Chapter 128
"Kuh... What the hell is going on...!"
As he ran down the dark road, the man shouted in panic.
The only source of light on the path was the moonlight, and there was no one else in sight.
No one was there... Yes, no one was supposed to be there.
"Where... Where the hell is the attack coming from...!"
However... on this night road where no one was supposed to be, there was definitely someone else besides him.
The man was no ordinary citizen.
He was part of a lawless group... what you'd call a gang.
Most decent people wouldn't have heard of them, but in the underworld, the 'Longhand Family' was a fairly well-known group of villains.
They were attempting to infiltrate the Royal Academy in the royal capital for a certain purpose.
Even though the academy was managed by the royal family, it was still just a school.
They figured it would be easy to slip in.
(But... we were wrong! What the hell is attacking me...!)
It was supposed to be a simple mission.
Infiltrate the academy and abduct one man. That was all.
And yet... the comrades who had taken on the mission with him were being taken out one after another.
And the worst part was, they didn't even know how it happened.
They were attacked by something unknown—by someone or something they couldn't even identify.
Now, he was the only one left.
His comrades were gone... all of them had been taken out.
(Who am I... no, what am I fighting against...!?)
"Kuma—"
"Hii...!"
Ah, there it was again.
He heard it again.
That terrifying voice. The voice that had taken down his comrades.
"Damn it! Where are you, where the hell are you!?"
The man turned around and drew his sword.
"Come on! I won't go down without a fight!?"
The man gave up on fleeing and resolved to fight the unknown enemy.
If he tried to run, he might end up leading the enemy all the way back to their hideout.
That was the one thing he had to avoid. He couldn't drag the boss and the others down with him.
"I'm alone here! Quit hiding and come out, you coward who can only sneak around!"
The man shouted, suppressing his fear, trying to provoke the enemy.
Whether he fought or not, he had to at least see what the enemy looked like.
"Come out! I'm not running or hiding..."
"Kuma—"
"Gh...!"
That voice came from terrifyingly close.
As if it were whispering right into his ear.
"Wha...!"
"Kuma—"
As he spun around in a panic, a grotesque face was right in front of him.
Although it was described as grotesque, it wasn't exactly monstrous.
In fact... if you just looked at the face, it had an adorable shape.
"A p-plush bear!?"
The man shouted, but that cute face only made his fear worse.
Because from the neck down, the plush bear had a body like a bodybuilder, all thick muscles.
"Kuh...!"
He froze for just a moment at the shocking sight.
Then immediately swung the sword he held in his hand.
He aimed the sharp blade at the bear man's chest—but a grim metallic sound rang out.
The sword in his hand shattered.
The bear man's chest didn't have a single scratch, and it was the blade that broke.
"N-no way...!"
"Kuma—"
The bear man's thick arm reached out and firmly grabbed the man's head.
"Kuma kuma"
"Ah... guh... GAAH!?"
An unbelievable pressure clamped down on his head, as if in a vise.
His skull creaked under the pressure, and blood spurted from his nose.
"S-stop..."
"Kuma—"
He begged... but the bear man in front of him showed no change in expression.
Or rather, it was impossible to read any expression at all.
"Ah..."
With that faint voice, the man lost consciousness.
His vision blacked out, and he was cast into complete darkness.