Suicide Before Defeating the Final Boss

Suicide Before Defeating the Final Boss – 11

EP.11 Encounter

A faint, erratic glow of white sword aura erupted from Jeong-hyeon’s sword, weak but undeniable proof of his success. Mertan, who had doubted the possibility, was speechless with surprise.

“How on earth…”

Jeong-hyeon’s talent was a constant source of wonder for Mertan. He absorbed every basic instruction with uncanny precision.  Mertan had brought up sword aura in passing, a far-off objective to keep Jeong-hyeon motivated, never truly expecting such rapid progress.

‘Although he started later than the Sword Saint, it’s remarkable that he manifested sword aura without even mastering the basics.’

If Jeong-hyeon had learned swordsmanship properly from a young age, he might have manifested the sword aura even earlier than the Sword Saint. Mertan felt dizzy from the sheer unrealism of Jeong-hyeon’s talent.

He then focused on the fact that the sword aura was white.

‘A white sword aura usually signifies the use of divine power… which means.’

He speculated that Jeong-hyeon’s father must have been someone with talents similar to the Sword Saint’s, possibly a Paladin.

‘Who among the Paladins is around the same age as the Sword Saint?’

There were none among the peers. But, just in case, he tried to roughly compare the ages with the youngest Paladin from that time…

As he reached this point in his thoughts, Mertan turned to Jeong-hyeon with a serious expression and asked.

“Is your father a thief?”

“What?”

“… Never mind.”

Thinking about how the Sword Saint, whom he had assisted for a long time and protected as if she were her own daughter, had been taken by a dark Paladin, made him feel like crying blood.

‘So that’s why James cried so much at the wedding.’

Mertan felt his lips tremble as he slowly spoke.

“… Starting tomorrow, I’ll include training on how to use sword aura. Come an hour earlier.”

Jeong-hyeon nodded and decided to comply.

***

In the infirmary, filled with medical tools, Lucia had taken over the nurse’s desk and spoke to Jeong-hyeon with a meaningful expression.

“Jeong-hyeon, I think we need a secret meeting room now.”

Jeong-hyeon looked at her with a puzzled expression, finding the suggestion quite sudden. Lucia continued with a smirk.

“A meeting room would make it easier to maintain secrecy and provide a place to gather if any problems arise. It would be helpful in many ways.”

Jeong-hyeon looked at Lucia with a look of disbelief and suddenly remembered that he hadn’t seen the school nurse since yesterday. So, he asked about it.

“By the way, where’s the school nurse? I haven’t seen them since yesterday.”

A hint of a smirk played on Lucia’s lips as she replied.

“When I offered to take over the job, they thanked me and went on a break.”

“……”

No matter how good Lucia was at healing, it didn’t make sense for a nurse to leave the job to a student and go off. Both the irresponsible school nurse and Lucia, who volunteered to take over, left him speechless.

“Speaking of which, how about we look for a secret meeting room instead of training today…”

Before she could finish her sentence, he grabbed her wrist and firmly said, “Training.”

“If you push your body too hard, you’ll just get exhausted, and it won’t be good…”

“Training.”

“If you train every single day, you’ll eventually collapse. You need to pace yourself…”

“Training.”

“Oh, really! If you’re going to kill yourself, do it alone. Why are you dragging me along?”

Hearing that, he reflected a bit. He realized he had been dragging her around without considering her feelings.

‘Come to think of it, this has nothing to do with Lucia.’

Remembering how he had forced her to sacrifice for his urgent needs, he released her wrist. This was his burden to bear, not hers. So, if she didn’t want to, he decided to let her go and take a step back.

“… Sorry. I’ll go alone then.”

At those words, Lucia looked at him with a mix of surprise and bit her lip.

“What?”

She stared at him, seemingly unable to understand.

“… Are you really going alone?”

He nodded. Lucia seemed conflicted and remained silent. As he was about to leave the infirmary alone, she called out from behind.

“… I suddenly feel like healing someone today. I’m really good at it. Won’t someone take me along?”

She paced anxiously and then glared at him.

“There’s no way someone would use me for days and then just abandon me, right? Such a person wouldn’t be forgiven by the goddess, I’m sure.”

Hearing that, he looked at Lucia’s face. She seemed to be wanting something. Seeing this, he smiled, and Lucia, thinking she might get what she wanted, smiled back brightly.

After sharing a brief moment of laughter, they both nodded. He decided to give her the rest she had been longing for.

“Then take a break.”

“… What?”

With that, he left the infirmary. Lucia needed rest too.

***

Climbing the mountain alone, he took off his uniform and changed into the training clothes he brought.

‘Let’s get started.’

Without Lucia, it was best to avoid overexerting himself with divine power. Today, he would focus on basic techniques, practicing sword aura, and properly using divine power.

‘Clumsy.’

They say our standards rise faster than our abilities, and that was certainly true for him.  His progress was impressive, yet he couldn’t shake the feeling of being far from perfect, making satisfaction elusive.

‘More concise, faster.’

Step by step, he reviewed his progress. He critiqued his own techniques, identifying problems and strengths, figuring out how to solve the issues and enhance the advantages. Immersed in this self-reflection, he suddenly heard a voice from behind.

“… Excuse me, but could you show me your face?”

At those brief words, he slowly turned around. The sight before him was as if a god had personally sculpted the features—a beauty that imprinted itself into his mind. He looked into the black eyes that gazed at him without emotion and calmly responded.

“… First Princess.”

She was the older sister of Princess Karina, someone he had faced during his time as a hero. The presence of this woman, appearing without any warning, filled the air with tension.

‘What’s her intention?’

He couldn’t understand why she had come to find him, but more than that, he couldn’t comprehend why she had come alone without any escorts. Despite fleeing to the academy, she was still the First Princess, constantly under the threat of assassination.

‘Yet she came alone.’

As his mind filled with questions, the First Princess stared intently at his face. Then, her face turned pale as she spoke to him.

“… You resemble him eerily.”

She must be referring to his former self, the one known as the Living Divine Power Bomb before he committed suicide. He remained silent, watching her as she trembled and covered her face with her hands, her voice shaking.

“Why now? Just when I was finally about to gain freedom after giving up everything… why now…”

She was likely referring to her freedom from the royal succession and all its constraints. Watching her mutter to herself, he calmly replied.

“Excuse me, but you’re interrupting my training. Could you please go somewhere else?”

At that single sentence, the First Princess looked at him with the most bewildered expression.

***

Meanwhile, in the infirmary, Lucia lay slumped over a desk, feeling dejected. It was no surprise since the first friend she had made had abandoned her and run off to train alone.

‘Why?’

She had tried so hard to befriend him, but just because she had complained a little, he had left her behind. The more she thought about it, the more it irked her, and she pouted. Then, someone knocked on the door.

‘No one should be coming.’

After class, most students went to the infirmary on the opposite side, so there was no reason for anyone to come here except…

Oh! It must be him.

As this thought crossed her mind, Lucia smiled proudly and nodded.

‘At least he seems to have realized it in the end.’

Feeling somewhat relieved, Lucia decided to pretend to be angry and spoke up.

“What brings you here? I have nothing to say to you, but since you’re here, come in.”

She planned to feign anger and then forgive him under the condition that he trained more carefully in the future.  She looked at the door, waiting for Jeong-hyeon to enter. But the person who walked in was unexpected.

“Saintess? It’s been a while. How have you been?”

It was Bishop Lea. The sight of her sent chills down Lucia’s spine, and she clenched her fists tightly.

‘Why is Bishop Lea here…’

She had really not wanted to see her, and she couldn’t understand why the goddess would subject her to such a trial. Trembling, Lucia watched as Lea tilted her head, looking at her curiously.

“By the way, Saintess? Has someone from the Order visited? There’s so much divine power lingering here.”

Despite her cheerful tone, the unsettling nature of the question made Lucia close her eyes tightly.