I Became the Traitor in an Academy Story

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It all happened in a flash, with no time for reactions or even recognition. It took me and the kids a few seconds to fully grasp what was going on.

But the Suit was different. The moment the control device broke, it reacted immediately.

And that reaction was painful.

As I was trying to understand what was happening to something wearing Minho’s form, the Suit squirmed, sending a weak pang of agony through me.

And when I felt an odd emptiness in my throat, it was already too late—the Suit began its serious attempt to consume me.

“Blanca!!!”

Jinhyeon and Lucia grasped the situation too late and unleashed their attacks at what appeared to be Minho.

Flames and black blades aimed for Minho, but it simply dodged all the attacks with eerie movements that far exceeded the range of normal joint motion.

Maybe thinking that shadows couldn’t reach it, Lucia immediately fired a blinding light at it.

But it split its own abdomen, creating a hole and letting the light pass through.

Momentarily stunned by actions that seemed to leap straight out of an old cartoon, Lucia watched as it soon abandoned the form of Minho and reverted to something akin to a dark mass.

But that wasn’t the pressing issue. My own nose was in a tight spot, and there was no time to help there.

Suppressing the pain with adrenaline and painkillers, I forced my body to harden with magic to fend off the invaders that were trying to burrow beneath my skin.

I couldn’t fully understand what this Suit was trying to do. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. But now I had learned—it was trying to get inside me.

Literally, it was ripping flesh to get into my veins.

My heart raced wildly. The fear of death, which I had long forgotten, overwhelmed me.

What the heck? Is this how I die? So pointless? I haven’t achieved anything yet? For this ridiculous reason?

No matter how much I desperately tried to stay calm while releasing soothing substances, it didn’t help much in the face of the terror of death.

Struggling to grab the Suit and tear it off only made it dig deeper into my body in defiance.

Even when I spewed out acidic or basic solutions, I couldn’t detach the Suit.

Rather, contrarily fueled by those attempts, the Suit turned into a restraining suit with spikes protruding from within, binding my movements while inflicting pain.

“Gghh, uhhh…! Get, get off…! Ahhh… Aaaah!!!”

While the kids were busy fighting, all I could do was roll on the ground in a futile attempt to shake it off.

In my mind, I understood well. Even if I died, it was just a simulation made with incomprehensible technology, and after that, I’d walk around as if nothing had happened.

But my body, my heart was already quaking with fear, moving on its own.

Monsters nearby, drawn in by the clamor of heated battle and my screams, closed in, and as the kids used their powers to deal with them, a vicious cycle began, attracting even more monsters.

They were trying to approach me to calm me down, but due to the black mass or monsters blocking them, they couldn’t touch me.

Instead, that black mass moved closer and spoke to me.

– “Comrade, what are you doing? Hurry, recover and understand the current exposed form!”

Momentarily stunned by the monster’s speech, the creature then opened its enormous eyes to stare at me and said again,

– “No brain?”

As it looked around and spoke incomprehensibly, it soon morphed its hand into a sharp blade and brought it closer to my body.

Feeling the urge to not die alone, I wrung out the elements in my body, spewing out sulfuric acid.

However, the monster showed no reaction, just like the Suit didn’t react to my powers. Not at all.

That attitude even carried a sort of vague implication—what on earth was this?

Just then, the monster’s blade was about to slice into my abdomen.

In the blink of an eye, a white flash flew through the air and knocked the black mass away.

“Skill name… Ah, I don’t know!”

It was the real Minho. He kicked the mass away, unleashing the pent-up shock in his shoes, sending the black mass flying far away.

“Blanca?! What on earth happened?!”

“What you just hit tore off Blanca’s necklace! Blanca is in danger!”

Jinhyeon summoned fire, lightning, and ice all around, explaining the situation to Minho. Upon hearing him, Minho looked pale as he turned to face me.

“Blanca…”

Even knowing he couldn’t help me, I murmured his name while watching him.

“…It’s okay, Blanca! It’s just a simulation! Remember Changwon?! He got hit with a laser and was cut in half! But he came back alive! So it’ll be fine!”

Minho didn’t seem particularly calm either. However, his genuine concern for me came through loud and clear.

And that made things even more confusing.

He must be suspicious of me.

He’s probably too busy worrying about his score and life to care about mine, so why?

Even though we’re friends, even if it’s fake, there’s no reason for him to risk his life for me╔ right?

It was hard to understand why Minho and the others kept fighting to protect me instead of fleeing.

If something was holding them back, it would be more rational to abandon it and move on. Yet, they chose not to break the shackles and insisted on staying with me.

They were bound to be crushed under the weight of those shackles.

Moreover, resisting only worsened the situation. I would ultimately be engulfed.

Exactly what would happen was uncertain, but I had a strong gut feeling about it.

But why?

“Why don’t you just abandon me…?”

I couldn’t comprehend.

“A friend, a precious person!! A comrade!! How can you just leave me behind?!!!”

The response burst forth from Jinhyeon. That wasn’t what I meant.

And why was he saying such things? I had treated him harshly all this while.

I couldn’t understand at all. Not even a bit. Outweighing the physical pain and fear of death, a feeling emerged that was hard to articulate.

I didn’t know what to say. But I knew what I had to do. I had to do my utmost.

The Suit had already pierced my flesh and was burrowing deeper inside me. I was forcing it from reaching my brain, but I wouldn’t hold out for even a minute.

After that… well, I guess I’d turn against my friends and attack them.

So, I had to die without being a hindrance. That was the best conclusion I could come up with.

– “Comrade, hang in there! Almost there!”

The monster that had flown away returned, cheering for my Suit. No visible injuries appeared on it.

What on earth was the Hero Association, no—Heros Company thinking when they made such a Suit?

It didn’t matter. But I thought having one travel companion wouldn’t be so bad.

Considering it wanted to give me a brain, at least among comrades, there could be some mutual help.

If it could give, it could also take.

Stumbling my way closer to the monster, it seemed to have given up, showing no signs of response.

Without hesitation, I plunged my hand into its torso and grasped something solid.

– “What is it?”

And with all my might, I yanked it out.

What I held in my hand could very well be a core. I couldn’t tell, but I crushed it with all my strength. Then, I jabbed my hand back into the oddly shaped black substance.

Grabbing, cutting, tearing, and ripping whatever came to my hand.

That black mass didn’t seem completely liquid either. It began to lose cohesion, spreading across the ground like ink.

I couldn’t tell if it was dead. But at least it didn’t seem like it would move anytime soon. The burden was lifted, and now only the final task remained.

I felt the Suit creeping up to my neck. In a few seconds, it would reach my brain.

My hand went to my neck. And with all my strength, I tightened my grip.

Since it was only occupying rather than transforming my body, even though my hand was already being eaten away, it moved just as I wished.

Ah, thank goodness. At least…

I wouldn’t be grabbing my comrades’ ankles.

– – – –

It was dark.

At the very least, I seemed to have successfully committed suicide. It probably wasn’t the afterlife. Was my consciousness just stored somewhere?

I wished I could figure out what kind of technology was used.

As I tried to guess, I gave up and started complaining, soon ceasing that too.

How long was I supposed to wait? I was bored.

Should I wait until the final exams were over?

There was no way to know exactly what my state was, and it was endlessly frustrating.

Then an odd voice echoed.

– “Brain connection function restoration successful. Attempting to replace self.”

It was a voice similar to that of the black thing I just killed, but I couldn’t tell if it was just recently or quite a while ago.

Why was I hearing this now?

Before I could understand, I felt my body. But something was different. It didn’t feel like my real body was moving…

Was it a sensation, or some kind of mental realm? Am I really dead?

Today, I felt like I was often encountering things that far surpassed my knowledge.

Momentarily feeling uncomfortable, in the pitch-black darkness, something resembling a small boy appeared.

– “Attempting to erase self.”

It seemed that this was trying to revive me or do something related.

I had never heard of a monster bringing someone back to life, so it probably was the Suit that revived me.

– “Executing deletion.”

The shape of the black boy approached me. I also stepped toward it.

Then, I delivered a swift kick to its head.

Oh. This works.

If I can hit it, I might be able to kill it.

Well, it was a good opportunity to have a little fun.

 

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