Chapter 38
Chapter 38
Translator: Penny
Episode 38: Escape (Contains Bloodshed and Self-Harm)
Episode 38: Escape (Warning: Graphic depictions of blood and self-harm)
"...This is absurd. How could I possibly do such a thing...?"
My head swam as if I'd been struck repeatedly with a hammer.
"No, that's just your true nature. Across three lifetimes, you've been nothing more than an obstacle to me and Jian."
Clink
Before I knew it, Yu Eun-ha held a sinister iron chain in her hand.
"Just in case you try to cut the rope with a piece of wood and escape... it's best to secure you properly."
"Wait, what do you mean by 'reincarnation'? Why are you chaining me up... Ugh?!"
As if she couldn't be bothered to listen anymore, Yu Eun-ha began taping my mouth shut again with duct tape.
Thud!
"Mmmph...!!!"
"Quiet. Good thing I taped you up."
Next, I saw Yu Eun-ha driving massive iron nails through my thighs and arms, pinning me firmly to the chair and making escape impossible. Her expression could only be described as utterly deranged.
The fact that she was wearing gloves and a hat to leave no trace only confirmed her premeditation.
"You were born a seed of evil, nothing more than trash that contributes nothing to the world... and nothing less."
"Mmph! Mmph?!"
"Do you know the most agonizing way for a person to die?"
Whoosh!
Before I knew it, my body was completely immobilized in the chair, and a torrent of water began cascading down from above.
"They call it 'burning pain.' My Eldest Sister in my third life said she enjoyed watching people scream in agony as their flesh burned."
"Ugh, ugh!!!"
Once again, strange crosses began piercing my forearm.
"This poison can instantly incapacitate even giant monsters... Has your resistance already developed? How many Yuseong Group potions have you consumed? It shouldn't be possible to develop such rapid immunity... Ah, so my sister was behind Father's fatal fall too."
"She burned Jian alive. I thought I barely escaped thanks to Eldest Sister risking her life to stop her, but... she used a long-range curse artifact to slowly kill me. Then, just before I died, she appeared, pinned my body to a rock, and threw me into the sea."
So that heart-wrenching pain I felt back then... it was this after all.
The water had already risen to my chest.
"I wish you would die, just like me. Even though you haven't committed any crimes yet... you're nothing more than a murder-obsessed killer, a psychopath who enjoys killing while hiding behind the mask of Student Council President."
With that, Yu Eun-ha opened the door and started climbing the stairs.
"Goodbye. I won't miss you."
"Mmmph! Mmmph...!!!"
"You're truly pathetic, even at the end. I wonder how shocked people would be if they knew your true nature... The public will be told that a villain organization targeting your wealth attacked and killed you. I've already secured collaborators for this."
"Hngh! Hngh...!!!"
"Even if you escape... there's no chance of survival. Just die."
Clang!
The iron door slammed shut mercilessly, leaving me in silence.
Why...?
That single question echoed endlessly in my mind.
The water had risen to his chin in no time.
Blood began to flow out at an exponential rate, carried by the water, and hallucinations and hypothermia set in.
He had long abandoned any hope of survival, and now only the terror of death loomed.
It is commonly said that there are six stages of accepting death:
Stage 1: Denial
No, why would I die here? I still have so much to do back home...!
Stage 2: Anger
Why the hell are you basing everything on your own twisted version of regression?!
Stage 3: Bargaining
No, if he comes back now, I'll forgive him. And then I'll use this as leverage to manipulate Mephisto like a pawn in the future...
Stage 4: Depression
Why me? What's the reason? I just wanted to go home...
Stage 5: Panic
I want to go home, I want to go home, I want to go home, I want to go home, I want to go home, I want to go home, I want to go home, I want to go home, I want to go home, I want to go home, I want to go home, I want to go home, I want to go home, I want to go home, I want to go home, I want to go home, I want to go home, I want to go home, I want to go home, I want to go home, I want to go home, I want to go home, I want to go home, I want to go home
Stage 6: Acceptance... but it seems the final stage of acceptance is a misnomer.
Instead of acceptance... madness would be more fitting.
Why must I die here? Why can't I just die like this? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Please, someone save me! Why? Why? Please, save me! Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? I'll curse you, Yu Eun-ha! Why? Why? Why? Why? I'll tear you apart a hundred, a thousand times and kill you! Why? Why? I want to go home! Why? Why?
Before I knew it, water had risen past my nose and was beginning to fill my eyes. Even breathing became a struggle.
............!!
Due to the Mana-Sealing Handcuffs, my abilities were completely suppressed. I could only helplessly allow the water to flood into my mouth and nose...
And just like that, I felt my consciousness begin to fade.
Ah, the water's rushing in.
Everything's going numb.
If I close my eyes now, what will happen to me?
I wanted to go home and tell my parents and everyone that I had visited...
No, what was I even?
Who was I? Nothing remained in my mind.
All that remained was the reflection of a beautiful woman with purple hair, visible through the water droplets. It was my reflection, and it told me I was about to drown.
Bullshit. I have no intention of dying like this.
Who gave anyone the right to take my life in such a way?
I'll destroy everything that stands in my way.
I'll burn everything that's wrong to the ground.
I'll kill them all.
Through my blurring vision, I saw a woman smirking at me, her eyes filled with malice. It was likely the face of the person who had brought me here.
That was the moment.
My vision went dark, and I felt an overwhelming sense of omnipotence, as if I could do anything.
In this agonizing moment that seemed to stretch into eternity, a black hand reached out to me, promising that everything would be easy if I took it.
Taking that hand was the easiest thing in the world.
"..........."
When I opened my eyes, the scene that greeted me was...
"Yun Se-a, you goddamn bitch...!"
"P-please... spare me... I was wrong... just spare my life..."
"She swore that orphan girl had taken care of everything perfectly... AAAAAAAAGH!"
My maternal relatives were screaming in agony, their limbs brutally severed.
The stench of blood hung thick in the air.
The bodies of my maternal relatives were mangled beyond recognition, their arms and legs minced like cube steak. The house itself was utterly ravaged, as if a tank had shelled it into rubble.
"...W-why?"
What had just happened?
I clearly grabbed that black hand... and then...
"Ugh...!"
I lost my balance and stumbled, the waterlogged clothes dragging me down and making my already foul mood even worse.
Where... am I?!
Despite my struggle, I managed to turn my head and quickly scan my surroundings.
Fragments of pointlessly luxurious decorations lay scattered among piles of shredded flesh.
Seeing my maternal family completely lifeless, without even a chance to use a Potion...
"Did... I do all this?"
Only then did I notice my reflection in the shattered mirror.
My violet hair, once a deep shade comparable to the color of my tie—still undeniably purple—had faded as if bleached. Surrounded by lavender strands and drenched in crimson blood, my reflection stared back at me.
"...No. Even if I'm insane, I couldn't have killed innocent people..."
Or could I? Yun Seong-ho, no matter how villainous, was still just a man who hadn't yet committed any crimes.
Yun Seong-ho had committed the heinous crime of human experimentation, but his misdeeds were still within the realm of what could be atoned for by rotting in prison. Yet I had killed him.
...So, what's the difference between me and the serial killer Yu Eun-ha mentioned?
Under the guise of eliminating future villains—those carcinogenic antagonists destined to commit evil—I had been carrying out these acts.
Using the goal of "creating a better original work" as my shield, I had compartmentalized my thinking: That's that, and this is this.
"...Ah."
Why had I suffered for a world like this?
If only I hadn't downloaded that bugged file, if only I hadn't started ASOMA in the first place... none of this would have happened.
"...Heh, maybe it's because things have been too peaceful. I think I've lost sight of my original goal."
Right, I was just fooling myself.
Before I was kidnapped, I'd been too soft, thinking I could enjoy a happy school life with Kang A-yul and Lee Seo-yun.
"...Who cares about those 'data scraps'?"
This world is just a game, isn't it?
I'm an outsider. All I need to do is find a way home. How could I have forgotten such a simple truth?
Now, nothing else matters.
I'll wear the mask of gentle Yun Se-a, just like Yu Eun-ha said. I'll exploit everything I can to relentlessly pursue my goal, just like in a game.
And then, I'll go home. Who cares what happens to this world after I'm gone?
"Lucky you, a Gate Break is happening right now."
As I gazed up at the collapsing ceiling, a massive Gate was opening above.
"My earring... it's gone."
No wonder my left ear felt so empty.
So... there's no limit to my regeneration?
The chains connecting the handcuffs had been torn apart long ago, leaving these restraints little more than bracelets. I knew exactly how to dismantle them.
Crack... Snap...!
"Haa... Good. Now I can finally feel my mana flowing again."
After using a nearby saw to sever the Mana-Sealing Handcuffs from my wrists, I watched my arms regenerate cleanly. Then, I spotted Yu Eun-ha being pummeled by a high-ranking Monster.
Turning my head, I saw the Heroes rushing toward us, their figures growing larger as they approached. Judging by the Academy's proximity, Chairwoman Eve Meitner was also flying in.
Your turn isn't yet.
If I retreated now, Yu Eun-ha would be arrested as the attempted murderer of the Student Council President. Having targeted the Yuseong Group, which supplied Potions worldwide, she would undoubtedly face severe punishment.
Yu Eun-ha must not be forced to withdraw here.
"...Domain Expansion."
A pitch-black Barrier erupted from my surroundings, spreading outward.
BOOM! BOOOOOOM!!!
"Come to think of it, if I hadn't been wearing that earring... I could have blocked Yu Eun-ha's attack properly."
Eve's thunderbolts and the Heroes' fierce assaults were hammering relentlessly at the barrier I had erected, trying to break through. But this barrier was formed from my mana, which was already fully unleashed to release the remnants of Mephisto's power.
It would take at least forty minutes to shatter it.
Within that time, I could finish everything. Perhaps I should take my time and snipe them leisurely.
With that thought, I reached into my pocket for my staff... only to find it wasn't there.
"Ah, that fucking bitch."
Where did my staff go?