Fated to Die in an Academy Novel – Chapter 122

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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After defeating Jae-hee, who was surprisingly weak, another door leading to a different dream appeared.

Unlike the previous ones, it was an ominous entrance with a chilling aura, but I had a feeling I would finally meet the mastermind behind this incident.

So, I moved forward.

The moment I passed through the door, I smelled an unpleasant, sweet fragrance.

It was a repulsive mix of a strong perfume that made my head spin and an overpowering feminine scent that made it hard to breathe. I frowned.

Numerous succubi were watching me from a distance.

Their sparkling eyes and drooling mouths looked at me innocently like children anticipating a delicious treat, but the way they were drooling from other places as well was both terrifying and disgusting.

Anyway, I was so dizzy that I felt like I was going crazy.

-…This is a powerful formation, judging by its effect. It’s a powerful aphrodisiac that most people wouldn’t be able to withstand.

-Saint’s Will strengthens your mental fortitude.

-Devil’s Touch blocks the invading demonic energy.

My breathing became easier as the artifacts reacted and helped me.

First, I would reduce their numbers.

I took off my right glove without hesitation and revealed the mark, and the succubi who had been looking at me with a mixture of interest and lust bowed their heads in fear.

…This was really effective.

-Scold! Saint’s Will…!

…No, I had no choice. I couldn’t deal with them one by one, it would take forever.

Saint’s Will continued rambling about losing faith and something, but I didn’t listen.

“Interesting.”

I heard a seductive voice.

Only three succubi didn’t bow their heads after seeing the devil’s mark, and two of them were trembling in fear, so only the woman who just spoke was relatively unaffected.

Pink hair flowed down her curvaceous body.

Her revealing outfit was a clear display of confidence in her body.

Her smooth face, with her charming smile, was attractive, but the thought of the vital energy she must have consumed to maintain it sent chills down my spine.

“This is our first time meeting in person, right? My girls are scared, so could you put your hand away?”

A Queen-level succubus. And judging by the way she completely ignored the mark, she wasn’t just any Queen.

“I’m a bit of a coward, so I can’t do that. Who knows what might happen to me without this?”

I pretended to boast while showing off the mark on the back of my hand, but instead of being intimidated, she responded with a slightly surprised tone.

“Oh my, I thought you’d use formal language. Are kids these days more open-minded? Ah, or is it that ‘Oh, I thought you were my older sister, not my mother~’ type thing? I do look young, don’t I?”

Well, she did look about the same age as Professor Cathy, but I couldn’t follow the conversation.

Mother?

“Hmm, you really don’t know. Here’s a hint: my daughter looks like me.”

Long pink hair, deep pink eyes almost red, and a constant smile. Despite the slight differences, a certain person came to mind.

Yoo-na.

But Yoo-na’s mother should have been dead.

That’s how succubi were in this world.

At first, they were considered intelligent enough to be registered as demi-humans, but due to their strong instincts, incidents of them sucking men dry and killing them kept occurring.

And when restrictions were imposed, they, who were unable to control their desires, caused riots, and, with the exception of a few individuals, were exterminated as monsters.

Yoo-na’s mother, in the midst of all that, shared her vital energy with low-ranking succubi, eventually losing it all and dying before the start of the original story.

So, she shouldn’t be here, but…

Come to think of it, it was foolish of me to rely on the original story now.

“Hmm, you’re quieter than I thought. I was nervous about meeting my daughter’s friend for the first time. Are you nervous too?”

She seemed friendly, but every word and breath she uttered was laced with a powerful aphrodisiac and magical power.

“…I wonder what it’s like to seduce your daughter’s friend.”

…Or not? It might be a popular genre in certain circles.

“Hmm, since you’re using informal language, I guess it’s okay for me to do the same, right? I’m more comfortable this way.”

She slowly reached out and pointed at my heart.

“I wasn’t planning on making a move on my daughter’s friend, especially since I haven’t done anything for you, but… could you give that back? The thing in your heart?”

The thing in my heart. The moment I heard those words, the Authority flinched and clutched my heart as if it didn’t want to leave.

…Hey, that hurts. You’re not trying to crush it, are you? I’m not giving you to her, so calm down.

“…I can’t do that.”

I wasn’t planning to give it to her anyway, but my heart might actually explode if I tried.

“Then I have no choice. I’ll have to open your chest and take it along with your heart. Oh my, taking a heart from my daughter’s friend, I’m being such a bad mother.”

“You know you’re a terrible mother, right?”

“…Can’t you just say it’s romantic?”

“I don’t have any romantic fantasies about having my chest physically opened and my heart ripped out.”

We smiled at each other.

“Hmm, this won’t do. Just by facing you, this power is trying to go to you. Even the parts I thought I completely subdued are wavering. What are you? Are you the original owner of this power? Or maybe a fallen god or creator?”

“It’s not that grand, but it’s similar in a way.”

Since I was friends with the Creator.

“It would be better if I didn’t use this power against you.”

She stood up from her throne.

She moved slowly while showing off her legs, then she suddenly accelerated and appeared before me, trying to pierce my heart.

I wouldn’t have been able to react if it were before I obtained the Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils, but now, I could easily react to this much.

“Oh my, you dodged.”

“You attacked first, so it’s useless to suddenly act like my mother.”

“Hey, what are you talking about? A mother can hit and taste her daughter’s friend.”

“Even if that’s true, she wouldn’t taste them…”

I drew Ruyi and assumed a stance.

“Pierce, Ruyi.”

Ruyi, in the form of a spear, shot out.

It was a warning shot.

I wanted to see how she reacted, whether she dodged, blocked, or countered, to analyze her fighting style. But she chose none of those.

Ruyi’s sharp blade pierced her abdomen with a thud.

“Oh my, you wanted to put it in me after all? It’s a nice one, thick and hard.”

But instead of looking pained, she caressed Ruyi, which was impaling her, with a look of ecstasy.

A wave of disgust washed over me.

“Grow, Ruyi…!”

I gave the command to finish her off, and Ruyi instantly enlarged, tearing her body to pieces.

But the shattered pieces turned into pink mist and began to coalesce.

“…It even gets bigger? It almost tore me apart. You should treat women more gently.”

Okay…

I immediately retrieved Ruyi and switched weapons.

I was flustered by her words about being Yoo-na’s mother and forgot, but this was a dream, and she was the Queen of Nightmares.

I used a familiar weapon with the intention of being serious, but since Ruyi was a physical weapon, it wasn’t a good matchup.

She looked slightly surprised when she saw Devil’s Touch.

“Oh my, you’re smart. You already realized that physical attacks are meaningless, haven’t you?”

I offered my innate qi, and demonic energy surged.

And at the same time, she was caressing my cheek.

“So? Do you think that will work?”

I tried to create distance, but she was still touching me.

The demonic energy swirled as it tried to push her away, but she endured it as if it were a pleasant breeze and moved even closer to me.

“You don’t understand dreams at all. A succubus is a being that can manifest anything within a dream. That’s why I’m called the Succubus Queen.”

Numerous pillars appeared in the sky.

“You could probably kill me instantly outside the dream. But since this is a dream, I’m invincible.”

I dodged the falling pillars.

“The only reason I’m not killing you is out of goodwill, since you’re my daughter’s friend. If you obediently hand over the Authority in your heart, I won’t hurt you any further.”

Her sweet, magically charged voice sent shivers down my spine.

“…Hey.”

“Are you finally giving up?”

“It seems succubi aren’t very good at lying.”

“…Hmm?”

“Goodwill? You can kill me instantly?”

Who would listen to their enemy’s words in the middle of a fight?

If what she said was true, there would be no need for her to try and brainwash me.

There would be no need for her to try and break my will.

She could just kill me and take it, so why bother?

So, everything she was saying was a bluff, an empty can that only looked good on the outside.

“Try killing me.”

What if she really could? I had the Authority in my heart and the Lucky Double Coin, so I could endure death once or twice even in the worst-case scenario.

So, try killing me if you can.

Time passed after my provocation. One second, two seconds, and then almost a minute passed, but she just glared at me with a cold expression, unable to kill me, her smile gone.

“I said try killing me. Why can’t you?”

“…That’s why I don’t like smart kids.”

Ah, now that she was frowning, she looked like Yoo-na.

“That’s right. I can’t kill you. First, killing someone in a dream requires more effort than in reality. Once or twice won’t be enough, and I’d have to kill you at least ten times. It’s too much of a waste of time.”

Killing someone in a dream was difficult? Why?

-You don’t die just because you fall off a cliff or your heart stops in a dream. It only has a minor effect on your physical body.

-Of course, a succubus of her level could amplify the effect, but she’s probably worried that the others might wake up while she’s busy trying to kill you.

Aha, I see. You don’t die in real life just because you get hit by a car in a dream.

“Another way is to drain all your vital energy and kill you, but that would take even longer. There’s a limit to how much life force a single body can contain. How can you have so much vital energy? Even if we all drained you together, it would take an entire day.”

What a horrifying thing to say so casually…

Drain? What drain?

She spread her large wings that were bigger than the other succubi and just looked at me.

“The second reason is that this Authority seems to like you more than me, so it’s dangerous to drag this out. At first, I thought about taking hostages, but besides that boy, it would be difficult to control anyone without the Authority’s help.”

Ah, I see.

So, it wasn’t because Jae-hee was special. He was just the easiest target.

I felt a bit sorry for him.

“So, I have to gamble before it’s too late. I apologize in advance.”

Right after her sudden apology, her appearance started to change.

Her slightly sharp features, resembling Yoo-na, softened, and her face became frail and sickly.

Her colorful hair fluttered, and a delicate-looking woman appeared before me.

Thump.

My heart ached.

“So-hyun.”

I had never actually met her. There was no reason for my heart to ache like this.

-So-hyun.

Why was I so scared, even though I only saw her in my sister’s dream?

This wasn’t good.

I understood that this was a tactic to fluster me, but I couldn’t resist.

I could barely endure it thanks to the Authority in my heart clinging to the disappearing noise.

“Why, So-hyun? It’s Mommy.”

She approached me.

I instinctively stepped back.

“No, So-hyun. You can resist anything in a dream, but not this.”

The pressure from the memories intensified, and the noise wavered violently.

-Mommy’s sorry, So-hyun.

No, I don’t want to hear you say you were sorry.

-Huh? Of course. I’m your mother. What’s so strange about a mother doing this for her son?

No, I could have lived without you. So, get out of my way.

-I’m worried because So-hyun doesn’t trust others easily. But someday, a precious friend or someone you like will appear, right? Mommy wanted to see that too.

Then watch. Watch from the side. Don’t talk like you’re leaving. I’m not going to let you die.

-So-hyun. Mommy’s sorry. So don’t cry.

“Got you.”

“…You… damn bitch.”

A black sphere enveloped me.

-Creator’s Authority activated. Recreating your trauma.-

“Have a bad dream, my child.”

A sticky, black substance engulfed me.

“I’ll see you later…”

“It won’t be easy to escape. Unlike the Authority you stole, this is something I’ve made my own over a long time. Anyway, I used almost all of my Authority on you, so the world’s fusion will be delayed. But there won’t be any more interruptions from here on out, so I can handle it.”

My consciousness was sucked into darkness.

Mother’s face that was looking at me with a triumphant smile moved away.

…You said you used up almost all of your Authority on me?

You idiot. That means you lost.

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The white rose-engraved sword emitted a holy aura, purifying the demonic presence.

The boy, having revisited his origins and remembering what he wanted to protect, slowly opened his eyes.

Despite the malicious manipulations and the succubi’s temptations, he chose to overcome them and move forward.

“I’m sorry. I finally realized my feelings, so I can’t be held back here.”

He apologized to the succubus who was hindering him and moved forward.

He felt like his friend would nag him if he was stopped by such a simple trap.

The moment the Authority used to maintain the dream world weakened, he and many others began to overcome the nightmare.

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T/N – Damn. That was a low blow from the Succubus Queen. I really hope the MC tears her a new one when she gets out. That was just downright dirty.

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