Chapter 338: No, I Said Let’s Just Enjoy the Festival Normally! (10)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 338: No, I Said Let’s Just Enjoy the Festival Normally! (10)
Looking closely, that guy half-merged with a lizard was a familiar face.
If I recalled correctly, that senior from The World’s Greatest Sword who used to cling to Master had a face just like that.
To be honest, with scales sprouting from his skin and his soul being a jumbled mess of various things, even my Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils had trouble making a precise identification. However, seeing as I felt a wave of unpleasantness and irritation just by looking at his face, it was almost certainly him.
As always, whenever I deactivated my Cloning Technique, the memories of the clone would flow back into me, allowing me to piece together how the situation had reached this point.
After resolving the incident on Aisha’s side and sending her and Ga-eul to regroup with their friends, my clone had pursued the fleeing senior just in case.
Sure enough, he found the idiot senior drenched in demonic energy. Even if he was a piece of trash, he was still just a kid, so the clone tried to save him—but the fool just kept running away.
I wondered why he was fleeing so desperately, and it turned out he had a corrupted mana stone. I had no idea where he’d gotten it.
Actually, I knew exactly where. He must have picked it up after I beat down Aisha’s grandfather and those villains hired by the Honor Faction. The real question was why the hell he’d taken it with him.
I mean, think about it logically. Why would a normal person pick up a rock that looks suspicious as hell?
“He probably took it because he wasn’t in his right mind.”
His eyes, dyed a deep purple, were clearly not normal.
He had likely been targeted by the villains by chance and brainwashed. I couldn’t be sure of the specifics, but he was probably under a command to protect the mana stone or something similar.
Well, aside from the fact that there was a hostage involved, the situation wasn’t particularly urgent.
Baek Seol and Master were already on their way after receiving my message, and Lilac would likely head over once the commotion on his end was settled.
The problem, however, was the presence of the hostage and the fact that her parents were right there at the scene.
“Mia…!”
When that idiot senior took Lamia hostage, Lilac’s father had been injured while resisting, and his mother had fallen and was currently unable to move.
…It might sound cold, but it was actually better that those two couldn’t move.
They were ordinary people, not superhumans. If they saw their daughter held hostage, there was no telling what kind of reckless action they might take.
“Please… please save our Mia…!”
She was crying out for help, but most of the professors were currently gathered around Seo Ye-hwa. The regular cadets were frozen in place, afraid that their lack of resistance might lead to them being tainted by the energy of the corrupted mana stone.
Of course, it would take less than five minutes for Baek Seol and Master to arrive.
With those two working together, they could rescue the hostage without any risk.
I had used far too much power today, so the right thing to do was to wait quietly, but…
“…Ugh…!”
Seeing the mother trying to crawl toward her daughter even after falling, despite no one offering help, made my heart waver.
Please, please help my mom.
The circumstances were different, but I also remembered a time when I had desperately needed a helping hand.
I knew all too well how sorrowful it felt when not a single person reached out during such a moment.
I had the certainty that everything would be fine if they just waited a little longer, but from their perspective, that “little longer” must feel like an agonizing, maddening eternity of anxiety.
I decided to reach out.
First, I converted my own life force into a light of recovery and extended it toward Lilac’s father and mother.
The expression of the fallen father eased slightly. The mother tried to stand up with a startled look, but I stopped her first.
“Ma’am, I’ll save Lilac’s sister. But you mustn’t come any closer, no matter how dangerous it looks.”
She looked uneasy at the request to entrust her child to me, but before long, she nodded.
“Th-thank you, student. Truly.”
She slumped down as if all the strength had left her, repeating her thanks. It wasn’t a pleasant sight.
She was likely anxious about having to trust a mere cadet, but since no other salvation was approaching, she chose to believe in me.
Now then, what should I do?
The synchronization seemed quite advanced, and to make matters worse, the energy of the corrupted mana stone was starting to affect Lamia as well.
“To save them both…”
…Hm?
“Pfft.”
A laugh escaped my lips as I realized what I had just said unconsciously.
Saving Lamia was a given; I didn’t even need to think about it. She was my friend’s sister, and since I’d said I’d save her, I had to take responsibility for my words.
But I had naturally included that idiot senior in my plan to save.
Of course, I usually tried to spare those who weren’t adults even if they made mistakes. And this situation wasn’t entirely devoid of sympathy.
However, it was strangely fascinating. Even though I had been furious just moments ago and my physical condition wasn’t great, the thought that I should save him came naturally, before any thoughts of annoyance or irritation.
Me, the person who used to think about what to discard first in situations like this.
I had come to think of saving a person I didn’t even like—no, a person I frankly detested—as the obvious thing to do.
I was still immature, prone to losing my cool, and violent, but maybe, just maybe, I was becoming a little more like a hero.
That thought made my complicated mood feel a bit better.
“Fine, whatever. I’ll at least save that senior’s life.”
It helped that I had someone right next to me who could assist.
* * *
She was scared.
Lamia thought as she squeezed her eyes shut, trembling violently.
What is this? I just came to the academy festival my brother attends. Why do I have to go through this…?
I’m scared. I want to go home.
Everyone here is trying to become a hero, so why isn’t anyone helping…?
Are Mom and Dad okay? It looked like Dad was badly hurt earlier. What if something terrible happened…?
I’ll never be a hero. I’d have to fight scary people like this…!
The desperate situation—the first of its kind in her life—and the sensation of the corrupted mana stone’s alien energy burrowing into her magnified her terror, further paralyzing her reason.
If it were her brother, could he have escaped on his own?
If she had a cool talent that everyone envied like her brother did, instead of the ugly talent she possessed, would things have been different?
“…Ah.”
Would he have settled this situation easily and been praised by everyone? Mom and Dad wouldn’t have gotten hurt, right?
“Lamia.”
But I’m not my brother.
My talent is strange and useless, and I don’t think I can even control it properly because of this weird energy.
“Mia. It’s okay, so open your eyes. Open your eyes and look ahead. It’s alright. It won’t be scary even if you look.”
Liar.
The voice that suddenly reached her ears was somehow reassuring and warm, but it wasn’t enough to make the fear vanish.
“Um, my name is So-hyun. Do you remember me? We met briefly in your brother’s classroom today.”
…A beauty is hard to ignore.
As she slowly opened her eyes, the sight of a beautiful face before her confirmed that it wasn’t a hallucination she’d conjured up.
“Unnie? How!?”
She didn’t know exactly what was happening, but it was clear that So-hyun had saved her from the man who looked like he was merging with a lizard.
And by some means, she was stopping him from turning further into a lizard.
“…Unnie? Ah. Right. Well, let’s set that aside for now and put out the fire first.”
“Put out the fire…?”
“Yeah. I need your help to save this idiot too. Ah, this moron is a cadet at our academy; he’s just been brainwashed.”
Uh, her language is a bit rougher than I expected…? But it kind of looks cool coming from such a pretty Unnie… No, wait, what is she saying?!
“What…? Me…?! I don’t know what you’re expecting, but I can’t do it…!”
“No, you can. If you just find a little courage, you’re more than capable.”
The inexplicable trust was terrifying.
Until now, most people who said such things to her did so for the same reason.
— You’re Lilac’s sister. You can do it.
— If Lilac can do it, so can you.
No, I’m different from my brother.
“I’m not my brother. I don’t know what you’re expecting, but I won’t be able to do it.”
So don’t expect anything from the start. Don’t get disappointed on your own. I never said I could do it.
“…I wasn’t talking about that stupid son of a—I mean, that fool. I’m asking you for help.”
“Huh?”
For a moment, she wondered if the girl was lying just to encourage her, but So-hyun’s eyes reflected only her.
“Not as someone’s sister. I’m saying that you, Lamia, can do it. If it were something Lilac could do, I would have asked him. Lilac can’t do this. He’s not even here. You’re the only one here who can help me.”
“…Really?”
“Yes, really.”
Something her brother couldn’t do, but she could.
Even as she doubted if such a thing truly existed, she found herself wanting to believe this Unnie’s words.
“What… what do I have to do…?”
“See that mana stone this idiot is clutching like it’s some kind of treasure?”
Ah, so it was because of that? She didn’t know why, but she had felt a sensation from that stone—an energy that kept flowing into her and making her feel sick.
“Use your talent to devour the power of that mana stone and take away the parts that have possessed this moron. It’s not that hard, right?”
…It sounds incredibly hard, though?
“I-I’ve never done anything like that before.”
“It’s okay.”
“No, I’m not okay! Isn’t that dangerous!?”
“If a normal person tried it, they’d turn into a lizard. Or, well, they might die if things go wrong. To be honest, even if Lilac were here, he could purify it, but he couldn’t do this.”
The hope and courage that had briefly risen were instantly crushed, and fear surged once more.
“Wait, who asks someone to do something like that!?”
“No, really, it’s fine.”
“You just said it’s extremely dangerous!”
“That’s only when a normal person does it. You’re special, Lamia, so you’ll be fine. And besides…”
He paused for a moment and opened his hand. Something warm and sparkling rose from his palm.
“I’ll be right here helping you. Absolutely nothing will happen.”
…Wow, she’s kind of cool.
Her attitude, brimming with confidence yet honestly asking for help when needed, looked magnificent.
These were all things Lamia herself didn’t possess. Because she was afraid of expectations, she had given up on so many things. This girl looked exactly like the person Lamia had admired before she started giving up.
The moment the warm light from So-hyun’s hand enveloped her, she felt as if she could actually do it.
“There, you can do it. Slowly, move your talent.”
As she released the talent she had suppressed out of hatred, she truly felt the energy emitting from the mana stone shifting from the lizard-man toward her.
It was scary. It was terrifying, but… was it because there was someone who believed she could do it, someone who took it for granted?
The fear felt manageable.
Her body began to shift, slowly changing its form.
Her lower half turned snake-like, tearing her favorite skirt, and her eyes, which were already sharp, changed as if she had applied heavy eye makeup.
As if playing a prank, she began to resemble the mythical monster that shared her name.
A Lamia.
A monster with the lower body of a giant snake and the upper body of a human.
A creature with a hideous legend of devouring children and men.
…If she saw this ugly form, wouldn’t she be disappointed after all?
With that thought, she stole a glance at So-hyun, but to her surprise, the girl was still looking at her with the exact same eyes as before.
“The core of that mana stone is likely a Lizardman. There’s no direct connection, but as a Lamia—a similar demi-human type—you should be able to withstand taking in the mana stone’s energy.”
It wasn’t the look of someone seeing a monster, nor was it the look of someone seeing Lilac’s sister.
It was a gaze that truly saw her.
Ah, I knew it. I have to take the entrance exam for Leilan Academy. I think I’ve fallen for her. My heart is thumping so hard… I’m sure of it.