REAPER SCANS
Hunter Academy’s Battle God
[Translator – SCM]
[Proofreader – ilafy]
Chapter 224
HaYoon's first impression of Sumire was that of an herbivorous animal grazing on grass. Yes, she believed Sumire was as fragile as a rabbit. With that impression in mind, she’d naturally assumed the girl would drop everything and run if she just scared her and applied some pressure.
Unexpectedly, Sumire was ready to confront her for YuSung’s sake, which was something she couldn’t allow. "Who do you think you're talking to…?" she asked. How dare someone weaker than her preach to her in such a manner?
HaYoon believed courage to be a luxury for the weak—she believed in the survival of the fittest and that strength was the only value that mattered.
"I'm warning you… Don't provoke me anymore," HaYoon coldly said. She was capable of overwhelming others through the pressure of her voice alone. "Yes, that's right… I was wrong." She burst into laughter. “Controlling YuSung would’ve been easier if I had destroyed your party.”
"How could you say something like that…?" Sumire asked. HaYoon’s muttering made her realize that HaYoon hadn’t considered YuSung’s position as a family member at all.
"Stay away from YuSung,” HaYoon said. “You're nothing but a hindrance."
Sumire understood that HaYoon was ready to destroy everything YuSung held dear if it benefited her, and she had no intention of watching that happen. "No. I was the one mistaken."
If she’d known what YuSung’s family was like from the beginning and about his past, she would have argued against him going back to their mansion. They’d abandoned him when he was five years old and were only seeking him out again for their benefit—there was nobody there he needed to meet and nothing to discuss with them.
'Because…' Sumire made a pained expression and bit her lip. "There's nothing left here for YuSung to confront. He hasn't done anything wrong, after all…" She hated herself for not being able to see YuSung’s tortured past despite all the time she spent next to him—she’d only ever admired and longed for his bright side.
'I couldn't help YuSung at all…' She felt a lump in her throat, but it wasn’t the time to tear up and show weakness. Instead, she straightened her back and firmly looked HaYoon in the eyes. “Instead, your family needs to face the past and reflect…”
HaYoon's eyebrows twitched in a sign of anger-fueled agitation. "Is that so…?" she coldly asked. "Shall we see how long you can keep that stubborn attitude up for?"
Swoosh—
Green mana shot from HaYoon. Sumire tried to avoid it, but freeing herself from it was impossible.
WHOOM—!
HaYoon's Trait, [Telekinesis], didn’t manifest itself as a projectile. Instead, it applied influence wherever the caster wanted after it manifested.
BOOM—!
"Ugh-!" She slammed into the wall as HaYoon’s Telekinesis choked her, and she struggled in agony while trying to free herself. In the end, it was futile. She’d need enough control over mana to stop Telekinesis at its origin if she wanted to counter it, and no amount of physical strength in the world would help.
"Pff." HaYoon laughed and gave the suffering Sumire a satisfied look. “Listen, the patriarch’s mistake wasn’t in discarding a useless rock—the mistake was his failure to recognize the gem hidden within that rock. Family, reflection… people like you talk about disgusting things like that, but all of that is for the weak.”
Squeeze—
The telekinetic grip around her throat intensified, and Sumire struggled for every breath while continuing to defiantly lock eyes with HaYoon. Of course, that pissed her off even more. How could such a weakling dare defy someone who was born to be a ruler?
"What meaning does the garbage you assign value to have?" HaYoon called everything Sumire and YuSung cherished trash. “Our values are unshakeable compared to your shallow ones—we discard the weak and nurture the strong. What’s so wrong about that?”
Still, HaYoon wasn’t satisfied. She believed conviction to be a luxury for the weak. Physically defeating Sumire was meaningless to her if she couldn’t make the other girl admit defeat and bend to her will.
"Look carefully at reality," HaYoon said, unwilling to let Sumire go and even ensuring she stayed conscious until she heard what she wanted. "You spoke so highly of your values, but in the end, your life is in my hands."
HaYoon began to think about how she could break Sumire’s spirits and make her suffer more as she applied more pressure to Sumire’s throat so she couldn’t breathe at all.
Squeeze—
"Ugh!" Sumire squirmed against the telekinetic hand.
HaYoon smiled in satisfaction and reduced the pressure. “Can the values you hold so dear protect you?” She wanted to make Sumire fear for her life and was convinced that, as soon as the girl caught her breath again, she’d bend the knee, admit arrogance, and beg for forgiveness.
Instead, though, Sumire only gazed calmly back at her. "Haa, haaa…" Unconditional love for family, sharing with loved ones, feeling happy just by being with them… She genuinely pitied HaYoon for not knowing how any of those things felt.
“You’re… pitiful…” she mumbled.
HaYoon took a step back in shock. How could someone she was strangling say something like that? "I'm pitiful…?" It was the greatest humiliation she’d ever experienced.
Paf—
The green light from her hands intensified.
Squeeze—!
* * *
Reaper Scans
Translator - SCM
Proofreader - ilafy
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Sumire shed tears through the pain as the pressure around her neck clamped down again, but HaYoon had no intention of holding back.
"Your name's Sumire, right? You're amazing. I've changed my mind." She praised Sumire’s courage and mental strength with a cold tone. "I just wanted to scare you and end things quickly, but I was wrong."
That definitely wasn’t a good sign. HaYoon wasn’t the type of person to step back after being moved by an opponent’s courage and mental strength. Instead, she was the type of person to stomp them into the ground so they could never defy her again.
"Sumire? Let’s play a bit… It's going to be an unforgettable time for both of us." HaYoon’s power intensified again, and Sumire rapidly lost consciousness while struggling to breathe and feeling the blood rushing through her body.
[■■like this…] At that moment, a voice echoed within her head.
'Ah…?'
[You ■■■ ■■■■■]
There was a mixture of emotions within the voice, and in her last moments of consciousness, the voice suddenly sounded clearer.
[Haa… It looks like I have no other choice.]
* * *
Within a luxurious castle, an incubus butler served a specially-brewed tea and bread with dry fruits.
"This is true happiness…" Laplace was enjoying her peaceful and relaxed lifestyle until…
- Beep, beep, beep!
- Emergency!
- The contractor is in danger!
A loud alert blared from a speaker that stood in stark contrast to the estate’s grandeur.
- Wiiiinnnngggg!
The siren intensified, and Laplace quickly shot an order to the butler. "Quickly, turn *that* thing on!"
"Yes! Understood!"
Ziing-
A screen rose from the ground, and Laplace hastily activated it.
[Shall we see how long you can keep that stubborn attitude up for?] She saw a brown-haired girl choking Sumire.
"What's going on…? Who's the girl choking my child?" She was greatly disturbed, but she was a mere fragment of a memory, so interfering too much could lower her synchronization with Sumire.
She couldn't just jump in every time Sumire was in danger.
Squeeze—
Laplace’s teacup started to shake in her trembling hands as the content on the screen intensified. Still, she didn’t think intervening would be helpful.
'I'm just a fake.' She believed it was something a real person like Sumire should solve.
[Can the values you hold so dear protect you?] Laplace continued to wait for Sumire to bow to HaYoon. Even if Sumire didn’t agree, she could take revenge later. In the end, though, Sumire was like her, and she knew how her contractor would answer. It was the reason for their high synchronization rate, after all.
[You’re… Pitiful…] Laplace could only give a sad smile. She knew Sumire would decline.
"How annoying…" Laplace muttered, unsure if she was saying it to herself or Sumire. She felt that she was looking at a version of herself, even though they lived in different times and places. How could they walk such similar paths?
"To think we'd even be similar in this regard…" Given the situation, Laplace believed Sumire’s life to be in danger. Though she thought of herself as a fragment, she had a duty to protect her contractor.
Fwoosh—!
Laplace was enveloped in radiant purple mana and started to fade. Just before she fully vanished, she gave the butler a meaningful look and said…
"I really hate going out."
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