The Returnee Wants to Live Comfortably

The Only Good Couple Is a Dead One (1)

I inflicted a nightmare on Emily through direct eye contact.

Normally, her third trait—Hypnosis Resistance—would render nightmares useless against her. At least, against any ordinary mental pressure skill.

[Nightmare]

The multitude of skills I'd acquired were divided into high, mid, and low grades.

'Low' referred to basic skills, like the ones gained during the first class transfer in games.

'Mid' was next, and so on. The skill I used on Emily was 'mid'-grade, but among those it was also the most potent.

'A low-level mental pressure skill might have failed...'

But the high-level hallucination soul I invoked now could not be resisted, not even by someone with Emily's immunity.

The basic skill I used last time was not even comparable to the one this time.

From the outset, the gap in strength between her and me was like heaven and earth.

No matter how she struggled with her traits, not even death and rebirth could save her.

'She should've known when to quit.'

After that, Emily was immediately transported to the hospital.

The fact that she was still alive despite having her abdomen pierced was astonishing.

Even if it was thanks to her trait, for a student, her vitality was beyond crazy.

'No wonder everyone around her called her a talent monster.'

But that talent ran out here.

I heard that, after being taken to the hospital, all she could do was keep clinging to life with a hole in her stomach.

If they unplugged her life-support, she would instantly become a corpse.

Her father was apparently mobilizing every connection he had to save his daughter.

She might be alive for now thanks to her stubborn vitality and the machines, but no one knew if she'd ever fully recover.

'She won't even be at peace lying in bed.'

She would relive the nightmare I showed her each time she slept.

It didn't matter what she willed.

Unless I died, Emily would be bound to her nightmares for the rest of her life.

Some might feel sorry for her, but really, it was all her own doing.

"It's all been dealt with. Even though we didn't arrest her, the wounds were enough. She's as good as dead, even if she survives."

"Thank you so much for your help."

"No, really, we should be thanking you."

Sang-ah and I were sitting in a restaurant that doubled as a snack bar and cafe, meeting Jo Yun and Go Donghyuk.

The two thanked us for making it possible to expel Emily from Third Academy.

Judging by Jo Yun's heartfelt reaction, Emily must have caused endless headaches not only for students but also for the faculty.

"Thanks to the security robot, we got evidence of Emily's crimes. With everything from cheating to attempted murder—it's safe to say her social life is over even if she recovers."

Just as Go Donghyuk said, there was basically no hope left for her.

Since Emily had cheated, the outcome of the school competition was also finalized.

"Then the winner of the school competition is your team, Seongjin?"

"Yeah."

Sang-ah asked, and Jo Yun nodded in response. Now, we could enter the Golden Gate at the end of December.

The Sura Guild was also eyeing that gate, which made me a bit wary.

"And as an added bonus, Emily's father was basically an accomplice. According to the investigation, he knew his daughter would do such things and let it happen."

"Oh, I saw that article, too."

On top of it all, that father of hers loudly proclaimed his daughter's innocence to the public.

The moment I read that article, all I could do was sigh. He totally ruined his company's public image too.

'Father and daughter alike...'

Maybe it's because he sired her, but they're cut from the same cloth.

What?

"Our daughter's still young—she doesn't know any better"?

Or, "She just made a little mistake because she's a child"?

Give me a break. That article got over ten thousand dislikes, you bastard.

"And apparently that father was also giving extensive support to the Sura Guild."

I'd already suspected as much from the time Emily loaned hunters to her boyfriend. The Sura Guild was among them.

"So the hacking device Emily set up—was that also provided by the Sura Guild?"

"In all likelihood, from the circumstances... but, no, probably not."

Why not? Just as I was about to ask, Jo Yun explained further.

"I looked into it again, but as it stands, the Sura Guild is currently in an all-out war with the Holy Church. They don't have the bandwidth to be supporting anyone else."

Apparently, casualties were mounting on both sides in a fierce, bloody battle.

Once, they were from the same world... how did it end up like this?

'Heh, I wonder whose fault that could be?'

Wow, I really do wonder.

"But that's not necessarily bad for the Sura Guild. It's an opportunity to help their object of worship, 'Sura', grow further."

'Sura'—the being they revered like a saint. An awakened one chosen by the power of a god from a certain magic tool, now serving as an avatar. Their goal was to turn this Sura into a true god. For that, Sura's growth was absolutely crucial.

"Oh, and I took the chance to look into that Awakened, Sura, too."

"Really?"

It wouldn't hurt to know who held such immense power and status. I imagined roughly what they might look like. If it was a woman, probably an elegant lady like a saint from a fantasy world. If a man, a dignified guy sitting on a massive throne, like me in my Demon King days.

"There's one surprising detail, though." Latest content publıshed on novel⚑fire.net

But my predictions were off.

"She's a little girl."

"Huh?"

"And she's right about your age group."

A little girl? Even about our age? The image I had in my mind completely fell apart.

"She's younger than I thought."

Sang-ah seemed to share my surprise, reacting the same way.

"But don't underestimate her just because she's young. Even before she became Sura's vessel, she had talent to rival professional hunters."

"That much?"

Sang-ah marveled at that.

Sure, Sang-ah herself had power that overwhelmed B-rank hunters, but for any aspiring novices, that was a world they couldn't even approach.

"She was already extraordinary, and after being chosen by Sura her powers became even more monstrous. When she uses Sura's power, they say she displays transcendent strength."

I guess great power finds its way to great talent. It's like a tiger being given wings.

"She already managed to slice down a squad from the Holy Church that attacked her in one blow. Among them, one was an A-rank Awakened."

She hardly needed any guards unless up against an S-rank foe. At her young age, to be already that strong—how much scarier would she be after further growth?

"But... Sura also has one flaw."

"A flaw?"

"No matter how great her power, she's still just a little girl inside. Just like you are, she simply has exceptional traits for her age. So what do you think happens?"

Great traits at a young age? Just look at these Hand students for the answer.

"She's missing a few screws, isn't she?"

"Exactly. After becoming Sura's avatar, it apparently got a lot worse. That's why, unless you're a guild executive, no one dares talk to her casually—she's a figure of terror."

Just how bad could it be to get called that? She was basically equal in power to the guildmaster, and if someone like that went off the deep end...

I didn't want to imagine what would happen. The executives must be working themselves to death just to manage her.

In other words, the world's toughest job.

"So you don't know exactly what's off about Sura?"

"I couldn't find out that much. But... the senior researcher said it's better not to know..."

Not like I need to know right now anyway. Come December, I'd get to see her face for myself.

Ding—

Just then, a woman entered the snack bar. She sat next to Jo Yun with a cheerful greeting.

"Babe~ I'm here!"

"My darling! Welcome!"

Jo Yun's demeanor instantly turned all sweet in front of the woman.

They even hugged. What was with this sickening display?

And that lady looked awfully familiar.

"Seongjin! How have you been?"

"I've been well, nuna."

It was Riley, the daughter of Go Donghyuk's family's church pastor—a.k.a. his older sister.

Ah, now I remembered hearing that Jo Yun and that nuna were dating. No wonder Jo Yun and Go Donghyuk had grown so close.

"I heard you've been helping Donghyuk with school again, like before. Thank you."

"It's nothing."

After happily greeting me, Riley turned to Sang-ah.

"And you, how have you been?"

"Ah, fine."

"You look so cute, just like our princess!"

"That's... a bit much..."

Riley's family—their church—was a lineage that once served the dragonkin. Of course she'd be delighted to see Sang-ah, who was the princess herself.

In that sense, it was actually a pretty heartwarming gathering. However...

"Yun-oppa~ Did you wait long for me? Ooh~"

"As if! Just thinking of my Riley is enough to make my heart swell!"

"Kya-hahaha! Oppa, you're too much!"

"Ahahaha!"

Watching Jo Yun and Riley's nauseating exchange, I felt a bizarre wave of displeasure.

"Did you wait long~?"

The more she tried those ridiculous cutesy acts, the more my stomach churned.

"What do you wanna eat, my Riley?"

"Tteokbokki! It's my favorite food in this world!"

"Then should oppa feed you?"

"Yes, feed me."

You f***ing... The curse almost slipped out aloud for a second. My hands started trembling and my fist went up.

[Should I kill them? / Hold it in. My Inner Instinct]

Hold it. Hold it in. No matter how infuriating this was, this was a momentous occasion for them.

Even if I was forced to forgo my own reproductive organs once, I had to overcome this crisis!

"Then oppa will take a bite, and then you'll eat the rice cake with my teeth marks, alright?"

"I'd love that! Riley, leave a bite for me too—oppa will eat it 'kay?"

"Ooh~ that's thrilling!"

"Me toooo~"

—You motherf***ers!

"Uweeeegh!"

In the end, I couldn't take it and dry heaved. I felt like a martial artist driven mad by obsession.

"Keurgh!"

I wasn't alone. Go Donghyuk, sitting beside me, groaned just like I did.

"Oh my, what's wrong with you two?"

"Did you eat something bad?"

Jo Yun and Riley finally halted their public affection at our outburst, even acting concerned, which only made me angrier.

"I'm going to the bathroom."

"You two... please enjoy your love."

And so, Go Donghyuk and I fled that hellscape and went to the bathroom. Only then did it feel like the blocked feeling in my chest had cleared.

"Hah... haah... F***."

It was like finally breathing after nearly drowning. Go Donghyuk asked in a hollow voice,

"Seongjin. What are we supposed to do now?"

Our eyes met, and in that moment, our minds were as one.

"What else?"

Take it out on the world.

.

.

.

"Solo Heaven!"

—Couple hell!

"Solo Heaven!"

—Couple hell!

"Solo Heaven!"

—Couple hell!

A frenzy had taken over the school auditorium.

Answering the call of the student council president, Go Donghyuk, a horde of followers (students) gathered.

"Couples are evil! Couples are hell, everyone!!"

—Yaaaah!!

On the podium stood Go Donghyuk and Ma Seongjin, riling up their followers (students).

And with them was Kwon Sang-ah, letting out a huge sigh.

'What am I even doing here?'

No wonder they'd stormed out of the restaurant.

Were they really that infuriated by those two's romance?

What was so bad about it that they got this worked up?

"Hey, Seongjin. Seongjin?"

"What is it, apostle Kwon Sang-ah?"

Suddenly, Seongjin answered in a priest-like tone. Since when was she an apostle?

"You're doing this just because you saw that couple acting all lovey-dovey, right? Let's stop. Please?"

"Excuse me?"

"There's nothing to gain from taking it out like this. It's just... pathetic."

Unable to vent at the actual couple, they had to take it out somewhere else.

Even to me, a middle schooler, it seemed childish.

"I mean, just put it behind you—"

"Apostle Kwon Sang-ah. Are you defying our doctrine? Committing heresy?"

"That... that's not it—"

Forget arguing, it was hopeless. Seongjin's face scowled like a tiger, and Sang-ah was left speechless.

"Come on, everyone, shout it! Solo Heaven!"

"C-couple hell..."

"Louder! Solo Heaven!"

"Couple hell!"

"Solo Heaven!"

"Couple heeell...!"

"Only a dead couple is a good couple!!"

This was madness. The longer she stayed, the more Kwon Sang-ah felt like crying.

'Please, someone, get me out of here...!'

****

"Haaah..."

After her intense exercise, the girl gulped down big breaths.

The sword she held was drenched in blood, and at her feet lay heaps of corpses.

The girl felt zero sympathy for them.

They were hunters from the Holy Church who had ambushed her to kill her.

Had she not wielded her sword, she might have been the one crawling over the ground like that.

"Die, Sura!!"

A hunter rushed in from behind, his steel fist swinging toward the girl. Fork, an A-rank hunter of the Holy Church.

He took pride in his power, serving the church with utmost loyalty. The moment his fist aimed for Sura's face—

"You're too slow."

Fork's eyes trembled in that brief moment. The girl's face, veiled in white, betrayed no emotion, but the chilling aura she emitted made his fist hesitate.

Slash—!

Too late. Sura's blade had already sliced through his arm.

"Kyaaaaagh!!"

He screamed, grabbing at the neatly severed limb. Fork could see them now—the nine tails sprouting from Sura's back.

"That... that's..."

The very reason she was called Sura and proof she was an avatar. Many of his comrades had already fallen to her inexpressible power.

"You monster...!"

Under normal circumstances, maybe he'd have stood a chance. But not with Sura's power unleashed.

"M-monster...?"

"Those tails... filthy and grotesque!"

The Holy Church were, by and large, mutamit haters. Sura's tails—the symbol of their enemy and the hallmark of Mutamit—repulsed them.

"Are you done talking...?"

Shlik—

A flash of the blade. Fork tried to block with his remaining arm, but Sura's blade had already cut through his leg.

"Aaaaargh!!"

Now missing a leg, fork screamed again. The girl strode toward him. From her, fork felt only terror.

"Did you just... call me a monster? That my tails were filthy...?"

"Kgh...!"

"Then the thing dangling between your legs must be filthy too... Want me to cleanly chop that off for you?"

A blood-red glow flared in her eyes behind the white veil.

"W... what are you...!"

Slash—!

"Keuug!!"

Slash—!

"Stop..."

Slash—!

"..."

Slash and slash... Then slashed again. Even after the screams stopped, she did not.

"Hahahahahaha!!"

The girl continued hacking at what was now only Fork's corpse, laughing all the while. Only after venting her frustration did she finally stop.

"It's almost December..."

She muttered, gazing up at the moon in ecstasy.

"Are you... doing well?"

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

Wait, Ah-rin???

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