Chapter 16
"I'm sorry guys, I'm sorry... I'm sorry...!” Koo Jun-Hyuk was running like crazy while muttering apologies.
The smell of blood from the barn still lingered in his nose, and the screams still resounded in his ears. Whenever he heard the screams, Jun-Hyuk shuddered with guilt.
Eventually, he arrived at none other than the teacher’s office. The room was mostly empty because most of the teachers had been dispatched to the western part of Seoul. The few remaining teachers didn’t seem like they would be of much help in a battle.
"Ah..."
Jun-Hyuk limply sank down like a wet noodle.
The Satanist had appeared at a cathedral in western Seoul. As a result, the F.A. teachers were dispatched to the west. However, the Satanist happened to reappear at F.A., which was located in eastern Seoul.
It didn’t take long to realize that this situation was all part of the Satanists’ plan.
"Why are you here? Isn't the Class of Charity in the middle of practical training?" someone said to Jun-Hyuk, who had been drowning in despair.
The terse tone and voice filled with exhaustion made it obvious who it was.
It was So Do-Jin.
“Barn. Dogs, demonic beasts. During training. Quickly—!” Jun-Hyuk attempted to explain the situation, but he was out of breath and in a hurry, so the words didn’t come out properly.
Nevertheless, Do-Jin roughly understood what Jun-Hyuk said. Do-Jin's expression hardened coldly.
"You’re saying demonic beasts appeared during training at the barn?"
"Yes, yes!"
“Tell me exactly what kind of practice it was and exactly how many demonic beasts there were.” Undertake a voyage to the genesis at n0v*lbin#★
"It was a healing practice. We were treating wounded dogs. I think the number of dogs was 216, perhaps around 200."
"Yes, I understand."
Do-Jin went to his desk and took out an item that he cherished. It was a sword he used back when he served as a crusader. With this one sword, Do-Jin had cut down thousands of demonic beasts and slayed hundreds of demons.
Schwing.
A frightening sound reverberated throughout the teacher’s office as the sword was pulled out of the scabbard. The sword’s blade stood sharp. Glimmers of light reflected off the blade’s keen edge.
"Jun-Hyuk, you should go to the nurse’s office immediately and treat your leg injury."
"What? Oh, yes!"
Do-Jin pointed to the wound on Koo Jun-Hyuk's thigh. Fortunately, the wound was not too deep, but there was quite a lot of bleeding. Jun-Hyuk limped toward the nurse’s office. Do-Jin immediately left the teacher's office and ran toward the barn.
‘If it was healing practice, it should be in the second barn.’
The first barn was where the healthy livestock was stored, and the second barn was where the injured livestock was gathered. As a result, healing practice was usually performed in the second barn.
When Do-Jin reached the crossroads between the first and second barn, he immediately headed toward the second barn.
‘The priests that specialize in healing are no use in battle. The students are all first years, so they are also useless in battle.’
As he approached the second barn, the smell of blood intensified, and the screams grew louder.
'Looks like there could already be some casualties.'
Do-Jin's pace sped up, and it was not long before he reached the second barn.
The students were running away from the barn with frightened expressions. Do-Jin thought it was a relief, but at the same time, he felt it was strange. Many students were seriously injured, but no one had life-threatening injuries. The casualties were relatively light, considering the fact that two hundred demonic beasts had simultaneously appeared out of nowhere.
After entering the barn, Do-Jin understood why this was the case.
"Hggh, ha. Ha... Ha......!”
Jin-Seo was breathing heavily as she fought against the demonic creatures. She was carrying all the injuries that the other students should have suffered in their stead. Her left middle finger had been ripped apart and was dangling, her right forearm was broken, and her left leg had a deep wound. There was not a single place on her body that was free of injury.
However, even those injuries seemed light compared to Do Sun-Woo’s injuries.
"Hm. Still, compared to Kim Jin-Seo's achievements...” one of the teachers murmured disapprovingly.
"Did you go on the dispatch mission yesterday? What did you do there?" Do-Jin stared at him sharply.
“I was on guard duty.”
“Are you sure you weren’t just playing around? During an important moment, you people were nowhere to be seen, so how would you know whether Sun-Woo performed well or performed poorly during the crisis?”
"Playing around? What do you mean?" A cold atmosphere flowed between the teacher and Do-Jin. If things went wrong, the verbal fight could develop into a physical one.
The teacher who was engaged in a war of nerves with Do-Jin was also a former crusader and had a very belligerent personality.
"That's enough. What are you both doing?" It was the vice principal who mediated the conflict.
"Do we have any other opinions other than from Mr. Do-Jin? Even something very simple is fine. For example, anything about the usual behavior of Jin-Seo and Sun-Woo."
"I'll tell you." When a vice-principal asked, a teacher who had been sitting quietly in the corner raised his hand. He was a very big man with a low and heavy voice.
It was Kim Bok-Dong, the physical education teacher and a teacher from the Department of Paladins.
“Among the people here, has anyone ever received the Miracle of God before?”
At Bok-Dong's words, everyone's sight moved toward the floor.
"As far as I know, the Miracle of God takes a great burden on the body just by accepting it. You could die if things go wrong. However, Sun-Woo accepted the miracle and miraculously saved the children. Luckily, he did not die as a result."
"So you’re saying that’s all Sun-Woo’s achievement?"
When the vice principal asked, Bok-Dong nodded.
"It is Sun-Woo’s achievement to be able to endure the miracle itself. Having a body that can withstand miracles is also Sun-Woo’s talent. Therefore, I think it’s right to give him an award."
Some of the faculty members nodded.
So Do-Jin from the Department of Crusaders and Kim Bok-Dong from the Department of Paladins. Their remarks had been more influential than any of the other faculty members so far.
“Do you have an opinion, Miss Ha Ye-Jin?” Finally, the vice principal asked Ha Ye-Jin, a professor of the Department of Priests, for her opinion.
“Yes? Well, of course, I’d be happy if Sun-Woo received an award. He’s a student from my class, after all,” Ha Ye-Jin smiled and said as if it were natural. Then, she continued to talk, looking at the faces of the teachers with a cold gaze.
"And... to hide the incompetence of the faculty, isn’t it advantageous to emphasize Do Sun-Woo’s merits?"
A hint of cold cynicism could be detected in her tone. It was a remark that implied many things, but everyone in the conference room could immediately grasp the meaning of her words. An uncomfortable, stifling silence settled into the room.
It was a vice-principal who broke the silence.
“Looks like we have decided to give awards to both Kim Jin-Seo from the Class of Patience and Do Sun-Woo from the Class of Charity. Now let's move on to the Satanist issue."
While one of the vice-principals was looking at the documents, he tilted his head slightly and continued to speak as if he were contemplating the issue.
“If the faculty tries to investigate the Satanists, then there is the possibility of creating fear and uncertainty amongst the students. So, I’m thinking of leaving this issue to the student council.”
Some teachers frowned at the vice principal's words. It was apparent from their expressions that they did not understand what the vice-principal was thinking.
"Are you saying you want to leave these important matters to students?"
"They may be the student council, but they’re still students...”
"If students investigate the Satanists, I believe it’s just going to create even more fear and uncertainty."
The teachers protested in unison. The vice-principal simply smiled and said, "I will hand it over to the first-year student council."
With that, the backlash immediately stopped.
In F.A., the seven freshman representatives automatically became student council members and had to serve for three years.
There were exactly seven members from each grade. Therefore, between grades 1 to 3, there were ?twenty-one student council members in total.
“Well, there is that student.”
Among them was one student with a ‘unique’ history amongst the first-year student council members. It was all because of that student that the teachers' opposition stopped.
"Well then, let's hand it over to the first-year student council."
The vice-principal grinned widely.