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After the victims of school violence nodded in agreement, what unfolded was truly horrific.
Snap-!
“Aaaaah!!”
Shwoosh- Snap!
“Aaaaaaaaah!!!”
Haejun’s lightning-fast movements and clean joint locks.
In front of him, the bullies from Noryang Middle School were one by one being turned into cripples.
Arms were breaking, knees were shattering, and so on...
Watching this, the victims of school violence unknowingly covered their mouths.
They didn’t expect Haejun to actually cripple the bullies.
They thought he just meant to torment them enough to make them stop...
But it turned out the mercenary in front of them was a man who neither lied nor exaggerated, speaking with extreme realism.
“You, you crazy bastard!! I’m going to call the police!”
“You think you won’t get caught just because you’re wearing that plastic bag!?”
Seeing their friends being crippled one by one, two of the bullies shouted.
Haejun merely chuckled at their words.
“You guys who break every law, now call for the police when things aren’t in your favor. Aren’t you living your lives a bit too selfishly?”
“.........!”
“Let’s send you both on the full-body cripple course.”
Snap-!
“Aaaaaaaaah!!”
“Did the kid eat a steam engine or something? My ears are killing me.”
Haejun said as he stuffed a wad of tissue into the gaping mouth of a bully.
That was the end of it.
Now, Haejun’s gaze shifted to his next target.
Just like a butcher picking the next pig to slaughter.
So, the bullies who met his gaze couldn’t help but tremble.
“Sob! Please, stop...! Please....! I won’t act up again! Please!”
“I-I’m sorry....! I’m sorry....! I won’t report this to the police! So please, just stop.....!”
Eventually, they even got down on their knees and begged.
But Haejun didn’t listen to these pitiful pleas at all.
“Stop bringing up the police. You guys like living without the law, don’t you?”
“P-please....!”
Crack!
“Aaaahhhhh!!!”
“Actually, so do I.”
Crack-!
“Aaaahhh!!”
“As a mercenary, I’m not bound by lukewarm things like laws.”
Crack-!
“Aaaaaahhhhhh!!!!!!”
“So, let’s have some fun among us ‘lawless people.’”
With every word Haejun uttered, the screams of the vicious juvenile delinquents echoed loudly.
And watching this, the victims of school violence felt ‘euphoria’ for the first time in their lives.
Of course, not even a shred of sympathy arose.
When they were crying and begging,
When they were beaten almost to the brink of death for no wrongdoing,
What did these bullies do back then?
Didn’t they burst into laughter and even take photos?
So at this very moment, the victims wished even more for the bullies to suffer.
‘May they scream a hundred times more than the pain I felt!’
With such thoughts, the victims’ hearts tingled with an unprecedented sense of exhilaration.
And they felt infinite gratitude towards the unknown man with his face covered in a plastic bag.
He might look like a madman to others, but to the victims, he was a hero greater than Batman.
***
‘This much should ensure they can’t walk properly for at least a year.’
After turning every single bully in the Noryang Middle School gang into a cripple,
Haejun wore a very satisfied expression.
Some might say this was too harsh.
But Haejun didn’t think so at all.
If he didn’t do this much, they would continue to act out.
Only then could the victims’ school life return to normal.
As a perfectionist in his work, Haejun aimed to give his clients complete satisfaction this way.
“Thank you....!”
“Thank you so much!!!”
Shortly after, the school violence victims shouted in unison, looking at Haejun.
All of them, their eyes reddened with tears, were trembling with deep emotion.
Watching their sorrowful faces, Haejun decided to be a bit more generous.
“Since this is your first request, I’ll give you a tip for free.”
“A tip…?”
When the victims of school violence looked puzzled, Haejun abruptly raised his fist.
Then he pointed at his own Adam’s apple with it.
“Fights between kids are simple. Just land the first punch properly.”
“...!”
“If someone picks a fight with you again, hit them in the Adam’s apple. They won’t be able to breathe properly after that.”
“...!!”
The reason Haejun taught them to target the Adam’s apple among the many vital points on the human body was simple.
These kids had no real fighting experience.
So distinguishing and hitting the vital points hidden under clothing would be difficult.
On the other hand, the Adam’s apple is visible on everyone, making it the best target for a surprise attack.
“Thank you...!”
The victims of school violence were all stirred up by Haejun’s words.
‘We won’t just sit anymore and just take it.’
At that moment, the victims clenched their fists with such resolve.
“Now go home. Eat a lot of good food and live with a smile.”
***
Haejun let the victims of school violence leave first.
And when he was left alone in the alley,
With a grin that stretched to his ears, he finally did what he had long desired.
Immediately, looting items that haven’t been harvested yet (?).
‘Hmm... This guy has a fat wallet despite his appearance. The guy next to him... his wallet is...’
Haejun hummed a tune as he thoroughly rifled through the bullies’ wallets.
Just as he had done countless times during his school days.
He had told the victims of school violence to leave first because he couldn’t show them this sight.
But when Haejun finished his last looting,
[Mmph...! Argh! You! Are you out of your mind!?]
After enduring for a long time, Suho finally removed the black mask on his own and shouted.
His face was filled with astonishment as he screamed.
Seeing the scene Haejun had created, with twenty bullies lying with their limbs smashed, he couldn’t even begin to think of handling the aftermath.
[W-What on earth are you going to do now?]
‘.........’
[You don’t seriously think you can evade the police with just that black plastic bag, do you? Do you know how many CCTVs there are in this country...?]
‘............’
[If you punish them with your fists, it might feel good immediately. But after that, it won’t! When the police catch you, you’ll have to kneel and beg those nasty bullies for mercy! Isn’t that more frustrating and humiliating?!]
Suho’s words were something anyone would nod in agreement with.
That’s why phrases like “In modern society, it’s better to win by law than by fists,” and “It’s more profitable to get hit a few times and claim compensation” circulate.
But Haejun just gave a light chuckle, as if it was nothing.
‘Do you really think I would get caught by the mere police?’
The next moment, Haejun, who said that, skillfully erased his tracks.
Just like he had done countless times during his mercenary days.
Then, he added a few more tasks and completely erased his traces in this alley.
‘Since I wore gloves when beating them up, there’s no way my fingerprints will be left... This should be clean enough.’
[Aren’t you ignoring CCTV? Do you know how many CCTVs are in this country...?]
‘I already checked everything.’
[What...?]
Surprisingly, Haejun had already checked the locations of all the CCTVs in this alley and the surrounding area.
So, on his way here, he only chose paths that didn’t have CCTVs.
[....!]
Where would the skills of a former S-class mercenary go?
Having returned to his former mercenary self, Haejun was confident he could wrap up today’s events without anyone knowing.
Finally, Haejun, having finished everything, looked straight at Suho and spoke.
‘Didn’t you say you wanted to be a guardian of justice?’
[What, what did you say...?]
‘I have no intention of childishly talking about justice like you, but there’s one thing I do know.’
[....!]
‘With your method, a just world will never come.’
[....!]
‘Because there are lots of guys in the world who only understand when you beat them half to death.’
Haejun’s final words were as such.
In the face of that overwhelming remark, Suho could no longer respond.
***
[‘Isn’t it justice for the police to step in and punish according to the law...?’]
Chewing over what Haejun had said a moment ago, Suho’s mind became confused.
The images of the school violence victims they had just seen lingered in his mind like afterimages.
Children filled with joy and a sense of liberation.
The unique, innocent smiles of fourteen-year-olds had returned to their faces.
That scene was something neither the police, teachers, nor any adult could have painted.
[‘...What if I had reported the bullies to the police and taken them to the station as I suggested?’]
Would the juvenile delinquents have felt any remorse after being lectured by the police?
[‘No. They’d just get angrier and bully the kids even more...’]
In fact, under current laws, it was impossible to guide and correct juvenile delinquents’ misconduct and bullying.
That’s why when juvenile delinquents cause trouble, the police respond with troubled expressions.
[‘So maybe... this man’s way of solving things is right...’]
As a police officer bound to uphold the law, it was a thought Suho should not have entertained, but he kept getting drawn into it.
The justice he had believed in for 28 years was collapsing in just a few minutes in the face of a mercenary’s justice.
“Let’s just go have some soju with soondae soup.”
While Suho was deep in thought, Haejun spoke again.
Before he knew it, Haejun had climbed back up to the second-floor rooftop, scaling the wall.
It was the only way to completely avoid the street’s CCTV cameras.
But when Suho followed him up to the rooftop...
Swooosh-!
A sudden strong wind blew in front of Suho, who was trailing Haejun.
Next, a group of souls appeared, shimmering in a bright white light.
[!?]
Naturally, Suho’s eyes widened at that moment.
The souls that had sent him back from the River Styx.
It was the moment they reappeared.
What was more puzzling was that these spirits were invisible to Haejun.
Unlike Suho, whose eyes were like a rabbit’s, Haejun was humming a tune, only thinking about eating soondae soup.
The group of souls spoke.
- Guide of the Enforcer, congratulations.
[Congratulations...?]
- Article 231, Clause 42 of the Underworld Code. According to the Special Law for Ascension, the first deliverance has been achieved.
[The first ascension...? Is it because he beat up those bullies...?]
- Soon, the ‘Ascension Recipient’ will come to find you. With a hefty reward.
It was a conversation that left nothing but questions from beginning to end.
However, as if there was some restriction, the souls did not provide further explanation.
- We look forward to your continued efforts for the ascension of vengeful souls. Also, please convey to the Enforcer that we are always cheering for him. Unfortunately, he cannot hear our voices.
With those words, the group of souls vanished without a trace.
Suho felt as if he was dreaming with his eyes wide open...
“Hurry up. I’m hungry.”
Unaware of what had happened to Suho, Haejun was only thinking about soondae soup.
