I Became the Childhood Friend Who Commits Suicide

Chapter 73

Lena

At the young age of 18, she is one of humanity’s greatest geniuses, having risen to the top as the #1 S-rank in a short period through her overwhelming strength.

Famous by the alias of “Grand Sorceress,” she hated the beasts.

In the present age, this is not an unusual story.

A separation from a loved one, something everyone experiences at least once.

After losing the man who had been everything to her when she was still a young girl, she swore vengeance.

She vowed to eliminate every beast in the world and exact her revenge.

She heard news that demons were attacking cities around the world.

Lena immediately moved to one of the densely populated cities under siege.

The burning landscape of New York was highly surreal.

It felt like she wasn’t on Earth, but in hell.

And there was a strange sense of déjà vu in the scene.

It almost seemed as though it overlapped with that day five years ago.

Lena shook her head, trying to dispel her distracting thoughts.

She set off to find the enemy she had to defeat.

It wasn’t difficult to find them.

He didn’t seem to have any intention of hiding his presence.

A fluttering red cloak.

A dragon mask that obscured his face.

He was holding a staff in one hand while reading a book with the other.

Though his face was hidden, his posture and appearance were all too familiar.

“…Why?”

Why did the demon look so much like her master, who passed away five years ago?

—

Sehee

How long had she been waiting?

Without realizing, Sehee was biting her nails, but when she saw the elevator coming down, she hurriedly checked the boy’s condition.

“Are you okay? Nothing happened?”

Si woo seemed a little surprised at first but then waved his hand and answered.

“I’m fine.”

“What did the old men say?”

“That… It wasn’t anything special. They probably just called me to confirm that I had the Holy Grail.”

Was that really all?

There was something odd in the boy’s answer that made her uneasy.

Sehee had already confirmed through the principal that the boy had the Holy Grail.

Moreover, the fact that he had healed both his younger sibling and herself was enough proof.

So why had they needed to meet Si woo face to face?

Had she simply misunderstood?

But there was no reason for the boy to lie to her.

After all, they were practically the only allies they could trust.

“…Hey. Senior.”

Si woo called her with slight hesitation.

“Yeah?”

“Do you know anything about the vice-principal?”

“…Why are you asking about the vice-principal? I don’t really have any connection with them.”

At Sehee’s response, Si woo tilted his head in confusion.

“Really? I’m sure the two of you…”

“The two of us?”

“…”

Si woo frowned, thinking deeply.

He shook his head and trailed off.

“No, I must have been mistaken.”

The conversation, which had abruptly ended, left a lingering discomfort, but Sehee didn’t press any further.

As they returned to Si-hyun, they switched to another topic.

“So, what are you going to do now?”

“…I’m not sure.”

“Staying still isn’t a good idea. Whether the hero dies or the apostle dies, the balance will be broken and we won’t be able to do anything about it.”

At this moment, it’s hard to tell which side holds the advantage.

Though it may seem like the apostle has the upper hand, since the hero is in a position where they must protect humanity…

When things reach the worst point, the association will make a decision.

They may prioritize the hero’s safety, even if it means sacrificing civilians.

If the academy starts focusing only on defense, the situation could change.

Especially now, they couldn’t afford to underestimate the power of the Holy Grail the boy possessed.

“The best method would be for us to go outside and fight, but…”

Being an academy student doesn’t automatically mean being weaker than regular heroes.

After all, the academy gathers a large number of underage capable individuals.

Also, the staff here are comparable or even superior to many high-ranking heroes.

At that moment, Si woo suddenly stopped walking.

Startled by his abrupt halt, Sehee also stopped and looked at him.

“Senior.”

“Yeah?”

“What if the academy is a lot worse than we thought? What would you do?”

“…What?”

It was quite a baffling question.

It was a topic completely out of place for a conversation while walking down the street in broad daylight.

Something must have happened in the boardroom.

Sehee hesitated, wondering how to respond.

She, too, as the student council president, knew some of the academy’s darker side.

Indeed, there were many cases where common ethics were disregarded in the events happening within.

“I’d be disappointed. I might even be angry or disgusted… But I think I’d still consider it unavoidable.”

“Why?”

“Because that’s the kind of world it is. In an era where you can’t survive in a completely clean state, if the academy is evil, it must be a necessary evil.”

“…”

How would the boy take her answer?

Betrayal? Disappointment? Disgust? Or perhaps acceptance?

“Please wait until tomorrow.”

“…Huh?”

“It’ll probably be clearer by tomorrow.”

With that cryptic answer, the boy turned and started walking again.

“I’ll go ahead. See you tomorrow.”

“Wait. You’re just going to leave like this?”

“Yes. Please tell Si-hyun what I said earlier. Oh, and.”

Si woo looked at her with an unreadable expression.

“By tomorrow, I might change my mind.”

With that, he walked away.

Sehee stood there for a while, staring at his back as he walked down the street.

—

Yohan

Yohan, known as the “Ice Knight,” uses his freezing abilities.

He is formidable in both offense and defense, with no one comparable when it comes to immobilizing an enemy’s legs.

His area-of-effect freezing powers contributed greatly to his rise as an S-rank hero, having defeated countless beasts.

But now, Yohan was helplessly overwhelmed.

“Ugh!”

He barely blocked the arrows with his shield, but that wasn’t the end of it.

Despite his efforts to push through the constant barrage of arrows, the enemy immediately distanced themselves again.

The movements were too swift.

This wasn’t how the battle had begun.

There had been times when he had been on the offensive and had seized the advantage.

But at some point, the woman in the mask began to glow, and from that moment on, her movements became drastically different.

The cause was clear.

It was likely because of the girl watching the battle from behind.

Was she a support-type ability user?

The shield she used to block his attacks earlier was irritating, and it seemed to be a very disruptive ability.

However, she wasn’t actively participating in the battle; she was just watching from a distance.

Did she think a one-on-one fight was enough?

If that was her arrogant thinking, he would quickly put an end to it.

The streets of the city had turned into a frozen wasteland due to the ongoing battle.

The entire ground was frozen solid, making it extremely slippery. The opponent seemed to be aware of this, gradually slowing down.

This was his greatest strength.

Overwhelming territorial control. With it, he diminished his opponent’s momentum.

He thrust his shield forward and charged.

When he swung his sword through the air, cold air shot forward like a sword’s aura.

The pink falcon evaded the icy aura by lowering her body.

“Slippery, isn’t it?”

The ground was one thing, but the temperature was steadily dropping.

When she exhaled, white vapor appeared in the air.

The problem was not knowing how much lower it would go.

As the battle dragged on, the environment would inevitably favor his opponent.

Was her ability suited for prolonged battles? He decided to end it quickly before it dragged on any longer.

“White Sheep.”

“…”

Still no response.

For some reason, she had been in that state since earlier.

Despite offering support every time danger struck, her mind didn’t seem completely gone.

Yohan let out a secret sigh. Perhaps she was still a rookie.

Or maybe she couldn’t shed her human warmth.

There was no choice.

For now, she was useless, and he had to fight without her.

She concentrated, and a pink aura flowed around her.

The pink aura fluttered like a flower, spreading and flying around her.

When she extended her hand, the flower petals flew toward the hero.

They lodged deeply in the shield but didn’t inflict any damage.

Ignoring that, she drew her bow.

Shoo!

The petals, riding the arrows, shot through the air.

Once again, the shield blocked the attack.

“It’s over.”

At her sudden declaration, the shield split in half.

“What… What is this!?”

Yohan stared in disbelief at his broken shield.

To this, the pink falcon had a special message for him.

“My petals are sharp winds. They tear everything apart.”

Shoo!

The arrow flew mercilessly through his head, piercing it.

Yohan died without even letting out a scream.

The pink falcon briefly looked at the corpse before turning to White Sheep.

“White Sheep. If you stay absent-minded during a fight, it’s dangerous…”

She stopped herself mid-scold, her mouth hanging open as she stared at an incomprehensible sight.

“What is that?”

“It’s a girl.”