I Became the Childhood Friend Who Commits Sui**de

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“······.”

Baekyang silently glared at Si-hyun.

The tiny tremors in her pupils revealed just how distressed she was.

A brief standoff enveloped them in silence.

Ultimately, what the girl chose was to evade the problem and flee.

Of course, Si-hyun wouldn’t just stand by and let it happen.

He spoke to the girl who was turning to leave the class.

“Nothing will change if you just leave like this.”

“···What do you want me to say? Even if what you say is true, did you expect me to be so shocked that I would switch sides?”

The face she turned slightly back to him was filled with cold fury.

The trembling in her eyes had disappeared, replaced by a simmering malice.

“Don’t get it twisted. I’m Baekyang, not Yu Hana. Even if I used to be Yu Hana before losing my memories, she’s already dead. The Yu Hana you knew is gone.”

But Si-hyun wasn’t going to back down easily either.

“Then why did you stay and listen to my story? You want to recover your lost memories, don’t you? Do you really think you’re a separate entity from Yu Hana?”

“···You’re so noisy. I won’t be deceived by your words anymore. You ought to watch your mouth.”

At any moment, she could kill him right then and there.

Though her opponent was quite powerful, it was clear enough from the outset that she was weaker than him.

However, Baekyang wouldn’t allow that.

Once words were spoken, they must be kept. She couldn’t break a promise or betray.

That was something her teacher loathed above all else.

Separate from that, her favor toward Si-hyun had completely vanished.

An insult against the teacher was akin to an insult against herself.

But what?

Her teacher had tried to kill her?

That was absurd. There’s no way that would happen.

“Let me ask you one last time. Where is the Holy Grail, or should I say, Kim Shinwoo?”

“Well, I’m not really sure either.”

“It seems you have no intention of telling me.”

Si-hyun replied, a perplexed expression on his face.

“Really. He just disappeared suddenly. I thought you guys had kidnapped him, but maybe that’s not the case.”

“···He really disappeared?”

“Strange. Wasn’t the Vice Principal a spy you all planted?”

The Vice Principal of the academy.

The Sand Crocodile.

He recalled that enigmatic figure.

He had never actually seen his face since the Vice Principal typically only stayed within the academy.

Did he recruit Kim Shinwoo?

If that were true, there would be no need to raid the academy in the first place.

Something was off.

Feeling anxious, Baekyang decided to hurry and find Kim Shinwoo.

The girl, who was about to leave the class, gave one last piece of advice.

“You shouldn’t stay here. It would be best if you left as far away as possible.”

With those words, Baekyang vanished.

Left alone in Class A, Si-hyun looked out the window.

A battle of absolute titans unfolded on the playground.

With each clash between the two, the sky roared, and the ground split.

Already, the apostles and humans were engaged in fierce combat everywhere.

The scenery of the academy was utterly devastated, making it hard to even imagine its original form.

Surely, there was no benefit in staying here.

Si-hyun briefly recalled memories.

Just before the apostles invaded, a select few received a suspicious substance called the Holy Water.

A magical elixir that vastly enhanced physical abilities and skills.

But in reality, it was something suspicious created from human blood.

Si-hyun had pretended to drink it, but for those observing, the performance was undeniably transcendent.

However, a hefty cost would surely accompany such power.

No matter who won this war, it would be difficult to return to the way things were before.

The girl, gazing into the distant unknown, prepared to move again.

In any case, lingering here would change nothing.

It was time to act.

For a slightly better future.

*

Meanwhile, the instigator of the war.

The Black Goat continued to move towards a clear destination.

Anyone who tried to stop him paid with their lives equally.

No one could obstruct his movements.

Even an S-class hero who had consumed the Holy Water.

The Black Goat dispatched them and sent them crashing to the ground.

After the battle concluded, he leisurely looked up at the sky and muttered.

“Looks like they’re having a hard time.”

Leaving behind the dragons soaring overhead, he entered a building.

Into the main hall of the academy.

If he went up from here, he would meet the members of the board of elders.

Of course, it was of little significance since what was there was merely a shell.

The place the Black Goat was headed was not up.

What was the greatest power of the academy?

The well-disciplined student army? No.

The faculty members who were stronger than most heroes? No.

Longinus’ spear? That, too, was not it.

The unfathomable intellect of the divine.

The true master who managed and controlled all systems of the academy.

An artificial intelligence Magi.

The Black Goat descended to the underground to meet her.

No presence was felt in the basement.

Only the sound of machine motors filled the dark space, expressing its existence.

It wouldn’t be entirely wrong to say that the entire underground was Magi.

However, to be precise, these metallic piles could not be considered the core of Magi.

The enormous computer placed at the center was the same.

It was merely a connecting interface to communicate between Magi and humans.

The Black Goat glanced around the underground before standing in front of the central computer.

As he attempted to connect to the network, an expected screen blocked his view.

[Login Required]

Immediately, he pulled out a card from his pocket.

It was the card of the Vice Principal, holding first-class authority.

Beep.

[User’s authority has been revoked.]

“Hm.”

However, contrary to expectations, the Magi did not acknowledge him.

The Black Goat clicked his tongue and stroked his chin.

He had suspected something would be off since communications had been cut off, but it seemed there was indeed some issue with the Crocodile’s situation.

Well, if the power of the Holy Grail could counteract his abilities, that wouldn’t be impossible.

The problem had become quite complicated.

Looks like the board of elders are no easy targets either.

To meet the base of Magi, one would need first-class authority.

Of course, there were hardly any such individuals left in the academy.

Excluding the board and the Vice Principal, the only target worth considering at the moment was one.

He would have to find the Principal.

But before that, there was something to take care of.

“It’s been a while. Executor.”

Well, there’s no way this place wouldn’t have guards.

That said, he didn’t expect the strongest being to be placed here.

With a thump-thump.

Someone appears from the darkness with the sound of footsteps.

Though it was merely a girl in a school uniform, she was not to be taken lightly.

The former student council president, Han Sehee.

The strongest student of the academy.

Her abilities rival or even exceed those of a typical S-class hero.

As soon as the Black Goat laid eyes on her, he spoke.

“Did you consume the Holy Water? That’s not a very wise choice.”

“I didn’t finish it last time. I’ll make sure to end it today.”

“That’s quite terrifying.”

Boom!!

An overwhelming force crashed down in an instant.

Without a moment to resist, the Black Goat was swept up and hurled into the air.

He broke through the ceiling and continued to ascend towards the surface.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

How many floors did he skip?

Only when the force of gravity that had been tossing him around finally faded, was he already far removed from the underground.

He could barely make a guess as to how many floors he had ascended from the numerous holes leading to the bottom.

“Cough.”

The Black Goat, lodged in the ceiling, coughed dryly.

Soon, Sehee, having flown up from the underground, said with a cold expression.

“I moved the location so we wouldn’t have trouble fighting down there. How’s this?”

“Not bad.”

He lightly landed on the ground, brushing off the dust from his body.

“Seems you’ve got some leisure. I’m curious how much longer you can maintain it.”

Suspended in mid-air, she gathered her strength.

In an instant, the objects in the office they were in were swept away like a storm, turned into chaos.

Even in such a situation, the Black Goat responded nonchalantly.

“There’s nothing more foolish than getting intoxicated by strength.”

As he reached out his hand, a black dimensional gate appeared in the air, and chains of darkness emerged.

The chains, intended to bind the girl, couldn’t overcome the force of gravity and lost their strength.

The entire building shook precariously as the ground he was standing on collapsed.

In a swift motion, he leaped into the air, using the wall as a springboard, and charged towards his foe.

But with just a gesture from Sehee, he was helplessly shoved back into the wall.

“No one can defeat me now.”

“···How arrogant.”

His crimson eyes bore into the girl.

She flinched.

Sehee’s previously relaxed demeanor shifted drastically.

Startled by the sudden sensation, she busily scanned her surroundings, wary.

“···What is it? What did you do?”

“I summoned him using a sacrifice.”

[□□□□□!!]

The roar of an unrecognizable monster echoed throughout the main hall.

And then, the sunlight that had been streaming in through the window vanished in an instant. A gigantic claw, large enough to cover the entire window, swiftly descended upon the girl.

“Ugh···!”

Sehee narrowly dodged, but the building had already been half-destroyed, making it difficult to distinguish between the outside and inside.

Thanks to that, she was able to identify the true identity of the claw.

A gargantuan body comparable to the entire building.

It had vicious horns and wings, with skin as dark as if it had been burned and turned to ash.

Burning red eyes and fearsome fangs.

“Is that a demon…?”

“It’s a Balrog.”