I Entered an Academy in a Ruined Game

Chapter 222 : White Castle (5)

'Lion King' Do Sang-jun.

Once, he was a member of the Execution Force.

And a promising one at that, holding the position of a Senior Squad Leader in the 13th Unit while still in his late 20s.

He was of similar age to Seo Dong-jin, who is now called a hero, and had a good rivalry with him, who was already serving as a Deputy Captain at the time.

True to his nickname 'Lion King,' he was dignified, powerful, and a man who never knew how to yield to any threat.

The fact that he was a rare species, a were-lion boasting exceptional strength even within the 13th Unit, which consisted solely of lycanthropes, added to his prestige.

That period was undoubtedly the happiest time in his life.

Above all else.

At that time, he was enjoying newlywed life with Kim So-eun, a were-bambi who was four years his junior, a promising talent, and a cherished subordinate.

The two were a famous lovey-dovey couple, and a pair beloved by all for their romantic love story.

But it didn't take long for the couple's story to turn tragic.

It happened during the time they were eradicating a Ma-in organization that was rampant at the time.

Do Sang-jun's team was split into two after falling into an enemy trap.

His wife, Kim So-eun, found herself in a dangerous situation where her mask was damaged while fighting fiercely against Ma-in in isolation.

She had no choice but to kill Ma-in to survive, but as luck would have it, her blade sliced the Ma-in's carotid artery.

Exposed to the gushing blood, she finally fainted from exhaustion.

When she was discovered by Do Sang-jun, who had fought desperately to save his wife, sustaining more than ten stab wounds and contusions.

The magical energy accumulated in her body had already exceeded dangerous levels.

From then on.

Do Sang-jun took long-term leave and frantically tried to save his wife from becoming a Ma-in after the demonic nature had deeply encroached.

But it had little effect.

At that time, the effect of Ma-in suppressants was not significant, and despite all efforts, Kim So-eun, whose condition gradually worsened as she suffered from high fever and seizures, eventually could not avoid becoming a Ma-in.

And.

In his wife's eyes that had become a Ma-in, he could no longer find the love she had shown him.

Do Sang-jun subdued his wife, who attacked him caught in murderous impulses, with tears of blood, and secluded himself for three days and nights in deep distress.

A colleague who came to check on them out of concern for the couple witnessed this.

And that was the end.

Once she became a Ma-in, there was no way to save her.

Kim So-eun received the disposition of being isolated to White Castle in recognition of her past contributions.

Although colleagues consoled him that she would receive humane treatment as long as she was isolated in White Castle.

Their consolation did not reach Do Sang-jun's ears.

No, rather, it made him angry.

It was the moment when a man who had knocked down and suppressed Ma-in by forging unwavering beliefs like a sword completely collapsed.

After disappearing without a trace since that day, Do Sang-jun reappeared years later with a changed identity and name, creating the [Liberation Corps] to begin a movement to liberate Ma-in imprisoned in White Castle.

After years of exhaustive efforts, he finally went on a rampage, causing successive violent incidents injuring citizens, and had to disappear to escape the Execution Force's attacks.

Execution Force members who were once colleagues had to suppress their sympathetic feelings toward Do Sang-jun, who had now become an enemy, and carry out their duties.

Thus, the name Lion King Do Sang-jun became a thoroughly forgotten name.

But he did not give up.

He turned to the underworld and gathered comrades, collected information, and cultivated power to liberate White Castle by force.

However, as that alone was far from enough.

He mortgaged his soul to Hwang Won-jae, the actual leader of the [Sword of Belphegor] and the organization's second-in-command.

Nothing else mattered.

In the face of a longing so old it had rotted away, neither the principles he once held, nor society's standards, nor anything else was necessary.

He just wanted to save her.

'Twenty years since that day. At last, the time has come to meet my wife.'

How painfully he missed that face.

He was really just one step away.

But then.

"Damn bastard! Can't you just get out of my way!"

Kreoreong!

Do Sang-jun roared as he swung his front paw.

However.

Chaeng!

Su-hyeon, who lightly yet gracefully swung his sword to parry the claws, struck Do Sang-jun's calf with a low-trajectory calf kick.

Jjaak!

"Useless effort!"

He endured the pain in his muscles and knocked away Su-hyeon's sword, then tried to bite his nape.

Fangs that could cut anything, jaw strength that could crush anything.

However, if one cannot bite, it's all useless.

Having activated Tachypsychia Mode, Su-hyeon, who was living in a different time flow, found Do Sang-jun's surprise attack useless.

Ppagak!

Su-hyeon swayed backward to avoid the teeth and, with the same retreating momentum, shook Do Sang-jun's jaw with a left short hook.

"Kuk!"

The fist with hardening shield was harder than even a fist wrapped in fist energy.

'My head is ringing.'

It was no ordinary punch.

Ppeoek!

Su-hyeon's front kick followed, sharply stabbing the solar plexus like a spear.

'Eumm!'

But his armor-like abdominal muscles withstood the attack.

'He skillfully wields both sword and martial arts? He's incredible.'

Do Sang-jun marveled.

Just taking one punch and one kick was enough to instinctively sense the opponent's extraordinary skill.

'Disgustingly sturdy.'

Su-hyeon was also impressed.

Strength, speed, durability, technique. He had it all, and in addition to fists and kicks, he had claws and teeth as weapons.

A strong lycanthrope was always a troublesome opponent.

'But his technique itself isn't at the level of Instructor Oh Chang-seong.'

As he was from an earlier generation, he probably hadn't received the same professional martial arts training.

Though his personal strength and mana capacity were stronger than Oh Chang-seong's given the difference in age and experience.

'No problem.'

Su-hyeon activated another buff skill.

'Liberation.'

Deugeun!

As the limitations on Su-hyeon's physical abilities were released, his strength and speed rose a level.

Kaaaang!

Su-hyeon's sword collided with Do Sang-jun's claws but did not lose in terms of power.

'This bastard, what kind of strength!'

Do Sang-jun was shocked by the monstrous strength that offset the difference in weight class, the species difference between were-lion and human, and the difference in mana quantity.

'His reach is too long.'

Su-hyeon inwardly clicked his tongue.

Given the size difference between the two, Su-hyeon couldn't gain the advantage in reach even with a sword.

Chae-chae-chaeng!

He delivered consecutive sword strikes, flawlessly fast and powerful.

'Hmph!'

Do Sang-jun endured with his leather and claws, closing the distance.

'So you want close combat, is that it?'

Su-hyeon decided to play along with Do Sang-jun's misconception.

Seureuk.

He quickly sheathed his sword.

Ppeoek!

Then struck Do Sang-jun's face with a high-speed jab of invisible speed.

"Kuk!"

His cover instinctively rose to protect his face.

'Too close.'

Instead of using a kick, Su-hyeon gave his body a flexible recoil, embedding maximum power into a left body blow that he drove into the ribs.

Ppeoeoek!

"Kuk!"

It was a powerful fist that penetrated through muscle and skin to damage internal organs, but the lion's toughness still allowed for a counterattack.

Bwoong!

As Su-hyeon avoided a right straight, a hook from the opposite hand flew in.

'He raised his claws!'

The hook delivered with raised claws was an attack closer to a slash than a punch.

'That's threatening.'

In a normal case, the moment one raised a cover to receive it, the forearm would have been completely sliced off.

'This is the problem with predator-type lycanthropes.'

Su-hyeon momentarily extended the hardening shield to cover his forearm and received the attack.

Kagagak!

'Frightening power. To think even the hardening shield would be scored like this.'

Su-hyeon felt a chill down his spine.

The hardness and sharpness that could scratch even the hardening shield were indeed extraordinary.

But that was as far as it went.

Even his claws couldn't penetrate the hardening shield to damage Su-hyeon's muscles.

'If it can be blocked, that's enough.'

Similarly, Do Sang-jun, surprised that his claws couldn't damage Su-hyeon, hesitated for a moment, allowing Su-hyeon to retreat and create distance.

Ppaaak!

He pounded Do Sang-jun's cover with a surprise middle kick.

'This bastard!'

Do Sang-jun tried to grab Su-hyeon's foot while receiving the kick, but Su-hyeon's retrieval was slightly faster.

Ppeok!

Su-hyeon delivered a left hook to his face using the recoil.

Do Sang-jun raised his cover again to block the attack with his wild reflexes.

'Where do you think.'

Su-hyeon opened his fist and grabbed his arm, forcibly lowering the cover.

'What?'

At this unexpected response, his face was momentarily exposed.

Ppagak!

A light-speed straight right that could only be described as a flash smashed into Do Sang-jun's face.

"Kuk!"

Having taken a clean hit, Do Sang-jun retreated, preparing for follow-up attacks.

"Hmm."

But Su-hyeon didn't press in.

'I almost got hit by his tail.'

An ominous intuition had prevented an unexpected accident.

'He has good instincts.'

Do Sang-jun, being more cautious of Su-hyeon, took the initiative this time.

First, he pretended to claw at Su-hyeon with his left hand, drawing out a reaction.

'His lower body is open.'

He immediately stomped on Su-hyeon's foot.

Kwajik!

'Kuk!'

Though the sole of his foot stung as if Su-hyeon had also extended the hardening shield to his feet.

'You can't escape!'

Thanks to this, he succeeded in binding Su-hyeon's foot.

At that moment, he had three unavoidable attack options: the claws of his right hand, his powerful jaw, and his left hand in the process of retrieval.

But.

'Chukji.'

Su-hyeon escaped by stepping on the ground with his other foot, rejecting the very choices presented to him.

"!"

The surprise was brief.

Do Sang-jun hurriedly took action against Su-hyeon's offensive, who had already drawn his sword and launched a flying strike while zigzagging through the air.

'Damn it!'

The moment Do Sang-jun blocked the flying strike and was about to parry Su-hyeon's sword with his claws.

'I see it.'

The sword principle of cutting the grain, passed down by Ahn Byeong-jun.

Although still incomplete, extreme enhanced vision, and optimal concentration appropriately positioned between the contrasting emotions of anger and calmness.

All these elements combined into a sword strike that cut off the claw protruding from Do Sang-jun's pinky finger as if slicing a radish.

"!?"

Do Sang-jun was shocked at the unbelievable scene of his claw being cut by a sword.

'I did it!'

Having successfully executed a high-difficulty technique in actual combat, Su-hyeon, instead of excitedly using the same technique twice in a row, retreated to tidy his stance.

"......You're frighteningly strong. Are you really a young man not even 20 years old?"

Do Sang-jun said with a face that found it hard to believe.

"Nam Tae-hoon must have told you."

"Haha, back then, that kid wasn't even born......"

Su-hyeon asked Do Sang-jun, who was feeling even a sense of futility.

"Why haven't you become a Ma-in even at this point? Is it pride? Did you think that would establish your legitimacy?"

"Haha. Do I need to explain something like that to you in such a petty way?"

"That's true."

Do Sang-jun charged at Su-hyeon, who had nodded.

"Now just get out of my way!"

Chaeng!

Do Sang-jun's jaw momentarily opened as he knocked away Su-hyeon's sword with a powerful swing.

Su-hyeon hit his jaw again with a jab, utilizing his speed.

Ppeoek!

Then another left short hook to the wobbling jaw of Do Sang-jun.

Ppagak!

The punch thrown in a state of exhaustion shook his jaw with accurate and powerful force.

Even his neck vertebrae, trapezius muscles, and skull, which far transcended human durability, couldn't completely withstand the impact.

"Keuuk."

As he instinctively tried to retreat.

Su-hyeon grabbed the Moonless Sword with both hands and executed a horizontal slash, creating a long laceration through the tough leather and thick abdominal muscles of the lower abdomen.

"Damn it!"

Do Sang-jun, who had drawn blood for the first time today, gritted his teeth.

'To think he would be this strong! His skill is absolutely not below mine!'

The battle situation was not good.

Moreover, the executives were also struggling against those bold cadets, just as much as he was.

"Are you starting to feel it? That the end of the offensive is approaching."

"Shut up!"

Do Sang-jun, enraged by Su-hyeon's provocation, raised his power to the fullest.

"I'll crush you by force if I have to!"

"If you can."

❀⋆｡°✿☆❀✿°｡⋆❀

Around that time.

2nd Unit Captain Son Ji-gwang, the Reversal War General who had finally completed his deployment to White Castle, encountered an unexpected hindrance.

"So it's you!"

'Asura' Seong Ji-cheol.

A Ma-in with six arms containing the power of a god or devil, holding six weapons—spear, sword, axe, mace, sickle, and chain—was waiting for him.

"You've been quiet for several years, so you were with the [Sword of Belphegor]."

Asura.

Or the Ma-in known as humanity's nightmare.

He had an unforgettable face.

"Yes. This too is fate."

Seong Ji-cheol, with his eyes closed, said solemnly.

"I didn't expect to meet you here today."

The strongest Ma-in who had made his name known with strength not inferior even to that Vampire Queen.

And the very person who had left a sword scar on Son Ji-gwang's face.

Intense anger rose in the old warrior's eyes.

"Asura. Let us put an end to the evil connection between you and me today."

"If it is destiny, then so it shall be."

Kwaaang!

The weapons of the two supreme beings collided in mid-air, creating a massive explosion.