Akshat stopped a few steps away.
Tae-jin still had his hand pressed against the back of the boy's head, forcing him toward the sticky, juice-covered floor.
"Let him go."
Akshat's voice wasn't loud.
It didn't need to be.
Tae-jin slowly looked up.
For a second, he just stared.
Then he laughed.
"You again?"
His grip tightened for a brief moment before he shoved the boy aside. The boy collapsed backward, scrambling away on his hands, eyes wide, like he was expecting another blow at any second.
Tae-jin stepped forward.
"You really like getting involved in things that don't concern you."
Akshat's gaze flickered briefly toward the boy.
The boy refused to meet his eyes.
Then Akshat looked back at Tae-jin.
"Does it concern you?" he asked.
That made the smile on Tae-jin's face falter—just a little.
Around them, the cafeteria had gone quieter.
Not silent.
But thinner.
People were pretending to eat. Pretending to talk. Pretending not to watch.
Three of Tae-jin's friends shifted closer.
Then closer.
Until Akshat was surrounded—not tightly, but enough.
A loose circle.
Akshat noticed everything.
Their posture.
Their stance.
Broad shoulders. Heavy builds. Gym-trained bodies. The kind that relied on intimidation first, assuming that was enough to win.
Tae-jin stepped in front of him.
Close.
Too close.
"You think you're some hero?" Tae-jin asked, his voice low.
Akshat shrugged slightly. "You think you're interesting?"
A mutter came from behind him.
A shift.
That subtle moment when the air changes—when words stop mattering and bodies prepare to move.
Tae-jin leaned even closer.
The smell of artificial citrus from the spilled juice lingered faintly between them.
"You should learn your place," Tae-jin said softly. "Or you'll get hurt."
Akshat tilted his head a fraction.
"Is that advice?"
Tae-jin's jaw tightened.
Then, slowly, he smirked again.
"No," he said. "It's a warning."
A nudge came from behind.
Deliberate.
Testing.
Tae-jin's voice dropped further.
"Here's what's going to happen. You're going to apologize for interrupting me."
Silence.
"And then you're going to walk away."
More silence.
"And next time you see me…" He tapped Akshat's chest lightly with two fingers. "…you behave."
He leaned closer, his voice brushing against Akshat's ear.
"Like a dog."
Something inside Akshat didn't explode.
It compressed.
Heavy.
Dense.
Controlled.
He looked at Tae-jin.
Not at his size.
Not at his friends.
At him.
"Are you done?" Akshat asked calmly.
For a split second—
Tae-jin's expression flickered.
Not fear.
Not yet.
Confusion.
And that was enough.
---
It happened all at once.
Four bodies moved.
Not wildly.
Not recklessly.
Clean.
Sharp.
Trained.
A heel strike cut toward Akshat's shoulder.
A palm strike aimed for his ribs.
A sweep came low.
To anyone watching, it looked overwhelming.
Like Akshat had been swallowed by a storm.
Blows landed.
Fast.
Precise.
Relentless.
Within moments, Akshat dropped to one knee.
The ground felt cold beneath him.
The four stood around him, breathing steady, controlled—as if they hadn't even exerted themselves fully.
From the outside—
It looked like he was losing.
Badly.
But something was off.
Akshat hadn't coughed.
Hadn't staggered.
Hadn't panicked.
Every strike had been absorbed.
Not avoided.
Not blocked cleanly.
Absorbed.
His chin tucked.
His forearms raised at exact angles.
His shins braced like reinforced pillars.
Every blow redirected.
Every impact minimized.
Vital points untouched.
He wasn't overwhelmed.
He was measuring.
Calibrating.
Understanding.
Tae-jin saw it first.
His expression twisted.
"You think you're clever?" he snapped. "Stalling?"
He moved instantly.
A powerful kick arced toward Akshat's temple.
Fast.
Clean.
Decisive.
—
Snap.
Akshat's hand shot up.
Not just a block.
A catch.
His fingers locked around Tae-jin's leg mid-motion.
For a fraction of a second—
Everything paused.
Then Akshat stood.
And lifted.
One hand gripping Tae-jin's leg.
Raising him off the ground like weight didn't apply.
The shift in the atmosphere was immediate.
This wasn't normal strength.
The other three reacted instantly.
They rushed him together.
No hesitation.
No spacing.
Akshat moved.
Not like them.
No form.
No discipline.
Just instinct.
The first one reached him—
Akshat's hand slashed across his chest, fingers digging in hard enough to tear skin. A sharp line of red followed instantly.
The second came from the side—
Akshat's knee drove upward.
Perfect angle.
Perfect timing.
A crack echoed as it connected with the bridge of his nose.
He dropped instantly.
The third lunged low, trying to tackle him.
Akshat didn't step back.
Didn't dodge.
He swung Tae-jin's body down.
Hard.
Like a weapon.
The impact crushed the third attacker between the ground and his own leader.
Air burst out of him as he went limp.
For a moment—
There was silence.
Then movement.
Tae-jin tore himself free, landing roughly but regaining his balance.
His face had changed.
The smirk was gone.
Replaced by something raw.
Furious.
He lunged.
No technique.
No control.
Just force.
A full-weight punch aimed straight at Akshat's face.
It connected.
Clean.
A sharp sound cracked through the cafeteria.
Aavya flinched.
A few students gasped.
Akshat's head snapped slightly to the side—
Then stopped.
He didn't step back.
Didn't blink.
Didn't react.
Tae-jin's expression shifted.
Just slightly.
That was the moment.
Akshat moved.
Both hands shot forward, gripping Tae-jin's torso.
Fingers digging deep between the ribs—not refined, not technical, but brutally effective.
And then—
He drove him down.
Violently.
The concrete didn't crack.
But it felt like it should have.
The sound echoed.
Heavy.
Final.
Tae-jin's body went still.
His chest barely moved.
His eyes unfocused.
Gone.
---
Silence.
Not the pretending kind.
Real silence.
The cafeteria had frozen.
No whispers.
No movement.
Just shock.
Akshat stood there, breathing steady.
Not rushed.
Not heavy.
Calm.
Like nothing had happened.
Behind him, Aavya was still standing halfway from her seat.
Her eyes wide.
Fixed on him.
Not scared.
Not exactly.
But seeing him—
Differently.
For the first time.
And across the floor, the boy who had been forced down earlier sat frozen, staring at Akshat like he had just witnessed something impossible.
Akshat didn't look at anyone.
Didn't say anything.
But in that moment—
Without announcing it.
Without meaning to—
He had broken a rule.
And everyone in that cafeteria knew it.
End of ch 12
To be continue...
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