Chapter 295: Can’t a Common Sense Alteration Villain Dream of Pure Love? (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 295: Can’t a Common Sense Alteration Villain Dream of Pure Love? (3)
One of the villains who had escaped from Labyrinthos, and the culprit behind this current incident, stood alone on the academy rooftop, gazing out over the world she had created with a profound sense of satisfaction.
She had lived her life as an ordinary office worker before awakening her talent relatively late, in her late twenties. Driven by the purely personal desire to experience the youthful life she had never known, she had recklessly used her talent on civilians. This eventually led to her imprisonment after she caused the “Baby Boom Incident.”
It had been six years since she was locked away in Labyrinthos—a place devoid of even a shred of pure love. She was starved for bittersweet romantic comedies and pure, devoted love. Like the heinous(?) criminal she was, she hadn’t reflected on her past actions in the slightest over those six years, allowing her to commit this latest deed without a moment’s hesitation.
After all, what was so wrong with bringing together people who already liked each other?
Though she had mixed in a bit of her own personal taste, her talent had clear limits; she couldn’t force someone to do something they truly loathed.
She was certain that this vision was the perfect world for people in love.
While there were some whose minds her power hadn’t reached for some reason, she figured she could just catch them later and apply a more powerful dose of her influence.
“Still, that one is a bit of a problem.”
Of all people, she hadn’t expected her power to fail on the most important person: the ‘Protagonist.’
Fortunately, he had been playing his role reasonably well so far, but his attempt to leave the heroine behind to meet up with another male was a major point deduction.
I mean, seriously. On a human level, why didn’t they get straight to the ‘pure love’ right after the game of tag ended?
It was practically an insult to her.
She had set the stage so perfectly. Honestly, he must have wanted to do it too…!
…Still, escaping this trap wouldn’t be easy.
A non-blood-related mother as a lover—there wasn’t a guy in the world who could resist such a perfect combination!
* * *
I swear.
No matter who the culprit behind this incident is, I’m going to crack their skull open.
What kind of bizarre combination is “mother and lover at the same time”?
Actually, that’s not even the main point.
How dare they make Ha-ni strike such a half-baked sexy pose and say lines so outdated that almost no one even knows them anymore?
“Ha-ni, I’m really busy right now. Could you please move out of the—”
“You’re still not calling me ‘Mom’ until the very end, huh~?”
Was there ever a more awkward wink in the history of the world?
Usually, every natural thing she does is so accidentally erotic it’s a problem, so why is she acting so stiff and mechanical now?
This won’t do.
If I leave her like this, and she happens to remember this after the incident is resolved… without a hint of exaggeration, Ha-ni might actually throw herself out the window.
But as I continued to face off against her, a thought suddenly occurred to me.
If I’m the son, then what position does that leave Luna in?
“…Where’s Luna?”
“Hmm? Our daughter? She’s eating curry.”
“Wait, if I’m your son, why is Luna ‘our’ daughter? Ha-ni, what on earth does that mean?”
“What are you talking about, So-hyun? It’s common sense for a non-blood-related mother and son to make a baby together.”
…Fine.
Ha-ni’s last comment settled it.
If I don’t catch the culprit and beat the hell out of them right now, my brain is going to rot.
That’s common sense…? If a world like that actually existed, it would be better off destroyed.
“I don’t think I can take any more of this, so I’m going to force my way through. I don’t want to hurt you, so won’t you just move?”
“My goodness, why are you being so disobedient today? Children who don’t listen to their mothers… get a scolding!”
Please, Ha-ni. Why are your lines so weirdly old-fashioned…!
“Please, don’t say another word. I’m saying this for your sake, not mine…!”
I lunged forward, intending to end this as quickly and painlessly as possible.
3-stack Reinforcement.
I figured a palm strike to the jaw would be enough to knock her out in one go.
However, the moment I closed in, Ha-ni drew her pure white blade, Snow Fang. She evaded my palm strike and countered with a draw using the back of her sword.
“…Huh?”
Wait, was Ha-ni always this strong?
Come to think of it, I had always avoided sparring with her specifically. While I knew she had grown stronger, I realized I hadn’t accurately grasped just how strong she had become.
Judging by her movements just now, she was only slightly below Professor Cathy—meaning she was at the level of a high-tier A-rank Hero.
Seriously, how did she get this strong?
It’s not that Ha-ni was weak, but she’s on the same level as Lilac or Cheon Yu-hak?
Among the cadets, there probably wasn’t anyone left who could match her, excluding “another class” individuals like Master or Baek Seol.
Well, I mean, I’m happy that Ha-ni has grown.
Of course I am. But why did the timing for me to realize this have to be now?
“You’re a boy with very naughty hands.”
My desire to put Ha-ni out of her misery as quickly as possible clearly didn’t reach her, as she settled into a stance.
Ironically, unlike her awkward attempts at sexy poses, her combat stance was flawless and complete.
“Mom is going to get serious now, okay?”
And ironically, it was the stance of her secret sword technique, which she usually kept hidden away.
I could still use tricks to dodge Cathy Noona since she was playing tag rather than fighting with intent, but it looked like I wouldn’t be able to take it easy this time.
* * *
Meanwhile, there was someone watching them who looked ready to scream in frustration.
“No, goddammit! Stop fighting and just get to the pure love mating already…! A perfect being is right in front of you, so why are you trying to win with strength?! You should be trying to win in bed…!”
It was the culprit who had set this all up.
How she had cheered when she discovered the protagonist’s roommate was a girl in disguise!
She had drawn out the motherhood, love, and friendship from within the girl to the maximum, mixing in the latest rom-com elements she knew to create the ultimate heroine. Why did he keep rejecting her?
Is he a total psycho? Or is he just impotent?
She had been looking on with a bored expression, thinking that combat had no place in the perfect rom-com world she was painting, but her expression gradually began to change as she watched them fight.
“…What? Weren’t they just cadets? Do cadets move that well these days?”
No, it went beyond simply moving well; they were displaying movements that defied common sense.
Even though she had zero interest in combat or action, their fluid movements momentarily captivated her. The way they exchanged blows felt like a harmonious conversation.
“If I play my cards right, maybe some action wouldn’t be bad…?”
She began to slightly revise her opinion that romantic comedies didn’t need combat elements.
* * *
It was a chilling blade.
This was a swordsmanship originally created for humans to hunt things that were not human—monsters and aberrations. It was designed by those born weak to hunt the strong who were born superior.
Therefore, it was a sword that cut through the very essence of a being, a sword that pierced the weaknesses of the powerful.
Sword Draw: Ghost Slayer.
The mana-infused blade accelerated as it left its scabbard.
Through the eyes of my Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils, I could see the sword’s movement, but trying to simply block it would be a mistake.
In the past… during my spars with the woman who handled that swordsmanship even more skillfully than Ha-ni, I couldn’t count how many times I’d had an arm lopped off trying to block it.
That swordsmanship could cut through spirits and liquids, and at a mastery level, it could even slice through mana itself.
Even though the woman herself used to say she preferred good weapons and actual combat over formal swordsmanship.
She didn’t even train more than necessary; she simply survived countless real battles, growing stronger and more refined each time.
— I won again.
She usually had an expressionless face as if she were bored, yet she would always give a tiny, joyful smile whenever a spar ended.
The Sword Ghost.
The woman I had broken and the girl before my eyes overlapped.
I knew they were different, of course.
Even if they started as the same person, if their life experiences were entirely different, they had to be considered different people.
The current Ha-ni was someone who took pride in her swordsmanship rather than a famous blade, and someone who enjoyed chatting with friends more than fighting.
The completion of her swordsmanship was also nowhere near what it had been back then.
The proof was that I could actually resist her with my own skills.
“…Come to think of it, I never won a single time when we both had swords.”
Still… even so.
Even though I knew she was a different person, I couldn’t help feeling a little nostalgic.
I felt longing, and regret, and sadness all at once—an indescribable emotion.
If I kept this up, I felt like I might truly fall into an illusion. I stopped my swinging sword and thrust my body toward the blade she had swung.
“Ah…!?”
Ha-ni immediately panicked and tried to force her sword to a halt. I didn’t miss the opening and lunged into her embrace.
“Gotcha.”
She looked at me with a face full of worry, wondering if she had cut me, but then cried out as if betrayed when she saw the Shadow Chains instantly winding around her.
“Ugh?! Hey! You cheater…!”
Ah, I guess her competitive streak is exactly the same.
“You might think I’m being cold right now, but you’ll thank me when you snap out of it.”
Of course, it would be even better if her memories were wiped completely when the incident ended, but if they remained, she would surely be grateful to me for stopping her before she created an even bigger “dark history” for herself.
She was grunting and struggling to break the chains, but this was the power of the Black Shadow, which was now treated as near-mythical.
While she might have been able to dodge them to avoid being caught, escaping through pure physical strength once bound was no easy task.
“Huh? Are you really going to leave your Mom like this?! Seriously!?”
“I’ll let you go as soon as we get into the dormitory, so don’t worry.”
“If you don’t let me go right now, there won’t be any curry…!”
Hmm, curry made by Ha-ni. That was a tempting offer, but I didn’t want to eat it enough to endure this insane world.
Leaving behind the sorrowfully wailing Ha-ni, who kept shouting about being betrayed, I finally arrived at the dormitory.
If this were a trashy game with excessive backtracking, Lilac would have vanished by now, but fortunately, I could confirm that no such shitty development had occurred.
I hadn’t actually met up with Lilac yet, but I knew the moment I reached the floor where his room was.
To be specific, a massive crowd was gathered in front of Lilac’s door.
This was technically the male dormitory, but seeing both men and women screaming for Lilac to come out… well.
To be honest, they looked more like zombies than fans.
“Kyaaa…! Lilac! Please come out!”
“Come out right now! If you don’t, we’ll have no choice but to pry the door open with a crowbar…!”
“Come out…! My love…! My sun! My god!”
…It was a bit scary to approach. Crowbars aside, why the hell is this guy so popular?
Just how successful were we as idols in this world’s setting?
As the zombies—no, Lilac’s fans—pounded on the door, my smartphone began to ring.
“Yeah, Lilac.”
[Where are you…? I can’t hold out much longer. I think these people are actually going to break the door down…!]
“I’m watching it happen in real-time.”
[Huh? Where are you?]
“The dorm hallway.”
[What?! Run away, quick! Everyone must have realized you’re on the phone by now!]
Yeah, he was right. I had answered as soon as it rang, and everyone was staring at me now.
In fact, the looks they were giving me were quite unsettling.
“It’s Kang So-hyun! It’s Kang So-hyun…!”
“He’s the group leader…!”
Apparently, I was the leader of the group. I hated that.
“Give me an autograph…!”
“Give me a hug!”
[So-hyun! I told you to run! Let’s meet up later…! Everyone’s lost their minds…!]
Yeah, it did look dangerous. Looking at their crazed eyes, it seemed no one was sane.
But so what?
“Why would I run away?”
[Huh? Because…]
Lilac, you’re so soft-hearted that your first thought is to run when people swarm you.
“It’s much easier to just subdue them. Why bother running?”
The moment I gave the signal, the black Shadow Chains poured out, binding the zombies filling the hallway.
[…I think I just heard a really loud noise?]
“Yeah, I’ve cleared them out. Open the door.”
Lilac stepped out of the room hesitantly, a look of disgust on his face. However, he wasn’t foolish; he couldn’t bring himself to scold me.
“…Still, they weren’t doing it of their own will. It must hurt.”
“Lilac.”
“Yeah?”
“If they had done that of their own will, I wouldn’t have stopped at just making it hurt.”
Lilac let out a short, incredulous laugh, and for once, I was so glad to see him that I smiled back.
The surrounding zombies were also looking at us and smiling brightly.