I Entered an Academy in a Ruined Game

Chapter 219 : White Castle (2)

That night.

Just after midnight, Nam Tae-hoon quietly opened his eyes.

"......."

In the dark room where only the sound of regular breathing could be heard.

Very quietly, without making any noise, Nam Tae-hoon got up and silently observed Su-hyeon.

'......I can't tell if he's really asleep or not.'

After finishing intense training, Su-hyeon had fallen asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow after roll call.

That's what should have happened.

Nevertheless, Nam Tae-hoon had waited for over two hours to be cautious.

'Well, it doesn't matter even if he's not asleep.'

The time had come.

Nam Tae-hoon stepped down to the floor and walked noiselessly to the shoe rack, grabbing his shoes.

'Well then, farewell.'

With a glance, he bid goodbye to Su-hyeon and disappeared between the shadows of the night.

"......."

After waiting like that for about 5 minutes.

'He's gone.'

Su-hyeon quietly lifted his eyelids and likewise gathered his shoes and the Moonless Sword as he opened the window.

'Is he planning to leave for good?'

Keeping all possibilities open in his mind.

Su-hyeon, having detected Nam Tae-hoon's presence with his expanded spiritual sense, began to trail him while maintaining a distance that would be difficult for him to notice.

However.

This time, Nam Tae-hoon had anticipated Su-hyeon's actions.

'This kid. I knew he wasn't sleeping.'

Nam Tae-hoon smirked as he looked through binoculars at the open window.

'But you're unlucky. On a bright moonlit night, it's easier to move between shadows.'

On a moonless night, it might be a bit difficult to set coordinates.

But on a night like this with a full moon casting subtle shadows, shadow movement was easy.

'Like this.'

Shushushushuk.

Nam Tae-hoon instantly moved dozens of times between the shadows within sight, disrupting Su-hyeon's spiritual sense.

'Hup!'

At some point, he took a breath and completely eliminated his presence.

"......!"

At that unexpected action, Su-hyeon lost track of him.

'Where is he!'

Flustered, Su-hyeon first moved to a high clock tower, activated his Eye Power, and searched for traces of Nam Tae-hoon.

But.

That was exactly Nam Tae-hoon's plan.

'Stay there and keep watch until your eyes fall out.'

While Su-hyeon's gaze swept a distant point on the opposite side, Nam Tae-hoon used shadow movement for just one moment to transfer himself back into the dormitory.

'The darkest place is beneath the lamp.'

It was the moment Nam Tae-hoon's plan worked perfectly, as he had expected that Su-hyeon would hardly consider that he would return to the dormitory.

'Taking my shoes was just to throw you off.'

Nam Tae-hoon thought as he casually opened the door and walked toward Hong In-hyeon's room.

'Thank you. For once, you moved exactly as I thought you would.'

Nam Tae-hoon and Jeong Su-hyeon.

They were the closest roommates in the academy.

But paradoxically, they were also in a relationship where they trusted each other the least.

'Because you were wary of me, I could use that wariness.'

Nam Tae-hoon's caution toward Su-hyeon, who had shown much more prominence than in previous rounds, had produced a better result this time.

'I need to hurry. There's not much time.'

Having succeeded in shaking off Su-hyeon.

On this night, there was no one who could stop Nam Tae-hoon.

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Nam Tae-hoon was a spy.

And not just any spy, but the only one that the [Liberation Corps] had ambitiously groomed to infiltrate the academy under his original identity.

His primary mission was to first make contact with cadets, instructors, etc. as an academy cadet to find recruitment targets.

Ultimately, as a spy for the department, he was to become a member of the Execution Force and continuously provide information, while causing internal disruption in case of emergency.

'Originally, I had no plans to commit something this large-scale while attending the academy.'

In less than a year, too many things had changed.

As a result.

Nam Tae-hoon had taken on the role of being the main instigator of a diversionary operation, causing commotion within the academy to buy time and space for the [Liberation Corps] to take action.

'It's a shame.'

Nam Tae-hoon thought.

'Academy life was quite fun.'

Sometimes he forgot his true purpose.

He competed with passionate friends and built friendships.

He also met an interesting guy named Jeong Su-hyeon.

'......I'm sorry to Min-a as well.'

He'd even developed interest in a girl.

Even though he knew he shouldn't, he'd acted excited wanting to win her heart.

It might be his imagination, but he felt that Choi Min-a also had some degree of goodwill toward him.

'Just, I was dreaming a nice dream for a moment.'

Wasn't this what he had been prepared for all along?

"Huu."

Now it was time to put sentimentality aside and do what needed to be done.

"Damn. I'm not sure if this is the right thing to do."

Hong In-hyeon, who had followed Nam Tae-hoon, muttered.

"......I'm sorry. But I appreciate it."

Nam Tae-hoon said.

"So. I just need to put mana into this?"

"Right. It would be too difficult for me alone."

"More importantly, will you finally tell me? What happens when we put mana into this?"

Hong In-hyeon asked, pointing at a spherical object of unknown material.

"......."

Nam Tae-hoon gave a bitter smile.

"There will be quite a big commotion. Big enough that the world won't be able to ignore our voice."

"......."

"I'm sorry. But no one will get hurt. And there won't be any particular harm to you either."

Nam Tae-hoon knew this was a lie, but he had no choice but to say it.

"Let's hurry. Just place your palm on it and put in mana."

In a secret passage that even Su-hyeon wasn't aware of.

'That thing' which had fully absorbed the mana of Nam Tae-hoon and Hong In-hyeon began to emit an ominous light.

"Hey, what is this? It feels strange."

"......This is a device that induces a gate."

"Gate? What gate?"

Hong In-hyeon was shocked at Nam Tae-hoon's words.

"No way?"

"Yes. A demonic beast wave will begin."

"You crazy bastard!"

The shocked Hong In-hyeon tried to grab Nam Tae-hoon's collar.

Bwoong!

But Nam Tae-hoon, already sensing this, had backed away.

"Damn it! You tricked me!"

Hong In-hyeon looked down to destroy the sphere.

"It's useless."

Nam Tae-hoon said.

"Once it's opened this far, even I can't stop it."

"You crazy bastard, is this what you wanted? To release demonic beasts and kill kids?"

"Well. There might be commotion, but I don't think anyone will die. Not with the power of this academy."

Nam Tae-hoon shrugged.

"This is just a deception. Diversionary operations always work well."

"You bastard."

A shared feeling of suffering, a personal familiarity as friends who had gone through thick and thin together.

Hong In-hyeon gritted his teeth at the ominous premonition that an action taken out of momentary sympathy would create an enormous snowball effect.

"Nam Tae-hoon. I'm disappointed. I didn't think you'd so blatantly deceive me like this."

"......."

A bitter emotion flashed across Nam Tae-hoon's face for a moment.

"So what will you do? Will you let yourself be caught like this? Won't you just lose your cadet qualification anyway?"

Nam Tae-hoon pointed at the ominously flickering and growing black hole and asked brazenly.

"First I'll beat the crap out of you, then I'll think about it!"

A violent wind arose from Hong In-hyeon's palm.

"That's unfortunate."

Nam Tae-hoon took out a dagger from his chest.

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[Cadet Nam Tae-hoon has opened a gate!]

[The first wave will begin in 10 minutes!]

"......Damn it."

I gritted my teeth as I saw the message appearing before my eyes.

"Got hit right in the gut."

The timing was not good.

A demonic beast wave starting at such a late hour posed a significant risk of unexpected casualties.

Moreover.

'Once the dominoes start falling, it becomes unstoppable.'

Was I too complacent?

I hadn't thought that Nam Tae-hoon would take such sudden rapid action and completely deceive my attention.

'It was an event that had to happen someday. That's for sure.'

However.

'The cadets' powers haven't grown strong enough yet. This makes the risk too high.'

It's impossible to avoid the gates of Nastrond from opening someday according to Hwang Won-jae's plan.

But.......

'I have a bad feeling.'

It's human nature to fear uncertainty.

Although I never intended to stop Nam Tae-hoon from opening the gate, now that things had gone so differently than expected, it was difficult to be certain which direction events would flow.

'Moreover, I still don't know who his accomplice is. If by chance Cho Jin-myeong collaborated, this is not a good situation either.'

Assistant Cho Jin-myeong was a card I was saving to make him leak false information at a critical moment.

'......No. This is not the time for that.'

Having finished my contemplation, I first ran to the broadcasting room in the academy.

'Now I need to wake everyone up.'

Kwang!

After breaking the lock, I immediately triggered the siren.

Weeeeeeeeeing!

The unpleasant sound of the siren rang out, causing a commotion in the sleeping academy.

[Emergency, emergency. A gate has currently opened on campus. Everyone please wake up and prepare for combat. Repeat. Currently on campus.........]

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At the sound of the siren tearing through the night's stillness, all the instructors opened their eyes.

"What's this noise! A gate?"

"That's nonsense! Wasn't there no sign at all?"

"That's right. There must have been some mistake!"

"More importantly, this voice, isn't it Jeong Su-hyeon? Why would he suddenly...!"

While the instructors who had risen from their private quarters were debating.

"Let's just grab our weapons and go check it out! Just in case! I have a bad feeling!"

Instructor Lee Ho-seung, who had an ominous premonition at the familiar voice of his disciple, encouraged his colleagues while grabbing his sword.

"First, let's contact the Execution Force and request emergency dispatch!"

"I have a strange feeling. Let's ask if there are any other abnormal situations!"

In any case, since it had been just one semester since they were attacked by the Sword of Belphegor.

The instructors who had that memory as a trauma began to take action quickly.

"First, let's turn on the lights properly! Let's wake up all the cadets!"

"Damn it! What the hell is this situation!"

"That's not what's important right now!"

Lee Ho-seung shouted.

"Everyone grab your masks first!"

"Mission completed as of current time. The demonic beast wave will start soon."

Nam Tae-hoon, who no longer needed to worry about eavesdropping, reported to his superiors using his phone.

[Good job.]

"......Yes. I will return now."

[Granted. Join immediately.]

"Huu."

Nam Tae-hoon sighed after ending the call and looked down at the unconscious Hong In-hyeon.

Hong In-hyeon had collapsed after being struck in the temple while caught in the shadow.

"Foolish guy."

Even by his own assessment, it had been an unreasonable request.

If it had been the usual Hong In-hyeon, he would never have agreed.

"You must have been confused too."

That means Hong In-hyeon's internal conflict was great.

"......The rougher the guy, the more tender he is inside."

Even though it was a mission.

Nam Tae-hoon was tormented by self-disgust for exploiting such a friend's feelings to carry out this operation.

'I'm sorry for using your goodwill until the end.'

Nam Tae-hoon placed fragments of the sphere in Hong In-hyeon's possession and spoke in his heart.

He wasn't sure how effective this clumsy frame-up would be.

'......I'm just following orders from above.'

Nam Tae-hoon, making an excuse for an action that even he found shameful, disappeared between the shadows.

"Farewell."

On this day.

Nam Tae-hoon shed his identity as an academy cadet and returned to where he belonged.

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White Castle was literally a prison and a massive fortress, an inviolable stronghold.

Looking at the enormous wall that made humans seem like ants, and the high prison rising behind it.

"Comrades, the day has finally come."

Do Sang-jun, the leader of the [Liberation Corps], spread his arms.

"My wife is still imprisoned in that place. The same goes for the families and friends of our comrades."

He just wanted to save her.

That was all from the beginning.

Since the day his wife, who had become a Ma-in, was subdued by the Execution Force and taken away.

The rest of Do Sang-jun's life had been spent solely for that purpose.

"Let us all recall the beloved faces we had to bury in our hearts."

"......!"

No one made a sound out loud.

But everyone present could feel the temperature of emotion surging with passion.

"Are you all ready?"

Jang Su-il, an executive of the [Sword of Belphegor] who had been quietly watching them, asked.

"......Yes."

"Then let's start right away."

To rescue family members who had become Ma-in and were imprisoned in White Castle.

Do Sang-jun had taken the hand of the most vicious Ma-in group, the [Sword of Belphegor].

'......I know it's a contradiction.'

But he had no choice but to do it this way.

"Tae-hoon did well."

"Yes, sir."

Nam Woo-young, an executive of the [Liberation Corps] and the uncle who raised Nam Tae-hoon, bowed his head and hid his expression.

'I'm sorry, Tae-hoon.'

He knew.

That at some point, he had been walking the wrong path.

But he also knew well that the moment he admitted it, his entire life would be negated.

'Perhaps since the moment I fell into self-contradiction, I knew this outcome would come.'

That's why he couldn't tell Nam Tae-hoon.

That they were planning to borrow the power of a Ma-in group called the [Sword of Belphegor].

'If I had told you the truth, you probably would have opposed it.'

From beginning to end, he had been an inadequate uncle.

One who couldn't even properly act as a father to his nephew.

'......Don't come here.'

It was regrettable that he couldn't see his nephew's face one last time on this journey.

But perhaps that might be better, he thought.

"Everyone, are you prepared to sacrifice your lives?"

Do Sang-jun asked.

"Of course, sir."

The members answered in unison.