Boom!

The sound of something striking the wall echoed ominously through the underground shelter. How the enemy had reached this place was unclear, but one thing was certain.

The shelter’s walls wouldn’t hold for long.

Rumble!

The noise of something digging into the walls reverberated throughout the shelter, and soon, cracks began to spiderweb across the surface.

Gulp.

Someone swallowed audibly as they watched the wall begin to split. Their doubt had transformed into certainty. Yes, the enemy was here.

Realizing this, a few students let out brief screams and shuffled back in a rush, the sound of fear mingling with the cracking wall.

Crack!

The shelter groaned as chunks of concrete and clouds of dust burst forth. Yeomyeong gripped his weapon and spoke calmly.

“…Everyone, prepare.”

With a thunderous crash, the large section of the wall shattered as if struck by an explosive. Instinctively, everyone gripped their weapons or crouched defensively.

Everyone, that is, except Yeomyeong.

Whoosh!

As the wall gave way, Yeomyeong launched himself forward. Ignoring the incoming debris, he shot a sword aura through the collapsing opening. He prioritized offense over defense—experience hard-earned in the harsh north of Manju.

“Aagh! My arm!”

One of the enemy’s arms flew into the air, severed by his sword aura, and before the blood from the shoulder hit the ground, Yeomyeong had landed beyond the broken wall.

Thud.

Beyond the wall was a massive tunnel, wide enough for at least six adult men to walk side by side. Yeomyeong wasn’t an expert in construction, but he could tell that this kind of tunnel wasn’t dug overnight.

The scale alone proved this ambush had been months, if not years, in the making.

“There he is! That’s the transfer student!”

The tunnel was filled with armed assailants, some wielding rifles, and even one aiming a rocket launcher from beyond the wall.

Their firepower exceeded that of an average mercenary group and was focused entirely on Yeomyeong.

“Kill him!”

The guns blazed, and Yeomyeong kicked off the ground at nearly the same moment.

Rat-a-tat-tat!

There was no room to dodge in the narrow tunnel. Yeomyeong charged forward, taking the bullets head-on as he targeted the nearest enemy—a wizard with a staff, likely the one who had breached the wall.

“Hi-Hilaria’s… hear my re—!”

The wizard instinctively began chanting, but Yeomyeong’s sword reached him first. His mana-infused blade sliced through the wizard’s throat.

“Urgh…”

Yeomyeong grabbed the bleeding wizard’s body and raised it as a human shield. Seeing this, the assailants hesitated, their guns still firing but now sinking into the wizard’s corpse.

“Deral! No!”

A split-second pause settled over the enemy, shocked by their own friendly fire. Yeomyeong seized the moment.

Holding the wizard’s corpse, he charged toward the enemies.

“Stop him! He’s a dragon slayer! Don’t let him get close!”

One step. Bullets flew, but Yeomyeong shielded his face and torso with the wizard’s body.

Two steps. His heart pumped wildly, and blood gushed from bullet wounds, but his mind accelerated.

Three steps. A bullet struck his calf. Clenching his teeth, he gathered mana into his sword.

Four, five… and seven.

When he was close enough to see their eyes, Yeomyeong threw the body forward and swung his sword.

Flash!

A burst of sword aura filled the tunnel with blinding light. The mana-laden aura split the air and intercepted the oncoming bullets.

“Dodge it!”

Someone shouted, but in the cramped tunnel, there was nowhere to go. The ambushers could only fire wildly or shut their eyes tight.

Just as their bodies were about to be torn in two—

“Hilaria’s Light—!”

A beam of light erupted from behind the attackers.

Crash!

The light collided with Yeomyeong’s sword aura, causing a burst of mana that tore through the tunnel, scattering rocks and dust everywhere. Yeomyeong quickly steadied himself and observed the enemies. Though his attack had been powerful, there were fewer casualties than expected; most were only stunned or thrown against the tunnel walls.

Despite this, the psychological shock on the assailants was immense. They had planned to ambush and overwhelm him but found themselves at a disadvantage.

Yeomyeong didn’t give them a chance to recover.

Using footwork, he launched himself toward them again.

“Switch to Plan B! All superhumans, forward! Don’t hold back—he’s as powerful as the Saintess and the Vessel!”

The assailants weren’t just going to sit back. Instead of wasting more bullets, superhumans emerged from among them, weapons drawn, charging straight at Yeomyeong.

Unlike the clumsy techniques of the Manju mercenaries, these attackers wielded their weapons with true martial prowess.

‘So, they’re strong enough to attack the academy?’

Though curious about their identity, Yeomyeong had no time to ponder, as more than three blades converged on him at once.

Clang!

Sparks flew as blades met. His mana-infused sword resonated with the clash, making his hand tingle.

‘This is cutting it close.’

More than skill, his weapon was an issue. The training sword wasn’t strong enough to endure his mana and was already beginning to crack.

Yeomyeong weighed his options. Should he retreat or—

‘Kill in one strike and take their weapons.’

The decision was quick. Yeomyeong gathered mana, preparing another sword aura.

“He’s about to use that sword aura again! Everyone, fall ba—”

Suddenly, someone darted in from behind Yeomyeong. Flowing black hair, piercing blue eyes.

Slash!

With a swift strike, Seti’s training sword cut through the neck of the superhuman focused on Yeomyeong.

“What are you doing, charging in alone?”

Seti’s voice, belatedly reaching his ears, brought a brief moment of clarity. Before the decapitated superhuman hit the ground, Yeomyeong and Seti exchanged a knowing glance. No further words were needed as they both extended their swords toward the oncoming superhumans.

And with that, their allies surged forward.

 

Jun Yoonseong, Wesley, Soemiri, Ms. Gemini… and from the rear, even the Saintess shouted.

“Seti! Don’t get hurt!”

With Seti and the others joining the fray, the enemy ranks began to falter.

“Damn it! They’re all superhumans! Don’t worry about friendly fire—just shoot!”

Even as students, these superhumans had enough agility to dodge bullets. The assailants fired wildly, but the tide had already turned.

Yet somehow… it wasn’t the overwhelming victory Yeomyeong had hoped for.

The gunfire continued, and stray attacks aimed at Yeomyeong’s head or torso flew his way.

After stabbing a sword into a superhuman’s neck and pulling it out, Yeomyeong glanced around, trying to pinpoint the issue.

Watching his comrades fight for a brief moment, he understood why the battle wasn’t progressing faster.

‘…That’s right, they’re students.’

Only Yeomyeong and Seti were ruthlessly killing the attackers. The other four were expending energy trying to incapacitate or knock out the assailants rather than kill them.

But he neither blamed nor resented them for it. They were brave students who’d stepped forward to fight; expecting them to kill was too harsh.

Instead, Yeomyeong swung his sword even more ferociously. His blade quickly became slick with blood, and every step he took left a trail of crimson.

As a result, the attackers concentrated more fire on Yeomyeong than anyone else.

“Die!”

One enemy attempted to self-destruct with a grenade, another launched a rocket without caring about collateral damage…

Bang!

Each time, the Saintess, who had somehow found a gun, sniped at the enemy to cover Yeomyeong.

How she managed to shoot accurately in the dark tunnel was beyond him. Then again, the Saintess always wore an eyepatch. Shrugging it off, Yeomyeong continued to thin the enemy’s numbers.

At last, he reached the rear of the group, where their wizard was waiting.

“This… This can’t be…”

The wizard looked at him with disbelief, a hint of despair in his eyes.

“Our priest was wrong… You’re no holy knight. No, you can’t be a holy knight. No holy knight could be as merciless as you.”

“…Priest? So this attack is backed by a religious group?”

Yeomyeong didn’t lower his guard as he spoke. His opponent was a wizard capable of negating his sword aura with a spell, a threat even now.

Prepared for any sudden spells—

“…Joseph?”

Suddenly, Ms. Gemini, who had approached silently, spoke up, addressing the wizard by name.

“Ms. Gemini.”

“How… How are you…?”

“…It’s unfortunate we meet here.”

The wizard, Joseph, was a teacher at the academy? Yeomyeong alternated his gaze between the two.

Ms. Gemini’s face was filled with shock, while Joseph’s expression remained calm.

“Why… why are you doing this?”

“…For a greater cause.”

No sooner had Joseph answered than Yeomyeong cut in.

“Shooting bullets at students is a ‘greater cause,’ huh? Quite the noble cause you have.”

“Say what you will. Someone like you could never understand our grievances or cause.”

“Then why don’t you save that speech for the police?”

Yeomyeong smirked, raising his sword. No matter how skilled a wizard, once stripped of his staff and limbs, he would be nothing more than a slightly healthier regular human.

Seeing Yeomyeong approaching, Joseph sighed and turned to Ms. Gemini, who was still standing there in shock.

“Ms. Gemini, let me offer you one last piece of advice.”

“….”

“If by some miracle you survive this… leave here and never look back. Go home.”

“What… what are you saying…?”

“This academy will neither be the first nor the last to be attacked. There are countless people who want to shatter this symbol of false peace built by Earth.”

With that, Joseph’s mana suddenly surged. Yeomyeong instinctively prepared to unleash his sword aura once more, but just as he was about to strike—

“Even now, there are others targeting the academy… isn’t that proof enough?”

The surge of mana from Joseph wasn’t just a spell—it was an intense, controlled explosion. His body began to tear apart as the unleashed mana shot straight upwards, smashing into the tunnel ceiling.

Boom!

Was he trying to bring down the tunnel? Yeomyeong swiftly backed away, but Joseph’s intention was far more precise.

His body disintegrated, leaving behind a large hole in the ceiling. This wasn’t a reckless self-destruction; it was a focused, intentional breach.

‘What… is he planning?’

Cautiously, Yeomyeong looked up at the hole in the ceiling. As he lifted his gaze, he was met with eyes staring down from above.

Rotting, oozing eyes, lifeless and unfocused.

The problem was, there were not just a few of them.

Just a quick count showed hundreds, and what he sensed beyond that was…

“Seti!”

Yeomyeong called out to his allies, who were still engaged in clearing out the tunnel.

“Huh? Yeomyeong?”

“Retreat to the shelter! Now!”

As he grabbed the still-stunned Ms. Gemini and began running back, a massive horde of zombies began pouring through the hole in the ceiling.