Chapter 57: Chapter 57- Ruthless
Ji-Seok was never a particularly brilliant person in anything he did. He had a good physique which allowed him to play rugby and basketball his entire life but he was never the best at them. He learned how to fight but would still end up being defeated by stronger, more skilled people.
Seeing those people achieving great things while he always fell behind frustrated him greatly and made him feel inferior. He knew that he put a lot of effort into everything he tried and yet that didn't seem to be enough to make him the best at something.
So, when the Integration happened and he miraculously killed his first few Dimension Walkers, he saw the others around him being impressed by that achievement. For the first time in his life, he saw people's eyes on him.
He felt really special, but also, started craving that attention more than ever. Wherever he went, he wanted the others to talk about him and hail him as one of the greats.
'Fuck! How did he do that?! I used all of my strength in this attack.' Ji-Seok in his head as he clenched his teeth. Just a mere glance at Talon's eyes made him shudder.
However, he still had enough composure not to completely crumble.
"I just asked for a little more food for me and the girls. Is that against the rules?" Ji-Seok asked.
Talon didn't reply immediately as he instead grabbed the hammer with two hands and yanked it to his side. Ji-Seok couldn't start to resist before everything happened. Putting the hammer on his shoulder, Talon stared at Ji-Seok.
"What were you intending to do there?" He eventually opened his mouth and asked coldly.
"..." Ji-Seok was completely tongue-tied at that moment. Something about Talon's question sent a shiver down his spine. He was unable to even utter a single word.
"I asked a question, didn't I? Answer… Uh, what was your name again?" Talon casually spoke as he tapped the hammer's handle with his finger as if he were playing around.
"J-Ji-Seok…" The male student replied.
"Ah, Ji-Seok. Interesting name. So, Ji-Seok, what were you intending to do to Young-Soon." Talon asked.
"... I… I didn't…"
"Hm? I can't hear you clearly. Speak louder!" Talon tilted his head forward, making Ji-Seok retreat.
"I-I, I don't… I just wanted some… food!"
"To get extra food, you were ready to break his legs?" Talon raised an eyebrow.
"No… I…" Ji-Seok was turned into a nervous mess as he felt the immense pressure coming from Talon's glare.
"I see," Talon murmured as he stood up and looked at the students around him. "Let's make a small voting session, shall we?"
"Voting session?"
"What does he mean?"
Murmurs erupted between the students as they waited curiously for Talon to continue.
"Those who think that Ji-Seok deserves to get punished for his actions raise your hand. Those who don't, keep your hands down."
"Huh?! Wait! Punishment?!" Ji-Seok panicked when he heard those words. "Hold on!"
"The voting starts now. Everyone has seen what happened and can judge for themselves, can't they? What do you deem is the right thing to do here?"
When Talon asked those questions, the students' expressions changed. They had indeed seen everything that ensued and they knew who was right and who was wrong. But, the fact that they had to decide the fate that Ji-Seok would face made them hesitant.
However, it didn't take long for someone to raise their hands. When that happened, things changed quickly. Slowly, one by one, people started raising their hands in agreement.
What was one turned into 10 then 100 and kept on growing quickly. Eventually, almost all the students had their hands in the air.
Ji-Seok watched that happen as his face paled even harder and his heart started racing. He knew that he was completely screwed.
"Hold on guys, this isn't true. He was the one that didn't give me food. I did nothing wrong." He said desperately.
However, when his eyes landed on the students, he realized how wrong he was. Everyone with no exception looked at him as if he was some kind of scum. No shred of empathy is visible in their scrutinizing looks.
Ji-Seok froze in place when he realized that. The words couldn't come out of his mouth anymore.
"The people have spoken. You get what you deserve, my friend." Talon said coldly as his eyes flashed with a dangerous glint. Then, he lifted the hammer in the air above his head as he glanced at Ji-Seok.
"I guess you won't need your legs." He repeated the same words Ji-Seok said.
When the latter realized what he meant, his panic kicked in as he quickly stood up and tried to run away as fast as he could. His heart was racing in his chest and adrenaline filled his veins.
'I need to run! He will seriously break my legs!!' He thought to himself as he hurried his steps.
However, before he could even move a few dozen meters, he felt a silhouette appear next to him out of nowhere. Then, he felt something hinder his foot, making him fall to the ground face-first.
"AGHH!!" A hoarse scream escaped his throat as he grabbed his face painfully and rolled around.
Talon then stomped on the student's stomach, halting his movement.
"P-Please, spare me, man! I won't ask for more food! Please, I beg you!" He yelled.
Talon stared at him coldly for a second before he pointed at Go Young-Soon. "You know, if I was a split second late, Young-Soon would've lost both of his legs. What would've happened if you did that, hm? You're still guilty of attacking him."
After that, Talon lifted the hammer again and aimed it at Ji-Seok's legs. Then, he swung it down without a shred of hesitance.
"No! Noooo!!"
But, it was already far too late for Ji-Seok to try and stop it.
*CRACK*
The crisp sound of bones cracking echoed in the entire gymnasium followed by a blood-curdling scream of pain that sent shivers down all the students' spines. Everyone was shocked speechless by what they saw.
The hammer landed directly on Ji-Seok's legs, crushing them completely. A single hit flattened them out entirely as Ji-Seok started shaking from pain like a mad animal. No one could comprehend the sheer agony he was feeling at that moment. Then, he frothed from his mouth before he lost consciousness.
Talon lifted the hammer and stared at the male student with a cold look on his face. For some reason, even though this was the first time Talon had done such a thing in his life, he didn't feel anything particularly weird or off.
If anything, doing this made him feel even more relaxed. Seeing an asshole get what was coming for him was akin to a breath of fresh air for him.
Even under everyone's terrified gazes, Talon turned around and said.
"I am not someone who likes violence. But, this world requires violence for us to survive. You lot aren't anything special than anyone else. We all follow the rules and the rules say not to assault your peers or try to abuse your powers. If anyone dares to do that, I will personally make sure they regret it, like this bastard over here. Understood?" He declared in a cold tone.
No one spoke a word as they looked at Talon with fear and respect in their eyes. Fear because of his ruthless methods and respect because he stood up for the weak even though he didn't have to.
Hyun-Jae watched all of that ensue with a calm, expressionless face. Hei-Ran stood next to her as she stared at her with a confused look.
"Mmm, Miss Hyun-Jae…"
"Hm?" Hyun-Jae's gaze which was fixed on Talon the whole time looked to the side. "What?"
"Did Sir Talon do such a thing before?" She asked.
"No, as far as I know." She replied.
"Then why…"
Hei-Ran didn't understand why Talon would go so much out of his way to help Go Young-Soon. He could've simply stopped Ji-Seok and tied him up. Yet, he didn't do that and instead executed the same punishment Ji-Seok intended to do on Go Young-Soon.
Hei-Ran, Hyun-Jae, and even Talon knew that this would make people fear him greatly which would definitely make him get secluded out of their groups.
However, Hyun-Jae saw it in a different light. Shaking her head, she replied. "He wasn't doing that for Go Young-Soon's sake alone. He was doing it for everyone's sake. If you warn a group of people not to do something with mere words, there are bound to be people who would break those rules.
However, if they see the punishment being applied to those who break those rules, they will think twice before they actually try to do the same."
"Oh…" Hei-Ran's eyes flashed with understanding. "So that's why Mr Talon…"
"Yeah, he established order here. Something that we need the most at the moment."
In a world of chaos, Talon wanted to establish order among survivors. Something that many would think is pointless when in reality, it was the main factor that determines their survival in this world.
(A//N: Thanks to everyone who supports the book with power stones and golden tickets, you guys are the best:) )
Ps: I will update 5 more chapters in two hours.