bookmarkrole Chapter 130 : Chapter 130
Chapter 130 : Chapter 130
Chapter 130 : Revenge
Sal knew she would see through any lie instantly, so he decided to tell the truth with resignation.
"Actually, Hannah isn't my girlfriend. It's more accurate to say we're friends with benefits. We barely even talk to each other."
Sal trailed off, and Divinity's expression didn't soften at all.
He sighed deeply and continued, determined to set things right with Divinity.
"We haven't known each other long, and it's not like I know her deeply. Plus, I haven't been good at keeping in touch the past few weeks, so we naturally drifted apart a bit."
Divinity tilted her head.
"But we haven't known each other long either, and you're bad at contacting me too. Yet you said I'm one of your top three priorities. So what's the difference between Hannah and me?"
Sal could tell from Divinity's bright smile that she was enjoying this situation.
If embarrassing himself a little could revive the mood, he was willing to endure that much.
"I made gauntlets for Hannah, and they amplified her ability. That was something she was always insecure about, and I think our relationship started from her gratitude."
Sal looked away, contemplating how to phrase his next words.
When Divinity snapped her fingers to signal time was running out, he realized he had no choice but to blurt out his disorganized thoughts.
He smirked and just said it.
"You were the first person to see me as I am, not for my ability. So for the first time, I could feel special in front of you. I didn't feel that when I was with Hannah. You wouldn't force me to dance in front of people. No, if someone even suggested that, you would have kicked them in the face right away. You're good, Hannah's good... but that's the difference."
Divinity tapped the monocle with her finger and sighed.
"This is really amazing, Sal. Thanks for giving this to me, and thanks for being honest. You have an incredible ability to shake up the futures I've seen and change the situation. Originally, I thought I'd have to stew in anger for weeks to get over this, but now I'm fine. But if you don't intend to pursue a serious relationship with Hannah, you need to talk to her clearly. She thinks you're totally infatuated with me. She even grabbed me in the cafeteria and openly asked if there was something between us."
Just as Divinity reached up to take off the monocle, Sal replied.
"That's probably because Victoria spread strange rumors. Don't worry. I just think of you as a friend."
As soon as those words left Sal's mouth, Divinity's fingers paused on the monocle, then she hurriedly took it off.
She hopped down from the dresser and quickly shoved the monocle into her side pocket.
Her movements seemed somewhat urgent.
Sal laughed, pointing at the monocle.
"Surprised you, right? When the calming effect disappears, it feels like all the suppressed emotions rush in at once. I used it too long once and ended up collapsing. It suppresses even fatigue. So be careful."
Divinity nodded without meeting Sal's eyes.
"Yeah, it was quite a shock. Anyway, let's talk later. And..."
Sal raised a hand to stop Divinity.
"Want to meet at the cafeteria at 8? Tell me about the Mounted Battle tactics and news from the Doom Society. Okay?"
Divinity straightened her shoulders and composed herself, a gentle smile spreading across her lips.
"Okay, you're doing well from the start, Sal. Good to see you taking the initiative. See you then."
As Divinity said that and opened the door, unexpectedly, Hannah was standing there with her hand to her ear.
Startled by the sliding door opening abruptly, Hannah hid her hand behind her back in panic and stood awkwardly.
"Ah, this is a bit embarrassing. No, I heard voices inside so I knocked, but, uh, it seemed like you didn't hear."
Hannah mimed knocking with a laugh.
Her eyes, which had been smiling at Sal, turned to blatant hostility as they shifted to Divinity.
Sal looked back and forth between the two, not knowing what to do.
Just a few weeks ago, they were laughing and chatting together, but now Hannah seemed convinced there was something between Sal and Divinity.
Divinity slipped past Hannah into the hallway to avoid complicating the situation further.
"You can have him all to yourself now."
Divinity grinned.
"I've already sorted things out."
Hannah's expression hardened instantly, and Sal groaned inwardly, clutching his head.
"I got scolded heavily for cutting off contact for a week. Sorry to you too."
Hannah stood in the hallway, watching Divinity walk away with her back turned.
She spoke without even glancing at Sal.
"Yeah, I get that you're going around apologizing for your mistakes, but why am I not the priority?"
At her sharp tone, Sal swallowed the words he was about to say.
First, he decided to focus on managing the situation.
"She was in such a hurry, she looked into the future to see when I'd be free. Isn't that funny?"
Hannah raised an eyebrow at Sal as if he were pathetic.
"So according to you, she calculated exactly when to leave right when I was at the door? Deliberately, as if to show off to me. What do you think that means? Tell me your thoughts."
Sal took a step back and raised both hands defensively.
"Hannah, Divinity and I are just friends. And our relationship was casual to begin with, right? What changed? I'm sorry I couldn't contact you lately, but there's really nothing going on with Divinity. We just take classes together and fought together in the Mounted Battle. We're friends. That's all."
Hannah shook her head, walked into the room, and closed the door.
"In case someone hears and treats me like a crazy person. You've changed since you got into the top 3. Don't deny it. You talked so much about how rank is just a number, then suddenly you don't reply to my messages and only hang out with top rankers. How does that look, Sal?"
Shocked, Sal looked straight at her.
"What do you mean? You're one of the very few people who know about my Mythos Crafter ability. Because of that ability, I carried out special projects with professors. For the past few weeks, I completely walled myself off from everything else. I didn't have the bandwidth to think about anything. Let alone time to send messages. Look at this!"
Sal held out the tablet to her, showing the messages he had received but neither read nor replied to.
Sal was sure that showing this would make Hannah change her mind and regain her reason.
With an expressionless face, Hannah scanned Divinity's messages first.
It was true that Sal hadn't replied to any messages.
Hannah glanced up at Sal's serious face, then sighed as a name on the tablet caught her eye.
Tapping the message open, Hannah frowned and looked up at Sal.
"Who is Vanessa?"
Sal laughed and said.
"One of the staff on the Credit Floor. She handles auction-related work and helps me find necessary materials. She's really pretty, but you don't need to worry. We just work on projects together occasionally."
Sal deliberately added the proviso that she was pretty, fearing Hannah might dig around and cause unnecessary misunderstandings.
Sal thought he had prepared for every eventuality, but having to wrack his brain over such a misunderstanding was exhausting.
Hannah let out a cynical laugh and nodded.
"Oh, really? Then why is that pretty, high-and-mighty auction girl asking 'How is your body condition since the last session?' She's even worried she might have handled your body too roughly because you haven't come back. Asking if you can even walk, and adding a wink emoji to boot? Sal, I actually liked you... But I hate liars the most. There's a lot of talk about me climbing the ranks with my body. Rumors keep spreading, but you have no intention of refuting them and you're not even by my side. How does that look to others?"
Unable to stand it any longer, Sal snatched the tablet back from Hannah.
"How does it look? That's the third time you've said that, Hannah. Is that what you care about? Face? What others say? Have you ever asked why I wasn't around for the past few weeks? No. I had to enter a dungeon and clear it all by myself. Even though I was scared to death. Everyone tries to wield me as they please because of my ability. It's overwhelming. But you don't know anything. I couldn't say because I was busy, and you didn't ask me either. We just slept together, scattered, and repeated that."
Sal gritted his teeth to suppress the emotions rising in his chest.
"I'm sorry rumors spread about us, but you can build your own reputation. You can say you dumped me because I was sleeping around with other girls. You can say you dumped me because I didn't answer for a few days. Do whatever you want, Hannah. I'll just smile and nod, apologize or whatever. I'll do whatever you want. Because rumors like this mean absolutely nothing compared to the fact that we are here to become heroes."
Hannah's hand struck Sal's cheek fiercely with a sharp sound.
Her voice was low like a whisper, chillingly cold.
"Don't you dare try to define why we are here. I know things you can't even dare to imagine. I'm truly sorry I'm not your best friend, or even someone who makes it into your precious top 3. Yeah, I heard you two giggling about me earlier. You don't feel special when you're with me? That's because you aren't a special person, Sal. You used a trick to create power that shouldn't have been yours in the first place. You said it yourself. You took someone else's power and made it yours. Deceit must be your nature. That's probably how you can lie in bed and comfort yourself that you're a good person. You'll stay behind heroes for the rest of your life. You can never stand among them."
Tears streamed down Hannah's cheeks.
She took a step back and headed for the door.
Shocked as if unable to believe what had just happened, Sal just stared at Hannah's back.
He stood there for a long time until he snapped out of it when the tablet in his pocket vibrated.
When he took out the tablet, Divinity's message lit up the screen.
The tablet vibrated continuously as Divinity's messages arrived one after another.
Sal wanted to throw the tablet across the room, but opened it to check Divinity's messages.
Sal didn't want to believe that all of this was the result intended by Divinity.
-Divinity: Come to the stairs right now!
Without hesitation, Sal rushed out of the room and sprinted down the hallway.
Running along the path Divinity had taken, he desperately hoped she was safe.
The moment he kicked the door open, chaos unfolded before his eyes.
Divinity stood at the bottom of the stairs, and Hannah was crouched in the corner, clutching her head.
Divinity, revealing bloody knuckles, looked up at Sal.
"Break that bastard's power with your ability!"
Following Divinity's gaze, a bloodied student came into view.
Judging by the black uniform and yellow shoulder decorations, he seemed to be a second-year Controller.
Only hatred lingered in his eyes.
Sal opened his mouth to say something, but Divinity cut him off.
"Please trust me! Break him right now before he takes control of my mind too!"
Sal activated his eye ability as he descended the stairs.
The second-year's ability threads were intricate, and with almost no knots, they looked hard to handle.
Moreover, his ability was already active.
Sal noticed it was connected to his neck, and that Divinity had already damaged that part.
Urged by her, Sal reached into the student's ability threads and knotted the main connection line leading to his Core.
He didn't know if that would be enough, but Sal blocked a few more, confident he could untie them later.
When Sal released his Skill Master ability, the second-year student's eyes widened, and he stared at Sal blankly.
"Kuh... Gasp..."
Only a hoarse sound barely escaped his mouth.
Sal looked at Divinity to grasp the situation, but she was just gasping for breath, holding her knees.
Sal silently waited for her to recover.
Then came the sound of Hannah's voice, apologizing repeatedly.
Divinity groaned, straightened up, and rolled her shoulders.
"Thanks, Sal."
Divinity kicked the second-year student's chest hard, driving him back into pain.
"Filthy. Monday. Enjoy."