Chapter 363: Elena Black [3]
I hated a lot of characters in this ridiculous novel.
Honestly, I wasn’t particularly fond of Ryan either.
As the protagonist, he was inspiring at times, but there were just as many moments when he was frustrating enough to make me want to slam my head into a wall.
The villains were even worse.
The psychopathic murderer Ethan.
The idiotic, perverted elf who somehow kept making every situation worse.
The former leader of the Twelve Signs, who sacrificed countless lives for her own ambitions and still managed to die with a satisfied smile on her face.
They were all terrible.
Yet somehow—
None of them irritated me as much as the woman standing in front of my hospital bed.
Elena Black.
The "true protagonist" according to countless readers.
The person I believed ruined the novel.
Officially, she was the student council president of Reilan Academy.
A genius.
A prodigy.
A future hero destined to stand at the top of the world.
The perfect senior.
The perfect heroine.
The perfect partner.
At least, that’s what everyone called her.
And honestly?
When she first appeared in the story, I understood why.
She was cool.
Ridiculously cool.
The protagonists were still inexperienced back then.
They made mistakes.
Lost fights.
Hit walls they couldn’t overcome.
Then Elena appeared.
And suddenly those impossible obstacles started falling apart.
The disgusting elf who had humiliated Ryan and Leo?
She crushed him.
The villains who had been portrayed as overwhelming threats?
She defeated them.
The enemies that were supposed to push the protagonists to grow?
She bulldozed straight through them.
Readers loved it.
Of course they did.
After dozens of Chapters watching the protagonists struggle, seeing someone effortlessly destroy those same opponents felt satisfying.
Refreshing.
Every appearance she made became an event.
Every fight became a spectacle.
Meanwhile, Ryan’s slow growth frustrated readers more and more.
And Elena’s popularity exploded.
My friend loved that.
The readers loved that.
So naturally—
She appeared more often.
Then even more often.
Then somehow, she started appearing everywhere.
The protagonist’s first love.
His closest companion.
The person he trusted more than anyone else.
The woman standing beside him whenever something important happened.
For a while, it genuinely felt like the story had stopped being Ryan’s story.
Everything revolved around Elena.
And honestly?
That wasn’t what bothered me.
Well.
It bothered me a little.
But I could accept it.
Stories changed.
Characters became popular.
Authors adapted.
It happened all the time.
What I couldn’t accept was what happened afterward.
Because once Elena became the center of the story—
Everyone else started changing too.
Nora suffered the most.
The girl who had quietly loved Ryan for years.
The girl who had supported him from the beginning.
The girl who was supposed to have her own journey.
That storyline vanished.
Her first love drifted away.
Then she drifted away.
Eventually, she fell into darkness.
A tragedy that somehow existed solely to make Elena shine even brighter.
Ryan wasn’t any better.
The stubborn determination that defined him gradually disappeared.
The independence that made him interesting faded.
Instead, he started following Elena’s decisions.
Trusting Elena’s judgment.
Relying on Elena’s answers.
Again and again.
To the point where it became frustrating to read.
And Leo—
The proud lone wolf.
The aloof genius who trusted nobody.
The man who walked his own path.
Even he eventually started leaning on Elena.
Listening to Elena.
Seeking Elena’s approval.
One after another, the characters revolved around her.
And Elena accepted all of it.
Ryan.
Leo.
Their feelings.
Their dependence.
Their trust.
Everything.
Without rejecting either of them.
Without creating clear boundaries.
Without choosing.
The love triangle dragged on forever.
The readers argued.
The comment sections became war zones.
And through it all—
Elena remained at the center.
It was exhausting.
Infuriating.
But even then...
Even then...
I could have tolerated it.
Because stories made questionable decisions all the time.
Because bad romance wasn’t enough to ruin an entire novel.
No.
The reason I hated Elena Black wasn’t any of that.
It was the ending.
The absolute disaster that came at the very end.
Years of development.
Years of buildup.
Years of emotional investment.
Ryan loved her.
Leo loved her.
The entire story had been steering toward a conclusion.
Then, after hundreds of Chapters—
After everything—
This insane woman looked at both protagonists...
And walked away.
Just left.
No grand sacrifice.
No tragic death.
No impossible circumstances.
Nothing.
She simply decided she didn’t want either of them.
Rejected both.
Then disappeared to pursue her own goals.
The end.
I still remembered staring at the screen in disbelief.
The comments had exploded.
Readers were furious.
My friend defended it for months.
Claimed it was deep.
Claimed it was realistic.
Claimed Elena choosing herself over romance was meaningful.
Maybe it was.
Maybe it wasn’t.
I didn’t care.
Because after watching the entire story twist itself around her existence...
After watching every character get dragged into her orbit...
After watching the protagonists sacrifice everything for her...
The ending felt like someone setting fire to the novel and calling it art.
Which was why—
As I stared at Elena Black standing calmly in front of me—
I couldn’t stop myself from thinking:
Of all the people who could’ve shown up today...
Why did it have to be her?
Meanwhile, completely unaware of the war raging inside my head, Elena simply smiled politely.
And somehow—
That made her even more annoying.
Elena, completely unaware of the slander happening inside my head, maintained her gentle smile.
Or perhaps she was aware.
That possibility was even more irritating.
The room remained quiet for a moment.
Ryan, Leo, Leona, Nora, and Kiera all seemed slightly intimidated by her presence.
Which was understandable.
Even among academy students, Elena Black was practically a celebrity.
A living legend.
Someone whose achievements were discussed in classrooms and training grounds.
Someone who existed several steps ahead of her peers.
Eventually, Ryan cleared his throat.
"Senior Elena."
"Yes?"
"What exactly happened after we lost consciousness?"
A good question.
One that immediately drew everyone’s attention.
Even I looked up.
Because honestly?
I wanted to know too.
The memories after my collapse were fragmented.
Elena considered the question briefly.
Then answered.
"The battle ended shortly afterward."
That wasn’t helpful.
Ryan seemed to think the same thing.
"That’s it?"
A faint smile appeared on Elena’s face.
"I don’t believe a detailed explanation would be particularly useful."
"Why not?"
"Because none of you could replicate it."
Ryan looked offended.
Leo looked offended.
Leona looked offended on their behalf.
Elena continued speaking calmly.
"The gap between your current level and hers was too large."
Nobody argued.
Because she was right.
An uncomfortable silence followed.
Then Elena continued.
"Your objective wasn’t victory."
Her silver eyes swept across the room.
"It was survival."
For some reason, hearing it phrased that way stung.
Maybe because it was true.
Maybe because we all knew it.
The fact remained that we had never actually stood a chance.
The best we had managed was surviving long enough for someone stronger to arrive.
Ryan clenched his fists.
Leo looked away.
I knew exactly what they were feeling.
Frustration.
The desire to become stronger.
The realization that talent alone wasn’t enough.
Elena noticed their reactions.
Then, unexpectedly, she spoke again.
"You did well."
Ryan blinked.
Leo looked surprised.
Leona raised an eyebrow.
Elena continued.
"Most people would’ve died."
The room became quiet.
Her expression remained unchanged.
"You faced someone beyond your abilities."
A pause.
"You protected others."
Another pause.
"And you survived."
For some reason, those words carried more weight than the earlier praise.
Perhaps because they felt genuine.
Not like encouragement.
Not like comfort.
Just an objective observation.
A fact.
And somehow, that made it easier to accept.
Ryan slowly relaxed.
Leo exhaled.
Then Elena’s gaze shifted.
Toward me.
Again.
Why was she looking at me so much?