I Became the Terminally Ill Character in My Friend’s Academy Novel – Chapter 79

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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Cathy kept thinking with a hazy mind.

“Is it good?”

The more she looked at him, the more he resembled her brother.

Even the way he grumbled about the carrots in his omurice despite enjoying it was just like him.

“You can’t become a strong hero if you’re a picky eater. Are you sure it’s okay?”

Since he was still a child, she didn’t want to force him to eat it, but her brother was a child who would become endlessly picky if she indulged him.

She thought this child who resembled her brother would probably be the same.

But that child wasn’t like that.

Kang OO.

She couldn’t quite remember, but that child, who resembled her brother yet was different, tried incredibly hard not to leave any food uneaten.

It was cute how he even diligently chewed and swallowed the side dishes served at the restaurant while saying it was a waste if he didn’t.

It was a little difficult to recall because of the unpleasant static in her head, but it wasn’t impossible if she tried.

A kind child who always worried her by getting involved in dangerous situations.

She always felt sorry for him, who refused help from others and tried to solve everything on his own.

Sometimes he seemed completely different from other children his age, but when he couldn’t contain his curiosity and looked at her with sexual interest, she was reassured that he was still a child.

She seemed to have made a promise with that child. This wouldn’t do.

Seeing as she was forgetting such important things, she must have been too tired lately.

She had to find this child’s parents, get some sleep, and remember.

“S-sister! This omurice is delicious!”

The boy, who seemed somewhat flustered, hurriedly smiled and ate the omurice.

“Ah, that’s good.”

She had to find this child’s parents quickly.

Ah, she remembered one more thing. Kang So-hyun.

Should she ask that child for help?

“Sister! Sister! I want more!”

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“…Strange. It wasn’t my imagination. Normally, if you materialize the biggest regret in your heart, you can’t get rid of it so easily.”

It was brainwashing using her talent and a hero-grade relic provided by the ‘helper.’

But contrary to her investigation, there seemed to be another large presence within her heart besides her brother, as she continued to resist the brainwashing.

According to the investigation, she had low resistance to this kind of brainwashing, so this was quite abnormal.

“No, no, that’s not right. If it was truly a presence larger than her brother, the brainwashing wouldn’t have worked in the first place. It must have worked because the other presence was just a minor concern.”

The plan to corrupt her into a villain was still proceeding smoothly.

It had to proceed smoothly.

She desperately denied it, even as she felt her last chance twisting.

If even this failed, she might really have to submit to someone else.

There were no factors that could lead to failure.

There shouldn’t be.

But as if fate was mocking her wish, an obstacle intervened.

Three uninvited guests appeared on the screen monitoring Cathy.

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First, I texted the chairman about almost all the suspicious areas.

Since I was going directly to the most suspicious place, it would be fine if there weren’t any major setting changes.

It had to be fine.

As I forcibly suppressed my rising anxiety, I felt a little more at ease as we arrived at the most suspicious place.

“Is this the place?”

“Yeah.”

An abandoned factory in the slums, far from the academy.

Although it had been stabilized, the factory in the dead town, no longer functioning due to its proximity to the field area, had a rather desolate atmosphere.

And this was the place where Professor Cathy was presumed to be.

No, she should be here if the original story hadn’t changed, but honestly, I couldn’t be sure, so I was still incredibly anxious.

Besides the chairman, weren’t these guys curious about how I knew this?

“There don’t seem to be any traps.”

“Yeah, it seems safe to enter.”

They didn’t seem to have any doubts, let alone questions.

Well, it wasn’t the time to be asking such questions.

This episode was generally dark.

The previous episodes weren’t exactly bright either, but I had somehow reduced the number of victims and twisted the stories themselves, so this was probably the first time the protagonists would see the truly dark side of this world.

The iron gate of the factory opened with an unpleasant creaking sound.

Professor Cathy was sitting on a dirty sofa there.

“Haha, is it good? That’s good. Should we go find more after you finish this?”

Click.

She moved her hand.

The spoon scraped against the air, as if trying to scoop something from the empty bowl.

Lilac and Cheon Yoo-hak’s faces, which had brightened at finding her, turned cold at the strange sight.

The sight of her muttering to herself with empty eyes wouldn’t be pleasant.

Honestly, it was quite unpleasant even when I read it in the text, and seeing it in person without any mental preparation wouldn’t be a pleasant experience either.

No, strictly speaking, she wasn’t alone.

Because there was an ‘object’ beside her that she cherished and talked to.

“Seriously.”

Seeing it made me angry.

A wave of displeasure washed over me.

How long had it been since I felt this angry?

“This shitty world.”

Seeing her offering a spoon to a cute doll as if playing house, Lilac unconsciously took a step back, and Cheon Yoo-hak frowned and took out his spear.

“Indeed, I don’t know who the culprit is, but their taste isn’t very good.”

“The professor will be okay… right?”

She would be okay.

Even in the original story, she overcame the brainwashing to some extent.

After fighting her comrades and being driven to her limit, she realized that something was wrong with her.

She refused the villains who tried to persuade her and willingly gave up her life, tricked by the villains who then tried to take her life.

Without realizing that the stuffed doll she cherished wasn’t a real person, she died a futile death.

The illusion, a projection of her most precious person and her greatest trauma, was a trap she couldn’t deny or escape from even though it was a lie.

It would probably be the same this time too.

“Let’s go find your parents after you finish eating this. There’s a student who my sister cherishes, and he’s going to help us find them too.”

…Huh? That line wasn’t in the original story.

Her eyes seemed to have regained some light…?

“I feel like I’m about to remember, but I can’t quite… But he’s a kind child, so he’ll definitely help. He’s kind and considerate of others. He always has a sullen face, but he never ignores someone who needs help.”

Huh…?

Lilac and Cheon Yoo-hak turned to look at me.

What the… I don’t know about this either.

“He’s such a kind child that he even cares for those who bullied him. Yes, he’ll definitely help.”

“…Are you sure she’s brainwashed?”

“That sounds like she’s talking about you, So-hyun.”

You’re right…? What was going on?

I was momentarily puzzled, but it wasn’t that important.

Although light returned to her eyes for a moment, she lost it again and started talking to the doll.

“Ah, I’m sorry. Were you hungry? Let’s finish eating. Yes, it’s okay to talk after we finish eating.”

“It seems like she’s definitely brainwashed.”

“But there’s no one else here, can’t we just take the professor with us?”

If it were that simple, that would have been great.

“Lilac, there is someone else here.”

There was someone here who was stronger than Lilac or Cheon Yoo-hak, at least for now, so it wasn’t like there was no one here.

As if she heard us, her empty eyes turned towards us.

“…Who are you?”

Hiding the doll protectively behind her, she exuded a tremendous amount of hostility.

The feeling of her, who always reliably supported them from behind, standing before them wasn’t pleasant.

She looked at Lilac and Cheon Yoo-hak in turn, and then finally turned her gaze to me…

“Huh?”

…and let out a puzzled sound.

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Actually, it was strange.

Even after searching for so long, there was no trace of this child’s parents.

She wondered if they might have been caught up in some kind of incident.

As if confirming her suspicion, three strangers suddenly barged into the restaurant at the perfect timing.

She felt a familiar aura from the first stranger, but no matter how hard she tried to remember, she didn’t know anyone who looked like that.

The second stranger had a hostile attitude and looked like he would attack them at any moment, so it seemed impossible to avoid a fight.

And the third stranger was… huh?

He wasn’t a stranger.

His red eyes, which seemed somewhat uncomfortable, were filled with worry and annoyance.

Uncommon black hair and a frail body.

Wait, wasn’t that So-hyun?

Ah, I remembered.

Yes, Kang So-hyun.

It was Kang So-hyun.

As the name she had been struggling to remember came to her mind, other memories started resurfacing.

They had made many promises: not to push himself, not to get hurt, to return safely.

But what had she been doing until now?

Why were Lilac, Yoo-hak, and everyone else looking at her with such worried expressions?

-OOO has intervened.-

-‘That’s not allowed.’-

-You cannot resist brainwashing due to OOO’s OO.-

Huh…?

The static in her mind, which had cleared up, became much worse.

“Uh… Kyaa…! Ugh…!?”

She felt dizzy and nauseous.

There were things she didn’t want to forget, but she couldn’t remember because her mind was a mess.

Everything in front of her was red.

-‘You’re a character born to die here.’-

“Ugh…!”

-‘That’s why I designed you this way. What meaning do you have if you can’t die here?’-

It was a voice she couldn’t resist.

A voice that sounded like a child throwing a tantrum.

-‘The world is dark, unstable, and full of misfortune. Stories that are bright, always successful, and full of happiness are merely hypocrisies and false deception.’-

And yet, it was a voice filled with resentment, as if cursing the world.

She didn’t understand what it was saying.

But she vaguely remembered what she had to do.

-‘Don’t resist.’-

She clenched her fist.

She had to knock down the three strangers in front of her and find this child’s parents.

No…

For some reason, she really didn’t want to fight.

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“Hey, what the hell is that?”

Lilac was enraged.

“Disgusting.”

Cheon Yoo-hak also expressed his disgust.

A writhing, black something was entwining Professor Cathy, who had been trying to break free from the brainwashing on her own.

-The Creator has detected a being deviating from the laws of the world.-

This bitch.

And the professor, resisting it, screamed and shed tears.

Her eyes were stained black.

It wasn’t a normal sight. There was nothing like this in the original story.

-The Creator’s power has intervened in the incident. The grade of the relic used has been raised from hero-grade to legendary-grade. Cathy’s resistance has been temporarily lowered.-

I thought things were going in a positive direction.

With black, mud-like substance dripping from her eyes, she took a stance.

A distorted stance, neither clean nor perfect like her usual.

“Hey.”

Lilac and Cheon Yoo-hak momentarily looked back at me, but they seemed to realize quickly that they weren’t the ones I was calling.

“You crossed the line, you son of a bitch.”

The professor leaped and threw a punch at me.

It was a punch thrown from an unstable stance.

Since her stance was unstable, the power wasn’t properly channeled, and since it was thrown from a distorted posture, the aim was naturally off.

-Even if you lack power, it’s important to maintain a proper stance and throw a proper punch.

A dirty blow that couldn’t be considered her martial art, which I always thought was beautiful and clean.

The character “Cathy,” which he and I had spent days creating, was completely ruined by his unilateral betrayal at this moment.

I didn’t expect that he would cross the line this much.

“You’re dead.”

Even though it was a distorted blow, its power couldn’t be ignored, but I couldn’t be defeated by this kind of attack.

I didn’t know how I did it, but my body moved naturally.

Redirection.

I clumsily imitated the principle of the martial art Sun Wukong used and received her punch. All the muscles in my body screamed, but I was able to knock her down.

“You’re really dead after this, you bastard.”

Enhancement.

The supernatural ability of Omnipotence, transcending ranks, dwelled within my body.

My creaking body temporarily surpassed its limits as it overflowed with vitality.

“So-hyun…!”

“Be careful…!”

Lilac and Cheon Yoo-hak intervened as if to protect me from something.

Cathy’s fist, roaring while wielding black energy, was blocked by Lilac’s shield, but her following kick aimed for Cheon Yoo-hak.

There was no technique or anything like that.

But because of the black energy that seemed to compensate for the loss of her original techniques, the two boys were pushed back.

Don’t be ridiculous.

This wasn’t her way of fighting.

My head felt too hot to think straight.

I couldn’t calm down, which was strange even to me.

-The Saint’s Will is…!

-Calm down…! You’re too…!

I could hear something from the relics, but I didn’t want to listen right now.

“Ruyi.”

A blunt knife without a blade fit perfectly in my hand.

The two boys, who were distanced from me, tried to join me, but as if blocking them, two strangers stood in their way.

“Who are you…?!”

Lilac charged at them in surprise, but his opponents weren’t pushovers, as they blocked his sword while being pushed back.

“Who are you?! How did you know about this place?! Why are you interfering…?!”

Aha, I see, they seemed to be the villains of this episode.

I thought they wouldn’t be able to act yet, but seeing as they had already obtained the relic, my prediction seemed to be correct.

Then I had a rough idea of who the other masked person confronting Cheon Yoo-hak was.

“Simple and nice. One for each of us.”

Lilac and Cheon Yoo-hak frowned.

Of course. Normally, even I wouldn’t think I could beat Cathy.

But I wasn’t fighting Cathy right now.

“I’ll save you soon, Professor.”

I had no intention of losing to the professor’s broken form.

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T/N – Finally! The MC is finally angry at his scumbag author friend, aka. the Creator. Honestly, his words in Cathy’s POV made my blood pressure spike. I really hope the MC can deck this f*cker sooner or later.

If you find any mistakes, feel free to point them out in the comments.