Blanser's Rampage
The headmaster's office at the National Academy.
The place that had been so quiet only flies were buzzing around had become bustling once again with the visit of yet another major figure.
I must be getting too old.
The headmaster rubbed his eyes again, thinking he was seeing things, but the scene before him showed no signs of changing.
Hmm.... This time it's the Pope.
The elders had been making such a fuss that he wondered who it was, but he never imagined the Pope of the Ahrirang Church herself would come in person.
Moreover.... the problem the headmaster faced wasn't limited to that alone.
If the Pope had come alone, he wouldn't have been this surprised.
However, the people she had brought along as escorts were all equally formidable, causing the headmaster's eyes to tremble greatly as he examined their faces.
The armed group protecting the Ahrirang Church, the Gukseon of Hwarangdo and the head of the Byeolmuban.... To see these two at the same time, anyone would think they were about to start a war.
The presence of these individuals had surely played a significant role in why the elders were in such an uproar.
Perhaps due to Haru's party, the headmaster had recently been encountering people with tremendous influence over the continent more frequently—Grand Dukes, the Seven Pillars, the Emperor, and even the current Pope.
“Hehe, I didn’t realize Your Holiness the Pope would also be interested in the Welcome Night. Or rather, I suppose it’s less about the Welcome Night and more that you have business with those children?”
One couldn’t ignore years of experience. The headmaster, who had quickly regained his composure, casually opened the conversation. In response to the headmaster’s question, the miter covering her entire face slowly swayed, and a clear voice flowed out from within.
“Although the church’s ideology and doctrines focus on broadly benefiting the lives of the people rather than following his descendants, since the church’s name originates from his revered name, the Ahrirang clan is a special existence to us.”
At the Pope’s following answer, the headmaster slowly nodded and savored the tea the elders had brought.
“Then, may I dare ask for the more detailed reason behind your visit here?”
“After the Welcome Night concludes, I intend to read their fates. I absolutely must know what events are lying in wait for their futures.”
“I see. I’ll speak with the 7th Seat about it.”
“Thank you. Then shall we calmly await news of their victory?”
“Does Your Holiness believe the Byeong-year students can defeat the Gap-year and Eul-year students?”
“Yes, aren’t they the Ahrirang clan?”
“Hmm, I suppose so.”
Sigh....
He had planned to relax and just wash up and go to sleep once the results were out, but now the number of tasks and people to worry about had increased again.
The grand assembly hall below was packed with high-ranking figures from various fields who had come to watch the Welcome Night, and up in the sky above, the Seven Pillars had all gathered.
And right before his eyes was even the Pope of the Ahrirang Church.
The headmaster’s head ached, and his temples throbbed.
Aigoo, what is this suffering in my twilight years!
The thought of wanting to retire as soon as possible, National Academy be damned, welled up strongly within the headmaster.
Bam!Thud.
“U-ugh...!”
Jinbeon’s body, pushed back by an unstoppable force, trembled violently in agony.
“It’s getting more interesting? Alright, now it’s your turn! Come at me!”
Jinbeon could not comprehend the current situation in which he was being overwhelmed.
It wasn’t that he had underestimated his opponent or failed to accurately assess their strength. If he had been that foolish, he wouldn’t be standing here now.
No matter that Blanser was the Grand Duke’s disciple—or rather, his kin—who was Jinbeon?
Appearances aside, he was the top-ranked student in the Eul-year. It meant Jinbeon was also a talent counted among the best on the continent.
He had been confident that while ascending to a Pillar position in the future might be difficult, he was at a level where he could compete for the seat.
Yet the Blanser before him was on an entirely different plane, enough to remind him of Hyeondo, who had mercilessly defeated him around this time last year.
He was acting as if everything was fine to avoid worrying his comrades, but after continuous exchanges, Jinbeon had reached his limit long ago due to the accumulated damage.
His stomach was churning. If he took one more hit, everything he’d eaten for dinner would likely come back up.
If there was a difference between them, it was that unlike Jinbeon, Blanser was truly unfazed.
Blanser was instead grinning and simply waiting for his turn to come again.
Does this guy never get tired? What kind of endurance is that.... At this rate, I’ll be the one to fall first. I need to make a decisive move here.
Having firmed his resolve, Jinbeon’s aura suddenly shifted.
“Huu.”
With a deep breath, he steadied the trembling throughout his body, contracting his muscles and compressing the last drop of his strength into his right fist with no waste whatsoever.
If this guy heads elsewhere, the battle situation will completely reverse. It’s utterly humiliating, but what I have to do now is pin down this monstrous bastard here for as long as possible!
“Geez, why is this taking so long?”
Whether aware of Jinbeon’s determination or not, Blanser simply stood with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing at a distant mountain and muttering.
Eventually, when he even started picking at his ear, Jinbeon’s resolve hardened further.
Fine, let’s see you take this.
“Haaaaaaa!”
Crack!
Finally, Jinbeon’s fist, laden with all his might, slammed into Blanser’s face.
A thunderous sound like two solid objects colliding erupted, carrying enough force to shatter every single bone in the face without exception.
“Uwooooo!”
As if he had exerted every last bit of strength he possessed, Blanser’s massive body was driven straight into the ground, sending thick clouds of dust billowing up.
It connected perfectly! No matter that he’s the Grand Duke’s disciple, there’s no way he’ll be unscathed after taking that!
“Uwaaaaaaaa!”
“Yes! Now let’s head to the front gate!”
“Ah! Aaa...”
“We’re done for...”
At Jinbeon’s powerful strike, cheers and sighs mixed together from various places, and the Byeong-year students didn’t just lose their momentum—they completely lost their fighting spirit.
If Blanser went down, their own inevitable defeat would follow as a matter of course.
“But why isn’t there any reaction? D-did I get him?”
Having poured out even the strength he used to suckle as a baby in that one blow, the exhausted Jinbeon gaped blankly.
“Uh...?”
“Ha....”
“What the hell are you doing after getting on a roll!”
At Jinbeon’s few words, the Eul-year students who had been rejoicing just moments before hurled every curse imaginable at him.
“Did I get him?” It was practically a magical incantation that could revive the dead.
What? Why are they suddenly acting like this...?
While Jinbeon, clueless as to the reason, was being pelted with verbal abuse, the dust settled, revealing Blanser from within.
Whether due to Jinbeon’s blessing or because the attack hadn’t dealt much damage, contrary to his hopes, Blanser was unfortunately perfectly fine.
No, he was fine, but he seemed slightly different from his usual self.
The playful expression he wore when facing Haru’s group had vanished completely.
“Um....”
The eeriness, completely akin to that of a wild beast, was so intense that even his allies who had been shouting in triumph fell silent.
“...It stings, damn it.”
Pff!
Release
As soon as Blanser opened the gate, a steam the color of seagulls, resembling his hair, began to coalesce at his fingertips.
Creaaaak!
The more he clenched his fist, the more the hair-raising sound intensified, and the steam grew clearer, writhing fiercely like flames.
“You said you were going to the front gate, did you?”
Flinch!
The body of whoever met Blanser’s eyes trembled.
Jinbeon, who met his gaze next, found himself unconsciously stepping backward from instinctive fear.
It stings...? Is that all there is to it? What a monstrous...!
Thud!Crack! Thud.
When Blanser stomped his foot, a rugged rock surged up behind the retreating Jinbeon, blocking his path.
“Where do you keep trying to go? It’s my turn now.”
Crunch!
Blanser strode up to Jinbeon and seized his shoulder.
“You’d better look forward to this. It’s an Ineung I’m revealing for the first time here.”
“This bastard’s grip is...!”
Cheneung Reinforcement
One-Point Concentration
“Y-you son of a— Don’t screw with meeee!”
With nowhere left to retreat, Jinbeon crossed both arms in an attempt to block Blanser’s attack, but—
Craaaash—! Boooom!
The brutal strike shattered both of Jinbeon’s arms and even snapped his cervical vertebrae.
Crack!Spin spin spin.
Jinbeon’s body not only smashed through the rock Blanser had raised but continued flying while spinning violently like a top. The blood pouring out in streams and scattering everywhere was an added bonus.
“It’s finished.”
“That one’s done for.”
“Wow, never mind the sound—how can a person spin around like that?”
Watching the flying Jinbeon, the Byeong-year students present felt nothing but the deepest gratitude that they were on the same side as Blanser.
Having lost interest in the distant, embedded Jinbeon, Blanser loudly cracked his neck and shifted his gaze toward the remaining opponents.
“H-hiek...!”
“Teraden hyung told me to guard the back gate properly, but now I.... Huh? Wait, why didn’t I think of this sooner? Can’t I just beat them all down and lay them out? Hoo, now even my brain is perfect. How scary. So scary.”
In his fading consciousness, watching Blanser pummel his fellow students, Jinbeon lost his grip on awareness.
Crazy bastard.
And soon after, having finally knocked out every single Eul-year student, Blanser hummed a tune as he headed toward the front gate.
His steps were light and refreshing, as if he were heading out for a spring picnic.
“What are you doing! Get over here already!”
“Uh, I was just about to head over...”
At Blanser’s menacing shout, his allies nodded their heads frantically in fear and followed after him.
They didn’t forget to offer a brief moment of mourning for those lying sprawled on the ground with their faces smashed in.
“Hmm...!”
Meanwhile, someone who had been observing the battle between Blanser and Jinbeon swallowed a groan while gently touching the scar on the top of his head.
“That is almost the spitting image of His Grace the Grand Duke in his younger days...!”
In his days of wild passion, Crow's Duck had been nothing short of a tyrant.
That side hair looks so unsightly. Let me smooth it out for you.
Heok! Your Grace...! Grand Duke, Your Graaace! Please have mercy! Please stop the young master...! Keuk!
He had been so tyrannical that even the previous emperor had cowered before him.
The only ones capable of stopping him back then were his parents, Amerk—who had known him for a long time—and the empire’s chancellor.
He had forgotten after not showing himself in public for more than a decade since fathering Blanser, but today, through Blanser, the nightmare of those past days had been resurrected.
To make matters worse, when Blanser unleashed his Cheneung Reinforcement Ineung, people began suffering from shortness of breath or tightly shutting their eyes one after another.
“Khm...!”
It was only after Blanser vanished from the communication mirror displaying the rear gate’s battle situation that they could wipe away their cold sweat and turn their attention to the communication mirror beside it.