Academy's Drunk Fighter-Chapter 21: Followers of the End (3)

“Hey, what was your name again?”

“It’s Esha...”

“Esha...”

I wanted to ignore him and just walk past, but I was thrown off by Yoon Siwoo suddenly starting a conversation. Once he initiated it, I couldn’t just brush him off anymore.

“We haven’t really talked since that duel.”

“Ah, yeah.”

This is uncomfortable.

I mean, we’re not even in the same class, so it’s not like we have any reason to talk, right?

“Still, you fought better than I expected back then.”

“I kinda got completely wrecked, though...”

He seemed to be trying to keep the conversation going, but it felt like it wasn’t getting anywhere.

It was obvious he wanted to say something but kept dancing around it.

So I asked directly.

“Is there something you want to say?”

And that’s when the question burst out.

“Um... have we met /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ somewhere before?”

He asked if we’d met before, and I thought about it.

Felt like I’d seen him somewhere, but... no clue where exactly. Honestly, I wasn’t even sure it was him I’d seen.

They say if you can’t remember someone clearly, it probably wasn’t an important memory.

This content is taken from fгeewebnovёl.com.

So I denied it.

“Don’t think so.”

“Really? I mean, since we’re in the same year, we can talk casually, right?”

“I’d rather not.”

I’ve never liked being around golden boys.

Being near guys like that makes me feel like I’m devaluing myself.

Like I’m just some stepping stone that makes them shine even brighter.

Sure, if I hadn’t screwed up my trait selection, maybe I’d be on that side too—but still, don’t like what I don’t like.

“...I see.”

“Do you live around here or something?”

“No, I just came to buy some food. This was the only store still open.”

Yeah, this place is open until midnight, unlike the others. Makes sense.

“Oh, also, I heard a rumor. Someone dumped a tray on you?”

“I think that did happen, yeah.”

Yeah, that was this morning. But it was over, and what’s done is done.

It was kind of like experiencing school bullying for the first time, but Noah stepped in and handled it well, and I didn’t get hurt, so I ended up forgetting about it pretty fast.

“Still, something like that... isn’t it hard to just forget?”

“In situations where remembering won’t solve anything, isn’t forgetting the best option?”

Yeah. Maybe this kind of mindset is the most essential thing for surviving in this world.

No matter how tough or painful it gets, I just have to forget it and do what I can.

“Only idiots get hung up on the past.”

“...I see.”

I mean, I’ve long since forgotten about my old body from my previous life.

Sure, maybe it’s partly the effect of a curse or whatever—but since I’ve accepted it in a positive way, it’s not something I need to worry about.

Then his face stiffened slightly.

It turned pale—like he was about to shit himself.

And then out of nowhere, he asked:

“Do you... by any chance... know about the End?”

“...Huh?”

The End...?

Only one thing comes to mind. Don’t tell me Yoon Siwoo’s one of those doomsday cultists?

“Uh... no? I don’t know anything about that.”

“R–really?”

If he is, that’s dangerous as hell.

He might not be, but who the hell suddenly brings up the End out of nowhere?

“And why are you asking that?”

“No reason... I just felt like it.”

“...I, um, I have to go now.”

“Wait!”

He was acting way too off. I figured I couldn’t keep talking to him like this, so I turned around, held in my racing heartbeat, bought my booze, and ran home.

****

Yoon Siwoo.

He asks himself every night.

Who are you?

What are you living for, and what is the purpose of your path?

To that question, Yoon Siwoo answers:

“...I don’t know.”

It’s a thought that surfaces in his head every single night.

‘Who am I?’

It feels like he was suddenly born into this world, living without purpose or direction.

Everything around him—the unfamiliar scenery, the people—it all feels wrong.

And yet, he talks to them naturally, walks beside them, lives like it’s normal... and that makes it feel even stranger.

He doesn’t even understand why he feels this way.

[The Trait, "Anomaly (???)" is restricting your behavior.]

But those feelings only linger at night—once he falls asleep, all the thoughts and anxiety from the previous day vanish.

Eventually, as he keeps walking, he reaches the radiant dorm reserved for the top student.

Meals, services, top-tier facilities.

Open the fridge, and it's filled with food and seasonings purchased with Academy sponsorship funds.

“No milk.”

He could call someone and buy it through a service.

But it’s late. And even though he’s told to use the facilities freely, he doesn’t like the idea of treating people like servants.

So he walked to the nearest open market, checking the shelves.

Of course, even this could be purchased with Academy sponsorship—so there was never any financial concern.

[Top-grade Milk! Certified AAA National Quality.]

“Guess I’ll get this one.”

And just as he reached for the milk—he sensed someone behind him.

When had his senses ever reacted this sharply?

“...Ah.”

Once. It happened once.

Back during that duel.

The moment he stood in front of that person, he’d felt this exact same thing.

Was her name... Esha?

When he turned around, the white-haired girl from before was standing there.

She wasn’t stumbling like the last time, but her face was slightly red.

Still, maybe because her skin was so pale, it didn’t feel weird.

He walked toward her to say hello.

“Hey, what was your name again?”

And the name that came back—matched what he remembered exactly.

Esha clearly had no desire to talk to him, but for some reason, he couldn’t let this moment pass.

That fight... that victory...

The feeling he’d had, seeing her collapsed on the ground.

And now—this sensation.

It was the first time he’d ever felt something familiar in this world that was so overwhelmingly unfamiliar.

He had never once met someone like the girl in front of him. And yet, the moment he saw her, it felt like he’d seen her somewhere before.

“Have we met before?”

That’s why he asked.

But what came back was a firm denial.

So it was just his imagination, he figured—but then, it hit him again. That familiar feeling.

‘This is...’

Something he couldn’t put into words.

Like if he stayed just a little longer, he might figure it out—but there wasn’t much left to talk about.

If they were in the same class, maybe it’d be easier to keep the conversation going. But with their classes so far apart, he didn’t have the strength to push it.

Still, while the girl humored him a little longer, he managed to sense something coming from her.

[The Trait, “Tree of Genesis (EX),” is searching the paths of the Great Ones.]

[She is the Harlot of Babylon, the bronze serpent on the rod struck into the earth from Heaven, the beginning of the land, the unending eternity, the pillar among the firstborn, the heart of what comes last.]

[Passive: <Malkuth>—Intelligence has identified the nature of the target.]

[She is the root of the First Tree.]

[The final remnant of Genesis.]

[The dirge of those who sing the End, and the vanishing point of those who cry for Destruction.]

[Thy name is Apocalypse.]

That’s when he saw it—something thick and black, clinging behind the girl like tar.

“You.”

It was something that should not exist.

And the moment he saw it, Yoon Siwoo’s face turned ghost white.

That thing wrapped itself around the girl like it wanted to devour her right then and there.

And yet—even though it was clearly assaulting her, it couldn’t affect her at all.

He couldn’t understand what the hell he was even looking at.

‘What... is that...?’

Just looking at it stirred a sense of despair.

A mix of madness, death, and finality.

And yet her body—untouched. Not a single movement affected her.

It clawed and twisted at her with a hideous expression, violently stirring her flesh—but her slightly flushed face remained calm.

If anything... she looked a little pissed off.

What the hell is this mess?

“Do you... by any chance... know about the End?”

That’s why he asked—but he realized a second too late he’d asked the wrong way.

‘I was too direct...’

“...Uh, I’m busy now, so I’m gonna go.”

“Wait!”

Of course she wasn’t going to give a straight answer.

Then she turned and ran.

Yoon Siwoo couldn’t stop her.

A misunderstanding meets a misunderstanding—and from the very first step, the two began to walk the wrong paths.

****

I ran back to the dorm fast.

And as I caught my breath, I thought to myself:

Seriously? Now I gotta worry about Yoon Siwoo too?

All I wanted was to buy some booze and sabotage those doomsday bastards’ plans—but now it’s all tangled up.

My head hurts.

I just wanna take it easy, but everything keeps escalating.

Gulp. Gulp.

The frustration made me crack open one of the bottles I just bought—and finally, I felt a little calmer.

“Ehehe~”

There’s a chance Yoon Siwoo isn’t one of them.

But also a damn good chance he is.

“So what should I do now~?”

I tried to empty my mind for a moment and think it through.

Two possibilities: either he’s one of the cult, or he’s not.

That guy is strong, no doubt.

But he’s not so strong that he could break the whole plan from the very beginning.

So, the plan doesn’t change.

“I’ll figure something out!”

The more you overthink, the worse things get.

And just like that, I forgot all about Yoon Siwoo and drifted off to sleep.