Chapter 21: Double Speak - The Cuckoo Falls (4)
A giant root smashed into the ground.
-Boom!
A noise that tore the eardrums. A pounding heart.
-Craack!
Broken block pieces struck the mask.
The goosebumps on my back wouldn’t settle down. Instinct continuously yelled at me that my life was in danger.
-Whiizz!
With the sound of the rough wind, the thick root whipped at my body like a lash.
“Damn it!”
I raised my sword late to block the root.
-Boom!
Her attack was heavier than imagined.
My body was gradually pushed back.
The sword dropped from my grip and fell powerlessly to the ground as I was pinned far against the wall.
“Get up.”
-Groooan.
The giant tree moved as if it had a will.
The rough bark on the root grazed my skin, and blood oozed here and there.
It was solid and heavy.
The body of the monster wearing the strange mask was not of a human but of a giant and grotesque demon.
“Cough, cough.”
I gathered energy throughout my body, coughing violently from the dust, and initiated six magics behind my back.
―Fireball.
I stored magic in both hands, channeled power in my thighs by kicking the ground, and charged.
The target was my lost sword.
-Swoosh!
The roots swung in from both sides. I slid to grab the sword while blocking her view with a Fireball.
My pounding heart and tense nerves responded to my movements.
I cut off two strands, attempting to whip my whole body with the sword filled with magic in one go.
-Splash!
The cut strands were scattered haphazardly on the ceiling and walls.
The sword in my grip was still radiating light.
And a flame-like fighting spirit was fiercely surging throughout my body.
The best outcome brought about by instinctual movement.
While having doubts about using magic, I had never used before, hope gradually rose that I could win.
‘...I can do this.’
The moment I thought that.
-Bam!
The nerves throughout my body that warned me of danger tightened. My cerebrospinal fluid boiled.
The dark shadow filled my view.
No, the trees.
A sharp pain ran down my spine. It would be a fatal wound if I didn’t block it.
I instinctively raised my sword, but facing the massive attack heading towards me, I lost spirit and withdrew my sword.
What was coming at me was the giant hammer she had been holding from the start.
...It was as big as my body. Damn it.
-Aghh!
My vision blinked once. My body flew back, cutting through the air.
If you placed my body within a medieval warfare cannon and lit it up, wouldn’t it look like this?
I tightly closed my eyes, endured the impact applied to my whole body, and coughed up my breath.
The state of my body as it rolled on the ground was indescribable.
It really damn hurts.
-Flash!
Uh.
“Are you okay?”
“I just passed out.”
“I know.”
Lee Seyeong, hearing my disheartened response, walked over with a chuckle and hugged my head.
Gradually, through the melting tree bark, I saw Seyeong playfully smiling.
“It hurts like hell.”
“Obviously. Who do you think I am? Did you think you could handle it?”
Hell no,
I really didn’t know she’d be this strong.
“I’m really strong, right? This is the power of your teacher~.”
Seyeong, proudly flexing her slim arms, giggled.
I glared at her face and spat out in annoyance.
“So why would someone like you get attacked by me?”
“... It’s a sparring match.”
“Oh yes. I understand.”
She talked sarcastically, so Seyeong raised her fist and strongly gripped my forehead.
Making a squeaky sound, she laughed.
Thus, we exchanged words once; before we knew it, it was almost lunchtime.
In the coming silence, I got up and stretched my muscles.
When the atmosphere indicated that our encounter was concluding, Seyeong, who had been watching me, spoke softly.
“I’ll try everything I can. In 3 days, right?”
“Huh? Nothing, nothing’s wrong.”
With a bright and lively tone, Dallae forced a cute smile.
Even so, she couldn’t shake off thoughts about Lee Shiheon.
It wasn’t regret or sorrow. It was a slightly intense yet indescribable emotion.
There weren’t usually guys so proactive.
...No. It’s normal. Lee Shiheon’s gift offensive had crossed the line.
‘Forget it. Let’s forget about it.’
“Let’s go eat. I want to go to the pasta place we visited last time.”
“Huh? Sure, let’s go.”
Holding onto Siwoo’s shoulder, she walked toward the main gate.
In the center of the academy with towering buildings, students forming crowds were coming out for lunch.
A place worthy of the title’ Education City’, where science and capital converged.
A man and a woman were walking towards the main gate adorned with seals, symbolizing various noble families.
‘Huh?’
Lee Shiheon and... Lee Seyeong.
Just walking would be fine, but Lee Shiheon’s face was very swollen.
His clothes were torn in places.
Yet, while the mask was still intact, his clothes were stained, seemingly with blood.
Siwoo, who saw Shiheon before Jin Dallae did, rushed to him.
“Hey, why are you in such a state? Are you okay?”
In response to the worry-laden words, Seyeong awkwardly scratched her cheek, and Shiheon glanced at Seyeong and let out a pleasant laugh.
“It’s nothing. Are you on your way to eat?”
“Yes... what happened to you?”
“Just a little. There was an accident in the training ground. I called the teacher for some support. Right, teacher?”
“Yes, yes. You were gone in the morning, which made me worry. Don’t do this again.”
Seyeong, with a slightly awkward face, fist-bumped Shiheon’s head. Only then did Siwoo seem to understand the situation, releasing a sigh of relief.
Jin Dallae watched their exchange from a step away, quietly observing.
-Those are not the signs of an accident.
Torn clothes. Marks of being hit.
Clearly, he was completely one-sidedly beaten. It wasn’t something that would happen in the training ground.
‘What on earth happened yesterday?’
Her stepfather, Lee Seonghan, was excessively kind to any entity he embraced.
Even if someone he embraced rebelled,
Lee Seonghan didn’t intend to harm his target.
That was Lee Seonghan’s way, and it usually worked well on the target.
Of course, it wasn’t his only way, but at least there wasn’t a single target Jin Dallae saw that was so battered.
-Thump.
A suspicion pricked deep within her heart. Doubt.
Startled, Jin Dallae lowered her head.
“Have a good meal. I already ate with the teacher.”
“Really? Okay. Let’s go, Dallae.”
“Huh? Uhm, okay.”
Jin Dallae, with a stiff face, was led by Siwoo’s hand towards the main gate.
The distance closed. Their shoulders bumped.
She passed by Shiheon like that.
“—Be careful in 3 days.”
The whispered word rang in her ears.
Jin Dallae, taken aback, turned her head.
“Dallae, why are you acting like this so suddenly?”
Shiheon had already turned his back.
The suppressed suspicions burst out, but her lips didn’t utter a word.
If he was going to speak. Speak properly.
Holding her trembling hand with the other, she placed it on her chest.
Her heart was in turmoil.
Was this emotion occupying a corner of her heart, expectation or fear?
She didn’t know. Jin Dallae forced a smile at Siwoo.
“It’s nothing.”
Shiheon extends kindness to her.
Though it was a given, something everyone already knew.
She still denied it.
Jin Dallae had always been like this.
‘I can’t trust him.’
Thus, she found flimsy reasons to distance the relationship.
Those betrayed knew.
How easily relationships between people could crumble.
How could she, who had been abandoned by her own family, trust anyone?
She just wanted one comrade.
But she wasn’t someone who could accept kindness as kindness anymore.
—Be careful in 3 days.
Thus, Shiheon’s words, laden with kindness, were interpreted like this inside her.
‘What the hell...?’
He was lying.
She thought.
She just thought.
