Chapter 21: Returnee's Class (4)
A monster with its entire body covered in blood.
Jin-ho stood before a strong monster whose head reminded him of an Alien, but from the neck down was humanoid, and whose rank could not even be estimated.
"To think there is still a guy who can step forward. I should thank the guy who summoned me? I intended to torture you for a long, long time and kill you, but since you entertained me this much, I suppose I can just tear off your limbs and let you go."
Eyes without whites shone.
A grotesque laugh flowed from between the monster's sharp teeth.
"Interesting. To think the weakest guy has the real thing......."
Faint, but Demonic Energy flowing through Jin-ho's body.
The monster had confirmed that.
"You will be worth killing too."
Truly an existence that enjoyed slaughter.
Even comparing it to any monster the students had heard of or seen, there was no monster that imprinted fear like this.
Nevertheless.
Jin-ho stood before that monster.
Although he had squeezed out the courage to come out, actually.
Just facing it, his legs did not move.
At the sound of the monster's laughter, it felt like strength would drain from his body and he would collapse any moment.
But he endured.
Because no one had the will to fight.
Because what was felt from the other children's faces was the face of giving up on life.
The expression he himself had worn countless times standing on the cliff every morning.
Because they were making that face.
So he came forward.
Because he thought there was only himself.
Teacher Choi Seong-tae who was stronger than him, and the prospect Kang Tae-wook too.
Even the twins who would be sad if they were ranked second in attack power.
Everyone was no match for that monster, but.
Because he didn't want to die.
No, only now.......
Into the heart of Jin-ho who was biting his lip tight to not be devoured by fear.
'I will watch over you, as an adult and as a teacher.'
'See, you want to live.'
'Cry to your heart's content. Since there won't be reasons to cry anymore.'
'Being bullied is nothing to brag about.'
'You can become strong. Perhaps even more than Kang Tae-wook?'
'I will make school fun.'
Only now.
He met an adult he could trust.
The school became a place that wasn't hell.
He was freed from his older brother's shackles.
Only now.
'I came to not want to die.'
Squeeze.
Jin-ho, who clenched his fist tight enough to bleed, moved his gaze.
To Kang Tae-wook who was fallen on the floor.
'Only now, that guy doesn't feel scary.'
Class A.
I hate that friends are disappearing.
A glint flashed in Jin-ho's eyes.
'I am changing.'
Thud.
Thud.
Jin-ho walked slowly toward the monster.
"Jin-ho......."
"What are you doing right now......."
The voices of the Class A children were heard from behind.
Trembling voices.
The voices of children who had fallen into the swamp of despair and were only waiting for death.
Because from those children's position, it was inevitable.
"Everyone behind probably doesn't expect anything. Not a single person."
Thud.
Thud.
"Like you said, I am weaker than the kids fallen here. Because I am a D-Rank guy who gets bullied every day. However."
Yoo jin's face came to Jin-ho's mind.
"Because I promised, that I would change!"
Jin-ho's steps stopped.
Right in front of the monster.
At a distance where an attack could reach if he just reached out his hand.
The monster, a whole head taller, looked down at Jin-ho.
With an expression whose thoughts could not be gauged.
It was dreadful and scary to the point breathing was hard, but even so, Jin-ho shouted.
To take one step forward from the self who always only ran away.
"So you can't kill anyone! Even if no one expects it, I will stop you!"
The eyes of the Class A students who were sitting collapsed, seized by despair, shook all at once.
"In my class, no. I will become the strongest in our school. So I can protect friends too! Any person!"
In Jin-ho's vision, the face of his older brother whom he could never see again appeared.
Smiling a laugh he hadn't seen for too long.
"I will become the strongest Hunter in the Republic of Korea!"
Vitality returned again to the eyes of the students which had lost light after being devoured by fear.
The sound of crying disappeared.
Trembling bodies calmed down.
It wasn't that despair had disappeared.
Something no one had even thought of.
Something no one had expected.
Because of Jin-ho's sincerity, strange emotions began to sprout in the children's hearts.
However.......
"Hahahaha!"
The monster, who had been quietly listening to Jin-ho's shout, placed one hand on its head and laughed loudly enough for its upper body to shake.
Inside the tranquil silence.
Only the monster's creeping laughter rang out.
Then.
In an instant, the monster's expression hardened.
It was looking down at Jin-ho with an expression cold like sheet ice, with a face that had no such thing as emotion.
Zing!
It lifted a finger that summoned a black sphere capable of penetrating even an A-Rank body and brought it in front of Jin-ho's face.
"You talk damn much. For a weak subject."
As soon as the monster's voice ended, the black sphere moved.
Jin-ho's entire vision was dyed black.
***
"Well done, kid. You say D-Rank. Weak? No."
A familiar voice rang out.
Before he knew it, the darkness disappeared from Jin-ho's vision.
Someone's back was visible in the place where the monster's attack had disappeared.
"Don't forget today. The courage you showed is... stronger than any martial power in the world."
Yoo jin turned his head only slightly back and looked at Jin-ho.
Grin.
Yoo jin making a mischievous smile.
Only then did Jin-ho's legs give out and he sat down right there.
Other teachers who entered the Annex late discovered the students and quickly approached the students.
Lee Si-wang captured Yoo jin and Jin-ho in his eyes with an unreadable expression.
At that moment.
The monster, who had a slightly interested expression at the appearance of the one who blocked its attack, opened its mouth.
However, what came out of the monster's mouth was not about the interest in the appearance of a strong person.
"You should have come 1 second later. Boringly. I wanted to see this guy scream so I was going to cut off one arm......."
The monster's voice was heard no more.
No.
It became unable to speak.
Because he did not permit it.
"Fun? Say that again."
It could not speak.
Because its mouth did not move.
No.
It was hard even to maintain its mind.
It was the first time.
A human like this.
A human who gave fear this deep.
However, the monster knew this power.
Because it had encountered it in its own dimension.
The monster, who raised its Demonic Energy and barely released control of its mouth, spoke.
"How does a human have the King's power......."
Yoo jin ignored the monster's words and captured the fallen Teacher Choi Seong-tae in his eyes.
And discovered his disciples fallen next to him.
"......."
Orange Demonic Energy shimmered around Yoo jin whose expression had hardened.
Jijik―.
Jijijik―.
Space was distorting.
Yoo jin put his face against the monster and opened his mouth.
"There is a national rule in our world."
"......."
"Only the older brother can hit his own younger brother, and a student too......."
Yoo jin smiled a devilish smile.
"Only I can hit."
Bang!!
With one punch from Yoo jin, the monster's head exploded.
Wee-woo wee-woo―.
"You cannot go in."
"All students gathered here, please go back."
"Teachers, please control the students quickly and make everyone go back!"
The monster disposal unit and forensics team under the Hunter Association were controlling the surroundings of Taewoon High's Annex for the aftermath cleanup.
The one that came to hold the greatest power in the world changed by the Gate was the Hunter Association.
So from the school's position, even if they wanted to hide it, it was a situation where they inevitably had to report.
Due to that, the teachers including the principal were being investigated by the personnel affiliated with the Association who were dispatched.
And there was someone watching that from afar.
"They say Teacher Choi Seong-tae who was conducting the class fortunately saved his life. They say Student Kang Tae-wook and the twins who battled the monster among the Class A students also fortunately don't have major injuries."
Republic of Korea's Top 3 Guild.
The head of Ignis Guild.
Cho Sang-geun, who was receiving a situation report from Secretary Kim, let out a small exhalation.
"That is a relief. But just who......."
"According to the words of the children who were at the scene, they say a monster that was A-Rank, no, we have to receive an accurate forensic analysis, but maybe close to S-Rank came out from the magic circle where a Gnome should have appeared."
"It is heaven's luck. That no one died."
"But the strange point is they say a barrier was erected. Due to that, other teachers knew the situation, but they say they experienced difficulty in entering inside."
"A barrier, you say?"
"Yes. They say a high-level barrier was erected. According to the students' testimony, they say it is not the monster's doing. The caster of the barrier was not revealed, but it was reported that the one who handled the barrier and handled the monster inside was the Return... no, Teacher Yoo jin."
Cho Sang-geun nodded his head while keeping his lips shut tight.
At that moment.
"Who is this, isn't it the Ignis Guild Master?"
Cho Sang-geun's head moved at the approaching voice.
Dark brown eyes under a 2:8 part.
A middle-aged man whose eye ends soared upwards showed a smile and approached.
"It has been a long time. Director, no, since you have been promoted now, you must be the Vice President."
Hunter Association Vice President.
Kang Yu.
He was the victim of this accident and the father of Taewoon High's prospect, Kang Tae-wook.
And the one called the hero of the catastrophe, the Yeoncheon Dungeon Break.
However.
Even if he was a hero to the public.
To Cho Sang-geun, he was.
Clench.
Cho Sang-geun's fist was gripped strongly.
He was just the culprit who made his fiancée die.