The principal got flustered, his thoughts all over the place. He jumped, bursting through the roof, and used explosion magic to lift himself into the sky.
Sprinting in the direction of the academy ahead, he was launched.
I glanced upward, covering my face so dust wouldn't get on me. Then I glanced down again and looked sideways at Vernon.
"If you need me, I will be at Ed's house tonight."
He nodded twice, closing his eyes and strengthening his jaws. It makes sense—he doesn't want to show me his loving side.
Not that I care anyway. On the other hand, Eira is still crying, resting on his shoulders.
"Hey Vernon… get out fast. The building won't last long."
"Okay. I will. Don't worry it's o—okay."
Extreme happiness, huh? Will I one day be this happy? In my opinion, all that can make me happy is myself. Nothing brings happiness—the same goes for sadness. If I believe I'm happy, no matter the situation, I am happy. Still… I hope I don't regret this choice one day.
And then I left through the wide-burst roof. The scene looked a bit rough. I bent my back slightly and jumped, slipping through the roof.
I rolled, rotating to the right side, and landed perfectly on my feet.
I regret it now. I really do.
Thinking about it—getting drenched in her past triggered my memories. Of course, I didn't just stand back frozen, looking at the distance. I was slowly waving my head and kicking tiny fragments of the rooftop stone.
I thought maybe I should never use my Artefact power. Maybe I should forget it, for now. Comforting who I am isn't what I want, nor trying to change it. All I want is a bit of a peaceful life.
I looked back inside. Then quickly stood again on the roof.
They were kissing. Private moments. Well, I did tell him that this god-damned building was gonna collapse.
Let's wait a while.
I walked to the edge of the roof, sat down, and looked at the people roaming around. Father Athos was still here, inside his carriage. The building was going to collapse, of course, but he wasn't going to leave until it did—making sure everything was perfect.
Well, I call him dumb.
I had this pretty good idea. I would definitely flip the whole situation upside down—like a flying egg on a poacher.
I imperceptibly glanced back at them. They seemed to be out of the room. Waiting until they got out of the building, I stood up, stretching my legs and hands.
Once they left, I began jogging in place. While I jogged, the carriage was ready to go its way. That was my sign. I picked up a stone.
A huge one. One that could break glass—or even a skull.
Since I had activated my Machbone, the slightest change in the weather was enough to alert me.
The lovebirds got out walking. I stepped back. The explosion was a tiny, marble-sized luminous ball. It got in through the first-floor window. It was a two-floor building.
It didn't take long. It was only a matter of time. The explosion was wild.
Every part of the building was obliterated.
Here comes my plan.
I jumped before the explosion fully erupted, leaving a second gap. The power of the blast pushed me forward—straight toward the carriage—while I held the stone.
I threw the stone with all my strength. Then I dribbled on the ground, joining the others blown away near the building.
It wasn't as hard as it seemed. Half his face was an underground cave.
It was a matter of seconds, and I felt good.
He screamed. "Haaaaa…!"
But that's just how it should be. I ain't letting you walk away like this.
I now knew why he fell to the ground, shaking. When he saw Vernon… they actually had a good connection, for me.
He covered his half-burnt face, agonizing in pain, throwing off his legs and hands randomly like a true loser.
I walked carefully, slowly, not to draw attention from the carriage stations.
I walked up to some chill guy and asked how much it would cost me for the school. He raised his eyebrow, looking me up and down.
"Get the hell outta here, kid."
He was smoking a cigarette. He shoved it between his lips.
"Didn't you hear what I just said? Get the fuck outta here."
I smiled—no, more like smirked. "I'll pay you double."
He gazed at me again. "Why do you wanna go to the Dream Academy?"
I answered while still smirking. "Because I'm a student."
He thought I was a broken half-assed kid when he met me. At the very least, I gave him strong, bold energy. The glare plus the double amount, in addition to the Academy… guess I won.
My clothes were in bad shape—I had just been swayed by the explosion, rolling on the ground. The scar on my face made me look more like either a thug or a broken jerkwad.
Nah, bro. Nah. I'm way better than that.
He took out his cigarettes and looked around.
"Follow me."
He passed by, pushing me aside, and got in his carriage. What made his carriage cool was that it worked with charcoal—making it the fastest.
I opened the door and sat in the back. He turned his carriage on, and we began to travel.
The guy was changing directions—I knew it was intentional. My old, messy characteristics were slipping off.
I don't know if it was the stone or Eira's past. Maybe both. Who knows.
He took a shortcut I didn't even know existed. The man laughed.
"You know this way, kid?"
I smirked again—this time more powerful, drawing my chin closer to my chest, bending my neck.
"What do you mean by this and that? Just hurry up and get me there."
"You have a nasty attitude, you know that, kid?"
"None of your business, bud."
He opened his window, looked outside, and slowed the car. There was this place that looked a bit illegal.
He called out to someone named Jo. Twice in a row.
"Yo, Jo, you asshole! I'm gonna roll you the moment I find you, asshole!"
The guy named Jo was skinny and slow—walking like a zombie. His hands looked like suit hangers. His legs were more like a newborn fish's.
He came mumbling about how he was busy. The guy told him to bring a uniform and call someone I guess I know.
Jo brought me a uniform.
"Hey kid, take this uniform and make the price thrice."
He wanted me to take the uniform and give him some money. Works best, since I was going to the academy for a test. First impressions are the best.
I took off my clothes and changed. While that happened, another skinny guy came. He was more like a skinny chicken—though his legs were worse than a chicken's.
He told me to pay him as well—the uniform belonged to him. I accepted. I paid the total.
Fully changed into the clothes—it felt so good. The oversized shirt with these harem-style pants was awesome.
I wanted to see how it felt. I was excited. It's not every day you get to see someone who ruined your life playing with you like a chessboard—and even more, to get their ass shit-faced wide open.
No. It's definitely not every day.
This time around, I was gonna change the whole thing. That's when I thought I was about to reach the academy.
Just when I saw the backdoor of the academy afar—
Delinquents.
Thugs came asking for money and all.
Is it drama or reality?
Well, it doesn't matter. I need to break them all into corpses.
I opened the door.
"Hey you—yeah, you playing boss. Get your mother fucker face outta the road."
Nope. No one listened. They just kept smirking and slowly approaching me. Low-key.
The guy in the car got out and said:
"Shut up, hoes! You think I don't know that jerky ass is gonna pull off?"
Seems like the guy really cares about me, right? Yeah. Maybe.
They used their everything to plan for this. They played dumb and even got me a uniform as if I would care about it and believe he's a good guy.
And now he asked his friends to—
"That was quite an interesting plan you guys had there."
"But be careful—you just managed to get a combat god into a fight."
ARTEFACT HANDS...
"A little blood won't hurt..."
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