I Became the Childhood Friend Who Commits Sui**de

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The moment of opportunity arrived as the barrier broke.

As Hong Yeonhwa entered the cathedral, the divine realm shattered for an instant, bringing reality back.

The Old Man frowned as he tried to restore the barrier, but before he could act, a scorching fire surged toward him.

Yeonhwa quickly assessed the situation and noticed it, speaking up.

“Hey, you old geezer. What are you trying to do without my permission?”

“You cheeky arsonist…!”

At first glance, it seemed the atmosphere had completely flipped, but the barrier would soon be restored.

Hana hesitated as she checked on the fallen apostles nearby.

After much deliberation on what choice would be best, the girl made her decision.

She closed her eyes, clasped her hands, and prayed.

Then, a brilliant golden light burst forth from the entire floor of the cathedral, and a massive magic circle was drawn around her.

Soon, everyone in the vicinity, except for the Old Man, began to be enveloped in the light.

The Old Man, realizing her intentions, shouted anxiously.

“Stop! Longinus! Block it!”

“……”

But the girl did not respond to the Old Man’s command.

Longinus merely looked at Hana, wrapped in the light with a complicated expression.

Ultimately, just before the barrier was restored, Hana’s desperate prayer was answered, and a miracle occurred.

“Ugh.”

As the space around him suddenly changed, Shin Woo looked around in confusion.

He didn’t know where they were, but it was clear Hana had used her powers to escape with them.

“What a relief… That was really dangerous.”

The tension melted away as he realized they had barely escaped a life-threatening moment.

At that moment, a thud sounded beside the boy, and someone collapsed on the floor.

“Hana!”

Seeing that Hana had fainted, Shin Woo was startled and rushed to check on her.

Fortunately, she was breathing normally. Was it a side effect of her powers?

It would be great if that were all it was.

Just to be safe, Shin Woo tried to heal Hana using the power of the Holy Grail.

But she didn’t wake up immediately, and it was hard to tell if she was properly treated.

For now, he needed to find a place for her to rest.

More importantly, figuring out exactly where they were was the top priority.

He didn’t doubt Hana, but in such a tense moment, it was entirely possible she’d been solely focused on escaping the cathedral.

He also checked on those who had moved together with them.

Si-hyun and Yeonhwa seemed to have just regained their senses, looking bewildered.

“Are you guys okay?”

“Maybe.”

“Damn. What the hell just happened?”

“It’s been a while. I didn’t expect you to show up in that situation…”

In that moment, Shin Woo was genuinely surprised.

Someone he never imagined would appear had shown up during a life-or-death moment.

Anyway, their safe escape was entirely thanks to her.

If Yeonhwa hadn’t shown up then, they surely wouldn’t have been able to do anything, falling right into the Old Man’s trap.

“By the way, what about those people over there…?”

At Si-hyun’s words, Shin Woo and Yeonhwa turned to look at the fallen apostles.

They were bleeding and motionless. Without needing to look closely, it was clear their gunshot wounds were fatal.

“Can’t we resurrect them with the Holy Grail?”

“That’s not possible.”

Shin Woo shook his head firmly.

He had already tried that when he went to the cathedral to meet Hana.

He had attempted to resurrect the corpse of a dead student in the street, but no matter how powerful the Holy Grail was, it couldn’t bring the dead back to life.

“They’re not dead yet.”

“What…?”

At that moment, Shin Woo unconsciously responded to a voice that came from behind him.

Realizing the identity of the voice only afterwards, his expression twisted in anger.

“You’re here too…!”

“Is there a problem? This is our dwelling.”

“Your dwelling? So this is…?”

“The Apostles’ Sanctuary.”

The Black Goat, who had been unconscious in the cathedral, spoke bluntly, just like usual.

But it was easy to tell that his condition was not normal.

“More importantly, what do you mean ‘they’re not dead’?”

“I’m saying it literally. They are alive. But they are dying.”

“Is that possible?”

The woman wearing the hawk mask had been shot right in the heart.

The dragon and shark had their heads pierced, so they were clearly dead.

Yet, how could all three still be alive?

He wanted to dismiss it as nonsensical nonsense, but the Black Goat had no reason to lie like that.

“The most crucial thing for demons is the mana they receive from the mana core. Since it originates from the heart, getting shot in the head is not a major issue.”

“Then what about this woman? She was shot right in the heart.”

“Her heart is definitely damaged, but the connecting mana core is intact. Of course, over time, she’ll die as mana fails to flow through her entire body. But for now, she is alive.”

It was a reasoning that couldn’t be understood by common sense, but there was no rebuttal to the Black Goat’s words, the leader of the demons.

If they were really alive, then it might be possible to heal them with the Holy Grail.

But why would he have to do that?

Shin Woo looked down at the Black Goat and the fallen apostles.

Weren’t they merely evil beings trying to use Hana?

The only connection he had with them was the brief moment they headed towards the cathedral together.

That alone couldn’t be called a good relationship.

It was more like being bitter enemies fighting for their lives.

“There’s no benefit in saving you guys.”

“Do you think the White Lamb will feel that way?”

“It’s not the White Lamb, it’s Yu Hana.”

“Did she admit that to herself?”

“……”

That was…

Strictly speaking, no.

Hana hadn’t told them who she was going to be after recovering her memories.

She had just wanted to stop the conflict with the apostles and save them, then return to the Black Goat.

If one were to speculate from that action alone, Hana might have chosen White Lamb’s life.

Perhaps she was happier living as an apostle than she had been during her days at the Academy.

Shin Woo quietly gazed at the fallen Hana for a moment.

“Hey, Kim Shin Woo. You’re not really going to try and save them, are you? Those bastards are apostles, right?”

Yeonhwa shouted nervously from the side, but Shin Woo remained silent.

In the end, he reached out and began to heal them one by one using the Holy Grail.

“Aah. That crazy bastard…”

“Hong Yeonhwa. Why did you come back to the Academy?”

“Huh? I found out that the Yellow Dog was causing trouble here, so of course, I have to go and teach them a lesson. I need to properly educate them.”

“That’s true. Sounds just like you.”

While they were talking, Shin Woo continued to heal the apostles in silence.

And now, only the Black Goat remained.

The boy approached him quietly as he leaned against the wall.

Their eyes met, but no words were exchanged.

What did this man mean to Hana right now?

He didn’t know exactly, but it must be deeper and more complicated than he thought.

Like with the old science teacher from the past.

The boy pondered deeply and finally spoke.

“Promise me.”

The Black Goat stared intently at him as if to say something.

Without avoiding his gaze, Shin Woo softly said.

“Make Hana, your student who calls you teacher, happy. I don’t need anything else. That alone is enough.”

“I understand. I will do that.”

He replied without a hint of hesitation.

Whether that was merely a false promise devoid of any sincerity or genuinely heartfelt, the boy couldn’t be sure.

He simply chose to believe in Hana’s decision to take this path.

In the end, he healed the most dangerous enemy.

The Black Goat, now healed, stood up and began to check his own condition.

Shin Woo maintained his distance without letting his guard down and asked.

“What are you planning to do now?”

“I’ve achieved my planned goal, but I must return to the Academy.”

“You’re going back there? To face the same thing again?”

No matter how much of a Black Goat he was, in the realm of the gods, he was just a human.

Yet he answered nonchalantly.

“That was only because it was my first time. There are plenty of ways to negate it.”

“Why go to such lengths to risk everything and go back to the Academy?”

“The first reason was to use the Holy Grail to retrieve the memories of the White Lamb and fully awaken my abilities.”

“That’s…”

It had been done exactly.

The Black Goat hadn’t done anything specific; it had been achieved because Shin Woo earnestly wished for it.

Hearing that this was his goal put him in a sour mood.

“The second reason is to obtain the spirit of the gods.”

“The spirit of the gods…?”

“I should explain our plan first. Our objective is solely one.”

The Black Goat looked up at the sky above the sanctuary.

“To bring the god in the sky down to the earth.”