I headed back to the library, pressing a hand against my bleeding mouth. I needed information.
"Phantom," I said as I flipped through the old intel records, "the guy who attacked me is on our list. His name is Verge. Third son of the king. They say he's a descendant of the Angels. That explains the strength… and the size."
Phantom frowned.
"So how do we kill someone like that? He looks like a kind of person who kills people with one hot casually."
"We'll do the one thing a man of overwhelming strength can't deny," I said.
He stared at me. "Which is?"
I clenched my jaw.
"A brawl."
The phantom sighed . "You're a dead man."
The next day
I rose from my seat after class with a cold, steady confidence—today, Verge would die.
As I walked toward the school hall, I planned every step, every strike, every risk.
"So the main aim of the battle is to kill him," I said to Phantom.
"And how do you intend to do that?" Phantom asked.
"By having you reduce the force of his attacks."
I didn't look at him—I just kept walking.
"And how do you know I can do that?" he said.
"Because you told me earlier. On our way to the principal's office. Remember?"
He paused, surprised that I had actually been listening.
"…Understood," he said. "But in return, I'm licking the blood that comes off you after the fight."
"Yeah, whatever. Do your thing," I replied. "While I use my combustible arms to weaken him."
I reached the hall doors, pushed them open so hard they slammed against the walls, and shouted:
"VERGE OF THE ROYALS! I challenge you to a BRAWL!"
The entire hall fell silent. Heads turned. People whispered. A few stared at me like I'd lost my mind.
From a nest of girls on a bench, the giant himself stood up and approached me.
Damn. He looked even bigger than before.
"So… you want a round two?" Verge asked.
"Yes," I said, unwrapping the bandages on my arms. "To the death."
I pulled matchsticks from my pocket and struck them. Flames burst to life around my arms as the combustible reaction took over.
Students backed away instantly.
"Alright, Heat," I muttered to myself. "Let's do this."
The flames grew hotter—so hot the air warped. Verge staggered slightly, his body weakening from the heat pressure. His arms trembled.
But the trembling only made him angrier.
"RAAAAAH!" Verge roared.
The sheer force of his yell blasted me backward and snuffed out my flames. I hit the floor hard and was about to play defense.
But before I could even defend myself.
Verge appeared right in front of me.
His fist launched upward like a missile toward my jaw.
Life flashed before my eyes.
"TABLE!" Phantom snapped.
I snapped back to reality and grabbed a nearby table, using it as a shield.
BOOM!
The table exploded into pieces, and I was blown out of the hall entirely. I crashed onto the hallway floor, breath knocked out.
"Don't worry, kid," Phantom said. "I'm still reducing the force of his attacks. Just stay alive."
"Yeah… thanks," I muttered.
Verge charged from the hall toward me. His fist aimed straight at my head. I jumped over him, twisting midair to deliver a double kick to his waist and leg.
He barely moved.
"Uh oh…"
I threw several daggers at him.
They bounced off his skin.
He grabbed my leg and hurled me out the window.
I flew from the hall toward the ground. I spotted a shrub below—maybe it could break my fall—but a massive shadow loomed over me.
Verge.
He had jumped down after me.
His fist came crashing toward me from above. I crossed my arms to block—
CRACK.
Both my arms snapped instantly.
I smashed into the ground.
Pain exploded through my nerves. I tried to stand, but Verge grabbed me by the broken arms.
I clenched my teeth and used the last strength I had to deliver a double kick to his head and neck. He dropped me with a snarl of pain.
"Woah…" I muttered weakly.
I moved in for another kick, but he caught my leg mid-swing.
"Drat—"
He lifted me with one hand and slammed me into the ground.
My nose broke. Blood poured like a faucet.
He lifted me again.
"Surrender or die, commoner," Verge said.
Blrk. "Furrk… kryou…" I choked, blood filling my mouth and nostrils.
"Very well."
He smashed me again. Then delivered a double mixed-fist barrage that pounded me into the earth.
Blood splattered everywhere.
My new clothes were completely shredded.
The pain doubled.
"Looks like… I'm gonna say goodbye again," I whispered to Phantom.
Sigh. "Well… back to square one," Phantom said.
Verge raised his fist for the final blow.
I closed my eyes.
"Goodbye…" I whispered, barely conscious.
"VERGE, STOP!"
I heard a voice behind him.
I opened one eye.
Two girls stood there—one in the normal uniform, the other wearing a royal badge.
"That's enough," the royal girl said sharply. "Leave him."
"Oh come on," Verge groaned. "Why does someone always interrupt when the fight gets good?"
"You know you have the upper hand. There's no reason to continue," she said.
"He asked for the fight. I simply accepted."
"We are supposed to help the people, not harm them. What do you think Father will say?"
"I don't care about the old man," Verge said. "Now excuse me while I finish off the commoner—"
But before he could move, the three royals from earlier ran up to him.
"Verge! Fall guy has done it again!"
"He fell? Again? …Let's go."
Just like that, Verge left.
I lay there, broken.
"Why did you do that?" the girl in uniform asked. "You could have been killed!"
"Who are you? And why do you care?" I asked.
"Because the principal sent me to keep an eye on you," she said.
"…Where's Muna?" I asked.
"Uh… she went on break to see her grandma," the girl said nervously.
"Never mind that," the royal girl said as she knelt beside me. "You're hurt."
She placed her hands on me.
"Heal."
A soft green light spread across my body. Bones shifted back. Wounds closed. Pain faded. Within moments, I could breathe again.
I stood, staring at her in disbelief.
"…Thanks," I said. "Also… will the school replace my clothes?"
She giggled softly.
"You're funny. Don't worry—new clothes will be sent to you in two minutes."
She blushed lightly as she walked away. Then turned back.
"See you later, Ten."
I blinked.
"Was that… healing magic?" I asked Phantom. "And is she a royal knight?"
"Yep. Healing magic at its finest," he said.
"I… I think I'm in love."
Phantom spun to face me.
"WHAAAAAAAAAT?!"
Back in my room, I finally received the new set of clothes. I unwrapped the package and began getting dressed, but Phantom wouldn't stop running his mouth about why I couldn't love the royal girl.
"You can't love her," Phantom said sharply. "She's a royal—she's connected to the people you're trying to destroy. Does that not sound complicated to you at all?"
"C'mon," I said, pulling on the shirt. "What does complication mean when love is involved? Remember the story of the man who fell in love with a demihuman? They got married. Had demi-children. Sure, it was complicated, but with love, they ignored all of that."
Phantom scoffed.
"Look… behind every powerful man is a woman who destroys him. I don't want you becoming an example of that."
"Relax," I said, fastening my belt. "I won't. Besides—she seems like a nice royal."
Phantom quieted for a moment, then spoke in a lower, darker tone.
"When I was in the assassin's body, I saw things… things the royals try to bury. Those people are demons wearing the skin of humans. It's hard to believe that a flower can bloom in the middle of that many thorns."
"Calm down," I said. "Nothing's going to happen to me. We're in a school, not some battlefield. It's not like she's going to eat me or something."
I sat at my small desk and pulled out a notebook.
"Also—I discovered something new about Verge."
"Huh? What is it?" Phantom asked.
I began scribbling diagrams and notes.
"Do you know why I really fought Verge today?" I asked.
"Because you thought you had a chance to kill him," Phantom said.
"No." I shook my head. "Because of his weakness. When I threw the daggers, none of them penetrated his skin. But when I landed that double kick to his head—he felt it. Feeling pain isn't enough to kill a giant, but it tells us something."
Phantom leaned closer.
"And what's that?"
"His weakness is in his head," I said. "And the weakest part of the head… is the eye."
Phantom froze. Then burst out laughing.
"Ten… you're a genius."
"Thanks," I said with a dark grin. "Now the only thing left is figuring out what we can use to kill the giant."
🔥End of Reap 8🔥