Novels online

I got into school for nothing - 180

I got into school for nothing (180)

Lesson 35. The Final Changeling - 5

Those who cling to an illusion usually know that it is an illusion.

Yet, knowing, they cannot give up.

No matter how hard they clench, it remains unclutched.

No matter how hard they pull, it remains unpulled.

No matter how hard they chase, the distance never narrows.

It simply hangs there, sparkling before their eyes, seeming close yet distant.

Believing they will one day grasp it, they chase it until they die.

Even less was it friendship, honor, or family.

Nor was it a thirst for revenge against the parents who had cast him into an unknown human village in a lower dimension.

It was simply a yearning for his fundamental identity as a fairy.

He needed an unwavering conviction in his roots, strong enough to overwrite the memories of a past where he had always had to grow up doubting himself.

So, wasn't it natural that he hovered around Mira, who was, to anyone's eye, a "true fairy"?

To him, Mira was not Mira the individual, but the fairy race itself; not an object of romance, but of adoration, and at the same time, an inescapable hatred.

That is to say—at least, that's what he had believed, until Ban Yuwon suddenly appeared one day and completely stole Mira's body and soul.

"You're going to die."

"That's rich coming from the person who stabbed a spear into my stomach."

Kettra thought it was a miracle he was still alive, especially with such a horrific wound in his abdomen, as if carved out by a greatsword, and now a red spear continually prodding it.

Climbing the Tower of Babel, and at times engaging in piracy, had not been entirely in vain, as it had allowed him to cultivate his abilities and collect artifacts.

A hollow, wry smile touched Kettra's lips.

The man who saw it also smiled with a look of utter disbelief.

"Why did you betray us, Kettra?"

Kettra had joined the Crimson Spear, one of the most prominent dimension pirate groups alongside Exodus, even before he enrolled in Union Academy.

Both Exodus and Crimson Spear had ties to higher dimensions, but...

Exodus used the higher dimensions but couldn't hide their desire to pull them down.

Crimson Spear, on the other hand, sought to bask in the prestige of the higher dimensions and be integrated into them.

For Kettra, abandoned by his higher-dimensional parents and longing for his own species rooted there, it was the perfect group.

"Weren't we supposed to do this together? The dimension swap?"

The man pressed him for an answer, his voice growing stronger.

Kettra faced the man with the spear in his stomach and let out a short sigh.

Just a short while ago.

That is, until he manipulated information to draw Crimson Spear's elite forces to the E-1 dimension and pitted them against Exodus.

As a fellow Crimson Spear dimension pirate, he had quite a deep relationship with the man before him.

"No, well. Isn't it a common trope? Infiltrating enemy lines for a mission, falling in love with a woman, and then betraying your allies to save her?"

"Kettra, for *that* woman?"

The man snorted.

"The Crimson Princess would burst out laughing if she knew. And—she'd take out all her anger on us."

"My apologies, Seldon."

"Ha, you're really killing my vibe. This is driving me insane."

The man, called Seldon, scratched his head as he pulled the spear from Kettra's abdomen.

Knowing Kettra would die soon anyway, there was no need to prod further, and the betrayal had been so sudden that his feelings for Kettra hadn't yet settled.

"...To swap those Exodus bastards with our own members, it wouldn't even be a fair trade if we splintered your soul."

"Of course it wouldn't... What happened?"

"Exodus is all dealt with. Thanks to that, we only have one ship left."

Kettra had been involved in a large-scale project within the Crimson Spear.

It was an attempt to surpass Exodus, an attempt to completely overturn the balance of the S-rank dimensions, and at the same time, a cruel revenge against the fairies.

But then Kettra, who had been most actively pursuing it, suddenly manipulated information, destroyed confidential data, and ultimately used 'Changeling' to make the Crimson Spear fleet collide with Exodus. How bewildered his unsuspecting comrades must have been!

He had meticulously orchestrated the clash, evenly matching the forces of Exodus and Crimson Spear. It was a miracle that even one Crimson Spear ship survived.

This was also proof that Kettra's Changeling ability had reached its peak.

Indeed, if it hadn't, he wouldn't have been able to transfer Mira's remotely inflicted abdominal stab wound to himself through Changeling.

"Hey, Kettra. Is love really that great? Enough to throw away your life?"

"I don't know."

Kettra replied with a deliberately light tone, pulling a Candy of Life from his pocket and biting into it.

He had received it as a gift from Ban Yuwon after their sparring match, when they had a heartfelt conversation about Mira.

Upon tasting it, he found it had more potent effects than any potion he knew. But as Seldon just said, the series of Changeling acts he performed today wouldn't balance the scales even if he sacrificed his entire soul... So, no matter how amazing the Candy of Life was, it could only delay his final moments slightly and lessen his pain.

Yet, in this moment, that reprieve was tearfully appreciated.

"Hey, Seldon. Since he took a knife wound for her, maybe she'll at least give him a final goodbye?"

"I think so too."

Kettra still wasn't sure if he truly loved Mira.

Without certainty in himself, he had acted a part, a complete lie, even in the Academy.

What meaning could emotions built on such a foundation of lies possibly have?

Perhaps that's why he couldn't even properly decide his own path, awkwardly spinning in place until he ended up like this.

"Will you let him go?"

"...Go. Our team's already screwed anyway, so I might as well make your last moments comfortable."

"Thank you. Truly."

But this feeling, this desire to see Mira now, was undeniably real.

Even if he yielded everything to Ban Yuwon, even if he acknowledged him and stepped aside, there was still something he couldn't concede.

Kettra wanted to believe that if he couldn't abandon a lie, it must be true.

"It's open."

Seldon said gruffly, pointing to the spaceship floor.

A square emergency exit opened, and a violent gust of wind rushed in, rustling Kettra's hair.

"Seldon, thank you for everything."

"If you're thankful, you bastard, you shouldn't be leaving after pulling a stunt like this!"

"The project will fail."

Kettra's declaration made Seldon's face contort.

"Even in your final moments, you're cursing us?"

"I'm serious. The fairy princess has a formidable ally. An ally so outstanding that even the Crimson Princess won't be able to do anything."

The "fairy princess" referred to Mira.

Seldon, understanding his words, scoffed.

Mira was a crucial figure in the project, and indeed, one of Crimson Spear's targets.

Naturally, they had a complete grasp of her relationships.

"You're not talking about that human kid down there, are you?"

That was correct.

If the wielder of an Authority that could beautifully mess with the fairies' Changeling and create his desired outcomes stepped forward to help the fairy race, could the Crimson Spear truly manipulate the fairies as they wished?

Kettra thought not.

He had initially approached Ban Yuwon because he thought he could use him for the project.

And now, he had inadvertently created Crimson Spear's greatest enemy with his own hands, which made him chuckle.

"If you're thinking of changing allegiances, Exodus won't do either. It's doomed. They've already made him an enemy."

"Oh, really? So what am I supposed to do? Quit pirating entirely and become a mercenary?"

Kettra, who had been approaching the emergency exit, suddenly placed his hand on the ship's floor.

A ripple of Ki radiated from it, and soon blue lines surged across the ship's inner walls.

Seldon immediately realized it was a Changeling on the ship, specifically the transfer of ownership from Crimson Spear's handler to Kettra himself.

"You, you..."

"If you start with one ship, mercenary work should be quite viable. I've already changed your face, so you don't have to worry about being tracked."

"Huh? What the hell, you bastard!"

Seldon, only realizing his face had changed after hearing Kettra's words, gasped and touched his cheeks.

"You're much handsomer than before, so you should be grateful to me."

"No, this son of a bitch, really, from earlier..."

"There's a reliable route in my mirror, so try your luck through that."

Thank you.

Before Seldon could argue further, Kettra uttered that single phrase and leaped out of the emergency exit.

Seldon, left alone, pondered for a long time. But realizing he was already a traitor the moment he was tricked by Kettra's plan and brought to this dimension, he finally sighed deeply and picked up the mirror Kettra had left behind.

* * *

By the time Mira finished explaining the 'Changeling' that had happened to her to Ban Yuwon, everyone witnessed Kettra leaping out of the emergency exit.

The Crimson Spear's ship vanished as if its purpose was complete... and a moment later, Shati clicked her tongue.

"The Chancellor knew."

"Maybe he actually knows absolutely nothing and just pretends to know only after everything's over?"

"No, he said the full professor's departure was delayed, so he sent someone else first, and that person was the vice president. Ah, Professor Yumina also just left."

"I seriously want to punch him."

And that vice president was now leaping from a Crimson Spear ship.

This meant the Chancellor truly knew that Kettra was part of a dimension pirate group.

"Hoo."

Kettra, who had miraculously survived despite most of his internal organs being gone, landed softly on the ground and smirked.

He, who everyone expected to say something to Mira, first addressed Shati.

"President, it seems the restriction is gone?"

"Vice President, you're being treated as 'dead' right now. A restriction wouldn't activate on a dead person."

"That's a relief. I wanted to see your face before I went."

The "restriction" referred to what prevented Kettra from approaching Mira.

In truth, that restriction was a very effective attack method against Kettra, who was affiliated with Crimson Spear. If it had been discovered, he would have been removed from the project anyway.

"Mira."

"Kettra, are you an idiot?"

Mira said to Kettra, who turned towards her, with a look of disbelief.

"Yes, I am an idiot."

"Don't just arbitrarily dump heavy burdens on me. If you do that, I..."

Mira, who had been speaking whatever came to mind, unable to control her emotions, soon frowned and closed her mouth.

Instead, Ban Yuwon spoke to Kettra.

"Why did you do it?"

"Would you believe me if I said it was love? Would you, Mira?"

"...I can't believe it, but even if I did, what meaning would it have?"

"Haha, just believe me. Even if it's a lie."

Was Mira feeling resistant to Kettra's words? She instinctively tried to step back, but Ban Yuwon was already there.

Placing a hand on Mira's shoulder, Ban Yuwon said in a quiet voice,

"I don't like it when you blindly deny things either. Especially since you protected someone precious to me."

"Yuwon, you said you'd accept all of me."

"That's right."

Ban Yuwon gently stroked her stiff cheek.

"So, no matter if it's you, I can't tolerate you arbitrarily hiding away a part of yourself. No matter how embarrassing or regrettable those memories are to you, they are precious to me."

"Ugh..."

In truth, Mira wasn't denying Kettra simply out of a desire to be completely loyal to Ban Yuwon.

She denied Kettra's entire existence because his presence symbolized the sins she committed in her first semester.

At the time, she blamed it on the Constellation that manipulated her heart, on Kettra for not looking after her properly, and used Ban Yuwon's timely appearance as a convenient excuse to break from her past self and create a new one.

However, no matter how pure her feelings might be, Ban Yuwon didn't actually like the idea of removing all the "impure" parts that constituted her to maintain that purity.

"Ugh, ugh..."

Ban Yuwon's words made her feel embarrassed, loved, and grateful, but also sad and depressed at the thought of her true feelings being exposed.

But if her master, who possessed everything of hers (though she would never call him that to his face because he disliked it), wished it, she had no choice but to honestly accept it.

"I'm sorry..."

Mira bowed her head to Kettra.

Tears dripped onto the floor.

"For trying to kill you... I did something foolish..."

"Mira."

Kettra wore a surprised expression, then looked at Ban Yuwon instead of Mira, with a somewhat relieved face.

"I really can't win..."

"I'm sorry, thank you. I'm sorry."

Mira repeated, again.

Kettra let out a deep sigh and sank to the floor.

His limit was approaching.

"It's okay, Mira. I was actually trying to use you too. I was going to do something utterly villainous, a dimension swap, sacrificing you and the fairies. So, you don't need to apologize to me."

"What's with that sudden story?"

"I already sent it to junior's mirror, so read it leisurely later."

Ban Yuwon gasped as a story of a completely different scale suddenly appeared.

Kettra chuckled, seemingly satisfied with his reaction, and added one more thing.

"There's an enemy in the Academy. Keep a close eye on the scions of the Ten Great Families."

"Understood. Thank you."

"Mira."

"Thank you, I'm sorry..."

"Mira."

Kettra called out Mira's name strongly again, as she repeated the same words like a broken doll.

"'I love you' would have been better, if possible."

"That... perhaps, in the past."

Mira, ordered to be honest by Ban Yuwon, spoke truly, even as she secretly watched his reaction.

"But now, 'I love you' is only for Yuwon. I'm sorry."

"Ha, even after taking a knife for her, I'm still rejected."

Kettra chuckled.

Ban Yuwon, seeing his smile, which had somehow returned to the atmosphere of their first meeting, also let out a wry laugh.

"You think a woman's heart is easy? You should've held onto her when it seemed like she liked you."

"See, junior is just like me. What did I say? We'd be the strongest if we teamed up."

...There was no argument against that.

"Junior, thank you for reconciling us. Mira, thank you too. President, I apologize for being an incompetent subordinate."

After his final farewells, Kettra picked up his dagger and extended it to Ban Yuwon.

"Will you finish me, junior?"

"You're asking me to do something I dislike. Is this revenge?"

"Well, I had the woman I loved taken away, so I should at least do this much."

"...Thank you for protecting Mira, senior."

Goodbye.

Ban Yuwon carried out the request.

Mira squeezed her eyes shut.

She realized that her first love, which she hadn't properly concluded, had finally, perfectly ended.