Chapter 155 – Student Council Presidential Election (5)

The first match was a bloodbath.

Entrails were scattered, and limbs were mercilessly torn apart.

The second, though somewhat cleaner, was nothing more than a fountain of blood.

With a simple diagonal slash of Leon’s sword, his opponent’s neck was cleanly severed.

Of course, it was only “cleaner” compared to the first.

Until the barrier of the subdimensional space disappeared, everyone was forced to witness an endless spectacle of crimson fountains.

Sung had tolerated it up to that point.

He wasn’t a fighter, but he had seen countless blood-soaked battlefields.

At this stage, he could look at blood while finishing a bowl of blood sausage soup without batting an eye.

However, after the third match ended—

Sung felt his body weaken.

If the battlefield had been utter chaos, it wouldn’t have shocked him so much.

In fact, out of the three duels, the third was the cleanest.

Even so, he had to swallow hard to keep himself from feeling nauseous.

With his gaze unfocused, Sung stared ahead.

The violet barrier of the subdimensional space hadn’t completely faded yet.

But all eyes were fixed on a single point.

At the center of the arena—one figure standing, another collapsed.

Kang Geom-Ma and Sion.

Sung felt a faint chill on his shoulders. That black hair reminded him of images of a battlefield drenched in blood.

He didn’t know what trick Sion had used, but she had moved at speeds beyond sound, launching attacks from blind spots.

And yet, she now lay on the ground, her face pale and her gaze empty—like a fish pierced by a harpoon.

Sung shifted his gaze toward Kang Geom-Ma.

With a single motion, he wiped the blood off his sashimi knife.

Sung wondered.

Could this person truly be called a hero?

If he thought about it, he fit the motto of Joaquin Academy perfectly.

Indifferent to the act of taking lives and possessing flawless skill.

But applying the word “hero” to Kang Geom-Ma felt… off.

He moved like a machine.

The same when he killed the ogre with a single thrust to the heart.

The same here.

His strikes were aimed solely at extinguishing life.

‘That’s no longer just skill.’

Sung looked at the file in his hands.

He had been estimating each candidate’s Hero Points (H.P.).

『Name: Den Range ▶ H.P.: 500 (estimated)』

『Name: Leon van Reinhardt ▶ H.P.: 800 (estimated)』

『Name: Kang Geom-Ma ▶ H.P.: …….』

Tap, tap.

The tip of his pen left scattered marks on the paper.

His mind worked quickly, but his hand moved slowly.

Based on the scores of the top-ranked heroes—

The Sword Master: 1,669
The Lance Saint: 1,653

The estimated score for Kang Geom-Ma would be…

‘At least 1,650. Or maybe—’

…..

Sung suddenly felt dizzy.

Meanwhile, Kang Geom-Ma looked into Sion’s clouded eyes.

A pale gray, completely devoid of life.

For a moment, he considered touching her head to make sure she was truly dead.

But he decided against it.

At first, he had intended to drag the fight out against Sion.

If he cut her down immediately, he wouldn’t be able to confirm whether she was a villain or not.

That’s why his plan was to push her to the limit and wait for her to reveal her true power.

But as soon as the starting bell rang, Sion had charged at an incredible speed.

At that moment, Kang Geom-Ma realized—this was her full potential.

And yet, he couldn’t sense even the slightest trace of mana from her.

That could only mean one thing.

Sion wasn’t a villain.

Then, there was no reason to keep playing around.

He observed her movements for a moment and quickly identified her real body.

Among all her false images, one in particular exuded a strong killing intent.

‘She’s trying to distract me and attack from behind…’

A predictable tactic.

For someone who had fought countless villains, this was nothing more than child’s play.

But he had no intention of showing mercy.

Those eyes, gleaming with greed, were unpleasant to look at.

So just as Sion launched her attack, he countered.

An upward strike.

The sword pierced through her chin and exited through the top of her head.

Slash—

However, seeing Sion with gill-like slits on her neck felt unsettling. Kang Geom-Ma averted his gaze from her.

His eyes, scanning the ground, suddenly stopped.

Where his gaze landed—sat the current president and vice president.

‘One of those two, perhaps?’

For a moment, he considered eliminating the problem at its root.

But after a brief moment of thought, he simply began walking away.

The violet barrier vanished, and the thick scent of blood faded into the wind.

***

“…Supervisor Ha.”

Section Chief Sung stopped Hana Eun by grabbing her shoulder just as she was about to stand.

His eyes were filled with concern.

Perhaps because the situation had affected him more than expected.

After all, he was basically sending one of his most valuable employees into the battlefield.

And her opponent was none other than the student council president.

A cadet notorious for having several screws loose.

Seeing the anxious expression of her superior, Supervisor Ha gave him an encouraging smile.

“How can you make that face right after talking to me about a bonus? Besides, Chief, even if it sounds a bit arrogant coming from me… I’m still a Senior-ranked hero.”

“I know that well… But combat isn’t exactly your specialty.”

“Oh, come on, I still know the basics! It’s true that I’ve never fought in a subdimensional duel, but I’ll do my best. Wish me luck, Chief!”

Supervisor Ha straightened up and gave him a salute.

Sung, forming a faint smile, returned the gesture.

“Alright, Supervisor Ha. If you come out of this in one piece, tonight’s dinner will be a feast of beef, just like last time.”

“Yes, sir!”

With determined steps, Supervisor Ha walked toward the arena.

In front of her, Kim Woo-Jin was stretching his neck from side to side with a languid expression.

Despite his frail build, he intertwined his fingers with a pair of spiked knuckle dusters.

Then, he spoke.

“Supervisor from the Association, you said your name was Ha, right? I’m not very good at ‘duels,’ so I’ll probably be a mess. I hope you can be patient with me.”

“…Ah?”

His tone was surprisingly polite.

Nothing like the rumors surrounding him.

Slightly taken aback, Supervisor Ha nodded.

“I-I also hope we have a good match.”

At that moment, a twisted smirk formed on Kim Woo-Jin’s lips.

[The match between Candidate No. 1, Kim Woo-Jin, and special competitor, Hana Eun, will now begin.]

…30 minutes later.

[The final match has concluded.]

[Winner: Candidate No. 1, Kim Woo-Jin. Congratulations.]

***

The tournament had ended.

The winners, meaning the selected candidates, would only receive a few additional instructions.

There were no further procedures.

“That’s all for today. You may return to your classes or dormitories. Do as you see fit. Everyone did well, so get some rest.”

The lead instructor concluded the session.

Meanwhile, I was watching Kim Woo-Jin.

He was yawning exaggeratedly, his eyes half-closed in exhaustion.

Anyone would think he had just woken up from a nap.

I frowned.

I still had the events of the last match in mind.

The duel between Kim Woo-Jin and Supervisor Ha had lasted 30 minutes.

If the average duration of previous duels barely exceeded 5 minutes, this was unusually long.

However, during those 30 minutes, Kim Woo-Jin made it clear just how deranged he was.

He wasn’t an exceptionally strong cadet.

His strength and speed were just slightly above average.

Neither his skills nor his equipment were particularly outstanding.

And yet, he had defeated a Senior-ranked hero.

His fighting style was what one would call a savage street brawl.

He was nothing more than a rabid dog that attacked relentlessly until his opponent was exhausted.

Moreover, he took every hit head-on without dodging or blocking.

Dislocations, fractures, internal blows—he accepted each of those injuries with a smile on his face.

In fact, most of the blood spilled in the arena during the match was his.

At first, Supervisor Ha dominated the fight.

But as time passed, the pace slowed down.

And in the last 10 minutes, she was completely unable to avoid Kim Woo-Jin’s brutal onslaught.

‘This guy enjoys the fight itself.’

I stared at him. Almost every game has a character with this kind of mentality.

The classic battle maniac.

A “berserker” in the purest sense.

That was exactly Kim Woo-Jin.

And, to top it off, he was the current student council president.

With the way he acted, he fit the role of a villain much more than that of a student leader.

I had no idea how he had gotten that position.

‘This guy is a complete mystery.’

In the original story, when Leon ran for president in his second year, Kim Woo-Jin had already graduated.

That’s why he was only mentioned occasionally as the “previous president.”

‘This is starting to bother me.’

It was an uncomfortable feeling.

Like having a thorn stuck in my throat.

A warning of danger, coming from my sharpened instincts.

A bad premonition.

The truth was, I had no obligation to hunt down villains.

That was the Association’s job—they had stationed themselves in the academy precisely for that reason.

And getting involved in that mess made me feel ridiculous.

It wasn’t like I was some kind of justice paladin.

Come on, if there were no cars crossing the street, I had no problem jaywalking.

At least the Association’s employees got paid for this.

I was doing it for free.

But ignoring the situation wasn’t an option either.

It wasn’t the villains that concerned me.

It was what was hiding behind them.

The beings that, from the Hell of Gehenna, licked their lips, waiting for the moment to descend upon this world.

The 4th Army Commander, Fermush.

The 3rd Army Commander, Vesna.

The 2nd Army Commander, Kuarne.

Ever since the death of the 5th Army Commander, Agor, they had been far too quiet.

Would they really just let it go?

Absurd.

Demons had no sense of loyalty among themselves.

But they never forgot a grudge.

They had held onto their resentment from the defeat in the First Human-Demon War for over 700 years.

They wouldn’t leave the death of one of their own unanswered.

Right now, without a doubt, they were looking for a way to descend upon this world for revenge.

That’s why it was necessary to pull the weeds out before they grew too large.

Villains were just tools.

Their true role was to facilitate the descent of the demon commanders.

I turned my head and looked at Leon.

Then, I remembered something.

In the game, villains only appeared as secondary enemies in certain episodes.

Leon’s real enemies were never the villains, but the monsters and demons.

Even when threats arose, there was always someone like Auditore or another ally who took care of the problem before Leon did.

In reality, Leon almost never fought against villains.

In fact, it was rare for him to do so.

Despite the fact that every conflict in the first semester—the midterm exam, the survival training on the island, the final exam—had been caused by villains.

“…Ha.”

Suddenly, a sarcastic laugh escaped my lips.

For a moment, I felt as if someone, some unknown entity, was giving me a clue as to why I was brought into this world.

‘Damn it.’

I left the competition venue. The sky was covered in dark clouds.

The scent of rain filled the air, seeping into my nostrils.

The cold and humidity clung to my skin.

It was the kind of weather that announced an approaching thunderstorm.

I lifted my gaze and looked at the dark sky.

Then, I closed my eyes in silence and expanded my perception as far as possible.

It was just a whim.

After all, there was no better way to clear my thoughts than through meditation.

Ssshhhh—

Maybe because my eyes were closed, or maybe because reality had seeped into my inner world.

The sky inside my mental domain was also black.

‘Even so, I’m getting quite used to this state.’

I focused my will.

I stripped away the interference of the physical world.

One by one, I erased the sensations that touched my skin.

And in that emptiness, the silhouette of my sashimi knife appeared, taking shape with absolute clarity.

Within my mental domain, the weapon floated freely, guided only by my will.

‘This is new.’

In the midst of the infinite darkness, the blade shone with a pure white glow.

I focused on the image.

I concentrated my intent.

And then, the blade that fluttered in the air like a butterfly suddenly turned, pointing directly at the black sky.

Following its movement, I imagined my hand gripping the hilt and brought it down in a decisive slash.

Swish—!

A faint echo of a clean cut resonated in my ear.

The air, which had been heavy and dense just moments ago, cleared completely.

A warm breeze brushed against my skin.

I opened my eyes. And my pupils contracted instantly.

The sky had been split in two.

And through the rift opened between the clouds, rays of sunlight poured down with force.

Still not fully understanding the situation, I simply let the light bathe me.

A gentle breeze swept across the back of my neck.

A dry leaf landed softly on the tip of my nose.

My gaze lowered to the ground.

And that was when I was completely taken aback. All the fallen leaves around me—

They had been cut with an unnatural precision.

“……”

This was something that only appeared in martial arts novels.

The pinnacle of the sword. A mastery attainable only by true swordmasters.

The ultimate concept of mental swordsmanship.

“The Mind-Guided Sword.”