15. Excessive Defense? What Kind of Word Is That?
15. Excessive Defense? What Kind of Word Is That?
Even after making the entire Lemnos gang crawl on the ground like grubs, the aftertaste was still bitter.
It wasn't the cleanup that made it bitter.
The instigator, Edgar Lemnos, was sleeping it off after taking just one hit.
"This won't do. I'll have to cut it off."
It leaves a bitter aftertaste if the ringleader walks away so unscathed.
Even if I reattach it later, I should at least wake him up first and cut off one ankle.
"I'm borrowing this again."
"Aack..!!"
I pulled the hand axe that was slung over the shoulder of the student leaning against the wall and advanced toward Edgar.
I don't have a hobby of cutting the ankles of unconscious bastards.
I will definitely make him fully conscious first, then cut it.
"Hey, wake up."
I tapped him, but there was no response.
He seemed to be quite deeply unconscious.
"Is this your bedroom, sprawled out asleep like that... huh?"
This made cutting his ankle more complicated.
Those who don't know the pain of getting cut don't know the terror of the moment it happens.
And fortunately, as the Master of Half-Death, I had experienced situations like this many times.
I placed one finger on the back of Lemnos's left ear and the other on his solar plexus, then pressed both points deep at the same time.
As my fingers sank in so deep I wondered if fingers could even go in like that, Lemnos, who had been sleeping in the hallway, snapped his eyes open.
"Huh.. uuuaaagh?!! Wha.. what are you??"
Perhaps because I woke him forcibly by pressing his acupoints, he was babbling and couldn't properly take in his surroundings.
He didn't even seem to grasp what situation he was in at that moment.
"You.. what are you, what's going on..??"
"Ahh, shut up... From now on, I'm going to cut your ankle, so watch carefully."
I firmly pinned Lemnos's right leg by the ankle, roughly gauged the spot by eye, and raised the hand axe.
As the hand axe went up, screams burst from the onlookers.
Lemnos, perhaps still not grasping the reality of the situation, stared at me with a dazed expression.
"Wha..?! Cut what?!"
Lemnos's pupils dilated when he saw the raised hand axe.
He thrashed, trying to pull his body away to escape my grip, but Lemnos's right leg, pinned down by my foot and fixed by my hand, couldn't even think of getting free.
There was no way a mere Expert could escape my grasp.
"What are you trying to do..! Stop it, stop... stop!!"
Lemnos panicked, realizing what the raised hand axe was about to cut, but nothing changed.
Even that insolent Lemnos would be able to learn some manners once his ankle had been cut.
Courtesy and decorum stem from fear.
The decorum of respecting others begins with the fear that the person in front of you might smash your skull if you mess up.
These insolent bastards know no fear.
They can't imagine that I, as short as I am, standing right in front of them, would smash their skulls.
What did they believe in to act so arrogantly?
The weapons they had at their waists? Their family backgrounds? Or did they think they were stronger just because a bunch of them swarmed in together?
All complacent thoughts.
This world doesn't work that rationally.
So, first of all, I'll teach them fear.
The raised hand axe fell.
The hand axe that had been slung over a shoulder, now drenched in blood, drew a beautiful arc as it fell toward Lemnos's ankle.
"Uwaaaaaaak!!!"
-Peok!!
The hand axe that chopped down failed to cut Lemnos's ankle.
"Cut... what!!! You crazy bastard!!!"
"Let... go of this..!"
It was because Senior Andy had hoisted me up and run before the hand axe could strike the ankle.
The hand axe that lost its target embedded itself in the hallway floor, and Lemnos fainted again, foaming at the mouth.
"Hey..!! Polish your ankle and wait..!! I'll definitely cut it next time!! Just you watch!! When I say I'll do it, I definitely do it!!!!"
"Keep that resolution to live quietly and uphold it!!"
—————————
A huge commotion arose in the academy.
A brawl in the hallway... a fight between 25 on Edgar Lemnos's side and Atlas Nemea alone....
It wasn't even a duel of honor.
It was a very dishonorable act: barbarically ganging up on one person with weapons to suppress him.
Edgar Lemnos, who committed such a dishonorable act, deserved condemnation and should apologize to the victim, Atlas Nemea.
Well, that would usually be the case.
"Is... is this even something that makes any sense?!!!!!"
Inside the counseling office, a professor with a distinct monocle mark on his right cheek was shouting, his face red as a tomato.
"Plezar... and now Lemnos? Wha... what kind of bastards are these!!! You're expelled, expelled!!!!"
That face, red like a tomato, was a memorable one.
It was Professor Buckingham, one of the academy's long-standing fixtures.
As the professor in charge of Introduction to Combat Magic Theory, and also the homeroom professor of Class 1 where Lemnos and Plezar belonged, he had appeared in the original story as well.
He was the character who constantly obstructed Class 5, where Hayden belonged—and now where I belong—at every trivial turn.
Arrogant, dismissive of students admitted by examination, and discriminating against people based on their background, he was the worst kind of educator.
"Pr.. Professor, it was Atlas who was attacked first! Student Atlas was only protecting himself..!"
"Ahem!! Instructor, don't try to cover for him this time either!! There are limits, there are limits!!!"
I looked straight at Professor Buckingham, standing before him.
Senior Andy was defending me, but Buckingham, already seething with rage, was bent on expelling me on the spot.
"25 people were lightly or seriously injured!! Do you not know which families' children they all are?!!!"
"But there weren't any serious injuries, were there! And it was Lemnos who brought weapons."
"Even so, that's still—"
"Then what should I have done? Lemnos came with a full 25 people and weapons just to bury me alone, what was I supposed to do? Should I have just taken the beating and died?"
"How dare you look me straight in the eye as if you did something right!!"
Buckingham's hand went up.
Judging by his posture, he seemed about to slap me.
I'm in a foul mood anyway, so this is perfect.
If he hits me, I'll just tear his arm off right then.
No matter how much he's a professor specializing in combat magic, a bookworm who only does calculations at his desk is someone I can tear apart in an instant at this distance.
And then, well... since I have the Polymorph power from the ruins, if I change my face and build appropriately and flee, there won't be anything he can do to me.
Senior Andy's face turned pale.
He seemed to have guessed to some extent what I was thinking by looking at my face.
"Stop that."
Buckingham couldn't even land the slap.
It was because Headmaster Morgan appeared with his hands behind his back and barked a rebuke.
"Headmaster...! That brat must be expelled!! If we leave him be, the damage will only grow!! If the students' families protest, won't the academy's standing hit rock bottom?!!!"
"What's hitting rock bottom is your reputation, isn't it, with your homeroom class students reduced to pulp... At your age, stop acting emotionally! Handle it by the rules!"
At Morgan's scolding, Buckingham shut his mouth, with an expression of injustice.
I felt Morgan's gaze on me for a brief moment.
"By the rules, you say...?"
"If it's a fight that arose from personal reasons and not a duel, then first seek mutual agreement. If that fails, then both sides are simply to be referred to the Disciplinary Committee—is that not the procedure!"
It wasn't immediate expulsion, but things got complicated.
——————————————
Senior Andy and I came out of the counseling office with expressions like we'd been chewing shit.
"The Disciplinary Committee... things have gotten complicated... What are you going to do?"
"What a hassle. Pack my bags, I guess. What else?"
"You're going to blow things up this big and then run away? I'll send a letter to the Director right now."
"Go ahead~ I'm confident I won't get caught~~"
I've been on the run for years now; there's no way I'd be scared of something like that.
"Try to do something about it somehow!!! Like, reach some kind of agreement!!"
"Sunbae, do I look like I'd reach some kind of agreement with those guys?"
I hate bowing my head to those bastards more than leaving the academy.
"That's something to be proud of..."
"Seriously, even the Five Pillars have gone soft... In our apprentice days..."
"In our apprentice days... the ones who got hit were the ones who got in more trouble in situations like this."
"If they lost one-against-many, they should have been ashamed, not made such a big fuss about it."
"This isn't the Knight Order."
"Right. I did forget it was the academy."
I had gotten too used to the Knight Order.
In this world where healing techniques were irregularly well-developed, me cutting off an ankle or two wasn't even considered that serious an injury.
It hurt, but if treated well, it recovered quickly.
Though the terror of the moment it's cut remains the same.
As long as they didn't die, most external injuries could be healed, so a Master of Half-Death like me could beat an opponent to a pulp and then quickly heal them, making it seem like nothing much happened.
But this was the academy... even just touching someone became a problem... Seriously, every single one of them was pathetically weak.
"Ugh... So the Disciplinary Committee... is that like a trial held by the Headmaster and four professors?"
"Yeah... I'm an instructor, so I can't attend... You've already been marked by Professor Buckingham, so it'll be hard to get the votes of other professors... That professor is the most influential after the Headmaster..."
"Then don't I have any chance anyway? I should just get ready to leave."
"You...!! Your family's pretty powerful too!! Use your backing or whatever, find friendly professors and try to get in somehow!!"
"What backing does a cast-off child have..."
One person did come to mind.
The academy professor who was conducting research with Titan's support... I hadn't visited him even once, but I knew he worked at the academy and knew his name.
Since his only sponsor was Titan, he wouldn't refuse my request, but...
'Family power now, of all times?'
I immediately erased the thought from my head.
I didn't want to rely on Titan's power at this point.
"Anyway, try to do something..! I'm telling you, this isn't just your problem anymore!!"
—————————
When I came back out of the counseling building, I ran into Riber, who had been waiting.
"Atlas!!"
He must have been waiting outside the whole time.
As soon as Riber got close, he started examining my face.
"Huh? What are you doing??"
"Stay still."
The cheek that Lemnos had hit was red and swollen.
Seeing it made my anger boil up again.
I should have at least amputated one of Lemnos's ankles; I let him off way too easy.
"Sorry for dragging you into this."
"Ah.. I got it, so back off a bit..."
"Right, you were too close."
When I came to my senses, we were close enough that we could feel each other's breath.
I got too close while checking his face.
When I stepped back a little, Riber's whole face was flushed red.
"I was a bit harsh earlier... weren't you scared?"
"I... wasn't scared at all. Emy was a bit scared though..."
No, you were scared too.
I saw your face clearly.
Just the fact that you're being considerate and saying no is something I'm grateful for.
"Just like I got angry for you... you got angry for me too. Some people say it was excessive, but I don't think so."
Riber had an upright expression on his face.
"Because strength is always right. You were stronger than those guys. So you were in the right."
Part of me wondered what kind of bullshit logic that was, but still, being comforted made my heart feel at ease.
Well, now that I have a friend, I should search for a way to handle this rather than just thinking about running away immediately.
It seems like it would be fine as long as I pursue a method other than reaching an agreement or a normal Disciplinary Committee hearing.
"Isn't it a bit noisy?"
Something was noisy.
I could sense students gathering and murmuring from afar.
"Atlas Nemea..!!!"
Shouting with a booming voice and huffing with anger, Lemnos walked over.
Perhaps the swelling hadn't gone down yet, because his cheek was puffed up, making him look comical.
Seeing Lemnos's face full of rage, a good idea came to mind.
'All I need to do is fan the flames, right?'
If it goes well, I might be able to get past this without a Disciplinary Committee or an agreement.
"What is it, isn't that Lemnos, the one who took one hit from me and fainted?"
"That's..!! It's only because you cowardly ambushed me..!! I was not defeated by you!!!"
"It would have been nice if you'd said that before you got hit and collapsed."
When I poked him a little, his face turned redder, becoming quite a sight to behold.
How is it, are you angry?
You want to make the hierarchy clear, don't you?
I think I've provoked him enough that he should take the bait by now. Not yet?
"A duel..!!! Stake your honor and duel me!!!"
That must have been his goal from the start.
If the fiery Lemnos gets beaten up and just does some petty behind-the-scenes scheming, I'd have to insult his parents.
I even provoked him just in case, and Lemnos refreshingly challenged me to a duel.
"Now that's the Lemnos I know..!"
To hell with agreements.
Can't I just flip the board?
—————————————-
"That student will become a cancerous blight on the academy in the future... letting him off like this... The Disciplinary Committee will definitely expel him."
"Stop your strange imaginings... You know, I saved your life this time, so buy me a drink later."
"My life? What do you mean?"
"Aish... For someone who teaches combat magic not to know that, tsk tsk... This is why officers-turned-professors are no good... Enough talk, just buy me a drink!"