose sight of him again.
Without taking her eyes off him, she spoke.
"What are you."
He slowly stepped back and replied.
"I am merely…… a being who stages plays."
"Plays?"
"Ha ha, you'll understand the details soon enough. My Lady happens to be the lead actress of the play I am preparing."
The moment she heard those words, the first thought that crossed her mind was simple.
Dangerous.
A dangerous kind of person.
One who seeks to control all manner of crime.
In other words, a brain.
One who plans and executes.
Such a person is also formidably skilled.
Not only formidable in skill.
But exceptional in intelligence as well.
She herself had borrowed the power of the Yun Ha-seol Family to learn that this group was here.
She had borrowed the power of one of the world's Five Great Noble Families.
On top of that, she had even drawn upon the memories of her past life.
And yet this man?
Either he had backing equal to her own, or there was something special about him.
So she attempted to swing her sword without hesitation.
Her sword was already reinforced with black Mana, ready to unleash a technique at any moment.
But the next words the suspicious figure uttered forced her to stop.
"Han Tae-won."
"……!"
"I truly cannot fathom why you've suddenly started…… caring about him."
"How do you kno——"
She opened her mouth, radiating thick Bloodlust—
But the suspicious figure cut her off and whispered quietly.
"I would be grateful if you'd hear me out to the end. This is, after all, a transaction."
"A transaction…… you say?"
"Yes. A transaction. I will postpone his exit. So, in return, please delay the exit of those fanatics over there who are enjoying a peaceful night."
Yoon Se-a stared wordlessly at the masked figure.
To be honest, she wanted to cut him down right then and there.
This person was undoubtedly someone who threatened Han Tae-won.
The meaning of that word, exit, needed no further explanation.
Death, or something equivalent.
Yet to settle things here and now……
The gap in ability is too great.
Right until the moment he approached and spoke beside her.
She hadn't even registered that this figure had come near.
Even though she had already spread her Mana wide to scan the area.
And had even honed her senses sharp enough to detect that carefully concealed dark energy.
She had failed to notice this figure's presence.
If she refused here…… and let this person slip away?
Han Tae-won would be in danger.
So……
She had no choice but to sheathe her sword.
With that, he slowly inclined his head.
"Thank you. I had no wish to hurt the lead actress."
The instant his words ended.
He had already vanished.
"What?"
When exactly?
Yoon Se-a stared blankly into empty air.
She could still smash those people even now.
But what if he was merely concealing his presence and still watching her?
"……"
Receiving the Family's support a little late was fine.
But Han Tae-won……
"Grind!"
Even so, it was fine.
Her objective had come into sharp focus.
She slowly began to walk.
Now that her goal was clear, all that remained was to grow stronger.
.
.
.
.
I was dripping with sweat.
For the moment, I'd managed to find words to say and stopped the fanatics from being killed.
Those guys were the main Villains—troublemakers who brought all sorts of incidents and disasters to the academy.
That's why those people absolutely had to stay alive.
Only then could the academy students grow.
And with that growth, be ready to face an even greater calamity.
Well, a few of them might get fairly badly hurt in the process.
But it's growing pains, right? Should be fine.
Okay, I can accept that much and move on.
But the problem was……
Hey, that sword is way too close!
So without thinking, I threw both hands up in the air.
But my mouth didn't stop.
No—to be precise, it couldn't stop.
If I dropped the tough act here?
Then that sword would just go shnick and lop my head off!
"Ha ha. My apologies if I startled you."
"What are you."
That question made my thoughts grind to a halt.
I'm Han Tae-won!
That wasn't something I could say.
So I just said whatever came to mind.
"……I stage plays……"
Blah blah blah.
I rambled so much I can't even remember what I said.
But the moment I finished speaking.
I could tell on instinct.
That Yoon Se-a was going to swing that sword pointed at me.
The goblin-shaped mask hid her eyes, her expression, everything—but I was certain.
As a veteran who had fought Yoon Se-a over a thousand times.
I judged: this sword will definitely be swung.
Right as the sword began to move.
0.1 seconds.
No—subjectively, a much longer span of time passed as a flood of thoughts rushed by.
Call it my last desperate struggle to survive.
What on earth could I say right now to make Yoon Se-a stop?
The answer came at a speed faster than light.
It was me.
So I just blurted it out.
No—to be precise, it bypassed the filter called thought entirely; the moment it surfaced in my brain, my mouth moved.
"Han Tae-won."
At those words, the blade moved exactly 0.1cm and stopped.
If it had come just a little further I might've genuinely been cut.
I'd thrown it out there, but.
What now.
I slowly turned the gears in my head.
What could I say to rattle Yoon Se-a.
What does Han Tae-won mean to Yoon Se-a right now.
I don't speculate.
This calls for a process of elimination.
First—in the previous round, Yoon Se-a hadn't spared Han Tae-won a single drop of attention.
In other words, she treated him as though he didn't exist.
So, for now, I strike where it counts and gauge her reaction.
"I truly cannot fathom why you've suddenly started…… caring about him."
At these words of mine, I sensed a tremor in Yoon Se-a.
Her body shook just slightly, and her step—half of a half-step?
She withdrew about that much.
And in a way completely unlike her usual self, she spoke in a trembling voice.
"How do you kno—"
Anyone else might not have caught the subtle difference, but.
I could tell.
So here, I cut her words off without mercy.
Right now she was definitely in a state where she deeply hated the idea of anything happening to me.
Just today—no, not today.
It was past midnight, after all.
Anyway, even just the conversation we had after the Class Placement Test was proof enough.
So……
I was probing.
Keeping it vague as possible.
"I would be grateful if you'd hear me out to the end. This is, after all, a transaction."
I tested her one more time before stating what I wanted.
But Yoon Se-a's reaction was even easier to read than before.
"A transaction…… you say?"
Clear agitation.
With that, I relaxed slightly.
And I acted like a proper Villain.
Adding a slight touch of amusement, lowering my voice a little more.
"Yes. A transaction. I will postpone his exit. So, in return, please delay the exit of those fanatics over there who are enjoying a peaceful night."
I kept it vague with the word exit.
Whether it meant killing, disappearing, expulsion, or anything else—
Yoon Se-a's head must have been spinning by now.
And that's why she stood there without a single movement.
Tsk, tsk, tsk.
But I let out only a mental laugh of victory.
Because this sword would no longer be swung.
Her sword was slowly drawn back, and—
That blue-edged blade slipped away into the scabbard.
"Thank you. I had no wish to hurt the lead actress."
After answering with that pleasantry.
I moved one step to the side.
This was an abandoned factory district.
Lots of tall chimneys, and most of the buildings were tall too.
Know what that means?
Plenty of darkness!
Even moving just a little to the side like this.
The effect of this Iron Mask increases dramatically.
A concealment that the current Yoon Se-a could never possibly see through.
I crept along quietly, following the shadows.
I deliberately took an even longer detour, just in case I might be spotted.
A distance that should've taken two hours took me three.
So the current time was well past three in the morning.
Which meant. My sleep tonight was gone.
"Ha…… this wasn't how it was supposed to go."
Would I be able to hold up in tomorrow morning's class?
No idea.
For now, I threw myself onto the bed.
Too exhausted to think about anything else.
Han Tae-won, fully drained.
Think about it next time! Next time!
"Krrrrrrr!"
A grueling day that no one could've woken me through……
……Ding~!
Hmm?
What's that sound.
……Morning~!
Morning?
It's morning already?
—Bum bum bum bum! Bum bum bum bum bum!!!!
An alarm blaring enough to snap me wide awake.
"Waaah!"
I thrashed on the bed like a live fish out of water.
Seriously.
I turned off the phone alarm that nearly burst my eardrums.
"Woohoo! A powerful and mighty morning……"
I wanted to say.
But my body felt way too stiff.
A stiff and feeble morning.
To begin with, it literally felt like—
I'd just closed my eyes and it was already morning.
"Uggghh!"
Seriously, trying to do school life at this age is rough.
And so, the moment I swung one leg off the bed.
Tremendous muscle aches flooded my entire body.
"G-grkk!"
R-really.
This wasn't how it was supposed to go.