An Angel Lives in the Academy
Chapter 94: The Angel That Touches the Hearts (6)

Leffrey, bound by Darkness Chain, could only watch as Soya slowly approached.

Her flowing, ash-grey hair. It used to be perpetually dry and brittle, a side effect of becoming a black mage. But with Leffrey’s diligent care, it had become beautiful and radiant.

However, as Soya's nightmare deepened, her hair became dry and brittle again.

She was a little shorter than the average height for girls her age,

but if she stood with proper posture, it wouldn’t have been noticeable at all. In fact, it would have highlighted her proportions.

But Soya had forgotten the posture Leffrey had taught her and was walking with a hunched back.

Everything, from her beautiful hair to her perfect posture, *was* a blessing that Leffrey had given her.

'A hero who lost the guardian angel's blessing? Just like Professor Hexi from before.'

Leffrey bit his lip.

And he realized.

“No.”

That Soya, at this very moment… was on the verge of being consumed by Bewitching Dreams.

If she’s consumed, she *won't* be able to return.

Soya would forever be a slave to Bethel, dominated by emotions she didn't even understand, forced to betray humanity.

“What do you mean ‘No’?”

Soya asked in a sad voice.

“Soya, don't give up. I, I’ll somehow… I’ll do something…”

“…”

Soya, silently watching him, stared with sorrowful eyes.

“Leffrey, do you know this?”

“Know what? Tell me.”

“That… There are children in this world… Who can only live in eternal loneliness?”

Soya continued,

"Even Freud said it, and so did countless other psychologists. They say a child who wasn't loved enough... will have to suffer for the rest of his or her life." (TL Note: Sigmund Freud is a pretty popular neurologist.)

Leffrey's lips trembled.

This… This was Soya's true feelings.

“*You'll* live your entire life in a nightmare…”

Soya continued,

“Maybe that's why my heart is so shaken by your every word? Why I keep overthinking every single thing you say. Why every harsh word you speak feels like my heart is being torn apart. Those who grew up surrounded by love wouldn’t be like this, would they?”

She might be under the influence of an evil succubus’s nightmare, her reason broken and vomiting out her true feelings in a daze, but…

Just as drunken truths are truths, dream truths *are* also truths.

“So it's meaningless.”

Soya smiled.

“I am a black mage, so evil that I was even abandoned by my parents. So now… Now if you abandon me as well…”

Soya said,

“Then this world means nothing to me.”

The future hero declared,

That this world meant nothing to her.

A guardian angel's duty was to guide and prepare future heroes for their role in protecting this world, but if those heroes found no value in it...

A hero despairing of the world… meant that Leffrey *had* failed to fulfill his duty as a guardian angel.

“No! You’re wrong! Soya, why would you think I'd abandon you? In the first place, I’m not a bad person who wants to possess people… and there's no way I'd ever leave you, my friend!”

Leffrey said urgently.

But Soya shook her head, sulking,

“Idiot, how can I even believe that?”

Leffrey decided to change the topic.

“If this world means nothing to you… you're saying it wouldn't matter if this world was overrun by monsters? Or if the demon army invaded and crushed everything… so even if you lost your life, it wouldn’t matter?”

“Yes…”

Soya continued to sulk and quietly opened her mouth,

“The only person in this world who was ever kind to me, to a black mage, was you. Not a single other person ever has been…”

And at that moment, a transparent tear flowed down Soya’s cheek.

“I don't want to live in a world like this! To me… This kind of world… Means nothing!”

Leffrey, hiding his shock, asked again,

“You’re saying… you don't… want to live in… this world?”

“...Yes, I think so.”

To give up on living.

Leffrey, speechless at Soya's true feelings, her heart laid bare, just looked up at her.

‘Soya’s always been strong and full of confidence… Even though she has a sad past, I never thought she'd think like this. Because… She’s the future hero, the Black Magic Princess, isn’t she?’

Every human feels loneliness, and even heroes have their shadows.

“I…”

And Soya's shadow was deep. So dark that it was even given the name ‘Tantalus’.

“I think so, Leffrey.”

As Bethel's influence deepened,

As Bewitching Dreams grew stronger…

The young angel, sensing the girl’s sorrow, could only whimper softly.

‘This world is doomed.’

It wasn't because of the demon king. No, this world was doomed.

Because this world has a direction, it’s destined to either be guided by the light and continue to exist… or be guided toward the opposite, perishing in darkness.

‘Only a few are happy. The rest are suffering, unable to be saved. The karma of darkness is controlling the entire world.’

The world was heading toward darkness.

The two children here,

They were like signposts, guides for this world.

‘It's only right for this world to end.’

And with Soya's fall being irreversible, another nail was hammered into the coffin of this world.

And there was…

Nothing Leffrey could do to stop it.

No reason to stop it.

A world that was never kind, a young child in the sofa forced to witness flowing blood, his soul eternally unable to rest…

‘It’s only right for this world to be destroyed.’

The little angel, holding back tears, realized that he too had fallen victim to Bethel's Bewitching Dreams.

A nightmare from which he couldn’t escape.

Leffrey's vision was now fixed on a small crack where light shone, forcing him to stare at the flowing blood.

**That's** how powerful

The force that seeks to destroy this world truly is.

*This world is destined to be destroyed.*

*This world is destined to be destroyed.*

*This world is destined to be destroyed.*

But still…

Why *had* Leffrey been fighting?

‘I… but… But…!’

Despite all his realizations, there were still things he wanted to say.

Leffrey opened his mouth.

“Soya, this world will soon be destroyed.”

He spoke the truth.

“This nightmare in which we're trapped… Is just a small part of a Heavenly King's Ultimate Skill. This nightmare that will corrupt even us… This mental world that no human skill can replicate, Bethel, the Heavenly King, can create it as easily as breathing.”

Leffrey continued,

“It’s practically a miracle that we're even in this situation. It’s only because we were incredibly lucky, discovering Bethel’s ability much earlier than anyone else. And because you, with your strong will, were able to withstand even Bethel's true form. If I hadn't known about Bethel, or if Tantalus didn’t exist, or if your willpower had been just a little bit weaker…”

Leffrey smiled.

"We would have all been devoured."

He continued,

"Of course, even with all these coincidences, we can only buy ourselves a few more minutes..."

It was a meaningless lucky break after all.

Bewitching Dreams, a Heavenly King’s Ultimate Skill,

It was an Ultimate Skill far more powerful than Leffrey and Soya could ever imagine. An evil skill that no one in the previous world, not even the professors, had been able to break.

This was a Heavenly King's true power.

A technique used to crush humanity.

It was truly *the* skill that would bring about the fall of this world… bestowed by the fallen archangel to his four apostles.

But Leffrey, knowing all this, still felt that he had to say these words. He just had to.

He opened his mouth,

"There’s something I need to tell you."

Darkness welled up,

Slowly enveloping the little black mage's body.

The angel, trying to drive away the darkness,

Held on to Soya and muttered,

"Soya, you saw my past during the Blessing of the Spirits, right?"

"...I did. I saw it."

"I’m just like you. I have nightmares that never end, my heart is scarred, and I'll never be able to become a proper adult. And like you… I can't stand how cruel this world is."

Leffrey, tears streaming down his face,

Grabbed the hand of Soya, who was falling into darkness.

"But I want to learn more about this world."

Leffrey said,

“So I want to live a little longer.”

“Why? I can’t understand. You were so hurt… and only pain awaits you now… Just come with me…!”

Leffrey, dispelling the corruption encroaching on Soya with Healing of the Seraphim and Light of the Ruling Archangel, mumbled. It was a miracle, once again.

If Leffrey hadn't realized how to combine his powers, Soya would have fallen at that moment, which would have meant the end of this world.

Miracles, and more miracles. And even more miracles.

*The* moments *were* created by miracles.

*There are* no coincidences in this world.

“There are still things I don't know.”

With the Healing of the Seraphim and Light of the Ruling Archangel working together, Leffrey, rapidly consuming his Angelic Power, didn’t have much time left.

The little angel, exceeding his limits, was breaking down.

Leffrey spoke,

"Why was I given this power? Why does a sunset feel beautiful, even though the world is so cruel? Why did *Mom*, giving up even her own life, tell me to hide under the sofa? Why? Why…?"

Leffrey, having exhausted all of his Angelic Power, his mind crumbling, muttered those words.

“I can only keep living… until I know the answer.”

Caressing Soya's cheek,

He mumbled again,

"I can only keep living… until I know…"

To keep living until he *knew* the answer, that’s such a simple thing, isn’t it?

The reason why he was given power? According to Modern superhuman studies, it’s due to an error in the interdimensional laws of physics caused by the collision of dimensions… and the reason why a sunset is beautiful is simply because of light scattering due to the angle of the sun…

Why did Leffrey survive?

Soya couldn’t answer that.

Just.

Come to think of it, it was like that.

She had always wondered about that.

That day, the day Soya became a black mage.

There were words she couldn’t forget.

When Soya was trying to make the most *rational* choice by calculating all the variables she faced,

She boldly said,

Looking at the group,

“Don’t even think… that I became a black mage because of you.”

Her mother’s wavering eyes.

Her trembling hands.

Her mother, who despised even mages so much… if she became a black mage, she would be seen as nothing more than a demon…

“Soya, I'm sorry…”

But why…

Why did her mom say those words to her?

“Mom is sorry…”

There were some things that even this incredibly clever girl could not understand.

She no longer understood,

And that made her yearn to know the answer even more.

“That's right, me too…”

A sob escaped her lips,

The girl’s question.

“Me too… I…”

There are questions so important that you can’t let them go. Questions that prevent you from breaking down.

Yes, you can call it lingering attachment.

You can even call this a grudge.

Even Soya, a powerful mage,

Became a naive child before this question.

"Me too! I..."

Soya dispelled all the darkness that had been engulfing her, reaching for the light, a light that shined far, far away.

"I can only live until I know the answer, can't I?!"

You can never find the answers in your dreams.

To know the answer, you have to wake up.

So,

It was time to wake up.

*Shatter-*

The eternal nightmare, which haunted humanity in the name of the Demon King, finally began to crumble.

The direction of the world shifted.

[The hero has changed the world.]

.

.

[The teachings of the Central Superhuman Academy + the realization of a future hero.]

[A future hero's potential increases by one level!]

[Soya is now recognized as a hero!]

.

.

[Title acquired: Guardian Angel of the Hero Witch]

[Title: Guardian Angel of the Hero Witch]

You have guided the young girl to the right path and raised her as a hero. You have fulfilled your most important duty as a guardian angel.

Title Effect:

Once a day, for ten minutes, you can borrow 30% of the hero [Soya]'s magical power.

[Changing the world is a hero's duty.]

[A guardian angel's ultimate goal is to guide a hero to fulfill their duty!]

[Confirmed that the hero has fulfilled her duty.]

[Martial Arts of the Archangel who Tramples Dragons Lv.9 confirmed.]

[Ultimate Angelic Ability confirmed.]

[Flabellum, the archangel's dagger, and Sanctus, the angel's gloves, confirmed.]

[Items proving Heavenly authority confirmed.]

[An opportunity to ascend to a higher rank is given to you, who have fulfilled your duty!]

[Vacancy for the Archangel position confirmed.]