SWNOVELXO Chapter 47
One body crumbled.
Kneeling down, I could only stare at the floor.
My breath was rough and precarious.
The Vice Principal, quietly observing the girl, finally spoke.
“It seems the shock is quite significant. Don’t you feel betrayed?”
“…There’s no evidence. So it must be a lie.”
A weak voice.
Is her heart still unbroken?
But the man only chuckled derisively.
The girl’s voice held no will anymore.
It was merely denial for the sake of denial.
Just a self-defense mechanism running away from everything.
“Evidence? Just looking at the information about your abilities recorded in the Magi should tell you enough. The academy knows you’re not powerless. Yet, they ignored the hardships you’ve faced. Do you know why?”
“…”
“Because it was all intentional. They waited for you to be mentally cornered until your heart broke.”
“No. No. That’s not true.”
She desperately denied it, but the girl’s eyes were already shaking fiercely.
Seeing that, the Vice Principal smiled widely, pretending to comfort her with a pitiful voice.
“I know. It must be hard to believe. But this is reality. All the trials you’ve faced until now. Did you think it was just bad luck? It was all schemes from the old men in the academy.”
“…Is that really true?”
“Yes. So join us. Become a Magi, and I’ll give you everything. The pain and sorrow you’ve endured as someone deemed powerless—it will all wash away.”
One’s movement suddenly stopped.
The trembling that had been ongoing ceased as well.
A chilling silence enveloped the science lab.
In that silence, the girl finally responded.
“No. I refuse.”
“…Why?”
“Even if the academy tried to use me, you’re no different. In the end, you Magi will just use me and throw me away.”
The Vice Principal was momentarily impressed.
He confirmed that the girl’s gaze still held life.
Although darkness loomed heavily, a single ray of light still brightly burned.
I have to extinguish that light.
The Vice Principal decided to proceed with his next plan.
“I wanted to solve this peacefully, but it seems I have no choice.”
His red eyes, uncovered by an eye patch, shone ominously.
And the world began to twist gradually.
“There’s no time.”
“Ugh…!”
One bit down hard on their lip.
To keep their senses.
But that wouldn’t hold up.
As his powers manifested, the world steadily transformed.
The once-ordinary science lab had turned into a dark, damp basement.
A foreboding and narrow space with not a glimmer of light.
On the walls, various terrifying torture devices were displayed as if they were decorations.
“Ugh…!”
Sitting on the floor, I moved onto a chair.
My limbs were tied, and I had even been gagged.
“Here’s a quiz. Is this space an illusion, or is it real?”
“Mmm! Mmm!!”
“Did the little mouse hear about my abilities? If so, they might answer that it’s an illusion.”
The Vice Principal grasped a device in the corner of the wall.
A huge clamp, whose purpose was hard to guess.
He looked at it with satisfaction before continuing.
“But if this place is real? What if the science lab we were just in was all just a mirage? What do you think is the correct answer?”
One struggled in their chair, but there was no sign of the tightly bound ropes loosening.
Is this really a hallucination?
Sights, sensations, sounds, and smells—all felt vividly real.
“Once you start to question, you have to doubt everything. Was what you firmly believed truly the truth? Where exactly are you right now?”
As he asked, the basement instantly transformed into a dorm room.
Ropes dangled from the ceiling, swaying gently.
They dropped down and wrapped around the girl’s neck.
“Who is the person before you right now?”
He turned into the science teacher.
No, he became a glasses-wearing guy.
Was it Hong Yeonhwa?
Black Goat.
Maybe it’s Kim Shinwoo.
“Isn’t it fantastic? Here, you can become anything you want. You can do anything. You can be an omnipotent god. Once you do, the line between reality and illusion blurs. It becomes meaningless.”
Finally, in front of me, Sophie smiled warmly.
The noble Sophie, untouched by any wounds, spoke.
“And then this question inevitably arises.”
“Why should we distinguish between what’s real? Ultimately, as long as you’re happy, that’s all that matters.”
“Would you prefer a truth filled with despair or a lie filled with happiness? What do you want to choose?”
Sophie, with the gag removed, finally answered in a tired voice.
“I… will dream of a happy reality.”
“Do you think that’s possible?”
“Is it such a huge mistake to want that…?”
Sophie gently approached and caressed my cheek.
“Hana, every person has a predetermined fate. If you go against it, tremendous suffering is sure to follow.”
“What if that predetermined fate is painful?”
“Then just give up. If you fully accept and embrace it, at least your heart will be at ease.”
The world twisted.
From the narrow, enclosed space, an open blue sky unfurled.
But even this was more accurate to call an interior.
“…”
It was already a location burned into my memory as a horrific trauma.
As the moment from my nightmares unfolded before me, Hana’s mind began to spiral.
“Are you ready to pay the price of betrayal?”
A man in a black cloak, wearing a mask, spoke.
The scene was about to replay itself.
Hana instantly lost her mind and shouted.
“No! Go away! Get lost!”
The Sophie before me, shedding tears, said.
“Hana, it’s selfish, but could I ask just one favor?”
“Ahh! No! Sophie! Sophie!!”
Thud!
An arm pierced the girl’s chest.
The pounding heart. A red flower soaked the ground.
“The price of betrayal is the heart.”
“Ah… Ah…”
Crack!
As the Black Goat clenched his hand, Sophie’s heart shattered with emptiness.
The blood splattered across my cheek, a chilling sensation.
Sophie, trembling, spoke.
“This is my fate.”
“…”
“Betraying my master and saving you.”
And then, the battle with Kim Shinwoo and the Black Goat began.
But Hana was too busy holding onto dying Sophie and crying.
As the battle neared its end, and the Black Goat was about to retreat, he muttered.
“I can’t believe wasting time on a tamer would lead to such results… I’ve been played.”
Is this… Sophie’s fate?
A life that had to die just to buy a few minutes.
Sophie, with her heart gone, gradually lost her form and transformed into a faint light.
That cluster of light that was once Sophie dispersed and vanished into the sky.
The noble Sophie appeared beside me and said.
“How is it? Do you understand now?”
“…So you want me to willingly accept my fate?”
“The savior of this world. The Messiah is none other than you.”
“Betraying humanity and siding with the Magi is the way to save the world?”
Sophie shook her head and replied.
“Perhaps my original fate was different. Swearing loyalty to that man and betraying you could be my destiny.”
“I don’t understand what you mean.”
“In the end, destiny is the result of the choices I made. I chose it, and I have no regrets. Isn’t that enough?”
Kaboom!
With a tremendous roar, the ground began to split.
Bright cracks etched into the sky as the entire world crumbled.
White light poured down upon noble Sophie from the heavens.
“Sophie, don’t go. Stay by my side.”
“I will always be watching over you. We are together.”
Because of the feelings we have for each other.
Radiant wings sprouted behind Sophie.
As they fluttered, feathers scattered.
And so, Sophie ascended beyond those clouds in the sky.
Darkness fell.
The world was shrouded in complete black.
Within it, the voice of the Vice Principal echoed once more.
“You’ve managed to keep your mind intact. You must have seen the most horrifying illusion. Truly, a magnificent mental strength. Could you really be the Messiah?”
When I opened my eyes, I was back in the science lab.
The Vice Principal, staring into the girl’s eyes, murmured.
“You’ve changed. What has made you so different?”
“…Did you show me the most painful illusion?”
“Yes. It was the most terrifying illusion crafted from your memories. What did you see in it?”
Hana thought for a moment before replying.
“I can’t tell you. I forgot everything.”
The Vice Principal, initially raising an eyebrow in curiosity, ultimately nodded.
“Indeed. Is that how you maintained your sanity? That might be a type of ability.”
It was indeed astonishing, but that wasn’t the important part.
There was truly little time left.
Soon, the academy would notice the simultaneous absence of the Vice Principal and Yu Hana.
When that happened, it would just be a matter of time before they discovered us.
The time had come.
“Yu Hana. This is my final offer. Join the side of the Magi.”
“…I still refuse.”
“Why?”
“Because that’s what Sophie wanted.”
Destiny, messiah, all that grand and complicated stuff didn’t matter.
I simply couldn’t waste the sacrifice Sophie made by refusing to hand myself over to the Magi.
The Vice Principal wiped his face in response to Hana’s firm resolve.
When his hand vanished, a deep smile spread across his face.
“Ah. I see. Well done.”
“…Did you really understand? Even if it costs me my life, I won’t be on your side!”
“Of course, I understand. But I have one last thing to say.”
He offered.
A sweet fruit that couldn’t possibly be refused.
The temptation was far too sweet.
“I’ll let you meet Sophie again.”
“…What?”