The Scar of Reunion
***
“Unnie. Actually, I... I want to be a hero like you. So please help me.”
“..Jin-ah. Unnie thinks you should do something else.”
When my parents died at the hands of villains and my only remaining family member, my beloved younger brother Jin, told me he wanted to become a hero, I hoped he would pursue some safe, stable profession instead.
I was the one who had to raise Jin, who was still a middle-schooler when my parents passed away before I became an adult. I had become a hero, even though it was dangerous and earned a lot of money. I had nearly died several times in the process. In the end, I wanted my only remaining family member, Jin, to have a safe job and build a family of his own.
“I don’t want that. I’m going to become a hero like you and catch the villain who killed our parents with my own hands.”
But Jin’s determination was too firm to interfere with. In the end, I allowed him to become a hero and trained him.
Unlike me, who swung a sword with callused hands because I lacked talent, Jin’s talent was extraordinary.
When I was taught one thing, he instinctively grasped two, three, or even more. When we sparred, his skills improved at a pace I could barely keep up with.
When he had just become an adult, he was already on the verge of breaking through the Mid-rank barrier, whereas I, who had no talent and couldn’t even enter the academy, was still Lower-rank. Because of that, I thought it was all right for Jin to become a hero.
And that was the only chance I had to stop him.
[...A student at the academy, who was trying to stop the highest-rank villain ‘Persona,’ a member of Noah, eventually died at Persona’s hands....]
[5 missed calls]
News reports of the terror and five missed calls and messages flashing on my phone screen.
“Ah... No way... N-no way, no way, no way!”
I checked the messages and rushed to the hospital written there. What greeted me was the corpse of the only family member, my sister, who had already gone cold.
“Lee Seojin student bought time for the other students to evacuate, allowing many people to survive... However, when we arrived, it was already too late...”
The professor in charge of Seojin explained that Seojin had held off Persona alone to give the others time to escape, so many people could live. But when the other heroes arrived, Seojin’s body was already cold, and Persona had fled.
Seojin was a true hero, the professor said, but what did that even mean?
“Why... Why didn’t you stop him... Why!!”
I had lost my only remaining family member to a villain once again.
It was because of me. Because I hadn’t stopped Jin when he said he wanted to become a hero, Jin ended up dying at the hands of a villain.
“Jin-ah... Jin-ah....!”
On the day of Jin’s funeral, for the first time, I cried. Overwhelmed by guilt for not being able to stop him, I sobbed like a newborn baby.
At my parents’ funeral, Jin had been there, so I couldn’t shed a tear.
After that, I couldn’t cry to avoid making Jin worry.
But even the Jin who had been kept from crying was gone.
Time passed. Out of politeness, people I considered family or acquaintances left after saving my life. I remained alone at the funeral, sitting in front of Jin’s photo. Then someone entered the funeral hall.
“Unnie. Why are you crying?”
“Jin-ah...? Is that really Jin?”
The only family member I had lost was standing right in front of me—the Jin who had caused me to cry and come to the funeral.
“Then I must be Unnie’s little brother Jin. Who else would it be?”
“Ah.. Ah..! Jin-ah!!”
I ran to Jin and hugged him, crying again. Jin patted my back and said,
“I’m really sorry. I had no choice but to deceive you because of work. Um.. You can think of it as a surprise gift, right?”
“That’s what you say! I... I thought I’d lost you too... How scared I was!”
I had no relatives. When I asked about them, my parents said it was because they had their own circumstances, so to me, the only blood relative left was Jin. Jin was everything to me.
Hearing that Jin had died at the hands of a villain made me feel as if the world had become empty and freezing.
But the Jin who had died was standing right in front of me.
It was because of work that he had faked his death and told me it was a surprise gift.
Jin was embracing me, warming the world that had been filled only with cold ice and snow. It felt as if Jin had become a warm sun, sprouting life into my frozen existence.
It must have been true.
“But Unnie.... I still really... look like Jin?”
“What do you mean...?”
When I suddenly pulled back from Jin’s arms and looked up, what I saw was not Jin. The face dripping with blood, the skin rotting like a zombie, maggots writhing under the flesh... the appearance of Jin.
“Kyaaah! J-Jin-ah! W-Why all of a sudden!”
I fell backward in shock, staring at Jin with disbelief. Jin’s neck made a dull, wet sound as it turned. He told me,
“Unnie... Why... Why didn’t you save me? Why did you leave me to die at the hands of a villain?”
“Ah.. No, it’s not like that...”
I felt terror as the rotting Jin approached me on unsteady legs. I trembled again, feeling the cold of the world I had been left alone in once more.
“Why... Why didn’t you save me! I...! How much pain I felt! How long I waited for Unnie!”
“U.. Uh... Ah... M-My... I’m sorry.. I’m so sorry.... I’m really sorry, Jin-ah, I’m so sorry... Ah.. Uh.... I’m sorry..”
My body was chained by guilt and couldn’t move.
All I could do was keep telling the approaching Jin, “I’m sorry,” nothing else.
“Hahaha! Unnie! It’s a prank! A surprise, remember? This is all acting!”
“I’m sorry.. I’m sorry.. I was wrong... I’m sorry, Jin-ah..”
Jin’s voice didn’t reach me.
In the black void, I was trapped in cold, fear, and guilt, unable to hear Jin’s words.
“Hmm.. Already broken? Not fun anymore.”
“I’m sorry... I’m sorry, Jin... Eh? Jin..?”
The voice that pulled me out of the black world wasn’t Jin’s—it was a stranger’s.
“Yeah! That’s the face I wanted! Surprise! You fell for it, Serin!”
Plop, thud... Plop-plop
Jin’s face fell off, and a woman wearing a butterfly mask of a no-holds-barred dance hall appeared.
Persona.
Persona, the villain who had killed Jin, had disguised herself as Jin and approached me.
“Ah.. Ah.. Uh...!”
I ran toward Persona in rage. Persona dodged and grabbed my hand, spinning and tossing me away like a dance.
“Per.. sona.. Uh...!”
I had been told that when anger was too strong, it turned into coldness. But that was a lie.
My brain felt like it was melting, boiling with rage.
Thud!!
Persona’s fist in her black lace glove struck my face. As I fell, Persona smiled through the mask’s eye slits, spread her arms, and spoke in Jin’s voice.
“Surprise~ Serin! You fell for it!”
The words ignited my fury, but my body wouldn’t move. Strength drained from me, my eyes closed. I lost consciousness staring at Persona, who had turned her back on me, walking away with the click of her high heels.
It was the reason I hated Noah... and villains.
***
The mask with the name ‘Male’ fell off, revealing a woman in a combat dress with a butterfly mask.
“Persona!!”
Hee-gun drew her sword and charged at the woman, unleashing a fierce aura.
Whoosh—!
“Hmm~ Serin-ah. Your welcome is too rough~.”
“Shut up!!”
Persona dodged Hee-gun’s sword with ease and answered leisurely. Hee-gun’s sword grew even more lethal.
The air split with one swing. The ground split with one strike.
Hee-gun’s sword, the closest to the highest rank among upper-rank heroes, was so powerful that it could barely be stopped unless I unleashed my full strength. Even at the highest rank, it was an attack that would cause massive damage if it hit.
But that only mattered if it hit. If it missed, it was meaningless.
Persona was a high-level combat ability user, but even if her combat ability was similar, she was a non-combat ability user. Persona was a world-class powerhouse and a member of Noah. Even if she were close to the highest rank, Hee-gun was still upper-rank. The gap in skill was obvious, no matter how strong Hee-gun was in combat or Persona was in non-combat.
Pew—!
So I jumped into the fight too.
I staggered.
My Belis pierced Persona’s leg, and in the brief two seconds of lost balance, Hee-gun swung her sword down.
“Die!!”
Skang!
A crisp sound, and Persona’s arm severed, spinning in the air.
Hee-gun’s sword was coming down to cut Persona’s neck when Persona twisted her body at the last moment and offered her arm instead of her neck.
“Whoa~! This is exciting in a different way! I almost died!”
“Almost died,” she said, but Hee-gun slashed at Persona’s arm floating in mid-air and shouted,
“Shut up!!”
Even though Persona’s arm was being cut into pieces, no blood appeared on it.
The cut arm produced not even a drop of blood. Hee-gun knew that, which was why.
As I got up and kept charging, being knocked down and rising again, I suddenly felt power surging.
The Upper-rank barrier I had never been able to break through due to overwhelming anger had finally shattered.
“Die! Persona!!”
I gathered every ounce of strength and charged at Persona. What came in was Persona saying it was no longer fun and something black blocking my vision.
“Serin, I know you want to play with me.”
“Don’t call me Serin in a friendly way!!”
Hee-gun charged at Persona once more. I cast Belis in rapid succession, aiming and firing.
Pew—!
Whoosh—!
When Belis and Hee-gun’s sword reached Persona, she retreated backward, dodging all attacks, and smiled.
“I don’t have time anymore! Bye!”
“Where do you think you’re running to!!”
No matter how she would escape, Persona was running, so Hee-gun charged. Persona saw Hee-gun coming and pulled her leg back, then raised it sharply.
Thud—!!!
A smooth upward curve, like dancing, and Persona’s kick struck Hee-gun’s chin, sending her flying into the air.
“Goodbye, An—.”
Kwa-jik!
A Belis that had pierced Persona’s heart while she laughed and tried to flee.
“What are you so excited about?”
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