Massacre of the Knight Order
The club tournament had always been filled with gasps and cheers whenever flashy or overwhelming displays of skill took the stage.
But today.
“““……”””
For some reason, only silence and stillness hung in the air.
-H-Hold the line there! Hold it!
-How the hell are we supposed to block that thing?!
BOOM────!!
-The left side's broken! Seal it off!
-Hic! Hraaaaaagh!!
Aura exploded in a deafening roar amid the Knight Order's screams. And in the midst of it all, Eugene pulled the trigger with a radiant smile.
One hand shattered their shield, the other spun the shotgun before firing.
Eugene was truly massacring the Knight Order.
In that shocking scene.
Munch— Munch—
A group sat there, munching popcorn as casually as if they were watching a movie.
“Whoa. The boss is really having fun out there.”
“Yeah. Seems even more excited than usual?”
“The division chief always went easy on us when checking our skills.”
“……Yujin strong. Gimme more popcorn.”
“Sure. Here ya go.”
The Familia members watched the monitor, as if they'd anticipated this exact scenario.
“Whoa. Isn't that shotgun buried in his head? He's gotta be dead.”
“Nah, he's not. It's the field. If it were outside…… yeah, he'd really be dead.”
-Stop!! We'll forfeit too!
────BOOM!!
-It's not even been ten minutes yet. Forfeiting now would kinda kill the vibe……
Eugene swept back his disheveled hair—likely from all the rough movement—and eyed the fleeing Knight Order captain's back.
-This is fun after so long.
And watching that scene, a group fell into stunned horror.
“……Treasurer.”
“Yes, President.”
“Didn't you say the Knight Order had enough firepower to take down that one guy?”
“Yes. Among our available forces right now, the Knight Order was our strongest card.”
“Then why. Does this look less like a spar and more like a hunt to my eyes?”
“…….”
Ray asked amid the ongoing carnage before them, but the treasurer remained silent.
They hadn't let their guard down. They'd even calculated meticulously to trap their opponent.
Everything had gone according to plan until yesterday.
But even the president and treasurer hadn't foreseen this.
“A first-year academy student toying with the Knight Order like that……”
Han Yujin's prowess.
They hadn't known his strength was this exceptional.
Of course, everyone at the academy knew it.
Han Yujin was the top scorer, having proven his power through past club tournaments, the total war, spars, and even the terror incident.
But that was strength as an academy first-year.
“I didn't expect his level to be this high either. My apologies……”
Ray felt rage at the sight, but instead of lashing out, he sighed.
In the end, he'd failed to gauge Yujin's true level too.
Better to let it slide than yell at the treasurer and tarnish his own image.
Amid the student council, one person watched the monitor with a subtle smirk, as if she'd expected it.
'Is the junior pissed?'
Yuri Rodmang.
One of the few in the academy who knew Yujin's true identity.
'Someone who held off that Gary Franchi? No way these rookies could stop him.'
Yuri erased her smile at Ray's gaze from beside her, still watching the Knight Order get shredded.
Four left.
“We should head in, President. It's hot out.”
No need to watch the obvious end.
But.
“Not yet. Just a bit longer.”
For some reason, Ray Pendragon insisted on seeing it through.
I always think this, but my abilities are specialized for one-against-many and chaotic melees.
“B-Back! Retreat back there and regroup!”
The moonlit meadow was thick with fear.
I exhaled hot breath to cool off, eyeing the fallen Knight Order members and their distant fleeing captain.
Twitch—
“Ah.”
I drew my pistol from its holster and put three rounds into the guy playing dead.
-Bang!
-Bang!
-Bang!
He finally went still on the third.
A glance around showed most of the Knight Order down for the count.
“Looks like that's the last of 'em.”
Four remaining. By their gear: the vanguard captain, one midliner, two backliners.
I holstered the pistol and strolled toward them.
“Gotta say, as the president's personal guard, they sure formed up quick.”
Their constantly rattling armor betrayed their terror.
“Guess I should wrap this up quick?”
They're seniors, after all. Better send them home fast.
As I approached shotgun in both hands, someone suddenly charged from their side.
“Raaaaagh!!”
A backline mage in light greaves. Face twisted in fear, yet charging me madly.
A mage rushing head-on?
No way—
Vrrrrm────!
His body began to glow.
'Suicide bomb.'
Their last resort.
“You crazy bastards!”
I raised the shotgun and fired.
He flashed bright.
KABOOM────!!
An explosion leagues beyond the rest—the shockwave hit me too.
I threw up my arm to shield my face.
With instructors and everyone watching? Suicide attack? Are they insane?
In the academy, a 'suicide attack' basically meant disbanding the club.
The academy trained heroes, not hero-bombs.
The Knight Order would pay dearly.
As the blast faded, a silhouette emerged from the rising sand smoke.
Planning to cling and detonate this time.
“What are they, human shields?”
I stowed the shotgun in my cube, drew Tommy, and unleashed a bullet storm into the smoke.
“Ram it in!!”
The smoke cleared to pure misery.
His armor was riddled with holes and crumpled, but he'd blocked my barrage—the midliner and backliners behind him.
“Gaaaaaah!!”
Despite my focused fire, the 'captain' inched closer step by step.
Behind him, two more began to glow.
“You're done now, Han Yujin!!”
He stopped at blast range, arms wide.
“Fall in defeat before everyone, you fool!”
The two shone brilliantly.
Sacrificing themselves for victory.
“Idiots.”
I spun the dimensional storage gauntlet.
A small warehouse appeared before me.
“……Huh?”
“Good luck.”
I stepped in and shut the door.
Rumble……
The warehouse shook lightly.
……Done?
I reopened the door. The sand smoke was gone; the pristine white field greeted me.
Duel over, field reset.
And as if on cue, the speakers thrummed with my emergence.
The Knight Order, a pillar of the bronze clubs, has been utterly annihilated by a single member of the Board Game Club: Han Yujin!!
All assets and manpower of the Knight Order are absorbed by the Board Game Club!
……But transferred to the mercenary Familia!!
Right, total war.
I headed for the field exit. Doors parted on both sides amid roaring cheers.
Seemed like a flashy end to the academy's first-semester finale.
“Captain. Good work.”
The kids greeted me with smiles as I approached.
“Youngje. No sign of the student council? They all left?”
I'd fought hard hoping they'd watch and despair, but they were gone.
“They got up and left the second you went into that warehouse? Figured it was hopeless, probably.”
So they saw it all and bailed.
“Ah, Youngje. Move the loot and materials from this total war to the club storeroom. For the members…… get 'em into the Board Game Club. Their captain's been moping about no newbies.”
“Got it. I'll grab a detailed asset list from their captain now.”
Thanks to their total war challenge, we'd scored new goodies. A happy problem.
Made me want to thank the student council.
“Alright, disband once you're back. I'm beat from moving so much after ages.”
“Huh? Boss. No victory party? We just smashed their dumb plan head-on.”
“Oh, that.”
The student council orchestrated this mess, after all.
Our counterblow was next.
But.
“I'll handle that.”
A backlash? Too mild.
Make it a typhoon.
That night. Calione Mansion.
Using Clown Makeup, I'd turned my face into an unrecognizable mask.
I checked my gear.
“Rope…… got it. Smoke bombs…… check. Ring…… ah, all set.”
Stowed in the cube, I headed to the garage and mounted my new bike.
A mana stone engine motorcycle, painted matte black that absorbed all light.
Vroom—
Mana stone engines were whisper-quiet.
I rode to a neighborhood in Seocho-gu, Seoul—home to most famous heroes.
Hidden the bike in a park corner.
I eyed the distant mansion.
Extravagantly huge and ornate.
Its gate bore the yellow deer crest of the student council treasurer's family.
“Heh…… been a while since a job like this. Hope my body's still limber.”
Memories led true.
Before starting, I scaled the tallest nearby building for recon.
Gazing at the high moon, I clasped my hands.
“God. Grant me permission to be a righteous thief tonight.”
As if answering, clouds veiled the white moon, darkness falling.
The pink heart wand pulsed in my pocket.
Tonight.
Justice descends under moonlight.