Madness Overwhelmed (2)
The True Madness and Mad Kim of the <Madness> team. They originally had normal names, but renamed themselves to show everyone real madness. Yellow, unkempt hair. Thick white face paint. And black makeup heavily drawn around their eyes and mouths. Even in an academy full of eccentrics, they believed this level of character would make everyone understand the terror of madness. And their belief worked to some extent during the preliminaries.
"Kaaaargh!!!"
"Kihyahahahaha!!!"
"S-save me!!!"
"I forfeit!!"
Just by showing their madness-drenched expressions, timid students either forfeited or failed to perform. Of course, it was true that relatively favorable matchups came their way because most strong opponents were drawn to the <Heavenly Demon Riding Team>. Still, they thought their madness was effective enough since it worked on a majority of students.
That was why the two of them weren't particularly worried even on the day of the tournament finals. If your one and only tool is madness but that tool is nuclear-level, there's no need to worry. To them, madness was exactly that.
"Honey! Let's show them our madness again today! Khahaha!!"
"Yeah, Oppa! Everyone gets overwhelmed in the face of madness!! Hihihit!!"
The moment they entered the dueling arena, they looked at their opponents. There stood a man and a woman. Jung Ayeon, despite wearing a plain black martial arts uniform, was objectively one of the most beautiful women present. True Madness had a girlfriend who didn't match the name "Mad Kim," but even he had to admit it objectively. Mad Kim looked displeased but had resigned herself to it.
Kim Shinu, on the other hand, had decent looks, but the scar over his left eye and the color of his pupils gave off an ominous impression. The kind of face that looked like it might suddenly scream "DECHAAAAAAT!" somewhere. Yet when they saw the complete lack of tension in Kim Shinu's eyes, True Madness and Mad Kim felt an overwhelming urge to pour all their madness onto that idiot. They wanted to fill those stupid eyes with terror of madness.
Soon, without needing to say a word, both reached the same conclusion. Those two are weak. They're nothing but greenhouse flowers that don't even know fear, let alone madness. We'll crush them with our wild, unyielding madness like weeds. We'll use them as sacrifices to spread the terror of madness far and wide.
True Madness and Mad Kim were already certain of victory. The moment those fools who knew nothing of madness' terror casually stepped onto the stage, their defeat was guaranteed. On top of that, countless students were acknowledging and cheering for their madness. To respond to those cheers, they made mad expressions and spoke to each other.
"Honey! Our madness is invincible!!"
"Oppa!!! Just like you said, everyone has finally learned the beauty of madness!!"
They stuck out their tongues, let out bizarre screams, and made even more grotesque poses with their hands. The louder the students cheered, the more intense it became. The cheers were sufficient. Now it was time to pour all their madness onto those two. Their hearts were already overflowing with confidence. At this rate, they even thought they could beat Hye-ji, that asymmetric weapon.
"Oppa! It's madness time!!!!"
"Kyahahaha!! Drown in madness!!!"
That was, until right before the match started, when they heard Kim Shinu's question.
"If someone who's been TS'd exists, and I have sex with my TS'd self, is that incest or masturbation?"
"......"
Jung Ayeon's pretty face visibly soured at an alarming rate. True Madness and Mad Kim momentarily blanked out at the incomprehensible question.
"What... did you just say?"
"Was that... Korean?"
Meanwhile, Jung Ayeon screamed at Kim Shinu.
"No! Why on earth would you suddenly ask something like that?!"
"They looked like the original and their TS version, so..."
"Ha......."
Jung Ayeon clutched her head for a moment, then, perhaps because she wasn't a bad person at heart, gave a sincere answer.
"From a genetic standpoint, I believe it would be incest."
"The only difference is gender. In the end, it's still yourself, so isn't it masturbation?"
"Professor, what do you think?"
Kim Shinu's arrow suddenly turned toward the professor in charge of commentary.
"Uh... well... isn't it just normal intercourse between a man and a woman?"
"But the original gender of the TS'd opposite sex is male, right? So wouldn't that make it homosexuality?"
"......Could all the professors please gather here for a moment? We need to talk."
The professors suddenly gathered in the commentary booth and began an intense discussion. Influenced by them, the students also started murmuring among themselves.
"If the mind has fallen to being female, then it's normal intercourse between man and woman, right?"
"If we're talking blood, it's completely the same blood, so isn't it incest?"
"Either way, if one side forces the relationship, it's definitely rape!"
"I think it's masturbation, but can forced masturbation be considered rape?"
"Does the term 'forced masturbation' even make sense in the first place?!"
The professors' debate showed no sign of ending, and the students' arguments only grew more heated. Amid this chaos, True Madness and Mad Kim felt similar emotions.
'What the hell is wrong with that lunatic...'
'Sh-shit...'
Then they looked at each other and were startled. Before the match, their eyes had been filled with madness. Now, an unknown emotion was slowly rising within them. They knew what that emotion was, but they absolutely couldn't say it out loud. If they did, they felt like they would truly break here.
To drive away that feeling and hide their agitation, the two forced themselves to laugh.
"Oppa! That level won't overcome our madness! Hihihit!"
"That's right! Our madness is real madness, unlike that fake stuff!"
The madness duo tried to act calm while forcing their madness back up. The professors were still debating, so the finals hadn't started yet. The surroundings were noisy from the students' murmuring, but the madness duo believed there was no problem restoring their original madness tension.
At that moment, Kim Shinu, who had been deep in thought, suddenly turned around. There stood the Saintess along with a red twin-tailed woman and a pink bob-haired woman. The Saintess was watching with her chin resting on her hand, while the other two were asleep, slumped over their chairs looking annoyed.
Kim Shinu turned and spoke to the Saintess.
"Caersi, I have a question."
"Speak, meow."
Normally, it would have been better not to listen. There was a chance even the madness they were barely maintaining would disappear. Yet instead of covering their ears, the madness duo chose to focus on the conversation. It was the primal human curiosity that makes one want to confirm something even while knowing it's bullshit.
Kim Shinu began his question to the Saintess.
"In the case of female centaur beastmen, they have a human upper body and a horse lower body, right?"
"That is correct, meow. They boast the swift mobility of horses while being able to use tools like humans, meow."
"Then."
Kim Shinu paused for a moment before asking the Saintess with a serious expression.
"When a female centaur beastman gets pregnant, which belly swells up?"
"......What... did you say?"
The Saintess's posture instantly collapsed. But Kim Shinu continued without caring.
"I'm asking whether the human belly swells or the horse belly swells during pregnancy."
"Gongja, have you gone mad?"
Jung Ayeon made a horrified expression at Kim Shinu's words.
"What do you think?"
"......This lady believes the horse belly would swell."
"I thought both would swell."
Meanwhile, the Saintess, who had barely managed to pull herself together, stomped her feet in anger.
"Stop talking nonsense and receive divine punishment, meow!!!!!!"
"Oh my?"
- Crack!
Following the Saintess's words, a massive hailstone the size of several human heads slammed into Kim Shinu's head. And it perfectly shattered. The hailstone, that is. Kim Shinu casually scratched his head as if nothing had happened. But to True Madness and Mad Kim watching, it was a sight that defied common sense.
"The hailstone... shattered?"
"Just from 'Oh my?' That thing hit his head?"
The two of them forgot to even make mad expressions or strike grotesque poses, simply staring blankly at Kim Shinu. Their tongues, which had been sticking out, had long since retreated back into their mouths. Their hands that had been making peace signs were now politely clasped behind their backs. Yet Kim Shinu paid them no attention whatsoever and continued questioning the Saintess.
"Since I already got hit once, can I ask one more thing?"
"......Speak, meow."
The Saintess wore an expression as if she were looking at something disgusting. Still, true to her position as Saintess, she showed some mercy.
"Beastman-human hybrids randomly express animal parts, right?"
"That is correct, meow! Though most of them turn out as cute as this body, meow!"
Perhaps because the topic involved herself, the Saintess answered in a suddenly good mood. She looked like a moody cat. The Saintess confidently placed her hands on her hips and puffed out her small chest.
"Then, is there a case where only the head is human and everything below the neck is cat?"
"It's not impossible, but...... what exactly are you trying to say, meow."
The Saintess's expression slowly began to distort with bewilderment. Then Kim Shinu spoke to Caersi with an even more solemn expression than before.
"In that case, if that beastman performs fellatio, would that be bestiality or not?"
"Don't insult beastmen, you son of a bitch!!"
"Cut it out!! You lunatic!!"
Both the Saintess and Jung Ayeon abandoned their usual speech patterns and hurled crude insults at Kim Shinu. Then they remembered their character and switched back.
"Just kill that bastard in the Beastman Kingdom, meow!!!"
"Don't let him die peacefully!"
Regardless, Kim Shinu grabbed the corners of his eyes and seemed to be thinking deeply about something. Suddenly, he struck his palm with his fist, startling the madness duo who thought he was targeting them. Kim Shinu smiled brightly with a very satisfied expression.
"Eureka!! If it doesn't go past the throat, it's fellatio. If it does, it's bestiality!"
"Who attaches 'Eureka' to something like that!"
"My Lord!!!!!! Please just kill that bastard, meow!!!!!"
"Ah, shit."
Though the sky had been clear blue without a single cloud, a bolt of lightning suddenly struck above Kim Shinu's head. It looked as if God had answered the Saintess's call. The powerful lightning kicked up thick dust in the dueling arena, hiding Kim Shinu's figure. With a mix of hopeful expectation and desperate wishing that he was dead, True Madness and Mad Kim simultaneously shouted the magic words.
""Did we get him?""
At that moment, the thick dust cleared in an instant, revealing Kim Shinu's figure. Though his body was covered in soot and smoke was rising from him, Kim Shinu looked relatively fine. Seeing that sight, True Madness and Mad Kim finally understood what emotion had been rising in their eyes earlier and was now dominating their entire bodies.
Yes. It was fear. An emotion they had never known while intoxicated with madness. That emotion was sending warnings throughout their bodies. That thing is dangerous. It's real. And they should run away.
Meanwhile, the Saintess pointed at Kim Shinu in disbelief.
"How on earth are you still alive, meow?"
"I was struck by lightning!"
"Does that even make sense, meow!!!"
Just then, the professors' intense debate finally ended. Though no clear conclusion had been reached and it was postponed to the next debate, it would remain as a great discussion to be recorded in academy history. The professor tried to restore order to the chaotic dueling arena.
"Now, everyone, please pay attention."
Kim Shinu was casually dusting off his outer clothes while Jung Ayeon looked at him with disdain. The students who had started focusing again sent expectant gazes toward the madness duo. They were a skilled team with relatively low odds, so everyone was curious what kind of match they would show. However, True Madness and Mad Kim paid no attention to the students' gazes. Without saying a word, they simply looked into each other's eyes. It was a brief exchange of glances, but what they conveyed to each other was clear.
"Then, the round of 16 match will now begin—"
"Just a moment."
True Madness raised his hand, interrupting the professor.
"What is it?"
When everyone looked puzzled, True Madness took Mad Kim's hand and interlaced their fingers. Feeling each other's warmth through their palms as their only salvation, True Madness and Mad Kim spoke simultaneously.
""We forfeit.""
"......Are you certain?"
""Yes.""
With those words, the two of them walked out of the arena hand in hand. Unlike the chaotic situation before the match, the first finals match ended unexpectedly blandly. Naturally, most students hurled insults and mockery at them. We didn't come to watch this kind of match. Give us our money back. And you call that madness? All sorts of harsh words that were difficult to repeat flooded toward them.
But True Madness and Mad Kim showed no reaction whatsoever, simply walking silently out of the dueling arena. On their way out, they stopped and looked at each other.
"Honey."
"Oppa."
And each clearly stated what they wanted.
"Let's quit this madness nonsense. There was real madness out there."
"Yeah. What madness did we have? This was just kids' play."
After that, they stopped with the strange makeup. They reverted their renamed names back to the originals. They resolved to live ordinary lives from now on. It was a beautiful story of the fake being saved thanks to the real thing.