The Villains I Taught Became Heroes - Chapter 109
108 – The End – 1
***
Lee Hyun, enveloped in a halo of light, had vanished.
As everyone was bewildered by the sudden disappearance of Lee Hyun, who had just been with them, So-wol clenched her fists tightly.
“…He’s gone.”
“Saint! Where did Instructor Lee Hyun go!?”
“…He, he’s gone.”
The ominous premonition had been right.
In the end, Lee Hyun had left. Struggling to hold back tears that felt like they would overflow, Lena spoke with difficulty.
“Ugh… Huh… U… Uwaaah!”
The tears she had been holding back burst forth.
Arisha, who didn’t want to show her tears to the departing Lee Hyun, eventually began to sob uncontrollably.
The students, sensing something from the trio, urgently asked, and soon learned the truth.
That Lee Hyun was from another world and had ultimately returned to his own.
“It can’t be…”
“Even though he was from another world, he exerted himself to save this one…”
The students, feeling sorrowful, sighed heavily as they looked at the struggling trio.
How can I comfort them?
It’s true that they liked Lee Hyun too, but not as much as the three of them did.
They must be sad.
They must be in pain.
They must be struggling.
The students, watching the three mourn in their own ways, stepped back with a bitter feeling.
Eventually, when only the three remained in the auditorium, Sowol opened her tightly clenched fist.
“I will submit a leave of absence.”
There was no reason to stay in the academy without Lee Hyun.
And there was something that needed to be done.
“Rena, how much research have you done on dimensional magic?”
“…Ah, it’s still not perfect…”
“How much more research do we need to do?”
“…Well, I’m not sure…”
“If there’s anything you need, I will support you as much as possible.”
I will make the most of my position as a saint.
I will also fully utilize my status as the heir of the Eastern Merchant Guild.
I will do whatever it takes to find Lee Hyun.
Grinding her teeth, Sowol spoke seriously, and Rena nodded slightly.
“I, I want to help too…”
“…Ah, actually, there’s something I wanted to ask. The King of Rights once broke the wall of dimensions, you know?”
“…I can do it too!”
When did she build up that much strength?
As the two looked at her in surprise, Arisha clenched her fist tightly.
“I had a feeling that the teacher would leave someday. So… just in case, I trained with my uncle.”
“Well done. Then, Arisha, you should join us.”
If she has the power to break the wall of dimensions, it will surely be helpful.
Though she is a rival, it wouldn’t be a bad thing to become a comrade who works together from now on.
Sowol extended her hand to Arisha, who immediately grasped it.
“Shall we start now?”
Hearing Sowol’s calm words, the three headed toward the dean’s office.
The three who submitted their leave of absence moved busily.
All three possessed powers related to dimensions, but discovering a specific dimension and moving to it was no easy task.
Yet, even so, they could not give up on Lee Hyun.
A deep longing for him, and a very small resentment.
Lastly, the desire to capture him if they found him in another world and imprison him.
Each of their wishes became the driving force that kept them pushing through the difficult research.
And so, a year passed.
Pouring everything they had into their efforts, they finally stood on the brink of their first test.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes, yes.”
“Uh!”
A massive magic circle was created in the area of the Colorless Guardian set up in the Ivory Tower.
Standing within it, Seot took a deep breath, and Lena raised her staff.
Her magical power began to resonate with the magic circle, emitting light.
That light was similar to the one that had appeared when Lee Hyun disappeared.
“Ugh…?!”
It was then that an unknown memory flooded into her mind.
It was herself.
The self that had not met Lee Hyun.
After the Asura Cult’s attack, the leader of the Eastern Sect, So Jung Yang, was assassinated, and foolishly, she had become one of their allies, unaware that they were the ones who had carried out the assassination.
And the horrific memories of becoming an absurdly evil villain, tormenting someone, only to eventually face a terrible end, burrowed into her mind.
‘Is this the country where I… did not meet my master…?’
As So Wol instinctively realized that this had been her original fate, she coughed violently.
At that moment, the light vanished.
“What happened?”
“It, it was a failure…”
If it had been successful, they should have been standing before the walls of another dimension.
But what they had summoned this time was merely another dimension.
Looking at the apologetic Lena, So Wol sighed and recounted the memories that had flowed into her.
“I think I saw… So Wol unnie from another dimension…”
“…Anyway, it was similar. Alright. Shall we try again?”
“Isn’t it hard?”
“I’m fine. It’s just this.”
From noble mtl dot com
She had no interest in the self who had not met Lee Hyun.
She had changed by meeting someone precious.
So Wol clenched and unclenched her fist, recalling the self who had met a horrific end.
There was no need to say which was the better life, then and now.
Thus, her longing for Lee Hyun only grew stronger.
“I, I’ll do it again, just once.”
As she activated her magic, the light spread once more.
Within that light, Lena saw herself.
The self who had not met Lee Hyun.
Always alone in a hut that was no better than a ruin. Led by those who had come to find her, she had become the Witch of Silence, committing countless wrongdoings.
Confronted with that horrific image, Lena dropped her magical staff.
“Lena unnie?!”
“Did you… see it too?”
The self who had not met Lee Hyun.
Every time she recalled the sadness, loneliness, and pain of that self, her heart would throb painfully.
“Ugh… M-master… Master…”
Lee Hyun’s presence was the reason for her current self.
So-wol recalled her longing for him and her eyes brimmed with tears, and both So-wol and Arisha warmly embraced her.
“It’s almost time. Soon, we’ll be able to meet Master. So…”
Let’s gather a little more strength.
At her words, Lena nodded. Yes. We can’t just stand still.
Wasn’t it already known that meeting someone you want to see isn’t an easy task?
Then, we just have to continue.
Lena gritted her teeth and stood up.
“I’ll try again.”
This time, she would meet the wall of dimensions.
Gritting her teeth, Lena used her magical power, and once again, a halo of light surrounded them.
“Ah…”
Memories flowed into Arisha as well.
The future when Lee Hyun had not yet left.
A future where Asura descended, and the world crumbled, with everyone dying and fighting through pain and despair.
‘Did Master… know about this future?’
Was that why Lee Hyun thought it was so necessary to defeat the Asura Church? It’s uncertain.
But everything would ultimately be resolved when she met Lee Hyun.
Arisha, making an effort to ignore the tormenting memories, endured the light, and when that light faded, a large wall appeared before her.
The wall of dimensions she had been searching for.
“…Arisha. I’m counting on you.”
“If, if we break this, we can go to where Master is.”
At the words of the two, who had appeared before she knew it, she nodded and clenched her fist.
Energy and magical power were gathering in her fist.
As So-wol and Lena swallowed hard while staring at it, Arisha quickly extended her fist.
-Kwaaang!!
The wall blocking the space between dimensions crumbled, and pure white light rose.
The three instinctively felt it.
That it was another dimension. That it was where the person they so desired was.
“…Let’s go.”
So-wol stepped forward.
There was no hesitation or fear.
What she felt was simply anticipation.
What would Lee Hyun say when they met? Would he be happy? Or would he be sad?
No matter what that emotion was, she had no intention of letting go now.
“Once we meet, let’s think about how to imprison Master first.”
“I have something I want to do before that!”
At Arisha’s lively statement, the two tilted their heads.
Embracing them, Arisha said in a bright voice.
“I’ll prove that Master is mine!”
I felt like I already knew what the method was, even without hearing it.
That’s why Sowol and Lena smiled faintly.
Because they were thinking the same thing.
The light began to grow stronger. Suppressing their tension, they arrived at a house where the light led them.
It was quite a spacious house.
Upon arriving at the house filled with countless mysterious objects, they searched for Ihyun, but he was nowhere to be found.
Had they failed?
As Lena let out a sound of disappointment, Arisha shouted.
“It’s the teacher!”
Looking at a lifelike painting hanging on the wall, Arisha exclaimed.
On the wall was a painting of a man and a woman nearing old age.
“Who could it be?”
“C-could it be the teacher’s mother…?”
In the woman’s face, they could see traces of Ihyun.
Sowol, silently gazing at the painting alongside the seemingly pained woman, fiddled with the relic she had brought.
If she used the power of this relic to heal, could she recover?
“Is this the teacher’s house?”
There was also a picture on the table featuring Ihyun and the woman.
Then, hadn’t they come to the right place?
Just as they were filled with anticipation.
– Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!
Sounds began to emanate from the iron gate.
As they turned their heads in that direction, the door opened.
“Uh…? Why are you all here?”
At those words, the three burst into laughter and rushed towards him.
It was Ihyun.
Their beloved.
Looking up at Ihyun, who seemed quite flustered by their tight embrace, Arisha grinned and spoke.
“Got you.”
“I-I won’t let go now.”
“No, wait! Wait! What is this…”
“Let’s talk later.”
Sowol, who had closed the door, pulled him into the room.
Throwing him onto the rather spacious bed, Sowol smiled faintly as she began to unbutton her clothes.
“Right now, that’s not the priority.”