CH 25

{ Chapter 25 – The Possessor’s Plan }

‘This is f*cked up.’

It was an idea that had entered Lumia's head after she possessed the real 'Lumia's body'.

[Justia died. The culprit is a hero belonging to the Secret Service…]

[Justia's killer, Kang Ha-neul, who is his true identity…?]

Within a day or so, the media started pouring out breaking news.

Most of them were reporters who had left their names on Lumia’s call logs for the past week.

She felt like she wanted to stop breaking news by contacting them right away. 

But that was impossible now...

Because the article had already gone up and was being reproduced out of control.

“It’s true that Trauma-sama is an absolute evil…  But what they were saying is a false accusation.”

Lumia knew very well that all of this was false.

Of course, there was a time when she also thought that Trauma must have killed Justia when the original work was not finished.

However, the truth was revealed in the final half of the original story and it was that Trauma wasn’t the one who killed Justia.

This twist in the story had exploded the community for months, constantly skyrocketing the popularity of Trauma, topping the popularity poll.

Right now, only Lumia knew this twist.

‘How can I solve this situation?’

So, of course, she was the only one who could save the current Kang Ha-neul.

“Evidence… Okay, let’s check the evidence.”

The breakthrough that Lumia came up with was to find loopholes in the evidence.

Unless Kang Ha-neul was the real culprit, the evidence presented would naturally have loopholes.

If so, she just had to prove the loophole and bring out his innocence.

“……..”

With that thought in mind, she had personally checked the information released through the Absolute Commander, but she soon ran into a big problem.

“…No, there must be a loophole.”

After careful examination and review, she could not find any loopholes.

It seemed impossible unless one had been planning and preparing for years, yet it had happened.

“…Ugh.”

Lumia, who was going through the documents repeatedly, grabbed her hair in frustration and threw the papers aside.

‘Should I just sleep?’

Neither blocking the press nor finding loopholes in the evidence had worked.

So, should she just give up altogether?

‘…I can’t.’

After thinking about it for a while, Lumia shook her head.

Even if she turned herself in now, there were no means to prove the crime.

Because Lumia wasn’t the one who killed Justia in the first place.

Rather, it was clear that if Kang Ha-neul’s ability was revealed, it would work against him more.

“No solution…”

A situation with no answers.

“…If this happens, there’s nothing I can do about it.”

When Kang Ha-neul’s villainization began, things would flow out of control.

The moment a runaway occurs due to villainization, the worst and strongest villain of all time would be born.

To be honest, she wanted to see it like crazy.

Because it was an opportunity to meet the Trauma she fell in love with.

However, it seemed like it wouldn’t be too bad to save her favorite before he became a villain.

Most of all, this time, she was determined to live as normal as possible.

“Hello?”

With that promise, Lumia called someone.

– Lumia?

“Yes, Miss. Absolute Commander.”

The voice on the other end belonged to the Absolute Commander.

–  ...

“I have something to tell you, so I called…”

First, clear up the misunderstandings of those around her. Then, work together to help Kang Ha-neul escape the prison before he turned into a villain.

Although she wasn't too thrilled about relying on the Absolute Commander's help, it was necessary to save the love of her life.

“…Ugh!?”

However, Lumia soon realized.

– Lumia? What’s wrong?

Even within her own body, there was an existence that did not like her plan at all.

-Grrrrrrrr…

Lumia’s hand, which had lost the smartphone while lying on her bed in contemplation, was trembling.

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On the day when Kang Ha-neul's death sentence was confirmed, Lumia looked at her right hand with a cold expression and muttered.

“It’s creepy.”

Then, without realizing it, she spewed out abusive language.

To be honest, she knew very well that she was not normal.

She had an antisocial temperament innate from birth, impulsivity, and liveliness. She had a terrifying obsession with possessions.

Knowing that well, she deliberately didn’t like people.

However, the only exception was Kang Ha-neul, whom she had never met in real life.

“…Crazy bitch.”

Because she was like that, she knew right away.

A being that resides in her right hand...

The original owner of this body was not sane.

“I should have seen that side story.”

Lumia Obse’ was a character with a lot of mysteries even when the original was completed.

Among them, the most famous thing was her ‘inner description’ which never exists either in the manga or in the game.

On the outside, she was walking the path of a hero like Ariel, the 2nd main character, but on the inside, she was a character who couldn’t figure out what she was doing.

Fortunately, a side-story novel centered on her, containing a story from the past, was scheduled to be released.

But Lumia died a day before the release date of the side-story.

Therefore, the original Lumia’s identity had become a McGuffin, unknown to her.

[ TL: In fiction, a MacGuffin is an object, device, or event that is necessary to the plot and the motivation of the characters, but insignificant, unimportant, or irrelevant in itself. I also didn't know about it, so I just google it.]

- Grrr…

“I want you to do something.”

However, seeing what it was doing, she was able to predict roughly what was going to happen.

Even though she herself possessed this body, it managed to avoid complete annihilation of its original personality by displaying a terrifying will.

It was trying to project its influence on Lumia while nestling in her right hand.

Just a few days ago, it desperately stopped her when she was trying to reveal the truth to the Absolute Commander.

‘Are you aiming for a fairy tale?’

A setting in which the mind assimilated to the personality and habits of the original owner of the possessed body...

Lumia had seen several web novels with such settings.

This phenomenon that was happening to her was probably similar to that.

“There’s no way I would lose my body to a bitch.”

Of course, she had no intention of losing it.

If it was an ordinary person, perhaps by now, they might have been assimilated with knowledge of the original.

But she was quite confident that she was not sane.

So, she had no intention of doing what it wanted.

‘I will use the last method.’

Perhaps all of this was secretly concocted by the original Lumia.

She didn't know why she did that, but after it happened, there was only one way left.

‘I must become the enemy of the Kang Ha-neul.’

On the day of execution, Kang Ha-neul would be awakened as a villain.

Now, no matter what she would do, she couldn't stop that development itself.

If so, she had to make him, who would soon become a villain, focus his attention on her.

She had to become a being hated by him, a being who was eager to kill him.

‘That’s how I can save him.’

Throughout the original game and manga, Kang Ha-neul died in all endings except for one route.

And the only way he survives could be seen when the player chooses the main character as Lumia.

That was the victory ending for evil.

This was an ending that could only be seen when Lumia was killed by Trauma.

As to why only Lumia had such an ending, there was a good reason.

This was because if the main character was Ariel, it was in Easy Mode, if it was Lumia, it was in Hard Mode.

When playing as Ariel, one could ‘save’.

Even if they die, they could be resurrected.

However, when playing with Lumia, the one-time play was forced.

If the player died even once, it was over.

‘I don’t care if I die or not. All he has to do is live.’

Her life didn’t matter. After all, it was the life she got as a bonus.

Being obsessed with him, it seemed that it would be enough to be ecstatic just to have a similar love affair for a while.

If being obsessed with him and being killed by him... if that could save him, then Lumia was satisfied with that.

But to do that, it was necessary to fix the route to itself.

If he selected the Ariel route, he would surely die no matter what.

No matter how much he tried, there was no way he could defeat the protagonist who was still alive.

‘You will have to kill me and control your powers before you can face her.’

So Lumia made up her mind.

“Oh… I’m fine. I’ve been dozing off for a while. I have a favor, Miss Absolute Commander.”

In order to save her love, she decides to become the most hated person to him.

“…can we visit Kang Ha-neul for a moment?”

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“So, how are you?”

“How am I...? Are you making fun of me…?”

“How does it feel to have everything stolen from you?”

In the meeting room that she made a decision to visit, she was finally able to meet him.

“What are you talking about?”

The only existence she had in her heart, Kang Ha-neul.

“By the way, you are not blind yet?”

“What are you talking about?”

She felt so ecstatic.

Because the young Kang Ha-neul, who had never been described, was sitting in front of her.

She wanted to leave this place with him right away.

To a place where no one in this world would find them.

She wanted to escape from prison even by overturning Karma or hiding him in her arms.

‘Calm down, calm down…’

But that was impossible.

If there had been a collaborator, no matter how talented she was, it was impossible to attack Karma alone.

And it... sleeping in her right hand, looking for an opportunity, there was no way it could leave them that way.

“First of all, on the paper next to you, write a confession of everything you’ve done so far.”

“…yes.”

“And as soon as you leave, turn this paper in and surrender yourself.”

“…..Alright.”

Still, it was really hard to keep up with Kang Ha-neul, who hypnotized her using the laptop she brought with her in order to be brainwashed.

‘…I want to overtake you.’

She wanted to kiss those cute eyes shining like a blue sky.

She wanted to hold his hand at least once.

Should she pretend to resist and struggle, pretend to be a coincidence, and gently hug him?

With that thought in mind, she began to surrender her body to the distant mind.

– Grrrr…

'I’m resisting…? But, how…'

However, the original owner of the body did not seem to be able to tolerate being brainwashed by him.

‘…I can’t do it this way either.’

She was expecting an early defeat by any chance.

“The protagonist always succeeds in resisting psychic powers.”

She quickly faced the situation and spat out the lines she had prepared.

“Isn’t that a cliché?”

Hints on his own abilities.

“By the way, you don’t even know how to use your abilities properly yet. Well, you’ll get better over time…”

And, a hint about his abilities that Kang Ha-neul was not aware of yet.

‘Please hate me.’

After that, with a bewildered expression on her face, Lumia silently muttered to herself as she looked at the Kang Ha-neul until the end, where she was caught and dragged by the guards.

‘My dearest.’

Please...

Hoping that he would kill her as soon as possible.

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A few days after that:

“……..uh?”

Lumia couldn’t help but mutter with a puzzled expression on her face.

“Why are you guys here now?”

It was because a person who could not come out at this point was reaching out to Kang Ha-neul, accompanied by an organization that should not have been formed yet.