Chapter 182

Chapter 182

I Became the Academy Mafia Chapter 182“Ghk!”

Blood sprays from the bastard's shoulder.

He flails his hand through the air and shouts.

“Quickly! Activate it...!”

I don't stop there and keep pulling the trigger.

Bang─! Bang─! Bang─!

The Tokarev continues spitting fire.

But.

Clang!!

With a metallic sound, the bullet ricochets away somewhere else.

Meanwhile, the bastard clutching his shoulder catches his breath and barely manages to regain his composure.

“H-huu... haha, I never expected you to start shooting without warning. If I'd let my guard down, I really could've been badly hurt.”

Even though a gun was fired right in front of his face, the bastard doesn't even flinch and smiles. Acting calm now just makes him look pathetic.

Anyway, is this what you'd expect from an arms dealer? Or maybe because he thinks he's safe now, he quickly regains his composure.

In that brief moment, he'd already covered his body in a barrier made of mana.

No, had he prepared it beforehand? There's no way he could've created such a sturdy barrier in an instant.

At the same time, I feel a chill from below.

I shove Yuli away and roll sideways, and pitch-black spikes shoot up from where we'd just been standing.

“Eugene Han Calione. I've already heard information about you from Joo Young-dal. You began as a Calione Hitman at a young age. You disposed of a former Calione executive, dealt with the Triad's Awakened, and recently, as Calione's successor, you've been steadily solidifying your foundation.”

Hm? Is my public reputation really this good?

“Our original target was only Yuli Rodman, but if we can plant a ‘seed’ in you as well, that wouldn't be bad... no, it would actually create an even better situation.”

A seed...?

Ah, could it be?

“By seed, don't tell me you mean the Seed of Explosive Evil

?”

At those words, the bastard's expression, which had been feigning composure, fills with shock for the first time.

“H-how do you know that?”

“Ha, now it's finally starting to make sense.”

When I first met Yuli at the Academy and tried to avoid her while calling her a ‘crazy woman,’ I hadn't been joking.

She really was crazy.

Even now she liked pranks and had intense emotional swings, but it hadn't been at this cute level.

Later in the Academy storyline, she would go berserk, awaken as a True Ancestor

, and become an existence that injured or killed many people.

In the game, it had merely been presented as though she lost control because she couldn't overcome her bloodlust...

But now that this bastard is targeting Yuli and has prepared the ‘Seed of Explosive Evil,’ all the pieces begin fitting together.

So these bastards were the reason in the end?

“This works out perfectly. I'd been thinking about it.”

Recently, I'd been racking my brain over how to prevent Yuli's rampage, but now I don't have to worry about it anymore, do I?

I just need to stop the source of the rampage here.

“Works out perfectly? What do you mean?”

“Heh, nothing. Just feels like things are going my way!”

I aim the gun at him once again.

But the bastard looks at me as though I'm absurd.

“Didn't you realize it from that attack just now? Your attacks can't──”

“Does this look like a handgun to you?”

Even after seeing this huge, massive muzzle?

Booooom───!!

A completely different explosion from before rings out as an enormous cloud of smoke rises.

“Guaaaagh!”

Unlike before, when he'd endured it leisurely, the bastard staggers and is pushed backward.

“You fucking brat, what the hell did you──”

“This fires twice.”

Booooom──!!

The barrier shakes violently.

It doesn't penetrate, but the impact forces the bastard inside to retreat backward. His shrill scream is a bonus.

Unable to hold back while watching him, someone behind me sighs.

“Didn't I tell you? No matter how young he is, he's still of Calione's blood. I said it would be better not to let your guard down.”

“You...”

“You haven't forgotten our objective, have you?”

His gaze suddenly turns sharp.

At that, the bastard shuts his mouth.

Then the corners of the other man's eyes curve in satisfaction.

“From now on, I'll deal with him. You capture the Rodman young lady.”

“Ghk! Can't be helped.”

“Now then, shall we begin?”

With those words, he slowly turns his body and blocks the line between Yuli and me.

Joo Young-dal of the Triads, a mage, forms a staff in his hand and points it at me.

“Step by step, slowly, without letting your guard down, we simply need to crush you. Why were you in such a hurry?”

“Crush? Who? You guys?”

I'm not worried about Yuli's side at all.

She may look like that, but she's still a seed of a hero, and a talented girl good enough to serve as vice president of the student council.

She should be more than capable of holding out against a bastard whose shoulder is already blown out by a bullet.

I merely sneer and watch what he's doing.

Since he said he would erase our memories, most of his magic is probably mental interference.

“Shall we start lightly, Eugene Han Calione?”──Panic.

At the same time, the tip of his staff turns purple.

For an instant, a stinging sensation like lightning striking inside my head makes me automatically frown.

“Hahahaha! It's a spell that brings back your most horrific memory. Please, enjoy yourself within that terror!”...

What the hell is he talking about?

“My most horrific memory?”

“W-what?”

“Sorry, but it doesn't seem to work on me.”

It seems the effect of 【Hitman】, the trait that allows me to maintain composure under any circumstances, has activated.

“Right. So you want a taste of bullets too?”

Though they're bullets made of aura rather than lead... if they hurt the same when they hit, isn't that basically the same thing?

“It's fine. I still have plenty of aura... then let's just keep hitting you until it works!”

I swing my fist with all my strength toward his shield with the hand wearing ‘Midas's Gloves.’

Booooom──!

But the shield only makes a sound as its surface vibrates, like punching thick reinforced glass, without moving at all.

“Kuhat! Kuhahahaha! What do you think you can do with a soft little punch like that?!”

Apparently thrilled now, he grows cocky and even taunts me in return.

Nothing has filled up yet, so it's difficult to expect an ability buff from Calione. But does that mean I have no choice but to sit around sucking my fingers?

Of course not.

“I can do something like this.”

Standing firmly in front of his barrier, I lightly regulate my breathing.

And.

Aura Style. Tool Adornment.

Not the ‘power’ of Calione that I possess, but the ‘technique’ called Aura Style.

I unleash it at full strength.

The moment I transfer the flow of Tool Adornment into my hand, red light begins blooming from my palm.

At the same time, anxiety appears on the bastard's face.

“What the hell is that...”

“Why don't you look forward to it?”

When I place my heated hand against the surface of the shield, it gradually begins turning red.

“This technique even worked on a dragon's scales, and there's nothing better against bastards like you who curl up behind defenses.”

Creak... creeeak! Crack!

If given enough time to slowly melt it away, Tool Adornment

had another advantage: it could destroy any shield.

Soon, the bastard's shield begins sizzling, and cracks visibly start forming.

Meaning it won't be long before his shield is breached.

Realizing the urgency of the situation, the bastard seems to keep casting mental magic on me, but a slight headache isn't enough to stop me.

Compatibility really is great.

It lets you drag down even opponents who are relatively above you like this.

“Just wait a little. I'll put my fist through that face soon.”

Only after I say that do I finally begin to feel fear from him.

“G-get away from me!”

Eventually, even while defending, he begins concentrating new mana at the tip of his staff.

So staying quiet isn't going to work anymore, huh?

Unlike moments ago when he was using mental magic, flames begin gathering at the tip of his staff and an enormous wave of heat surges forward──“But I was faster, right?”

With a shattering crash, the shield finally breaks apart, and my fist wrapped in Tool Adornment forces its way through the opening.

“Kheeeek!!!”

The moment my fist buries itself in his face, his body trembles as though convulsing before finally going limp, all strength leaving him.

“You should've learned some other magic too.”

Well, considering he came from the back alleys and climbed this far, he'd done well enough... but specialized characters like this become endlessly weak when faced with a counter.

“Phew.”

I sweep my hair, disheveled from the battle, back upward and check the situation behind me.

There, Yuli is engaged in a fierce battle with Gary Franche.

She has unfolded the large wings she'd been hiding until now and is maneuvering through the air.

Because of the barrier they created, she can't move completely freely, but the bastard with one injured arm seems to be struggling from that alone.

The way she slips between the mana bullets he fires with one hand is almost like watching some bullet-hell game.

“Wow, seriously. Is that how good you have to be to become vice president?”

I won through compatibility, but Gary Franche is still a combat mage.

You could call him a War Mage

, so he has fairly powerful firepower.

Meaning he isn't as easy an opponent as he looks.

But the biggest reason she's currently able to hold the advantage against someone like him is, of course...

“Seriously, if he didn't have that third-rate villain personality, he'd be way stronger.”

Magic is a technique affected by mental strength.

That's why composure is valued over excitement.

But what about him?

What's the current situation? And what is his personality like?

Whenever he reaches out to cast or tries to control his mana, I can tell for sure from the way he grimaces.

My first surprise attack really did land properly.

“Yuli Rodman! You damned mosquito's spawn!!!”

He finally flies into a rage at the sight of her annoyingly weaving through the barrage.

He concentrates mana toward where Yuli floats in the air and thrusts out his left arm, golden lightning wrapping around it.

“I was going to spare you because your face was worth looking at... burn to death right there!”

Kra-boooom───!!!

With an enormous peal of thunder, lightning shoots toward Yuli.

But at the same time, Yuli spreads both arms wide and her red eyes shine.

“Blood Shield.(Blood Shield)”

Red blood extending from both her arms gathers together and takes the form of a massive shield.

The two spells collide with a tremendous shockwave and shriek.

“Oh...”

Cool.

I'd love to keep watching a little longer, but looking at Yuli's face twisted as though she's already struggling, I can't do that.

Should I start interfering?

I load aura into my legs and stomp the ground with all my strength.──Aura Style. Ground Wave.

At the same time, the ground shakes violently.

His concentration wavers, creating a slight opening, and I fire aura straight at him.

Then a sudden burst of magical light explodes from his body.

“Guaaaaaaah! I told you not to interfereeeee!!!”

The bastard thrashes around like a madman.

A power far surpassing even Calione's aura, which devours everything, begins erupting from his body.

“CalioneCalioneCalioneCalioneCalioneCalioneCalioneCalione!!! Damn Calione! Whenever you bastards interfere, everything gets ruined! Why! Why are you so desperate to get in other people's way!”

I see traces around the mouth of the screaming bastard.

And even now, he continues crunching on something.

That's... the Seed of Explosive Evil?

No, he's eating them?

“Ha. You must've been pretty desperate too, huh?”

What is the Seed of Explosive Evil?

It's a cliché sort of item that grants power at the cost of corruption, contaminating and destabilizing the consumer's mana while giving them explosive strength.

But what happens if, instead of planting one, you swallow several at once like pills?

The answer is right in front of us.

Booooooom─!!

“Kyaaaaaaak!”

The mana gathered in his body bursts outward like a shockwave.

Yuli shields herself, but still falls.

And.

“Guaaaaaagh! Urrrghhhhhhh!! Keeegh!!”

His whole body bulges unevenly as he spews sounds closer to an animal's language than human speech.

I watch as he rises, his eyes gradually turning black.

Of course, his judgment wasn't entirely wrong.

Even if everything somehow went well, he'd still have to explain the connection between our injuries and his own.

In other words, he was already backed into a corner, so he had no choice but to finish things quickly and escape somehow...

Even so, I never expected him to consume that many of them at once.

“Kuhat! Kuhahahahaha! Because of you! Because of you, my plan is ruined! My plan that I spent so long designing and preparing has been reduced to a complete mess!”

Pitch-black blood now flows from both of his completely corrupted eyes.

“Yeah, if it weren't for me, you probably would've succeeded. Just think of yourself as unlucky.”

I slowly watch his movements while checking Yuli, who is lying on the ground.

“...

Senior, are you okay?”

“Ugh, I could've handled him... what the hell is that?”

“What you almost ate today.”

“What?”

Of course, I stopped it.

“Now that he's become like that, honestly, there's nothing we can do. He was already difficult enough to handle, and now he's basically gone berserk.”

In fact, the gunshot wound that had been on his right shoulder has already completely healed.

“Th-then what are we going to do? Junior. You have a plan, right?”

“A plan? Of course I do. We wait quietly.”

“...

What?”

After hearing my plan, Yuli looks at me like I've said something absurd.

“Junior. Is this really the time to be joking...?”

“Do you really think I'd joke in a situation like this?”

Even I know this situation is dangerous.

No, honestly, that thing is extremely dangerous.

Anyone can see that a War Mage-class powerhouse is exploding his own potential while burning away even his life.

Asking an ordinary student like me to stop that would be far too cruel.

So.

“Senior. When something is beyond the power of students like us...”

Crash───!!!

With the sound of glass shattering, the dark surroundings begin flooding with light.

Multicolored sky lanterns and fairies illuminate the surroundings.

And along with all of them, the red moon shines down on Yuli and me.

“Eugene!”

“Yuliiiiii!!!”

Reliable voices ring out from behind us.

Hearing those voices, I smile.

“We tell our parents.”

Because that was the strongest method available to us,

who were still children and someone's sons and daughters.