Because the bodyguards absolutely couldn’t abandon Suhyeon, it fell to Baek Seojin to push forward, engaging the villains’ top fighters in a grueling battle.
During the fight, he suddenly swiveled at times, throwing something that knocked down several “civilians.” Those turned out to be disguised members of the villain gang.
Thanks to him, the load on the bodyguards guarding Kim Suhyeon was massively reduced. He was facing more than half the villains alone, and dealing with the rest behind the scenes as well.
In other words, though some bodyguards provided backup, Baek Seojin was effectively holding back the bulk of the assault all by himself.
“Should we join him?”
“No. That Examiner is way above our level. If we butt in, we’ll just hamper him. Our best move is to stay here and keep him free to fight without distraction.”
So they just handled the ones trying to slip past him. Meanwhile, Baek Seojin stopped every frontal attack.
Kim Suhyeon crouched among the bodyguards, watching silently.
How can he manage all that? He had no obligation to do so. He had no real reason to risk himself for them. He was just a regular person. Yet here he was, fighting to protect her.
She truly was grateful. She wanted to repay him someday.
So that time he got hurt fighting Jung Yuhyeon, or she saw blood on his side, she’d been furious.
And he was the one who showed her how much she mattered. Told her not to compare herself to others. That she could accept herself as she was and move forward at her own pace.
From that moment on, Kim Suhyeon found herself admiring—maybe even adoring—Examiner Baek Seojin.
And now, with villains assaulting them yet again, exactly like the time the Elder invaded the Academy, he stood before her and shielded her once more.
At that sight, she realized she was beginning to cherish him deeply.
‘He’s over there, fighting alone to protect me…’
Once again, Baek Seojin blocked the man’s flame-laced magic head-on. The blazing embers scattered with a roar, black smoke rising all around. Even at this distance, the heat was palpable.
It must be excruciating for him. Those flames must hurt him terribly. Kim Suhyeon felt a surge of anger. She also felt a longing to become someone like him.
‘I can do it, too. I can fight for him!’
She burned with fury at her protector’s suffering, and also yearned to step up for his sake. Fueled by those powerful emotions, the seeds inside her started to sprout.
Kim Suhyeon’s irises began turning red. Not from bloodshot scleras, but rather her pupils themselves.
Her deep-seated inferiority and self-doubt still lingered, but the seeds had taken root, sprouted, and grown. And now, at last, they bloomed, unstoppable.
“Reinforcements will arrive in one minute. We can almost— Miss?”
“M-Miss! What’s wrong? Why are you—hey, put the sword dow—?”
Ignoring their alarmed shouts, Kim Suhyeon calmly reached for a bodyguard’s sword.
It was a clear, ringing sound, the blade shining bright. Yet around that blade, a faint red glow started swirling.
“I’m sorry, everyone. Really sorry. But… I need to go for just a moment.”
“Miss! That’s too dangerous. Please step back and—”
“The Examiner’s out there fighting alone. I’m sorry. I have no choice.”
Her voice was as timid and small as ever. Still, none of them dared to stop her now.
Their awakened superhuman senses screamed at them: the best move was to back away while she was still in a friendly mood.
‘I see more burns… he’s hurt again…’
Baek Seojin’s arm was covered with red-and-brown burn marks. Seeing them, Kim Suhyeon frowned as though she had been the one who got hurt.
She was angry. The person she admired, the one she cherished, was injured. She wanted to get rid of that dark-clad man who caused it, by her own hand this time. She wanted to move one step closer to being like Baek Seojin.
Her footsteps felt so light. The sword in her hand felt wonderful. She could see exactly where to slash, where to stab, and how to make him suffer the most. It was all perfectly clear in her eyes.
The dark-clad man had finally managed to stand up, but he recoiled in shock and staggered backward.
A deep sword-cut was already carved into his chest.
I did not see it. I had no idea how Kim Suhyeon moved just now. I did not see how she swung her sword or from which direction. My mind might have been distracted by the words “Crimson Witch” that had just appeared. That might be why. Still, even so, this was beyond anything I expected.
That dark villain, who had been fighting so well, just toppled backwards. He was not quite dead, but blood kept oozing from the gaping wound. If her blade had gone in a bit deeper, I wondered whether we would be looking at a man sliced in two.
“Reinforcements are here! Retreat!”
“Boss! Our backup arrived!”
“Damn it! Hey, grab him and run!”
Almost at once, one of the villains dashed over and scooped up the dark-clad man. Kim Suhyeon tried slashing immediately, but the enemy moved faster. He did not look especially strong, so he must have had speed-focused powers.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
The bodyguard leader, who had been fighting the one-eyed woman, roared. However, they already had too much distance, and chasing someone who was bent on escaping was not easy.
They also were not there to arrest villains. If they chased carelessly, they might incur even more risk. Letting them go was a rational choice.
“Examiner. Shall we go after them?”
Kim Suhyeon looked straight at me and asked that. Moments ago, she had been trembling in fear, but there was no sign of that now. I sensed she was ready to hunt them all down if I gave the word.
‘What on earth just happened to her?’
- Activating The Third Eye
All seeds needed for her awakening have now sprouted.
All the penalties from her previous Trait have vanished.
A being who has now fully awakened to the blood-soaked battlefield.
She grows stronger whenever she sees blood.
The clearer her intent to kill becomes, the longer she remains in a hyper-aware state.
Wounds no longer weaken her.
As long as someone is there to guide her, she will not break.
- Currently in early-awakened form.
- The Trait can grow further.
- A sub-trait has manifested.
When emotional stress hits a threshold, all combat abilities surge.
Normally, one would fail to distinguish friend from foe, but “Crimson Witch” keeps that under control.
She can use “Berserk” without losing her mind.
This was pure shock and fear.
Her new Trait was literally called the Crimson Witch. That future I had tried so hard to avoid had come back again.
The description was brutal too. She grew stronger the more blood she saw, and the clearer her intent to kill, the longer she stayed at peak awareness.
‘It’s on the same broken level as Lee Hyunwoo.’
A single slash that sliced through her foe without the slightest hesitation. Speed, precision, power—there were no weak points. This was the early stage of her awakening, and it might evolve further. No wonder the protagonist had such trouble with the Crimson Witch in the original timeline.
And her Sub-Trait? Berserk. This alone sounded terrifying enough, but:
The biggest drawback to berserker-type powers is losing the ability to distinguish friend from foe. They fall into bloodlust and kill indiscriminately. That is the fate of anyone who goes berserk.
This “Crimson Witch” Trait neatly countered that drawback, letting her remain fully sane. So, basically, she had a godlike buff skill without any penalty.
She really did get that big “power up” I was hoping for. Yes, she soared to a mind-blowing level, but I felt terribly uneasy about it.
“…You’re hurt again.”
At some point, Kim Suhyeon had sidled up close to me, gently touching my injured arm. She did not seem to care that the villains were fleeing or that the bodyguards were asking if she was alright. She only had eyes for the burns on my skin.
I recalled the Crimson Witch from the original story, the monstrous villain who fought Lee Hyunwoo to a standstill. That same woman who dragged hundreds of thousands of lives into the depths during the assault on Seoul.
And here she was, a student at the Academy, gazing at me with a look of distress in her eyes.
“This? It’s no big deal, Suhyeon. Like I said, just a little scald from some hot water.”
“But it really must hurt. Am I wrong?”
Well, yes. It did hurt. Burns always hurt. Everyone knows they are one of the most painful injuries a body can sustain.
But was it worth getting that anxious over? In all honesty, it felt more like a quick grease burn from cooking. Nothing that serious.
“I’m sorry, Examiner. I’ll try harder.”
I was pretty sure she meant it in the sense of working harder at her training, so she could do better in her evaluations and become stronger. Ordinarily, that would feel wonderful to hear from a student. It should have made me proud.
‘So then… why does it sound like she means “I’ll get better at killing them next time?”’
I could only hope that was my imagination. Yes, please, let it be my imagination.
Yuyu: Sorry bro, but in this, you're out of luck.