Chapter 116
Chapter 116
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 116
Chapter Title: Resolute Will & A Very Strange Atmosphere
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***
While Luna and Millia were heading to a higher floor with a view of the infirmary where Cheon-seong was.
A quiet conversation was unfolding in the infirmary.
“So... in the Aile Forest, it was just me and Karite who were found collapsed.”
“Cadet Han Cheon-seong, you probably can't even imagine what it was like. You appeared covered in blood from head to toe without any warning. Even I was shocked when I arrived on the scene.”
Watching Adelia reply gently, Cheon-seong slowly nodded.
The night was deep. A soft light inside the infirmary illuminated only Adelia.
All the people who had been there were gone.
Karite, Kalli, Instructor Vermont, and even high-ranking officials from the academy had come to see me.
Adelia had stepped in on my behalf, telling them I needed to rest to understand the situation, and when Kalli backed her up, I was spared what could have been a grueling time.
“...To be honest, I'm very curious myself. But I won't ask today. You need absolute rest, not just for your body, but for your mind as well.”
I accepted her kindness as our eyes met.
“Instructor Adelia. Thank you so much for everything.”
“If you're so thankful, then please, rest well as I said, okay? Don't do anything foolish, understand?”
“Yes. I'll get plenty of rest.”
Seeing her smile at my words, a faint smile escaped my own lips.
“Well then, I'll be waiting a short distance away so you can rest comfortably. If you feel anything wrong, call for me immediately.”
“Yes. Understood.”
Rustle.
As Adelia stood up and left, I found myself gazing endlessly at her retreating back.
I had a slightly better grasp of the situation, but it still didn't feel real.
‘She said it's already been two days...’
Her words, that two days had passed since I lost consciousness, felt like a lie.
...After tonight, it'll be Saturday.
Swish.
After Adelia drew the curtains around the bed, I leaned back blankly.
"..."
Staring at the white ceiling, I felt that things had turned out well, all things considered.
The moment I first faced Leteia, I thought it was the worst-case scenario, but now, it felt like everything had miraculously worked out.
Karite is alive, and Leteia has vanished without a trace.
Even thinking about it now, everything felt surreal.
From Karite's sudden change to Leteia's appearance amidst the darkness that suddenly filled the space...
There was no warning at all in that moment; it felt as if Karite and I had been completely isolated from the world.
“...”
I swallowed a shallow breath and nodded.
‘I see now why Apostles are called disasters.’
The moment I faced an Apostle myself, I felt there was nothing I could do but be overwhelmed.
The power Leteia possessed was far beyond ordinary. Not only could she isolate a space, cutting us off from the world, but the strength I felt from her—a mere clone, not her true self—was like a colossal wall before me.
...In fact, I had felt it from the moment I faced Leteia.
Gulp.
Swallowing hard, I clenched my fist absently.
Slowly.
A dull ache was all I could feel in my body, where sensation had yet to fully return.
Still, the pain was bearable. A reality made possible only by the great care Adelia was providing...
A small smile played on my lips. The very fact that my limbs were intact and could recover felt like a stroke of heaven's luck.
'This whole situation is a miracle in itself.'
Even now, recalling my encounter with Leteia, every feeling was utterly chilling.
A grotesque human figure made of violet light. The way its strange eyes met mine, the way it spoke to me, fluently articulating its words.
Thinking about it now, it felt as if something that shouldn't exist in this world... had been standing right before me.
‘An Apostle...’
On reflection, it wasn't like she was just a stronger version of the common Apostle; Leteia herself felt like a 'separate being'.
It was beyond a matter of her strength; everything else about her troubled me.
In this world, various individuals live and breathe, forming a world of their own.
And even the Apostles, arguably the most threatening beings in this world, 'think and act' just the same.
All of that creates variables.
And so, I came to understand.
“...It's no wonder the front lines are being pushed back.”
Apostles appear frequently on the battlefields, the Empire's front lines. The fact that this reality is maintained at all is only because the Empire's greatest powers are each defending their respective fronts...
I suddenly understood, with my entire being, why Kalli had acted that way during her first lecture.
An Apostle with unique powers like Leteia must be rare, but conversely, Apostles even stronger than her also exist in this world.
And there are probably countless other Apostles whose names I don't even know. After all, the story of *Groa* only details the crises Leonhardt must face.
It's not as if I know everything about this world.
“......”
Letting out a deep sigh, my thoughts turned to what was next.
The very next episode was set to be an extreme future where Leonhardt would confront an Apostle.
If the first episode, [Condition of the Sacrifice], was an ominous incident that hinted at something to come.
Then the second episode was a proper attack. That episode takes place about a month from now.
A direct crisis would befall Leonhardt in his second month at the academy.
Clench, release.
As I clenched and unclenched my still-numb hand, the sharp pain, like tearing flesh, was something I couldn't get used to.
I just had to endure it.
“What should I do from now on...”
...Until now, I thought I had been trying to face reality.
And by facing Leteia, I managed to overcome the first crisis. I succeeded in saving Karite, who was originally supposed to die.
That was a greater achievement than anything else.
It went beyond my personal growth; I had saved someone who was meant to die.
The fact that Karite is alive today fills me with more satisfaction than ever before.
A reality I achieved with my own strength.
I changed a dark future and turned it into light.
But...
‘So, what should I do next?’
The crises that will come one after another. They aren't crises for Leonhardt alone to overcome.
I already considered them crises that I, too, must face.
“Besides... the future is definitely changing.”
Originally, I could have just watched Karite die, letting the predetermined future unfold to better preserve it. But I didn't.
By interfering with reality, I have greatly twisted the world's set destiny.
By saving Karite. I can guarantee that the future of this world has completely changed.
It wasn't just a small butterfly effect. It was a turning point, a singularity that will bring forth a great storm...
“......”
Lost in thought, a small laugh escaped me.
‘Honestly, my heart feels heavy.’
Even though things worked out better than I expected, my heart wasn't light at all.
It was like I had reached the summit of a rugged mountain, only to see another, even taller mountain looming right before me.
A mountain even higher than the one I just climbed.
I felt I was standing at that crossroad now.
Whether to climb again, to face another arduous and grueling journey. Or to just... give up.
‘Give up...’
As I thought about it, I realized that turning away from reality was, for me, the same as giving up.
The path I had looked toward and tried to walk until now.
And now, facing the result that has emerged from that path.
More than the achievement of gaining strength, I faced the reality that I had saved someone with my actions.
A reality where I can talk again with Karite, with whom I'd become quite close.
…
As my thoughts continued endlessly, it seemed my path forward was already set.
In the end, I knew I had to face it again.
—Reality.
I could never avoid all the crises yet to come.
I could no longer dream of a peaceful life, a life of just looking out for myself.
In fact, the very idea that I had ever thought that way now felt incredibly futile.
‘Is there any meaning in a life where I turn a blind eye to the deaths of others just to save my own skin?’
Smiling faintly, I shook my head.
There could be no meaning in such a life.
And even if I lived that way, I would always carry a heavy burden in my heart.
So, I set my heart straight.
My path forward. My direction.
Face reality, and do not avoid the coming crises. I must overcome them.
"..."
As I nodded, my heavy heart felt a little lighter.
At least I hadn't lost my sense of direction. I believed I wouldn't regret my choice later on.
Even if I were to be wounded more severely and suffer greater pain than now.
I believed this path would have meaning.
A faint smile appeared as I completely relaxed my body.
‘First, let's recover.’
The price for the power I manifested was by no means small.
The chilling news that every muscle in my body had ruptured, along with the fact that I could have died at any moment. My body had been in that serious of a condition.
This was the price for borrowing strength from my future.
And it was a power that could even stand against an Apostle.
“......”
Blinking my eyes, I felt a glimmer of hope.
‘Couldn't I reach it again?’
That immense power.
An overwhelming power that even Leteia's clone couldn't handle properly.
The incomplete principle, not yet a full skill, was now even more clearly etched in my mind.
That was a little strange.
I knew that in that moment, a massive power had surged through my entire body as if piercing it, manifesting at the tip of my spear.
I didn't think there was any deeper principle about the skill for me to understand.
And yet, the skill isn't appearing.
‘Perhaps...’
Could it be that my body can't keep up right now?
As if a basic condition hasn't been met, preventing the skill's completion. That was my gut feeling.
Rustle.
The sudden sound of the curtain being pulled back drew my gaze. There stood Adelia, her brow furrowed as she let out a deep sigh.
“Cadet Han Cheon-seong.”
“Yes, Instructor Adelia.”
Though I didn't know why she was sighing, I started to straighten myself up.
Shhh.
Suddenly, Adelia began to take off her suit jacket. As her distinctively sensual figure was revealed, I had to immediately avert my eyes.
“Um... Instructor... Adelia?”
“I know you were very startled, Cadet Han Cheon-seong. But as I told you today, I've been using a skill on you, right? It's a skill that allows me to objectively control your body's condition. It controls your senses and dulls the pain. I checked on your condition a moment ago, and it seems the skill's effects will weaken for a while. We need to prepare... for the pain. Cadet Han Cheon-seong... it's probably going to be very difficult for you from now on."
I heard Adelia's serious explanation of the situation, but as I watched her 'figure' while she slowly removed her outer clothing, Cheon-seong's eyes...
wavered more than ever before.