Chapter 68: Baek Hyunseo – The Abandoned

“I framed Instructor Choi Juwon.”

“What…?”

-Fwoosh

The flames surged. The intense fire raged as if it would swallow Baek Hyunseo at any moment.

-Flick-!

The flames swirled violently near her face. Baek Hyunseo trembled and said,

“I… It’s all because of me…”

-Kwaaaaang-!

Song Mina grabbed Baek Hyunseo by the collar and pushed her. Then she started shouting,

“Explain yourself properly! What do you mean it’s because of you? You framed the instructor? Not Baek Jooseok?”

Just then…

-Creak

The door opened, and someone entered.

“Wh… What are you doing?!”

The person who entered was Kim Siyeon, a student in the beginner class of Helmunt Academy and one of the few survivors from the Black Gate incident.

Kim Siyeon looked back and forth between Baek Hyunseo and Song Mina and asked,

“What’s going on here?”

Despite the fire magic being cast right in front of her, Kim Siyeon stood her ground and spoke,

“You’re Song Mina, right…? From the advanced class of the practical magic class.”

Song Mina glanced at her and replied coldly,

“I’m in the middle of something, so leave. I’m not in a good mood.”

-Fwoosh

In sync with Song Mina’s mood, the flames shook violently. Just then, Kim Siyeon raised her hand and chanted.

-Swoosh

[Lightning]

-Fzzzzt!

The spell was cast instantly.

-Crash-!

But Song Mina easily extinguished Kim Siyeon’s magic.

Then, Song Mina’s gaze turned to Kim Siyeon.

-Step

-Step

-Step

Song Mina approached Kim Siyeon, narrowed her eyes, and asked,

“Do you want to die? What do you think you’re doing?”

“Y… You started it! I’m just trying to protect my friend!”

“Friend…?”

Song Mina laughed mockingly and said,

“Friend? You’re calling that piece of trash a friend?”

Unable to stand Song Mina’s incomprehensible words any longer, Kim Siyeon shouted,

“Why are you doing this?! Tell me the reason! Or I’ll call security right now.”

-Hoong

Song Mina gestured, and the floating flames disappeared. She created a spear out of Mana with her bare hands.

-Swoosh

She raised it and said,

“Security? How are you going to call them? Can you even get out of here?”

-Gulp

Kim Siyeon froze at the sight of Song Mina’s expression. It was pure murderous intent, like the chilling scent of blood on a battlefield.

Kim Siyeon spoke urgently,

-Click

She raised an Artifact in her hand and said,

“I… If I press this button, not only security but also the national security agency will be contacted. You can kill me, but you’ll be hunted down afterward. I don’t know what happened between you and Hyunseo, but if you start being tracked, you’ll be in trouble too. Wouldn’t it be better to explain the situation properly now?”

Song Mina looked at the Artifact in Kim Siyeon’s hand.

“Do you want to die?”

“I’m not trying to fight. Calm down and explain the situation. Song Mina, I know a bit about you. You have a good reputation within our academy. Someone like you wouldn’t do this without a reason. Tell me why you’re doing this.”

“Haa…”

Song Mina took a deep breath and explained briefly,

“I came to the academy because I missed Instructor Choi Juwon. But I found Baek Hyunseo here first. I was curious, so I watched from behind, and she was muttering to herself. She said it was all her fault that Choi Juwon left. And just now, she confessed. She framed him.”

Kim Siyeon shook her head in disbelief.

“Th… That can’t be…?”

When Kim Siyeon had asked her before, Baek Hyunseo had said she had nothing to do with Choi Juwon’s frame-up. She had claimed that it was all her father’s doing and that she didn’t know anything about it.

So what was Song Mina saying now?

-Tremble

And what was the meaning of Baek Hyunseo’s trembling, fearful gaze?

Kim Siyeon asked Baek Hyunseo with a bewildered expression,

“Hy… Hyunseo? That’s not true, is it? You said you didn’t know anything…?”

Kim Siyeon, after surviving the Black Gate incident, had felt a stronger sense of camaraderie with Baek Hyunseo. They shared the same longing for Choi Juwon and the same sorrow for their lost comrades.

And also, the relief of having survived together.

Kim Siyeon had come to trust Baek Hyunseo more than before, and they had grown closer. Although it was a short time, they had relied on each other. That’s why Kim Siyeon had stepped in when she saw Song Mina attacking her. She couldn’t just stand by and watch her friend being attacked.

But what was this situation in front of her now?

“You framed the instructor…? Not President Baek Jooseok…?”

Kim Siyeon stared at Baek Hyunseo in disbelief. But Baek Hyunseo just lowered her head. She said,

“I’m sorry… I wanted to tell you… but I just… I just couldn’t…”

-Thud

Hearing those words, Kim Siyeon rushed towards Baek Hyunseo.

“Baek Hyunseo! How could you? You said you didn’t know anything. You lied to us, saying it wasn’t you!”

She grabbed Baek Hyunseo by the collar and shouted even louder in her agitation,

“How could you do that?! How could you do that to Instructor Choi Juwon, who was so good to you?! How could you do something like that?!”

Kim Siyeon panted heavily and yelled,

“After surviving the Black Gate incident, even though it was brief, I truly considered you a friend. I even thought I should comfort you when I saw you struggling, and I felt sorry for doubting you before. But how could you… How could you do this to me… to us?!”

Baek Hyunseo just hung her head and remained silent. No, she couldn’t speak. She had no excuses, even if she had a hundred mouths.

Kim Siyeon started to push her,

“You used the Helmunt Academy Intranet, didn’t you? You used your father as a shield?”

-Flinch

Baek Hyunseo remained silent, but her flinch gave her away.

“You’re really hopeless.”

[Ice Spear]

“Be… Because of you, Instructor Choi Juwon left. Because of you, I doubted him!”

Kim Siyeon shook her head and screamed,

“Why… Why did you do it? Why on earth did you do it?!”

Baek Hyunseo mumbled,

“Because… I liked the instructor. I didn’t know it would get this big…”

“Do you think that’s a valid excuse? Don’t give me that
!”

Kim Siyeon shouted. Her eyes were bloodshot.

“Die. You don’t deserve to live.”

She chanted a spell,

[Ice Spear]

And she shot it towards Baek Hyunseo’s neck. It was a genuine attack meant to kill. It was different from Song Mina’s threat. Kim Siyeon had lost her rationality and was genuinely trying to kill Baek Hyunseo.

-Clang

But the spell was blocked by a mysterious man and deflected.

-Thud

-Thud

The man in a black mask, who had been hiding and suddenly appeared, cracked his neck from side to side and slowly approached.

“Haa, I didn’t expect to come out this early.”

-Thud

-Thud

Then, Song Mina, who was standing next to them, stepped back, on guard, and said,

“Who are you?”

The masked man replied,

“You don’t need to know who I am. How about handing the young lady over to me? It’ll be better for both of us.”

“Young lady…?”

Judging by his address, he seemed to know Baek Hyunseo.

As the man spoke with a smile, Song Mina cast a spell.

-Whoosh

A sword-shaped Mana surged towards the man.

-Claaaaang!

But just like Kim Siyeon’s attack, Song Mina’s attack was also blocked.

‘H… He’s strong.’

The man seemed strong even at a glance. Even Song Mina couldn’t accurately gauge his strength.

But still, she didn’t back down.

She couldn’t. Baek Hyunseo, the one who had framed Choi Juwon and caused all this, was right in front of her.

“Haa… I’d like to kill you all, but I was told to be quiet, so I’ll let it go this time. If you want to live, you’d better keep everything you’ve seen, heard, and learned today to yourselves. Well, even if you blab, no one will believe you anyway.”

The man sighed deeply and then began to chant a spell.

Soon,

-Kwaaaaaaaang-!

With a loud noise, the surroundings were filled with fog.

[Wind Storm]

Song Mina urgently used wind magic to clear the fog, but Baek Hyunseo had already disappeared.

-Tap tap tap

The masked man was running, carrying Baek Hyunseo in his arms.

“…”

Baek Hyunseo, who had come to her senses belatedly, asked him,

“Wh… Who are you?”

-Pause

“Are you awake now?”

“Who are you?!”

-Swoosh

Seeing Baek Hyunseo trembling in fear, the man took off his mask.

“Y… You are…?”

A familiar face was revealed. His name was Lee Minhwan.

Lee Minhwan was the aide to Baek Hyunseo’s mother, Won Yeojeong, who had divorced and separated from her when she was young.

He said,

“Your mother wants to see you.”

In the academy where Baek Hyunseo had left, Song Mina and Kim Siyeon had a brief conversation and left the scene.

Since their resentment was directed at Baek Hyunseo, the matter was easily resolved.

-Thud

-Thud

Kim Siyeon had been crying quietly inside the academy when she heard a loud noise and accidentally discovered Baek Hyunseo and Song Mina. She was lucky. She finally learned the truth.

But at the same time, she was unlucky. She had let the culprit, the source of all this, slip through her fingers.

And that culprit was Baek Hyunseo, a fellow student in the same class.

She didn’t want to believe it. She couldn’t believe it.

-Thud

-Thud

Kim Siyeon walked outside with a blank expression. She didn’t know why. Her heart felt incredibly heavy. So she just walked aimlessly.

She felt despair.

She resented Baek Hyunseo, the cause of everything, so much.

It was true that Kim Siyeon had suspected Choi Juwon. But if Baek Hyunseo hadn’t framed him, she wouldn’t have had any reason to doubt him.

Now that she knew that all the incidents had started with Baek Hyunseo, she clenched her fists tightly. Her nails dug into her palms, drawing blood.

-Squeeze…

She muttered quietly,

“Instructor… Did you know? Baek Hyunseo did all of this. You were wronged, weren’t you? You must have been so frustrated without anyone believing you. Don’t worry now. I’ll get revenge for you…”

She muttered as if possessed, as if talking to someone.

“I’ll get revenge no matter what… So… later… even if it’s late… please forgive me.”