The hallway fell into an uneasy silence.
Lucas remained motionless.
His gaze wasn’t fixed on the three upperclassmen anymore.
It drifted somewhere beyond them.
Beyond the cracked walls.
Beyond the corridor itself.
His dark eyes stared into nothingness.
“…”
“…What’s wrong with him?”
One of the boys frowned.
“I think Brandon’s punch messed him up.”
The tallest upperclassman laughed.
“I barely hit him.”
Lucas didn’t respond.
He didn’t blink.
Didn’t move.
It was as if he couldn’t even hear them.
Then…
A voice reached him.
Soft.
Calm.
Older than anything he had ever known.
Not from behind him.
Not from in front of him.
It simply…
Existed.
“…Defend yourself.”
Lucas’s pupils trembled.
His lips parted slightly.
“…Who…”
Silence.
No answer came.
Only the same gentle voice.
Closer this time.
“…Defend yourself.”
The corridor around him seemed to fade.
Not disappear…
Simply lose its meaning.
Everything became distant.
Muted.
Weightless.
The voice spoke once more.
Neither hurried nor forceful.
Almost…
Patient.
“…Stand.”
Lucas slowly inhaled.
Something inside him shifted.
Not painfully.
Not violently.
It felt…
Natural.
As though a locked door somewhere deep within him had quietly opened.
The tallest upperclassman grew impatient.
“Tch.”
“He’s completely out of it.”
He grabbed Lucas by the front of his shirt and yanked him forward.
Lucas’s head moved with the pull.
His empty gaze never changed.
The bully smirked.
“What happened?”
“Scared?”
Still…
No response.
“Pathetic.
He pulled his fist back.
“This should wake you up.”
The punch shot forward.
Powerful.
Enough to break a man’s jaw.
Then—
Lucas moved.
Not because he thought.
Not because he reacted.
His body simply…
Knew.
His head tilted slightly.
The punch sliced through empty air.
“…What?”
The bully’s eyes widened.
Before he could recover—
Lucas’s left hand rose effortlessly.
It caught the second punch.
CRACK.
The fist stopped completely.
As though it had collided with solid steel.
The hallway became silent.
The upperclassman’s smile disappeared.
“W-What…”
Lucas slowly lowered his eyes.
For the first time…
He looked directly at the boy.
His expression remained blank.
Almost emotionless.
The bully instinctively tried pulling his hand free.
It didn’t move.
Lucas’s grip hadn’t even tightened.
“…Impossible…”
Without a word…
Lucas released his arm.
His right fist moved.
There was no wind-up.
No dramatic motion.
Only a single..
Ordinary punch.
BOOOOM!!
The impact echoed like a cannon.
The upperclassman’s body folded in half before leaving the ground.
He flew backward through the corridor.
Past broken desks.
Past shattered windows.
Until—
CRAAAAASH!!
He slammed into the far concrete wall nearly seven meters away.
The wall cracked.
Dust exploded into the air.
The courtyard fell into absolute silence.
The unconscious upperclassman slowly slid down the cracked concrete wall before collapsing onto the pavement with a dull thud.
No one moved.
No one even breathed.
Lucas remained frozen, staring at his own fist.
His fingers trembled slightly.
“…What…”
“…did I just do?”
The impact still echoed inside his arm.
It hadn’t hurt.
In fact…
It had felt…
Natural.
Across from him, the remaining two upperclassmen instinctively backed away.
The confidence that had filled their faces only moments ago had vanished completely.
One swallowed hard.
“…H-He…”
“He knocked Brandon out…”
“…with one punch…” Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
The other shook his head repeatedly.
“No…”
“That’s impossible…”
Lucas slowly lifted his eyes toward them.
Only seconds ago…
They had surrounded him like predators.
Now…
They looked like frightened prey.
He took one slow step forward.
Both boys immediately stumbled back.
Lucas noticed it.
They were terrified.
A thought crossed his mind.
‘If they’re this scared…’
‘Maybe they’ll finally talk.’
His voice remained calm.
“…Why are you after Katherine?”
Neither of them answered.
Their eyes remained fixed on Lucas’s clenched fist.
Lucas took another step.
“I’m asking a simple question.”
“…What does Parker want with her?”
The taller boy forced himself to speak.
“W-We…”
“…We don’t know.”
Lucas frowned.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“It’s true!”
“We only follow orders!”
“Our boss never tells us anything!”
“He just says who to bring!”
Lucas studied their faces.
They weren’t acting.
They genuinely looked confused.
“…Then why beat Billy half to death?”
The shorter one lowered his head.
“…Because…”
“…he failed.”
Lucas’s expression darkened.
“So you nearly killed your own classmate…”
“…without even knowing why.”
Neither of them answered.
Silence settled between them.
Lucas let out a slow breath.
“…Pathetic.”
The words hit harder than any punch.
The taller student clenched his fists in shame.
Lucas shook his head.
“So the mighty bullies…”
“…are nothing but scared dogs following someone else’s leash.”
Neither dared argue.
Then—
Rapid footsteps echoed from the school building.
All three turned instinctively.
Billy burst through the shattered classroom entrance.
He stumbled down the corridor, barely able to remain standing.
His uniform was soaked with blood.
One eye had swollen completely shut.
He looked over his shoulder in absolute terror.
“R-Run!!”
His voice cracked.
“Run away!!”
Lucas’s heart tightened.
Billy wasn’t running from Parker…
He was fleeing from something far worse.
The terrified upperclassmen looked toward the broken classroom.
“…Boss?”