I Became the Childhood Friend Who Commits Sui**de

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The aftermath of the battle continued to shake the ground with strong vibrations.

The students who had taken refuge inside the shrine were buzzing with curiosity about what was happening outside.

However, the instructors firmly blocked the entrance and maintained strict control.

“Everyone, stay quiet and wait inside!”

“You must never open the door.”

“What on earth is going on?!”

Despite the students’ outcry, the instructors remained silent.

At this rate, it seemed we wouldn’t be able to move a single step until the situation was resolved or the shrine crumbled entirely.

Of course, amidst this chaos, there were students who remained calm without showing any signs of disturbance.

In particular, Han Si-hyun sat calmly in the corner as if nothing was happening.

I couldn’t read the thoughts in his one uncovered eye, which was not wrapped in a bandage.

As Valentina watched Si-hyun, she turned to Shin Woo beside her with a worried expression.

The boy too, like Si-hyun, did not display much emotion.

However, standing there with a blank expression, staring solely at the door, he seemed strangely off.

“Shin Woo, what could possibly be happening…?”

“Light.”

“…Huh?”

Valentina tilted her head, momentarily questioning if she had misheard his unexpected reply.

Yet Shin Woo continued to mutter incomprehensible words.

“It must be because of that light.”

“Um, Shin Woo…?”

“It’s a strange feeling. It’s as if… the light is calling to me.”

What a bizarre statement.

For a moment, I almost worried that the boy had lost his mind due to an unbearable sorrow.

After all, the only light in this shrine could barely be attributed to the faint candle at the back.

Yet Shin Woo’s gaze remained fixated on the door in front rather than drifting to the back.

Thud!

The strong vibrations started again.

How intense was the battle raging outside?

Valentina gripped the collar of Shin Woo’s clothing with a stiffened face.

“Surely you’re not thinking of going out?”

You absolutely cannot.

There must be a good reason for the instructors to block us so firmly.

It was obvious that stepping outside recklessly would put our lives in danger.

So, I cannot let him go. Valentina still held feelings for Shin Woo.

Although the boy had completely changed as if he became a different person since that day, her feelings remained unchanged.

“I have to go out.”

“You absolutely can’t! There’s no way the instructors will let us!”

Though they were conversing in a corner away from the others, their voices grew louder, drawing the attention of those around them.

Shin Woo looked at her with steady eyes and said,

“I’m asking you, please.”

“…What do you plan to do?”

“Just distract them for a moment. I’ll take care of the rest.”

Valentina let out a deep sigh.

They say that in love, the one who loves more always suffers; let alone love, with a one-sided crush, one gives up everything without hesitation.

What’s truly annoying is that being needed by someone isn’t such a bad feeling.

Even knowing that there’s someone in their heart they could never surpass.

*

Taking advantage of the commotion, Shin Woo slipped out of the shrine.

Once outside, the weather was filled with dark clouds unlike before.

It looked as though it was going to rain.

Whenever it poured, Shin Woo always thought of Hana.

And when he saw the light streaming from the shrine, he similarly thought of Hana.

Why is that?

He had concluded in his mind that there was no relation at all.

The mere glimpse of light that had emerged from the narrow gap was brilliant, yet why did it feel so much like Hana?

Tap. Tap.

Just as Shin Woo had predicted, drops of rain began to fall from the sky.

Raindrops descending and landing on the ground created a beautiful melody.

The gentle drizzle even breathed fresh energy into him.

However, the boy wasn’t in a state to relax and pay attention to the change in weather.

Shin Woo ran with all his might.

He dashed towards the shrine where he had witnessed the light.

As if that would solve everything; as if he could meet the girl he longed for every time it rained.

It wasn’t too far, so soon he reached his desired destination.

The door, which had been slightly ajar moments ago, was now firmly closed.

Did the priestess close it?

Without a moment’s pause to catch his breath, Shin Woo hurried to the shrine.

As if responding to him, the light within the shrine began to shine bright again.

Even though the door was shut, the light seeped through the door itself.

A dream? An illusion?

It felt surreal, yet Shin Woo realized that this moment was undeniably reality.

He cautiously approached and opened the shrine’s door.

Inside was a small space.

In it stood a brilliant, gleaming golden chalice.

Entranced by its beauty, the boy stared at the chalice in awe.

He carelessly reached out his hand.

Thud. Thud.

He sensed a presence behind him.

Someone was approaching the shrine.

Shin Woo snapped to attention, glancing around in a panic before swiftly grabbing the chalice.

The moment he did, pure white light filled the small shrine, momentarily blinding him.

When his vision finally returned, Shin Woo noticed the change.

The shining golden chalice had vanished. It had been in his hand just moments ago. In an instant, it was gone without a trace.

He searched frantically around but couldn’t find a single sign of it.

No! The light… Hana…

Unbeknownst to what was burning in his heart, the presence continued to draw closer.

If the other party was an enemy, he might die here, senselessly.

Even his instinctive warning couldn’t dispel the emptiness caused by the chalice’s disappearance.

Thud. Thud.

Finally, the footsteps stopped nearby, and he could hear the sound of the door opening.

And then…

“Who are you?”

At the sound of a strangely familiar voice, Shin Woo turned in shock.

The face he expected was not present before him.

Instead stood a girl with distinctly unique masks.

The figure of a man he could never forget flashed in his mind.

Everything about her was an antithesis of that image.

A girl, not a man.

A lamb, not a goat.

Curved horns, not straight.

A white cloak, not a black one.

It was precisely because of this that he felt certain the girl before him was associated with the Black Goat.

But that wasn’t the point right now.

What was important was the voice he found so familiar.

Even the hair of the masked girl was the same color as that familiar voice.

Though it was hard to confirm due to her hair being tied in a ponytail, it looked closer to fluffy curly hair than flowing straight hair.

She seemed slightly taller, but otherwise very similar.

Is it possible?

That there exists another being who looks almost identical to the girl he missed so dearly.

That this girl bore a resemblance to the enemy.

Should he dismiss it as mere coincidence?

No. That couldn’t be.

If he were to believe in such a ridiculous coincidence, he would rather believe in miracles.

He wanted to believe in the miracle that his childhood friend, thought to be dead, had returned alive.

Shin Woo, without calming his trembling voice, barely managed to speak.

“H-Hana. Is that you? Yu Hana.”

“Where’s the Holy Grail? Please answer me honestly.”

“Hana! It’s me! Shin Woo! …Huh?”

Their eyes locked. After a brief silence, the girl spoke.

“I am not Yu Hana. My name is White Lamb.”

“…What?”

That can’t be.

Shin Woo forcefully denied reality, pushing aside the deep despair weighing down his heart.

She was Hana, without a doubt.

That was certain.

For eighteen years, they had been inseparable.

There’s no way he could be mistaken. He longed for her for six months. He had never forgotten her for even a second.

The White Lamb quietly gazed at Shin Woo before taking a single step forward.

The girl walked closer to him, shortening the distance between them.

Finally, they stood face to face.

In the golden eyes of the girl, the boy was reflected.

“That outfit. You belong to the academy, don’t you?”

“…”

“The teacher asked me to do this. All those affiliated with the academy must die.”

Then, the White Lamb’s body began to emanate a golden light.

That radiant light was shockingly similar to the light of the Holy Grail that Shin Woo had desperately sought until moments ago.

“Humans and Maians are enemies. I mean you no harm, but please die here. I will at least allow you to leave without pain.”

The White Lamb extended her hand.

As the light surrounding her gathered into a spherical shape in front of her palm…

Shin Woo merely gazed at the girl in the lamb mask without performing any actions.

He tried to glimpse the face behind that mask. It was just a futile struggle.

“Then, farewell.”

At that moment, the White Lamb failed to execute her attack as she had hoped.

Someone had quietly approached her from behind, wielding a blade of light draped over his neck.

The girl with one eye covered in a bandage commanded in a cold voice.

“You. Take off that mask.”