Angelica's voice echoed in his skull, Her whisper "I love you."
And then, something inside him snapped.
David's stance shifted, His feet spread, grounding him, His bruised arms straightened His fingers curled into fists, not the wild, desperate fists of before, but measured, deliberate.
The crowd stirred uneasily "Tch, what the hell is this…?" one muttered.
David exhaled Remember Something, slow and sharp like a Karate master preparing for combat, His eyes, bloodshot and swollen, burned with an iron will.
"Come."
The mob surged again.
The first fighter lunged, David pivoted, body low.
crack!
A precise Karate punch buried into the man's ribs, The sound of bone snapping echoed across the yard, The man collapsed screaming.
Another swung wildly, David raised his arm, blocking cleanly, then countered with a straight punch to the throat The fighter dropped, gagging, clawing at his neck.
More came, David's body moved like a machine,fluid, deadly Knife-hand strikes cut through defenses, precise kicks shattered bones His movements weren't just fighting anymore, they were execution.
But it wasn't perfect.
A pipe caught him across the back, his knees buckled, pain flaring white-hot He twisted, elbow smashing into the attacker's jaw, shattering it, but his own body screamed in agony.
Another grabbed him from behind, arms locking his ribs David roared, slamming his head back.
crack!
blood sprayed as the man's nose exploded David broke free, spun, and drove his heel into the man's stomach, folding him like paper.
Dozens fell before him, their groans and screams littering the schoolyard Every strike David threw was fueled by grief, by rage, until the pile of bodies at his feet grew higher, until fists once filled with confidence now trembled in fear.
Finally, silence.
Seventy… eighty… hundreds … bodies lay broken, moaning, or unconscious across the ground, The remaining fighters backed away, refusing to step forward.
David's chest heaved, His fists dripped blood that wasn't just his own His face was unrecognizable swollen, bruised, cut open but he still stood.
Mark was frozen in place, his smirk gone His eyes wide, trembling.
"Y-you… you're not human…" he stammered, stumbling back.
David's bloodied steps echoed as he walked toward him, slow, heavy.
"No," David muttered, voice hoarse "I'm just… a man who lost everything Again."
Before Mark could react, David lunged His hand clamped around Mark's face like an iron vice.
"David, wait!!" Mark screamed.
SMASH!
David slammed his head into the pavement The ground cracked, dust and stone scattering, Mark's body jolted.
SMASH! SMASH! SMASH!
Again and again, David pounded Mark's head into the ground, his knuckles breaking, blood spraying with every blow His scream tore through the night, half agony, half rage, half grief.
Mark's struggles weakened, His limbs twitched, then went limp.
But David didn't stop.
He kept punching, bone cracking, blood splattering across his arms, his chest, his face Each blow was for Angelica, Each blow was for the life stolen from him.
By the time David stopped, his fists were mangled, dripping Mark's face was unrecognizable, a ruin pressed into the dirt.
David staggered back, chest heaving, his body swaying on the edge of collapse, His eyes, filled with tears, gazed upward at the night sky.
"Ahhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
And then, his body finally gave out, collapsing beside the man he had just killed.
---
Back to present
"Be careful around here, Everyone here is murderers, this prison is hell for weaks." The Guard said.
David nodded and then looked at the small tiny Picture of Angelica In his hand.
The guard looked at him "If you don't leave your past In the past, it will destroy you, live for what today has to offer not for what yesterday has taken away, child. "
"And, Just because I give you advice doesn't mean I'm smarter then you, it's mean I've made more mistakes."
David smiled "can't end this life, maybe tomorrow I can be happy and tomorrow..... I'm sad, it's repeating."
"I'm tired, My soul is tired, I wake everyday from last week..... to fight the same battle in my head, but yet, I smile and act like everything Is fine." David finally after all this, he cried aloud out.
The Guard lower his head slightly and stayed silent.
---------
Minsoo opened his eyes from sleep and sat at edge of the bed.
He stretched, before heading to the bathroom for a shower.
Stepping out of the shower, Minsoo grabbed a towel and dried his hair, His reflection stared back at him in the mirror, sharp jawline, defined muscles, His black hair was slightly messy from the towel, but he quickly styled it into a standard two-block cut with a clean middle part.
He put on his J-High uniform, adjusting the blazer and straightening his tie.
..
In The living room, Minsoo Drinking Coffee "In two hours, I'll be heading to J-High."
"That's good to know, Meeting the Main people's of this World." Hana said.
She continued "are you sure, I'm not going with You."
Minsoo Answered "Yes, You and Sun-ho will come when the Main guy Arrives."
She nodded.
----
The air inside the God Dogs base was thick with cigarette smoke, Dozens of members crowded around tables, their voices low serious, Plastic bags stuffed with money were being emptied, counted carefully, stacked neatly on the table in front of the Executives Every bill was touched, every bundle rechecked twice, because a mistake in front of Gun Park was not something anyone here could afford.
Sun-ho sat casually in his chair, his posture relaxed yet commanding, He didn't need to order, Just sitting there, his calm eyes tracing the room, made even the most reckless low-ranking members work twice as fast.
Johan Seong leaned against the wall, silent.
Jin Jang exhaled a long breath, breaking the silence, He walked over to where Sun-ho was sitting, crouched beside him, and lowered his voice.
----
NAME:|- JIN JANG
HEIGHT:|- 181 CM
STRENGTH:|- [ A+ ]
SPEED:|- [ A ]
POTENTIAL:|- [ C+ ] [Awakened]
INTELLIGENCE:|- [ S ]
ENDURANCE:|- [ B+ ]
----
"Sun-ho," Jin began, his tone with caution, "listen carefully, In two days when Gun Park arrives, don't do anything reckless Don't open your mouth at the wrong time, don't act out of place, You may be strong, I admit that But Gun…" He paused, shaking his head, his voice dropping even lower. "…Gun isn't someone you can fight, nor someone you can outsmart so easily He's on a different level, Don't bring trouble on Johan or on the God Dogs, because of your pride."
The room stayed quiet, A few members glanced at them, trying to pretend they weren't listening.
Sun-ho leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows on his knees, His calm gaze locked on Jin Jang.
"Jin Jang," Sun-ho said softly "if Gun comes here and sees nothing but trembling dogs like always, what do you think will happen?"
Jin frowned, taken aback.
Sun-ho continued, his tone carrying weight "He'll take the money, yes, But he'll also take our dignity, If you bow too low to a man like him, he'll never be interested, Fear is fine but hopeless submission, That will destroy the God Dogs before Gun even has to lift a finger."
The words, cutting through them sinking into everyone's chest.
Jin opened his mouth to reply but stopped His lips pressed together tightly, He had no counter.
Sun-ho leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms, his expression unreadable "I'm not telling you to challenge him, I'm telling you if we act like prey, we'll be treated like prey That's all."
Silence filled the room Even for Johan
For the first time in Month, Jin Jang had nothing to say.