How to Take Revenge as an Academy Scoundrel

Chapter 43. Petrification

From his unarmed stance, Kim Do-jin had anticipated this.

– Crack!

Dominic Haider immediately turned his entire body to stone and charged at Kim Do-jin with a thunderous roar, like a massive boulder hurled from a catapult, a truly terrifying momentum.

But to Kim Do-jin, it was nothing more than a toy.

“What!”

Dominic Haider suddenly found his legs ensnared, crashing face-first into the ground, his eyes widening in shock as realization dawned.

“Th-that just now…”

His expression shifted to one of dawning horror.

“Oh. You just smashed your head.”

—

But realizing that fact changed nothing.

From the very beginning, with the power of ‘Petrification,’ he was destined to become prey for Kim Do-jin.

– Bang! Bang!

Kim Do-jin struck the ground repeatedly, intent on shattering Dominic Hayder’s petrified form, and at last, Dominic Hayder released his stone grip.

“Wait, just a moment!”

Now, he was no longer at the mercy of the stone manipulation ability.

Yet, with his greatest weapon gone, he still could not stand against Kim Do-jin.

‘Time Transcendence.’

Kim Do-jin, having already closed the distance, seized the opportunity and thrust his sword forward with swift precision.

“Ugh!”

Dominic Hayder could not evade in time, and the blade pierced through his shoulder.

In a panic, he attempted to petrify himself once more, but that too posed a problem.

– Bang! Bang! Bang!

Kim Do-jin pressed the attack relentlessly, and ultimately succeeded in severing his breath.

– Bang!

As an A-rank Awakened, his resilience was formidable, but there was no defense against the unending assault.

“……”

At last, a thread of mana trickled from the limp body of Dominic Hayder, now sprawled on the ground.

– Whummm…

The mana was swiftly drawn toward Kim Do-jin, absorbed into his being.

‘Finally, I’m consuming this.’

Kim Do-jin lightly activated ‘Petrification’ on a small part of his palm, confirming that the ‘Devour’ had succeeded.

“Ha.”

As he sheathed his sword with a clink and turned his body, he caught sight of his teammates’ shocked faces.

“W-Was it defeated!?”

Expressions of disbelief filled the room, as they struggled to comprehend how he had subdued such a formidable foe, one that clearly appeared to be A-rank.

The answer lay in the fact that Kim Do-jin possessed B-rank mana, had received a buff from Yoon Yu-na, and held an overwhelming advantage in compatibility.

Yet, among those three factors, the first one was a truth they had only just come to understand.

“……”

The team members exchanged startled glances, gauging Kim Do-jin’s mood, while he shut his mind off and plopped down onto the floor.

“Haah…”

No matter how advantageous the battle was in terms of matchups, the opponent was an A-class Awakened, a member of the elite group known as the ‘Shadow Brigade,’ no less.

“It’s tough…”

Kim Do-jin, feeling his stamina and mana plummet, finally collapsed onto the ground, seeking a moment of respite.

But just then.

– Zzt!

Suddenly, a voice crackled through the radio that Dominic Hayder had been holding.

[What are you doing, Dominic? I told you to return as soon as you set up. Why are you still not here?]

Kim Do-jin gestured for Yoon Yoo-na, Lim So-hee, and Carla Arlen, who were approaching him, to be quiet, while he continued to listen intently to the radio.

[You didn’t go and start a fight on your own again, did you? There are only 8 minutes left until the teleport activates. If you’re not back by then, consider yourself left behind.]

That was the last message received over the radio.

“……”

Yet Kim Do-jin remained, finger pressed to his lips, deep in thought.

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‘What the hell are these guys up to?’

From the information he had gathered so far, the situation was painfully clear.

A villainous organization had infiltrated ‘Ark’ to kidnap Director Kate.

The Dominic Hayder he had just killed was a member of that organization, and the rest of the members had succeeded in capturing Director Kate and were now attempting to escape via a teleportation device.

And they had only 8 minutes left to make their getaway.

‘…This is bad.’

Indeed, Kim Do-jin’s assessment was spot on.

‘To think a villain organization capable of storming ‘Ark’ to kidnap Director Kate actually exists…’

If this villainous group succeeded in abducting Director Kate, the balance of the world could shift in ways unimaginable.

One thing was certain: the villains would grow stronger, shattering the peace of the world.

‘Should I step in?’

If he could thwart the crimes of this villain organization, he would undoubtedly rush to do so.

But in this vessel of Kim Do-jin, he might just end up meeting a pointless demise.

How could he know what powerful foes awaited where Director Kate was?

‘Damn…’

Kim Do-jin pondered gravely, but the time for deliberation was not long.

“I don’t know, damn it!”

Kim Do-jin had finally resolved to take action, and there was no time to waste, not even a second.

“Huh!?”

Suddenly springing to his feet, Kim Do-jin seized the wrist of Carla Arlen, who was staring at him in bewilderment.

“Eh!?”

Carla Arlen, utterly confused by his sudden behavior, looked at him with wide, startled eyes.

But without offering any explanation, Kim Do-jin hurriedly pulled her into the building right beside them.

And then—

– Thud!

As soon as he closed the door behind them, he shoved Carla Arlen roughly against the wall.

“Why, why, why are you doing this!?”

Flustered, Carla Arlen stammered her question three times over.

“Ah!”

His posture was as if he were cornering her, ready to pounce.

Realizing his mistake, Kim Do-jin quickly apologized.

“I’m sorry. I was too hasty. Just charge me up, as fast as you can!”

“What? Ah! Yes….”

Seeing the urgency in his expression, she seemed to grasp that something was amiss.

Carla Arlen soon pressed herself against Kim Do-jin, beginning to channel her mana into him.

– Vroom…

Kim Do-jin felt the mana within him rising at a pace reminiscent of their last encounter and thought,

‘This won’t be enough.’

Though they were nearly embracing to increase the flow, there was still room for more speed.

“I need to take as much mana as possible. It’s an emergency, so please understand.”

With that, Kim Do-jin pulled Carla Arlen tightly into his embrace.

He wrapped his arms around her back, pushing her further into the corner, their legs pressed together.

To maximize their contact.

“Ugh!”

Carla Arlen let out a strange sound, startled, but he ignored it.

In a real fight, even 1% of mana could mean the difference between life and death.

– Wooo…

Fortunately, the charging was happening at a faster pace than before, and Kim Do-jin subtly lowered his head to glance at the smartwatch strapped to his wrist.

There was roughly three minutes left until the villains teleported away.

“Umm…”

Though Kim Do-jin felt a surge of anxiety, he held on for just one more minute in that state before speaking.

“I have to go now!”

Only about two minutes remained until the teleportation was triggered.

“Eh!?”

Karla Arlen looked up with eyes that seemed unfocused, as if lost in a haze.

But Kim Do-jin offered no further explanation and abruptly turned his body.

He flung the building door open again and rushed out to find Yoon Yu-na and Im So-hee.

“…!”

Just then, Yoon Yu-na, who had been wandering nearby, caught his eye first.

“Yoon Yu-na! Buff me up right now. Im So-hee, then me in order!”

Yoon Yu-na, bewildered and unsure of the situation, wore a dazed expression, but upon seeing Kim Do-jin’s urgent face, she complied without hesitation.

– Pah!

Soon, a golden glow enveloped Im So-hee, who stood beside her, and Kim Do-jin strode purposefully toward her.

– Pah!

After casting the buff on him, Yoon Yu-na suddenly grabbed his wrist and asked,

“What’s going on?”

There was no time to explain.

“I’ll tell you later.”

That was all Kim Do-jin replied, turning his gaze back to Im So-hee.

“I’m sorry, but I need to ask you again. We have to get to the top of that spectator tower over there.”

In truth, having absorbed Dominic Hayder’s ‘Petrification’ superpower, he could fly on his own now.

Just as he had sent Nasca and Renya soaring, he could propel his own body using psychokinesis.

However, doing so would drain his magical energy severely, which was why he intended to borrow Im So-hee’s ‘Levitation’ ability.

Using her buoyancy for lift while relying on his own for propulsion.

“Ah, got it.”

Im So-hee blushed, flustered by the sudden turn of events, but soon, just like before, she scampered over to stand in front of Kim Do-jin.

And just as Kim Do-jin had been waiting, he pulled that petite body tightly into his embrace.

– Vwooom!

They began to rise swiftly into the sky.

‘That’s enough.’

To conceal his ‘Devour’ superpower, Kim Do-jin only ‘petrified’ a part of his body hidden beneath his clothes, then started to move that part with psychokinesis.

– Whooosh!

Soaring vertically, Lim So-hee and Kim Do-jin soon altered their trajectory, flying toward the spectator tower.

After some time had passed.

“Ah?”

They finally reached the rooftop where the villains had gathered.

“What the hell is that?”

The villains reacted with disbelief at the sudden appearance of Kim Do-jin and Lim So-hee in mid-air.

A pair of a man and a woman, tightly embraced, soaring through the sky—it was no wonder they were taken aback.

Yet, was it because they wore the ‘Arc’ student combat uniforms that they looked down on them?

Among them, not a single villain appeared tense or worried.

And that was, at least, a relief for Kim Do-jin.

– Thud!

Having successfully landed, Kim Do-jin quickly ushered Lim So-hee to a corner and spoke.

“What are you b*stards doing?”

Even Kim Do-jin thought it was insane.

To provoke the ‘Shadow Brigade’ 12th unit, which had two S-rank Awakened, all by himself…

It was nothing short of a suicide mission.

“…Did I hear that wrong? What did that b*stard just say?”

As expected, the villains scowled, revealing their sinister intent.

But Kim Do-jin calmly turned to assess the situation.

‘With this many… I might be able to hold out for about five minutes?’

There were a total of 11 villains at the top of the spectator tower.

Among them were two S-rank Awakened, and the rest were at least A-rank powerhouses, making victory in a fight utterly impossible.

However, there was no need to win a fight in the first place.

By now, the ‘Special Defense Agency’ would have sent agents after grasping the situation, so all he had to do was hold out until then.

Of course, enduring was nearly impossible for a typical student of ‘Arc.’

‘But if the Special Defense Agency agents don’t arrive in five minutes…’

I didn’t want to believe that the Republic of Korea’s ‘Special Defense Agency’ had become so inept.

Kim Do-jin shook off his distractions and, as planned, tried to buy as much time as possible with words.

“Why is no one answering? I’m asking, what the hell are you doing?”

At that, one of the villains finally responded, cracking his knuckles with a sound like breaking bones.

“You little brat, you don’t know how high the sky is. You have no idea how the world turns now, do you? How dare you think you know who we are…”

But in the midst of it all.

“Morgan.”

The leader of these villains, Dino Chiellini, abruptly cut in, commanding attention.

“Don’t get caught up in useless banter. Just kill him already. We have only a minute until activation.”

The villain called Morgan nodded politely in response.

“Yes, boss.”

Without further delay, Morgan launched his attack.

“Die, you b*stard!”

As Morgan charged with terrifying momentum, Kim Do-jin drew both his longsword and dagger from his waist.

– Srring!

And just as Morgan closed in.

– Whoosh!

He swung the longsword toward Morgan’s chest.

– Clang!

As expected, Morgan easily deflected Kim Do-jin’s longsword with his own.

“Ugh!”

The force of the parry was so strong that Kim Do-jin lost his grip on the sword.

“Heh heh!”

Morgan, seeing this, wore a triumphant smile, ready to finish him off.

But.

“Huh!?”

In truth, all of this was part of Kim Do-jin’s scheme.