Killing the Possessor - Chapter 142

“Don’t put an innocent kid in danger.”

I’ll admit, it was a little out of the blue. But I couldn’t help myself, who knew when I’d be pulled back? Even if I knew that what I did here was just a drop in the bucket, just a scene from the past shown by the system, and that none of it would change anything for real.

Still, I just… needed to do something. Even after all this time, it was one of those memories that would sometimes ache in my chest.

“Don’t forget what I said. I’ll tell your father straight away. About how you’re goofing off with Bori instead of studying.”

“……”

“I’m warning you, okay?”

I should’ve done this sooner. At this point in time, it would’ve worked. But back then, I never even thought of it. By the time things got out of hand, of course the professor would protect his own son, so there’d be no point. But now, a simple threat like this was enough.

It would be even more effective if I let slip that his girlfriend was Han Bori. It’s harsh, but that’s reality. From his parents’ perspective, a relationship with a girl they didn’t approve of would definitely be a concern, and they’d put a stop to it one way or another.

I didn’t know how much longer I’d be here, but if Yoon Sojun didn’t get the message, I was prepared to take it straight to the teachers’ office.

Abuse and manipulation—most of the time, help has to come from outside. It would be nearly impossible for Bori to cut herself off from that relationship alone, so at the very least, I needed to keep a window open for her, until I could be sure her choices weren’t just driven by anxiety or pressure.

But, as if the system had other plans, Sojun’s face started to blur, and a bright light flashed, flipping my vision. Recognizing that my time was up, I just relaxed and let the flow of magic take me.

“Waaahhh!”

When I came back to the garden, I was kneeling on the ground. In front of me, Aveline was huddled up, sobbing uncontrollably.

“It was so scary! I was so scared! I’m terrible with stuff like this—mazes are just too much for me.”

“……”

Seeing her back in her own body, it didn’t look like she was still possessed—maybe I’d managed to free her? It was confusing, since I’d never seen someone fully conscious right after being purified.

Her hair was a mess, and her face and dress were smudged with dirt. She looked less like she’d taken a stroll through a fancy garden and more like she’d just come back from the fields. I couldn’t help but feel a wave of sympathy.

It seemed like what she needed most was comfort. So I gently patted her shoulder and spoke up.

“It’s okay, Your Highness. No one here is going to judge you for getting lost. And see? I came to find you, didn’t I?”

“……”

With big tears clinging to her lashes, she looked at me, searching my face. After a good cry, she seemed to calm down a little, curling in on herself and glancing up at me.

“I’m not stupid.”

“……”

“I’m just… not very good at this.”

“Princess.”

I started smoothing her tangled hair, speaking softly and reassuringly.

“I know. So please don’t worry.”

“……”

Because I understood exactly what she was afraid of, I wanted to set her at ease. Life had always been hard mode for her. Just imagine how terrifying it must be to end up in a world like this.

[Congratulations! You have successfully saved and redeemed the evil spirit, ‘Aveline Boderin -Possessed by Han Bori’! Though her soul will not remember you, she will undoubtedly be very grateful.]

[‘Player’ status is changed back to ‘User’.]

I later learned that people like Beth Coreldi and Tommy didn’t remember anything about their time as an evil spirit.

Aveline would probably be the same. She’d have no idea why part of the garden was trashed or how she ended up in such a state. She’d just chalk it up to panicking because she couldn’t find her way out of the maze.

Even knowing that she was a possessor and that she’d been Han Bori—I couldn’t bring myself to say anything to her. Part of it was self-preservation. The more people who knew my real identity, the more dangerous things became. But mostly, it was something else.

Guilt. The kind that comes from knowing I’d kept my mouth shut back then, and still felt ashamed about it.

Not that I was a good memory for her, anyway. I wasn’t about to go dredging it all up when we were never even close.

But as I tried to soothe her, another thought popped into my head. Why had Aveline gone into the maze garden in the first place? She was perfectly aware of her own weaknesses, there’s no way she’d go in alone.

And then there was something I’d never considered before.

Why had she turned into a spirit at all?

Beth Coreldi, Tommy, Aveline—they were all just ordinary people. There wasn’t any obvious reason for them to suddenly become spirits.

What would make normal people like them suddenly transform?