I Became the Childhood Friend Who Commits Suicide

Chapter 75

“…What?”

Si woo explained what he had seen the previous night.

The women who listened to his story couldn’t immediately respond, their faces filled with seriousness and hesitation.

“I understand that it’s hard to believe, but it’s the undeniable truth.”

“Are you sure? What if we’re misunderstanding it again, like last time?”

Si-hyun’s doubt was a reasonable concern. After all, she had been thoroughly convinced that Hana was a demon, only to suffer the bitter regret of her actions later.

However, Si woo answered without hesitation.

“As long as I have the Holy Grail, that’s impossible.”

Then, Valentina asked with a wavering look in her eyes.

“If the vice-principal is really an apostle… Can we trust him? It means he’s a demon.”

“Of course, I’m not going to trust him easily or let my guard down. He’s the one who turned Hana into what she is.”

It was clear from his expression that these were not just empty words. There was deep anger visible on his face.

Still, Si woo had decided to walk this path. All for Hana.

“But the academy is the same, or maybe even worse.”

“…Sure, from what you’re saying, the academy is just as bad, but…”

The story he shared was still too shocking to believe.

To make a drug by sacrificing people’s lives? That was something that could never be condoned.

Sehee sighed and thought to herself.

So that’s what he meant by his last words yesterday.

Indeed, the information the boy brought was horrific and ugly, something even she, as the student council president, couldn’t have imagined.

“So, what do you want us to do?”

“…”

“From the looks of it, you’ve already made up your mind.”

Just as she said, Si woo had made up his mind even before he met the vice-principal last night.

What he had witnessed underground only strengthened his resolve.

“I’m planning to follow the vice-principal and meet Hana.”

“…”

A heavy silence fell upon the room.

Everyone understood the meaning behind his words.

“So, why are you telling us all this?”

“It’s a suggestion. If you want to join me…”

“Do you know what you’re saying right now?”

Sehee glared at him with a cold look in her eyes.

He was the one who had saved her, the one who had healed her, and she had been trying to view him kindly.

But the words he had just spoken crossed a line.

It was almost like he was encouraging them to betray humanity and side with the demons.

“Are you trying to get us to betray humanity and side with the demons?”

“…”

“I’ll respect whatever decision you make. If you want to leave the academy, I’ll turn a blind eye. But trying to persuade us to join you is a whole different matter.”

Her tone left no room for negotiation.

Still, Si woo didn’t give up easily and responded.

“I’m not asking you to side with the demons. If I meet Hana, it’s inevitable that she’ll come out of the demons.”

“You don’t really think that’s possible, do you? The demons have worked so hard to gain Yoo Hana. They’re not going to let her go so easily.”

“Do you really think staying at the academy is the best choice for humanity?”

“At least it’s better than teaming up with demons.”

The distance between them didn’t narrow at all.

Si woo glared at Sehee and muttered.

“You wouldn’t understand, because you haven’t seen it…”

“I won’t deny it. Sometimes it’s better to stay ignorant, not knowing something,” she replied calmly.

At least for now, her thoughts were still firm.

Surviving in a perfect, spotless state was nearly impossible.

The structure of this era was such that it was bound to become filthy. A certain level of corruption was an unavoidable cog necessary to maintain the world.

Si woo clenched his teeth and turned away.

He had expected this situation, though it wasn’t easy to accept.

In the end, if he didn’t accept it, there was nothing else he could do.

“Valentina. What about you?”

“…I.”

Valentina hesitated for a long time.

She didn’t have a strong belief like Si woo or Sehee.

She had come to realize the academy’s issues after hearing the story.

But betraying humanity was too extreme a choice.

Even if you looked outside the academy, it was clear.

Cities all over the world were under siege by the apostles, with people dying.

Even if the academy had carried out brutal massacres, they probably hadn’t killed as many as what was happening now.

If both sides are evil, at least humans are better than demons, right?

In the end, after much hesitation, Valentina bowed her head and answered.

“…I’m sorry.”

It was a refusal.

Si woo nodded calmly, but he couldn’t hide the turmoil in his eyes.

Perhaps he had believed that she would follow him.

Though there was little reason to be so confident.

If it were six months ago, maybe she would have.

But as Si woo closed off his heart, their relationship gradually grew distant.

Valentina still liked Si woo, but could she say she loved him enough to follow him, abandoning everything?

Especially when Si woo was acting this way because of another girl he loved?

With his last shred of hope, Si woo looked at Si-hyun, who had been silent up until now.

She wore a mysterious expression, making it hard to guess what she was thinking.

“Han Si-hyun. What about you?”

“Before I answer, can I ask you one question?”

“Go ahead.”

“If the only way to be with Hana is to betray humanity, what will you do?”

Si woo momentarily closed his mouth.

The situation before them did seem to match her question.

In reality, Sehee had already assumed Si woo was betraying humanity.

But Si woo never intended to side with the demons.

He was thinking of finding a way to escape once he met Hana.

However, just like Si-hyun’s question, there may come a time when a choice has to be made.

What would he give up, and what would he choose then?

“I’ll make the choice that will make Hana happy.”

That was the conclusion Si woo had come to.

Si-hyun tilted her head at his slightly evasive answer and asked again.

“Would you still make that choice if it means you’d never see her again?”

“I promised her. I’ll make her happy.”

“You’re such a fool.”

As if recalling something, she looked at Si woo with deep eyes and said.

“Yeah. I’ll go with you.”

“…Are you serious? Why?”

“Just… I’m curious. I want to see what kind of ending you and that girl will have.”

With an answer that was hard to understand, Si-hyun gave him a weak smile.

“And anyway, I was supposed to die that day.”

—

“What’s the situation with the war?”

“As expected. With regular abilities, we can’t fight against the apostles.”

“We’ve suffered huge losses. Three S-rank heroes are already dead.”

“The Grand Sorcerer was severely injured but barely managed to escape. She’s still unconscious.”

“The other S-rank heroes are in similar situations. None of them have decisively won against the apostles. That’s disappointing.”

“That doesn’t matter much. What’s important is buying time to create the holy water.”

“It’s actually a good thing. Thanks to this war, we’ve been able to supply blood smoothly, right? We’ve made twice as much as expected.”

“We’ve gathered all the heroes inside the academy. Now, we only need to prepare for the final battle.”

“Longinus, the Holy Grail, the forgeries… Everything is ready except for one. Once this war is over, we’ll prepare the ‘Great Sacrifice.’”

“Our goal is singular.”

“For a more perfect humanity.”

—

Three days had passed since the war began.

In fact, calling it a war felt almost embarrassing, as it had been a one-sided massacre.

On the first day, there had been some battles with heroes, but after the apostles won a major victory, no heroes showed up for the next two days.

On the third day, the Black Goat summoned all the apostles again.

The temple, which he had visited a few days ago, remained the same as before.

The apostles were busy chatting, as though there had never been a war.

“What’s this? No one’s dead, everyone’s fine. How boring.”

“There’s no way an apostle would die to mere humans.”

White Sheep and Pink Falcon returned to the temple and sat down.

At that moment, a girl who had never spoken to them before approached and greeted them.

“You made it back safely.”

“Yes, Lord. Hello.”

“I’ve heard about you. Your achievements are being talked about in faraway cities. I’m quite surprised.”

“My achievements?”

Suddenly, a purple fox interrupted the conversation and spoke over her.

“Oh, are you denying it? Wherever the Silver Mask passed, the undead rose and followed. I wanted to see those undead, why didn’t you bring them along?”

“Haha…”

As Black Goat entered the meeting room, he spoke.

“Everyone did well. I’m glad we got such clear results.”

Upon his arrival, the apostles immediately fell silent and focused on his words.

“Three of the nine S-rank heroes are dead. The rest were defeated and barely managed to retreat.”

“Then for the next two days, we continued to wreak havoc in the city, but the heroes no longer appeared. They probably realized our plan and decided to hold their strength inside the academy, even at the cost of people’s lives.”

“So now, we stop the meaningless massacre and move onto the next step.”

Black Goat’s red eyes glowed ominously.

“From now on, we begin ‘Destroying the Academy.’”