LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 11
Chapter 11
"Finally, the day has come."
Today is the day of the Academy entrance ceremony.
Ah, Academy. The shackles that bind me.
If it weren't for my Gabyeol, I would have dropped out of a place like this and lived a carefree life.
Why, of all places, did our Kim Gabyeol have to enroll in the Academy?
......Complaining like this is pointless.
"Mio, let's go."
"Yip."
*
In the original work, [The Reincarnator Wants to Live], incidents and accidents never cease.
Just how frequent are these incidents? Well, even on the way to the entrance ceremony at the Academy, an accident occurs.
Actually, Korea's public safety isn't that bad.
It's just that accidents happen exceptionally often around the protagonist.
The reason I'm saying this is because,
of all people, right in front of me are the protagonist Seonghyeon and his childhood friend Lee Jiwoo.
'How close did they live by?'
Without much thought, I boarded the subway and there they were, Lee Jiwoo and Seonghyeon, standing right in front of me.
...Isn't this actually an opportunity?
Since to deal with future incidents, whether I like it or not, I'll have to get closer to the protagonist's group.
It might be better to break the ice now in advance.
Besides, look.
Seonghyeon and Lee Jiwoo keep glancing at me, as if they're conscious of my presence.
Seonghyeon's lips keep moving slightly, probably sending a sound transmission to Lee Jiwoo.
Even if he tries to hide it with his phone, it's all visible.
I have no idea what Seonghyeon is saying, but the more his lips move, the more Lee Jiwoo's expression subtly changes as she looks at me.
If this keeps up, I doubt things will turn in my favor.
I haven't done anything to them yet, but judging by the way they're looking at me, I can roughly guess what they're thinking.
"Hello, judging by your uniforms, you must be new students at Warna Academy."
"Eek...!"
"Ah, yes. That's right. Are you perhaps...?"
"Indeed. I'm a new student entering this year. Please feel free to call me Baek Sejin."
"Ah, I'm Lee Jiwoo, and this person next to me is Seonghyeon. His surname is Seong, and his given name is Hyeon."
So I simply struck up a conversation with Lee Jiwoo to prevent the talk from going any further.
The moment I spoke, Lee Jiwoo flinched in surprise, and Seonghyeon froze stiff.
They seemed shy about talking to someone they didn't know well, so I gave them a gentle smile.
"By the way... weren't you the ones who dealt with the assailant in Yongsan a few days ago?"
"Ah... ah, yes, that's right! Did you perhaps see it?"
"Haha, of course I did. You were truly impressive."
"Wow! Thank you! Hyun, did you hear that? He said we were amazing!"
This is why I initiated a conversation with Lee Jiwoo.
In the original story, she played the role of easing the mood with her unique innocence.
"Haha, seeing you so happy makes me feel good as well."
"Hee, really?"
While I was having this cheerful chat with Lee Jiwoo, Seonghyeon asked me a question.
"Excuse me, but... could you tell me where you saw us back then?"
It was a very trivial question.
Remembering how Seonghyeon had been watching me even while dealing with the assailant, I opened my mouth.
"I saw you all over by the fountain. Your skills were quite impressive. And please, feel free to speak casually."
"...Alright. Then you can drop the formalities too."
"Thank you for saying that, but it's a hard habit to break. I guess it's just ingrained in me."
Just as the atmosphere was at its warmest, a man suddenly stood up with a staggering motion.
[I sense dark mana.]
-Guuuurgghh....
The man who stood up began to ooze black liquid from every hole in his face.
From both nostrils, both eyes, both ears, and his mouth.
Isn't this what they call seven orifices bleeding?
Especially from his mouth, not only black liquid but also black smoke was pouring out.
"W-what is that?"
At the sudden situation, Seonghyeon and Lee Jiwoo's faces froze stiff.
The same went for me, though my reason was a bit different.
'So there was foreshadowing from the start.'
Chae Seong-a.
A demon contractor, a dark mage,
and also an alchemist who manufactures drugs, Chae Seong-a was a villain who confronted Seonghyeon in the middle part of the original story.
In the original, one of the heroine's family members became addicted to a drug made by this villain during vacation.
So the protagonist and heroine went to the villain's hideout to eliminate the root cause.
Of course, since it's set in modern times, they also reported it to the police.
And in this episode, Kim Gabyeol played a major role.
The drug, which uses dark mana as an ingredient, was revealed through magic.
And with Kim Gabyeol's dark mana detector (Archangel Gabriel)'s power, they located the villain's hideout.
Then, with divine power that is the opposite of dark mana, the protagonist's group was able to easily defeat the villain.
And during that process, one fact was mentioned,
originally, this drug was intended to turn the user into a living bomb for terrorism.
But since its power wasn't satisfactory during development, they just turned it into a regular drug.
They reduced the side effects and made it give a pleasant feeling like a typical drug.
And it could also grant other effects.
For example, temporarily enhancing physical abilities dramatically or completely eliminating fatigue during its duration.
Perhaps because the phrase 'living bomb' stuck in my mind, I still remembered information about this drug.
Anyway, when someone absorbs this drug-slash-enhancer made by the villain, their physical abilities increase, but black smoke comes out of their mouth as a side effect.
I scrutinized the man closely.
I could see his blood vessels turning black.
The black liquid was pooling on the floor as it flowed out endlessly.
At this level, the dark mana was probably circulating through all his blood vessels and taking over his body.
This seems beyond the drug version.
Is it the living bomb prototype before it was modified into a drug?
'How did it go in the original...?'
I couldn't quite remember.
In this case, it's better to assume the worst.
Let's just think of him as already having become a human bomb.
[At that level, I'd say his flesh has been completely overtaken by dark mana.]
Marbas's comment solidified my suspicion.
"Young man, are you alright?"
Just then, the old man sitting in front of the human bomb seemed worried and tried to approach him.
'Is he crazy?'
It was obvious that the man's condition was bad, so approaching him was a bad idea.
'If this goes wrong, he might explode right now.'
I have to stop this.
Seonghyeon and Lee Jiwoo must have thought the same, as they hurriedly stood up.
"Please stop."
I stopped the old man and snapped my fingers.
At the same time, a semi-transparent black cube enveloped the human bomb.
"W-What? What is happening?!"
The old man, who had been about to approach, was extremely flustered when the man was suddenly surrounded by a black cube.
"Lady Marbas, is there a chance this might explode?"
[Magical power is formless and also variable.]
Which meant she didn't know either.
'Useless at a critical moment.'
The old man, who was frozen mid-step as he tried to approach the human bomb, spoke to me as I came closer.
"Young man, did you do this by any chance?"
"If you mean the cube, then yes, I did."
Pointing at the black cube and the human bomb, the old man asked, and I answered affirmatively.
"Hmm, hmm...."
The old man looked at me, then at the cube, then finally at the human bomb still spewing black liquid from every orifice.
"Hmm... I see."
Saying that, the old man moved to another compartment.
"What on earth is going on?"
Lee Jiwoo, who was watching the man, asked me.
Seonghyeon was standing protectively in front of Lee Jiwoo, shielding her slightly.
"Could you two please report this to the police for now?"
"Got it!"
Lee Jiwoo quickly called the police.
People had probably already called the police, but just in case, it was better to report it again.
"Hello, police? There's a strange man here, and he's spewing black liquid? Blood? From every hole in his face. The location is... Ah, you've already confirmed it?"
"Could you explain what exactly is going on right now?"
While Lee Jiwoo was on the phone with the police, Seonghyeon cautiously asked me.
"I'm not quite sure myself. I just thought it would be best not to make contact. That's why I isolated him."
I covered it up, saying I didn't really know either.
Officially, I wasn't supposed to know what had happened to this man.
If I pretended to know even a little, wouldn't I immediately become suspicious?
'Is this bastard somehow connected to the villains?'
Such doubts might arise,
'Or is this bastard just a villain himself?'
Or even those absurd suspicions.
As a righteous citizen, I couldn't afford to be suspected like that.
"Judging by his condition, I think he should be taken to a hospital rather than just calling the police."
"Since an ability user might be involved, I thought it would be safer to definitely report to the police first."
"...That makes sense."
"I finished the call!"
Just then, Lee Jiwoo finished her report to the police.
Finally, I left a message on the cube that was containing the bomb.
So that the police could understand the situation as soon as they arrived.
"Good. Then shall we get going?"
The subway had already arrived at the academy.