Chapter 88
As the sun broke through the dark clouds and illuminated the land once more, the screams echoing throughout the city began to subside.
In the distance, I could see people who had been controlled slowly starting to regain their senses, one by one.
Finally, the horrific ordeal that had shaken the city for hours had come to an end.
For a moment, I sighed in relief, thankful that the damage, which could have been much worse, was minimized.
But that relief was short-lived. Realizing that we still had work to do, I wiped away my reddened eyes.
I looked at Yoon Si-woo and Sylvia Astra, reminding myself, as if to reaffirm my determination.
“……Let’s move. There are still mountains of people who need help.”
As I stood up, a sudden wave of dizziness made me stagger. Yoon Si-woo and Sylvia quickly grabbed my arms.
Supporting me to keep me from falling, they spoke with worried voices.
“Scarlet, if it’s too hard, don’t push yourself and just rest.”
“That’s right. You’ve been running around for a while now, and it could affect your health…”
I shook my head and replied.
“Thanks for worrying, but I’m still physically fine. And right now, we need every helping hand we can get.”
As the sun shone on the once dark city, the scenery that had been hard to see became vividly clear to my eyes.
Taking in that sight, I squeezed the hands of the two people who were holding onto my arms.
“Let’s think about what we need to do first. It’s about saving people. Even just one more.”
As soon as I said that, both of them nodded with serious expressions and ran off in different directions.
I also began to move in search of those who needed help.
I carried the seriously injured on stretchers to the hospital.
I comforted a child who was having trouble breathing, shocked by the sight of their bloodied parents.
I prevented someone who had harmed their fellow controlled person while trying to protect themselves from making a drastic choice out of despair.
As I walked around saving people, I heard the heartbreaking wails of those who clutched the lifeless bodies of their loved ones.
That sound was likely echoing throughout the entire city.
As if it were just following the trail of screams.
After a long while of helping those in need, the sun began to set, and night fell deeper.
If only my body didn’t have physical limits.
After nearly half a day of running around without rest, I felt so exhausted that I could collapse at any moment, so I returned to the gymnasium, which was currently serving as a temporary resting facility for the students.
As I stepped into the gym, I spotted Jessie among the many resting students.
Jessie, who had fainted, could hardly muster the energy to blink at my approach.
I slowly nodded in response and flopped down next to her.
Just as I was about to fall into sleep due to an overwhelming wave of fatigue, I heard Jessie’s phone vibrate in her pocket, indicating an incoming call.
It seemed that the communications, which had been cut off until now, had been restored.
I saw Jessie struggle to pull out her phone and hold it to her ear.
Not long after she answered, I noticed tears welling up in her eyes.
“Ah, ugh… sniffle, sniffle…”
As Jessie started to sob, her phone slipped from her grasp and fell to the floor with a thud.
From the phone that had fallen to the ground, I could hear the familiar sounds of sorrowful wails I had heard so many times today.
“Our, our brother… big brother…”
As I heard her words amidst her sobs, I bit my lip, recalling her big brother, who looked far older than his years.
I hadn’t seen him much, but he remained in my memory as a good person. The news of his death filled me with grief.
But instead of succumbing to sadness, I chose to comfort the girl before me.
I understood how immense the sorrow of losing a precious family member could be.
I approached her and quietly wrapped my arms around her. Despite her exhaustion, she wept bitterly in my embrace for a long time.
The time the city’s people were under control and displaying abnormal behavior lasted at most only a few hours.
Yet the scars left by that brief period were immense.
*
Perhaps it was because of the huge incident we had just experienced, but even in my exhaustion, I woke up early in the morning.
I carefully lifted myself to avoid waking Jessie, who was peacefully dozing in my arms with swollen eyes.
As I began to rise, Jessie seemed to sense my movement and muttered in her sleep.
“Ugh… I’ll never forgive the wicked witch who killed my brother…”
Looking at her mumbling, I couldn’t help but smile wryly as I left the gym.
The city was still dark, the sun yet to rise.
Yet even at this hour, I could see a few people bustling about here and there.
Just as I thought about stepping outside to help, I heard a voice from outside the gate.
“They said it could be managed without the students now, so you should rest. You worked hard yesterday, so take a little more time off.”
It was Yoon Si-woo.
Hearing his words, it sounded like things were starting to come under control.
I had thought recovery wouldn’t be quick, but it seemed the damage was less severe than I initially thought.
Feeling somewhat relieved, I sat down on the flowerbed near the gate.
Yoon Si-woo hesitated for a moment before sitting down slightly away from me.
From the fact that he had just come in from outside, it was obvious he hadn’t slept all night.
“…Did you stay up all night? That must have been tough.”
“Not really. Staying up all night is nothing.”
When I asked, he replied as if it weren’t a big deal, but even Yoon Si-woo, who wielded the Indomitable Holy Sword that enhanced physical abilities, couldn’t have been completely unaffected by fatigue.
The power of the Holy Sword he had used yesterday was a technique that consumed a tremendous amount of stamina due to its immense force.
“Don’t overdo it.”
“I’m not overdoing it. I’m just doing what I can.”
Just doing what he could—a phrase Yoon Si-woo had said countless times in the original story.
In the original, he was always someone who had to do what was necessary.
If Yoon Si-woo failed to overcome the challenges before him, humanity would be doomed.
If Yoon Si-woo hadn’t been there for this incident, who knows what might have happened? But seeing him say that made it hard for me to hide my complicated feelings.
He only said that during times when he was facing particularly tough situations.
“…That’s a lie. You mentioned before that it’s okay to tell me if you’re having a hard time. You’re clearly struggling, so if there’s anything on your mind, just say it.”
As I said this, Yoon Si-woo flinched for a moment, then finally managed a wry smile and spoke.
“…Earlier, while helping people, someone told me it was all our fault that their family had ended up like this. They said that because heroes like us failed to do our jobs, such things had happened. Hearing that made saving people feel a little harder. You, me, and the other heroes are all doing our best for everyone…”
For someone running around tirelessly to help others, those words were undeniably frustrating.
But there was no way to blame them.
I gazed at the cityscape and spoke.
“…Everyone is just too sad.”
The sky, gradually lightening as the sun rose beyond the horizon, cast shadows that resembled scars etched upon the city.
“Do you know what happens when people get too sad?”
Thinking about the feelings of those remaining in the city, wounded and grieving, I continued.
“They start getting angry. They want to find something to blame. It could be anything. It might be a witch, or it could be the heroes.”
Jessie, murmuring in her sleep that she couldn’t forgive the witch.
The person who might have told Yoon Si-woo that it was the heroes’ fault.
“Some might even end up hating the world itself.”
And though I didn’t show it, I hated this world that had taken my precious people from me, a world where good people suffered.
In that perspective, maybe sadness was really just another form of anger.
In the original story, those who lost their loved ones to monsters that appeared in the gym had protested in the streets, engulfed by tremendous sorrow.
This incident might lead to a similar outcome, and that needed to be prevented.
Determining a target for their anger might help mitigate the situation to some extent, but…
“…But sad people don’t just look for something to blame.”
I looked toward the distant dawn that was brightening.
“They also want to find something to lean on, to forget their sorrow.”
Just as shadows seem less noticeable when you gaze at the light.
When there’s something to depend on, it becomes easier to forget sorrow.
For some, that something might be a god.
For others, it could be their friends.
“I have a request.”
So, who could serve as that pillar of support for the people in this world?
“It might be too much to ask, but this is something only you can do.”
In the distance, the sun began to rise.
Radiating a brilliant and bright light.
People might have been disappointed in the heroes who couldn’t protect them.
Yet here stood someone who had saved everyone from danger.
“Yoon Si-woo.”
That’s why I had no choice but to rely on this boy.
To make this request of him.
To the protagonist of this world.
To the hope of this world.
“Be a hero for everyone.”
The times were calling for a new hero.
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