The Angel Who Brings the Rain (7)

In the other world, there lived special plants called Reflection Flowers. These magical plants survived by absorbing mana dispersed in the air, and when a predator that could harm them appeared nearby, they would emit the predator's most intense memory as an illusion to drive it away. In the natural world, this ability didn't cause much trouble. Wild animals led simple lives, so their most intense memories were probably nothing more than encountering a stronger predator or being chased by a hunter.

But humans couldn't live such monotonous existences. The complexity of human life was a realm even philosophers couldn't easily unravel.

When such complex beings as humans came into contact with Reflection Flowers...

'The flowers go berserk and resonate with other Reflection Flowers nearby. The more intense the memory, the grander the scale, the stronger the resonance.'

So the problem was...

'My most intense memory has to be that one.'

The day intruders broke into the boy's home. The last day he could see his mother's face. He would probably have to spew that memory out into the world.

Of course, the boy had no desire to broadcast his past to the entire world. But he had no choice.

'This is a huge sacrifice. It'll bring in a ton of angel power... so...'

The boy curled up, clutching the Reflection Flower. He was doing this to gain angel power, but to the professors, Yumari, and the other students who knew the situation, it looked like...

A noble sacrifice itself.

"Damn it."

"That foolish kid again..."

From the distant stands, Jack and Hongwol bit their lips, cursing the magic engineering student who had brought the flower.

"Kin, gather every weakness of that magic engineering bastard. Hurry. And investigate thoroughly who ordered this."

"Butler, investigate every magic engineering student connected to Yusihyun. And unleash a revenge war on that guy."

The moment their precious friend Refri was attacked, the two mobilized every power at their disposal to protect him.

"Wait, Refri..."

Yumari finally grasped the situation, but...

It was already too late.

Paaat—

The blue flower bloomed fully, and the boy's past began to flow out.

The first thing that appeared was the boy's mother. Overwhelmed by the sight after so long, Refri couldn't control his emotions.

"Son, what are you doing?"

His mother's warm touch. Refri bowed his head, holding back tears.

'Th-this is just an illusion...'

One fortunate thing about being ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hit by a Reflection Flower was that it showed the past from the victim's own perspective. Unless you looked in a mirror, you couldn't see yourself from your own viewpoint. And looking in a mirror wouldn't exactly be an intense memory.

'They won't find out I was reincarnated.'

People would probably just think this was Refri's past.

Meanwhile, Yumari slowly approached the magic engineering student who had brought the flower.

"Get lost. After this event ends, I will come to exact payment for this."

With those words, she shattered the large rock beside him.

And Refri's memories continued to unfold.

"What's wrong? Why the sulk?"

"I don't know..."

The boy's mother crossed her arms. But her expression betrayed her, the corners of her mouth twitching upward as if she couldn't contain her fondness.

"We're ordering chicken today, and you're still gonna play dumb?"

The boy mumbled and followed his mother out of the room. He couldn't help but laugh at her teasing.

"He... he was smiling..."

Yumari smiled at the warm scene unfolding in the illusion. She was a bit surprised that her smile wasn't feigned but came from the heart.

It wasn't just Yumari. Soya, watching this, thought of her own mother and teared up. Hongwol, too, was glued to the heartwarming sight, saying nothing and just focusing intently.

The professors were the same.

"Shouldn't we... intervene?"

Rusa muttered.

The Spirit's Blessing was being broadcast worldwide right now—this meant the boy's past was being broadcast to the entire world.

"That wouldn't be fair. We let the students fight each other without interfering, but block one kid's past? Is that it?"

"You say that, but... your body's twitching too? Like you wanna rush in right now..."

Park Jinho and Rusa glared at each other. Park Jinho spoke first.

"This confirms the kid's origins for sure."

"At least he's human-born in Korea, right?"

Rusa muttered with a grin. Rebecca snapped back sharply.

"I told you. Anathema of Lie already confirmed it."

"Hmm. Same result from Villain of Lies and Reflection Flower—solid info. Then... tell the archery professor."

Park Jinho declared, staring at Rusa.

"There's only one angel left in this world. That kid isn't it."

"You think... Hexi will just sit still if you say that?"

"If she can't sit still, tell her to move. I'll handle her."

Park Jinho's tone was matter-of-fact, devoid of arrogance or vanity.

"Annoying bastard...!"

Rusa muttered. She wanted to pick more fights with him, but seeing Refri's cozy past below...

"Whatever, you're right."

She let it slide. But Park Jinho was already ignoring her, watching Refri's past with a pleased smile.

Thus, the past of a mother and her young son spread across the world via TV. Occasionally, the father's brutal side furrowed brows, but it was overshadowed by the mother's kindness.

Happy times passed. Then that day began.

The boy's father, forced into a political marriage by clan orders, no longer needed the troublesome concubine and her illegitimate child. More accurately, they were an eyesore.

Men with grim faces, under the father's command. They threatened and tormented the boy's mother.

Badly.

"Let's not make this hard. Where's the kid?"

"You think... I'll tell you...?"

"Hah, gutsy one. Hey, bring that."

Refri wept again, reliving the scene.

"Ah..."

Yumari could only watch the crying boy beside her in silence. She recalled his words.

'I know that pain too. Really...'

Yumari thought.

'It was real. He really went through the same suffering as me...'

Yumari reached out and, without realizing, embraced the boy's back as he sobbed. That small, heaving back.

'He had the same pain as me.'

But others who saw this past had varied reactions.

"How could this happen."

"That sweet kid went through that...?"

"Daring to hurt Refri..."

Most grieved sincerely; some gnashed their teeth in rage. The professors watched Refri with somber expressions, Park Jinho's fists clenched white.

Soya wiped tears under her brim. She cried for two reasons: one shared with others, the other unique to her.

'Yumari suits Refri so much better...'

Yumari of the Seocheon Yu clan, daughter of the dragon, taller and more beautiful ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠than her. Stronger? Entrance scores? All superior.

When that girl embraced Refri from behind, Soya momentarily forgot everything and wanted to curse the world.

"Hic, hic."

The girl tried to forget this undefined emotion with tears.

"..."

Meanwhile, at Naiad Lake...

The illusion's end was nearing.

"I'm used to it now. I see it every night in dreams..."

Red blood flowed from behind the sofa where the boy hid. His mother's voice was gone.

Refri wiped his tears and thought.

'Better my worthless nightmare exposed than Yumari's memory... Plus, I get angel power...'

Refri wiped his tears and muttered, pretending to be okay.

"Phew, that was close. If your memory had been revealed, Yumari..."

"Refri..."

"Yeah?"

Refri removed Yumari's hand and spoke. He hadn't noticed her hugging him while he was oblivious.

"That was..."

But Yumari's voice sounded odd. Tense, somehow.

"...we need to run."

What? Refri turned around.

"What the—"

Naiad Lake was gone. In its place, hordes of monsters swarmed the ground. Professors in the air shouted.

"Demon King Army raid!"

"It's the Demon King Army! Faculty, evacuate all civilians and students!"

Suddenly, amid the boy's illusion, a swarm of monsters appeared. They resembled the Demon King Army's dark forces.

"How? Did the barrier break?"

"No. Probably a Demon King Army spy used the Reflection Flower to create this illusion. They must have held memories of elite Demon King forces and released them during the Spirit's Blessing when students and civilians gathered most."

"Good guess. Damn, growing Reflection Flowers in Naiad Lake for rare medicine backfired."

"We got played. The spy's long gone by now."

Klein the professor's misjudgment. The others couldn't help but err too.

They naturally interpreted this as a Demon King Army raid. No one had seen such a massive Demon King force before—except Lephriel, judge of the earth.

"Yes, this is the Spirit's Blessing arena. The sudden Demon King Army horde is targeting the gathered students and faculty... Eek!"

"Aren't you scared? Run!"

Refri saved the reporter for angel power, then scanned around. Monsters bellowed.

"Judge!"

"Judge!!!"

Refri realized how this happened so fast.

'...Those monsters are definitely Lephriel's illusion. It's not just my illusion—illusions from this body... meaning Lephriel's too?'

Such an outrageous scale of past. Of course, this wasn't the boy's memory.

Naiad Lake was already filled with monster illusions. These were born from the Reflection Flower's rampage, and...

'The rampage is spreading!'

Lephriel's massive-scale past spread beyond Naiad Lake, affecting other Reflection Flowers. It extended to the outer woods encircling the academy.

Wild Reflection Flowers resonated. Lephriel's past began gaining reality.

'Mass rampage of Reflection Flowers. Happened in my past life too...!'

In his past life, one hero's past rampaged in a Reflection Flower colony, blanketing the forest in nightmares. How did ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠they fix it?

Refri immediately called Naiad.

"Naiad! Naiad!"

Naiads were frozen by the mythical monsters—not figuratively, literally iced over.

"L-Lephriel. The Demon King Army's operation has begun. My lake, my lake..."

The millennia-old spirit king Naiad mistook this chaos for the Demon King Army too.

"Naiad, you have something to do right now!"

Naiad asked, startled.

"What must I do?"

"Release all water spirits... and bring more Reflection Flowers immediately."

Naiad retorted instantly.

"No, this mess is from Reflection Flowers... What? Bring more?"

"This crisis happened because the flowers reflected only one person's memory. We need to neutralize it!"

Naiad muttered 'neutralize?' in disbelief. Refri finally snapped.

"Reflect other people's memories... to dilute the current one! Got it?"

"Ah, understood."

Refri watched illusion monsters charge at participating students and crowds beyond the lake.

'Mana illusions differ from scientific ones. Mana is will; mimicking form carries some will and power.'

Yes. That's why magic illusions can't be ignored. Despite being called illusions, they have mass, and refined ones even have their own will.

Thud—

As Refri talked to Naiad, Yumari, having felled a monster, shouted.

"Refri! I cleared a path! Run this way!"

"...Yumari."

Refri took Yumari's hand. Academy students filled his view—most fought monsters, unable to flee.

'Saving future heroes brings massive angel power.'

The greedy angel Refri's radar activated.

'And future heroes, academy students in group peril like this? Rare chance.'

Crisis is opportunity—Refri believed it.

'But with my power, handling those monsters is impossible.'

As the last survivor, Refri knew their habits and weaknesses fully. He had to face them. But without power or wings...

'Wait, alone it's impossible... but with Yumari?'

Refri organized his thoughts and spoke.

"Yumari, don't you... wanna land ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a hit on your sister?"

"What are you saying? We need to run now...!"

Refri subtly pointed to the camera broadcasting Naiad Lake.

"It's your chance to be a hero."