Fated to Die in an Academy Novel – Chapter 136

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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Unreasonable.

The villains looked at me with eyes that seemed to say just that, and I found it amusing.

You pieces of trash.

You screamed about how you hated that talent determined everything, yet you attacked a department store that had nothing to do with it.

You’re just trash, trying to gain something by oppressing those who were weaker than yourselves, so why are you looking for justification?

Just be honest and rob them.

Yeah, I sympathized, to some extent, with the idea that this world was unreasonable.

I was feeling it in real-time.

So, you should understand it too…

“M-Monster!”

“Please, save me! Please!”

Since you messed with something precious to me, you should at least understand that I’m going to kill you for it, right?

Emotions surged within me.

My immature body and mind seemed to be screaming at me to kill these bastards right now.

“So-hyun.”

If it weren’t for her voice, I would have.

If it weren’t for the woman who still considered me her son, even after seeing me, a monster covered in blood, go on a rampage and beat down the villains.

Damn it.

It wasn’t the time for this.

Yeah, I wished that they would just drop dead, but I had something more important to do than finishing them off one by one.

“Don’t die.”

I unconsciously said that as I held her and ran.

I was anxious because she began to feel lighter and lighter.

I couldn’t divert my Enhancement to healing her because then I would have no other way to escape with her from here.

“Please, don’t die.”

So, all I could do now was run while praying that the life in my arms wouldn’t be extinguished.

The Lord of All Worlds, the Witch of the Time Flower, anyone, please, come out.

You’re watching, aren’t you? Don’t just talk when you want to, come out!

“I told you not to die. You promised me.”

A deal. Yes, let’s make a deal, the kind that you like. I’ll give you anything. Please, just one more time, just one more time, help me.

She’s not that important, right?

Saving one more person won’t change the story.

I’ll show you a satisfactory story if you just save her.

But still, there was no answer to my desperate plea.

“So-hyun…”

Shut up. Stop it with that weak voice. You were smiling before while saying that you wouldn’t die even when you were in so much pain.

But why? Why now, when I’ve decided to save you?

“So-hyun… Won’t you answer Mommy? Then Mommy will just talk to herself~?”

Please, just shut up. Save your energy.

Please.

“Mommy’s worried because So-hyun doesn’t open up to others. You always think and decide on your own.”

Yes, it was a miserable life.

But I didn’t have to be like that, even after coming to another world.

I felt like I was going crazy with anxiety as I heard her shallow breaths, as if she would stop breathing at any moment.

“But someday, someone will appear for So-hyun. Even though Mommy couldn’t open So-hyun’s heart, a friend or someone you like will appear, right?”

Don’t say such unsettling things. If you told me to believe, I would believe you with all my heart.

I would tell you everything I was hiding, so please, stop saying such unsettling things.

It’s not too late.

“Mommy wanted to be there to see it.”

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

Desperation. Hope. They didn’t mean much here.

Just wanting something wasn’t enough.

So, I ran.

It was always up to me to hold onto the fraying thread.

I couldn’t hold on until now, but maybe this time would be different.

“Can Mommy ask you something?”

What? I’ll answer anything if you just stay alive, but for now, just…!

“What’s your real name? I feel like I won’t be able to ask you later.”

…It felt like my heart stopped.

Even so, I kept running without stopping.

“…I couldn’t become a hero, but I actually awakened a talent. It’s called Soul Vision, and I can see the form of a person’s soul. I was sure you were the child I gave birth to, but how could a newborn baby be so full of wounds? Come to think of it, I understand now.”

She knew?

“Why didn’t you cry as a baby when you should have cried your eyes out? Was it because no one was there to comfort you? Or did you think there was no point in crying?”

…Come to think of it, Kang Na-hyun was also an orphan. Yet, she embraced her too.

I thought she was on the verge of death, but she raised her hand, as if in a final burst of energy, and caressed my cheek.

It was cold.

But my heart softened.

“Actually, the doctor said that our child’s heartbeat was so weak that he might die. So I was prepared, but maybe you came to us in place of the child we might have lost? I always felt that way, so I was always grateful to you. You were so considerate of me, who wasn’t even your real mother.”

No, Kang So-hyun would have been born, albeit weak, even without me.

So don’t thank me.

“You might not think of me as your real mother, but I always thought of you as my son.”

I didn’t deserve to hear those words. Not me, who judged her and never even tried to approach her properly.

“Ha-neul. It’s Ha-neul. That’s my name.”

“I see, Ha-neul. Ha-neul. Yes, Ha-neul. It suits you. I’m sorry for changing your name without your permission.”

Damn it. What are you so sorry for? Don’t be sorry.

I was the one who should be much more sorry.

I received so much from you that I didn’t even know where to begin.

“But Ha-neul, if it’s okay with you, can I keep calling you So-hyun…?”

“Stop. Please. Save your energy.”

“Can I call you my son?”

She was smiling, her face mischievous.

She was smiling even in a situation like this.

“Of course.”

So, I imitated her.

The smile I copied from my benefactor and the face that was said to resemble her mixed together and became my own smile.

I smiled to reassure her.

I smiled while hoping for a miracle.

“Yes… Thank you so much. Our so…”

Her heartbeat weakened. There was no point in running anymore. So, I released the Enhancement on me and desperately focused my remaining innate qi on her.

Her heartbeat returned, but as the price, my body, unable to bear the loss of life force, was about to collapse.

Don’t be ridiculous. You can endure this. You can run. You know it’s over if you fall. Please, just move… Please.

Just as I thought that and was about to collapse, someone stopped me.

Who are you? Get lost.

I looked up and saw a hero.

Seo Ye-hwa.

The woman who stood at the pinnacle of all heroes in the world.

She looked startled and hurriedly called out to the others.

“Please, save her.”

Though I didn’t know what to say, my mouth moved on its own.

“Please, save her.”

Just once. Please, just this once.

“Please, save my mom.”

I was a fool. I was too late. Only now could I sincerely call her — no, my mother, “Mom.”

I cried my eyes out.

More than when I cried in the hospital while remembering my lost family.

I desperately clung to the hero and burst into tears.

The hero stroked my back, and a long time passed. Until my voice was gone, until I couldn’t move anymore and fainted.

I cried desperately.

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When I opened my eyes, there was no miracle.

My mother was in critical condition. She survived and her wounds were treated, but she lacked life force.

On the other hand, my body was also injured as the price for using my talent, and I also lacked life force.

And most importantly, the remaining qi in the Creator’s Favor was just a little over 20%.

I was only supposed to use 30%, that was the limit I set. But I ended up using 80%.

The situation was so messed up that I laughed.

Ah, shit. This wasn’t right. I would have listened if they had just told me. I would have done anything they said.

This wasn’t right.

What did I do so wrong?

I knew there were gods, but if this happened, it felt like…

…my very existence was a mistake.

My sister clung to my mother and cried her eyes out.

She screamed that it was all my fault, that this happened because it was my birthday, and she hit me.

So, my father hit my sister for the first time.

He yelled at her while asking what she was saying.

As he was about to approach my crying sister, I rushed in to stop him, and he finally seemed to snap out of it, trembling and apologizing as he hugged her.

I didn’t like this scene.

Don’t be ridiculous.

It wasn’t over yet.

Why were you all acting like it was over?

It didn’t matter whether it was really over or not. What mattered was that I believed it wasn’t yet.

This kind of bullshit? I’ve had plenty of it. There was always a way, and I always overcame it.

So, this time, I just had to find a way a little faster, before it was too late. I could do it.

At least she was still alive. The means to save her weren’t completely blocked yet.

Yes, the conditions were just a bit tight. Thinking that made me feel a little better.

Let’s save her.

I would save her and turn everything back to normal.

The doctor said that she could endure for about a year. After that, we had to be prepared.

Then, until my next birthday, I would just repeat what I had been doing.

But I would have to be a bit more intense about it.

I didn’t have the luxury of taking care of my own body, so I would use everything.

I would control it so that I wouldn’t die, and I would use all the innate qi I would accumulate to heal her.

Then I could save her.

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The family was on the verge of collapsing.

It’s okay though. Everything will be okay once Mom wakes up.

She spent more time asleep than awake.

It’s okay. The life force was accumulating smoothly.

Sometimes, my arms or legs wouldn’t move.

It’s okay. I didn’t even think about doing this without enduring this much.

My capillaries burst, and blood often flowed from my eyes and nose.

It’s okay. Everything will be okay once she wakes up, once she recovers. I can endure this.

She couldn’t swallow medicine anymore.

They might scold me. They might say I’m overdoing it.

But it’s all okay.

It’s all okay, so…

“Get lost. Please. Just stay out of my way if you’re not going to help.”

“…I heard everything. You’ve been using your talent to forcibly hold on.”

“I know what you’re going to say, so shut up and get out of my way. I just need a little more.”

“…Do you even know what state you’re in? Mom said…”

My father and sister blocked my way.

Me? What about me?

“You’re at your limit. Mom would be worried about you too.”

Oh, she would. But what was I supposed to do?

“So-hyun, let’s stop. Please.”

I told you to shut up. Stop what?

I’m different from you.

I’m not going to give up so easily.

I have enough life force. Just one more time.

If I used Enhancement just one more time, she could come back.

…That was a lie. Actually, I knew.

My body was at its limit.

If I used Enhancement now without replenishing my life force, I would die.

I wasn’t even sure if I had enough life force to save her.

But I suppressed my anxiety and pretended not to know.

So what if it was my limit? A miracle might happen. It never happened before, so it might be okay just this once.

Just one miracle, then I could see her again.

She would smile again.

I would call her “Mom” honestly this time. As many times as she wanted, until she was satisfied.

Mom.

I missed you.

So…

“Please, get lost…!!!!”

A child couldn’t defeat an adult without a combat talent. So, he was subdued.

The child was forcibly put to sleep.

One day after his talent was cut off.

Without even being able to see the person he so desperately wanted to see one last time.

The child woke up.

He looked at the woman who was no longer alive and cried.

He cried.

And cried.

And cried again.

He screamed in rage and frustration, was subdued, yet still couldn’t contain his anger and lashed out.

And then, a wave of disgust washed over him.

Perhaps it was the last barrier to protect himself.

…Over-immersion.

Yes, I was over-immersed.

This world was a fake.

It was just a story.

They weren’t real people. They were just characters, puppets.

I tried to find what I lost before in a puppet show, so of course, it wouldn’t have a good ending.

A character just died. Let’s think of it that way.

I knew she was supposed to die.

A character who had no influence on our return died. Yes, I came to this world for that.

It was my fault for trying to save a puppet who was destined to die in a world with a set plot.

Then I wouldn’t try anymore. I just had to follow the plot.

I would return, no matter the cost.

I didn’t want to breathe in this damn world anymore.

If I let my guard down, regret would come flooding back.

So, I…

…would go back, no matter what it took.

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T/N – Well… Shit.

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