Meanwhile, Park Hayeon had been sent sprawling to the floor by telekinesis, leaving her utterly bewildered.
The spot where she had been standing was now occupied by Shinnoda’s sword, and a bullet casing lay on the ground, having been dented by the blade.
It wasn’t long before Park Hayeon assessed the situation.
‘Could it be… he was trying to save me?’
Just then, she realized what the mysterious force that had shoved her out of the way was—Shinnoda’s telekinesis. He had anticipated the bullet’s trajectory and decided to shove her aside because it looked like it might hit her.
“Shinnoda…”
She was about to express her gratitude, but suddenly her body stiffened and she could no longer move, overwhelmed by an immense sense of fear. It felt as though she were standing in front of an oncoming high-speed train, helpless to do anything but wait for the inevitable.
‘If this continues, I’m going to die.’
Even though there was no tangible threat to her life, she felt as though she might die if she didn’t act. Her instincts screamed for her to flee.
“Dare to… touch Park Hayeon… the protagonist? Garbage like you have no right! If anything happens to Park Hayeon, this entire world will lose all meaning!”
Shinnoda’s voice roared with rage. Park Hayeon, hearing his words, was utterly shocked.
‘He thinks this world would lose all meaning without me? He truly thought of me this way?’
Until now, she had believed that Shinnoda had forgotten about her entirely. She had thought he had taken her in out of pity, like a stray kitten. She thought that was how he regarded her.
But now, Park Hayeon bowed her head, and tears streamed down her cheeks. Despite the circumstances, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of joy.
Shinnoda leapt towards the soldiers, stepping on Private Lee Jin-wook who had been retreating and fallen to the floor, grinding down on his chest.
“Gahhh!”
Private Lee Jin-wok couldn’t breathe.
Shinnoda’s ruthless beating continued. Despite wearing the armor of a knight, he kicked Lee Jin-wook’s face as if it were a soccer ball.
“Guuuek.”
Lee Jin-wook’s bulletproof helmet flew off into the distance. Shinnoda controlled his strength so that Lee wouldn’t die, but it was only controlled enough to keep him alive. Both of Lee Jin-wook’s eyeballs had burst, blood flowing from them.
“Khh…”
This wasn’t the end. Shinnoda delivered another soccer-style kick, caving in Jin-wook’s cheekbone. Blood was smeared all over his face.
“Let’s make sure you eat nothing but porridge for the rest of your life.”
Shinnoda crouched down in front of Lee Jin-wook, grabbing hold of his hair and pulling his head up. The private, nearing the end of his military career and not adhering to the haircut regulations, had rather long hair.
A punch landed squarely against Lee Jin-wook’s mouth.
“Ugh… Stop…”
Lee Jin-wook’s teeth fell out one after another. Blood from his gums and burst lips made it look as though he were vomiting blood.
“Nmmgh… You dare hrmth…”
Without any teeth left, all Lee Jin-wook had was gums, and it was impossible for him to pronounce words clearly.
Private Lee Jin-wook was enveloped in darkness, now effectively blind and unable to see. In the darkness, only fear surrounded him. He never knew from where the next blow would come.
Thud. Thud.
Only the sound of footsteps served as his senses. Then, the footsteps distanced.
He felt relief.
‘Is this finally over?’
This was a miscalculation.
“Khhhhhhhaaaa!”
Lee Jin-wook writhed on the floor due to the immense pain in his knees. The crimson knight had raised his leg and used all his strength to stomp down on Jin-wook’s knee, shattering it into pieces.
“Damn… Can’t move my body.”
Meanwhile, the other soldiers wanted desperately to either escape or attack Shinnoda, but their bodies wouldn’t follow their commands, leaving them in an agonizing predicament. The battalion commander, in particular, was now resigned.
‘There’s a prohibition on firing actual bullets, and here we are, an entire battalion being handled by one student—my military career is over.’
Shinnoda didn’t stop. He picked up the convulsing Jin-wook by his skull, smashing his head onto the ground, knocking him out, and then destroyed the other knee. The muscles tore from the sheer amount of force. Jin-wook’s shin and thigh bones broke and caved into each other, the only thing holding his leg together now being skin.
Park Hayeon frowned at Shinnoda’s brutality, but deep down, she felt a strange sense of happiness.
‘Could he be angry because I was almost hurt…?’
A faint smile played on her lips.
*
Elsewhere, outside the Academy, a sophisticated camera was set up in front of a certain building’s window.
Click.
Click.
The sound of the shutter echoed with the journalist’s movements. He was a journalist working at the behest of the ‘Inner Circle’. In fact, the entire newspaper company was under the influence of the Inner Circle, and he was someone who had worked closely with them.
“This’ll be big.”
The scene where soldiers aimed their guns at the students. The scene where gunshots rang out and the students flinched. These were the pictures the client wanted.
After editing out frames where bullets were deflected or the crimson knight demolished soldiers, the journalist sent out the edited photos to the company. The client wanted the article to be published as soon as possible, making it urgent.
Soon, the news started breaking on the internet.
<[Breaking 1] Gunfight erupts at Academy!>
<[Breaking 2] Army fires on students!>
<[Comprehensive Update 3] Military seals Academy under Presidential orders, labeling students as coup conspirators, and firing upon them! State of emergency likely!>
<Student caught in gunfire, life in critical condition!>
The President’s calculation was that by prohibiting the use of live ammunition but allowing soldiers to be harmed by觉醒 ones, the public sentiment would turn against the Awakened Ones. After all, these soldiers were the sons of the nation, and if harmed, the sentiment for toppling Awakened Ones would grow.
But, as they say, there’s always someone flying higher than the one jumping higher, and the Inner Circle went a step further. They had pre-distributed advantageous articles.
Even as the government officially announced the battle, stressing that the students had attacked them first, it was too late. The faster breaking news had buried them. Additionally, the articles accusing the government of attacking students were highly provocative and spread far and wide.
“Your Excellency, the situation is very dire!”
“……Enact embargo.”
The President, facing a situation that had spiraled out of control, issued a late order to ban the media reports. Some newspapers complied, but those already in collusion with the Inner Circle not only refused but went further by releasing additional reports.
The situation had already shifted decisively against the President. To the public, the President was now effectively a vegetable.
The remaining option for him was one: declare martial law.
“Huh… Martial law?! Understood!”
The streets flooded with troops centered around the Blue House, fortifying governmental institutions. However, it was only half-hearted; several battalions, after merely acknowledging the orders, chose not to move.
The army also made its way into newsrooms. Startled employees stood up, and senior personnel resisted.
“Who are you people?! Is this a military coup?!”
Pre-briefed military officers shoved these people aside forcefully, deploying their troops.
“Shut up, traitors! Aren’t you non-awakened too? Selling the nation to the awakened ones! What gives you the right to shout?!”
The battalions under Blue House directives had undergone rigid education and had a general understanding of the situation.
“Seize them all, and make sure they can’t do anything, especially with computers and smartphones!”
However, this measure backfired. Upon hearing that the government had fired guns at students at the Academy, the citizens interpreted the abrupt martial law and the deletion of internet news as a sign of the President’s dictatorial attempts. Though he was, in fact, the last bastion against awakened ones, to the citizens with restricted information, he was just a dictator.
Ultimately, this measure brought attacks from opposition politicians who had no grasp of the situation either.
“Is the President trying to become a dictator?”
“This is not the time for us to fight each other. It appears as though democracy is being dismantled…”
To the high-ranking members of the ruling party who understood the situation, it was nothing but frustrating.
“Democracy seems to be dismantled by the President given the declaration of martial law. An explanation is needed.”
After the incident involving Kang You-jin’s gang, very few members of the National Assembly remained, and even they weren’t unified. Instead, they acted like headless chickens.
‘This is a golden opportunity to raise my profile.’
With senior politicians mostly gone, the ones left in the Assembly gained much influence, some dreaming of running in the next presidential election.
This desire to raise one’s profile was not limited to the political world. It extended to the media as well.
“I’ll take full responsibility. Broadcaster, air this!”
Journalists with aspirations of becoming star producers or star anchors worked tirelessly to obtain the title of ‘brave journalist resisting dictatorship,’ knowing they’d be suppressed by the army soon after.
“Our OOO Broadcast Station has been occupied by the army. However, we managed to air the last word—students hit by gunfire at the Academy. Afterwards, the Blue House issued an embargo…”
Thanks to these efforts, broadcast interruptions of severely critical commentary against the President periodically occurred before being cut off.
The public was greatly shaken by these events.
Such broadcasters would smile, even as the soldiers came to arrest them. The suffering would later translate into accolades.
To these kinds of people, the nation was merely a means to fulfill their selfish desires. The meager attempts to stand against the ‘Inner Circle’ were drowned out by their selfish ambition.
