We emerged from the gate.
The compound of the gate control station soon came into view.
“What in the world is that…?”
Teacher Song Si-yeol was surprised as he looked at the spoils we had brought back.
Even he, with all his experience, seemed startled.
“It was accidental. We were attacked by goblins. We wiped them all out and came back.”
“…There were goblins?”
He seemed deep in thought.
“Regardless, there’s something I need to tell you.”
I took him aside and provided a detailed explanation about Kim Hyo-jung.
Including the fact that she is pregnant with a goblin child.
“Kim Hyo-jung… I remember her. All the faculty searched for her when she went missing, but we never found her.”
Song Si-yeol felt a sense of guilt.
It was horrifying to think that instead of starving to death, she had been captured and subjected to such disgrace by the goblins.
“I ask that you ensure this doesn’t break out in a sensational manner. For instance, if it gets to the journalists… I’ll do my best to stop it from spreading among the other students.”
Ultimately, to reintegrate Kim Hyo-jung into society, we would need to inform the school and close the case on her as a missing person.
I was considering taking care of hiding her past myself, along with Park Hayeon, but there were too many students who had already seen her, so a complete cover-up wouldn’t be possible.
Even if I try my hardest to suppress it, an absolute shutdown is unfeasible.
“Alright. Got it. I’ll do my best.”
Teacher Song Si-yeol might not be the most competent teacher, but judging from his usual cynical demeanor, he didn’t seem like someone who would go around shouting about this sort of thing.
If there were a better teacher available, I’d ask them, but to my knowledge, there isn’t one.
‘The better ones are either out in the field as hunters or busy being heroes.’
I asked Kim Hyo-jung, who was being carried by Park Hayeon, to get down and guided her, with Teacher Song Si-yeol, on where to go next.
With the use of potions and recovery treatment from an awoken one specializing in healing, her teeth should grow back.
Though lost limbs won’t regenerate, with the help of magical engineering prosthetics, she should be able to live a relatively normal life.
“I… thank you so much.”
Kim Hyo-jung kept bowing to me earnestly.
I nodded casually, while Park Hayeon held her wrist until the end as a gesture of support.
“Let’s go, then.”
For my part, I decided to take a break and stepped out of the control station tent.
“Today was fulfilling.”
“It was tough, but the growth orb was worth it.”
Other students started to follow me, stretching as we exchanged casual chatter about the thrilling day we had.
Just then, an unexpected disturbance occurred.
“Hands up!”
“Drop your weapons!”
Police officers and soldiers had arrived.
They came equipped with riot control vehicles and armored personnel carriers. The machine gun mounted on the armored vehicle was aimed at us.
Even the foot soldiers were pointing their weapons in our direction.
“What’s going on?”
“Why are the soldiers here…!”
“There’s been no gate collapse or anything like that, right?”
I frowned.
This event wasn’t in the original story.
If this situation arose due to me, I wondered:
‘Was my identity as the Dark Knight discovered? Or at least was it identified that there’s a Dark Knight among the Academy students?’
Regardless, it was problematic.
“What do you think you’re doing to these students?”
At that point, Teacher Song Si-yeol stepped forward.
Unlike his usual demeanor, his steps were measured and purposeful.
Fiery energy erupted from his clenched fists.
Meanwhile, a soldier walked toward us.
He bore the insignia of a lieutenant colonel.
“Just for a moment, we need you to cooperate with our investigation. Given the state of national emergency, we apologize for the somewhat hostile atmosphere.”
“National emergency requiring guns pointed at students?”
With a stern expression, Teacher Song Si-yeol sarcastically retorted while glaring at the colonel.
“Currently, the Academy students present here are suspected of plotting internal upheaval. Please disarm yourselves and assist in the investigation. You are no exception, teacher. Otherwise, we will have to assume that you’re attempting a coup.”
The moment these words were spoken, one idea came to mind as to what could have sparked this situation.
The word “coup” was a clue.
‘The Inner Circle!’
Upon reflection, about a week ago, I received a text message from ‘Red Knight’ asking me to download a special messenger app.
Once installed, I received the message, “As we discussed earlier, the time has come. It would be great if you could create a spectacle noticeable enough to shake up the nation from within the Academy.”
At the time, I ignored it, considering it nonsensical, but now it seemed related.
*
“You’re insane.”
Teacher Song Si-yeol quietly muttered, his eyes cold.
Even as an awakened one, he didn’t harbor particularly good feelings toward the government.
“Teacher. It would behoove you to recognize that you’re a prime suspect for inciting the students.”
The colonel said with a wry smile.
Though calm on the outside, inside his uniform, he was drenched in sweat.
‘You’ve got us to confront this many awakened individuals without live ammunition? Shit, Su Taegyu, you come lead if this is your plan.’
As part of his pre-scan, he had meticulously memorized the list of teachers and students of the Academy before arriving.
Right in front of him were the two most dangerous individuals from the Academy together.
Teacher Song Si-yeol and student Shinnoda.
Each was ranked A and B respectively. Song Si-yeol had a past as a former hero, an elite. Shinnoda had ranked first place in a Chinese martial arts competition for high school sophomores, and had defeated A-ranked Zhang Yichen.
‘This is dangerous. It’s really dangerous.’
S-rank individuals are impervious even to small caliber bullets, while A-rank can be hit by bullets but are still incredibly hard to handle with military forces. If they infiltrate and maneuver within allied territory, creating chaos while avoiding friendly fire, it leads to continuous casualties.
Even on the war-torn frontlines in the Middle East, a B-rank individual is often considered a force multiplier—equal to a hundred men.
‘For now, I’ve decided to equip some higher-ranking officers with blank cartridges, but will that be enough?’
The division commander had placed various restrictions: no live ammunition, no blank cartridges, no tear gas. But the colonel couldn’t follow these orders when facing threats to his life.
Leading these operations himself was dangerous, but delegating it to junior officers wasn’t a viable political option either.
“Quickly disarm!”
The colonel barked as he maintained a façade of calmness.
Among the students, some were visibly shaken, others fuming with anger while grinding their teeth, and the timid ones who were naturally not involved in this expedition were far fewer.
“What should we do?”
“Shinnoda, should we put down our weapons?”
There were still those who were anxious, so they pressed him for an answer.
“No. Don’t.”
Shinnoda gave the order in a cold voice.
He was slightly agitated too. He had no connection to “the Inner Circle” and had never intended to follow their will.
The pressure from the government was their judgment, for which he had to pay a price.
“Err, um…”
“Yes…”
Though the students were confused, they followed him, still captivated by the charisma they’d felt when hunting goblins not too long ago.
Meanwhile, the soldiers began to panic.
Because their guns were unloaded.
This situation was akin to humans flaunting their naked bodies in front of a ferocious beast.
In the midst of the soldiers, Lieutenant Lee Jin-wook aimed at Shinnoda with his rifle, then redirected to the pink-haired female student standing beside him.
He lacked confidence in shooting Shinnoda, who looked so strong, without killing him, leading potentially to Shinnoda’s wrath.
Only one lieutenant among the soldiers had secretly managed to load a live round in his rifle.
“Shit. Is it really okay to do this? But they promised to take care of everything including an overseas getaway.”
Lieutenant Lee Jin-wook had failed to advance several times, his military career going nowhere.
Additionally, driven by greed for big money, he had gotten involved in gambling, squandering not only his fortune but also borrowing from loan sharks.
As a result, his life was completely ruined. With his career not progressing and approaching retirement, already over 30, he had no relevant experience to speak of.
Instead of accumulated savings, he had massive debts.
“Shit… Another Imo Incident needs to happen. This damn country treats its soldiers this way. The higher-ups only mention how the war never truly ends when it suits them.”
To this man, a golden opportunity presented itself.
“Mr. Lee Jin-wook. Let’s work together on a job.”
Neatly dressed men in suits claimed to be from the National Intelligence Service.
He didn’t trust them entirely at first, but when they showed him their IDs, he could do nothing but nod.
It didn’t matter much whether they were North Korean or Chinese spies to him anyway.
The men told him that when the situation unfolded, all he had to do was to pretend to make a mistake and fire his gun.
This was a politically necessary action for a VIP, so they promised him a large sum of money and safe passage abroad.
After pondering briefly, Lee Jin-wook agreed.
For a prepaid payment of 100 million won.
“Shit… Who cares if they don’t look like genuine NIS agents? I’m leaving the country anyway. My precious 20s were wasted for this nation that only exploits us. Damn them all.”
Lieutenant Lee justified himself.
Currently, the non-commissioned officer system is too harsh.
Everything is the fault of the state and society.
“Haa.”
Lieutenant Lee took a deep breath.
His target was the pink-haired female student.
Fortunately, no one was looking his way.
Everyone’s attention was focused on the verbal sparring between the Academy students and the colonel.
