I Become a Mafia in the Academy

Chapter 113

The spectacle of signal flares dyeing the sky of C Territory red.

Realizing that something was happening outside, I asked Ratte before leaving the shopping mall.

"Did Alessia say where she was heading?"

"Huh? Oh, no. She just said she'd take a look around and come back──"

At that moment.

──Boom! ──Bang! Bang!

A series of explosions echoed along with the sound.

"......I think I know where she might be, even without her saying."

Such loud explosions could only mean that a battle between Awakened Ones had broken out.

"Parnello. Gather the personnel who aren't currently engaged in fighting to guard this place...... and move with me. Ratte, do you have a means of communication?"

"Ah, no. Alessia took my phone......."

I immediately handed her the walkie-talkie I had.

"Stay here and contact me if anything happens."

"Understood!"

Although her youthful face might make her appear fragile on the surface, she was also one of the elites who had survived Niflheim.

Most problems should be manageable for her.

"Let's move."

"Yes, Young Master."

Without hesitation, I kicked off the ground and sprinted down the road.

In no time, the two figures left the hypermarket behind and headed toward the nearest spot where the signal flares had gone off.

Rrrrrrr──

The sound of gunfire grew louder as we got closer.

Entering the building where the sound was coming from, we saw Organization Members confronting Villains who appeared to be Awakened Ones.

"Damn Calione scum!"

A Villain shouted in fury.

The guy was pinned down by one of our Hitmen, flailing as he was caught in the crossfire from three others firing from all sides.

"Pour it on!"

"You damn...... bastards! Ugh!!"

Judging by the Villain lying sprawled on the ground, there seemed to have been two of them originally.

The more he moved, the more his range of action visibly shrank.

This was precisely Calione's Awakened One combat technique.

A scene demonstrating how Calione's training methods, designed for battles against Awakened Ones, were proving effective.

"The Young Master and Sir Parnello have arrived!"

"Finish it!"

The guy, bound by the hail of bullets, was gradually cornered until finally, the dagger of the Organization Member at the forefront pierced his abdomen, ending it.

"What happened?"

"Yes, Young Master. While searching the building, we encountered Villains guarding some strange-looking mushrooms. As you can see, we killed two of them. No injuries on our side."

Villains lying in wait?

That meant there might be Villains in other places besides here.

──Boom! ──Bang!

Explosions echoed again from elsewhere.

"......I think I get it now."

Why contact with Alessia had been cut off, and why explosions kept ringing out from outside.

"Parnello. I have a favor to ask."

"Command me."

"It seems likely that Alessia is where the explosions are coming from. I need to go there, so could you lead the others and clean up the vicinity in the meantime?"

I judged that it would be better for Parnello, with his superior mobility and skill, to move around and handle the cleanup.

He nodded, seemingly agreeing that this was the most reasonable approach.

"Understood. Signal me if anything happens."

Nodding at Parnello's words, I borrowed a spare walkie-talkie from an Organization Member and headed outside.

The sound of signal flares and gunfire still echoed from all directions, making the place feel like a battlefield.

Amidst all that, there was a location that continued to produce tremendous explosions and flames, as if flaunting itself.......

"Quite the flashy mess they're making."

It was the commercial district where I had shared egg bread with Alessia not long ago.

Alessia was there.

With my destination set, there was no reason to hesitate.

Strengthening my legs with Aura, I kicked off the ground powerfully and began to dash.

Leaping over obstructing cars and building debris, I jumped onto the roof of the tallest nearby building and landed on its rooftop.

A broader field of view unfolded before me.

Confirming that I was heading in the right direction, I crossed a few more buildings until I finally arrived at the commercial district.

"......This is serious."

The sight of the commercial district from above was nothing short of devastating.

"It's not just any Villain. Now I understand why that guy is here."

The plaza at the center of the commercial district.

There, food courts and colorful balloons, seemingly from a festival, were scattered around.

Of course, they were all completely burned down.

And in the midst of it all, a battle was taking place.......

"Hmm. Clearly, it's someone infected, but how can they move like that, Lady?"

"Disgusting. Don't talk to me, you perverted bastard."

Even at a glance, Alessia was covered in wounds, and opposite her stood a clown, smiling as he watched her.

Bloody Clown.

It was undoubtedly him.

"How disappointing. I only gave you a gift."

"......Calling that bomb a gift and throwing it around is why you're stuck in Niflheim."

"A fiery gift! Isn't it great! Why don't people understand my heart! Ahhhhh! It's sad, so sad, isn't it! But clowns are always happy!"

"......You lunatic."

"Ahahahaha!"

At the same time, Bloody Clown pulled out a bunch of dog-shaped balloons from his pocket and threw them at Alessia.

"I bring you happinesssss!"

"Damn it...... *Cough, cough!*"

Alessia, trying to escape from the approaching dogs, grimaced.

Meanwhile, the dogs were getting closer and closer.

Just as Alessia bit her lip and raised the dagger she was holding.

Bang! Bang bang! Bang!

All the balloons heading toward her suddenly exploded at once.

"Seriously, if you were feeling sick, you should've said so. Did you really have to go on a night walk?"

"......Young Master?"

Blowing smoke from the tip of Tommy, he approached Alessia.

"How's your body?"

"......I'm fine."

"Hey, there's blood on your lips."

"Really?"

Surprised by my words, Alessia hurriedly wiped the corner of her mouth.

"Just kidding."

"......Making jokes in this situation? That's too much. *Cough, cough!*"

Up close, it became clear her condition was worse than I thought.

Pale skin, blue bruises on her legs and arms, and deep dark circles under her eyes.

She had indeed been fighting him while sick.

Fortunately, I pulled out a spare gas mask I had and handed it to Alessia.

"Take a rest."

"......Is that okay?"

Alessia weakly smiled as she accepted the gas mask I handed over.

"Yes, take it easy. Once I deal with that guy, I'll even give you some vacation time, so rest up."

After reassuring her, I looked beyond the slowly clearing smoke at Bloody Clown, who was laughing hysterically.

"What's so funny?"

"Isn't it obvious! Who doesn't love a love story! I love love stories, you know? Hahaha!!"

"......You're still as disgusting as ever."

"Pardon?"

"Just die already."

Without listening to another word, I swung [Capone's Tommy] at him.

──! / ──! / ──! / ──! / ──! / ──! / ──! / ──!

With a tremendous roar, bullets were fired at him.

Bloody Clown was a Villain and an obvious enemy of Calione.

Thanks to that, [Hitman]'s 'Hunter of Villains' and [Executioner] activated simultaneously, doubling my stats.

In other words, each bullet was flying with even more power than usual.

"What is this──!"

Perhaps because I was holding a gun, the guy, who had been putting on an unimpressed expression to block my attack, was startled when he saw Tommy's trigger being pulled and quickly opened his palms as if miming.

The sound of an explosion echoed across the plaza.

After shooting for a while, I released my finger from the trigger, and the guy, though out of breath, still appeared unscathed.

He looked at me, trembling, with a smirk on his face.

"......Mime."

It was a defensive skill he gained after escaping from Niflheim, called Mime.

By pretending there was a wall in front of him, he could create an imaginary wall, one of his abilities.

"That was dangerous. Really! Dangerous─! A gun that shoots like a cannon, how could you carry such a dangerous thing!"

Above all, Mime was a fraudulent ability that reduced the damage of ranged attacks by 70%. Although it had the drawback of only being able to block in one direction, it was incredibly annoying for someone like me who could only attack in one direction.

Anyway, it's still difficult to take down a named character with just a gun. I need to upgrade it or something.

Ultimately, this meant I had no choice but to engage in close combat with him.

"What a bother."

As I put the gun away and donned my gloves, Bloody Clown tilted his head as if finding it strange and looked at me.

"What is this? Are you giving up already?"

"No, I'm about to play properly."

"Huh?"

Kicking off the ground with my aura-enhanced foot, my body shot forward like a bullet.

"Mime!"

The guy tried to defend against my attack by deploying Mime again.

However.

Crack──!

A cracking sound came from the empty air where there should have been nothing.

I pushed my face close to his and showed him the smile he seemed to love so much.

"Oh?"

"The wall. It's going to collapse, isn't it?"

Immediately after, with a crashing sound, my fist pierced straight through the wall of Mime and headed directly toward the guy's solar plexus.

"What the?!"

With a bang, my fist struck the guy's abdomen, and his body bent into a C-shape as he tumbled backward, landing pathetically on the ground.

The guy's body lay limp on the ground.

Seeing this scene, I let out a hollow laugh and spoke to him.

"Come on, I know you're not dead, so get up."

"...You figured it out?"

"You wouldn't die from just this."

At my words, the guy let out a loud "Ugh!" and sprang up noisily.

Unless he was completely defenseless, it was impossible to knock him out in one blow with an attack that had already been absorbed by Mime once.

So I had no choice but to aim for the next strike.

"But─ you, you've been talking as if you know me since earlier... Have we met before?"

Cracking his body as if my tone had been bothering him, the guy asked.

Well, to be honest, we've met countless times before, but this is the first time we're meeting in this world.

So... this would be the best way to put it.

"No, Instructor Ji Soohyun told me. About how insignificant you are."

"...What?"

At the mention of Ji Soohyun's name, the guy's expression crumbled completely.

"D-did you just say Ji─ Soohyun?"

"Yeah, Ji Soohyun, who went all the way to America to capture and lock you up. And now, she's my mentor."

"...What did that bitch say?"

"Why, are you curious?"

The Bloody Clown's characteristic was to act playful and cool on the surface, making himself seem tricky to deal with. But in reality, his temper was fiery.

Just like now, merely mentioning an old enemy from the past was enough to get him riled up.

"Then shall we play a little Q&A game?"

Seeing the guy's expression, no longer smiling but filled with anger, I judged that it was entirely possible and asked him.

"Go ahead and ask."

"Alright, then I'll ask first. Is there any Villain in this place more dangerous or on par with you?"

The guy nodded at my question.

Judging by Plague's personality and his attitude, it didn't seem like he was lying.

"Then let me ask. Ji Soohyun. What the hell has that bitch been saying about me?"

"What, is that all you're curious about?"

"...It's an important matter to me."

Seeing that he wasn't using his usual drawn-out tone, it was clear he was boiling with rage.

Well, answering that question isn't too difficult.

Whenever the topic of Villains came up, Ji Soohyun would occasionally talk about it.

Since it's a Q&A game, I might as well tell the truth.

I raised my middle finger toward the guy, who was waiting with a determined expression, and spoke.

"She said you're fucking weak, you idiot."

The absolute, unvarnished truth.

No, seriously, that's exactly what she said.