Suicide Before Defeating the Final Boss

Suicide Before Defeating the Final Boss – 24

EP.24 Dialogue (Physical)

Hillaton listened to Lee Jeong-hyeon’s complex arguments with a hidden sigh. Almost nothing he said was true, but the problem was that it seemed quite plausible to the outsiders.

‘Which would make more sense: the second-year Asiris club members tormenting first-years, or first-years tormenting a dozen second-years? It’s obvious which one makes more sense.’

Moreover, the current situation had surpassed mere sympathy for the surviving first-years of the dungeon rampage as they were now being revered as heroes.

In such a scenario, if rumours spread that second-years were harassing first-years, it would be damaging. Even if they couldn’t be directly held accountable due to their background, the rumours would spread.

‘The Asiris club, consisting of second-years, harassing the first-year students who destroyed the dungeon core—there must be some reason behind it.’

That was probably what Lee Jeong-hyeon aimed for.

‘It’s a dead end.’

From the beginning, everything had been based on flawed assumptions. All Hillaton plans were predicated on the belief that Lee Jeong-hyeon was weaker than them. Hillaton realized that from start to finish, he had been played by Lee Jeong-hyeon and bit his lip in frustration.

‘That bastard…’

How dare he toy with him? This would surely lead to revenge…

Before he could finish his thought, a sword moved so fast it was almost invisible, piercing his shoulder. Experiencing pain he had never felt before, Hillaton widened his eyes as Lee Jeong-hyeon, expressionless, spoke to him.

“Where’s Regina?”

“… Guhh. W-what?”

“Where’s Regina… Never mind. You won’t tell me anyway, right?”

“Wait… Aaaah!”

Lee Jeong-hyeon reached his own conclusion and started stabbing Hillaton’s entire forearm with the sword, inflicting pain. Hillaton writhed in pain, seeing him sprawled on the ground, Jeong-hyeon clicked his tongue.

“I haven’t even hit the really painful spots yet. How will you handle it when I do?”

“You bastard…”

“I’ve learned quite a bit about where it hurts the most when stabbed or broken.”

Hillaton frowned, unable to comprehend his words. Every single thing Jeong-hyeon said was beyond his understanding.

“So, let’s test it out. See if what I learned is accurate.”

With that, he drove the sword into Hillaton’s thigh. The overwhelming pain made his whole body convulse, filling him with helplessness and fear. He tried to endure it by cursing as much as he could, but it was no use.

“Ugh, you bastard!”

The fear from pure violence did not dissipate no matter how many curses were shouted. He felt his head going completely white, his hands trembling uncontrollably. Jeong-hyeon, observing this, paid no attention to it and drove the sword into the other thigh.

“… Ugh.”

Now, Hillaton couldn’t even scream, replaced only by rising terror. His body rolled on the ground, his face contorted in a pitiful expression. Jeong-hyeon looked at him with a mixture of disappointment and frustration.

“This reaction is unacceptable…”

What kind of reaction did he mean? It seemed that even a killer wouldn’t behave this way. Hillaton just lay there, gasping and crying. Just then, a voice of salvation came from behind.

“Can you handle it?”

It was Regina.

***

As Lee Jeong-hyeon contemplated how to instill fear in the unknown man before him, a calm and refined voice came from the front.

“Can you handle it?”

Looking ahead, he saw a woman with a blank expression, holding a sword and approaching.

‘Judging by the atmosphere, that must be Regina.’

As soon as she arrived, not only did the face of the person he had been torturing brighten, but even those lying nearby began to stir and try to rise.

Naturally, this was unacceptable to Lee Jeong-hyeon. He once again drove the sword into the person in front of him, breaking the flow, and spoke.

“Do you think you can handle cleaning up trash? You have a quite unique worldview.”

As soon as the word “trash” was spoken, it seemed that he had touched Regina’s sore spot. Her expression twisted uncontrollably. Seeing this, Jeong-hyeon thought he had discovered something valuable. He wiped the blood off his sword and stood up.

Regina, in response, drew her sword and challenged him.

“To think that someone who can’t even distinguish between a dog and a tiger would be the one to fight. Life sure is long and full of surprises.”

Having endured so many jabs in his life, Jeong-hyeon found this merely a routine exchange and could respond with a smile.

“Isn’t that just what dogs do? Chew on garbage?”

Regina’s reaction to that comment was so intense that the sound of her gritting her teeth was audible. Seeing Regina’s efforts to appear unphased, Jeong-hyeon felt satisfied but soon grew bored. He infused divine power into his sword and spoke.

“What are you waiting for? Come at me.”

When he taunted her with a dismissive tone, it seemed to provoke Regina.

Without a word, she manifested her sword aura and charged at him. Originally, the amount and quality of mana wielded by the Swordsmanship Department were considered insufficient to rival the Magic Department. However, as a scion of the renowned Erza family, one of the Three Great Houses of Swordsmanship, her mana was overwhelming, surpassing all those he had seen from the Magic Department, and she wielded her sword with impressive force.

‘It seems the title of the academy’s second-in-command isn’t just empty praise.’

Her mana was not only overwhelming, but her swordsmanship and talent, inherited from the family tradition, made her nearly unbeatable among her peers.

‘Even if someone could compete with her…’

They wouldn’t dare challenge her due to her social standing. This made her fighting style arrogant and dominant, always assuming she held the upper hand.

He observed the numerous sword strikes coming at him and casually deflected them with his own sword. Regina seemed somewhat flustered by the ease with which her attacks were being nullified, not realizing there could be someone capable of eliminating her sword aura so effortlessly. Seeing her expression, he quickly closed the distance and struck her lower abdomen with his fist.

Bang!

The sound of something breaking followed as Regina’s body was lifted off the ground. Despite her status as a second-year student from a prestigious swordsmanship family, she managed to endure, so he used his elbow to strike her face.

“Argh!”

With a sharp sound, he felt a solid impact on his elbow. He watched as Regina tried to protect her face with her mana, and he couldn’t help but admire her resilience. He then approached her, who was lying on the ground, with his sword in hand.

“… Hah.”

Regina wiped the blood from her face with her hand and, clutching her trembling legs, managed to stand up. With a bitter smile, she spoke.

“You will regret this for the rest of your life once this is over. After all, you’re going to be screwed anyway.”

Typically, after being beaten this much, one would show a tendency to submit, regardless of their inner feelings. However, Regina’s defiant attitude only seemed to provoke her further. Seeing this, he found it quite amusing and quickly stabbed his sword into her shoulder.

Thud!

The sensation of flesh being sliced through the tip of his sword. Feeling this, he pushed the sword in deeper and spoke.

“Then you won’t have to regret anything for the rest of your life, since you’re going to die now.”

He then kicked her legs, knocking her off balance and onto the floor. Though he wanted to stab her heart, he decided to postpone that for another time and opted for a simple farewell today.

‘What I need now is someone to take the fall for everything.’

So, instead of killing her, he focused on instilling fear, driving his sword into her forearm as he spoke.

“Lucia, help me out here.”

“… What do you need?”

When he called Lucia, she approached him with a look of anxiety. He then asked her a question he had been pondering.

“If a sword is left embedded while healing, will the flesh grow around it?”

“……”

Lucia, clearly distressed by the brutal question, clutched her head before eventually nodding and answering.

“Probably?”

“Great. Then let’s use this opportunity to experiment.”

While they were talking, Regina suddenly sprang up and threw herself toward Lucia. It seemed she intended to grab Lucia as a hostage. However, before she could do so, he struck Regina’s back, sending her crashing to the ground once more.

“Ugh… Ugh.”

Regina could no longer even scream, merely writhing on the floor. He looked at her and reiterated his request to Lucia, leaving the sword embedded as he spoke.

“Please take care of this.”

“Ugh… Kill me… Just kill me already.”

Despite the continuous pain, Regina continued to resist with a fierce voice. He found her reaction baffling and asked her.

“Weren’t you planning to kill me anyway, even if I hadn’t done this?”

But it was just so disgusting that she was acting like he was the perpetrator. Anyone who saw this would think that he was doing this for no reason. And then he stepped on Regina’s wrist and spoke to her.

“Cut the crap. You’re the one in the wrong, so just admit it.”

With those words, he once again drove the sword into her shoulder and turned to Lucia.

“Please.”

“… Honestly, you’re the only one who would use healing magic for things like this, Jeong-hyeon…”

Lucia grumbled but did as he asked, casting healing magic on the wound with the sword still embedded. Jeong-hyeon watched as the wound began to heal around the sword and decided it was time to have a more direct ‘conversation’ with Regina. He then grabbed her head and lifted it up.