Episodes 110. Side

SLASH!

SLINK!

SPRAT!

I slashed at the lackeys.

They were quite troublesome. I couldn't stay in this situation for much longer.

I do have a lot of energy, but if I had to use it to fight them all... I'm not sure it would work.

Moreover...

My eyes glanced at the five teachers cosplaying as important figures. They still hadn't shown any signs of advancing to attack us.

Meanwhile, Haran, who was behind me, had to shoot her enemies with her chakram.

The chakram spun and whirled behind her back, spinning faster and faster until it created a significant gust of wind.

All the lackeys, even I, paused as the chakram on the woman's back spun rapidly.

The lackeys had to flee, or else they...

But it seemed they were too late; they lacked information about Haran's power.

BLAZE!

JLASS!

Winter and summer clashed instantly under the flyover. Positive and negative forces in one place—this was bad for the body and might soon leave them on the brink of death.

"Begone from my sight!"

Haran's body lifted and floated in the air. She gave a scornful look at her enemies, including the five teachers.

Displaying her might, she was about to destroy them all with a single snap of her fingers.

Ctak!

The snap echoed.

"AUGHH!"

"GYAH!"

"HAUHH!"

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Dozens of lackeys fell in a short period. They lay there like robots suddenly deactivated by their owner.

Unfortunately, the teachers knew about this power.

They quickly created a barrier and summoned the earth to withstand the terrifying attack.

"Heh, don't think we came unprepared!" Candra sneered, a mocking grin on his face.

"We came here 100% ready to defeat you!" Ami pounded her two swords together.

"Besides, this isn't your fight, Haran! You're not our target!" Matthew surfed through the air around us with his hoverboard.

"If you leave now, we'll pretend you were never here." Malik offered a suggestion with a flat expression and hands behind his back.

"So, what's your answer, Haran?" Nurdin grinned, confident they would win decisively.

Haran was given a choice: stay and fight with me, risking something terrible happening to her not just today, but in the days to come; or flee and leave me, living peacefully on her irreplaceable throne in that school like a queen. But that would mean abandoning her ideology of doing anything to avenge that old woman. Approaching me now was definitely part of her plan.

Given the choice, Haran showed no sign of wanting to answer.

But if she remained silent, this fight would have no end.

So, she could only do one thing... Choose.

'What your choice, sis?'

The answer was actually clear, but her strange movements made my instincts scream that something dangerous was coming.

"Heh...."

Haran smiled faintly, her lips curling slightly, hands on her hips, making her look like a sadistic queen about to destroy her pet.

"Run away? No way I'd choose that!" Her shout echoed through the place. "Besides, leaving my cute junior in trouble would ruin my image. I definitely don't want that to happen."

"You are just trash..." She continued. "... Trash in the most prestigious school in the Nusantara."

"Or could it be, you are actually parasites? I don't know, I don't care... Because both are equally useless and only tarnish the good name and image of Podoagung School. And remember, anyone who dares to tarnish that name, I will not hesitate to destroy!"

Haran's sneering expression vanished, replaced by a terrifying look that shattered the fighting spirit of anyone who saw her red eyes devoid of light.

The five teachers fell silent, looking up at Haran floating in the air.

Their spirits dropped with just one insult, and I was sure the woman had more insults ready to spew anytime. For now, she seemed to be holding back because she knew who she was up against, especially...

My eyes glanced at Malik Abimanyu.

... There was a royal family involved here, and acting recklessly would only turn the entire royal family and their allies against her.

Tap... Tap... Tap...

A woman dressed as Princess Tyas stepped forward, her rigid gaze fixed on Haran. Her name was Ami Salahudin; let's just call her Ami.

"If you say 'you won't hesitate to destroy those who are trash in that school,' then shouldn't you also attack him, right?!"

Ami pointed at me without turning her head, still looking up.

"He entered through an insider and cheated during the entrance test, isn't he also called trash?!"

Even though I didn't care much anymore, being called out like that still hurt my heart.

I felt a bit shocked and disgusted with myself.

But I had to stay strong; that was me in the past. My past and present self were one, so I just had to accept it, and I would soon feel something called freedom from a pricked heart.

Haran glanced down and saw me standing behind her.

"Rasyid... Is that true?"

*(Glancing sideways)... yeah..."

Would she be angry at me?

She just said something so terrifying; surely she would finish me off and increase my enemies.

"Heh..." Her lips curled again. "Hahahaha...." She grinned at me.

"Why are you laughing?! Isn't he someone you should also destroy?!" Ami was confused about what was happening.

Haran descended from her levitating position, and just as she landed, the chakram on her back flew into her hand and transformed into a bow.

"If you ask why, I'll answer simply: because I already knew... You should know that too, right, Rasyid?"

"Hah?" Hah? Did she know that? And I was supposed to know that she knew?

Haran's face flattened, giving me a dumbfounded look. "... Didn't I slightly insult you about your entrance test before coming here?"

"What?! So you accept that cheating?!" Malik, who had been calm, now entered the conversation.

His cold, aristocratic eyes glared at me, triggering my defensive instincts.

But on the other hand, Haran seemed unfazed, even accustomed to his cold stare.

"Of course, the way he got in wasn't great, but he is still strong and possesses power beyond all of you!"

"Doesn't that mean the same thing? Why don't you join us and punish this fraud?!" Nurdin shouted at Haran, pointing his finger at me.

"All humans are the same, what they eat, what they face, and what they think. They are no different, so I, standing before you all, am the same!"

Haran raised both hands, challenging them with her terrifying expression.

"So, you're a devil too?" (Candra)

"I'm not a devil; I'm just human... Only humans can be both good and evil at the same time!"

"Tch! Talking to you is a waste of time!"

Malik sighed, closing his eyes to think, his left hand on his hip, right foot tapping the cement floor.

"Everyone, retreat!"

"What?!"

Haran and I exclaimed in unison.

The prince suddenly ordered a retreat, but why? Was there a plan behind it, luring us into a trap?

"Why are you ordering a retreat?!" (Nurdin)

"If you ask the reason, I can only remain silent... But if you ask what caused us to retreat, I will answer... 'Two of the strongest fighters in the school are in one place and on one team.' Can we win?"

Of the five teachers who had panicked, Malik was the only one who didn't show any emotional expression towards us. Instead, he remained calm while analyzing the situation.

He was terrifying in a different field, rarely noticed by others.

Everyone there widened their eyes, realizing the meaning behind his words.