Cruelty
BANG! BANG!
Gunshots fired into the air.
The students, cowering at the thunderous sound, ducked their heads in unison, while Drae walked through the center of them with an air of nonchalance.
"......"
The principal was frozen solid.
What was this? What kind of surreal spectacle was this?
How could something like this happen in the modern day, in South Korea? A student getting hit by a shotgun in broad daylight, flesh and blood spraying everywhere?
For starters, where on earth did a mere kid get his hands on such a terrifying weapon? No, forget that—how was he firing it with one arm, ignoring the recoil? And above all, when had a high school brat ever had a reason to use a gun, let alone handle one with such proficiency?
Everything was incomprehensible, but one thing was certain.
Click.
"Eek!"
Right now, Yeodre was the absolute ruler.
'N-no. This isn't right!'
The principal wore a smile of confidence. Wasn't that idiot, intoxicated by the power of his shotgun, walking right into the middle of the students? If just a few of them swarmed him from all sides, he would be subdued.
However...
'You stupid brats. Why aren't you getting up!'
Everyone fears death. Especially ordinary people who consider a knife the height of danger; there was no way they could recklessly charge at Drae, who was wielding an incomprehensible weapon like a shotgun.
But even so, people were diverse. Even while everyone else was on their knees, surrendering to terror, there was bound to be someone brave. A sturdy male student, who had been watching for an opportunity while prone, suddenly sprang up and lunged at Drae.
'That's it!'
The moment the principal smiled in triumph.
Shuck.
"Huh?"
A kitchen knife was buried in the abdomen of the student who had tried to stand. Feeling the burning pain like a branding iron, his body curled inward, and his breath grew ragged. He stopped his charge, letting out only agonizing gasps. Drae grabbed him by the head, lost in thought.
"Let's see... let's see... Ah. I remember now."
"Ugh, uh..."
"You. You're the one who got angry and flipped out when Yerin tried to collect the school's prohibited items according to the rules, claiming the Shin-jin faction told you to do it, right?"
"Augh, ah..."
Twist. Twist.
"Augh?! Aaaaaaaaargh!"
The knife in his abdomen began to rotate slowly. The student's piercing scream echoed through the auditorium.
"Rules must be followed, my friend!"
Squelch.
The knife, pulled from his abdomen, was driven into his eye, and he collapsed to the floor, dead.
"Gyaaaaa!"
"Kyaaaaaaaah!"
The students scrambled backward like a receding wave to get away from Drae. Ignoring them all, Drae calmly walked up to the podium.
"Hello. I'm Yeodre, number 31 from Class 2-A. Lately, I've been really into a manga called 'Mafia is Family!'. I look forward to working with you all."
No one answered. Instead, some were seen awkwardly standing up, trying to slip out of the auditorium, and Drae spoke.
"Just so you know, any asshole who tries to run will get a bullet in the head immediately."
Freeze.
The students stopped. Then, one male student shouted,
"If we stay here, we're all going to die! I'm leaving!"
He pushed the people standing next to him and moved. They were angry, but after glancing at Drae, they ran toward the entrance.
There were two entrances. Drae just watched them calmly. Thinking this was their chance, even more people headed for the exits.
Drae, looking at an entrance other than the one he came through with a troubled expression, tilted his head.
"Oh, fuck! It won't open!"
"What! Why won't it open!"
"Someone locked it from the outside!"
"Obviously it's that bastard! Move! I'll kick it..."
Click.
Everyone stiffened at the sound of the Grim Reaper loading his weapon. Immediately after,
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!
A deafening roar that threatened to tear eardrums apart echoed continuously. It wasn't the shotgun, but the automatic rifle strapped to his back. The kids near the entrance Drae hadn't entered screamed and fell, and those trying to escape through the entrance he had come in through hesitated at the thunderous gunfire. Some, driven by terror, kept running and were shot in the back, collapsing.
"Nice shot!"
Drae cheered, pumping his fist.
"I've never been good at shooting games. But looking at this, I think I could be good at them too. Don't you think?"
"......"
"......"
"Oh, right, right. You can go through that door over there. Well. No matter which way you go, you won't be able to get out."
Silence descended. Despair gripped the students. Sniff. Crying and moaning could be heard from here and there. BANG! The shotgun pierced the ceiling. Debris from the broken ceiling fell to the floor, injuring several people. Amidst another round of screams, Drae said,
"Quiet. Shut the fuck up, classmates. Just listen quietly."
Complete silence fell. Some could be seen covering their mouths with their hands, unable to stop their screams. Drae nodded as if satisfied and looked at the principal and vice-principal standing awkwardly nearby. The principal, who had said he would have definitely crushed Yeodre if he had been there when Sang Hyun-jin died, swallowed a gasp and lowered his eyes.
'What is this... this guy...'
Why? Why did he feel like he was standing in front of Kang Gu-jin or Shin Jin-seung, when facing a brat who hadn't even lived half as long as he had?
"It seems the other faculty members, besides you two, didn't sympathize with the training gang."
Upon hearing that, the vice-principal made a displeased face. But when Drae glared at him, he immediately smoothed his expression and broke into a cold sweat. The principal wondered to himself, 'Why mention training?' He didn't know the true identity of the training.
Back to the front. Drae, looking at the students below the podium, cleared his throat.
"You classmates and teachers here have something in common. What could it be?"
"......"
"I told you to keep your mouths shut, but you should answer at times like this. I'll let it slide just this once. Shall our lovely Class 2-A classmates tell us? Hmm... Ah. Yoon Ha-min!"
Yoon Ha-min flinched. She looked as if she hadn't expected her name to be called.
"Ah, sorry. Out of Si-young's friends, yours was the only name I could remember. So, here's the question: what is the commonality among us 2nd-year students at Yeomyung High School here, including you?"
Yoon Ha-min was trembling with terror, for anyone to see. She seemed too scared to even speak. Around her, people were urging her with their eyes to speak quickly, lest that madman do something worse.
Trembling even more under the pressure, Yoon Ha-min finally opened her mouth.
"W-w...we... were. Shin... Shin-jin... ugh..."
Had she ever been unable to speak like this before? At that moment,
Click.
"Ah, augh, augh...!"
The sound of the Reaper loading his weapon. But Drae wasn't aiming at her. He was aiming at a male student from the student council.
"Oh, oh?"
"Looking at your name tag, you're a senior. Senior, I'm sorry. Ha-min doesn't seem to be able to speak properly. Would you like to answer for her?"
"......"
Seeing the muzzle aimed at him, the male student's pants began to get wet. Feeling his legs trembling uncontrollably, he answered.
"W-we were threatened... by the Shin-jin faction."
"Again."
"W-we were threatened... by Kang Gu-han."
It was the same story as before. The male student thought so and felt a chill, but unexpectedly, Drae didn't say much about it. Instead, he said something else.
"Again."
Again? Was there no commonality? The male student thought about it and said in a voice devoid of confidence,
"W-we had our weaknesses caught..."
"Again."
He couldn't think of anything. He was usually short-tempered, and he suddenly became angry.
"...We're being pressured by you right now."
"Again."
"......"
He had tried to be sarcastic out of habit, but it was useless against Drae. He knew the answer. He knew it, but he didn't want to admit it.
"Again?"
"......"
"Again?"
The senior was silent for a moment, so Drae grinned.
"Goodbye."
"W-wait! Okay! Actually..."
BANG!
The male student, his head blown off, rolled on the floor. Now, not even screams came from the students; they just stared at the horrific scene.
"Yes. Senior, you secretly threw away Yerin's shoes twice. You won't be able to say that anymore, though. Now, you please answer, senior."
A female student who looked tough. She was a girl who was usually evaluated as being loud. But she didn't have her usual loud appearance; she answered while crying with a servile face.
"Ah, augh. P-please... put the gun... away..."
"Answer."
"F-from... the gun..."
"Haa. Goodbye..."
"Ah! Aaaaaah! Yerin! We pressured Yerin! The Shin-jin faction told us to, so we subtly hindered Yerin's work!!"
A confession like a scream came out, and only then did Drae smile with satisfaction.
"Yes. You did well. Hey everyone. The senior gave us a proper demonstration. Everyone, please give a round of applause!"
"......"
"......"
Silence.
Drae laughed.
"Clap. You sons of bitches."
Clap. Clap...
Clap-clap-clap-clap-clap-clap-clap-clap.
Thunderous applause echoed through the auditorium. Watching Drae, who was reveling in the applause with his arms spread wide, one man harbored other thoughts. He was the vice-principal.
'How many shots did he fire?'
He didn't know the model well, but the number of bullets must be reaching its limit soon.
'When there are no more bullets in that damn gun. That's when we have to subdue him.'
To consume the ammunition, idiots who didn't understand the situation like before had to step up. Even if they weren't idiots, someone had to move. The vice-principal didn't want to shoulder the danger himself. He sneaked behind a male student from the student council.
And, thwack. He pushed him hard.
"Oh, ugh, ah...!"
The man pushed toward Drae stumbled, trying not to approach him, but lost his balance and ended up right in front of him. While he was at it, the vice-principal pushed a few more who were distracted. Drae, who had just been about to explain what kind of game it was, glanced back and scratched his cheek.
"Hmm."
Four people.
The number that had reached his doorstep. All of them, terrified, looked behind them and glared at the person who had pushed them as if to kill him. The vice-principal was greatly flustered when Drae, whom he thought would shoot them immediately, stayed still.
'How is his nerve that strong?'
To be that calm in this precarious situation with four people surrounding him. At this rate, he was going to die. Just as the vice-principal was breaking into a cold sweat, Drae opened his mouth.
"Well. I suppose if there's hope, this game might not proceed properly."
"W-what?"
Drae held out his gun to the 3rd-year senior who had approached.
"Here."
"......"
What was the intention behind this? Drae even held out the automatic rifle he had strapped to his back to another male student from the student council.
"If you don't have a gun, you think you'll be fine. That kind of hope is no good."
"......"
"Take this and fight me. It's simple. If you pull the trigger, I just die."
"......"
On the podium were about ten students, including men and women. And the vice-principal and principal. One 3rd-year senior who had been standing far away lowered his head and retreated. If there is even a little risk to life, or pain, people are very reluctant to do that, and that is natural. Fighting always involves pain. The students didn't want to fight a battle where pain was inevitable. Most were like that. Almost all the student council members on the auditorium stage lowered their heads. Drae saw the eyes of a few who hadn't lowered their heads yet.
"Hmm. Then, the remaining three who seem to have the will to fight. No. Are there any volunteers among those gathered in the auditorium, not just up here?"
Was he serious? The remaining two male students, half-doubting, hesitantly reached out their hands to take the guns Drae was offering. Drae held the firearms out further. Yes. That weapon of the Reaper was trying to escape the Reaper's hands. The students below the auditorium were buzzing.
"Okay. Just so you know, the rule is that it doesn't start immediately, but after 3 seconds. If you don't attack me first after taking the gun, I won't ambush you either. Here."
Drae really handed the muzzles to the two people, and one of them aimed at Drae as soon as he took it. He stood still, as if he hadn't even reacted.
"...Heh, hehe... you... you psycho bastard!! Kneel! Kneel, you murderer bastard!"
Buzzing. Thinking Drae had been subdued, the students below the auditorium soon clamored.
"Yeah! Kneel!"
"What are you doing, Vice President! Kill him quickly, I said!"
"Hey, Secretary! You take the gun too! Take it!"
"You idiot! You were acting all high and mighty, but without a gun, you're nothing, right?!"
"Kill him! Kill him!"
The cries of "kill him" soon became a chorus. Drae, receiving nearly two hundred counts of murderous intent and malice, just shrugged his shoulders.
"Kneel. Or I'll shoo..."
"That. You won't hit me from that position."
"What?"
"You aimed wrong, you old man. I'm giving you a chance, so again..."
Click.
BANG!!
The automatic rifle spewed flames, and Drae stood there calmly. Instead, because the male student was flustered by the recoil and stumbled backward, several innocent students were hit.
Meanwhile.
"You shot?"
"Yeah."
"Then you have nothing to say even if you die."
When did he close the distance? No, right now... is he going to die? The word "death" floated into the male student, the Vice President's, head. He opened his mouth as if struggling.
"W-wait...! I was wro...!"
Thwack.
The knife buried in his abdomen. The Vice President vomited a mouthful of blood with a gurgle... sound. Drae repeatedly pulled the knife out and stabbed it back in, butchering his side.
Stab-stab-stab-stab-stab.
"Augh, ugh, I... wro... ugh. S-save... me!"
Tears. Pain. Blood. Entrails. Begging. Things that would all be unfamiliar to ordinary people were being conveyed vividly. After pulling the knife out of his body and stopping, Drae looked down at him expressionlessly.
"S-save me..."
"What did you do to Yerin again?"
"N-nothing..! I didn't do anything...!"
"No, you stole her indoor shoes, took them home, and smelled them, you pervert bastard."
A knife was driven into and pulled out of the Vice President's wide, horrified eyes. Immediately after, a knife was driven into both sides of his neck, and when Drae pulled his head, his neck was ripped off along with a spray of blood. Drae, who threw that head into the auditorium, moved alone in the quiet room, this time picking up the shotgun lying on the floor and holding it out to one of the students who had stepped forward earlier.
"Wow, you waited until now, you're a real man. ?"
"....."
It wasn't that he was a real man; he just intuited an obvious fact. That if he had tried to pick that up, he would have died too.
"Here. Take it."
The male student wore a resolute expression. And he took the gun and said,
"We... are definitely cowards, but we don't deserve to die like this."
He was filled with malice. He was prioritizing anger over fear. The moment he felt that, Drae smiled with satisfaction, increased the distance, and counted.
"Three. Two. One~"
"Hup!"
Click.
He had seen how to shoot by watching earlier. He shouldn't follow Drae, who just fired without bracing it against his shoulder. He braced it properly against his shoulder and fired. Bang. Bang.
But Drae had disappeared. To be precise, he had leaped into the forest of students below the auditorium, blocking their view. He, who had been aiming at the students with trembling hands and hesitating, gritted his teeth.
Yes.
This is a sacrifice for the greater good!!
"Haa!"
BANG! BANG!
"Kyaak!"
"Gurgle...!"
Two students fell with one shot. The other shot shattered the innocent floor. And...
"Well learned."
"......"
"People can unexpectedly do anything when cornered."
"W-wai..."
"And if they think they're going to die, they become servile."
Squelch.
The knife pierced his neck. With a gurgle, a blood-boiling sound, the male student struggled and looked at him with eyes pleading for his life, but the blade heartlessly pierced through the side of his neck.
"You participated in bad-mouthing Yerin. Okay."
Thud.
Drae, who retrieved the shotgun and automatic rifle from the two fallen people. This time, he approached the vice-principal.
"......!"
He almost made a pathetic sound, but he quickly composed himself. Since the two beginner male students had fired wildly, the magazine must be empty now...
'No! This guy has a knife. I have to do something about this first...'
He had learned Hapkido. He would take the opportunity to trip Yeodre. First, he decided to distract him.
"You bastard... You heaven-cursed bastard! Do you think you'll be safe after doing something like this!"
As someone who had been in the teaching profession for decades, preaching was second nature. His thunderous voice had something that made students think they were wrong even if they weren't.
And Drae giggled.
"Is that something you should say, you who pushed students to die?"
Had he known from the beginning? He was speechless for a moment, but he soon spat out malice.
"How dare you slander me! I do anything to protect my students!"
Come closer. A little closer... And as Drae gradually approached as he wished, he swallowed hard with tension... and... and...
"...Huh?"
Was this guy always this big? The vice-principal, feeling as if a giant were standing in front of him, went blank. He had learned Hapkido. He had even sparred. He had no real combat experience.
Having been positioned above students and teachers for a long time, his pride had grown stronger day by day, clouding his judgment. He wasn't smart. He was just an ordinary man terrified of pretending to be smart.
WHACK!
"Ugh..."
Something hit him between the eyebrows. The moment he felt the pain, the vice-principal was already lying on the floor, and Drae kicked him, put his hand in his mouth, and grabbed his upper and lower lips with both hands.
"You say that very well. I had one question, Vice Principal."
"Augh, augh...!"
One hand on the roof of his mouth, one hand on his chin. It wasn't hard to imagine what he was going to do.
"Can people speak even if their jaw joints are dislocated?"
Crack, cr-crack.
"Gaaah?! Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
A hair-raising scream echoed through the auditorium. By the time the cracking sound ended, an old man was lying there, his jaw stretched to a grotesque degree, writhing.
Drae stood up and went back to the podium. And he scanned the quiet room.
"Wow. Our Vice Principal. I acknowledge you as a true educator who teaches by example."
No one made eye contact with Drae, who gave a thumbs up. They cowered as if they would die if they made eye contact.
"Wow. Thanks to the Vice President and the Secretary, everyone has regained their vitality. I'm so happy. Those of you who cursed at me earlier..."
"S-sorry!"
"We didn't mean to..."
BANG!
The ceiling hit by the gun. Broken materials poured down. Every time a large sound was made by debris falling to the floor, the students flinched greatly.
"Shh. Quiet."
Only now did they realize. Here, Drae was the law.
"Now, is there anyone else who wants to challenge me? Once the game starts, I won't accept any more challenges, so apply quickly."
"......"
No one answered. They just hoped this time would pass quickly.
"Ah, then, is there no one? Really? For real?"
Silence.
Drae laughed.
"Good! Then let's reveal the game name first. It's called. Truth or Dare!!"
Truth or Dare? As buzzing arose, Drae put his finger to his lips and shushed them. Everyone lowered their heads again like mice before a cat.
"You all know it, right? It's something you often do when you go on school trips. Like who you like, etc."
"However," Drae smiled.
That smile. Faint, but that smile, which looked genuinely happy, now looked like a demon.
"Instead of vague questions, let's add clear topics and penalties."
The rules were explained in the quiet.
"The topic is: How was I threatened by Kang Gu-han, the Shin-jin faction, and the training gang, when did I succumb to that threat, and what did I do because of it..."
Looking around the room, Drae smelled the unmistakable scent of fear. And, greatly satisfied with the fear, he continued.
"Since there are many people, let's start one class at a time. The time limit is 1 minute. When the exposé is over within the time, you students of that class, point your fingers at the person who seems to have lied the most. Since there are many people right now, let's point out three at a time. It goes without saying, but those three must receive a penalty."
What was the penalty? Everyone was curious, and in fact, they had guessed it. But they wanted to deny reality, and Drae didn't let them.
"The penalty is simple."
Click.
Loading the shotgun, Drae smiled gloomily.
"Die, or be hurt enough to die."