Rank 0 of the Awakener Special School - Chapter 92

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Rank Zero of the Awakener Special School
Chapter 92
It happened last year.
“Sister, you know we have a parent observation day at school in winter, right? You have to come.”
During summer break, Tae Ga-yeong had returned home and met with her younger sister, Tae Ga-eun.
Her sister, who usually treated her with nothing but blunt indifference, was actually asking for something—a first.
Tae Ga-yeong suppressed the corners of her mouth from curling up and answered.
“I know, I know. I’ve already told the Headmaster.”
“Really? What did he say?”
“Of course he approved. Who am I? The captain of the Special Squad. Ha-ha-ha!”
“…Stop showing off. Besides, do you really plan to keep doing something so dangerous?”
“Dangerous? There’s nothing dangerous for me.”
“I heard the Gaon Special Squad loses people on missions pretty often.”
“Yeah. But not me.”
Tae Ga-yeong smiled faintly and patted her younger sister’s head.
“Since I’m the captain of the Special Squad, shouldn’t I be able to grant Ga-eun’s wish? Normally, going out during the semester is strictly forbidden.”
……
Her sister seemed to have more to say, but ultimately just sighed and turned her head away sharply.
“In any case, be careful. I’ll see you then for sure.”
After summer break ended, she returned to Gaon.
The thought that she could see her sister again when winter came filled her with anticipation.
‘A parent observation class.’
She hadn’t expected to be called in herself, even if her parents came.
That Ga-eun. No matter how gruffly she speaks, there’s no doubt she actually loves her sister.
With the outing already scheduled in advance, Tae Ga-yeong counted down the days until winter when she could see her sister again.
But—
Accidents, as always, happen when least expected.
“Captain, there’s been an incident in Narak. A middle school student was exposed to an Infected Creature during class and was severely injured.”
At Do Min-gi’s words, Tae Ga-yeong’s face hardened.
Recognizing that expression, Do Min-gi adjusted his glasses and spoke.
“Was today the day? Your sister’s observation class?”
……
“Don’t make that face. Just go ahead and attend. I’ll see what I can do on this end.”
It just so happened to be the day when everyone in the Special Squad except those two was away on assignment.
Without Tae Ga-yeong, Do Min-gi was the only operative who could be deployed for emergency missions—and he was offering to handle it himself.
And yet—
“No, I’ll contact Ga-eun separately myself.”
“Pardon? But—”
“I’m going. Have you pinpointed the exact coordinates?”
Do Min-gi watched silently as Tae Ga-yeong gathered her outer coat and sword scabbard.
“…Will you be all right? You were looking forward to today so much.”
“There’s a parent observation class every year. But saving a life naturally takes priority, doesn’t it?”
It was a fair argument.
Tae Ga-yeong canceled her outing without hesitation.
She prioritized the Special Squad’s mission over family obligations, and she didn’t doubt for a moment that her choice was right.
And indeed, Tae Ga-yeong spectacularly rescued the middle school girl who had been caught in the accident.
Taking that mission had been the right call.
When she arrived, the Infected Creature was tearing the girl’s body to shreds.
If it had been Do Min-gi, he would have struggled to defeat all of them. Even if he’d managed, it would have taken far longer.
With just one sword, Tae Ga-yeong defeated every Infected Creature and rescued the girl alone.
By the time they escaped Narak and she transferred the girl to the Medical Wing, the sky had already turned pitch black.
‘The observation class must be over by now.’
She felt a slight pang of regret.
…What was she going to tell Ga-eun?
No doubt the girl would be furious about this. It might take months just to placate her anger.
‘I’ll buy her something she likes before winter break and bring it home.’
That’s all she thought then.
Until she received that call.
“Ga-yeong? I’m sorry to bother you so late, but the Headmaster is asking for you.”
Late that night, the dorm supervisor woke Tae Ga-yeong from sleep.
Why would the Headmaster suddenly call for her at this hour?
Confused, she threw on an outer coat and hurried to the Headmaster’s Office.
Headmaster Orion silently handed her the telephone receiver.
Tae Ga-yeong took it groggily, then moments later, her eyes widened.
“…Yes?”
Through the receiver came the sound of sobbing.
Her parents.
“What…”
Thud.
The receiver slipped from her hand.
Tae Ga-yeong collapsed where she stood.
—Ga-eun.
Was dead.
On her way home after the observation class, she’d been hit by a car.
…She died instantly at the scene.
After that, her memory became hazy.
How she left the Headmaster’s Office.
How she made it back to the Dormitory.
How she got through each day—all of it remained blurred in her mind.
But one thing Headmaster Orion had said that night remained crystal clear.
– Ga-yeong, that was not your fault. You simply fulfilled your responsibility. You knew what mattered most, what needed to be done. Didn’t you?
– What needed to be… done.
– Yes. What needed to be done. As captain of the Special Squad, you did the right thing. Hold onto that conviction so you don’t fall apart. That’s how you survive.
She didn’t know if those words had truly comforted her.
But she did as she was told.
Repeating to herself that she’d made the right choice, she threw herself into her duties as Special Squad captain.
Maybe that way she could forget. Maybe she could escape.
But there was one thing.
A fact that lodged in her throat like a thorn, impossible to swallow.
“She died because of me.”
The words leaked out between Tae Ga-yeong’s teeth as she stood motionless in the rubber boat.
Tae Ga-yeong lifted her head quietly.
Far off, at the Cruise’s rail, Ji-u looked down at her with vacant eyes.
The Cruise was immense.
Whether her quiet murmur even reached Ji-u was impossible to know.
Yet Tae Ga-yeong continued, as though retching, as though purging something.
“I tried everything to ease the guilt. Lost myself in novels, pushed my body to its limits with training. But I couldn’t forget. Maybe… not protecting her was my deepest regret.”
If only she’d attended the observation class that day…
She might have lived.
Even if a car had hurtled toward her sister’s face, if she’d been there beside her, she could easily have saved her.
So.
It was my fault.
Her grip on the sword trembled faintly, but Tae Ga-yeong concealed it and steadied her hand.
Ji-u was still visible at the edge of her vision.
“The only silver lining…”
As Tae Ga-yeong murmured once more.
“…was that it was you I saved that day.”
Whoooosh—
The water, which had been calm all along, surged violently once.
Even though Awakeners had hearing far superior to ordinary people, the waves prevented Ji-u from catching her voice.
“Senior, what did you say? I can’t hear you!”
Ji-u shouted.
But Tae Ga-yeong did not repeat herself.
She simply looked up quietly at Ji-u, who clung desperately to the railing.
…Her first day, when that child had joined the Special Squad, flashed vividly before her.
At first, she hadn’t recognized him.
His appearance had changed so completely from before.
That child, deep in Narak, being torn mercilessly by an Infected Creature.
But thanks to the Regeneration Core, a thread of breath had barely clung to him.
The moment she took him on her back, she heard a thin, frail voice from behind her.
– Just… leave me be.
– …What?
After that one utterance, the child lost consciousness completely.
But she clearly felt her shoulders grow warm and wet with blood.
Days later, she heard rumors that the child’s treatment had become difficult and he’d been transferred back home.
There were also whispers of the severe bullying he’d endured.
But she hadn’t dwelled on it. No—she’d had no capacity to think about such things.
Consumed by news of Ga-eun, Tae Ga-yeong had forgotten all about that child’s circumstances.
Then, months later, they met again.
The child she’d saved that day.
The child she’d chosen over her sister reappeared as a new recruit for the Special Squad.
With a decidedly different appearance.
No. Not different, but perhaps—
“Captain…!”
Ji-u, standing on the railing, looked ready to leap after Tae Ga-yeong at any moment.
“Wait, hold on… *Cough!*”
Though distant, it was clear.
Ji-u’s entire body trembling.
Even without knowing the exact cause, one thing was certain—it was some kind of reflex.
Tae Ga-yeong too was an Awakener. If she was using enough Core to move this ship, bleeding was not impossible.
Tae Ga-yeong drew her sword at last.
Shing—
Above the dark sea, the blade emerged, cradling a quiet light.
“Ji-hyo.”
Thunk.
Without hesitation, Tae Ga-yeong’s sword severed the rope connecting the boat to the Cruise.
“My priority was to protect my sister.”
The rope she’d cut sank into the dark sea below.
Slowly. Yet deeply.
The boat, freed from its bonds, began to drift away.
“When I said I’d think of you like a sister, I meant it.”
Her voice was too quiet to be sure it reached Ji-u.
But that child was exceptional, after all.
She was certain he was hearing her.
With that certainty, Tae Ga-yeong looked directly at Ji-u.
“It’s okay. I have no intention of dying here. We’ll all make it back alive. So go on ahead first.”
This time she would save the people. This time she would save her sister.
This time. Just this once.
“You understand?”
Glug-glug-glug…
As if an underwater volcano had erupted, bubbles suddenly boiled up across the dark surface.
Did it sense that its long-awaited prey was drawing near?
Uuuuuuu—
A chilling monster’s cry rang out like a ship’s horn.
“Captain!!”
Ji-u cried out with all his strength.
Whether that voice could reach her.
Tae Ga-yeong did not turn back.
Instead.
Crassssh!
She raised her sword high, and her emerald eyes gleamed fiercely.
“When we return—”
In the middle of the dark sea, soaked in shadow, a commander’s bold voice rang out clear and sharp.
“I’ll bring you a mountain of octopus sashimi!”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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