...
"Fwoosh!"
The sound cut through the air like a whip, followed by a wave of pressure that made so cadets, even those far away, instinctively retreat. A red aura, dense and pulsating like living blood, began to emanate from Jonghak's body.
It wasn't a subtle manifestation of energy; it was a visceral explosion of raw power that distorted the air around him, creating visible ripples like heat over scorching asphalt.
The veins in his arms and neck bulged beneath his pale skin, forming a bluish map of contained fury. His muscles, previously defined by a rigorous training routine, now seed to swell, stretching the fabric of the Cube uniform.
His eyes, once dull and then feverish, now glowed with an almost radioactive intensity, pupils contracted into tiny points surrounded by bloodshot irises.
The cadets still nearby felt the heat emanating from him, not a physical warmth, but sothing more primitive, a sense of imminent danger that activated ancestral survival instincts. So retreated even further, others froze completely.
"You little shit!"
The voice that ca from Jonghak's throat barely sounded human. It was a guttural snarl, distorted by the rage that seed to have taken complete control of his body and mind.
The refined, pompous heir, the exemplary cadet, was gone, only a creature consud by hatred and humiliation remained.
"Thoom!"
The sound of the impact as his feet left the floor was like a miniature thunderclap.
Spiderweb-shaped cracks spread across the floor where he had been standing a second before. Jonghak launched himself like a human missile, the red aura leaving a ghostly trail in the air as he streaked across the room toward Theo and Nayun.
The speed was impressive, even by Cube's standards. The air split around him with audible pops, like small sonic booms. His right fist, clenched so tightly that his knuckles were bone-white, aid for Theo's face with lethal precision.
To the observing cadets, it was like watching an inevitable accident in slow motion, the collision would be catastrophic.
But Theo was no longer there.
With a fluidity that defied comprehension, he had moved, taking Nayun with him out of the attack's trajectory. It wasn't an abrupt or desperate move; it was a precise dance, as if he had predicted Jonghak's movent seconds before it happened.
"Crack!"
Jonghak's fist t only the air where Theo had been and continued its destructive path until it collided with the reinforced concrete wall of the room. The impact was deafening, sending shockwaves through the environnt. A network of deep cracks spread through the structure, rising from the height of his fist to the ceiling, where small fragnts began to break away.
So cadets scread in panic, others dove under their desks. A short-haired girl in the front row covered her head with her arms, while a burly boy near the window muttered sothing that sounded like a prayer. Fear had turned into pure terror, this was no longer a schoolyard scuffle; it was a confrontation between forces that could easily kill them as collateral damage.
"Over here, Jonghak!"
Theo's voice sounded calm, almost bored, coming from behind his opponent. There was no fear, no urgency, just a cold statent of his position.
Before Jonghak could fully process the situation, Theo had already placed Nayun at a safe distance with a gentle movent, and then, with surgical precision, he delivered a kick to Jonghak's back.
It wasn't a devastating blow, it was calculated, asured, almost didactic. Strong enough to unbalance, but not to seriously injure.
It was a deliberate provocation.
Jonghak felt the impact and roared in frustration.
His body, now completely dominated by the enhanced physique, reacted on instinct. Spinning with impressive speed, he launched a roundhouse kick with his right leg, charged with so much force that the very air seed to compress around the movent.
"Fwaa!"
The floor beneath his feet cracked from the pressure of the spin, fragnts of ceramic and concrete scattering like shrapnel. The red energy enveloping him seed to intensify with each movent, like flas fed by oxygen.
But again, Theo wasn't there to receive the blow. With an almost insulting elegance, he had stepped back, pulling Nayun with him as if in a choreographed dance. The air displaced by the kick passed harmlessly inches from them, strong enough to stir Nayun's hair.
For a brief mont, Theo's and Jonghak's eyes t. It was a stark contrast, Jonghak's eyes, bloodshot and wild, overflowing with irrational hatred; Theo's, calm and serene, observing every move with the composure of a scientist studying a particularly interesting specin.
"Are you angry?"
Theo's question hung in the air, laden with a subtle provocation.
There was no explicit mockery, just a clinical curiosity that was, sohow, even more humiliating.
Nayun watched the scene with a mixture of fascination and apprehension. She knew Theo's power, knew he was in control, but Jonghak's transformation into sothing almost bestial was disturbing. She felt Theo gently move her away, placing her a few ters back, out of the imdiate range of the confrontation.
"Stay back."
Theo ordered the other cadets, without taking his eyes off Jonghak. His voice was calm but carried an authority that no one dared to question.
And then, he moved.
For the cadets watching, it was like trying to follow a lightning bolt with their eyes. Theo simply disappeared from where he stood, becoming an indistinct blur that crossed the room in the blink of an eye.
The next instant, he was in front of Jonghak, inside his guard, so close he could count the dilated pores on his rage-contorted face. His fist was already in motion, a short, precise blow that struck Jonghak's solar plexus with controlled force.
"Thwack!"
The sound was like a cannon firing in an enclosed space. The shockwave from the impact was visible in the air, concentric circles of pressure expanding from the point of contact. Jonghak was thrown backward as if hit by a truck, his body destroying several desks in his path before finally coming to a stop on his back several ters away.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, staining the floor beneath him. His uniform, once just wrinkled, was now torn in several places. His breathing was ragged, painful.
But he didn't go down.
Contrary to what any rational person would do, Jonghak began to laugh. First a low laugh, almost a gurgle due to the blood in his throat, then growing in intensity until it beca a maniacal cackle that echoed off the classroom walls.
"Hahahahaha... YES! THAT'S IT...!"
His shout was triumphant, as if the pain were a prize, as if every drop of blood were a dal.
The red aura around him intensified dramatically, pulsating like an exposed heart.
His muscles continued to visibly expand under the torn uniform, veins popping like ropes under his pale skin.
Jonghak's eyes, now completely bloodshot, no longer held any trace of rationality. They were the eyes of a predator. His teeth were clenched so tightly they looked ready to crack, and a low, constant sound, like the growl of a wounded animal, emanated from his throat.
Theo watched the transformation with clinical interest, his relaxed posture contrasting dramatically with Jonghak's explosive tension.
He recognized the phenonon imdiately, it wasn't the first ti he'd seen sothing like it.
"Intermittent Explosive Disorder."
He murmured, more to himself than to anyone else. His eyes analyzed every detail of the physical manifestation of Jonghak's power, cataloging information for future use.
"A pompous na for i get dangerous when I'm pissed.'"
There was no contempt in his voice, just an objective observation, like a doctor diagnosing a condition.
Jonghak, fueled by rage and humiliation, launched himself into the attack again. This ti, his speed was even greater, his strength even more brutal. The floor under his feet literally buckled from the pressure of his initial push.
What followed was a one-sided death dance. Jonghak attacked with all the fury of a berserker, each punch carrying enough force to shatter concrete, each kick generating visible shockwaves in the air. They were devastating blows, capable of killing an ordinary human instantly.
But for Theo, it was like watching a movie in slow motion.
He moved with an almost artistic economy of motion, dodging by milliters, counter-attacking at the precise monts. For every blow Jonghak tried to land, Theo answered with two, precise, controlled, didactic.
They weren't blows to kill or permanently incapacitate.
They were painful lessons.
"Is that all you've got?"
Theo asked, his voice calm as he dodged a punch that passed so close to his face he felt the displacent of air.
"Look, my uniform is still clean."
He landed a precise kick to Jonghak's face, strong enough to make the cadet stagger back, but not to knock him down.
"Looks like hitting a wall made you dumber."
The taunt was the last straw. Sothing seed to snap inside Jonghak, like a dam giving way under extre pressure.
"SHUUUUUUUUUT UUUUUUUUP!"
The roar that erupted from his throat was not human. It was primal, visceral, charged with a rage so pure it seed to have physical mass.
Along with the scream ca an explosion of red energy that expanded in all directions like a shockwave.
Desks were thrown against the walls.
Cadets who hadn't managed to get far enough away were tossed like leaves in the wind. Windows cracked under the sudden pressure.
It was as if a grenade had detonated in the center of the room.
Nayun, who was a few ters away, felt the wave of energy coming toward her like a runaway train. Instinctively, she raised her arms to protect herself, bracing for the impact.
But it never ca.
Inches from her body, the red energy collided with an invisible barrier that shimred montarily with a bluish hue before completely absorbing the impact. The shockwave flowed around the barrier like water around a stone, leaving Nayun untouched in the center of a small circle of calm.
Her eyes widened in understanding.
The magic barrier, the one Theo had placed on her weeks ago, even before the incident at the National Arms Museum.
She had almost forgotten, even though he had told her a few days ago, but Theo hadn't.
He had protected her long before he knew she would need it.
The realization brought a wave of warmth to her chest. Even though she was perfectly capable of defending herself under normal circumstances, even though she had trained for combat situations, the fact that Theo had thought of her safety with such foresight, with such anticipation...
She watched as Theo continued to face Jonghak, now completely transford into a combat beast. There was no fear in her heart, only an absolute certainty that no matter how dangerous Jonghak beca, he was no match for Theo.
It wasn't even a fair fight.
It was a lesson being taught.
...
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