Chapter 85. Target

Unlike last time, when I predicted the attack and prepared perfectly, today caught me off guard.

Naturally, this building alone, aside from the clubroom, was full of students and staff.

Evacuating them one by one would be a hassle.

With that judgment, I headed straight to the emergency bell on the clubroom wall.

Crack—

I swung my fist like a hammer, smashing the cover and pressing the bell.

Wheeee!—

The alarm blared through the building.

The cold, sharp siren echoed off walls and ceilings, filling every space.

Red warning lights flashed rapidly in corridors and rooms.

Like before, the difference between my students and others was stark.

Having faced this scenario multiple times, my students moved swiftly, without hesitation.

They led the evacuation.

Seeing some students still standing, dazed, I tilted my head.

“Get to the basement bunker, now.”

Recent villain attacks prompted major construction at the Academy.

I’d suggested ideas, like not limiting bunkers to four entrances but connecting every building’s basement to them.

It was costly, needing massive funds, manpower, and time.

But “more funds” solved the latter two.

Some at the Academy called it a waste, but the Dean pushed it through, finishing recently.

He’d doubted its need, but my insistence won out.

Ideally, it’d be useless. Sadly, today it’d prove its worth.

After sending the students underground, I didn’t follow but stepped outside.

Still quiet.

But not for long.

Boom—thud!—

The ground shook—not a mere earthquake.

Black smoke surged from cracks right in front of me. I’d seen that mist before.

Something emerged through the smoke, shaped like a door.

“Here we go again.”

I grimaced, annoyed.

A villain, sure—a criminal with a Trait.

But not human.

It was barely describable as such.

Its body was grotesquely swollen, distorted.

Arms and legs faintly resembled a human’s, but the rest was beyond normal.

Bulging muscles and flesh tangled, covering it in grotesque lumps.

Once human, now anything but.

Its half-open maw leaked a guttural scrape.

“Grkk—”

No reason in its eyes.

Cloudy, mad, its twitching head proved it lacked human thought.

Driven by instinct, dragging its warped body.

“More monster than villain.”

Our eyes met.

Bang!—

A fierce impact slammed me.

My head snapped back, body shoved backward.

A massive crater formed beneath my feet.

“Tch. First strike, huh?”

I clicked my tongue, irritated.

Kids these days—no manners.

Worse—

“It’s invisible.”

An unseen attack.

A simple Trait—common Manipulation-type [Telekinesis].

But its power was among the strongest I’d faced.

“This is it.”

Instinctively, I sensed something off.

Not one overwhelming force, but dozens of similar Traits hitting me at once.

“They stuffed multiple Traits in it.”

Its grotesque form was the side effect of cramming multiple Traits into one body.

So, they could pack in similar traits too.

Crude but effective.

Bang!—

Multiple heavy blows crushed down on me.

“Short delay too.”

Basic telekinesis, but amplified by a dozen forced Traits.

“Tch.”

I glanced back.

The building, fine moments ago, was gone—evaporated.

If a student hadn’t evacuated… unthinkable.

Dealing with invisible attacks was simple.

Tank it, beat the source.

I stepped forward.

Bang! Boom!—

Explosions cratered the ground around me, but I didn’t care.

“Solar plexus here?”

Whatever.

I swung my fist.

Thwack!—

Telekinetic armor shielded it, but my punch broke through.

One hit.

“Grkk—”

The villain collapsed.

No need to drag this out or analyze.

I knew these things were beast-level, incapable of talk.

Sighing, I looked down at it.

It’d take two S-ranks and five or six A-ranks to handle.

In the city center, it’d be a natural disaster.

A defense hero would need to draw aggro while heavy hitters struck from blind spots.

I won by raw power difference—not an easy foe.

If they could enhance like this, not just telekinesis but physical boosts or other Manipulation Traits could be amplified too.

Enough to shatter the hero-villain balance.

“Gotta deal with this somehow.”

Muttering, I turned.

Several intense presences lingered in the Academy.

But I didn’t move toward them. Not because I trusted other professors—they were weak by comparison.

Something else remained.

“Power size isn’t the only danger metric.”

My gaze fixed on a man standing atop the building’s rubble, hands behind his back.

His face was blurred, like low-resolution, but a flower-shaped badge on his chest stood out clearly.

They weren’t hiding the Organization anymore.

Whistling softly, he admired me.

“Impressive. I erased my presence completely.”

“Erased, huh? My neck’s been itching—I can’t ignore that.”

“Nice to meet you, by the way.”

“You seem like you can talk.”

I tapped the ground with my toe.

“But not human either.”

“Sharp eyes. Yes, a Trait-made clone.”

“What’s the goal?”

I cut to the chase.

If he were real, I’d break limbs to make him talk.

A clone?

Threats were inefficient.

Choi Da-yeon?

Han So-hee?

Or just destruction?

I didn’t expect a straight answer, but I’d fish for a hint.

He raised his hand slowly, pointing at me.

Attack?

Ready to counter, I waited.

He said shortly.

“You.”

The unexpected declaration cracked my usual stoic expression.

“What?”

A ploy to rattle me? But the sticky killing intent proved his sincerity.

Producing near S-rank villains en masse, mobilizing them like this—the reason?

I sighed, muttering.

“Revenge. Pride issue?”

“Quick on the uptake. We’re serious about teaching you a lesson.”

His playful tone turned icy.

“You should’ve stayed low.”

With his words, black smoke surged around me again.

One pillar before—now five.

From each, a villain like the last emerged.

Beast-level intelligence, limited to three commands.

Today, they needed one.

Destroy Jeong Ho-cheol.

Recognizing me, they maxed their Traits.

Enhancement swelled their bodies, charging.

Emission spewed fire and electricity.

Manipulation scrambled my senses, amplifying gravity.

I gasped, incredulous.

“Who’s making waves? Me?”

I asked, dumbfounded.

Even for me, taking them all would mean damage.

But I was calm.

“The world's changed. People talk nonsense to me.”

I tore off my tattered watch.

Crack—

Before their attacks hit, a sharp fracture split the space around me, like cracked glass.

My figure vanished.

When I reappeared, I was outside their encirclement.

“Idiots.”

The sound couldn’t keep up.

Thwack!—

A clear bone-crushing sound rang out.

One strike.

But it was five lethal, precise hits, so fast they overlapped.

The villains collapsed without resistance.

Ignoring their limp forms, I eyed the man on the rubble.

Despite his relaxed pose, panic seeped through his mosaic face.

This was planned for a top-tier S-rank.

But I was beyond that—on par with the Organization’s boss or the Swordmaster.

A bodyguard for the Swordmaster?

The intel was way off.

“Since you talk, I spared you. But a clone—torture’s useless.”

I swung my leg, kicking his jaw.

Crack—

His neck snapped, and he collapsed, eyes rolling back.

Not alive, so not murder.

As it ended, So-hee, the Dean, and Se-ah rushed over.

I sighed lightly.

“Early for once.”

They had their own tasks, so they were late, but it still irked me to do all the heavy lifting.

Wary of variables, they stopped a distance away.

The Dean spoke first, eyeing the fallen villains.

“The gravity guy’s here?”

“Yeah. One of those down there.”

“The fire guy? He torched a whole mountain!”

“Here too.”

They had more minor wounds than others—likely their targets.

Unlike them, So-hee just looked at me, worried.

“You okay? Hurt?”

“Fine. You should’ve stayed home.”

“How could I? I was worried sick!”

“It’s over. Stay back, just in case.”

“I know a safe distance.”

Then—

The man with the broken neck snapped his eyes open.

His mission wasn’t just attacking me—it was a stark warning to stop interfering with the Organization.

No need to target me directly.

After seeing my strength, he knew their forces couldn’t warn me.

So he waited for my close allies. His patience paid off.

He raised his hand, striking the ground.

Bang!—

Black smoke surged.

So-hee stood in its path.

“Huh?”

Whose voice?

It didn't matter.

The smoke swallowed her instantly.

She tried to speak, but it muffled her, engulfing her mouth.

She reached for me, as if I were her only anchor.

“Wait! Hey!”

Panicked, I ran, stretching my hand toward her.

Just before our hands met, she vanished into the smoke.

Behind me, faint laughter echoed.

“Kuhuk. Missed her.”

He’d achieved his goal, laughing.

“Told you to stay low…”

His words cut off.

I’d closed the gap, crushing his head underfoot, severing it.

“Missed my ass.”

I approached the shrinking smoke.

The Dean and Se-ah shouted, panicked.

“Stop!”

“You’re not—!”

I glanced back, stating calmly.

“I’ll bring her back.”

They couldn’t stop me.

As ex-heroes, they knew words like “dangerous” meant nothing to someone with my expression.

I strode into the fading smoke.

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