Chapter 27 : Magic Tower City (4)

The moonlight illuminated Serena’s blade.
Bright red blood glistened on it.

“Teacher, do you know this feeling?”
Normally, she was a model student who always tied her ribbon neatly, but now her school uniform was soaked in blood.

“The moment someone’s life ends… the peak of beauty.”

Serena’s hand unbuttoned her school uniform. Her pale, slender neck glimmered under the moonlight. She whispered as she placed her sword on it.

A sigh escaped. I raised such a murderer.

“Since when?”

“Um… since the first class. Or maybe since I was born?”

“Are you insane?”

“Yes, that’s right. I’m insane!”

Serena laughed. Her usual neat smile was gone, replaced only by pure madness.

“Now, then…”

Serena raised her sword. Her movements were as smooth as hugging a lover.

The basic stance of the swordsmanship I taught her. But now, it was mixed with malice and madness.

“Please cut me. With the most powerful violence in this world, with perfected aesthetics.”

Her red lips twisted under the moonlight.

“Or…”

She looked at her sword. The moonlight coldly illuminated the blade.

“Should I see your blood, Teacher? Ah… that sounds good too.”

The sword sliced through the air. All the techniques I had taught her poured out. Natural movements, flowing like water, followed one after another.

I stood still, watching her attack. There was no hesitation in her movements.

‘She doesn’t think she can beat me, does she? What’s going on?’

She should know my skill well by now.

At that moment, I read madness and ecstasy in her eyes.

The pleasure of cutting someone with a sword.

At the same time, a yearning for the moment of cutting.

A distorted desire to taste the shiver of a life being extinguished.

‘So, you chose me.’

At the same time, she didn’t want to die just anywhere. She wanted her end from me, the hero.

Her sword aimed at my neck.

“Why… why don’t you avoid it?”

“Do I have to?”

With just one finger, I stopped her sword’s edge.

“This… doesn’t make sense! Teacher, draw your sword!”

Serena’s movements became rougher. Her technique crumbled, leaving only madness.

“I wanted to see a more beautiful death, but why, why?!”

The sword slashed through the air meaninglessly.

“Do you want to die with that beautiful swordsmanship you think is so perfect? But you don’t deserve that.”

At my words, her movements stopped.

“Teacher…”

“I thought you loved the sword.”

“I did! Really!”

“That’s why I’m more disappointed.”

At my words, her movements stopped. The moonlight reflected on her tears.

“You saw the sword only as a tool for desire. A toy for the pleasure of murder.”

I sighed.

Serena’s gaze wavered again. This time, it was not madness but despair. It seemed she realized I wouldn’t kill her.

“Then… like this!”

Serena lunged. All the swordsmanship I had taught her unfolded one by one.

But it was sloppy. Swordsmanship swayed by emotion, no matter how flashy, showed weaknesses.

She swung her sword one last time, like a desperate attempt.

What remained was not the techniques I had taught her nor the madness of a murderer, but just a futile struggle.

I took a step forward.

“Sorry, but I hit women too.”

Crash!

My fist landed accurately on her cheek. With a calculated angle and force, it was enough to knock her unconscious with one blow.

“Ugh…!”

Serena’s body flew backward. She rolled on the floor and collapsed. Her sword fell from her hand.

“It’s over.”

Serena’s breathing slowed. She seemed to have fainted.

A sigh escaped. I never imagined I’d be practicing gender equality this way.

“Ha…”

I looked at her, lying under the moonlight. I shook my head. Of all people, my student had to be a psychopath.

Serena, who had been dragged to the training hall, still wore a smile.

Even as she was tied to the pillar, that expression never changed.

“Teacher, you’re too rough.”

I tightened the rope again. Serena let out a soft groan.

“Shut up.”

“Aah…”

Serena let out a soft moan. But soon, a strange smile spread across her lips.

“Ah, it hurts. But… this isn’t so bad.”

Her right cheek was swollen and red. The mark of the blow I gave her was still visible. Perhaps because of her fair skin, the red bruise stood out even more.

“Wait a moment.”

I brought an ice pack and placed it on her swollen cheek.

“Heh, you’re so kind…”

I wiped away the blood dripping from her nose with a towel.

“To think a murderer like me is being taken care of like this… Are you still considering me your student?”

I ignored her and continued wiping the blood. The white towel turned red.

“Then… could you show me a little more mercy?”

Serena whispered sweetly.

“Please… kill me now. With your hands, Teacher…”

A sigh escaped. This girl was really broken.

“My wish is to be killed by your sword. How beautiful would that be? It would be the perfect end…”

“Enough.”

“Teacher, please untie the rope first.”
She twisted her body while still tied up. Her white thighs were revealed under the moonlight. Her once neat skirt dangerously rose.

“Teacher… If you untie me, I’ll do something good for you. I’m still a virgin. You would be the first…”

“You know that doesn’t work, right?”

Serena’s gaze became sharp.

“Then… how about this?”

She stuck out her pink tongue. The tip of her tongue was dangerously caught between her tightly clenched teeth. It looked as though she might bite her tongue at any moment.

“If you don’t untie me…”

“Try it.”

At my cold reply, Serena hesitated.

“Teacher…”

“Do you want to die? Fine, die. If that’s the death you want.”

Serena’s eyes wavered.

“But will you be satisfied, dying so hopelessly? Is that really the beautiful death you were searching for all along?”

Her lips trembled.

“Growl…”

She made a beastly sound and struggled.

Tied up in the ropes, she thrashed, but the knots I tied didn’t budge.

“Untie me! Now! Or…”

“Calm down.”

The ice pack fell to the floor, and cold water spread across the ground.

“It’s not too late. None of the students have died or been crippled, right? It’s reversible.”

Serena’s breathing became ragged.

“I… I’m tired now.”

Her voice trembled. For the first time, it seemed like her words held some truth.

“Every day… pretending to be a good student, pretending to be a model student… I’m sick of it.”

Madness bloomed in Serena’s eyes.

“I’d rather shine beautifully, even if it’s just for a short while, than live like this.”

“Why? Is it the stress from school?”

At my words, Serena let out a small laugh.

“Not at all. I did things like studying… just for fun. I didn’t want to be number one, it just happened naturally.”

Her gaze deepened even further.

A sigh escaped me. This was getting really tiresome.

“To think someone like you, a model student, ended up like this.”

“That kind of talk is getting boring now.”

Serena laughed coldly.

“The perfect honor student went mad. Isn’t it amusing, Teacher?”

I couldn’t help but laugh in this situation.

The rope loosened for a moment. A small gap. But that was enough for Serena.

“Ha!”

She shot out like lightning. Grabbing the sword on the floor, she lunged at me.

“Now, for real…”

Just as she swung the sword, my hand grabbed her wrist. With a smooth motion, I slammed her to the ground.

“Ugh…”

Serena groaned. But her eyes still gleamed.

“More… more…”

She got up again. With staggering steps, she rushed at me.

“Make it hurt more. Not yet… not yet.”

I grabbed her neck with one hand and subdued her. Her feet left the ground.

“Ha… ha…”

Serena’s breath became ragged. She looked in pain, but there was still a smile on her lips.

“This feels good. I feel like I’m going to break…”

A smile hung at the corner of her lips. Even with the pressure that could snap her neck, she kept smiling.

When I let go, she collapsed on the ground. But soon, she caught her breath and stood up again.

“Give up.”

But Serena shook her head. Her eyes sparked with madness.

“I’ll never… give up…”

The fifth attempt. I kicked her knees. Her legs wobbled.

“This is…”

The sixth attempt. I heard a crack. Serena’s right arm twisted unnaturally.

“Not yet… not yet…”

The seventh attempt. Her arm hung awkwardly.

“Ha… ha…”

Serena could barely stand anymore.
She crawled on the floor, her body broken. There wasn’t a single part of her unscathed.

“Let’s stop now.”

At my words, she raised her head. She crawled over to me and bit my leg.

“I don’t want a pathetic ending. Please, just kill me.”

Serena’s voice trembled.

“I’ve felt it since I was young. I was different from the other kids. Studying, sports, magic… everything was easy. Too easy… it was boring.”

Her gaze became distant, as if looking far away.

“Everyone called me a genius, but I just laughed. I was just… bored.”

With her broken fingers, she scratched the floor. The sharp sound echoed.

“I wanted to feel something. So I worked hard at anything. I thought something would change…”

A sorrowful smile spread across her face.

“But it was all for nothing. Even when I was number one, even when I received awards, I couldn’t feel anything.”

Serena looked at the wounds on her arm.

“By chance, out of curiosity… I cut my wrist with a knife. That was the first time I felt something.”

Her eyes regained life.

“At that moment, I realized. The moment I saw the blood, everything became clear. This was what I had been looking for…”

A rapturous smile spread across her face.

“And then, not long after, I killed someone for the first time.”

Tears fell from her eyes. But the madness within them did not subside.

“Ah… That thrill from that moment. Finally, I found it. The sensation I had been searching for.”

She grabbed my ankle. Her cold fingers were trembling.

“I think I was born like this. Pretending to be normal, pretending to be a model student… I was just wearing a mask all along.”

A sorrowful smile hung at the corner of Serena’s lips.

“I can’t take it anymore. The urge to kill is coursing through my body. It’s as natural as breathing… it’s already… already irreversible now.”

Her voice grew quieter.

“If you spare me, I’ll definitely kill someone again. So please, kill me. End my life, Teacher. Beautifully, perfectly…”

Serena’s words faded. It seemed as though her consciousness was fading.

A single thought flashed through my mind.
“Yeah, if I do it this way… it might get a bit bothersome, but there’s no other choice…”