NOVEL NEXT Chapter 15
As soon as I came to my senses, I realized I was falling from above.
Today has been downright ferocious. Maybe if I buy a lottery ticket on my way home, I’ll hit the jackpot?
Not that it matters if I win or not, I’ve saved enough money for myself.
But then again, the reason I was able to save that money was because I dealt in various substances, including enhancers and drugs, in the underworld.
And the reason I’m falling right now is because of those very same drugs.
Even if I bought a lottery ticket, I doubt I’d win.
Life, huh.
Why is it that villains and big corporations can commit evil deeds and get away with it, while I alone have my misdeeds come back to haunt me?
At this point, it seems like the story writer has it out for me.
Or maybe the world just hates me.
If things are this chaotic on Earth, it feels like it’s just as wild over here, doesn’t it?
Well, if I reinforce myself with magic and manage to roll, I might only end up with a broken arm.
Unfortunately, there are no chemicals to enhance my physical strength, so while I clicked my tongue, I was just blowing magic into my arms while synthesizing pain-relief compounds to brace for the impact.
At that moment, someone grabbed me from behind.
“…Got you! Blanca, sorry! There’s no time to explain, just hold on tight!”
It was Jinhyeon.
Upon closer inspection, Yeonhwa and Lapiz were also either sticking close to him or holding his hand.
What could that guy, who was doing nothing amidst all this chaos, possibly do?
Just as I was pondering that, he wrapped his arm around my waist and began to draw on his magic.
His touch was cold, and his breath carried a chill.
…Wait, don’t tell me.
And lo and behold, I was right to think so.
His head and eyes changed to a sky-blue hue.
Then, a massive chunk of ice erupted from Jinhyeon, enveloping us.
– – – –
The emotions churning within me were regret, disappointment, self-blame, and guilt.
Feelings that didn’t project onto others, cold and suffocating, surged fiercely inside me.
If I had just used my ability, Yeonhwa wouldn’t have needed to take a life.
If I had just used my ability, she wouldn’t have had to be so shocked.
If only I had stepped in.
But, I didn’t step in.
Even when the person most precious and closest to me was in trouble, I didn’t step in.
I didn’t even take action when it was my time to intervene.
Why?
Because I was scared. Scared that if I couldn’t control my emotions properly, everyone would be in danger.
I was more afraid of the people around me getting hurt than of my friends getting injured.
Even when someone was struggling right in front of my eyes.
I weighed my life against theirs.
That version of myself was so disappointing, so loathsome, and yet…
…No, I need to focus.
The disgust and anger towards my hesitant self didn’t fit the moment.
I didn’t need fire… and besides, I was scared.
Even now, if I close my eyes, it feels like that raging fire is right in front of me.
If I were to be swallowed by fear, I wouldn’t be able to control the terror that consumed me in this moment.
So carefully, and delicately, I drew forth my magic.
And I wished intensely. Wished to be nothing more than a bystander any longer.
Now I wanted to protect someone.
My ability, the embodiment of my emotions, responded to that desire, creating a massive iceberg that enveloped everyone.
The ice that appeared in an instant took on the impact meant for us, shattering into pieces.
But it didn’t soften all the blows.
“…Cough!”
I rolled across the ground, crashing against the ice shards.
Even while tumbling, I tried desperately to shield everyone with my body.
“…Is everyone okay?”
“I-I’m fine… I have bones of steel, so there was really no need to protect me… t-thanks.”
“I’m okay too… Jinhyeon. But more importantly, you… your ability…”
Lapiz and Yeonhwa seemed fine. But where was Blanca? I couldn’t see her anywhere.
“…Is she under me?”
I heard her voice from below.
Looking down, I found Blanca trapped beneath me.
Fortunately, she didn’t seem hurt, and didn’t show any pain or signs of distress.
The only problem was that my arm was resting on her chest.
Ah.
No wonder the ground felt too soft.
With her expression looking like I might chew her head off if I stayed like this, I hurriedly moved off of her and apologized.
“S-sorry! It’s not like I wanted to…!”
“I know, I know. Just… Ugh. Let’s pretend this never happened, okay?”
Blanca scrunched her face and said let’s not worry about it, then clapped her hands to gather everyone’s attention.
“Alright then… let’s sort this situation out. You first. Why didn’t you use your ability earlier, but are now? If you had used it back then, we wouldn’t have ended up in this mess.”
With a frown, she seemed to project her grievances from earlier at me, asking why I was only now using my powers.
“Blanca…!”
Yeonhwa, despite still looking shaken, tried to defend me, but Yeonhwa.
You can’t just keep sitting there nursing old wounds.
“It’s okay, Yeonhwa. It’s time to face it.”
I reassured her, revealing to her why I hesitated to use my ability.
Long ago, when my emotional manifestation first appeared, I couldn’t control that ability.
Because of me, an entire department store went up in flames.
Most of the people, save for me—the source of the flames—died, and those few who survived had to live with the aftermath for life.
…My parents were no different.
They were right next to me.
They passed without a chance to escape.
These things were far too burdensome for my young self.
In fact, even now, it’s hard to bear.
Just recalling it makes me sick, and my whole body trembles.
But…
At that time, a hero appeared.
A hero who, while his skin blistered in the flames, saved me, who was literally a fireball.
That was Pyro, Yeonhwa’s father.
He retired from hero work due to the wounds he received that day.
…And he welcomed me into his family, a lost child.
That’s why Yeonhwa worries so much about me.
When I was young, I was a walking corpse, even when they said nice things.
Even now, Yeonhwa didn’t know what to do, pacing around anxiously.
I’m sorry, Yeonhwa. I keep putting you through this.
Blanca listened to my story and wore a look of discomfort before finally demanding an explanation.
“You said it yourself. If you hesitate and fail to save someone, no one will care about your reasons. And… I’m just sick of hesitating.”
“Jinhyeon…?”
So, I’m saying this to you, Blanca.
If it weren’t for you, I might still have been hesitating.
“Ugh, what a disaster this mouth is…”
After hearing me out, Blanca facepalmed and rubbed her face in frustration.
Yeonhwa approached me, asking if I was alright now.
She was probably asking if I had fully shaken it off.
“…No, not at all. I still see the flames every time I close my eyes. But… I won’t look away any longer. I’ll face it head-on. And for every life I’ve taken, no—
More than that, I’ll become a hero who saves lives.”
“Uh… uh… I’m sorry if I’m ruining the mood… but, uh, isn’t it more important to know where we are right now?”
Lapiz broke her silence, continually apologizing while throwing out a valid point.
“You’re right, Lapiz. Our painful past and resolved determination won’t matter if we don’t get out of here first.”
Blanca said that and continued to summarize the situation.
“Right now, we’re inside the gate. Given that nothing has appeared yet, it seems like that suicide creature or whatever has cleaned up the gate a bit to keep the villains inside.”
“So, you’re saying they used the gate like some sort of transport?”
“More like an inventory, I’d say. Haven’t you all played games?”
Lapiz shyly raised her hand.
Blanca smirked, saying she believed they all knew what a transport was before continuing.
“But there are no monsters around, yet the gate remains. This means that a boss monster is somewhere inside here maintaining it.”
“Is there any way we can get out from where we came in?”
Lapiz raised her hand again, asking Blanca that question.
Instead of answering, Blanca simply pointed upwards with her finger.
The gate we entered was already gone.
“So… to get out of here, we have to hunt a boss monster of unknown strength and smash the core embedded in its corpse. Any questions?”
This time, Yeonhwa raised her hand and asked Blanca.
“Blanca. Where did you learn all this about gates? Wasn’t it from the Hero Course?”
Information about gates isn’t something non-hunters could know.
What civilians can know is just to run away.
Yet, she recited gate information as if it were second nature, making me curious.
“Try living outside the safe zone. You’ll get to know whether you want to or not.”
“W-wait a minute, Blanca. You lived outside?”
“Later. Later. Anyway, right now, surviving is the priority. Not all of us have some grand backstory like you.”
The area where the technology to contain gate occurrences from Heros Company hadn’t been spread was called the outskirts.
I never would have thought Blanca might be from there.
“Anyway, we’ve finished sorting the situation. The objectives are clear. Let’s go; we need to get out of here.”
Blanca said this with a nonchalant demeanor and stepped deeper into the dungeon.
“…Could it really be Blanca?”
“Let’s trust Blanca. She saved us after all.”
“…Yeah, I guess we have to.”
Reassuring Yeonhwa, I followed right behind her.