Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: My Hero
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My name is Han Cheong-ah. I'm a female student attending Cuvette Psi High School. I hate creepy bugs and people in white coats, and the things I like are spending time with Winter unnie and eating shortcake.
Ah, of course, these days, the drawings Do-hyun makes for me are my absolute favorite. I'm not deliberately acting cutesy just to avoid making Winter unnie jealous or anything... anyway.
At first, I was expressionless.
Ever since I was found in the Rift—or maybe even from the moment I was born—my facial muscles might have atrophied.
After Winter unnie found me in the Rift, I was dragged off to some nameless research facility.
The people in white coats found me utterly fascinating. Even the hunters in their military uniforms thought the same.
"It's not a Psyker, not human, not a Dimensional Beast. What the hell is it?"
"If we research this thing properly, it might open a path to survival for humanity."
"It's too dangerous for that... It can control Dimensional Beasts. Better to eliminate it before it brings disaster upon us."
Their eyes were like a cat's—predatory gazes delighting in a new toy, yet laced with the fear of prey.
They never asked for my consent. They sliced pieces from my body with knives meant to save lives. Countless drugs and machines passed over my body. (They called it a simple physical exam, but Winter unnie said it was human experimentation.)
I did feel the pain. Every time my flesh was torn, cut, or pierced, my whole body convulsed. The people wielding knives against me terrified me.
But...
Why did my face remain unchanged through all the experiments?
Why did I stay so stiff-faced, not shedding a single tear, just enduring in silence?
Anesthesia didn't work on my constitution, so I endured every experiment fully conscious, yet I never cried out or screamed. The researchers pointed at me, calling me a monster for how eerie it was.
It was as if my face was frozen solid. Even in agony, I wore that rigid expression. I tried to smile because I hated being called a monster, but all I could do was lift the corner of my mouth with my index finger.
Clearly, the emotion I felt was "sad and painful," so why wouldn't the tears come?
When I ate something delicious, I definitely felt "happy," so why couldn't I smile?
It was as if my face was frozen tight.
Just as they said, I was a monster. I must be one, unable to laugh or cry like normal people.
But then, someone showed me I wasn't.
"Hi. I'm Lee Gyeo-ul. But seriously, why's a kid's face so stiff like this... Anyway, from today on, we'll live together. This place is way too gloomy for a girl to stay."
Winter unnie never gives me the full details on that. But based on the memory of seeing people in the framed photo in her room cursing her, I figure she abused her position to pull some strings.
Anyway, that was the first human warmth I ever received.
From the moment Winter unnie pulled me out of the lab and brought me home, my frozen face began to thaw bit by bit.
"W-Why are you suddenly crying!? Geez..."
Like ice melting into streams of water, tears flowed down my face. I was still mostly expressionless after that, but I gradually regained control of my facial muscles.
Afterward, Winter unnie and I started living everyday life together in Academy City.
I suspect my current bright personality is largely thanks to living with her.
About a year into that peaceful life in Academy City, I met Do-hyun.
Our first encounter was suspicious and rocky, but he gave off the same feeling Winter unnie had when she met me, so I let my guard down relatively quickly.
I could tell because of the croquis.
It was just a rough sketch that took maybe two minutes—far from a proper drawing, just outlines...
But from that croquis alone, I could vividly sense how I appeared in his eyes, how he saw me.
It was strange. Like being under a spell or hypnosis. Something in the realm of emotion, distant from reason.
This must be what they mean by "feeling it in your heart."
...Even though he was the prime suspect in the punchings, I decided to trust him.
Of course, I'm not an idiot. I dropped my guard and chose to trust him, but not unconditionally, 100%.
So when we met again in front of the school, half-suspicious, half-hopeful, I spoke to him.
"Draw me."
It was just to gauge his reaction, but without a moment's hesitation, he happily sketched me.
"I'll capture your image on this paper from now on. As much as you want..."
The black-and-white rendering of me seemed alive.
The drawing was static, yet full of vitality. No color, yet it sparkled.
My heart pounded. I looked so beautiful in his eyes.
It was the moment our visions overlapped—his gaze and mine.
The black-and-white sketch mirrored my inner self perfectly.
I'm an empty person. A girl with a 16-year blank in her memories, stripped of all the colors in her heart and mind—like black and white.
That was the essence of Han Cheong-ah.
I was excited. What colors would fill this drawing of me?
And could the still-monochrome interior of my heart become as vibrant and multicolored as the world?
If I gained more vivid colors, how would I appear in his eyes then?
That's why...
"Cheong-ah. Can you head back to the hideout alone and wait? It looks like Winter unnie and Yubyeol-ha are in danger."
I snapped out of my thoughts and nodded. Truthfully, I wanted him to stay by my side.
But I hated being a burden to the artist who drew pictures that meant so much to me.
I was here to help him, not to act spoiled.
That's why I hadn't complained about the inexplicable headache and chest pain I'd been feeling for a while.
Normally, my face would pale and my body tremble in agony, but enduring with an expressionless face was second nature.
"Don't worry about me. Go ahead, Do-hyun."
I gave a light peck on Do-hyun's cheek as he hesitated. The soft touch lingered on my lips.
His eyes always went wide whenever he got flustered, and it was pretty cute.
I probably initiate intense skinship often just to see that reaction.
This time too, his eyes widened, but he played it cool, mumbling with his lips... then vanished before me.
I looked up at the sky. It was still dyed red, unchanged.
For some reason, my gaze stayed fixed on the sky for a long time.
My head kept hurting. Was it my imagination that the world seemed even redder than before?
That was the last moment I remember... before turning into the Queen.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ I stroked my cheek where the sensation of her lips lingered.
Does Han Cheong-ah even know what shame is? How does she pull off something so embarrassing so naturally?
If you ask whether I hated it... no comment.
I shook the sensation from my mind and looked up at the red sky.
"What the hell is going on with Yubyeol-ha and Lee Gyeo-ul...?"
By my estimates, the anomaly should have ended by now. But no signal had come from Yubyeol-ha yet.
No matter that Yubyeol-ha and Lee Gyeo-ul were outnumbered and Mimir was backing the Society, their opponents were the world's strongest (present) and the world's strongest (future). It was weird that the Society was holding out this long.
An infinitely regenerating tank paired with a dealer who wielded flash at will.
Unless some catastrophic variable cropped up, they shouldn't lose.
That was when it happened.
Ding. My phone chimed with a notification.
Even in this urgent situation, I pulled out my phone and checked.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Kang Chang-soo's survival: 'Fateful Turning Point' grants 50 points. Akeboshi Ichika's survival: 'Fateful Turning Point' grants 50 points. Survival of numerous Academy City citizens: 'Fateful Turning Point' grants 50 points. I thought I'd unlock the final trait, but I was 50 points short.
I clicked my tongue and pocketed the phone, heading to where Yubyeol-ha and Lee Gyeo-ul were.
Upon arriving at the site of the fierce battle, I finally understood why they were struggling.
The area was littered with monster corpses, reduced to ash by some immense heat source.
The corpses outnumbered the living monsters by far, yet they were still hard-pressed because:
"Is it because they're so huge? These bastards are tough as hell. This is why monster types are such a pain!"
Before Lee Gyeo-ul loomed a massive dragon spewing rippling flames into the air.
Shin—the sole monster in the Society equal in rank to Zero One—was blocking her path.
"Where'd that majestic look from earlier go? Squirm some more, Yubyeol-ha!"
Yubyeol-ha gripped Death's Scythe, barely blocking the attacks. Moves she could normally dodge easily felt off somehow in her current state.
Yubyeol-ha fought the enemy with fear etched on her face.
Her foe was a man-faced lion—a horrific chimera with a human face and leonine body.
The killer of Yubyeol-ha's parents, the sole trauma lingering in her—the monster facing her now.
"I've been waiting..."
Thud. Thud.
Thud. Thud.
Snow-white hair fluttered in the wind. She pressed down firmly on her witch's hat and glared at me.
And as if declaring I could never reach them, Mimir blocked my path.
The situation had turned for the worst.