Breaking Up With the Heroine in an Otome Game - Breaking Up With the Heroine in an Otome Game chapter 72

72 – Awakening (3)

072.

“Ah.”

Death.

In the life of a hero, death lingers.

For a hero facing numerous villains and monsters, death is an inseparable companion, like a shadow.

Even for Jin Soyeon, just an aspiring hero, she faced the brink of death several times.

Memories of almost losing her life during the Academy monster incident and the large-scale Union assault by villains are still vivid.

At those times, it felt like she might actually die.

The situations were urgent and dangerous enough that it wouldn’t be strange if someone died right away.

But each time, there was a man by Jin Soyeon’s side.

When she trembled helplessly under the vitality of the Black-Handed Long-Armed Monkey and couldn’t even rebel, and when she was attacked by villains and left in a half-dead state.

As if it were natural, Yijinhyeok appeared, rescuing her from the crisis.

Just by being by her side, he brought back peace to her troubled heart, and his actions almost always resulted in positive outcomes.

He was always Jin Soyeon’s hero.

That’s why she might have momentarily forgotten.

As a hero, death was always an inevitable visitor.

Nevertheless, death had an abrupt way of arriving.

“Ah…”

Jin Soyeon stared blankly at the screen with vacant eyes.

The corridor, littered with people drenched in blood, vividly reflected in her eyes.

Despite their numbers, dozens of individuals lay helpless on the filthy ground, unable to stop a single man.

This man was an unusual force to be reckoned with.

With an unchanging sword, he incapacitated more than a dozen villains who seemed more formidable than active heroes, and he effortlessly navigated through dangerous traps. It was an undeniable fact that he was a powerhouse.

He reminded her of the white-haired villain who had overwhelmed hero trainees with his overwhelming presence during the midterms.

Perhaps he was the top-ranking hero she had only heard about.

However, he was too reckless.

The villains in this mansion were definitely not a force one could confront alone.

Moreover, observing the villains’ movements revealed that there were not only those who matched, but even surpassed, active heroes in strength.

Several individuals with intermediate rankings, equipped with state-of-the-art gear, held both numerical and terrain advantages.

The man seemed unaware of the overwhelming forces here, and as the ongoing battle continued, his movements gradually became sluggish, as if fatigued.

In a moment when he seemed to retreat for a brief regrouping, a group of assassins sent by Seong Yura launched a sudden attack.

The one who emerged like a shadow to assault the man was none other than a villain named James.

James was a villain almost equivalent to the top rank.

Especially skilled in ambushes, it was challenging for the physically exhausted Vigilante to fend off James’s attacks.

Although Vigilante had brought down several villains over the years through back alley skirmishes, facing a villain of this caliber was a rare occurrence.

There were some villains who had been quite challenging, but encountering a top-ranking villain was unprecedented.

Furthermore, the elite assassins supporting James were formidable in their own right.

With about four members, possessing skills equivalent to intermediate and high-ranking, they proved to be a significant hindrance in the fight against James.

No, it was more than just a hindrance.

Even with full concentration, the sharp blades sneakily thrusting in during intermittent moments against James, who was on the verge of victory, were enough to send a chill through Vigilante’s spine.

Standing with a flawless formation, like well-trained elite soldiers, they gradually pressured him, making it impossible to show his back freely.

In a situation where he couldn’t afford to reveal his back, wanting to escape, Vigilante must have felt utterly perplexed.

Who could be the owner of this mansion, receiving such protection from villains of this caliber?

Looking back, Vigilante had been too reckless.

“The thought that he could barely find the sword he had been searching for a long time, and the fact that the guards in this mansion were villains, made him unconsciously exert his power as usual.

The fact that he acted recklessly, without knowing how many villains there were and how strong they were in this mansion, tightly gripped Bilante’s ankles.

He was undoubtedly a genius hailed even by the whole world.

Bilante, who lost his parents and harbored resentment due to villains when he was young, ended up wandering in back alleys after leaving the Union Academy.

Having fought against numerous villains and grown up, Bilante couldn’t help but be full of arrogance.

Because no one dared to oppose him.

He was strong enough to crush medium and small organizations alone, and apart from monsters like Hong Da-ye, there were hardly any individuals who could threaten him even during his time at the Union Academy.

That’s why he thought he could do this alone this time.

Because he had lived like this for several years.

But the power of the mansion was beyond Bilante’s imagination, and he was in a state of having lost the weapons he usually used and powerful relics.

Not even fully prepared, he plunged his head into a hornet’s nest, so it was obvious what the result would be.

In this way, Bilante finally succumbed to the assassins’ swords and could only cough up blood.

His footsteps, genius, self-confidence—all of them had made him reckless.

If only he had relics and a training sword, he could have attempted an escape.

However, it was clear that it would be limited to fight against numerous villains with just one mass-produced iron sword sold in ordinary stores.

Of course, Bilante’s undefeated strength was admirable.

Although the assassins of Sung Yura were overwhelming, they had cut off the arms and legs of half of the elites, rendering them useless and crawling on the ground.

In addition, James had led several subordinates in a surprise attack, but he suffered significant injuries due to Bilante’s sudden counterattack.

It was difficult to engage in immediate combat.

To inflict such severe injuries on James, the most powerful force of Sung Yura and a top-ranking expert, in a situation where he was surrounded by several tunnels… Bilante was undoubtedly an incredibly strong individual, considering his age.

No matter how dispersed the forces are, to be able to defeat so many villains alone.

If Bilante hadn’t cared about the life and death of the villains and swung his sword without hesitation from the beginning, what would have happened?

Perhaps he wouldn’t have wasted so much stamina unnecessarily, and in that case, he might have created more variables in the battle against James and the elite forces.

No, maybe he couldn’t properly stop the escape?

“You’re definitely amazing. To take on so many people alone. Your reputation wasn’t just hot air, huh?”

“Ah….”

“But you’re reckless. Do you really think I don’t know who I am? Did you think it would be easy for you to come attacking when my forces were a bit dispersed? Did I seem easy to deal with?”

“Ah, Jinho, this…”

“Huh? What’s wrong, Jin So-yeon?”

“Jinhyuk, Jinhyuk, no…? Huh? No, it can’t be, ah…”

Seong Yura’s words are barely audible.

Only the sight of a man covered in blood, collapsing on the screen, is etched into Jin Soyeon’s retina.

It’s not that she was shocked to see someone die.

Jin Soyeon, who usually found others repulsive, selfishly wished today that the person lying there could have been someone else.

Jin Soyeon slowly opened her tightly pursed lips, unable to calm her pounding heart.

“It’s not Jinhyuk? Th-that’s not possible? Y-you’re lying, right?”

No way it could be Jinhyuk, that strong person.

Think about it logically.

Jinhyuk, who barely passed the Union Academy, wouldn’t recklessly wield a sword among so many villains, right?

Isn’t this Jinhyuk, the archer who insisted that a sword was just a useless piece of equipment?

Thinking logically, the possibility of Jinhyuk hiding his skills is very low, and he isn’t reckless enough to intrude into Seong Yura’s mansion alone.

Therefore, that person is not Jinhyuk.

Yeah, that’s right. It’s strange to think it’s Jinhyuk.

I don’t know who that person is, but it’s as certain as the fact that it’s not Jinhyuk, even though it’s truly regrettable that someone lost their life.

This must be Seong Yura’s nonsense to tease me.

It must be.

No.

It has to be.

“Ah…”

Drip. Drip, drip.

From Noble mtl dot com

Tears stream down unknowingly.

Oh, my vision is getting blurry. Why are tears suddenly flowing? It’s not Jinhyuk. It’s really sad when someone dies, but it’s strange to shed tears so suddenly, so strange.

“I can see the desire to deny, but you know the truth, don’t you?”

“No, no, no!”

“Jin Soyeon, can’t you see that?”

“I said no! No!”

Jinhyuk couldn’t have died like this!

Jin Soyeon forcefully denied Seong Yura’s words.

Seong Yu-ra keeps spouting nonsense.

I want to shut her mouth right now. There’s no way Jin-hyuk bled to death. It can’t be.

He died trying to save me. It can’t be.

“Jin So-yeon, just admit it now. Your childhood friend is dead.”

“……”

“You rushed in alone to save him, didn’t you? Like a fool. Isn’t that right?”

“……”

“You fought better than I expected, but that’s all.”

“……”

Jin So-yeon bowed her head deeply.

She had been denying it all along, but she knew that Seong Yu-ra was telling the truth.

She just didn’t want to admit it.

Because once she admitted it, there would be no turning back.

She couldn’t help but think that Jin-hyuk died because of her. There must be a reason why Jin So-yeon was kidnapped because of Jin-hyuk, but she didn’t care about that now.

Jin-hyuk died because of that woman.

Jin-hyuk.

Is dead.

Huh?

“……Seong… Yu-ra.”

After despair, denial, and sadness, what began to fill Jin So-yeon’s heart was a powerful resentment and anger, rising like an active volcano.

The previously sorrowful and despairing heart was now being covered with something heavy.

It was an emotion Jin So-yeon had never felt in her life.

It went beyond mere anger, rage, and resentment.

“……Seong Yuraaaa.”

Desiring to unleash this overwhelming, simmering emotion that felt like it could explode any moment, Jin So-yeon growled softly.

Ah, ah. Yes, this is not just anger.

“……I can’t forgive you, I won’t let you goooo!”

Rage.

Yes, it’s rage.

For the first time, Jin So-yeon harbored rage towards someone else.

With a viscous resentment, Jin So-yeon embraced intense vitality, unleashing her magical and supernatural powers with all her might.

Though her entire body was restrained, she harbored no resentment whatsoever. She erupted into a frenzy as if she would charge at Sung Yura at any moment.

Her appearance was reminiscent of a wild beast.

A beast that we had confined.

“It’s useless, Jin So-yeon. With your abilities, no matter how much you rampage, you can’t break free from this restraint, can you…?”

Clang, clack, clang.

Watching the restraints resist, Sung Yura blinked her eyes.

Huh, what?

No, why is that?

“Sung Yuraaaa!”

There is a taboo in the superhero genre that villains should not commit.

It’s killing the protagonist’s precious person.

Due to the presumed death(?) of Lee Jin-hyuk, Jin So-yeon found herself in an unintentional first awakening.