EST Ch 15

Everyone looked outside and nodded. Last night, they had dealt with the monster by the light of the moon, but tonight, it seemed unlikely that the moon would be visible through the clouds.

“Didn’t you say that if we stay calm, they’d lose interest? We should be able to move the bombs calmly.”

Ahn Youngah added, “Oh, something Lee Donghun is least likely to do,” but she ended up nodding in agreement as well.

“I agree with the others. Anyway, the teacher will see the bombs when we return to the meeting room, so we might as well talk about it immediately.”

“…”

“Wow, look at that expression. It’s like you suspect the teacher too…”

Ahn Youngah’s playful comment suddenly stopped. This explained Hae Gijun’s strange behavior since the storage room. They knew he had been wary of Yeon Mijeong from the start, but they thought he had gradually accepted her.

Everyone looked at him with surprised eyes, especially Kim Sihyung, who was the most shocked.

“You mean you suspect the teacher? That’s not possible! She showed you the way to the underground and helped you a lot!”

Her wide eyes looked as if she was seeing someone ungrateful. Usually, Kim Sihyung had a weary expression and responded to most things with low energy, but her voice was raised this time. It showed just how strongly she felt.

Gijun had anticipated that Kim Sihyung would react the most if his suspicions were revealed, but he hadn’t expected such a strong reaction, making him a bit uneasy. He had intended to warn them just before reaching the meeting room…

Ahn Youngah stammered,

“Wh-what makes you suspicious? The teacher protected me, and if she were with Link, she wouldn’t have taken us to the underground or helped us interpret the documents.”

“That’s right. Why would she help us investigate the underground if she’s with Link…”

“Because ‘that person’ at Link wanted to watch. Maybe it was a plan to keep a close eye on us.”

But the confusion, which was about to swell, paused when Baek Sunwoo spoke. He seemed to break his silence to block the stares directed at Gijun and began to lay out his reasoning.

“Although she showed us the way to the underground, we couldn’t enter due to the sensors. And then all our plans to enter collapsed. The stone tablet broke, and the bombs on the third floor disappeared.”

“But Link could have planted listening devices all over the training center?”

Baek Sunwoo didn’t answer Shim Dokyung’s cautious question. That was the last possibility that Hae Gijun and Baek Sunwoo had left.

But even without Baek Sunwoo saying more, the kids couldn’t easily protest. It wasn’t just because he had the ability to compel obedience, but because he was with H.N. It was hard to outright deny the suspicions of someone trained by the nation’s elite organization.

Still, Kim Sihyung, wanting to argue, said with difficulty,

“But if the teacher is with Link, why would she rescue the injured and create a shelter…”

“…It’s not certain yet. It’s just that the situation seems too coincidental.”

Hae Gijun shook his head slightly. Shim Dokyung’s question and Kim Sihyung’s reasoning were deep considerations.

They had known since yesterday that Link was closely monitoring their movements. So, they might have just watched quietly until they raided the main control room and then decided to verify things closely after they raided the lab.

But if that were the case, why gather the injured? It’s a rather cumbersome task just to gain student support. There are plenty of ways to gain students’ trust without rescuing the injured. Moreover, Yeon Mijeong was a spatial explorer.

They arrived in front of the meeting room amidst the awkward atmosphere.

But the hallway was bustling. Though not loudly, it felt like dozens of people were gathered.

“…Danger… another place…”

“The kids… here…”

Various voices were heard. The hallway in front of the meeting room and the small auditorium seemed crowded with people. They turned the corner, puzzled, and immediately encountered them.

“What’s this? You were here too?”

Nam Hyungwook and the student council group were gathered. Especially Nam Hyungwook, who seemed to assume Hae Gijun had come for an injury, scanned him. His gaze seemed to say, ‘You refused to join us and kept moving separately…’

But upon confirming that Gijun had no major injuries, he awkwardly looked away, muttering that it was a relief he wasn’t hurt.

However, Gijun’s gaze wasn’t directed at Nam Hyungwook from the start. If the student council was here, it meant someone was with them.

“Oh, kids. Are you all alright?”

Park Inho.

As soon as Gijun spotted him, his eyebrows furrowed tightly. It was a clear sign of irritation. He had always tried to hide his emotions in front of the teachers, but encountering Park Inho in the current situation annoyed him. With all the thoughts revolving around Yeon Mijeong, having Park Inho here too was just too much.

In the previous rounds, he had struggled with monsters, but this time it was humans causing the issues.

Seeing Gijun’s obvious displeasure, Park Inho hesitated. He asked if something was wrong, but Gijun didn’t respond and merely turned his head away. Baek Sunwoo was also watching him with a cautious gaze.

“There are more students than yesterday…”

“They’ve all gathered here for shelter.”

Besides Park Inho, there were also homeroom teachers from classes 3, 4, and 6 in the hallway. Additionally, the area was crowded with students, and even a brief conversation would cause a commotion. The student council’s group had grown since yesterday. They must have gathered more students as they moved around the training center today.

Gijun quickly scanned the area and found Kim Joowan. The class president was catching up with the students from class 2, but Gijun grabbed him without hesitation and asked,

“What’s going on? Why is everyone gathered here?”

“Oh, Mr. Park Inho said the second floor is dangerous, so we should move to the fourth floor. He said the monsters would become more aggressive in the rain, so we should evacuate together.”

There are more monsters on the first floor, and the number decreases as you go up. Park Inho claimed to have figured this out and came to take care of the injured here.

“So are we moving now?”

“No, Mr. Gi opposed it, saying it was impossible. Many of the injured have difficulty moving, so trying to take them all at once might be more dangerous. He said it’s better to make the small auditorium a safer hideout…”

Gijun glanced at the small auditorium. Indeed, the students inside were busy preparing. They were layering multiple sheets of black film on the windows and piling up items around the doors to block them if necessary.

Among the bustling students, he occasionally spotted the back of Yeon Mijeong.

“See, the teacher is taking care of the students. It seems like she’s deliberately avoiding following Mr. Park Inho.”

Kim Sihyung quietly whispered as she approached. Given that she had learned from Choi Sowon that Park Inho was associated with Link, she believed the teacher had refused to follow him on purpose.

Meanwhile, Park Inho approached the small auditorium and suggested,

“Teacher, it’s dangerous to stay hidden here. If you’re worried about the injured moving slowly, we can divide them and move in batches…”

“Yes, kids. The student council will fully protect you.”

The vice president was earnestly persuading the students. She even added that if anyone wanted to move to the fourth floor but felt uncomfortable expressing it here, they could speak to her privately. It seemed the student council had secured food and other supplies while searching the training center.

Watching this, Gijun approached Nam Hyungwook and asked,

“…Hey. Where on the fourth floor are you going?”

“Are you thinking of joining us now?”

Nam Hyungwook’s lips curled into a small smile. He was pleased to see Hae Gijun finally showing interest in joining. Despite the conflict last night, he was willing to protect him if he followed now.

Nam Hyungwook’s gaze subtly swept around Gijun. If Hae Gijun joined, Baek Sunwoo would too, strengthening their group. However, he couldn’t spot Baek Sunwoo, who had been with him when they arrived. Perhaps he was hidden in the crowd?

Though puzzled, Nam Hyungwook answered graciously,

“We found an empty room near the rooftop stairs on the fourth floor. It seemed to be used as a seminar room…”

“Don’t go.”

“…What?”

“It’s dangerous there. The windows look fragile.”

“What are you talking about? We checked the place with our keys. You’ve never been there.”

Nam Hyungwook was baffled. They had found the room while searching the training center and had been lucky to get a set of keys. But hearing Hae Gijun talk as if he knew the place, despite not being with them, left him bewildered.

However, Gijun had been to the seminar room on the fourth floor with the student council in the past. And they had met a tragic end there. During a heavy downpour, the glass windows shattered, attracting monsters due to the commotion.

That seminar room had only one door, making it difficult to escape if monsters got in. Being on the fourth floor, jumping out wasn’t an option, and monsters had even come through the windows. The small auditorium, with two exits, was actually safer.

Nam Hyungwook responded with a puzzled look.

“What’s this? You don’t have precognitive abilities, do you?”

“Yesterday, Joowan said Gijun warned him. He told him not to open the storage room next to the bathroom by the west gate and not to scream if something jumped out…”

“Oh… I do remember hearing that…”

The vice president, Seo Chaekyung, who had just returned, mentioned it. Gijun could deduce that the warning he gave Kim Joowan had been passed on to the student council, but Nam Hyungwook hadn’t paid attention, leading to the incident.

Nam Hyungwook blinked and asked,

“Your ability… isn’t it to see well at night?”

“Yes, but I have a bad feeling about this.”

“Hmm? Do you have a sixth sense?”

“You ignored my warning yesterday and had a hard time. Isn’t it time to listen?”

Gijun had intended to persuade him nicely, but the mention of a sixth sense irritated him. In a tense situation, Nam Hyungwook’s attempt at wordplay made him snap.

Nam Hyungwook’s eyebrows twitched in annoyance, and Seo Chaekyung looked at them with a ‘Why are you two at it again?’ expression. She was about to intervene when…

Thump, thump. Someone walked out from the meeting room next to the small auditorium. Despite the previously bustling hallway, only the sound of small footsteps echoed. The presence creating that sound brought a chilling silence.

“Kids. Don’t follow Park Inho, cough.”

The trembling voice warning them belonged to Choi Sowon.

Everyone was shocked by the sudden appearance of the second-grade teacher. Some even stepped back, gasping. The sight of the bloodied teacher staggering was shocking, and her presence there was unexpected. They had heard she had returned from the rest area…

“That man is with Link, the ones who released the monsters here.”

Moreover, her words pointing at Park Inho were astonishing. The kids exchanged confused glances, and the teachers in the hallway blinked in surprise. It wasn’t just a reaction to Choi Sowon’s accusation; they were questioning its validity.

The students had suspected Choi Sowon of being part of the suspicious group at the training center. She wasn’t a teacher accompanying the field trip but a homeroom teacher who had suddenly disappeared without a valid reason. The suspicion had started on the first day and persisted until now… and suddenly, Choi Sowon appeared before them.

But it was hard to doubt her entirely, given her poor condition. Her actions, glaring at Park Inho, were filled with undeniable sincerity. Sometimes, sincerity was conveyed powerfully without explanation.

“…”

As the kids subtly distanced themselves from Park Inho and murmured, Yeon Mijeong came out into the hallway.

“Why is it so noisy…”

She had been with the students in the small auditorium and came out to check the commotion. Seeing Choi Sowon, she was startled and quickly approached her.

“Sowon, why are you up! You should be resting inside-.”

“Park Inho… that bastard is taking the students…”

Choi Sowon struggled to speak, pointing to her head and saying the injury was also because of Park Inho. The bandage was soaked with blood.

All eyes turned to them. Park Inho was the head of the grade, but the oldest and longest-serving teacher at Shinhigh was Yeon Mijeong. Under the expectant gazes, Yeon Mijeong sighed.

“…Sowon is right. Park Inho seems to be part of the group causing this situation.”

“T-teacher! I…”

Park Inho, who had been silent, moved as if to protest. His large frame made him intimidating with just a step, and third-grade homeroom teacher Kim Sungmin reacted immediately.

A D-grade barrier ability user, he quickly surrounded Park Inho with a barrier. A blue shield descended from the ceiling, trapping him. Park Inho pounded on it with his fists, causing it to ripple. Though Park Inho was an A-grade ability user and couldn’t be contained for long, it bought them some time.

The third and sixth-grade homeroom teachers stepped back, sighing.

“Wasn’t Inho the first to suggest this place for the training center?”

“Come to think of it, he did the site inspection alone…”

The hallway quickly became chaotic. The teachers’ words confused and frightened the students. When they doubted Choi Sowon, she was a distant figure, but Park Inho was right in front of them, someone they had been with all along.

Yeon Mijeong quickly shouted to the kids in the hallway.

“Kids! Get inside the small auditorium!”

If Park Inho went on a rampage, the hallway would be devastated. An A-grade physical ability user specializing in combat, he could stop a moving bus. If he unleashed his power, it would be dangerous. Yeon Mijeong urgently opened the doors to the small auditorium, helping the kids inside.

Throughout the unfolding situation, Hae Gijun stood still.

“……”

His eyes blinked slowly, as if he had lost his sense of reality. The sight of students screaming and evacuating to the small auditorium, the teachers guarding against Park Inho, and Yeon Mijeong seemingly directing the situation. It all felt like watching the chaos on TV, a strange sense of detachment, as he stood there, breathing blankly.

As Gijun stood frozen, his companions exchanged bewildered glances. They expected him to give some instructions, but he suddenly turned into a statue.

At that moment, Kim Sihyung ran to Yeon Mijeong. She was also scared and confused, but her eyes sparkled with relief. Seeing Yeon Mijeong protecting the students against Park Inho reassured her. The teacher couldn’t be with Link.

“Teacher! We found bombs!”

“…What?”

“These bombs will keep the area around the small auditorium safe. We can guard against Park Inho too! If we hold out until tomorrow, the school and our parents will find it strange and report it! Then the Ability Management Agency will act…!”

Kim Sihyung poured out her words, showing her bag. She seemed to be aware of Hae Gijun’s words, as she didn’t mention where they found the bombs or anything about the fire willow.

As Kim Sihyung said, all phone signals at the training center were blocked. They couldn’t contact the school or their parents. Sometimes, ability high schools cut off contact for two days during field trips to immerse in simulations, but there was always prior notice.

This time, there was no such notice, and the third day marked the end of the field trip. If there was no contact by then, a full-scale search would begin. It might already be underway.

“That’s a good idea.”

“Yes, if we take down Park Inho and hide in the small auditorium…”

The teachers in the hallway agreed. Naturally, the students nodded too. If they detonated the bombs here, everyone would be caught in the blast, so they suggested subduing Park Inho and locking him in a distant room.

Relief gradually appeared on the students’ faces. The sudden turn of events was shocking, but knowing that four teachers were protecting them was reassuring. Some even approached Choi Sowon to express their concern.

“……”

But Gijun remained still. He didn’t react to his companions’ suggestions to evacuate to the small auditorium, just blinking.

A chilling sense of unease enveloped him.

Something felt wrong. Was this the right course of action? Should they follow the atmosphere and hide in the small auditorium? If so, the hypothesis that Yeon Mijeong wasn’t with Link had to be correct, but the feeling of discord persisted.

Guiding the students to the small auditorium, shielding them from Park Inho, seemed like the actions of a reliable teacher. The other teachers were also using their abilities to restrain Park Inho. It was a picture-perfect display of protection.

But Gijun found it hard to watch. The endless chain of doubts in his mind brought a headache. Was the burden of these suspicions making it hard to face the scene in the hallway? As the tension peaked, a characteristic nausea churned his stomach. He felt like he might vomit. An indescribable sense of rejection. No, this was…

Disgust?

As if facing something repulsive.

“Ugh…”

At that moment, Gijun groaned and staggered. A sudden, searing pain struck his eyes. His vision turned pitch black as his eyes burned unbearably…

-Swoosh.

Heavy rain poured down. The air grew heavy and darkened as the rain fell. The falling raindrops seemed to swallow all light, descending heavily. The sound of rain hitting the ground was like a heartbeat.

For a moment, Gijun floated in a strange sense of detachment. His eyes burned with pain, but the surrounding cold seeped in, creating a disjointed sensation. The teachers’ shouts sounded distant, as if submerged in water. They were telling the students to flee, promising to protect them…

His pitch-black vision felt like ink had been poured over it.

It was similar to what he experienced when the man in Link’s lab said, “To achieve a great purpose…” But now, the darkness covered a much larger area. His entire vision turned black, as if he had gone blind.

Yet paradoxically, Gijun felt a sense of déjà vu. The situation of seeing nothing was familiar. It felt like he had faced such darkness long ago.

From the day I opened my eyes, from the moment I began to think, darkness was everywhere.

I vaguely remember the day I ran away from it. I stumbled and fell countless times, rolling on the ground in fear. And those rough yet warm hands that firmly embraced me. The touch that gently caressed my eyes.

The past, which had been faintly lingering, finally took shape. My rapidly blinking eyelids gradually slowed, covering my eyes that felt like they were burning.

‘Child, there will come a time when you must open your eyes.’

At the moment when everything became invisible, Hae Gijun wanted to open his eyes.

He had to face this darkness head-on. As he did, his will followed, and the image of the hallway began to form over his eyes, as if shimmering.

The ability to see even in the night when light had vanished meant finding a path in the darkness.

“…Teacher, no, you all.”

Finding the right direction meant not being deceived by the evil in the darkness and finally distinguishing the truth hidden by lies.

Standing at the crossroads of light and darkness, Hae Gijun opened his eyes.

“You’re all lying.”

In the deeply dark space, his eyes shone a chilling blue. Boom! Lightning struck, and a bright light fiercely filled the space.

-Swoosh! The rain lashed against the windows.

It was a fierce downpour that seemed to kill all light and silence all sound. Though it was noisy outside, paradoxically, the inside of the training center was enveloped in a chilling silence. It was an eerie space where even breathing echoed.

At the moment Hae Gijun spoke, it felt as if all the air currents converged on him. The noise of the chaotic space abruptly stopped, and everyone turned to look at him.

“W-what are you talking about…?”

“The teachers are lying? About what…?”

Ahn Youngah and Lee Donghun reacted in confusion. They seemed mesmerized by the blue light that flickered around Hae Gijun for a moment, but his words were hard to believe. It was sudden and seemed out of place. As the kids, who had been momentarily frozen, began to regain their senses and murmur.

“I found it.”

Baek Sunwoo emerged from the meeting room.

And in his hand was a phone. The screen displayed ‘Voice Recording File 01,’ drawing everyone’s attention. At Hae Gijun’s signal, the play button was pressed.

[…Static… It’s getting annoying…]

The noise of the machine and someone’s breathing mixed. Behind the painful, labored breathing, a voice muttered clearly.

A moment ago, when leaving the meeting room.

At that time, Gijun had witnessed Choi Sowon’s injury and moved outside again under the pretext of finding the stone tablet. As he left, he turned on the phone’s recording and secretly hid it under the sofa. Choi Sowon looked like she might faint at any moment, so if she lost consciousness even briefly…

Then the meeting room would be left with only Yeon Mijeong.

It was a phone hidden in the hope of a slim chance. And while returning with the bombs from the storage, he quietly informed Baek Sunwoo about it. He asked him to enter the meeting room first and check the phone’s recording file when they reached this hallway.

While the hallway was chaotic, Baek Sunwoo had been checking the phone’s recording file and finally found evidence.

Originally, Gijun had planned to respond more calmly after confirming the file, but Choi Sowon’s sudden action complicated things. It was a conflict that could have erupted anytime since she entered the training center, but he hadn’t expected it now.

[I’ve seen enough up close… It’s time to deal with it.]

[Call the others too- Static.]

At some point, the voice, no longer drowned out by background noise, filled the hallway. The sound of someone talking on the phone. In the training center, where signals were said to be blocked, that person was casually conversing with someone else.

[You’ve gathered quite a few students. If they’re all massacred, will the rest wake up and move? There haven’t been any casualties so far, so the shock must be lacking. At least four or five should have died in the auditorium…]

[…What? You want to spare a few from Class 1? Have you grown attached to them?]

A chilling silence poured into the hallway. The stillness felt like it was pounding on their heads. The students slowly turned to look at the teachers in the hallway.

Yeon Mijeong, the teacher who was friendly with all the students at Shinhigh. The voice of the teacher who always smiled kindly and asked how they were, now sounded utterly alien coming from the phone.

[Park Inho.]

[If you had killed Choi Sowon properly, this wouldn’t have happened.]

-Swoosh…

The sound of the rain weakening echoed through the space. The students stood frozen for a moment, then screamed and ran to the right.

“Ahhh!”

“We need to run!”

The teachers were on the left, and Hae Gijun and Baek Sunwoo were on the right. The students, who were about to enter the small auditorium, instinctively sought to hide behind Baek Sunwoo.

All the teachers, except for Choi Sowon, were behind this incident. The revelation that the people they had relied on and trusted were behind this shocked everyone. Memories of both the training center and school mixed, causing some to cry in fear and loss.

Kim Sihyung was one of them. She collapsed as if her legs had given out, and Ahn Youngah quickly helped her. Lee Donghun and Shim Dokyung assisted the limping Choi Sowon, moving to the right.

At that moment, Gijun shouted,

“Everyone, duck!”

-Swish!

A teacher from Class 4 pulled out a mana gun and fired. Gijun had quickly warned them when he saw the teacher reaching into his coat, but one student, unable to dodge in time, fell, clutching their arm. It was Kim Sihyung. Blood flowed from her arm.

Seeing this, Baek Sunwoo’s face hardened, and red mana flared menacingly around him.

-Boom, bang!

-Clang!

Red mana chains flew towards them. But just before Baek Sunwoo’s attack reached them, a dark blue barrier fell like iron bars in the hallway. Class 3 homeroom teacher Kim Sungmin, who had pretended to trap Park Inho in a barrier, quickly changed direction.

The barrier acted like a shield, deflecting Baek Sunwoo’s mana chains.

“This… isn’t D-grade…”

Baek Sunwoo muttered. The Shinhigh faculty was said to be mostly D-grade ability users, but the barrier before him was far from D-grade. If it were, it would have shattered easily under his mana attack.

But the barrier remained sturdy even after colliding with the mana chains. At least B+ grade. If Baek Sunwoo pushed harder, it might break, but the battle wouldn’t be short. It would take at least a few minutes, and the opponents had guns and something glowing red near their necks.

Gijun knew what it was. The necklace seen in Link’s lab that increased resistance.

‘Did you realize mana manifestation this time?’

‘Do you think you can use it again?’

He recalled Yeon Mijeong’s questions on their way back from the basement. Gijun cursed inwardly. She had been asking about Baek Sunwoo’s abilities to prepare against him. He was the most dangerous target at Shinhigh.

Gijun recognized the danger in Baek Sunwoo’s expression. He urgently tried to pull him back, but Yeon Mijeong raised her hand. Everyone tensed, bracing themselves.

“……”

But Yeon Mijeong’s hand only lowered the arm of the man holding the mana gun. She shook her head as if to say no. It was a small gesture, but he quickly put the gun away and bowed his head. From his submissive behavior, Gijun realized something.

Yeon Mijeong was ‘that person’ from Link.

Baek Sunwoo tried to attack again with mana chains, but the other four teachers simultaneously targeted him. Their intent was fierce. If a battle broke out, it would be dangerous. Baek Sunwoo might manage alone, but there were many students here, and that would hinder him throughout the fight.

Gijun pulled his arm, glancing uneasily at the small auditorium. The discomfort he felt when Yeon Mijeong guided the students there still gnawed at him. He had acted on instinct to stop it, but many students were still inside.

Why did that place make him so uneasy?

He anxiously calculated the situation. Could the explosive artifacts break the barrier? It might harm them, so should they move outside and attack from behind? Kim Sihyung’s artifacts were discovered, but not everyone was identified. They could strike when the teachers focused on Kim Sihyung and Baek Sunwoo, but the rain made moving along the outer wall risky. Using ropes might work, but…

As the tense standoff continued, Yeon Mijeong slowly scanned the students in front of her. She took in their terrified, tearful faces, her eyes softening with apparent sympathy. The emotion on her face wasn’t fake. It wasn’t an act.

Yeon Mijeong was genuinely sorrowful.

The students looked around in confusion, as if the voice they heard on the phone recording was a mere illusion. Even the kids who had hurriedly locked the doors of the small auditorium peeked through the windows to observe the hallway.

But only Hae Gijun frowned and glared at her.

“Gijun. You…”

Her trembling voice seemed to hold back tears. Yeon Mijeong paused, covering her mouth and taking a deep breath, as if trying to suppress intense emotions.

“Did you really want to doubt your teacher?”

“…?”

“I know you’ve been suspicious of me from the start. It’s natural to be cautious after what you saw at the rest area. But do you realize how much care and effort I put into looking after and helping you all?”

Gijun’s eyes grew fierce. It was absurd to claim that keeping them close for surveillance was an act of care. He listened, wondering what kind of conversation she was trying to mediate, but it was just nonsensical drivel.

Despite Gijun’s cold gaze, Yeon Mijeong shook her head sadly.

“I’m saddened that you’ve been tormented by your suspicions. Of course, being trapped in the training center and chased by monsters is painful. But Gijun, you went further, constantly doubting me and trying to uncover the mastermind behind this. It must have been a heavy burden for a mere student.”

Gijun’s mouth opened and closed silently. He had always prided himself on never losing an argument, but now he couldn’t find any words. Was this what it meant to be unable to communicate?

Moreover, the reason he couldn’t speak was that everything Yeon Mijeong said was utterly sincere. Now, Gijun could vaguely see the truth and lies, good and evil, sincerity and insincerity in people’s words. Even in this faint perception, Yeon Mijeong’s words were filled with genuine sincerity.

It was shocking and repulsive, leaving him speechless.

Until now, Gijun had felt a slight headache when with the teachers. But with Yeon Mijeong, there was no such headache, unconsciously lowering his guard. Perhaps it was because she wore a resistance artifact and was close to pure evil, making it hard to sense her lies. She genuinely believed the world connected to the otherworld would be a utopia.

At that moment, someone else pointed at Yeon Mijeong and shouted in Hae Gijun’s stead.

“Don’t talk nonsense! You’ve deceived and betrayed all the students…! If you knew it was a burden and pain, why did you trap us? Why did you summon the monsters?”

It was Kim Sihyung. She clutched her bleeding arm, her face pale, and screamed. It was as if she was trying to hide her heartbreak from the betrayal of someone she trusted the most.

Kim Sihyung’s outburst opened the floodgates, and other students began to criticize Yeon Mijeong and the other teachers. Their accusations, questioning if they had planned to kill them from the start, poured out in sobs. At 18 years old, they found it hard to hold back their grief in the face of betrayal by those they believed were their protectors.

Tears finally fell from Yeon Mijeong’s eyes.

“I didn’t want to put you through this pain…”

“Then let us go now.”

“That’s not what I mean, Gijun. I, we… are taking painful and difficult steps to reclaim that ‘value.'”

“Oh. Sacrifice for the greater good? Does expressing it that way ease your guilt?”

Hae Gijun sneered sarcastically. It seemed she was pretending to be noble to feel better about herself. But if she could distinguish such things, she wouldn’t have caused this in the first place. It was grotesque to see her cry for the students’ plight while being the mastermind behind it all. He learned that there were such ugly truths in the world.

Yeon Mijeong, who had been listening silently, lowered her eyes and muttered.

“Someday, in a world where all this is achieved, I’ll remember you.”

Her words, like a eulogy, flowed out strangely. Gijun felt an urge to cleanse his ears and a chilling sense of unease. Baek Sunwoo seemed to feel it too, stepping forward.

Finally, Yeon Mijeong raised her head and spoke.

“I’m sorry. I’ve made you suffer for too long.”

Her sorrowful smile was faintly visible. Her apology echoed strangely, but Gijun was more focused on another sound. A beeping noise came from somewhere. He thought it was tinnitus, but it was a real sound. A high-pitched beep rang out rhythmically.

-Boom!

-Bang! Boom!

A scorching heat enveloped the space, and an explosion clouded his vision. The terrifying blast made Hae Gijun stagger, and he rolled to the side, clutching Baek Sunwoo. Even as he moved, his eyes remained fixed on one spot. The surreal scene was etched in his vision.

The small auditorium had exploded.

Screams erupted from all directions. The sudden explosion felt like it shattered his mind into pieces. The sound of wailing and sobbing echoed in his ears. It was chaos.

A conversation from a few hours ago flashed through Gijun’s mind.

‘There are so many boxes here.’

‘Ah, yes. This was originally one of our activity spaces.’

When they first entered the small auditorium, Kim Joowan had said that to him. He had explained that the boxes stacked against the wall were filled with recreational items like dominoes, Jenga blocks, etc. Each box was so heavy that they had only opened the lids and, disappointed, put them back.

Those boxes now overlapped with the ones they had seen in the storage room filled with bombs.

At the time, Gijun had dismissed Kim Joowan’s words without much thought. He also considered it inefficient to check each box. However, if Yeon Mijeong had been in the small auditorium at that time, the story changed. She could have cleverly manipulated the students to prevent them from finding anything suspicious in the boxes. She might have told them to stop searching to avoid more trouble or lied about already checking certain boxes.

Following that memory, he recalled seeing Kim Sihyung running down the hallway in a previous round. She had been crying and screaming.

‘Teacher! Ahhh… Run!’

The faint sound of an explosion he had heard then now made sense. Yeon Mijeong had used the small auditorium as a shelter and detonated it, and Kim Sihyung had been fleeing from the explosion, possibly unaware of the teacher’s betrayal.

Hae Gijun retraced his memories without blinking. Where had Kim Joowan and Kim Sihyung been during the standoff in the hallway? Kim Sihyung was in the far hallway, and Kim Joowan… had probably entered the small auditorium…

“Gijun! You need to breathe!”

Baek Sunwoo urgently and desperately shook his shoulders.

When the small auditorium exploded, Baek Sunwoo had rolled with Hae Gijun to avoid the blast. Gijun had been staring blankly at the small auditorium, seemingly losing touch with reality, and at some point, he had stopped breathing. It was only when Baek Sunwoo shook his shoulders that Hae Gijun slowly moved his eyes.

Baek Sunwoo was still alive.

A sigh of relief escaped him. Regaining his senses a moment later, Hae Gijun looked at Baek Sunwoo with clear eyes, then back at the small auditorium. The smoke made it impossible to see inside.

Then, something strange caught Gijun’s eye.

“…?”

Pale yellow wisps rose through the smoke. Dozens of fist-sized clumps floated into the air, then shot across the hallway and… sank into the floor. It looked as if they were being absorbed.

What is that? Gijun blinked in confusion, then snapped back to reality. This wasn’t the time to worry about that.

His gaze quickly found Yeon Mijeong. Despite the smoke in the hallway, he could see them watching from beyond the barrier. Yeon Mijeong, in particular, had the same sympathetic expression as before, murmuring sadly.

“I should have sent the kids in the hallway off peacefully too…”

His expression twisted. She had said she didn’t want to put them through more pain, but did she think killing them without them knowing was a kindness?

If they had just been chased by monsters and died in the explosion, it would have been simple. But investigating the mastermind and suspecting everyone was too much? So she thought it was better to kill them all at once? It was absurd.

The reason she had told the students who learned the truth from Choi Sowon’s accusation to enter the small auditorium was this. To massacre them here before the truth spread further.

This time, Baek Sunwoo reacted faster. Confirming that Gijun was okay, he stood up and immediately attacked them. His mana chains flew down the hallway with even more ferocity than before.

-Swish!

-Bang! Bang!

-Crack, crack…

The attacks came swiftly. The air vibrated violently as the mana struck, and just watching it gave chills. Bang, bang! The barrier shook and cracked under the repeated impacts.

Finally, with a shattering sound, the barrier broke, and the mana chains shot towards them. They seemed ready to bind them all.

“Sunwoo, you’ve worked hard.”

-Thud! The chains bounced off in mid-air, hitting the wall.

“Growl…”

A beastly growl echoed through the space. Four monsters were now rushing down the hallway. One of them had jumped forward to protect Yeon Mijeong, deflecting Baek Sunwoo’s chains.

Seeing the approaching monsters, everyone hesitated and stepped back. The realization that Yeon Mijeong could control monsters was no longer surprising. She was the leader of a group trying to open the Imun; it almost seemed fitting that she could command monsters.

Soon, the teachers leisurely retreated. They wanted to capture them, but the approaching monsters were too threatening.

“Everyone, fall back!”

Hae Gijun cursed inwardly as he shouted. For now, they needed to distance the students from the monsters in the hallway. Monsters would become more aggressive at the sight of blood, so they needed to stall.

The student council also sprang into action at Gijun’s call.

“Y-yes, kids! Everyone, move back!”

“Hold onto anything you can use to defend yourselves!”

When they realized Park Inho was behind the incident, the students initially tried to hide in the small auditorium. Yeon Mijeong had guided them there, and the student council helped. They thought it was safe to stay away from Park Inho, believing Yeon Mijeong was on their side.

But this had pushed the students towards death. The student council was in shock but focused on helping the remaining students in the hallway.

They grabbed those who had collapsed and led them back, maintaining a distance from the monsters. They wiped their eyes, stinging from the smoke, with their wet sleeves.

“Hey, Hae Gijun. What do we do?”

“The kids in the small auditorium…”

“Sob, hic, sob…”

Lee Donghun, Ahn Youngah, and Shim Dokyung found Hae Gijun through the smoke. Shim Dokyung’s face was tear-streaked, but there was a resolute look, ready to follow Gijun’s instructions.

But this situation was also bewildering for Gijun. He had seen far more students die before, but now he was overwhelmed by the revelation of the mastermind and the unfamiliar sensation of his abilities. While he had grown indifferent to the deaths of students, he had never wanted to witness this.

…Would it be better to move to the twelfth round and start over, and maybe do it right this time?

-Slap! Suddenly, Hae Gijun slapped his own cheek. It was an extreme action to shake off his insane thoughts. Moving to the twelfth round required going through one process, and seeing that again might drive him mad.

The other kids looked at him in shock. They examined his head, wondering if he had hurt it…

At that moment, the student council suddenly shouted.

“There are kids alive in the small auditorium!”

They checked the small auditorium through the broken hallway windows and seemed to spot some survivors among the debris. Nam Hyungwook quickly ran to check their condition. While not all the students in the small auditorium had died, the current situation left no time for solace.

“Growl…”

“Gr-k, ku…”

The monsters were closing in. They were assessing the combat capability of the group and would soon start the massacre if they deemed them weak.

Hae Gijun quickly checked behind him.

“For now, let’s lure them back and use the explosive artifacts.”

They had planned to use the bombs underground, but holding back now would lead to collective death. Luckily, no monsters were coming from behind, so they needed to move back. If they caused another explosion in this hallway, the walls might collapse. If not just the small auditorium’s wall but also the outer wall broke, outside monsters could come in.

“Hey, Nam Hyungwook! We need to move back!”

“There are kids here…”

“Unless you want to die with them, move!”

Hae Gijun sharply rebuked him. Nam Hyungwook clenched his lower lip, then signaled to the student council. They decided to move the injured back first.

They slowly retreated while keeping the monsters at bay. The rumbling thunder occasionally mingled with the sound of rain. The noisy storm helped mask their movements, and the pitch-dark hallway obscured their path.

But Hae Gijun moved with unusually clear vision. He warned them to avoid obstacles and spread them out to make their numbers seem larger.

Finally, they moved far enough from the small auditorium.

“Now!”

At Gijun’s shout, the kids immediately threw the explosive artifacts. A high-pitched beep sounded, followed by a deafening boom! Kim Sihyung had joined them by then, helping despite her bleeding arm.

-Bang, boom! Four explosions followed in quick succession.

But these bombs alone couldn’t completely kill the monsters. Knowing this, Baek Sunwoo, who had been hiding his combat abilities, stepped forward. Red mana chains flew through the smoke.

The student council’s eyes widened in surprise at the sight of Gijun’s group. Soon, they exchanged glances, firmly nodded, and joined the monster hunt. Those with combat abilities used them to help, while those without used ropes and hand axes to dive into the smoke.

Shinhigh students’ abilities were modest, but their determination united in one place. They needed to deal with these monsters quickly and rescue the survivors in the small auditorium. They had pushed the students into the small auditorium and left them in the flames, so they had to take responsibility.

The student council, with relatively higher SPI scores at Shinhigh, still had only the difference between F-grade and F-graded abilities. F-grade abilities couldn’t kill the monsters, but they could temporarily bind the monsters’ legs, which helped Baek Sunwoo.

A chaotic battle ensued.

They retreated and threw explosive artifacts again, attacking the monsters when they hesitated. The monsters’ annoyed roars filled the hallway with a chilling noise, but no one flinched.

“Ahhh!”

“Die, just die!”

Even Lee Donghun and Nam Hyungwook shouted louder than the monsters, as if trying to outmatch them. Lee Donghun distracted them by moving nimbly along the walls, while Nam Hyungwook used physical enhancement to punch the monsters with strengthened fists. Bam! The monster’s head snapped back and flew away.

They high-fived proudly after taking one down, but Lee Donghun clutched his hand in pain from the impact of the enhanced hand. Nam Hyungwook checked on him in surprise.

The whole process was absurdly comical but gave the students a sense of relief. They began to feel a bit of hope.

Hae Gijun noticed this too. Slowly but steadily, they were gaining the upper hand. It was possible because the students united. If they held on a bit longer, they could maintain this balance and defeat the monsters. Baek Sunwoo was doing the best job among them all.

The betrayal of the teachers and the deaths of the students before their eyes made his mana even more fierce. The red chains flying through the hallway were terrifying but reassuring. Gijun nodded at Baek Sunwoo’s back. He knew Baek Sunwoo would be exhausted after the hunt, but he wouldn’t listen even if he tried to stop him now.

His only concern was that the commotion in the hallway might attract more monsters.

They had moved to the central hallway.

Gijun glanced around. From the central hallway, they could see the first floor’s main hall. The open structure made it easy to look below. Fortunately, no monsters seemed to be coming-

-Rumble, rumble…

-Whooo…

Suddenly, a strange sound filled the space. A massive noise, like a foghorn, shook the entire training center. Though it seemed distant, they felt the vibration in the hallway. The students, who had been fighting fiercely, looked around in confusion.

Even the monsters momentarily stopped. They seemed to shrink back in fear, trying to retreat. The students exchanged puzzled glances and looked down at the first floor.

“I can’t see anything…”

Only pitch darkness filled their view. But as they looked closer, they realized something was off. Initially, they thought it was just dark because there was no electricity and the outside was dark, but…

“What is that? A hole?”

“A pitfall? A trap…?”

It slowly began to look like a dark hole. And Hae Gijun saw the same. The first floor was entirely black in his eyes. He focused, trying to see through it, but nothing changed. Were they blocked from going to the first floor?

“……”

At that moment, the darkness started to approach.

In an instant, Hae Gijun had a bolt of realization. His face turned white, and he ran towards someone. His mind blared red alerts, the tension, pressure, and shock overwhelming him.

That was a monster’s mouth.

It was headed for the students in the hallway, ultimately aiming for Baek Sunwoo. An unknown mouth was trying to swallow Baek Sunwoo. He was falling into the darkness.

Baek Sunwoo was about to die right before his eyes.

“……!”

Without even shouting his name, Hae Gijun pushed him. His desperate and urgent hand barely brushed Baek Sunwoo’s shoulder.

Hae Gijun’s entire focus was on Baek Sunwoo, and every movement he made registered slowly in his eyes. Baek Sunwoo toppled sideways, looking back at him in surprise, his mouth forming a question.

Then, his face filled with shock.

“Gijun…!”

A beat later, Hae Gijun felt the darkness swallowing him. Without any chance to escape, a pitch-black curtain fell over his vision, and his whole body was swept away. The monster had devoured him.

The last thing he saw was Baek Sunwoo’s face. It was a mixture of shock, fear, and a sort of horror. In that fleeting moment, Hae Gijun thought of their bet, and with a paradoxical sense of relief, he closed his eyes.

Ah,

I should have done this sooner.