The injured were urgently transported to the hospital.

I was among them.

What I received from Park Min-hyuk was merely first aid.

I needed to receive professional treatment quickly.

Soon, Deputy Chief Oh Baek-seo arrived at the scene.

As soon as he saw me, his face turned pale.

It seemed he had difficulty hiding his emotions, unlike usual.

I left the cleanup of the scene to Ha Ye-song and instructed Baek-seo to track down Moon Chae-yeon. I was taken to the hospital with Min-hyuk as my guardian.

There was no need to worry about Yoo Do-ha.

Due to the penalty of his inherent ability, he would suffer from severe dry eyes and become a fool, but each time that happened, he would hide in a safe place. As a side note, I had never seen Do-ha in his foolish state.

Anyway, the student council split into two teams.

A team led by Baek-seo went to track down the villain Moon Chae-yeon, while another team handled the cleanup and investigation at the scene.

And time passed.

We received a report that Moon Chae-yeon had completely escaped.

In the end, the pursuit was terminated.

……

I was told it would take at least two weeks to fully recover. That was considering my recovery abilities.

Typically, the stronger one's magic, the faster they healed.

However, I also heard that without the first aid, I might have died or taken much longer to recover.

I didn't even want to imagine what would have happened if I had faced Chae-yeon alone without any help.

More importantly...

“……”

“……”

How should I deal with this awkward atmosphere...

In a private hospital room.

Baek-seo was silently peeling fruit, sitting in the guardian's seat.

I hadn't done anything wrong.

Baek-seo just seemed deep in thought, making it difficult to start a conversation.

Besides,

'We lost the Sixth Criminal...'

It wasn't something to be proud of...

“I'm sorry.”

Baek-seo suddenly spoke.

“What are you talking about?”

“I should have arrived sooner. At least if I had been there, you wouldn't have ended up like this, right?”

“Don't say that.”

“Huh?”

‘You make it sound like I'm incapable of catching villains without you...’

It was a blow to my pride as the chief.

I couldn't depend on the deputy chief.

Failing to capture Chae-yeon with the forces on site was purely my fault.

“You were far away. What could you do?”

While I was at the shopping mall, Baek-seo was quite a distance away.

Baek-seo could move very quickly, but there were limits. He had to cover most of the distance on foot.

Given that, he arrived incredibly fast.

Wherever he had been, it seemed to be a private matter.

“The important thing is what happens next.”

I tried to move my upper body, but intense pain in my side made me stop.

It felt like I was going to die from the pain.

Without showing it, I lay back down and stared at the hospital ceiling.

“The Sixth Criminal targeted me for some reason and will definitely come after me again. We need to be prepared.”

If I met Chae-yeon again and failed to capture her, it would be a disgrace to my position as the student council president.

My reputation would be damaged, and my future would be threatened.

I had to capture Chae-yeon no matter what.

‘Why does nothing go according to plan...’

In my life,

I've worked hard, so can things go my way just once...

It's not like I can blame anyone else.

‘At least I can take solace in the fact that I can fight Chae-yeon at this level.’

In the past, I couldn't even imagine that.

Now, I could fight on equal footing with Chae-yeon. I was stronger than I had expected.

But there was a problem.

Chae-yeon hadn't shown her full power yet.

‘In the second round, she’ll definitely bring out Chimera...’

It was clear that in the future, Chae-yeon would deploy her combat weapon, Chimera.

We needed a thorough countermeasure.

We had to prepare for the worst-case scenario.

‘If only we could find her hideout.’

We didn't know where Chae-yeon's hideout was.

In the game, meeting the Six Criminals was only possible during predetermined events.

But we couldn't just sit around and wait. We needed to start searching.

“Chief.”

“Huh?”

Baek-seo suddenly leaned closer.

His shadow fell over me. A gentle smile spread across his face.

“Rest for now. Don’t think about anything else. You're a patient, after all.”

His voice was soothing, calming my mind.

I appreciated the concern, but I couldn't just rest aimlessly.

“I'm not in a position to do that, am I?”

“Rest.”

“……”

Despite the gentle tone, it felt somewhat forceful.

……

I calmed my breathing and focused on circulating my internal magic. Like meditating.

When I closed my eyes, a vivid scene played out on the dark canvas of my mind like a movie screen. The cityscape where I had fought Moon Chae-yeon.

‘If I had set the coordinates correctly...’

When Chae-yeon dropped the aircraft, if I could have created a crack at the exact location...

‘If I could have made a large crack at once...’

If I could have created one huge crack.

I could have prevented the explosion and Chae-yeon's escape.

Setting coordinates accurately and creating a wide-radius crack in one go was still difficult for me.

There was also the option of using Spatial Lightning Strike to destroy the aircraft.

But that method had high risks.

If the aircraft was destroyed, debris would rain down like a storm.

Blocking each piece of debris would require immense skill in setting coordinates. It was a level far beyond my current capabilities.

So, prioritizing escape on foot was the best option.

The more I thought about it, the more I regretted not being fully trained in my inherent ability.

‘If I could have stopped it.’

In my imagination,

I reached out towards the aircraft Chae-yeon had dropped.

I repeatedly visualized creating a crack and sending the aircraft to a different location in my mind.

My internal magic reacted to my desire, surging within me.

My whole body was drenched in sweat.

The vivid setting, the intense emotions, and the honed senses guided me into a singular focus.

The pain in the spot where Chae-yeon had stabbed me surged, but I could endure it.

‘Just a little more.’

Relying on my senses, I drew the scene in my mind over and over.

Eventually, my stamina would deplete, and I would lose consciousness.

Though there was no penalty to bear, the repeated practice alone left me exhausted.

But I couldn't stop.

In a situation where Chae-yeon had gauged my strength and would bring out Chimera, my chances of winning would drastically decrease.

I couldn't help but become impatient to grow stronger.

‘Ah.’

How many hours had passed?

I unintentionally drifted off to sleep.

Late at night.

The dark hospital room.

Baek-seo entered the room. He saw An Woo-jin sleeping.

He turned off the bedside lamp, leaving only the faint moonlight filtering in.

Baek-seo carefully brushed Woo-jin's hair, as if handling something precious.

Though worried about the sweat pouring off Woo-jin, he decided not to worry, knowing it was part of training his inherent ability.

After a while.

Baek-seo left the hospital room and headed to the bathroom.

The bathroom at midnight was dimly lit.

It was quiet and lonely.

Baek-seo washed his hands at the sink and looked into the mirror.

A girl with long hair and wearing black clothes with an emotionless expression reflected in the mirror.

She wore dark clothes to blend into the night.

It was the appearance of Baek-seo from the days of Sparta.

Perhaps due to the penalty of her inherent ability, Baek-seo's eyes sometimes grew cold, reflecting her past.

The girl in the mirror seemed to say.

You are this kind of person.

“……”

Baek-seo bowed her head.

The flowing tap water reflected in her view.

She recalled the enemies targeting Woo-jin.

Baek-seo knew they were all subordinates of the Grand Principal.

When she faced Kim Dal-bi on Shin Yongsan Street, she had somehow managed to fend her off.

But while Han Seo-jin and Moon Chae-yeon were pushing Woo-jin to the brink of death, what had she done?

“Ugh…”

She hadn't protected Woo-jin.

There were times she might not have been able to act in time, and Woo-jin could have died. Multiple times.

“Haa.”

Baek-seo let out a small sigh.

“I didn't come next door for this…”

During the practical evaluation.

When Han Seo-jin deployed the barrier, when she couldn't defeat the monster she summoned, the helplessness she felt...

The image of Woo-jin being carried away in an ambulance, bleeding profusely from being stabbed by Moon Chae-yeon, came rushing back to her mind.

‘Why are you so indifferent?’

She recalled Woo-jin, who remained calm despite those incidents.

As if it was natural to experience such things.

It wasn't natural.

Even for a student council president, it didn't make sense to go through such events repeatedly.

Why was this?

Because the opponent was Grand Principal Lee Doo-hee.

Because he was the mayor of Neo Seoul.

Because the threats, like wild dogs, were constantly targeting Woo-jin.

Woo-jin couldn't possibly know this.

“……”

A string in Baek-seo's mind seemed about to snap.

She entrusted the guardian role to Ha Ye-song and Park Min-hyuk and went home.

Baek-seo's home.

Inside, it appeared ordinary, but there was a hidden place.

If Woo-jin had deliberately searched the house, he would have found it. He had a keen eye.

That's why she had insisted he not help with moving the furniture.

Moreover, when Woo-jin had seen her naked in the shower and fled, he hadn't had time to inspect the house.

Creak.

She moved the bookshelf aside, revealing a door. She unlocked it and entered.

The place Baek-seo had hidden was a small weapons cache.

The walls were filled with information about her investigative process and the Grand Principal.

Hidden treasures of information she had secretly collected from distant areas filled the room.

The reason she hadn't arrived quickly at the scene of Woo-jin's fight with Chae-yeon was due to her investigation.

Baek-seo took out a pistol that handled magic bullets from the weapons storage.

The cold touch and heavy weight felt in her hand.

She brought the pistol close to her ear and checked the loading sound.

Click.

It was fine.

Baek-seo gathered her sword 'Baekryun-do', lethal weapons, top-quality magic bullets from black mermaids outside the city, extra magazines, a silencer, and combat magical tools.

After that, she sat at her desk.

On the desk was a piece of paper with simple personal information about Oh Baek-seo.

[Resignation Form]

Name: Oh Baek-seo

Affiliation: Student Council

Position: Deputy Chief

...

It was a resignation form she had prepared since last time.

Baek-seo caressed the resignation form and whispered softly.

“I have to protect Woo-jin…”

There was something she had to do.

It might take some time.

Baek-seo couldn't give up on that task.

That task was.

‘I have to eliminate the Grand Principal.’

Her goal was to kill the current Grand Principal, Lee Doo-hee.

Originally, she had planned to gather more solid information and act in the second semester.

But since the Grand Principal was targeting Woo-jin for some reason, Baek-seo felt the urgency.

‘Woo-jin can't know about this.’

If Woo-jin found out about Baek-seo's plan, he would either stop her or join her.

Neither option was good for Baek-seo.

Woo-jin would be continuously exposed to life-threatening situations.

So, this resignation form meant she would return after completing the task and share a future with Woo-jin.

It was Baek-seo's resolution.

However.

“……”

Baek-seo lowered her head.

“No, I guess I don't need this…”

Clunk.

She opened the trash can and discarded the resignation form.

As if nothing had happened, she would return while Woo-jin was still hospitalized.

Baek-seo armed herself and left the house.

The darkness of the night enveloped her.