Chapter 206

Chapter 206

I Became the Academy Mafia Chapter 206Winter was split in half.

The power to silence the audience with just a single swing.

The blizzard that had been raging until now ceased, revealing the scenery of the sparring field.

The completely shattered Paper Army, the people collapsed on the ground, and Choi Yeon standing proudly alone.

-The match is over!! The result of today's club battles! A clean sweep for ‘Familia’! This match truly showed where the current balance of power in the Academy lies!!──────!!

At Instructor Pa Do-yoon's shout, the entire arena filled with powerful cheers and applause.

Yet Choi Yeon merely stared blankly at the sword whose blade had disappeared, as though she couldn't care less about the noise outside.

After confirming that the door was slowly opening, she walked outside.─Choi Yeon! ─Choi Yeon! ─Choi Yeon! ─Choi Yeon!

Even while her name was being shouted, Choi Yeon trudged over to me.

“...

This.”

“Hm?”

“Tell them we broke it together.”

“...

What?”

“We're accomplices from now on.”

Even if I said I was an accomplice, I felt like you'd still be the only one getting scolded... but if I didn't nod here, she'd probably stay depressed, so I decided to go along with it.

“Fine.”

“Promise.”

It'll recover automatically with time anyway. She's weirdly timid about things like this.

“Yeah, I promise. Let's head back for today. Everyone worked hard.”

______________

Now there was only one match left tomorrow.

The remaining club's name was ‘Knights.’

Apparently the name meant a group of Go players calling themselves a knightly order, but what Ratte had told me last night kept circling in my head.‘The club's name is Knights. Apparently it was founded recently. The strange thing is that it's being maintained through awards from internal Academy competitions? Most of them are even competitions ordinary Academy students don't know about. Doesn't it seem like they're holding their own competitions and sweeping all the prizes themselves?’Just as she said, ‘Knights’ wasn't an ordinary club.

Because they were practically the private soldiers of the Academy's president, ‘Ray Pendragon.’

The internal competitions Ratte mentioned were the same. Ray himself opened student council-sponsored competitions, had his own people win, and used that method to keep the club alive until now.

And that wasn't all. The people belonging there weren't ordinary either.

They were only a non-combat club in name, while the actual members were all mid-tier second- and third-years.

In other words, the mercenaries they had brought in until now were just smoke screens. From the beginning, their mindset had been that they only needed to defeat me.

Which was why.

“I'm dying of anticipation. Seriously.”

What could be more satisfying than completely crushing an enemy who had made thorough preparations?

Any trap prepared by someone who hadn't properly analyzed my strength was bound to be obvious.

Probably something like every member of Knights swarming me at once?

That's what I thought...

“Death to Han Eugene!”

“““Death! Death!”””

“Despair to Familia!”

“““Despair! Despair!”””

Looks like I should take back what I said about them underestimating my strength.

The afternoon of my match at the Academy.

An army had personally gathered here to face me.

“No, this is cheating! You said you're a non-combat club?! What kind of non-combat club shows up wearing full plate armor!”

Jin-woo protested to the opposing side at the ridiculous sight before us.

At that, the president of ‘Knights,’ who was wearing full plate armor, waved his hand awkwardly.

“The student council approved an all-out war this morning. There's no problem with the school rules either.”

I hadn't expected them to challenge us to an all-out war today of all days.

Approval for an all-out war came from the student council. I hadn't expected them to point a blade at us this openly.

“An all-out war?! Fine. Then we can just join right now too!”

Jin-woo, thoroughly heated up, loosened his tie, but at that moment, the members of ‘Knights’ stepped aside to both sides and a girl walked out from between them.

Seo Yeon-su. Head of Club Affairs for the Seoul Hero Academy student council.

“──According to the school rules, for student safety, anyone participating in an all-out war must not have fought a match the previous day... and all of you qualify, don't you?”

She spoke calmly while opening the booklet she was holding.

At that, Jin-woo approached her and shouted.

“Where the hell is a rule like that──.”

“Here. See for yourself.”

Seo Yeon-su said that and showed him a page in the booklet. Jin-woo frowned and checked the contents.

“No... it's actually there?”

After confirming Jin-woo's dumbfounded expression, she closed the booklet again and looked around at us.

“Normally, Student Kim Se-ah, who fought on the first day, could participate, but it seems she isn't here?”

Se-ah had gone off for mentoring, saying she'd review today's club battle.

In other words, I was the only one here who could participate in the all-out war.

“President, wait. I'll contact Se-ah right now.”

“No.”

Young-je hurriedly tried to pull out his phone, but I stopped him.

“There isn't much time until the match. Even if we call her, she won't make it in time.”

“But then you'll have to fight all those people alone.”

There were twelve members of Knights present.

Despite supposedly being a non-combat club, every single one of them was fully armed.

“Well, I guess so.”

“Boss, why don't we file an objection or something? Honestly, calling that a non-combat club when they look like that makes no sense.”

But this time, Seo Yeon-su answered as well.

“The members of ‘Knights’ have not participated in any matches except for midterms and finals. Therefore, according to school regulations, they are recognized as a ‘non-combat club’... I'm sorry.”

Perhaps there was some reason for it.

Seo Yeon-su quietly apologized at the end.

But Jin-woo rushed at her and shouted.

“What kind of loophole bullshit is that!”

“Jin-woo, stop.”

Our opponent was that brat from the Pendragon family in the first place.

I'd already expected this level of trickery.

“Why are you so worked up?”

“No, but that...”

“From the start.”

I took off my jacket and pulled at the gloves on my hands.

“That much is perfect for a warm-up. So there's no problem, right?”

“...

Boss!”

And there was only one person who understood how I felt.

“Eugene. I'm jealous.”

The problem was that it was Choi Yeon.

She'd probably be jealous even if I said I was fighting a hundred people.

-All right! Three minutes until the all-out war begins! All participants, please enter the all-out war field!

The powerful sound echoed in every direction through the speakers, and the students cheered along with it.

Since it was an all-out war, this match would take place on an outdoor field rather than inside a sparring room.

An all-out war after such a long time. Inevitably, a lot of people had gathered.

Perhaps because my name had spread quite a bit throughout the Academy recently, the number of people gathered around the field was on a completely different scale from Familia's first all-out war.

I could feel gazes watching me from among the crowd.

Not all of them contained hostility.

There were also clear signs of concern and goodwill.

It made me feel good, as though proving the things I'd done until now hadn't been wrong.

“I'll finish quickly and come back.”

“Hm? You'll finish quickly?”

After patting Young-je and Jin-woo on the shoulders, I slowly started walking into the field.

Then I saw the student council members gathered in the distance.

Ray, wearing that refreshing smile that still annoyed me just by looking at it, and Yuli, staring this way with an expressionless face.

However, her hand was clenched near her chest and shaking vigorously.

Was she telling me to do my best?

It seemed to be her own way of cheering.

As I slowly entered the field, I saw the members of ‘Knights’ checking their equipment in the distance.

I also loosened up lightly, bouncing in place, when Pa Do-yoon's voice came through the speakers inside the field.

-Since this is an all-out war, we need to configure the field... but this time, at the instructor's discretion, we'll give field selection to ‘Familia,’ which has fewer members! Student Han Eugene? What field would you like?

“A dark one.”

-Hm?

“Please give me the darkest field possible.”-...

Confirmed! The field will be ‘Grassland,’ and the time will be ‘Night.’ I hope both teams show us an enjoyable battle!! Both teams, prepare yourselves! The battle will begin the moment the field changes!

At the same time, the brightly lit field was dyed in darkness.

The surroundings changed with the blackout, as though a stage set were transforming.

The chilling wind tickled my hair, and the hard floor beneath me changed into the soft sensation of soil.

“Begin!!”

Night on the grassland field, where the only way to recognize your surroundings was through moonlight shining on the ground.

In the distance, with the clanking of metal, I began to see a group charging this way.All twelve of them were approaching in a perfect formation. Their movements clearly showed professional training.

I couldn't help smirking.

Watching them, I put my hand into the Cube and gripped Tommy's handle a little tighter than usual.

Right. It wasn't anything special.

Compared to what I'd done until now, this was literally child's play.

But, but you know.

“That doesn't mean I'm not pissed off.”

Pulling something this ridiculous so openly.

So.

“This time, you'll have to be my punching bags.”

That way, Ray Pendragon.

That bastard wouldn't bring me these pathetic little tricks again.[Multiple enemies are directing hostility toward you.][「Bloodline Ability: Calione」 activates.][Trait: 【Enforcer】 activates.][「Ring of Abyssal Flame」 reacts to the darkness.][Stats increase.]

I slowly aimed Tommy at them and walked forward.

At that, a booming voice came from the opposing side.

“His weapon cannot pierce the shields! Everyone! Activate shields and advance!”

The shields of the ones in front lit up, and translucent barriers began surrounding them.

Tommy had already been used many times before, so apparently they'd studied it.

But.

“...

How old is that information?”

It was hopelessly outdated.──!! / ──!! / ──!! / ──!! / ──!! / ──!! / ──!! / ──!! / ──!! / ──!! / ──!! / ──!! / ──!! / ──!! / ──!! / ──!! / ──!! / ──!!‘Al Capone's Tommy’ spat fire and screamed with a chilling sound.

A tremendous roar erupted the moment Tommy's rounds struck.

“W-what! I-it's cracking! The shield is cracking!”

“Mages! Reinforce the shields immediately!”

“You said it couldn't pierce the shields!!”

Even though I'd only given them a light greeting, their formation already began to shake.

This reaction from only a brief burst.

“We haven't even really started yet.”

I continued walking toward them while pouring aura through Tommy.

“Ghk, change formation!”

At that, they could no longer continue advancing and came to a stop.

Colorful lights flashed as additional buffs were layered onto the shields.

Then the barriers that had looked ready to break at any moment barely managed to hold.

And at the same time.

“Fire!”

Arrows began flying through the gaps in the shields.

The ones in the middle ranks had begun suppressing me as I approached.

A textbook decision.

Against an ordinary club or someone moderately strong, it would've worked perfectly well.

Right.

Against someone moderately strong.[Black Mist

activates!]

Just before the arrows could fall on me, I accelerated even further and charged toward them.

At the same time, I swapped the Tommy in my hand for Billy the Kid's Shotgun. Bracing it against my shoulder, I charged toward them while pouring in as much aura as possible.

“B-block him! Stop him!”

Several of the ones in front rushed out to stop me.

“Fine. Try enduring it.”

Did they really think they could block the shotgun that had worked even against a dragon?

Booooom───!!

With a tremendous roar, the bastards who couldn't withstand the impact merely screamed and were blasted backward.

“C-crazy! Did they just get knocked out in one shot?!”

“Use everything you can! Debuffs, curses, whatever, throw them all!”[DisPater's

Abyssal Mysterious Prison Wool

resists!][Resistance successful!]

“Too bad, but it's useless.”

I spun the double-barreled shotgun I'd fired again in one hand and spin-cocked it to reload.

Then I once again aimed the muzzle, emitting an ominous red glow, toward them.

“C-crazy!”

“Everyone, scatter!”

An individual cannot defeat an army.

But we call an individual capable of overcoming such a situation a Hero.

Then what about a situation like this?

An individual toying with an army.

An individual overwhelming an army.

We have a word for people like that.

“M-monster!”

Monster.

Not a bad word at all.