Fated to Die in an Academy Novel – Chapter 130

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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This was actually an opportunity.

A chance to see how far I could go against them without the uncertainty of the memories beyond the noise now that I had improved my constitution and obtained many artifacts.

Ha-ni was the first to attack.

Her sword, which was always on my side, was now pointed at me.

Her signature move, Flash Draw.

It was a faster and more threatening slash than the one she had used against the Fighting Demon, but I was expecting it and managed to block it with Ruyi.

Ha-ni, you might think surprise attacks are always effective, but against an opponent who knows your habits, you’re just telling them where to block.

It was a threatening attack that most people wouldn’t even see coming, but I could block it effortlessly thanks to my enhanced body that was boosted by demonic energy and my Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils.

…She had used the blunt side of her sword.

I was grateful, but what was the point of Flash Draw if she reduced the speed due to that?

“Not bad.”

“It would be nice if you said that when you’re sane. And it’s not ‘not bad,’ it’s ‘the best,’ Kang So-hyun.”

Wow, she called me Kang So-hyun. Was she angry?

The moment I unleashed demonic energy, Ha-ni backed away, and Cheon Yoo-hak, enveloped in lightning, stepped in.

“This is our third fight. We’re tied at one win each, so let’s see who wins this time.”

Cheon Yoo-hak thrust his spear.

The greatest advantage of a spear was its overwhelming reach, something rarely seen in close-range weapons.

Cheon Yoo-hak understood this perfectly and preferred a basic, controlled fighting style.

But that was why if I sealed his signature thrust, his options would be limited.

I destroyed the footing beneath him with a heavier Ruyi, and his posture wavered for a moment.

He thrust without hesitation, which was good, but since his posture was off, his aim wavered, and the force behind his attack was significantly reduced.

“Ugh…!?”

Hmm, but it was difficult to give this guy advice as I was now.

-Well, this kid’s thrusting skill is already beyond your level, so it would be difficult to advise him. If you had to give him advice, instead of changing his spear technique, it would be better for him to practice maintaining his ideal thrust in any situation.

“You’re not bad either. But being flustered by losing your footing doesn’t make you first-rate. It would be better to be able to execute your ideal thrust in any situation without being flustered.”

-…Yeah, your shamelessness is nothing new.

“Thanks for the advice. But are you sure it’s okay to just focus on me?”

“Hmm?”

“I’m not alone. I’m warning you, this will really hurt.”

A tiger made of flames and Professor Cathy’s kick came flying towards me.

…This was actually dangerous.

“Don’t say it’s unfair. This is all for you.”

Cheon Yoo-hak, who created distance with his unique footwork, had a playful look on his face.

The kick was the priority.

I could endure being ‘donutted,’ but that kick could shatter me.

And she wasn’t holding back.

Ah, I wouldn’t die since this was a dream.

“Give So-hyun back.”

Her eyes that were devoid of light were truly terrifying, their depths unreadable.

“How pathetic.”

The moment I blocked the kick with Ruyi, the flaming tiger lunged at me while trying to bite me.

My resistance was significantly higher thanks to the demonic energy enveloping my body, but the heat penetrating the demonic energy was intense.

“Disgusting. Disappear!”

The moment I extinguished the flames with a storm of demonic energy, a pure white blade that was imbued with magical power unleashed a slash.

It was actually closer to a blunt attack than a slash since she used the blunt side of her sword, but it was still powerful enough to crush my bones.

Ouch!? This actually hurts…?

This seemed to be my limit.

It was impressive that I even made it this far. Most villains or heroes would be struggling against this group, but I managed to withstand all of their attacks.

So, this was enough for my skill assessment.

They seemed relieved that I, whom they expected to dominate, was struggling, but I had a trump card.

‘Mr. Sun Wukong, I’m counting on you!’

My ultimate move, Assimilation.

Unlike before, my meridians were clear.

Sun Wukong could do much more now.

-…Hmm.

But Sun Wukong’s reaction was lukewarm.

…Huh? Was he abandoning me? Was it because I stole his advice earlier? That can’t be, right? We were on good terms.

-No, it’s nothing. I also did a lot of bad things and played a lot of pranks in the past. Since you seem to be enjoying it so much, I thought I’d try it too.

‘Yes…?

-It’s a dream world, so this much interference should be fine. It’s all an illusion anyway.

Then, instead of using Assimilation, he started creating a body using a clone technique through Ruyi Jingu Bang.

But it wasn’t my clone that Ruyi created. It was a woman with blonde twintails.

She was wearing a red mask, probably with perception distortion, but it wasn’t difficult to tell who she was thanks to the golden circlet and the tail decoration.

Mr. Sun Wukong? What are you doing here…?

“[Oh, so this is what it feels like to have a body after a long time. Hmm, it’s not bad.]”

She hopped cutely while casually taking Ruyi Jingu Bang from me, and started swinging it around.

“[Hmm, first…]”

She tilted her head as if choosing her words, then pointed Ruyi at Professor Cathy and then at the others one by one.

“[This is mine now, so back off.]”

And then she said that crazy thing and put her arm around my shoulder.

What the hell was this crazy monkey talking about?

-You’re trying to train them, aren’t you? First, you need to attract their attention, and there’s no better way than this.

‘…Well, that’s true, but this feels strange.’

It seemed to be effective. They were all looking at us with either angry or lifeless eyes.

“…Should I take that as you being the Demon King?”

When Professor Cathy, the calmest among them, asked, Sun Wukong nodded casually and approached us.

What? Why are you coming closer?

“[Demon King? Demon King. Well, I was called that once.]”

That was true. The Seven Demon Kings of Journey to the West were famous. And the most famous among them was the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong, the brightest star in the sky.

-Devil’s Touch is outraged, asking why Sun Wukong butting in after it set the stage. It accuses her of lacking professional ethics.

-Saint’s Will scoffs while saying, “Serves you right.” But it also claims that Sun Wukong is standing too close to him.

He… No, she? Anyway, the moment Sun Wukong reached out and caressed my cheek, the artifacts in my head started arguing.

“[If this child is the Demon King’s Consort, it wouldn’t be bad to be called that again.]”

And with that, the atmosphere turned incredibly tense.

-I’m starting to understand why you like acting like a mastermind. It’s not bad playing as the villain after a long time.

That was true. Wait, what’s true? No, I didn’t enjoy it that much!

I almost agreed.

-Anyway, I’ll take care of your noonas, so you fight the others. Opportunities to fight to the death without actually dying are rare, so don’t hesitate.

A brief silence followed, but it was broken by Professor Cathy’s furious voice.

“That hand…”

Her gaze was sharp as she assumed a stance and charged at us.

“Take it off, now.”

Sun Wukong effortlessly blocked her punch and chuckled.

“[It seems unnecessary to remove it for this level of attack. You’ll have to do better than that.]”

“Yes, let’s see how long you can keep it there.”

…It seemed like she really liked the professor.

Well, if Sun Wukong was taking care of the professor and my sister, I had to fight the rest…

A brilliant light erupted.

That bastard. I was wondering what he was doing, and he was gathering energy?

“Thank you, everyone.”

Lilac raised his sword while emitting a much brighter light than usual.

Just being exposed to the light started purifying the demonic energy surrounding me. The pure, cleansing light seemed to be proof of his growth, and I was strangely happy to see it.

This level of power would probably prevent even low-ranking demons from approaching him.

There was certainty in his face.

A certainty that he could dispel the demonic energy surrounding me and save me with this power.

“I think I can save So-hyun with this. Everyone, create an opening for me.”

Oh, it was a plus that he didn’t say something stupid like “I’ll take it from here, everyone back off.”

Then I should use everything I could.

Cheon Yoo-hak and Ha-ni attacked first.

I felt sorry for Sun Wukong, who seemed to be enjoying herself, but this should be enough.

I couldn’t win anyway, so should I just give up after a bit?

But…

This was…

…strange.

Cheon Yoo-hak thrust his spear three times almost simultaneously.

He aimed for my right eye, right arm, and left leg.

I could easily dodge since I saw the attacks coming.

Ha-ni’s slash approached me.

She still wasn’t using the sharp side of her sword and was still swinging with the blunt side, so it wasn’t difficult to dodge her backhand grip slash.

This was strange, though.

Why did their movements seem slower, and why did it feel like I could dodge everything?

I understood that my body that had recovered thanks to Sun Wukong was further enhanced by the demonic energy.

But it wasn’t just that. Something fundamental was changing within me.

How should I describe this feeling?

It felt like my instincts were returning.

The lost sense of combat was coming back. The attacks that felt overwhelming just moments ago were now manageable.

The two, who weren’t fighting seriously against me, seemed to notice the change and started attacking faster and stronger, but it was still within my limits.

My only regret was that I was holding a dagger, and not a short sword.

As I exchanged blows with the two, Lilac charged at me.

Again…

-I believe in you.

It was a memory from beyond the noise that now felt familiar.

At least I wasn’t shaken by this memory during combat anymore.

Unlike the other memories which were mostly from the future, Lilac’s face in this memory looked no different from the present one.

-What? You don’t believe in me? Hey, what am I supposed to do if you say that~? I believe in you. I believe you can do it. WE can do it.

The Lilac in the memory was still kind and cheerful.

-If we don’t stop him, it’s the end. We can do it.

No, you don’t have to do this. I could have stopped him if I wanted to. But there was no need to say that.

It was a demon that was enveloped in dense demonic energy who had burned down the ruined academy and harvested fear.

Many people had died.

Cadets and professors alike.

Lilac would grow stronger based on this incident.

They were meant to die. They were born for this.

So there was no need for me to help them or Lilac more than necessary.

They would handle it themselves.

The Holy Sword cut through the demonic energy and advanced.

I also ran forward while protecting those who weren’t supposed to die yet.

The Holy Sword blazed with light.

The demon screamed.

He, who finally reached the demon and pierced its heart after overcoming all obstacles, was truly a hero.

But what was he doing?

The moment he defeated the demon, he collapsed.

Things that shouldn’t be coming out of his body were flowing from the hole in his abdomen.

-Hee, hee. See? I told you we could do it.

Why was he lying there?

You’re the protagonist.

-Thanks for joining my group.

Why did this happen to you after fighting that guy?

There was no need to ask.

It was because he moved too much while trying to protect others.

-Ah, sorry… I’m… dizzy… Yoo-na… Please…

He slowly closed his eyes.

Don’t bullshit me.

Wake up.

But he didn’t wake up.

Because of the incident we caused, because I didn’t do my best…

…the protagonist of this world died.

“So-hyun…!”

I came to my senses, and Lilac’s Holy Sword was right in front of me.

What the hell? Why did you die?

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T/N – Oh damn. So Lilac in his first run died because the MC was too focused on controlling the events while remaining as a bystander. He didn’t even try to create bonds, probably due to his trauma with his mother, hence he just saw people as tools to be used for the growth of the protagonist of the story. Unfortunately, he didn’t expect Lilac to have such a bleeding heart that he would literally bleed himself to death to save everyone. No wonder, his first run went to shit.

From what I see, the main difference between the first run MC and this current MC is mindset. The past MC wanted to go back to his original world to be with his author friend, so he didn’t care much about the novel world and ran through his first try like a game. This current MC actually wants to make a better ending and cherishes the world and the characters, so he tries to save everyone and give them a happy ending.

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