Suicide Before Defeating the Final Boss

Suicide Before Defeating the Final Boss – 50

EP.50 Bishop Lea Part 5

Vile heretics and rescue. These two keywords made the chief investigator sigh. Both terms clearly defined them as ‘enemies.’

‘That’s why I absolutely cannot let them escape.’

Failing to capture them would not only mean losing a crucial bargaining chip but also result in an overwhelming ‘responsibility’ falling on him, one he could not bear.

‘Damn it…’

Somehow he felt that he had good luck since the morning, and now, he declared he would personally take charge, slowly moving forward as he spoke.

“There seems to be a misunderstanding. We did not kidnap Bishop Lea.”

“Not a kidnapping?”

“Yes. As you can see, Bishop Lea hasn’t been harmed, and we haven’t even put restraints on her.”

At that, Jeong-hyeon let out a hollow laugh and shouted.

“In all my life, I’ve never heard that not torturing or restraining someone means it’s not a kidnapping. Are you out of your mind?”

“……”

Though harsh, his words weren’t entirely wrong, leaving the investigator momentarily speechless. However, if he conceded now, the conversation would end there. So, he offered a carrot to coax him.

“Let’s end the chaos here. If you stop now, I can use my authority to make it seem like it never happened.”

Of course, this was a lie. With numerous casualties and injuries, quietly sweeping this under the rug was impossible.

‘Especially during a war when manpower is scarce.’

The kingdom would never overlook this. So, he lied, trying to appease him.

“No thanks.”

Contrary to his expectations, he was immediately rejected.

‘This is getting really troublesome.’

If the opponent were weak, he could have easily dealt with him. But seeing how Jeong-hyeon had taken down the armed team without a scratch, it was clear he possessed considerable skill, making it risky to provoke them further.

‘Damn, I’ll have to use my last resort.’

He sighed, and, with a strong, deep voice, threatened him with something Jeong-hyeon couldn’t possibly handle.

“Not only did you brutally murder the investigators in the kingdom, but you also obstructed their official duties. It won’t end with just an execution. Then can you handle that?”

At those words, Jeong-hyeon looked at the investigator with a silent, unwavering gaze.

***

Jeong-hyeon couldn’t help but laugh at the investigator’s threat, asking if he could handle it.

‘After all, the responsibility for all this falls on Lea and the church, not on me.’

The image of a meme he had seen before, the one captioned “As long as it’s not me!” came to mind, and he struggled to hold back his laughter. Behind him, Lea was staring at him with a bewildered expression.

“Who the hell are you…?”

If someone were to ask him to name the most dumbfounded expression in the world, he would probably point to the one Lea was showing right now. Feeling a pang of regret that there wasn’t a camera around to capture the moment, he leaned in and whispered.

“I’m the Grim Reaper, you damn bitch.”

At his words, Lea’s body visibly shivered, and she instinctively curled up. He almost plunged his sword into her but managed to restrain himself, turning around instead.

‘Alright, it’s probably best to kill them all, save for a few.’

If he left behind too many witnesses, the kingdom might express their deep regret to the church, even in the midst of war. Drawing upon his divine power, he looked at the person in front of him with a smirk.

‘Let’s get started.’

It’s always best to start by killing the loudmouth. To imprint the fact that he was wielding divine power, he unleashed it fully and spoke.

“What are you waiting for? Aren’t you going to attack?”

At his provocation, the investigators drew their weapons and squared off against him. They were seasoned enough to handle such situations competently.

‘But they’re just low-ranking soldiers.’

No matter how skilled they might be, they were no match for his overwhelming divine power. He considered using his domain declaration again but decided against it. He wanted something with more impact, something less predictable. Filling his sword with divine power, he swung at the enemy in front of him.

Boom!

At this point, it was no longer a matter of simply swinging his sword. The concept was closer to detonating the surroundings. Each time he swung, everything around him was crushed and exploded.

“Ahhhhh!”

“Run… run for your lives!”

Screams filled the air from all directions. Listening to them, he remained expressionless as he moved forward. He stabbed his sword into the body of a fallen investigator and spoke.

“So, what did you say? Can you handle it?”

With those words, he stomped on his chest and continued.

“Does it look like you can handle it?”

“……”

No response. It seemed the man was dead. Not having a particular interest in taunting corpses, he lowered his foot and looked for his next target. But there wasn’t a single investigator left standing.

‘…Ah.’

He let out a sigh of disappointment, then turned to Lea. She must have been bored waiting, so now it was time to reward her for her patience.

He slowly approached Lea, then without hesitation, drove his sword into her thigh.

“Have you been waiting long?”

“Ahhhhh!”

A living doll with automatic healing. He thought to himself how much he had missed this versatile doll. Grabbing a handful of Lea’s hair, he yanked her head up and spoke again.

“Don’t worry, I’ll play with you all day. Just wait a little longer.”

Lea’s eyes trembled as she looked at him in fear. Smiling, he removed his mask just enough to show her his face.

“…He… Hero…”

She stammered; her expression dazed as she tried to say the word “hero.” Before she could finish, he struck her head forcefully, knocking her unconscious. He then carelessly shoved her into his subspace as if tossing away garbage.

***

Lucia was trembling as she asked Miria about Jeong-hyeon’s well-being.

“Mi-Miria, do you think Jeong-hyeon is okay?”

Miria, wearing a perplexed expression, looked at her as if she genuinely didn’t understand.

“Are you seriously asking that?”

“Huh?”

“I mean, are you seriously worried about whether he’s okay?”

Lucia nodded quickly, indicating that she was indeed serious. Miria sighed, rubbing her forehead.

“I don’t get it. You’ve seen him in battle before… He’s done this multiple times, and you’re still worried?”

“Y-yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“Of course I’m right! You’ve seen how terrifying he is in a fight!”

Lucia nodded sullenly, feeling disheartened. She wanted to defend Jeong-hyeon, but his actions up until now made it impossible.

“Anyway, stop worrying about Jeong-hyeon. If you’re going to worry, worry about yourself.”

“…Okay.”

“After all, your name was added to the investigators’ list. That means the kingdom is now keeping an eye on you because of this incident.”

Hearing those words, Lucia closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh. The church had told her to live quietly and avoid attracting attention, to hide the fact that she was a saintess. But now, her name had been revealed because of this situation.

‘I’m definitely going to get scolded.’

Either the Cardinal or the Pope himself might come to reprimand her. Ugh… Just thinking about it made her feel depressed. Sensing her gloom, Miria patted Lucia’s shoulder and spoke gently.

“But don’t worry too much. You have Jeong-hyeon, and you have me too.”

“…You, Miria?”

“Yes, we’re friends, aren’t we?”

…Friend?

Hearing that one word, Lucia wore a dazed expression. Miria scratched her cheek awkwardly, forcing a smile.

“Haha, I guess I was the only one thinking that… Sorry, forget I said anything.”

“…No.”

“Huh? What did you say?”

“No, I’ll never forget it!”

At those words, Miria—no, her new friend Miria—looked even more flustered and replied hesitantly.

“O-okay? Then you don’t have to forget it.”

“Yes! Miria!”

“Oh… okay. Sure.”

A friend…! She couldn’t contain her excitement at having her first same-gender friend. She had tried so hard in the past to make friends, only to be stopped by the harsh reality each time. Finally having a friend now made her incredibly happy!

‘Even though Jeong-hyeon is my friend too!’

But having a same-gender friend felt different, making her even more delighted than when she became friends with Jeong-hyeon. As she found it strangely impossible to stop smiling, she suddenly came up with a great idea, her face beaming with pride.

‘I should mark today as the anniversary of making a friend and remember it for the rest of my life!’

Deciding to make delicious food every year on this day, she held Miria’s hand tightly and spoke excitedly.

“Miria! I’ll buy you a delicious meal…! And I’ll use as much healing magic as you want! And if you want, I can even pay a friendship fee…!”

“What are you talking about…? Calm down a little.”

“But you’re my first friend, so I want to do something nice for you!”

Miria sighed at her words.

“What you’re saying is the opposite of what you’re doing, but seeing the subtle madness in your eyes, I guess you’re not so different from Jeong-hyeon.”

“Me, like Jeong-hyeon?”

“Yeah.”

She didn’t think they had anything in common, but she didn’t feel offended either, so she just blinked quietly. Suddenly, someone entered the dormitory.

“I’m back.”

Jeong-hyeon’s voice. Hearing it, she quickly stood up and looked at him. She had to be ready to use healing magic in case he was hurt or something was wrong.

So, she prepared to use healing magic and looked at Jeong-hyeon.

“No injuries?”

To her surprise, Jeong-hyeon was completely unscathed.

“It was easier than I thought.”

“Ah, I see.”

Weren’t the investigators supposed to be strong? Of course, she didn’t know much about combat, so she just nodded, accepting his explanation.

Jeong-hyeon summoned his subspace and spoke to her.

“Anyway, that’s not the important part. Could you heal this person for me? I thought she could heal herself, but maybe she’s low on divine power, or there’s some other issue because she’s not doing it properly.”

“Of course, I’ll heal them. Who should I heal?”

With those words, Jeong-hyeon pulled someone out of his subspace.

“It’s someone you’re familiar with.”

Following his words, she looked at the person Jeong-hyeon pulled out… and saw the face of Bishop Lea, who had tormented her so much.