Chapter 180
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 180
Chapter Title: Lesson 35. The Final Changeling - 5
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Those who cling to illusions generally know they are just that—illusions.
Yet they can't let go.
No matter how tightly they grip, it slips away.
No matter how they pull, it doesn't come closer.
No matter how they chase, the distance never shrinks.
Still, that shimmering thing always dangles just out of reach, close yet distant.
They pursue it until death, convinced they'll claim it someday.
For Kettra, it wasn't some light emotion like love.
Not friendship, honor, or family.
Not even revenge against the parents who abandoned him in some nameless village in a lower dimension.
It was simply a longing for his fairy roots.
He needed a firm conviction about his origins, strong enough to overwrite the memories of a past spent doubting himself.
So, of course, it was only natural that he hovered around Mira, who anyone could see was a "true fairy."
To him, Mira wasn't an individual but the embodiment of the fairy race itself—not a romantic interest, but an object of worship and, at the same time, an hatred he couldn't quite abandon.
That is—until Ban Yu-won suddenly appeared one day and stole Mira's body and heart completely. At least, that's what Kettra himself believed until then.
"You're dead meat."
"Not the words of someone who's stabbed a spear through my gut."
Kettra thought it was a miracle he was still alive. His abdomen already bore a horrific gash like it'd been carved out by a greatsword, and now this guy was jabbing a red spear into it.
Climbing Babel Tower, pirating dimensions here and there—it hadn't all been for nothing. He'd built his abilities and collected artifacts.
A hollow smile tugged at Kettra's lips.
The man across from him mirrored it with a look of disbelief.
"Why'd you betray us, Kettra?"
Kettra had joined Crimson Spear, one of the premier dimensional pirate crews alongside Exodus, even before enrolling at Union Academy.
Both groups had ties to higher dimensions, but...
Exodus hid their desire to drag those higher powers down even as they used them.
Crimson Spear reveled in their might and yearned to join them.
For Kettra—abandoned by higher-dimensional parents, yearning for the race rooted there—it was the perfect fit.
"Weren't we in this together? The dimensional swap."
The man pressed harder, demanding an answer.
Kettra sighed softly at the one who'd run him through.
Until just recently—
Until he'd manipulated intel to lure Crimson Spear's elite fleet to dimension E-1 and pit them against Exodus.
Back then, as fellow Crimson Spear dimensional pirates, he and this man had shared quite a bond.
"No, well... Isn't it common? Infiltrate the enemy for a ploy, fall for a girl, betray your side to save her?"
"Kettra, for that wench?"
The man scoffed.
"The Crimson Flame Princess'll laugh her ass off. Then take it out on us."
"Sorry about that, Selden."
"Hah, you really deflate a guy. Drives me nuts."
Selden yanked the spear from Kettra's gut and scratched his head.
No point prodding more—he knew Kettra was done for anyway. And the betrayal was so sudden, his feelings hadn't settled.
"...Swapping our crew with Exodus scum? Even shattering your soul wouldn't cover the loss."
"Fair point... How'd it go?"
"Exodus is wiped. Cost us all but one ship, thanks to you."
Kettra had been deeply involved in Crimson Spear's massive project.
It aimed to surpass Exodus, upend the balance of S-grade dimensions, and exact brutal revenge on the fairies.
Yet he'd manipulated info, destroyed classified data, and crashed their fleet into Exodus via changeling—his clueless comrades must've been floored.
He'd balanced their forces so perfectly that even one Crimson Spear ship surviving was a miracle.
Proof his changeling ability had reached its peak.
Otherwise, he couldn't have swapped Mira's distant abdominal wound onto himself.
"Hey, Kettra. Is love really that great? Worth throwing your life away?"
"Dunno."
Kettra replied lightly on purpose, pulling a candy from his pocket and crunching it.
After losing a spar to Ban Yu-won, he'd had a frank talk with Mira, and she'd given him this as a gift.
It outperformed any potion he knew, but today's changeling spree had burned through his soul beyond compensation...
Even this miraculous candy of life only delayed the end slightly and eased the pain.
But right now, that reprieve was tearfully grateful.
"Hey, Selden. I took the knife stab for her—think she'll at least say goodbye?"
"Yeah, me too."
Did he truly love Mira? Even now, Kettra wasn't sure.
He'd acted a lie through the academy, rootless as he was.
What meaning could emotions built on falsehoods have?
Maybe that's why he couldn't chart his path, ending up stuck like this.
"You gonna let me go?"
"...Go. Our team's toast anyway—least make your exit comfy."
"Thanks. Really."
But this urge to see Mira now? That felt undeniably real.
Even if he yielded everything to Ban Yu-won—even recognized him and stepped back—something remained he couldn't surrender.
If he couldn't discard it, even if fake, then it was real. Kettra wanted to believe that.
"Opening it."
Selden grunted, pointing to the spaceship floor.
An escape hatch yawned open, whipping winds tousling Kettra's hair.
"Selden, thanks for everything."
"If you're grateful, don't pull this shit and bail, you bastard."
"The project's doomed."
Selden's face twisted at Kettra's declaration.
"Curses to the end?"
"Dead serious. The fairy princess has a powerhouse ally now. Even the Crimson Flame Princess can't touch that."
The fairy princess—Mira.
Selden snorted, getting it.
Mira was key to the project, a prime Crimson Spear target.
They knew her connections inside out.
"You don't mean that human kid down there, right?"
Spot on.
If the wielder of authority who wrecked fairy changelings and shaped outcomes backed the fairies, could Crimson Spear bend them to their will?
Kettra thought not.
He'd approached Ban Yu-won initially to exploit him for the project.
Instead, he'd forged their greatest foe. Laughable.
"If you're switching sides, skip Exodus—they're doomed. You've already turned him against them."
"Oh yeah? Quit pirating and go mercenary then?"
Heading for the hatch, Kettra paused, palm to the deck.
Energy rippled out, blue lines racing across the inner walls.
Selden clocked it: changeling the ship—transferring ownership from Crimson Spear's handler to himself.
"You, you..."
"Starting with one ship makes mercenary life viable. Already swapped your face—no tracking worries."
"What? Shit!"
Selden, finally noticing his altered features, freaked and pawed his cheeks.
"Handsome upgrade—thank me."
"This fucker's been at it all day."
"My mirror has solid routes—use 'em."
Thanks.
Before Selden could retort, Kettra dropped through the hatch with those parting words.
Left alone, Selden pondered long, then sighed deeply. Tricked into this dimension, he was a traitor too. He picked up the mirror Kettra left.
By the time Mira finished explaining the "changeling" that hit her to Ban Yu-won, everyone witnessed Kettra leaping from the escape hatch.
Crimson Spear's ship vanished as if its job was done...
Shati clicked her tongue a beat later.
"Chancellor knew."
"That guy's just clueless, then pretends he knew after everything's over, right?"
"Nah, the Full Professor delayed departure and sent the vice president ahead. Oh, Professor Yumina just left too."
"Seriously wanna deck him."
And that vice president was now jumping from the Crimson Spear ship.
The chancellor truly knew Kettra was with the dimensional pirates.
"Hoo."
Kettra landed lightly despite missing most organs, flashing a grin.
He'd planned a word for Mira first, but addressed Shati instead.
"President, restrictions lifted?"
"Vice president, you're legally dead. No trigger on corpses."
"Good. Wanted to see your face."
The restriction: barring Kettra from nearing Mira.
For Crimson Spear's Kettra, it was a real threat—if exposed, he'd be cut from the project.
"Mira."
"Kettra, you idiot?"
Mira turned to him, incredulous.
"Idiot, yeah."
"Don't dump your heavy baggage on me solo. Like that changes..."
Emotions spilling, Mira trailed off, frowning.
Ban Yu-won spoke instead.
"Why'd you do it?"
"Believe it was love? Would you, Mira?"
"...Can't say I do, but believing changes nothing."
"Haha, just believe. Even if it's a lie."
Sensing resistance in her at his words, Mira instinctively stepped back—into Ban Yu-won.
His hand on her shoulder, he said softly,
"I hate blanket denials too. Especially from someone who protected my precious person."
"Yu-won, you said you'd take all of me."
"Right."
Ban Yu-won gently stroked her tense cheek.
"So even you can't siphon off parts without permission. No matter how embarrassing or guilty they feel to you—they're precious to me."
"Eung... Eung..."
Truth was, Mira's rejection of Kettra wasn't just loyalty to Ban Yu-won.
His existence symbolized her first-semester sins.
She'd blamed the constellation manipulating her heart, Kettra's neglect, then used Ban Yu-won's arrival to sever her past self and forge a new one.
But however pure her feelings, Ban Yu-won didn't love her purging the murky parts for purity's sake.
"Eut, eung..."
His words were shameful, loving, grateful—yet exposed her insides, stirring sorrow and gloom.
But if her owner (she never called him that to his face, hating it) desired honesty, she'd accept.
"Sorry... I did..."
Mira bowed to Kettra.
Tears plopped to the ground.
"Trying to kill you... That was wretched of me..."
"Mira."
Kettra looked shocked, then relieved, eyes shifting to Ban Yu-won.
"Can't win against you..."
"Sorry, thank you. Sorry."
Mira repeated.
Kettra slumped to the floor with a deep sigh.
The end neared.
"It's fine, Mira. I was using you too. Planned to sacrifice you and the fairies for a dimensional swap—villainous nonsense. No need to apologize."
"What's with that suddenly?"
"Sent it to your mirror already. Read later."
Ban Yu-won gaped at the massive reveal.
Kettra grinned, satisfied, adding,
"Academy's got enemies. Watch the top ten families' heirs."
"Got it. Thanks."
"Mira."
"Thank you, sorry..."
"Mira."
He called sharply to her looping like a broken doll.
"'I love you' would've been nicer."
"Maybe once."
Obeying Ban Yu-won's command for honesty, Mira glanced at him but spoke true.
"But now, 'I love you' is only for Yu-won. Sorry."
"Hah, took the stab for her, and it's still the same."
Kettra chuckled.
Ban Yu-won smiled faintly at the vibe from their first meeting.
"Think girls' hearts are easy? Should've locked it down when she seemed into you."
"Told you, junior—we're alike. Combo of us is unbeatable."
...No rebuttal.
"Thanks for reconciling us, junior. Mira, you too. President, sorry for the lousy subordinate."
Final goodbyes done, Kettra offered his dagger to Ban Yu-won.
"Finish me, junior?"
"Making me do the dirty work—payback?"
"Least I can do after you stole my girl."
"...Thanks for protecting Mira, senior."
Farewell.
Ban Yu-won obliged.
Mira squeezed her eyes shut.
Her first love—botched before—now ended perfectly. She knew it.