"We have a critical patient here!"
"Excuse us, excuse us! Get out of the way!"
"What's the status?"
Various voices filled with urgency echoed in my ears.
Yet I found it difficult to even move my eyes to see what was happening.
Every fiber of my body was writhing in agony; I was utterly helpless.
My senses were becoming cold, the numbness was swallowing away my entire being.
It was a familiar sensation since I had already experienced it once.
I am at death's door.
However, the fact that I could still think quite clearly didn't sit right with me, though I'm glad that it's the evidence of me still being alive.
What the fuck happened?
The last thing I remember was my consciousness fading into darkness, and it seemed an angel's halo swirled above my head before my body landed on the ground face-first.
Wait…
Alana?
Did she try to-?
No, she was not in a state of mind that would not hesitate to commit cold-blooded slaughter within the Hero Academy, especially in front of many witnesses.
What's more, even though she possessed many broken [Talents], they were not refined yet to their peak-Professor Ragnar could swiftly stop her at ease.
"Are you awake, sir? The surgery's a success, but you will need at least two weeks to fully recover…"
I heard a female voice, disrupting my thoughts.
On the other hand, my vision began to return as my eyes instinctively opened on their own.
But did she just say?
Before I could fully process her words, my gaze landed on the neat, plain-white ceiling; my eyes were almost blinded by the lights.
With my senses returning to their normal state, I also felt something on my forearm; it's an IV drip!
Such a treatment also existed in the Hero's Apocalypse world, but this… this clearly looked modern!
"Wh-where…?" I mustered the courage to speak.
Was everything I experienced up until now a mere dream?
Perhaps a coping mechanism to hold onto my will to survive?
"Ah, sir. Please don't strain your body. You should keep resting for now. I'm also here to change your IV bottle."
I tried to sit at the medical bed, but I didn't have the strength to do so yet.
The nurse in a white uniform gently pushed me down.
"Where am I…?" I asked for the second time.
"You're in LoF Medical Center… By the way, sir, regarding the truck that hit you… The authorities captured the driver; it was a hit-and-run attempt, but they are also looking at the possibility of attempted murder-"
"W-wait a minute! What did you just say?!"
From a hit-and-run attempt to attempted murder?
What's this?! Was everything I experienced just fragments of my subconscious?
Damn it. I feel like going crazy!
"The authorities are waiting for you to wake up-"
Before the nurse could finish her words, three distinguished individuals burst through the door.
Seeing these familiar faces, my expression suddenly darkened.
They were faces I'd rather not see again, even if the world ended.
Donning military uniforms I was familiar with, as I also wore them in the past, these three people approached in haste.
Instinctively, I rolled to the other side of the bed, my back hitting the solid floor, prompting me to groan.
The nurse accompanying me inside the hospital room was confused. However, when these three men pulled out guns from their backs, she instantly ran outside.
"Give up what you stole, Former Naval Intelligence Officer, Lieutenant Kang Jiho."
"Fuck you."
I would die here, yet it was the only thing I could say.
Their chuckles reached my ears, and my battered body prevented me from even moving an inch.
Pulling out the needle in my forearm, even if it was meaningless against bullets, I wouldn't go down without a fight!
However…
'Wh-why am I suddenly…'
I felt drowsy, and just before my eyes gradually shut, I incidentally saw a syringe still inserted through the IV's injection port. Was it the nurse?
"F-Fucking-"
"Hahaha! You really think you could hide forever?!"
It was then that something outlined on their fragile necks-a golden light that could burn anything it touches.
"H-huh…?"
It was a familiar face that shouldn't exist in this world.
"A-Alana-?"
But then, I thought I was spared.
"You should not have done that."
With raging eyes, my existence was also cut into oblivion.
*
Inside the Hero Academy's resourceful infirmary, the groan of a peculiar male student reached Alana's ears; she was sitting beside the steel white bed, waiting for him to regain consciousness.
'Did I hit him too hard?' She thought.
"Argh-! M-my head! Huff, huff!"
It was then that he was jolted awake, caught his breath, his heart pounding still.
Looking around, Lugh realized that it was just a dream… something too vivid and bizarre.
Seeing the last person he saw, Lugh tilted his head in bewilderment.
"A-Alana? Where are we?"
"Uh- we're in the infirmary… I-I'm sorry earlier. Are you mad?" Alana was momentarily flustered; she was not used to talking to people.
'But I still have to ask him why… he should have done that.'
"Then what happened…? How long was I out anyway?" Lugh asked, though he roughly had an idea what had transpired.
A one-sided beating.
No, it was not even a beating as he was downed after one quick strike, shaking his skull, similar to ringing church bells.
After briefly explaining the situation, as he was out for around four hours, Lugh couldn't help but ask,
"But why are you still here?"
"Uh- because… I don't know…?"
'Should I ask him here and then? But he seems truly mad.'
"Are you perhaps mad… at what happened? You know." Alana avoided his gaze.
"Huh? What? Why would I be? It was a spar, fair and square, based on Professor Ragnar's conditions and the right you gained to choose your opponent. Though I don't quite understand…" Lugh paused, stopping his sentence.
"I-I see. Well, while you're sleeping, you're cursing a lot. I thought, you know..."
Hearing this, Lugh chuckled.
It seemed his bad mouth reflected to his new reality.
"No, forget it. It's fine." He then gazed above, checking the hanging wall clock.
Just as he did that, a growling dragon echoed throughout the infirmary.
"Hey… Don't tell me?" Lugh looked at Alana, who stared at her abdomen, gently rubbed it, and awkwardly returned his gaze.
*
In one of the academy's spacious cafeterias, which was available for 24 hours, a student could buy an already cooked meal.
'But where's the thrill, if you can cook your own food.'
One of the things I admired in this story's mundane setting was that the cafeterias allowed students to choose fresh ingredients and prepare them on their own in a separate, independent kitchen.
Be it meat, fish, or vegetables – everything was available, as expected of the Hero Academy.
Of course, the student would pay based on the ingredients used.
"Hmm. I don't have time to steam white rice…"
Spinach, carrots, mushrooms…
Thud, thud, thud!
After cutting and preparing the healthy ingredients, I wrapped them in seaweed, then proceeded to thinly cut them.
"What are you doing?"
"Is that eastern cuisine?" Alana asked, watching me from behind.
"Yes, it's called gimbap."
Since the eastern culture was perfectly replicated in this world, such dishes were not strange to exist. It's also the case with chopsticks.
"Why? You want to try it?"
"Uh-"
Before she could respond, I swiftly pinched a slice of gimbap and fed her.
"O-Ohm! Ohm-!"
"Don't talk. Eat that first."
I said that… as I sensed her piercing glare from behind.
Was it a murderous intent?!
Though I ignored her and looked for a table.
Because it was almost 9 PM, there were many empty seats.
Finding one, she eventually arrived with an already cooked dish and sat across from me.
Apparently, she didn't know how to prepare her own meal.
Letting out a sigh, as I savoured what I had prepared, some thoughts flooded my mind.
The peculiar vivid dream.
My real name on Earth before I possessed this body.
…Something that I supposedly have stolen according to those bastards.
"It's good…" Alana's voice cut off my thoughts, her gaze focused on my plate.
But then, I saw hers… that was already empty.
"Eh?" I muttered in incredulity.
This was the True Hero I looked up to in the Hero's Apocalypse, especially in its early parts.
Shy Alana.
Empathetic Alana.
Glutton Alana…
"Where did your food go? Are you hiding a dragon in your stomach?"
*
After some time, as I finished my meal, since she had already filled her body with energy, the atmosphere became awkward.
We were hit with a food coma, and talking seemed to be out of the question.
However, as the cold winds brushed past my skin… as it swayed her platinum strands, her deep purple eyes looked into my soul.
It was a gaze that was scrutinizing my very existence.
Among the ones she had encountered so far, I might seem to be one of the strangest ones.
"Why…"
Suddenly, and reluctantly, her mouth opened to speak.
Waiting for her next words, I was suddenly reminded of the dream… or nightmare I had just lived.
"Why were you looking at me with pity…?"