“Ares?”
How the heck is he here?
Did Daniel pull some strings?
Thoughts raced in my mind, but instinct drove me to break free from this man. I kicked Zavalanco in the gut, but—
“You really think you can mess with me?!”
Zavalanco didn’t budge, instead tossing Sen into the wall like a ragdoll before grabbing his cutlass and sauntering outside.
“Kuh, ugh.”
With my brain ringing from the impact, I clumsily swallowed the pill I had clutched in my hand.
The pain subsided, and I felt warmth spreading through my body.
One of the many potions used by the Chokugen Faction.
“Why did you hide Zavalanco from me?”
When the Chokugen Faction assigned me this mission, they hadn’t mentioned that Zavalanco was a lieutenant of the Pirate Lord.
They couldn’t have not known. The Pirate Lord was rated S-class for danger, and his lieutenants were marked as A-class.
They had intentionally concealed Zavalanco’s information from me.
As I wiped the drool from my lips, I realized the crimson staining my hand was blood.
“Huh.”
I was only thrown against a wall, but my injuries were more severe than I thought.
Still, I shut down my emotions and lifted my dagger.
Even if the Chokugen Faction had deceived me, I couldn’t escape them. I knew the fates of those who had betrayed them.
In any case, I had nowhere to go if I left the Chokugen Faction, and I had never imagined a life outside of them.
So, despite the faint betrayal I felt, I quietly exited the room to complete my mission.
On the first floor, the delinquents from the third year were present along with Ares and Arni Duratan, Hayun, and Adriana.
The strongest student, Ares, was facing Zavalanco.
“Kuh!”
“You little punks are really something!”
Ares grimaced, his sword locked with Zavalanco’s. He was managing to hold his own because Zavalanco was only using one hand.
Bang!
“Cough!”
This wasn’t a duel.
To put it bluntly, it was a fight.
Ares, who had been hit by Zavalanco’s kick, spat blood and rolled backward.
The first-place winner in 1:1 duels, Ares Helias, was defeated without even being able to fight back.
But the other women behind him rushed in to fill the gap left by Ares.
Swish!
Arni Duratan, wielding her greatsword, stepped in to block Zavalanco, who was trying to charge at her.
“You really are a typical student.”
Zavalanco chuckled mockingly.
“What?”
I didn’t understand his words at all when an arrow suddenly pierced into Arni’s side.
His lackey, hiding behind an orc barrel in the corner of the first floor, shot her with a crossbow.
“You coward!”
The eldest daughter of the greatest swordsmanship family in the kingdom, with hair dyed in the red dragon’s blood, frowned at the crossbow orc.
She had never lost first place in practicals until Ares had arrived, now stopped by merely a crossbow.
As another bolt was shot, she squeezed her eyes shut, but behind her, the mage Adriana was shouting—
“Arni! Get a grip!”
While the protective spell barely saved her for a moment, it shattered like paper under Zavalanco’s waving cutlass.
“What a load of nonsense!”
The cutlass was raised high, but before it could swing, Hayun dove in with a long sword to block it.
Zavalanco, for the first time, wiped the smile off his face and quickly retreated, glancing around.
“……?”
Hayun seemed slightly taken aback by Zavalanco’s overly dramatic response, as if searching for someone…
‘This is my chance.’
Hayun seized the opportunity to charge forward with her sword aimed at Zavalanco, but he quickly regained his senses and tried to twist around for a counterattack.
Bam!
Sen jumped down from the stairs with a knee strike directly to Zavalanco’s face.
“Gotcha!”
That hit landed cleanly.
Despite being a former lieutenant of the Pirate Lord, he was still human. Taking a knee to the jaw…
“It tickles!”
Zavalanco sent Sen flying down to the ground, spinning around to push Hayun away.
“Gah!”
“Ugh!”
Sen rolled on the floor, spitting blood, while Hayun managed to block it with her sword but got pushed back.
Ares Helias, who had shot to the top of his class like a comet.
Arni Duratan, the eldest daughter of the greatest swordsmanship family in the kingdom.
Hayun, who was recognized as a rival to Arni using Eastern swordsmanship.
And Sen, who surpassed everyone in agility among the senior class.
Even the top student in the magical arts, Adriana.
With such a talented group, they couldn’t even defeat a mere thug like Zavalanco.
Especially considering that Zavalanco was not in perfect condition—his left hand was in a cast and he was only using his right.
“No way…”
“He’s a monster.”
“We have to run!”
Eventually, the students who had rushed in began to tremble and tried to flee, but Zavalanco just laughed.
“Lock the door.”
His minions rushed to the entrance, sealing it shut, and fear rose in the students’ eyes.
Zavalanco finally had the expression he should have had, ignoring his throbbing left hand and smiling.
“Okay, I got it.”
A soft voice rang out—Hayun.
She held a square artifact and was saying something, but Zavalanco realized it was a walkie-talkie using mana, reserved for the royal palace’s special investigative unit.
How does a mere student have that?
Zavalanco wondered, but at the same time, a male student’s voice crackled through the walkie-talkie.
“We’re almost there.”
The sound wasn’t very clear, but it was unmistakably familiar.
That voice haunted my dreams; I had vowed I would kill him someday.
Bang!
The locked door shook violently under the pounding. The thugs jumped in surprise, but Zavalanco shouted urgently.
“Block it! Bring desks and chairs to keep them out!”
Heavy breathing filled the air.
While other students ignored him, Zavalanco stared intently at the door.
Cold sweat dripped down his brow.
His grip on the cutlass felt slippery, and his heart raced.
With each thud from outside, the pain in his left hand intensified.
“Hoo, hoo.”
I’m going to kill him.
He was a man who held one of the ten chief positions under the Pirate Lord. Although currently he was operating as a delinquent in a place like this,
it made no sense to be defeated by a mere academy student.
“I was just caught off guard back then.”
Alright.
Let’s go kill him.
When that brat walks in, I’ll shove this cutlass straight into his neck.
Just as I thought that, gathering my strength,
The door finally broke down, and as the black-haired male student entered, an overwhelming killing intent filled the room.
“Kuh!”
Zavalanco twisted and bolted, shattering the window to make his escape.
*
Thanks to Hayun’s walkie-talkie and Rin’s magical signals from outside the building, the target was quickly found.
If someone asked how they figured it out without Sen telling them, it wouldn’t be hard.
In truth, I hadn’t had a tough time at all. I wasn’t the one who was struggling.
Her crew was desperately searching the city for May, releasing all the delinquent third-years.
Not only them, but even the faculty and upperclassmen backed by the Dean started patrolling the city.
In the end, before 8 PM that evening, they were able to locate her.
Of course, that was all they could do.
Right now, the students who were storming in were either very close friends of May or Ares’s crew who had come to rescue Sen on Hayun’s request.
I was grateful to those who responded to the Dean’s orders without knowing the full story, and I kicked the door Rin pointed at.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
With a crunch, the door broke open, and I rushed inside, scattering killing intent.
Zavalanco.
If I capture him, everything will be over.
Illegal drugs, kidnapping, assault, bribery, and even the forbidden slave trade of kingdom citizens.
Once that guy ends up in jail, he’ll probably be set free right away.
Because he’ll be heading straight to the gallows.
There was no way he could bribe his way out or make the crimes disappear this time.
That’s because we have an incredibly persistent inspector on our side.
‘I won’t let you go until you reach the gallows.’
From the perspective of someone who has experienced firsthand how much of a relentless pain in the ass it is once they have you in their sights, I felt a bit sad for him.
Of course, it wouldn’t only be him; the guards who ignored and covered up the crimes while taking bribes would be held accountable too.
In any case, my task was to catch Zavalanco and throw him in jail.
“Gah!”
Contrary to my expectations, the moment Zavalanco saw me, he shattered the window and took off running.
I laughed to myself while asking Rin to tend to the injured and quickly followed after him through the window he escaped from.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
“D-Don’t come after me, you bastard!”
“Let’s make this quick! You’re done for!”
“I’m the one who— ahhh! Do you know who I am?”
“You’re Zavalanco! Missing an eye, and with a broken arm.”
“I’m a lieutenant of the Pirate Lord! Every pirate bows before me!”
Of course, it turned out he was a former lieutenant.
“Well, I’m a bandit! From the Forest of the Demon Realm!”
“Bullshit! You think I’m lying?”
Even as I shouted this, he didn’t slow down—he kept fleeing.
Since it wasn’t that late yet, the taverns were still open, and there were plenty of people out on the streets.
So, drawing everyone’s gazes as we continued our chase only ended with me triumphantly clutching his neck.
Thud!
I held onto him, causing him to fall, and as I drew my sword—
Zavalanco rolled backward, pulling his cutlass back into his grip.
“Alright, I’m gonna kill you!”
“You were just running away until now… what gives?”
“Shut up! I was just caught off guard!”
“Is that so?”
Just like how it had been when I killed that Tudog before, the longer the fight stretched, the more my old habits from living in the Forest of the Demon Realm emerged.
Normally, I was Daniel McLean, an 18-year-old attending the academy.
But once I entered combat, I transformed into a 28-year-old Sherpa from the Forest of the Demon Realm.
Even now, with my rapidly changing aura, Zavalanco trembled as he gripped his sword, swinging it desperately.
With a single strike, his sword shattered, leaving him kneeling under the crushing weight of despair.
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