The school bell rang, signaling the end of lunch break.
Ian looked up.
A pair of birds flew by wing in wing above his head.
Following Ian's movements and the direction of his gaze, the delinquents subconsciously looked in the same direction as his gaze.
"Lunch is over. Sorry, guys, but I don't have any more time to play with you. After all, I gotta act like a 'good student', right?" Suddenly, Ian turned his head back and said with the same gentle demeanor that had vanished before.
After that second, the gentleness around Ian disappeared once more and ruthlessness replaced it.
"Come at me." Ian beckoned them over with his hand, his eyes gradually filled with darkness.
"Ahhh!!"
All the delinquents charged at him. They didn't believe that they couldn't get him!
Manl was in the lead, a few steps ahead of the rest.
With tightly clenched fists, he struck Ian in the chest.
Only for Ian to dodge with his body to the side.
Ian grabbed Manl's outstretched arm and flung the latter over his shoulder with a strength that did not match his slender figure.
"Ka-ah!" With that one seemingly light throw, the muscular delinquent's breath was knocked out of him.
Manl's body hit the ground with a loud bang, knocking up dust and dirt. He was temporarily out of the game.
By that time, Ian was long onto another prey.
In an instant, Ian took down three delinquents with a ferocious roundhouse kick transitioning into a powerful whirlwind kick.
Four were down for the count, and it had only been 15 seconds since Ian's counterattack started.
Still, fifteen delinquents remained, some of whom had learned a martial art.
But many of the delinquents weaker than Manl and the three delinquents Ian had taken down, were frightened to witness Ian's unexpected martial prowess. This caused them to hesitate to step forward.
One of the tall delinquents belonging to a noble house took up a stance, he was getting serious after seeing the danger Ian posed.
He started lightly jumping on his feet, his footwork looked smooth and firm and his arms were placed by his side as both a guard and weapon. His proper posture and well-trained body were evidence of his experience.
With a one-two jab combination, he faced off against Ian one vs one.
Ian took up no particular stance.
He patiently waited for his opponent to make the first move.
And the other complied.
One.
Two!
Ian dodged.
One.
Two!
Ian duked down and swept his leg out with a squat.
The opponent jumped, missing the fate of falling onto his butt by the skin of his teeth.
Reining in the fear of what just happened, the strong delinquent jabbed again.
One.
Two!
The delinquent trained in boxing hit many one-two combinations at Ian, but Ian found a way to evade it and strike back every time.
The boxing delinquent jabbed again.
This time, Ian no longer dodged or evaded. Instead, he reached out a gentle hand and grabbed ahold of the other's retracting arm.
Ian flipped himself into the air into a handstand, shifting his hands around the ledge-like arm in order to stabilize himself. With a push of his hips, his legs straight, Ian cartwheeled behind the student and the moment his feet touched the ground, he spun around with a great force and kicked the boxer to the ground.
The boxer felt his blood flow backwards, nearly vomiting blood from the force behind the kick.
Pivoting with his foot, Ian again spun around, this time to face the rest of the scared delinquents. Each one of their faces showed anger, but what was more intense that overshadowed their anger was fear. They regretted messing with this seemingly gentle and weak freshman year student representative.
Seeing that they weren't moving and that it has been a while since the school bell rung, Ian said, "Since you won't come to me, I'll go to you."
Then a one-sided dominance began.
Ian threw both punches and kicks. Not only were his movements beautiful, carrying elements of grace as though he were dancing, every one of his attacks were full of bone-crushing power.
Although all the delinquents were frightened witless, they couldn't just stand back and take a beating. That'll make them more miserable in the end, not to mention a coward! So they all tried to fight back, as fierce as they could, like the last resistance of a rebel army against a tyrant.
Even Manl and the delinquents that were knocked out temporarily by Ian got up and joined the chaos. Trying to gain a win in the muddy waters.
But all their actions were futile.
Bones were crushed.
Arms and legs were broken.
Ribs were cracked.
Blood was seen. Blood dripped down from punched noses. Skins tore from scrapings against the ground and the trees.
Eyes were poked.
Teeth were knocked out.
Screams resounded and scared off the watching birds and alarmed the rest of the school.
The domineering delinquents were beaten to a pulp.
In the end, their strength was lost and their spirit crushed. All their desire to fight back had drained out of their body along with the painful blood they had shed. Pupils trembling, minds blank only wanting to run away but unable to with their crippled legs and arms.
"Mother! Father! Help me!!"
"Someone, save me!"
"I… I gotta get out of here…!"
Those with fine arms, as well as those who were at least decently able, desperately crawled forward with crazed and mad eyes, wanting nothing more than to be at home right now or even in the classes they had often skipped, wanting to be anywhere but here—if only they could escape from this hellscape!
They would never want for anything else ever again!!
They will be good kids and stay away from this monster!
What girls?! What honor?! What brotherhood?! How could those things be worth more than their own lives?!
What about being a coward?! At least they'll still have their life!
Manl was one of the lucky ones, both his arms were still intact, only his two legs were useless. With his muscular arms that seemed invincible before today, he used all the strength in his body to grab at the ground, his nails stinking into the mud and dirt he would have disdained to touch before but was now a welcome assistance in dragging his body along with his heavy limp legs away from the bloody scene. At this moment, oh how Manl wished that he could leave this burden of a body behind and escape with only the upper half of his body. That way, he can get away faster.
"Hey! What's going on here?!" A shocked voice sounded from outside of the scene.
Manl looked up.
Suddenly, a smile spread across his face. Hope lit up in that pair of gray and bleak eyes that had come to believe he would never get out of this nightmare.
Never in his life did he ever feel so glad to see the teacher!
"Manl?!" The teacher who came in a hurry to check out the situation was shocked and horrified to witness the current wretched appearance of the formerly cocky and arrogant delinquent. This Manl used to give him a headache whenever he dealt with him, but now…
"Teacher Ban!" Manl shouted, joy and excitement clear in his bright eyes and hoarse voice.
Teacher Ban was once again in shock. Never had he heard Manl call him by his surname and with the title of teacher, nor had he ever heard Manl talk to him with such happiness like seeing his savior.
What in the world happened here?!
Turning his head around, Teacher Ban took in the sight that could only be described as hell on earth.
Blood dyed the green grass crimson.
Bloodied teenagers were pathetically sprawled out and heaped everywhere, all of whom hosted twisted or broken limbs in odd angles. A few of them tried desperately to crawl away like Manl.
Naked fear and despair could be seen in every eye.
Taking a step forward, Teacher Ban looked down and jumped back with a scream.
Taking a trepid closer look, Teacher Ban heaved a sigh of relief. With all the horror and gore before his eyes, he thought the thing he stepped on was a student's missing finger covered in blood, but it was just a wooden stick.
His loud and sharp scream alerted the rest of the delinquents immersed in their thoughts of escape, of his appearance.
Upon seeing the arrival of a teacher, all of their eyes lit up like that of Manl's.
"Teacher!"
"Teacher Ban!"
"Save us!"
Teacher Ban was taken aback and a little flattered.
Ironically, Teacher Ban who had always been treated with either contempt or annoyance by the rich kids was happily welcomed for the first time by his students in such a trying situation.
Just as Teacher Ban was again about to ask about this situation.
A gust of wind blew into his face causing him to reflexively close his eyes.
When he opened them, he was startled to see someone before him with their feet stepping on Manl's back.
His lustrous, silky dark-to-light shades of purple hair fluttered loosely and ethereally in the air.
A domineering and vicious aura that contradicted his innocent and youthful appearance hit Teacher Ban in the face.
"What… what are you doing?! Freshman grade student representative Ian!!"
Apparently, Ian was so well-known and talked about in school that even a teacher in charge of the seniors like Teacher Ban knows of him.
Manl's face twisted in pain from the force of the foot on his back rubbing into his flesh and bones.
Suddenly, something within him cracked. Manl's eyes widened and a mouthful of blood was spat out onto the clean grass in front of him.
"Stop! Stop!" Teacher Ban hurriedly shouted at Ian as he rushed forward with an outstretched arm, palm open and forward.
Ian tilted his head and increased the force of his foot.
The crushing pain was simply too much for Manl who had never suffered such harm before except for the occasional scuffle with friends and rivals. After all, before being a high school delinquent, he was the son of a rich and powerful family first.
Such a thing would have been unthinkable before.
Reaching his limits, Manl gasped, his eyes rolled over, and he fainted.
His bloodied and broken body laid limp and flat on the forest floor.
"You…!" Teacher Ban was speechless. He thought that in his years as a teacher in this privileged school, he had already seen everything. But apparently he was wrong, he had never seen such a vicious and violent student with not an inch of mercy or kindness.
Even Manl and his gang weren't as bad as him!
Pat!
Teacher Ban jolted.
A hand was suddenly placed on his shoulder, making him jump.
Teacher Ban whipped his head around only to see Teacher Qiu.
Phew! Teacher Ban wiped off his cold sweat. Seriously, being in this place was seriously testing his mental capacity.
"Calm down, Teacher Ban," Teacher Qiu said in a carefree tone as though they were in their teachers' office where they were scolding a student in the wrong rather than at the back of the school covered in blood and miserable students.
"Calm down?! How can I calm down in this absurd situation?! You're the one who's way too calm!!" Teacher Ban shrieked, still very much affected by the environment he was in.
"Student In, why don't you take your foot off of student Manly? I'm sure we can resolve this misunderstanding," Teacher Qiu stopped paying attention to the freaked out Teacher Ban and turned to speak to a calm Ian.
"It's Ian. And he's Manl, not Manly," Teacher Ban corrected even in the midst of his panic.
"Yes, yes. Ever earnest and serious Teacher Ban," Teacher Qiu said with a smile, subtly brushing the other's words off.
During the two teachers' bickering, Ian leisurely took his foot off of the unconscious Manl.
Standing to the side, Ian merely watched with his arms lightly crossed across his stomach.
Only when both of the teachers turned their attention back to him did Ian show his usual gentle and polite smile. "Teachers, why don't you call them an ambulance first?"
"Good idea," Teacher Qiu smiled and agreed.
Teacher Ban hurriedly took out his cellphone and called for an ambulance.
Only three people were left standing within this horrific scene, unharmed and clean.
Everyone else present was on the ground, battered and bruised, bloodied and broken. Fortunately or unfortunately, all of them were still conscious and in extreme pain, except Manl who was made to faint by Ian.
Ian had beat them thoroughly to within an inch of their life.
Ian smiled happily in contentment.