29) Chapter 6. Let’s Go Home. (2)
I don’t know.
I don’t understand what this woman is talking about.
My home… my home is Soi’s home.
The home I’ve lived in ever since I was little.
Soi has never once spoken as if I weren’t part of that family. Her parents were the same.
The one who couldn’t call them Mom and Dad… was me.
Because I overthought everything alone, even though I knew they were waiting for me to call them that.
Because someone like me clinging to them wouldn’t bring anything good.
If I weren’t me, I probably would’ve called them that long ago.
I don’t even remember my biological mother, and after she abandoned me at the orphanage, I couldn’t accept her as a mother anyway.
If my kindergarten memories had faded naturally, I would’ve called them Mom and Dad without hesitation.
But I have memories from my previous life. They’re faint now, but I still remember having a family back then.
If I called someone Mom or Dad, I felt like those past faces would overlap. And that felt strangely like a betrayal.
And I couldn’t forget those childhood memories properly, nor could I fully let myself be embraced by a new family.
Even while thinking all that, I never figured out how to break free. I’m a middle schooler now—maybe once I become an adult, I should move out. I’ll work hard and repay everything I received.
I’ll never become a hero worthy of that household anyway.
“Are you conflicted?”
Seo Arin—the woman who introduced herself as my “mother”—asked.
“Don’t you think you’re being a burden in that house? They already have a daughter. You’re just stealing attention.”
“No!”
Soi’s shout snapped me back.
My homeroom teacher was still collapsed on the floor, gasping for breath.
If Soi stepped forward? If she tried to protect me?
I jumped to my feet.
Footsteps behind me stopped.
“Rua…?”
A confused voice. Of course she’d be confused—she tried to step forward but was blocked by force.
I’ve never rejected Soi. Honestly, I never wanted to. I liked her.
She’s so much younger than me, yet always acts like the adult. Even though she was born later in this world, she insists she’s the older sister, always trying to do everything for me, protect me.
How could I hate someone like that?
So I don’t want her to get hurt.
I gently pushed her back with telekinesis. What kind of face is she making behind me? Betrayal? Sadness? Understanding?
Whatever it is, I can’t look. If I see her face, I’ll break.
I slowly stood up.
My legs trembled.
I was scared.
I couldn’t understand how this woman’s mind worked.
“Good, good. Such a well-behaved child. You grew up obedient.”
As if I had a choice.
She was holding so many hostages.
And—
“…”
A thought struck me.
“T-the… the things happening right now…”
“Hm?”
“T-the city hall… and the other places…”
“Oh, that. Yes, I knew.”
She said it casually, as if it had nothing to do with her.
“I wasn’t supposed to come here originally, but the opportunity came up, you know? No reason for me to waste time over there.”
She just used the situation because it was convenient.
“Y-you… knew…?”
Coward.
Even with a villain right in front of me, even after growing up in a hero’s house, I couldn’t even imitate bravery. I spoke politely to the villain in front of me.
“Of course I knew. That’s why I came.”
“W-why… me…?”
“Hm?”
She tilted her head, genuinely confused by my question.
“I-if something important is happening… why come all the way here just to take me…?”
Was there something important about me? Some potential in my ability she wanted to use?
But that made no sense.
In the original story, Seo Rua’s ability was worthless. At best, she could drop a flowerpot on someone’s head—an ability perfect for petty harassment, nothing more.
She couldn’t flay skin or break limbs.
“Well…”
Seo Arin tilted her head.
“You’re my daughter. A daughter should be with her mother, right?”
Her expression and voice sent chills down my spine.
She meant it.
I couldn’t read faces perfectly, but she was sincere. Every word she said was sincere.
“Anyway. We need to go. It’s getting dangerous.”
As she said that, my body was yanked forward.
Thud, screech.
My knees slammed into the floor and I was dragged across it.
“Rua!”
The one who ran out shouting was Chae‑yi.
No.
Chae‑yi was in danger too. This woman could turn people into that mess with her ability. If Chae‑yi got caught—
I reached toward her. I felt something faint at my fingertips—the extension of my telekinesis.
That sensation pushed Chae‑yi back slightly—
“…!”
Then a sharp pain—
The next part wasn’t clear. I think I pulled my hand back toward myself.
I think I screamed.
Chae‑yi’s eyes widened, her legs gave out, and she fell on her backside.
It hurt. It hurt so much. I didn’t know what happened.
It was the worst pain I’d ever felt. Not even getting beaten as a student or training in the military hurt like this.
My arm felt like it was on fire.
Like it had been cut off.
Through tears, I looked at the arm I’d stretched toward Chae‑yi—but there wasn’t a drop of blood. It hung limp, but I could move my fingers.
“U-ugh… hhh…”
Every movement sent agony through me.
“Oh my.”
For the first time since she arrived, Seo Arin looked genuinely surprised.
My ability wasn’t visible. Only the results were. An invisible hand moving things.
It existed, I could feel it, but it had no physical form.
So what did she see?
Her eyes narrowed.
“This is dangerous.”
She reached out.
“Ah…!”
I collapsed again, writhing.
No.
Chae‑yi was in danger.
This woman had no rules. She acted however she pleased. The world revolved around her.
She wouldn’t spare a child just because they were young.
Slice, slice. A chilling sound.
Something was being cut in the air.
I forced myself to turn my head. I saw faint, thin movements.
I looked toward the source—Seo Arin.
It was like dozens of arms extended from her back.
A terrifying presence. Even the faint outlines looked like they could tear anything apart.
Was I the only one who could see them? Because I had a similar power?
“Ah, right. Rua, watch closely.”
Seo Arin smiled down at me.
“Your ability is one that must adapt to pain. The sensation carries through, right? So when you fight, it hurts. If someone stabs you, it feels like you’re stabbed. If you grab fire, it burns. If you touch something cold, your hand freezes.”
“…”
If you pick up a rock, you feel every bump and smooth edge.
“But it’s fine. You can lose them all. You can burn them all. They’re not real hands. So even if someone cuts them with an ability, it’s the same.”
Ah.
Right.
What was Chae‑yi’s ability again?
In the original, it was completely different from Cheong Hwirin’s. She wasn’t a blood-related daughter. Her ability was specialized for harassing others. Even someone as weak as Seo Rua used it effectively.
Ah.
Right.
She could nullify abilities.
If someone breathed fire, she cut the flames. If someone lowered temperature, she cut the cold before it reached her.
If an ability extended senses, she could cut those senses too.
That’s why Cheong Hwirin wanted her.
My scream stretched endlessly. The only reason I could think at all was because part of my mind had gone blank.
Screech.
My body was dragged toward Seo Arin again.
“Kyaa!?”
No matter how many she cut, more arms grew. Chae‑yi was pushed back. Thankfully, she wasn’t grabbed directly.
“When you kill someone, it’s the same. Tearing someone apart with your bare hands takes strength. And when you use a lot of strength, it hurts. If you dig your nails into flesh, your nails break. If you swing a knife wrong, it slips and cuts your hand. If you grip something hard and twist, it hurts.”
Seo Arin smiled brightly, as if expecting me to agree.
“But it’s fine. They’re all illusions. Not real arms. Just endure it. And if you endure long enough, joy comes at the end. The more you surpass pain, the better the results.”
The arms crept toward Chae‑yi again. She kept cutting them, again and again. But still—
“Let go of Rua…!”
Soi finally stood up.
I reached out again.
Not toward Soi this time, but toward Seo Arin’s ability.
“Oh my.”
I grabbed one of the arms. It felt like a human arm—just thicker and harder.
So I had to endure the pain, right?
I dug my nails in, hard enough to flip them backward.
“Ugh…!”
It hurt.
It hurt so much.
Honestly, I wanted to give up. I wanted to say “Fine, take me.”
But then what?
Would Seo Arin spare the others just because I surrendered? She was the type who’d “discipline” disobedient children by killing everyone.
“…You.”
Her voice turned cold.
My hair lifted. No—she grabbed my hair and lifted my head.
Then slammed it into the floor.
Thud.
Pain exploded in two places. A dull pain in the head that didn’t hit the floor. And a crushing pain between my head and the floor—fingers being crushed.
Not my fingers.
The invisible hand.
Thud. Thud.
Again and again.
I screamed and groaned but held on. Even when the hand I’d dug into her arm was grabbed and twisted, I struggled and endured. It was all I could do.
I regretted everything.
Wasn’t there a better way? Should I have run to her earlier, calling “Mom, Mom” so she’d take me away before Chae‑yi used her ability? Before Soi stood up to protect me?
“Ah…!”
Then everything went white. Chae‑yi’s panicked ability slashed through the air. The arm I was holding was cut. My arm and Seo Arin’s arm.
A deep wrinkle formed between Seo Arin’s brows.
“…Why?”
She asked.
“Why make things so complicated? I was being considerate.”
“…”
I clenched my teeth to stay conscious.
“Ah, I should’ve just done it cleanly from the start. What parent? I tried to spare the teacher because she’s a teacher. I tried to spare your friend because I thought you’d have friends.”
Her gaze shifted to the children.
“When they look at me like I’m a monster, it doesn’t feel like they’re your friends.”
She meant the stares directed at me.
But what else could they do?
It was all her fault.
“Well. Since it’s come to this, I’ll teach you.”
She said.
“A clean solution. Just remove whatever bothers you. You have the power for it. It’s the method with the most advantages.”
Her back rippled as her ability surged.
The children trembled. Even Chae‑yi, who had been cutting the arms, stared blankly.
So I was probably the only one who could see it. Because of blood? Or because I’d awakened more in this situation?
I reached out again.
The invisible arm was caught midair and snapped.
“Aaagh!”
I screamed louder than I thought I could.
“Then—”
Seo Arin looked satisfied as she turned toward the children.
But she suddenly stopped.
“…What?”
Something flickered.
Something hot—no, warm.
At the edge of my vision, a light like the blazing sun.
“…You.”
Seo Arin’s voice.
“…Let go of Rua.”
And another voice.
A voice I knew well.
A voice I heard every day, from morning to night.
A voice so comforting and pleasant.
Now filled with fury.
Spoke.