I Became the Childhood Friend Who Commits Suicide

Chapter 79

Thud, thud.

The sound of footsteps echoed as someone entered the gymnasium.

An old man, wearing a horse mask, walked slowly across the empty gym, glancing around as he went.

“Hm. Is there no one here?”

His deep voice reverberated through the empty space, but no one answered.

Perhaps they had already escaped quickly. Not disappointed, he turned to leave the gym.

Thud, thud.

He stopped abruptly.

“If you had continued hiding, you might have survived. So why did you come out?” the Green Horse asked, halting in his tracks.

“Because you’re a demon.”

“An interesting answer.”

Crackle. Crackle.

Sparks crackled throughout the gymnasium.

At the center of the lightning vortex stood a girl with pink hair, glaring at the old man.

“You’re quite strong. This should be an entertaining fight.”

Valentina didn’t bother responding. Her answer to a demon didn’t require words. She simply extended her hand.

Blue lightning surged from her fingertips, rushing toward the old man like a wolf. Green Horse, unfazed, placed his hand on the hilt of his sword at his waist.

His blade moved so swiftly and precisely that it was impossible to see it being drawn. The slash of the katana cleaved through the lightning, heading straight for Valentina.

Hop.

The girl leaped lightly into the air. Gathering her energy, she unleashed it, causing lightning to crash down around the gymnasium.

Watching the storm of lightning closely, Green Horse muttered, “Cutting through lightning is nothing.”

Swish!

His sword grew faster with each strike, effortlessly countering the bolts that descended in the blink of an eye.

Frowning, Valentina began moving herself. Shooting down from the air, her speed was as quick as lightning.

No, at that moment, she seemed to actually become lightning.

Her hands and feet blurred, crackling with pink lightning, transforming her into a force of nature descending upon the ground.

“I am the sword of the wind.”

But the old man was no less powerful. The scent of green nature surrounded him as a breeze gently filled the gymnasium, suddenly erupting into a massive storm.

Lightning clashed with wind.

Speed against speed.

Anyone watching the battle would find it uninteresting; they would be unable to see anything, not even the combatants’ forms.

Only the increasingly wrecked gym bore witness to the ferocity of their clash.

They halted simultaneously, standing still and glaring at each other.

Valentina bore several shallow cuts from the sword’s edge, while the Green Horse seemed unscathed at first glance.

But in reality, the old man’s condition was worse; his organs were slowly deteriorating from the continuous electric shocks.

Breathing heavily, he spat out blood, yet his voice remained joyful.

“I never imagined a student could be this strong. I may have let pride cloud my vision.”

“Huff… huff…”

Taking a deep breath, he straightened his shoulders and chuckled quietly.

“I’ll be more earnest from now on.”

With those words, he unleashed a gale stronger than before. The wind tore off the gym’s roof, and a green vortex descended slowly from the sky toward him.

In the swirling wind, visibility was reduced to nearly nothing. Shielding her face, Valentina squinted forward.

Whooosh!

The violent storm subsided, leaving the gym in a momentary calm.

Facing her now stood a majestic figure—a grand green horse composed of pure wind, almost like a spirit.

The old man atop the horse spoke.

“Let’s begin the fight anew.”

***

Meanwhile, elsewhere at the academy…

A girl walked aimlessly through the chaos and despair filling the academy.

Moving slowly, as if detached from the surrounding turmoil.

Eventually, she stopped in the middle of the wide sports field, which had once been covered in green grass but was now littered with the bodies of students.

In the center of the corpses stood a man, gripping a still-living student by the neck, lifting him effortlessly into the air.

With a casual squeeze, the struggling student’s life was snuffed out.

Tossing the lifeless body aside like trash, the man turned his head toward a new presence.

“Hm?”

He tilted his head at the sight of the girl standing before him, the Golden Lion.

The overwhelming size difference, the bodies scattered around—by all accounts, the girl should have turned and fled without looking back.

“What do you want?”

Ignoring the Golden Lion’s menacing growl, the girl murmured something incomprehensible.

“I don’t believe in such convenient things as holy water. But even so, I have no choice but to drink it. I have to…”

“Are you out of your mind? Pathetic.”

“Hey, I’ll ask you one thing.”

The man’s indifferent gaze sharpened suddenly.

The girl before him radiated an overwhelming presence.

A strong one. One of the academy’s absolute elite.

A wicked grin spread across the Golden Lion’s face.

“Where is my teacher now?”

The great mage, Lena, had questioned the Golden Lion.

But, of course, he had no intention of answering easily.

“If you want answers, you’ll have to beat me, brat.”

“Someone like you isn’t even worth my time.”

“Heh heh heh! That’s something you can’t know without trying. I take pride in being stronger than any lizard-brained mage.”

Behind Lena, countless magic circles materialized.

The golden magic circles spun as spells were cast, aimed directly at the enemy.

The Lion did not avoid them.

Instead, he walked forward boldly, only clenching his fists.

As the magic drew close, he swung his fist, smashing through the spells. The sheer force of their clash cracked the ground and vaporized corpses in the vicinity.

That was just a warm-up.

Lena’s spells continued, now surrounding the Lion from every direction—north, south, east, west, above, and below.

No gaps were left as magic erupted simultaneously.

This time, every conceivable form of magic targeted the Lion.

Fire, water, lightning, ice, light, darkness.

Elements of nature combined into a seemingly endless barrage.

The layered spells made it impossible to see how he was reacting.

When the barrage ended, the sports field looked nothing like it had before, completely devastated.

Yet, within the remnants of the magical storm, the Golden Lion stood firm.

He was in poor condition, his body battered and bruised.

Still, the Lion laughed.

A laugh of pure enjoyment at the battle’s thrill.

“Not bad. This is fun.”

“Tell me where my teacher is before you die.”

“Hey, kid. Did you know something?”

Instead of answering, he began an unrelated speech.

“We demons strengthen ourselves by consuming mana stones, amplifying our abilities from when we were humans. Over time, our heart and core fuse, transforming us. We become something different—a mix of human and beast.”

“Got it. You’re a filthy, inferior half-breed.”

Ignoring her mockery, the Lion continued.

“No, not a half-breed—a perfect being. We transcend inferior humans and evolve into a higher form. And then we awaken anew.”

As he finished, his body began to change.

Sharp claws sprouted from his once-human hands, his body hair grew thick, and his muscles expanded, covering his form.

His snout elongated, whiskers appeared, and a mane grew.

He had transformed into a perfect lion-human hybrid.

Watching the transformation, Lena muttered, “You really are a half-breed.”

Despite her words, Lena raised her guard to the maximum.

This presence was leagues above his prior form.

But it didn’t change her plan.

In the end, anyone would fall to her magic…

He disappeared.

Seeing the empty space before her, she frantically searched around but couldn’t find him.

“Right here.”

Bam!

The Lion’s fist shot toward her.

Clang! Crack.

The hundreds of protective barriers she’d set up shattered easily.

The blow connected, sending Lena flying across the field, crashing into the school building.

The Golden Lion began to approach her but halted as he felt resistance.

He looked down and saw a rainbow-colored chain wrapped around his ankle.

No matter how hard he pulled, it wouldn’t budge.

Above, the sky began to turn red.

A meteor descended from the clouds.

Lena, buried under the rubble, watched the scene with a grim smile.

“Just die.”