I Became the Childhood Friend Who Commits Suicide

Chapter 36

“A murder within the academy, huh.”

A low murmur.

Sehee immediately countered.

“It wasn’t murder. It wasn’t a human; it was a demon.”

“Hmm…”

“Didn’t we even have definitive proof?”

Her younger sibling had prepared a recording.

It contained a conversation where the demon, under leading questions, confessed its identity.

“But it’s also true that this case raises many questions.”

“What do you mean?”

“A mere academy student discovered information no one else knew? And the method to distinguish demons?”

“That’s…”

As Sehee hesitated, another voice responded.

“The name mentioned in the recording. Wasn’t it the name of the recently missing student?”

“…Yes.”

“Did that child provide the information?”

“Yes.”

“So that child is a traitor to the demons, meaning they’re also a demon.”

“…”

It’s true that Sophie is a demon.

She revealed it herself.

But that child stood on the academy’s side.

More specifically, she tried to stay by Hana’s side.

“She’s not like other demons. She helped us!”

“And how can you be sure of that?”

The conversation was veering in a troubling direction.

“I admit that they were a demon, as they confessed. But what if there was a hidden motive? A strategy of sacrificing the flesh to save the bones? Gaining our trust to wait for a decisive moment?”

“If that were the case, wouldn’t she have allied with the Black Goat?”

Another voice spoke.

“Did you personally witness her act against them?”

“…No.”

“Exactly. After all, the situation then was solely based on the testimony of one mentally unstable survivor.”

It was true that Hana wasn’t in good shape.

But why all this suspicion and caution? Was it really necessary?

“Don’t misunderstand. We just want to approach this as cautiously as possible.”

“…”

“And putting aside that he’s a demon, the approach was too harsh. Don’t forget, he was still a teacher at this academy.”

“We eliminated a demon! Isn’t that something to be praised?”

The response was a cold retort.

“What if he wasn’t?”

“Does that really matter?”

“Attacking a teacher on the sole belief of a girl who claims she’s a demon—isn’t that a reckless act?”

The argument continued.

“Or perhaps you overlooked it because she’s your sister?”

“…”

“Han Si-hyun. Didn’t she cause trouble recently? If there had been a witness to this case, it would’ve caused an enormous uproar—far more than before.”

She didn’t think her sister’s actions were wrong.

But these conservative elders seemed to view it as dangerously reckless.

“A demon infiltrating the academy—can you imagine the repercussions if word of this got out?”

Ultimately, it was all for their own safety.

“Please keep better watch over your sister, Student Council President.”

“…Yes. I’ll take my leave now.”

Deciding there was no point in continuing, Sehee bowed his head respectfully.

However, turning one’s back and leaving was out of the question here.

Such disrespect would only irritate the elders.

“I heard your wounds from the last battle were severe.”

A sharp pain.

Sehee frowned slightly and held his abdomen.

“Thank you for your concern. I’ve mostly recovered.”

“Is that so? Good. We can’t afford to lose a talent like you.”

“…Thank you.”

“Go on.”

She left the room without looking back.

At the academy’s core.

The council of twelve elders.

Politicians, heroes, business leaders—they came from various fields, but all wielded immense power in the world.

“…Damn old geezers.”

She didn’t know why people like them were so committed to running the academy, but it really irked her.

Bang!

Sehee kicked the wall once before leaving the top floor of the main building.

Meanwhile, the elders on that floor conversed amongst themselves.

“It’s finally begun.”

“And the Black Goat is also targeting.”

“Have they sensed the presence of the Messiah?”

“Never expected them to infiltrate a demon right under our noses.”

“What about the missing child?”

“If they’re a demon, that changes things. The academy has no need for them.”

—

“…Dead?”

“Yeah. The investigation results just came in.”

Si woo bit his lip.

He’d had a feeling, but to think she was truly dead…

“Then, did they find the body?”

“I don’t know. My sister said she couldn’t talk about that.”

As he sighed, Si woo sensed something strange in her words.

“She couldn’t talk about it? That’s how she responded when you asked?”

“Yeah.”

That’s odd.

Why would the state of the body be classified as confidential?

“Is the body in an unusual condition, or…?”

“They probably didn’t find the body.”

“But if they didn’t, they wouldn’t announce her death, would they?”

“Who knows? It’s hard to say.”

No matter how much he thought about it, something didn’t feel right.

But there was no way to dig deeper with so little information.

“What about Hana? Do you think she’s heard?”

“Probably not yet. I just heard about it myself.”

“…I guess I should tell her.”

How would Hana react when she heard about Sophie’s death?

“She might stay composed. She seemed certain Sophie was dead.”

“…Hana knew the situation best. If she’s sure, then she must have her reasons.”

Si-hyun nodded in silence.

She was the only one who wasn’t there.

All she knew of the incident was from hearsay.

“More concerning is the aftermath of the killing.”

“Calling it a killing might be ambiguous, but yes.”

The direct cause of the counselor’s death was shock.

But “shock” is a vague term.

It could mean the blood stopped circulating due to asphyxiation.

Or that they bled too much too quickly and went into shock.

So, it was hard to pinpoint whether Si-hyun or Hana were more at fault.

‘I killed him.’

In that situation, Si-hyun took all the responsibility.

She could brush it off, but Hana wouldn’t.

Fortunately, the council only issued a warning for this incident.

Probably because they didn’t want it publicized.

Though the student council president’s expression was dark as she relayed the message.

“By the way, how’s the other kid?”

“The other kid?”

“I heard it wasn’t just you and your sister there.”

“Ah…”

Si woo recalled her with a complex expression.

—

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The training room echoed with pounding sounds.

Everyone’s gaze was on her.

Eyes filled with fear.

Bang! Bang!!

“Yeonhwa.”

Someone approached her and called her name.

Yeonhwa ignored the call and continued swinging her fist.

“Yeonhwa!”

Raising her voice and grabbing her shoulder finally stopped Yeonhwa’s relentless training.

No, it was closer to self-punishment than training.

Sweat poured down like a waterfall.

Without calming her heavy breathing, Yeonhwa turned her head.

“What.”

“When are you planning to come to class? You’ve been absent for days…”

“Forget it. I don’t need any of that.”

Yeonhwa tried to resume her training.

“Don’t need it? At this rate, you won’t have enough attendance and will fail this year!”

“So what.”

“Why are you acting like this, all of a sudden?”

Finally, Yeonhwa turned her head again with a sharp gaze.

“Hey, four-eyes. Want me to tell you something I realized?”

“What?”

“This academy’s pathetic classes won’t make me stronger.”

“….”

“I’m too weak. I’m still way too weak. To beat that bastard, I need to be much stronger than I am now. And these pathetic classes won’t cut it.”

Yeonhwa devoted herself to training immediately.

Kyunga couldn’t say another word.

She punched the wall, but the opponent she pictured in her mind was different.

An overwhelming foe who had crushed her effortlessly.

Speed. Strength. Skill. Ability.

In every aspect, she was no match.

She visualized the movements, countering them one by one.

Here, like this.

Then, in this way.

If only I’d done it this way.

If only I hadn’t used that skill.

If only I’d thrown my punch right.

Bang!

“….”

If I hadn’t used the escape mechanism.

If I’d stayed by their side.

Bang!

At the very least.

If I’d returned just a little sooner.

Bang!

Bang!

‘Do you want revenge?’

I want revenge.

I want to break that mask and kill them.

Bang!

‘Then grow stronger. Much stronger than you are now.’

BANG!!!

Huff… Huff…

Blood dripped from her knuckles to the ground.

Kyunga, who had been watching, was shocked by the damaged wall.

Drip, drip.

What fell to the ground wasn’t crimson blood.

It was the transparent tears of a weak girl who couldn’t even protect one friend.

“…Damn it.”

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