Chapter 91

The ground was torn up in some places, and in others, piles of rubble from destroyed buildings lay like graves.

It was a landscape that seemed unbelievable as the result of a fight between the pig-man who had belonged to a group of monsters far too strong to be called human, and the girl who had just begun to embody her own supernatural abilities.

Moreover, since the victor of that fight was the girl, nobody who hadn’t witnessed it firsthand with the Student Council President would believe it.

“Just hang on a little longer.”

“Ghhhhhh…!”

The one who had miraculously achieved this unbelievable feat was now whimpering in pain under the Student Council President’s care.

More precisely, she was grimacing in pain as the Student Council President, using a handkerchief as a makeshift solution, tried to stabilize the bones injured in the battle against the iron-backed boar.

Yet, despite the stark contrast between the girl who had just been fighting without showing any signs of pain and the girl now wincing under her touch, the Student Council President did not feel any sense of incongruity.

They had seen this dual nature before. The same person who had once play-acted the role of a perfect lover or shown off as her cute prince in front of her, would, in front of others, maintain a thorough indifference.

Her displaying weakness now was proof that the Student Council President was still regarded as special.

A smile threatened to break out on her face at this realization, but as soon as she thought of the hand gripping hers, the smile disappeared instantly.

“You realize you almost died, right?”

The word “invincible” no longer suited the girl. Even if the iron-backed boar’s ability was held by a very powerful individual, the Erica of the past would have been completely unaffected whether that individual had wielded steel rods or lifted entire buildings to crush her.

The past Erica had been such an entity. A girl so perfect that even someone possessing wisdom could see no way to overcome her.

And because of this nostalgia, this recollection of her past self, Erica had let her guard down. The reason scars that could not be healed were carved into Erica’s hand.

The reason she seemed upset with Erica was because she herself had not been able to step in then. She had only been a burden, and stepping in would have only added to Erica’s load.

“Well, we didn’t d*e, and that’s what matters.”

The bad ending of the story contained little more than the main character being assaulted. Because of this, Erica had not really considered the likelihood of d*ath as the Student Council President worried, though she didn’t vocalize this reasoning.

The Student Council President was genuinely concerned, and Erica didn’t wish to argue with her.

Angered by Erica’s calm demeanor, the Student Council President bit her lip and pulled the handkerchief tightly around Erica’s hand to finish securing it.

“Ah!”

“It’s done.”

The girl’s tearful glare at the Student Council President was much like the one she would have given during their dating days.

The Student Council President almost succumbed to reminiscence but remembered what she had to do. The time for indulging personal sentiments had passed; it was time to return to reality.

“You definitely used emotion.”

“…Let’s instead talk about what we should do with that guy.”

The subject brought up by the Student Council President was one Erica had been trying to avoid.

The man who had torn out the steel rods Erica had stabbed into him was now only unconscious, his unnatural body far from dead.

They needed to decide what to do with him before this iron-tough assailant awoke.

“If we just tie him up, he’ll break free. If we call the police or teachers, once he wakes up, he’ll just k*ll everyone and escape.”

The Student Council President’s comment was reasonable. It was harder to subdue someone while they were unconscious than to fight them outright.

Thinking of fighting again made the girl feel woozy, so she quietly listened as the Student Council President continued.

“At most, if we report this to the Association, reinforcements will be sent. However, there are two possibilities with the Busan Association’s response: either the man is part of an extremely powerful criminal organization that considers the Association a mere trifle, or the Busan Association itself, or part of it, is cooperating with this man. Either way, contacting the Association would be futile.”

The woman who had seen through the betrayal of the so-called Busan Girl merely through the state window was indeed a paragon of wisdom.

She might become powerless in a similar situation immediately, but outside of combat scenarios, few were as useful as her. Even in combat, while she might not be able to partake directly, her overall value was not diminished.

Whether Erica realized it or not, the Student Council President continued speaking.

“That man might just be mindlessly rushing in without concern for alliances, but given that he even mentioned the word ‘leader,’ the chances that a ‘leader’ would disregard power dynamics and issue commands like that are slim, right?”

“So, what should we do?”

“If this man is a dilemma too complex to either ignore or leave alone, it would be more prudent to think of what we must urgently handle without him. What do you think we should do?”

Through the Student Council President’s words moments ago, Erica already knew the Association or the authorities would not be of much help. The only one who could fight, Erica herself, was too injured to continue. In this situation, the only option was to flee — more precisely…

Thinking deeply, Erica found the answer, along with the reason for the Student Council President’s questioning her.

“We should rendezvous with Kim Ha-neul’s group.”

“Yes… let’s leave this man here and go quickly to join them.”

As Erica realized that the suggestion made by Lee Seo-ra, the Student Council President, was an attempt to guide her towards meeting Kim Ha-neul, she did not want to irritate her with trivial comments, though she considered asking if this was merely to meet her boyfriend in such a situation.

It wasn’t the public authorities but usually the protagonists who quelled terrorism, according to the visual novel’s rules. Following this logic, the most dangerous place was undoubtedly the protagonist’s side where incidents frequently erupted, but paradoxically, it was also the safest place, like the eye of a storm.

Letting this terrorist go was somewhat regrettable, considering the effort just expended, but carrying or guarding a steel mass as big as that man would be far more troublesome.

Erica wondered if Kim Ha-neul could receive phone calls now, or how to find him if he couldn’t, but the Student Council President’s wisdom seemed more than sufficient to locate him.

As Erica tried to leave with the Student Council President, her still aching right hand reminding her of its wounds, a voice suddenly called out:

“Hey there! Are you done talking? Why don’t you stay and play with me for a bit?”

A girl with an awkward but rustic dialect greeted them from atop a ruined building. The Busan Girl.

Knowing through the status window that this girl was the perpetrator of the current situation, Erica wanted to invoke her protection, but instead, her right hand grew hot, as if burnt, with sensations slowly returning to her fingertips.

“Your injury is being healed through bl**d erosion. You cannot use protection for now.”

The situation where healing power was activated instead of battle strength was baffling, and Erica, having just understood the essence of bl**d erosion as a healing ability, couldn’t easily think of a way to escape the Busan Girl.

As Erica clutched her bandaged right hand with her left, trying to find some way to escape, the Student Council President stepped forward and spoke.

“I’m sorry, but we can’t play. Also, someone has just arrived to play with you instead of us.”

The Student Council President’s attitude was openly hostile, as though she had known from the start that the Busan Girl was the enemy. Turning her gaze to the side, another woman was seen approaching.

Summoned by the Student Council President during the fight with Erica, she arrived, ready to provide backup.

One of the top fighters in the school approached leisurely with a studded bat across her shoulders.

“Jeez. I was told to just guard against trouble within the accommodation, and now you’re making me fight things like this, President?”

“I’m sorry, but I do need your help. You’re the strongest person I can call right now.”

“Wouldn’t it just be more satisfying to call the strongest?”

“I do think someone else is truly the strongest, so sorry, that’s a no.”

As the Student Council President and the Student Council Vice President chatted idly, the Busan Girl frowned, finding their apparent ease very irritating.

“Huh? And who’re you?”

“Stop messing around with that fake dialect and get down here, little missy. Let’s have a go.”

“Alright then~.”

The Vice President pointed her bloody bat at the Busan Girl, and in response, the girl leaped down from her perch.

Falling from a height of at least seven stories, the girl brushed dirt from her coat as she landed.

“Before the main course, let’s start with an appetizer.”