“Ahahahahaha.”
Jinsung, who had been complaining of a headache, suddenly burst into laughter.
To turn off the Complete Bloodlust, one must take the target’s Edeya or life.
The incessant mad laughter indicated that Park Jinsung was still unable to control his Edeya.
“Trash! What’s wrong with you! Just report the situation quickly?!”
“Hmm. Comrade, I must express my dull thanks. Thanks to you, I’ve saved my life, haven’t I?”
“What?! Stop talking nonsense! You made these holes, Kim Iljeong! It was a mistake. Just wait a bit, and the police will swarm here.”
“Comrade.”
“Ugh.”
Kim Iljeong rested his chin on Byun Kiyoung’s crown. It was an overt act of establishing the hierarchy.
“I, Kim Iljeong, do not forget a favor, even if the other party is unaware of having bestowed it.”
“What, what do you mean.”
“Let me give you one piece of advice. If you want to live, hurry down to the first floor. Then, at least, hehe… at least one of you can surely survive.”
“What…?”
“I’m glad I participated in this surprise attack. I need to put more effort into training soldiers. I had no idea such terrifying sprouts were growing on the South Korean side.”
It was irritating for Kim Iljeong that even those without power, like Byun Kiyoung and Lee Seunghwa, who weren’t afraid of him, could potentially become bothersome soldiers in the future.
Kim Iljeong leaped to the top floor that touched the sky in a single bound.
“Ugh! Kim Iljeong!! Stop, stop there!!”
“Hmm. I’d like to kill everyone, but, you know. I really had no idea there’d be such a mad brat here.”
With the momentum of reaching the top floor, Kim Iljeong fell towards the bottom of the building. His body, joyously buffeted by the headwind, disappeared as if a bubble had burst.
“Did Kim Iljeong run away?! Hey! Trash!”
“Ahahahahahaha. Wait… Hello, hello, hello??”
“Tra… Trash…”
Byun Kiyoung, locking eyes with Jinsung, immediately recalled what Kim Iljeong had said.
Byun Kiyoung had no idea what was happening, but he was acutely aware that he needed to escape immediately.
This was not the Park Jinsung he knew. Despite the outward appearance being the same, he had to recognize him as a completely different person.
“Argh! What’s going on here!”
Byun Kiyoung pulled out a piece of concrete embedded in the wall. While Jinsung was still laughing like a madman, he threw himself into a hole in the floor.
“Squad leeeeeeader! Let’s go togetherrrrrrrrr!”
“This is crazy!”
Jinsung’s voice was right behind him. Not only was Jinsung following him down, but he was also dashing off the broken ceilings with his feet.
Screeeeech!
Somehow Jinsung’s leap, even while carrying a rock, was faster than Byun Kiyoung’s fall.
With his four hundred eyes, Jinsung could see hundreds of ways to kill even while falling. Compared to Kim Iljeong, the squad leader falling in front of him looked like a slender deer, easy prey.
“Yap.”
“Trash! What are you doing!”
Jinsung wrapped his right arm around Byun Kiyoung’s neck. By pressing his body against him in mid-air, Byun Kiyoung became immobilized.
“Squad leader… hey, hey, hey? What if I cut off all of the squad leader’s arms, huh? What about activating your Edeya?”
“Have you lost your mind, you trash?!”
“Ahaha. Because of the squad leader, I lost a big prey. You have to take responsibility. Right? Huh? Yes? You will, won’t you?? Huh?!”
“Let go! Let me go! What kind of strength is this…”
The arms tightening around him felt like metal restraints. Jinsung planned to comfortably snap his waist by the time they passed the 6th floor.
Swoooosh!
The two burst through the 7th floor in an instant.
“Ahaha. Time to say goodbye soon, squad leader?”
“You trash…!!”
“Hey! Squad leader! Twist your body as much as you can to the left!”
Crack.
A sharp blade pierced through the 5th-floor ceiling. Unsatisfied with just breaking through the ceiling, the blade flew straight towards Jinsung’s ribs.
Byun Kiyoung managed to twist his body by shaking the rock he was holding.
“Damn!”
“Aaaaaah. Just a tiiiiiiiny bit sharp, huh?”
The swiftly advancing blade, of course, had no intention of stopping. He had to choose between letting go of Byun Kiyoung or sacrificing his left ribs.
The murder route Jinsung had chosen was altered by the intervention of a third party.
“Heehee?”
“What are you doing now! You crazy trash!!”
Jinsung bent his body and stepped on Byun Kiyoung’s back.
“Ahahahahahaha!!”
Using Byun Kiyoung as a stepping stone, he joyously jumped.
More quickly and more ferociously, he lightly flicked away the approaching blade with his dagger.
Boom.
Jinsung reached the ceiling of the 5th floor, which was also the floor of the 6th. He then peered into the small hole that the blade had pierced through.
“Hello? Hello hello hello??”
* * *
“Hey! Wait a minute! Seyun is blocking this for us! You shouldn’t do this! If we all bring out our Edeyas, we can definitely overcome this situation! Yes, yes! Then, instead of bothering Seyun, just go outside the rock.”
Lee Seunghwa rambled as he saw the people crowding in.
“I’m sorry. We want to live too.”
“One won’t hurt, right…? I have a sibling waiting at home.”
People who momentarily abandoned their morals.
“Hey, Kim Seyun.”
Among those people was the squad leader who had been kicked by Kim Seyun earlier.
“Huff… Huh, call me Corporal Kim Seyun. What can a mere Private First Class squad leader do.”
Kim Seyun was already at her limit.
The mental strain and physical fatigue had continued since the first engagement.
Kim Seyun had borne nearly everything alone. Even with the White Jade Goblin, it would have been impossible if not for the person Kim Seyun was.
The squad leader once again brought out his gloves.
“[Screaming Gloves.] I’ll speak on behalf of everyone. Our 1st Squad, including the entire 2nd Company, 10th Platoon…”
“Hey, student! Are you trying to hit Kim Seyun? If that’s the case, I’ll join too!”
“Please, just give me one arm! Huh?!”
People who had abandoned their conscience gained strength from seeing the squad leader’s gloves.
It’s not just me who’s bad! This is inevitable! Sacrificing two to save as many as ten! Such was their rationalization.
“Hey! No matter how you look at it, this isn’t right! How can you do this?!”
“Move aside, Seojung High. I’m speaking.”
As the squad leader took a step forward, Lee Seunghwa spread his arms to block him.
“Hey! No! This isn’t right! Please don’t do this!”
“I want a leg! I prefer legs!!”
“Save me, please? Just one part is enough!!”
The frenzy of the unscrupulous accelerated. Amidst the noisy clamor, the squad leader captured everyone’s attention.
“I, the squad leader, declare as the representative of the squad.”
“You’re not even human! How can you do this to someone who protected you!!”
“It’s just a leg! A leg!!”
“Please, just one!!”
“Have you abandoned even the basic duties of being human?! You’re really…!”
“Move aside, next to you, Seojung High.”
“No! I absolutely can’t move!!”
“We trust in our 3rd Squad Leader. That’s our place.”
The squad leader said, standing next to Lee Seunghwa.
“Uh…?”
The noisy hall, like the speechless Lee Seunghwa, came to a halt. It was as if an absolute being had momentarily stopped time.
“Hmph. Just move the rock, will you? It’s crushing me.”
“Ha-ha, ha… Huh?”
The 10th platoon members walked past the bewildered Lee Seunghwa.
Young but still soldiers. Their determined eyes shone through their coordinated movements.
“Did you say you’re the squad leader? If just… Kim Seyun and that male student could be sacrificed.”
“That’s enough. Don’t come any closer.”
The squad leader sent a jab as a warning shot.
“Ha, student…?”
“I’ve remembered all those who were eyeing the 3rd squad leader and the Seojung High kid. I won’t attack, but I also won’t be attacked. Stand down.”
Bang, crunch.
While the squad leader held back the people, the remaining squad members broke the rock.
The rock split in two, heavily weighing down the conscience of the unscrupulous.
Lee Seunghwa, dumbfounded, asked Kim Seyun, who was stretching.
“Se, Seyun, what happened here?”
“I just trusted our squad members. That’s all.”
Kim Seyun had asked the squad members to pretend to be scared when she kicked the squad leader.
In truth, there were squad members who were genuinely frightened and those who had given up on everything.
The request to pretend to be scared was an opportunity to overturn all those flaws. Kim Seyun had given them a chance to cleanse those blemishes.
Pest does not leave people behind. It’s a fact that can be easily understood statistically with a little thought.
Rather than dying anyway, at least they wouldn’t die in submission.
The relatively calm squad leader succeeded in persuading the other squad members.
“Hey. Good job, 3rd squad leader.”
“Call me Corporal Kim Seyun, will you? Is it because you’re the squad leader?”
“Ah! Right! Seyun!”
Lee Seunghwa, who had been watching contentedly, suddenly started stomping his feet in agitation.
“What, why, again, what, why. What’s going on.”
“Ugh. Don’t glare at me like that. It’s scary.”
“Hmph. I’m like this with people I’m not close to.”
“Is it because I said I’d become besties with Jinsung? Don’t worry, I’m not into guys!”
“…What are you talking about? I’ll really hit you.”
Kim Seyun seriously lit up with anger in her eyes.
“Hey! Hey hey hey! Now’s not the time! Have you forgotten where Kim Iljeong went?!”
“……”
“Jinsung is up there dealing with him alone.”
Lee Seunghwa whispered the last part secretly.
‘That can’t be. After all, he’s just an F-grade trainee…’
“Jinsung led him there on purpose.”
Lee Seunghwa, having somewhat read Kim Seyun’s thoughts, spoke with a surprisingly calm expression.
Led him there on purpose? Against a top-level criminal who even pushed back the White Jade Goblin?
The World Spirit Unit Grade System officially recognizes him as F-grade in combat ability. The same goes for his Edeya grade.
Far from leading, he wouldn’t even qualify as the ‘bait’ in bait.
“We don’t have time for this! We need to go now! Argh. I’ll go up and check!”
“……”
Lee Seunghwa had already started to move ahead.
Kim Seyun didn’t even understand why Lee Seunghwa was following.
What on earth is he going up there for? Does he think he can be of any help?
Help?
That word only makes sense if Park Jinsung can stand against Kim Iljeong to some extent. If he’s no match, then naturally, no help can be received.
An F-grade two-time champion. He would have been eliminated by Kim Iljeong already.
“Ugh.”
The unbearable rage surged within her at the thought of Park Jinsung being dead.
Park Jinsung, her comrade, should not die in such a vain manner.
Someday, inevitably, he must show something significant.
He is someone who must somehow prove that there is no hierarchy among souls.
“Hey, squad leader.”
“Hm? Why did you call, um…”
The squad leader sensed the gravity in Kim Seyun’s expression. It appeared even more serious than when facing Kim Iljeong.
“Take the squad members and get out. There might be an Edeya nearby that’s blocking communication.”
“Are you going after Kim Iljeong?”
“Hmph. Why would I chase after someone I can’t beat.”
“Then where are you going?”
“Well… I don’t really know where I’m going myself.”
“Alright, got it. Leave it to me.”
“Take care of the aftermath.”
Kim Seyun ran towards the back stairs.
The horns were still on her forehead, but she couldn’t jump through the hole in the ceiling. Her entire body, including her legs, trembled with all the strength she had.
“Come on, hurry up, Seyun.”
“……”
Lee Seunghwa was waiting in the middle of the stairs, with a broad smile on his face.
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