CHAPTER 124

Halfway down the stairs, Ban Hee-Yeol suddenly raised his hand, and the group of students behind him halted. Opening his fan, Ban Hee-Yeol covered his mouth to hide his dismay.

On the staircase leading down to the seventh floor, there stood two bald people. They stared back at Ban Hee-Yeol’s group calmly.

Of course, being bald didn’t necessarily mean they were beastmen—on the contrary, beastmen unconcerned with detection had a lot of hair on their bodies. Yet, given the current situation, the odds of these two bald people being beastmen were high.

I didn’t expect them to come up.

Ban Hee-Yeol had assumed the loud explosions created by the beastmen were an attempt to lure the armed forces away from Mudal and give him time to escape. According to his guess, those beastmen should have been engaged with the armed forces, but instead they were going up the stairs, toward Mudal.

Ban Hee-Yeol snapped the fan shut and let out an empty laugh.

“Do you really think you can get out of here alive? Are you expecting a bird-type beastman to meet you on the rooftop or something? Wake up. The armed forces will capture you before you can reach the rooftop.”

The beastmen didn’t respond.

They had a cautious attitude, unlike the freely chattering Mudal. They seemed to be more reserved because of their relatively lower status.

They indeed didn’t look very strong compared to Mudal. But that was compared to Mudal. They were still too much to handle for mere students.

Ban Hee-Yeol leaned in and whispered to the female secretary, “Take the ones who aren’t used to combat to safety.”

Originally, he’d intended to have the council members with less combat experience exit the building. But a confrontation on the stairway complicated things. Ban Hee-Yeol realized he would have to play an important role and demonstrate his brilliant self.

“Don’t think about joining the monster on the tenth floor. Hee-Yeol of the Ban family doesn’t give you permission.” The moment the female secretary turned around, he waved his fan at the beastmen. A blast of wind shot down the narrow stairway.

The beastmen dashed off the walls and launched themselves high, skimming the ceiling and narrowly dodging the wind blast.

When they landed, one of the beastman finally opened his mouth, “Unlike Mudal, we don’t intend to cause a large commotion. You should get out of here before you are devoured by the monster at the top.”

Unlike Mudal, who said he would kill anyone who interfered, this beastman had a moderate personality; their purpose was to learn the whereabouts of Elder Song, so it was enough to leave with just Roh Jun-Yeop and Jang Yeon-Ju.

“You say you don’t want to cause a big commotion? That’s not very convincing when you’ve already destroyed my... no, the Student Council’s building.”

Ban Hee-Yeol was still chuckling when he thought of something and suddenly turned silent.

The beastmen surely knew the armed forces would arrive any moment and would first investigate the lower floors where the explosions had occurred. And yet, instead of confronting the armed forces to slow them down, the beastmen had left the scene and were heading upstairs.

Ban Hee-Yeol thought, Did they prepare a trap?

These beastmen clearly had human-level intelligence and wouldn’t make basic mistakes. They had to have something they relied on to head up the stairs first.

Ban Hee-Yeol recalled the beastman’s words, and a chill shot down his spine.

-Unlike Mudal, we don’t intend to cause a large commotion.

You should get out of here before you are devoured by the monster at the top.

The beastman had said there was a ‘monster at the top.’

Mudal was on the tenth floor, but that wasn’t the top floor—the thirteenth floor was.

Someone even more powerful came with Mudal? Someone powerful enough to defeat the armed forces and open a path out?

It seemed likely.

But... Lee So-Yeong had fought against Mudal and knew the location and cause of the explosions inside the building in detail; how could she missjudge the power of one of the beastmen?

Ban Hee-Yeol was filled with doubts. As if sensing it, the beastman calmly explained,

“She’s a Berserker. Our kinsman will become stronger the more she fights and the more blood she sees. Even if the armed forces are dispatched here, they won’t send someone stronger than a unit commander in the beginning. They’ll all become sacrifices that will make her even stronger.”

“Um... ”

Ban Hee-Yeol swallowed down his words.

Among combat professions, Berserker was the strongest. Even a five-year-old child could transform into a powerhouse with the passive Skills of a Berserker.

Those Skills drew out power beyond the user’s limit. Of course, such Skills placed great strain on the body and required time to recover. But the superior physique of a beastman compared to a human made them highly compatible with the Berserker Profession.

“Retreat obediently. We aren’t interested in seeing a bunch of kids get slaughtered if it can be helped.”

“......”

Despite the words of the beastman, the students of the Student Council didn’t move. Their expressions were calm as they aimed their Skills at the beastmen.

How could they not realize the gravity of the situation?

More than just their lives hung in the balance; if they still didn’t act, then they had no right to be members of the Student Council.

“Well, this is embarrassing.” Ban Hee-Yeol slowly untied his hat as he watched the reactions of his colleagues. His nervousness from earlier had disappeared. “To be clear, I won’t be in a position to worry about all of you.”’

Many of the dozens of students gathered here didn’t show it outwardly, but they also aimed for the position of the next president, just like Ban Hee-Yeol.

Even now, the students of the Student Council were still competing with him. However, that was also why Ban Hee-Yeol could let go of his worries.

These weren’t ordinary students.

They were the elites of the elite, and they were prepared to join forces and fight together.

The beastman wondered, “Are you seriously planning to fight? The Berserker must already be on her way down. You’ll be pinned between us and her. Your end won’t be pretty.”

“You think she’ll arrive?”

“What?” The beastman tilted his head in confusion.

Ban Hee-Yeol stared at him with a smile, “Our president is on the top floor. The president’s strength is our pinnacle, something we aspire to. So, do you really think you’ll see your Berserker again?

Why did Lion’s Castle guarantee the autonomy of the Student Council?

Fundamentally, it was to protect the rights of the students and encourage independence. Because council members were elected through student votes, in theory, the Student Council represented the will of the students. Of course, Lion’s Castle knew that elections weren’t always fair in practice, and that council members’ views often differed from those of the normal students. Even so, the school trusted the Student Council for one simple reason.

The Student Council president.

The Student Council president was someone the whole school looked up to and followed. Every past president was special, possessing a quality acknowledged by thousands of proud students. And naturally, the simplest way to be acknowledged was through overwhelming strength—just like their current president.

“So what if a Berserker becomes stronger the more they fight? The president is the Berserker’s first opponent. She’ll get crushed before she gains momentum.”

The beastmen flinched.

The aura around Ban Hee-Yeol and the others suddenly spiked as they discussed the Student Council president. Their expressions were no longer those of children but of vicious warriors.

“You’ll be dead before she even arrives.”

“Cheeky brats!”

Driven by an ominous feeling, the beastmen lost their calm and immediately shot forward.

Clang!Claaaaang!

In the narrow stairway, the students were at a disadvantage against the beastmen. Their attacks hit walls and railings as the agile beastmen weaved through narrow gaps.

Ban Hee-Yeol swung his fan, only to be struck hard in the abdomen. He took a half step back and felt several piercing gazes, but he ignored them. His strength lay in ranged attacks. It was better to have others tank the damage for him.

As a humble general, that’s where I should be. Ban Hee-Yeol positioned all his allies as tanks and unleashed a Wind Blade.

Blood started to gush from the bodies of the beastmen. However, their bodies were hard, and their regenerative power was high. It was hard to say he caused any serious injuries. Ban Hee-Yeol clicked his tongue. This would be a long battle.

He clenched his fist, thinking of the president on the thirteenth floor. President, I believe in you.

Then, he recalled the president’s past words,

-Ban Hee-Yeol, I heard you’re aiming for Student President next year? That’s a good idea. If there are idiots dumb enough to vote for you, they could also be tricked into selling out our country. It’s best to identify them early and revoke their voting rights.

A vein throbbed on Ban Hee-Yeol’s temple. You definitely need to live to see me become president.

Still, he couldn’t help feeling uneasy.

No matter how strong the president was, could he fight against a Berserker that even the beastmen regarded as a monster?

He had his doubts.

***

At the same time, the office of the Student Council’s president.

“It is the worst timing,” said a boy with large eyes and thick brows. He had a commanding presence that matched his bold and handsome features.

He threw off his blood-soaked uniform jacket. The protective magic built into the jacket completely disappeared the next moment, making a noise like ice breaking.

“Is that all you have? I heard that the Student Council president is stronger than an ordinary armed forces member.” A beautiful woman sat on the windowsill and curled her index finger as if telling him to come closer.

The boy frowned. Following the earlier explosions, this woman had dropped into the president’s office through the collapsed ceiling. “You know this, yet you dare to use the office of the Student Council president as a break-in route?”

“I was looking forward to it. The stronger the opponent I fight, the faster I get fired up.”

“This monster...!”

The boy couldn’t bear it any longer and gripped his broken sword tightly.

In the blink of an eye, he fell into a stance he had trained in for over ten years and appeared before the woman.

Still leaning against the windowsill, the woman caught the hilt of his sword and crushed his hand underneath her own.

The boy groaned as the broken sword fell from his hand. It clanged off the ground, sounding like a mournful cry.

The woman finally noticed it.

“You aren’t the president, are you?”

"Of course. But it’s too late to notice.”

“What a pity. I didn’t need to waste time here.”

As the woman slowly drew her sword from the scabbard, a sound like a swarm of bees could be heard. It was a phenomenon caused by the mana rising from the blade.

The boy felt the sensation of impending death the moment he saw the black mana boiling off her sword.

I’m glad the president isn’t here.

Had they been together, they would’ve died together. The woman in front of him was overwhelmingly strong.

“Please shed more blood.”

The woman’s ruby red lips curled as she lowered her sword toward the top of the boy’s head.

Someone said, “If that’s your wish, I will grant it.”

Those words went unheard, drowned by a deafening sword cry.

Both the boy staring blankly in acceptance and the woman smiling excitedly in anticipation witnessed a dark blade appear dangerously close to the woman’s neck at an incomprehensible speed.

The woman quickly raised her sword in order to defend her throat. Her expression filled with relief and joy.

“Are you the president? I’m glad you came in time—”

“Shut up,” replied the black-haired boy. His breathing was rough. He undid his tie and threw it away as if he was having trouble breathing.

It was a red tie, indicating a first-year student.

“......?”

The boy who had just escaped death and the unknown woman were both confused.

The person who walked into their battle was a first-year?