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On one corner of the lobby, the students from Class 1-0 gathered with the others who didn’t go to school in the morning.
Relieved after checking each other’s safety, the kids noticed the unfamiliar face among them.
No, they had no choice but to notice.
Goo Seulbi and Ong Gildong’s colorful outfits were eye-catching, but the stranger with them was also dressed prominently.
‘The clothes aren’t bad, but it’s all black. If I were to draw him, there wouldn’t be any color reflected on the painting.’
‘He must be a friend of Seulbi and Luis. I think that person craves attention too.’
‘I don’t think he’s dangerous, but I’m going to stand in front of Lena just in case.’
‘What’s with that guy? I suspected it since he was behind Hani, but he was really coming to our class.’
‘Hmm, as expected, it’s a kid from our class!’
‘…He must be a Class Zero too.’
‘Gildong designed our Christmas outfits together… D-do we look like a couple?’
‘Me and Seulbi are standing out the most! Everyone is looking our way! It feels like they’re looking behind me, but that must be my imagination.’
With every kid having something different on their minds, the unidentified person looked over Class 1 and stopped.
A black Joseon-period hat made of bamboo.
Clothes and styles are usually seen in Asian historical dramas.
A sword was carried around his belt instead of turned into a card.
Nothing about the man seemed normal, and anyone would be wary of their appearance.
However, because he was with two other attention-seekers, he was only perceived as the third of the bunch.
“You are…”
Ham Geunhyung closely observed the man who looked like a shaman in a martial arts movie.
The professor looked into the person as if he recognized him, but the answer didn’t come up easily.
It was difficult to recognize him because his hat pressed deeply into his head, hiding his face.
The man in the black hat spoke first.
“I am the Black Darkness Swordsman.”
The moment the self-proclaimed Darkness Swordsman spoke, everyone stopped and looked at him, not just the students from Class Zero.
“Woah…”
“Heol…”
Exclamations were uttered here and there.
They couldn’t believe that he said those words with such confidence.
Kim Yuri, who personally had to suffer saying those cringe-worthy words with her mouth, felt ashamed instead as her cheeks turned a bit red.
As everyone was speechless, the Darkness Swordsman continued.
“I was far away for repeated training in overcoming the death of deaths, but yours truly belongs to Class Zero of Eungwang High.”
Overcoming what?
It was a line that didn’t make sense, but the announcement that he’s part of Class Zero held a greater impact.
Everyone must’ve known it from the way redundant words, but they must’ve denied it to themselves unconsciously.
That man was one of the students who refused to go to school that the attention-seekers were trying to drag.
“He speaks like someone from a martial arts movie, but why does he have to repeat his words in English?”
“Western culture also appears in martial arts. There are times when they are even the main characters.”
“I understand. That is setting.”
While Mok Wooram and Saeum of April quietly exchanged opinions, Kim Yuri belatedly spoke.
“…Oh, so you’re in our class! I heard a lot from Seulbi and Luis.”
Kim Yuri smiled as she talked to hide the nervousness in her voice.
Ham Geunhyung anxiously watched the Black Darkness Swordsman, but he was relieved to see Kim Yuri introduce her classmates one after another.
After that, Kim Yuri asked the swordsman.
“Come to think of it, we haven’t heard of your name. What should we call you? I heard you lived abroad for a long time, should we call you by a foreign name?”
“A name.”
Just as Ong Gildong wanted to be called Luis Perenna, there might be a name that the Black Darkness Swordsman wanted to use.
Kim Yuri asked in consideration of that.
Ham Geunhyung recalled how Ong Gildong was flustered when he was called his real name, so the professor was careful this time.
The kids from Class Zero probably expected a name from a martial arts movie, but the swordsman answered by pressing his hat once again.
“I still lack training. It’s shameful to put a name to myself yet. Just call me Black Darkness Swordsman.”
…Is that name not shameful?
The kids wanted to ask that, but the swordsman was serious.
“I shall take my leave then.”
“Huh? Already?”
“Even though we are competing with each other, I couldn’t pretend to not know their heart when they came running to the crisis of their classmates. I just stopped by to join them.”
The swordsman looked over to the attention-seekers and Ong Gildong spoke.
“The three-game match is now 1-1 awaiting the final match. The last game requires a stage that is fit for that. We were going to hold it on Christmas Eve, but we decided to go to Korea after hearing the news.”
“I think everything is settled here. What should we do?”
“I don’t think it’s a bad idea to secure a win here in Korea.”
“This man doesn’t care where it’s going to be. Do as you wish.”
The swordsmen and the attention-seekers fell into their own world and began to talk among themselves.
Ham Geunhyung watched them to make sure they were not into any trouble, but somehow he ended up getting recruited as the referee of the match.
Students of Class Zero listened to them and spoke.
“So they’ll go to school if Luis and Seulbi win? We should cheer for them then.”
“There aren’t a lot of them left now.”
“I wanna see the other kids too… I hope everyone is safe.”
Class Zero has a total of 16 students, 11 of them attending school.
Kim Yuri, Dokgo Miro, Maeng Hyodon, Mok Wooram, Min Geurin, Saeum of April, Song Daesok, Kwon Lena, Jo Euishin, Hani, and Hwang Jiho.
Two attention-seekers, Goo Seulbi and Ong GIldong, are trying to find the other students who don’t attend school.
The Darkness Swordsman’s fate in going to school will be decided by the match with the attention-seekers.
In other words, only two people are left.
“I bet those two are at home.”
“Maybe they secretly come to school like the attention-seekers.”
“One of them is abroad though. I heard from Seulbi and Luis.”
They talked about the remaining students, but at that point, there was no answer.
The topic soon shifted to the students who are currently attending school.
“There was a lot of work going on in the association when I saw the news… I wonder if Daesok’s okay.”
“Yeah, I just got a call from Daesok. He must’ve been worried.”
Min Geurin told the class about the incident she heard from Song Daesok.
Song Daesok wasn’t at school, but he fought in the way that he could.
Considering that there was a problem with receiving satellite information from the association, they could guess that Song Daesok struggled as well.
After that, the topic naturally shifted to the students who weren’t there.
When Hwangho was brought up, Kim Yuri quickly changed the topic.
“Jiho seems very busy!”
“Did you get a call from Jiho?”
Instead of a call, she saw his face in person but it was a bit awkward to say it.
Kim Yuri laughed it off with an ambiguous expression.
Maeng Hyodon, one of the people who encountered Hwangho today, felt conflicted.
‘That bastard fought too.’
Everyone knew that Hwangho, the crazyhead who laughs and plays around all day, had extraordinary skills.
They also vaguely noticed that he and Jo Euishin are up to suspicious matters.
Anyone but Maeng Hyodon will know it just by recalling how the two acted all year.
‘I probably can’t say it. Probably.’
Maeng Hyodon saw a lot of things, but he knew that he shouldn’t go around saying them all.
There must be a reason why Hwangho didn’t attend school today and chose to act separately, but he didn’t get the chance to ask.
— This land will get caught up when the door to the underworld opens. Open a boundary and protect them.
Just before Jo Euishin disappeared, when the floor suddenly opened and an unusual energy hit the surroundings, he said that the door to the underworld would open.
Maeng Hyodon didn’t know what it meant at first, but he belatedly understood when Hwangho mentioned the Goddess of Death.
Jo Euishin disappeared to the realm where the dead go.
Hwangho failed to catch him because of Jo Euishin’s request.
After the energy of death subsided and the cracks in the ground disappeared, all expressions left Hwangho’s face.
‘Would things have been different if I fought well? Would the VP not have been in danger? I had a feeling when I reached for the tail…”
Maeng Hyodon failed to use his derived skill this time.
Although he somehow managed to launch the surprise attack, he would’ve died if Yoo Sanghoon hadn’t activated his light skill Gale of Revenge.
If Hwangho and Jo Euishin hadn’t toppled Uma, Yoo Sanghoon would’ve died.
‘Or should I have grabbed him? No, that bastard VP said he had to go, but if I interrupted, it would’ve been…’
Maeng Hyodon’s head of stone rolled with thoughts, but he couldn’t come up with an answer.
All he could do was blame himself.
He stood there looking stupid, not even taking a bite out of the energy bar that Mok Wooram gave him.
“Hyodon-ah.”
Fwijiiik!
Strength suddenly rushed into Maeng Hyodon’s hand when he heard the voice, crushing the energy bar to pieces.
He looked up and saw Kim Yuri, bowing a little because of the height difference.
“You were with Euishin and Jiho before you came right? Are you worried about Euishin?”
Thoughts came back to his empty head when Kim Yuri spoke affectionately.
Maeng Hyodon nodded slowly.
“That VP bastard is…”
“I heard from Jiho that Euishin went somewhere far away.”
Maeng Hyodon hesitated to say that Jo Euishin went to the underworld, but Kim Yuri verbalized it first.
Kim Yuri seemed to have met Hwangho and gave instructions on how to explain Jo Euishin’s absence.
It seems that Jo Euishin will be treated as a temporary absence.
‘Did he get back to his senses and told the president? I don’t see that crazyhead though.’
There was a person who suddenly appeared and held Jo Euishin.
Hwangho asked that person not to let go.
But that person eventually did and Jo Euishin was lost.
‘That crazyhead must’ve thought he let go on purpose. He ran to such a dangerous place and grabbed Jo Euishin’s hand, how could he have let go on purpose…?’
Hwangho pushed the person and grabbed him by the collar, and Joo Soohyuk had to stop him.
Maeng Hyodon also tried to talk some sense to Hwangho, but he didn’t seem to be listening.
Even though he was agitated, he must’ve asked Kim Yuri to take care of things after he cooled down.
He was worried about his classmates who would’ve worried about Jo Euishin.
Kim Yuri seemed somewhat worried, but she seemed to have faith in Hwangho.
“You don’t have to worry too much. Jiho seems to believe that Jo Euishin will come back soon.”
Kim Yuri’s words exuded strong trust in Hwangho and Jo Euishin.
After hearing that, Maeng Hyodon decided to change his mind.
To believe in Jo Euishin and wait.
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