Chapter 3.
Kang Jihwan, Kang Jieun.
Though they are merely high school students, they are famous figures in the region, to the point where no one doesn't know them.
It isn't because their own capabilities are outstanding, like being a brilliant prodigy or a genius.
These fraternal twin siblings were born with what is commonly called a good spoon—and a diamond spoon at that.
Their maternal family was in the legal profession, and their paternal family was a chaebol.
They were the offspring of the youngest son, who was far from the right of succession, but even that alone was an incredible environment that ordinary people couldn't even dream of.
The siblings born into a good background—but the children failed to grow up properly.
It wasn't just because of their fully equipped environment or their family that spoiled them.
Psychopaths.
A term referring to antisocial personality and conduct disorders.
The children were innately born with a disposition that made them unable to engage in social interactions and emotional exchanges.
Add to that the background that covered up all their incidents and accidents.
A car with no brakes is merely a weapon for murder.
The violent tendencies of such siblings manifested in kindergarten, elementary school, and even middle school, but they were never brought to light.
Because they cut off all of it before any rumors could arise.
That was how they lived for over a dozen years.
It was only natural that the cruel tendencies of the psychopath siblings would stand out once they reached high school.
Just as a young child dissects a frog or a dragonfly, Kim Jinho was dissected.
Reason?
None in particular.
Would a frog or a dragonfly have suffered such a fate because they committed some wrong?
They simply targeted the weakest, the underclass who wouldn't dare speak out.
To them, it was the only vitality that made them forget their boring studies for a moment, a fleeting amusement.
*
"Yawn, I'm bored."
The younger of the twins, Kang Jieun, turned her head toward the window.
"Not fun."
Kang Jihwan was the same.
Even though their underlings had been beaten, they couldn't care less.
Because they are stronger than those guys?
No.
They know.
Even without lackeys. That people cannot touch them.
Because they instinctively swallowed their fear at their flashy background, and never once said a word of injustice no matter what absurdity occurred.
"…."
I walked past them.
"Arrogant."
"So arrogant. Make him the next one?"
"Sure. There are a lot of experiments I want to try."
"That sounds fun."
They must have thought I was backing down, as they continued their conversation about me.
I picked up something rolling on the floor.
And.
Thud, step—
I slowly walked back toward them.
Since their gazes were fixed out the window, they didn't notice my approach at first, but...
"What?"
They looked at me with questioning eyes and asked.
What I could do to such siblings was.
Splash.
"Kyaa!"
Pouring the rotten milk I had thrown at Jinho earlier over their hair.
"What the hell are you doing!"
Even for psychopaths with antisocial personality disorder, they will react aggressively when something harmful happens to them.
Kang Jieun frantically shook out the chunks of cheese stuck in her hair.
"You…."
Kang Jihwan glared at me with eyes that looked ready to kill.
Whack!
I threw the milk carton right in his face.
"Ptoo, ptoo! Fuck!"
Some residue must have gotten into his mouth, as he was busy spitting continuously.
"You've had it easy and comfortable all this time, haven't you?"
"You just wait... Kyaa!"
I grabbed Kang Jieun's hair as she tried to threaten me and yanked it hard.
"Wait for what? Try it right now."
"Let go! Let go of me!"
She tried to scratch the hand grabbing her hair.
However.
"Kyaak!"
When I pulled with even more force, her resistance vanished.
No matter how pathetic my body is right now, it's not to the point where I can't subdue a girl raised in comfort.
"I said try it right now?"
"Kyaa!"
Without her underlings or her family's help, all she could do was writhe and scream in unfamiliar pain.
A more excessive reaction than I had thought.
Well, she had probably never been treated like this by anyone.
Her body must be trembling all over from the pain and humiliation she was feeling for the first time in her life.
"You're going to regret this?"
Unlike his younger sister, he at least tried to keep his composure, being a guy.
"So~ make me regret it."
"…."
No reaction.
He just hurriedly pulled something out from under his desk and hid his hands behind his back.
'I can see everything, you bastard.'
He might be a high schooler, but he's just a kid who only looks the part.
To an expert like me, it was clear what he was trying to do.
And.
Swish!
The guy who had approached close swung his hand.
Already prepared, I slightly pulled my body back and tugged on the hair I was holding.
Slash!
"Kyaaah!"
A sound echoed along with a chilling noise.
It was a scream of pain incomparable to when her hair was pulled.
Drip, plop—
What Kang Jihwan held in his hand was an industrial box cutter.
Kang Jieun thrashed about, her arm sliced by the sharp blade.
"…."
However, Kang Jihwan's expression remained unchanged.
As if he couldn't care less whether his twin sister was hurt or not, he didn't take his eyes off me.
"Impressive."
I gave a thumbs up at that sight.
"As expected, the signs were visible even from this time."
"What the hell are you spouting?"
"Ah, it's a thing."
Actually, these twin siblings—specifically, Kang Jihwan—were a familiar bunch even in the apocalypse.
The Slaughterer, Kang Jihwan.
A crazy murderer who indiscriminately slaughtered people at the start of the apocalypse.
Whether he gained some sort of trait, or if he had a personality disorder from the very beginning.
He killed people without hesitation and made a name for himself with his atrocities.
The future murderer is right in front of me now.
Of course, he isn't holding the vicious jungle sword he had in the past, but he is holding a box cutter.
'Sigh, my PTSD is really acting up.'
In the past, I had run into him while he was at the peak of his infamy.
At that time, the situation was the exact opposite of now; I almost wet myself at the sight of him.
I managed to survive the crisis safely with the help of Yoo Hyun, who appeared just in time. But thinking about it again, it was a perilous experience.
"...I'll kill you."
"Why doesn't that sound like just an empty threat to me?"
Hearing the words "I'll kill you" from the mouth of someone who slaughtered thousands sends chills down my spine.
However, the guy right now isn't the Slaughterer of the Apocalypse that I know.
Swish!
He's just a delinquent swinging a box cutter in a sloppy stance.
A stance typical of someone using a tool for the first time, with only his upper body leaning forward and his lower body pulled back.
There's one problem, though.
'Damn it!'
I barely dodged it, but I was startled.
'My body isn't normal either!'
The opponent was so weak that I forgot for a moment.
That this damn body wasn't my past one.
The fact that even his feeble knife swing could threaten my life.
Slide, bang!
I heard the sound of the classroom door opening and closing.
As the situation seemed to get serious, someone must have gone to call a teacher.
"…."
Despite the surrounding noise and reactions, the guy still glared only at me.
What lay within his burdensome gaze was clear killing intent.
At the mere age of 19, he truly harbored the intent to kill a person.
Just as expected.
"You definitely won't do."
Honestly, I hesitated for a moment.
Was it right to intervene against him in the past just because he would become a killer in the future?
Was there any guarantee that the future I knew would play out exactly the same this time?
I wavered because I lacked conviction.
But seeing his eyes full of venom now, my wavering mind finds its place.
My will becomes firm.
'He will definitely commit atrocities.'
Perhaps the catalyst wasn't the apocalypse.
Just as he did to Jinho, he must have committed horrific acts without anyone knowing.
And everything—his tendencies just became more pronounced during the apocalypse.
「Die, die, die!」
I recalled his past appearance, feeling catharsis as if murder were his only pleasure, slaughtering people mercilessly.
My resolve was set.
Did he think I was off guard?
Thrust!
He thrust the box cutter hard as if fencing.
He instinctively aimed for my vital spots.
"...Crazy son of a bitch!"
He really intends to kill me.
I was a bit flustered at first, but this time is different.
The increased movement speed thanks to the sneakers allowed me to move swiftly the moment he attacked, helping me dodge his blade.
And.
Smack!
"Argh!"
I struck down his forearm, causing him to drop the box cutter from his hand.
After kicking the rolling box cutter far away.
Bam!
I drove my fist straight into his face.
"Keugh!"
The knuckles that struck his cheekbone throbbed.
It seemed like I hit him properly, but a fist that had never even struck a sandbag could only complain of pain from the unfamiliar impact.
"Cough!"
The guy who took the hit to his cheekbone stumbled back, clutching his face.
No matter how much venom he harbored, he couldn't help but retreat from unfamiliar pain.
I took large strides and quickly closed the distance.
Thud!
I drove my fist deep into his solar plexus.
"Blergh!"
I grabbed the back of his head as he reflexively doubled over to dry heave, fixing it in place.
Crack!!
I gifted him a knee kick strong enough to rattle his skull.
"Keo-eok."
Unable to withstand the tremendous impact, the guy collapsed face-first onto the floor.
No more venom could be found in the guy writhing in pain.
He was just crying like a child, clutching his face.
"…."
I stared at that sight for a moment.
If it were up to my heart, I'd kill this murderous demon right now, but...
'Murder charges... that's a bit hard to handle right now.'
With a year left, I couldn't waste time idly in prison.
I had to prepare for the apocalypse as efficiently as possible.
Within the limits of not committing crimes as much as possible, I needed a way to neutralize them.
I approached Kang Jieun, who was sobbing and glaring at me venomously.
"D-Don't come near me!"
Ignoring her disgust, I grabbed her arm.
Flash! Flash!
A part of Kang Jieun's body flashed with a golden light.
Fla-sh!
As the pitch-black blue light I had been waiting for flashed, I let go of her hand.
"You... I'm going to sue you for this!"
"Go ahead. See if I care."
Next, I approached Kang Jihwan, who was crying like a child.
He also struggled to escape like Kang Jieun, but...
It was useless.
Flash! Flash! Fla-sh!
A golden flash and a pitch-black blue light, visible only to me, emitted from him.
"Well, this should be enough."
The twins looked at me with faces full of doubt, but I had no intention of telling them what I had done.
They would find out soon enough anyway.
Just how much trash their bodies had become.
'Physical enhancement is taboo. If you break the taboo, you must pay the price.'
I enhanced the twins' muscles.
Luckily, the enhancement succeeded a few times, but in the end...
'Because it failed.'
Enhancing only specific parts was quite difficult, but with abundant experience, I pulled it off easily.
Now, their muscles would gradually degenerate like those of an ALS patient.
『-3 Kang Jihwan's Muscle
Category: Body (Muscle)
Durability: 1/3
Unique Effect: None
Enhancement Failure Effect (-1/-3): High probability of muscle fiber loss
Enhancement Failure Effect (-3/-3): Normal probability of muscle degeneration
Description: Physical enhancement is a forbidden secret art. This body will lose strength day by day, and eventually, it will not even be able to breathe.』
It was no different for Kang Jieun.
Like true twins, I gave them the exact same result.
'That takes care of that.'
Physical enhancement has an abysmal success rate compared to normal enhancements.
Even with my bizarre trait of extreme luck, touching the forbidden meant failure was inevitable.
This is why I don't attempt physical enhancement on myself.
The penalty for failure is too severe, and there is absolutely no way to overcome it.
These twins must accept that cruel fate.
They might even die before the apocalypse arrives.
"J-Jihwan! Jieun!"
A shout close to a scream rang out.
I looked back.
The middle-aged homeroom teacher, Jeong Myeong-hwan, having confirmed the collapsed twin siblings, approached while kicking a desk.
"Y-You! What do you think you're—"
True to someone who had turned a blind eye to countless injustices, he acted without caring about the circumstances.
As the twins' homeroom teacher, he must be thinking about the repercussions that would fall on him.
Of course.
Slap!
"Ugh, you...!"
I had no intention of taking a slap like that.
I grabbed his wrist and twisted it as it was.
"Argh!"
Startled by the sudden pain, the homeroom teacher let out a scream.
No matter how much teachers' authority had plummeted to the ground, he never would have dreamed of being overpowered by a mere student like me.
"I'm dropping out as of today."
I spat out the words as if throwing them at the homeroom teacher, whose face was stained with bewilderment and fury.
"W-What?"
"…."
Since I had clearly conveyed my intentions, there was no reason to mix any more words.
A year from now, education and all that nonsense won't matter; it'll be a world where might makes right, so what's the point of attending school?
I picked up my smartphone, which I had fixed to the desk, and the +50 mop handle rolling on the floor.
It's not that I was going to start another fight.
Passing through the hallway, through the space in between.
Crash, crash-crash!
Smashing the windows one by one, I shouted.
"Korean high schools, go fuck yourselves!"
It was shit meeting you, and let's never meet again!