Chapter 4 Part 10

Jeong Tae-ui opened his mouth, trying to say something with a smile.

But just before he could speak, an enormous noise erupted from the corridor. It was a boisterous sound, as if a door was being torn off or a wall was intentionally being smashed.

“These weak bastards, I took pity on them and let them off easy!”

“Oh, please. Look at these guys, barging into another branch and causing trouble!”

“Hey, everyone out! Looks like these guys need a good beating to quiet down!”

“Alright, let’s fill the Medical Ward to capacity with you lot this time!”

Behind Jeong Tae-ui, just beyond a single wall, thunderous shouts and crashing blows continued in succession.

Jeong Tae-ui closed the mouth he had opened and simply blinked, staring at Ilay League-row. Ilay League-row, with a calm smile, merely gazed back at Jeong Tae-ui.

He had forgotten for a moment. In fact, his relationship with this man was practically that of an enemy. It was a relationship where no one would find it strange even if they started fighting right here.

“Hmm… …Do you intend to join in?”

He omitted the object, “that brawl.” He just wanted to calmly wait in this room for that rough period to pass.

However, Ilay League-row, who had been silent for a moment, betrayed Jeong Tae-ui’s expectations.

“It’s noisy.”

The gentle light vanished from his face as he spoke with a hint of annoyance. The moment he erased his smile and spoke chillingly, his expression changed astonishingly.

Cruel and fierce.

Leaving the momentarily hesitant Jeong Tae-ui behind, Ilay League-row suddenly stood up from his seat and strode towards the door.

As Ilay League-row’s hand gripped the doorknob, Jeong Tae-ui clicked his tongue and stood up.

The moment that door opened, it would be a battlefield. If he was unlucky, he might have to fight the man closest to him, which was not something he wanted. What should he do about this?

Even as he sighed and clicked his tongue, Jeong Tae-ui shook his wrists, preparing to move his body. At any rate, even if he was going to get hit, he should loosen up a bit to avoid getting absurdly injured.

Jeong Tae-ui followed him out the door with that thought, but unfortunately—or fortunately—there was no room for him to step in.

Ilay League-row stood blocking Jeong Tae-ui’s path, silently watching the corridor for a moment.

The corridor was already a chaotic mess. Members poured out from every room, fighting indiscriminately, punching and kicking, and there were more than a few rolling on the floor, engaged in a desperate brawl.

He had thought an instructor might come down again, but seeing this, it wasn’t a situation where they would quietly put away their fists just because an instructor shouted.

Ilay League-row glanced at a Steel Pipe that had flown from a distance and rolled to his feet, then kicked it up with his toe and gripped it in his hand. The Steel Pipe, perhaps just slightly thinner than a baseball bat, fit perfectly in his hand as if custom-made. It was impossible to recognize it as the hand that had held a book just moments before.

Suddenly, Jeong Tae-ui’s gaze fixated on his hand.

Whether from habit or not, he was still wearing gloves. But they were different from what he had seen in the video. The thin, dark blue gloves simply had a neat and composed appearance.

The moment he thought, “That Steel Pipe in his hand looks incredibly out of place—”

Ilay League-row moved. And his gaze pinpointed two men, unfortunately relatively close to him, who were making the loudest and most unruly noise in the brawl unfolding before his eyes, grabbing each other by the collar and slamming against the wall.

“It’s noisy…”

His voice, muttering to himself, was buried in the commotion and barely audible. In the chaos where one could barely make out one’s surroundings, he raised the pipe with a bored yet irritated look.

And simultaneously.

――Crack.

Even amidst the hellish commotion, that sound stood out, ringing particularly loud.

It seemed it wasn’t just Jeong Tae-ui who heard it.

That horrifying silence, perhaps louder than any scream, continued as the Steel Pipe struck down several nearby men two, then three times without any mercy, making awful sounds repeatedly.

The sound of flesh tearing and bones breaking followed in succession.

“It’s already annoying enough having come all this way, so why are you being so noisy?”

Breaking the silence was Ilay League-row’s languid and quiet voice.

At the end of the indiscriminately swung pipe, without regard for friend or foe, glistening blood was heavily smeared and dripping down. It soaked into the dark blue gloves, creating black spots. As the spots spread, the gloves gradually became stained black.

“That, that bastard…”

Someone abruptly muttered. The end of their words trembled faintly. But that voice became the catalyst.

As if trying to shake off the terror that instantly spread through the air, shouts and screams erupted, covering the corridor.

“Kill him! That Evil Spirit, kill him!”

Yet, despite the screams that burst out from everywhere, no one dared to rush at him first. Even the Europe Branch members recoiled several steps from him, their faces filled with unease.

Spin. Ilay League-row twirled the large, heavy pipe as if it were a ballpoint pen. Then he let out a short laugh and sprang forward.

What followed was hell.

At the end of the corridor, where corpse-like bodies lay piled, Jeong Tae-ui stood in a daze, merely gazing at Ilay League-row’s retreating back.

He wondered where such a madman had suddenly sprung from, only to realize a moment later.

That man was the same person as the charming man who had just been smiling gently and discussing books with him.

“What a sight, what a sight indeed…”

Jeong Tae-ui clicked his tongue and muttered the moment he entered the dining hall.

If there was one commonality among the men of this branch, it was their absolute dedication to meals, so the dining hall, equipped to accommodate the number of people, was completely full. It felt like ages ago that the dining hall had been uncharacteristically sparse, when half of the branch members had left yesterday and the day before.

The Europe Branch and Asia Branch members were seated strictly divided, as if cut by a knife. Even if a seat became available on the opposing side when their own side was full, they would never go and sit there; they would rather stand and eat.

But that wasn’t the main sight. That much was more than expected.