Shadows of the Future
A few days later, Yujin returned his patient gown and changed into his academy uniform. It was a newly issued uniform; his previous one had been reduced to rags, no longer serving any purpose as clothing.
"It's weird. I don't get it."
"What?"
"Why are you getting discharged first?"
Leo lay on the bed, wiggling his arm, which was firmly secured in a splint. It was the arm that had been shattered by a high-ranking monster's tail. Although he had suffered some internal injuries, Leo's condition was stable. For an ordinary person, it would be dangerous, but for a supernatural ability user, it wasn't even an injury that required hospitalization.
In contrast, Yujin had been rushed to the Academy Annex Hospital with severe, life-threatening injuries. A first-year student had clashed head-on with a high-ranking monster. During the battle, the excessive rush of adrenaline had masked the pain, but Yujin's body was wrecked in more ways than one.
"Shouldn't it be normal for me to get discharged way earlier? All I got was a broken arm and some slightly bruised organs."
"Those are still fatal injuries. Just lie down quietly. Besides, didn't they say you'd be discharged within the week anyway?"
Yujin's recovery speed was baffling, even to himself. It was too fast. He hadn't been injured like this often enough to make a precise comparison, but it was definitely faster than before. He had a vague idea of the reason. It was thanks to the growth of his supernatural ability. A supernatural user who achieved high growth naturally transcended human limits in every aspect. Recovery was no exception.
"I'll head out first. See you at the academy."
"Yeah, whatever, man."
There was no luggage to pack. Since he had been transported directly from the research institute to the hospital, the only thing he had to take with him was his sword. At Yujin's farewell, Leo waved his hand and let out a massive yawn. Yujin chuckled softly and stepped out of the hospital room.
He saw the hallway scenery that had become familiar over the past few days.
Before I head back to the dormitory, I should probably say goodbye, right?
Although Lucia, a fellow student, had been discharged before Yujin, the teachers had not. Perhaps because they had suffered far more critical injuries, they were still hospitalized despite being much higher-ranking supernatural users than Yujin. He already knew the location of their hospital rooms.
Yujin walked down the hallway, stretching his stiff legs. Having spent several days in a hospital bed, his body felt heavy even though his injuries were fully healed. He planned to have a brief conversation and head straight back to the dorms.
Even now, that flash-like slash from that day flickered before his eyes. He had simulated it countless times in his head. All that was left was to try and replicate it through practice.
...Actually, instead of going straight back, should I stop by there?
Lately, he had been too busy adapting to academy life to have any spare time. He used to go often, but he hadn't been anywhere near it for over a month.
Yui's grave. Although only a single arm was actually buried there, his deceased younger sister slept in that tomb. Come to think of it, he wanted to tell her about this incident. His first real combat experience. It was full of mistakes, but he wanted to let her know he had made it through safely.
"Oh, Yujin?"
It was when he was walking toward the teachers' rooms, sorting out his thoughts. Yujin stopped in his tracks at the sound of someone calling his name.
"Miss Siul?"
"Discharged already? Must be nice to be young. Broken bones knit right back together, and wounds heal in a flash."
"You're young too, Miss Siul."
"Being young and being a kid are two different things. *Sigh*, I'm so jealous. I used to have days like that too."
He had been on his way to find her, but she had approached him first. Siul had bandages wrapped tightly around her face. It was because the flesh of her cheek had been torn. With her unique hairstyle of light green bangs covering her eyes, combined with the bandages, the only thing visible was her nose.
"Where are you heading? The hospital exit is that way, not this way."
"I was on my way to see the teachers. I wanted to say goodbye before I got discharged. Are you feeling alright?"
"Of course I am. My cheek and earlobe are regenerating, so I'll be discharged soon too."
"That's a relief."
How shocked he had been when he first saw Siul's face torn open. If the situation hadn't been so urgent, he would have been utterly frantic.
The war against the monsters had been going on for three hundred years. And war accelerated technological advancement. Because the nation poured all its resources into military technology, other fields progressed slowly, but specific technologies grew rapidly. Medicine was one of those 'accelerated technologies.' With casualties constantly mounting due to the war, it was only natural for healing technology to advance. Siul's injury was far from light, but it was well within the realm of complete restoration.
"How is Miss Angelica?"
"Don't worry about Senior. She's so tough I've never once seen her look weak. She'll probably get discharged even faster than me."
It was a similar situation to Leo's. Unlike Siul, who had merely opened the gate of awakening, Angelica was an awakened user who had reached a true boundary. Although Angelica had suffered far worse injuries, her recovery speed was much faster than Siul's.
"Ah, if you're looking for Senior, you should probably hold off for now."
"Pardon?"
"She has a guest. They wanted to speak in private, so I got kicked out too."
Siul's tone as she said this was somewhat cautious. Though her face was hidden by her bangs and bandages, she seemed to be wearing a fairly serious expression.
"A guest?"
"Yes, a very important VIP. It'll be trouble if you get on her bad side."
"Who on earth could it be...?"
Siul turned her head to look down the hallway. At the end of her gaze was the hospital room she shared with Angelica. Letting out a small sigh, Siul spoke.
"The Captain of the 3rd Division."
"I believe I've told you repeatedly. I have no intention of returning."
Angelica spoke in a firm, resolute tone. It was a clear rejection that left absolutely no room for negotiation. She had received this proposal several times before. Every time, Angelica's answer was always the same. She had no intention of giving up her teaching position at the academy.
"Don't be like that, think about it again."
Across from the bed, a woman with a refined, elegant appearance spoke in a drawn-out, lazy voice.
"That stubborn old man is finally about to retire. He's getting up there in years. Even if we wanted to hold onto him, he's been on active duty for over fifty years. It's time to let him go."
"So the Vice-Captain position will be vacant."
"Exactly. Since the seat is empty, we need to fill it..."
"But there's no suitable talent. So you want to drag me back... is that it?"
"Indeed. As you know, the Vice-Captain's position is special. We can't just plug anyone into it."
Angelica sighed, looking at the woman before her. The woman, who possessed fluffy platinum blonde hair, was chewing on a raw apple, skin and all. Licking the juice from her red lips with a pink tongue, she cast a gaze that demanded an answer.
The answer was the same as before.
"I am a teacher at the academy. I cannot abandon my students and leave."
"...My goodness, you really are a stubborn blockhead."
It was a conversation they had already repeated several times. Sensing that Angelica truly had no intention of returning, the woman curved her eyebrows in resignation. As her former superior, she knew exactly how persistent Angelica's stubbornness could be. Pushing any further here would only produce the opposite effect. The woman had no choice but to back down. It wasn't as if today was her only chance.
"Fine. I'll stop nagging you. But the door is always open, so if you change your mind, come find me."
"Is the 3rd Division really that starved for talent? Surely there are plenty of other heroes fit to be Vice-Captain besides me. Karl, Horia, Mark... there are others besides me, who retired from active duty four years ago."
"No, those guys aren't enough. They don't satisfy me. At best, they're destined to remain Vice-Captains. They won't be able to climb any higher. Their limits are too clear. Unlike you."
"..."
Angelica fell silent. She knew exactly what the woman meant. She wasn't simply looking for someone to fill the empty Vice-Captain seat. She was waiting for someone who could go beyond that—someone capable of reaching the next stage.
The Captain of the 3rd Division.
Isabella.
She was always starved for talent. To be more precise, she wanted someone with the potential to reach the same realm as herself. Ultimately, it was the seven Captains who supported Cheonmyeongdae. The more pillars there were, the better. So that even if one pillar suddenly collapsed due to an unforeseen accident, it could be replaced at any time.
"As you know, in the end, heroes are consumables. If you keep using them, they eventually wear down and break."
"..."
"The same goes for Captains. The problem is that there are no spares for Captains. If a Captain's seat suddenly becomes vacant like it did five years ago, there's no way to replenish it."
It had taken four years to fill the vacancy left by the Captain of the 7th Division, who had fallen during the Great Disaster five years ago. For four whole years, a Captain's seat had remained empty.
"That's why I think you're such a waste."
"...No matter what you say, my answer will not change."
"I know. I'll back off for today."
Emphasizing the words "for today," Isabella licked the apple juice from her fingers. An icicle-like shard of frost formed at her fingertip. The apple that touched her skin had frozen cold.
"Which brings me to my next point..."
Isabella narrowed her eyes.
"I heard that among the students you manage, there's one who fought a high-ranking monster on equal terms?"
"...He is still a student. He has a long way to go before graduation, so don't you dare set your sights on him."
"I have to call dibs early. A first-year fought a high-ranking monster. I bet the other divisions are already competing to recruit him."
He wasn't a third-year on the verge of graduation, but a freshman who had only entered the academy a month ago. A freshman had fought a high-ranking monster. And on equal terms, at that. Although he hadn't won, the mere fact that he had clashed with it was extraordinary. An ordinary first-year would have been slaughtered within seconds.
"He clearly has the makings of a Captain. Even I wasn't at that level when I was a first-year."
Captains were the pinnacle of Cheonmyeongdae. They were the strongest heroes among all supernatural ability users. Naturally, such beings had shown prominent achievements since their student days. Subduing a high-ranking monster as a student—every Captain had at least one such anecdote.
"Be careful. Warn that student. Being in the spotlight doesn't bring only good things."
Although they were doing their best to cover up the incident at the National Research Institute, the news was bound to spread eventually. If it only reached the public, that would actually be a relief. The real trouble was if the insurgents hiding among the populace found out.
"Lately, the Family's movements have been unusual."
The Supernatural Ability Liberation Front. A terrorist organization of extreme supernatural supremacists.
"They've already been subjugated and reduced to a mere shell of their former selves, but even a rotting dragon is still a dragon. As long as they're breathing, they can rebuild at any time."
"Are you saying they might try to recruit Yujin?"
"They'll try, and if that fails, they'll seek to eliminate him. If he grows as he is, he might become a Captain of Cheonmyeongdae. If he's going to be their worst enemy instead of an ally, they'll try to nip him in the bud."
It was still just a hypothesis, but it was a highly plausible scenario. In fact, the Family had a history of either winning over or eliminating promising academy students. As if dealing with the emergence of a new powerhouse like Astaroth wasn't busy enough, even the Family was showing suspicious movements. This was also one of the reasons Isabella was so eager to have Angelica return. They were short-handed. The political situation was growing complicated. With the scars of the Great Disaster still remaining, a tiny candle could burn everything to the ground.