Chapter 20: Juju Punch!

—Thump, thump.

“…….”

Everyone stared speechless as Juju walked into the gym without hesitation. Hwi-seong, Ruah, and the third-year special class students.

Ignoring their gazes, Juju squeezed between the seniors and extended a hand to Ruah.

“Teacher, your face is a mess.”

“Ah….”

Looking up, Ruah saw Juju’s usual bright smile. The gym lights happened to be positioned behind her head, making it look like a halo to Ruah.

“Get up, teacher.”

“O-Okay.”

Ruah took Juju’s hand and stood up. In the midst of the third-years, Juju pulled a sports towel from her pocket and wiped Ruah’s face. The white towel became stained with blood and tears, but Juju didn’t mind.

“Hehe, there. All clean.”

“Th-Th-Thank you… but how….”

“I was worried, so I followed you.”

Juju turned and looked at Hwi-seong. Her smile vanished, replaced by an expression of contempt Ruah had never seen before.

“Well, well, are we the villains now?”

Hwi-seong shrugged, feigning nonchalance. Juju stood between Ruah and Hwi-seong, arms spread wide.

“Senior, I won’t beat around the bush. Apologize for bullying the nurse.”

“Yeah, yeah, sorry, sorry.”

For a moment, Ruah thought she heard Juju grind her teeth.

“Apologize properly.”

“J-Juju. I’m okay….”

Frightened by the tense atmosphere, Ruah reached for Juju, but Juju showed no intention of backing down.

“Seniors, if you don’t apologize to the teacher, I’ll tell the other teachers.”

“Are you threatening us? Wow, I’m so scared of my junior.”

As expected, the threat didn’t work. Even if it got out, they would just get scolded within the school, and the higher-ups would smooth things over. They might even retaliate against Juju for reporting them.

“You call yourselves aspiring professional Hunters, and you’re ganging up on one person? Shame on you. And she’s a teacher, younger than you, too.”

‘Younger…?’

Ruah tilted her head.

“Watch your mouth.”

Hwi-seong’s voice lowered.

“Who’s bullying who? The nurse just got hurt accidentally while holding the sandbag.”

“Tsk….”

“Isn’t that right, teacher?”

Hwi-seong asked, looking at Ruah over Juju’s shoulder.

“I-I….”

Ruah stammered, at a loss for words.

If she said yes, she would be undermining Juju, who had come to rescue her. If she said no, she would be fueling the conflict between Juju and Hwi-seong.

“Teacher, you don’t have to answer. These jerks know what they did.”

“These jerks? That’s it!”

—Slap!

One of the third-year girls standing nearby slapped Juju across the face. Hard enough to make Juju’s head snap to the side. Startled, Ruah rushed to Juju’s side to check on her. Her cheek was red and swollen.

“Hey, why are you overreacting?”

“She’s being disrespectful!”

Hwi-seong chuckled, trying to calm things down, while the girl yelled.

“…….”

Juju remained silent, then looked up at Hwi-seong.

“Fine. I’ll take that as you accepting the consequences, whatever they may be.”

“Do as you please, junior.”

“And I’m taking the teacher with me.”

Juju grabbed Ruah’s wrist and started to leave the ring. Ruah inwardly sighed in relief, thinking she was finally free—

“What’s the rush? Our practice isn’t over yet.”

At Hwi-seong’s signal, two third-year students blocked Ruah and Juju’s path. This time, Juju shouted at Hwi-seong.

“Are you not done yet?!”

“Our junior seems to have a lot of complaints.”

Hwi-seong approached with a smirk and stood right in front of Juju. He was more than a head taller than her, so Juju couldn’t help but feel intimidated.

“Then, how about a match?”

“A match?”

—Tap.

“A spar. I’m tired of just hitting the sandbag.”

“…….”

“You seem like a damage dealer or a tank, junior. Isn’t it fair to take what you want with your skills?”

Ruah noticed Juju’s fists trembling.

“Is that so?”

“Oh?”

“If I win, apologize to the teacher.”

Hwi-seong scoffed, as if amused.

“I’ll even bow down to her.”

And so, the sparring match was set. Juju and Ruah stood in one corner of the ring, while Hwi-seong and the third-year students stood in the other, preparing for the spar.

“[Healing].”

Ruah used her recovered mana to heal Juju’s swollen cheek.

“Juju, are you sure about this?”

“Yes, I’m fine. I’ve been wanting to beat that jerk up anyway, so this is perfect.”

Saying so, Juju took off her tracksuit jacket and tightened her gloves.

“Hey, Juju.”

“What is it, teacher?”

Ruah voiced what she had been thinking since she saw Juju coming to her rescue.

“Thank you. For helping me.”

“…….”

“And I’m sorry for getting you involved.”

Juju gazed at Ruah and gave a gentle smile.

“Teacher, let me tell you a story from the past.”

“Okay?”

“Once upon a time, there was a little girl whose house got caught in a Gate incident. Her whole family died because of the monsters.”

“…….”

Juju spoke calmly. Of course, Ruah knew who that little girl was.

“She somehow survived and hid in a corner to avoid the monsters. It was a blind spot, but she was badly injured while escaping, so she’d given up hope.”

“…….”

“She said she never dreamed that Hunters would come before she died.”

“That’s… fortunate.”

“But the Hunters were badly injured on their way to where the girl was hiding. Only two survived, and one of them even lost an arm.”

Apparently, to save Juju, they had to go all the way to the boss room, and it was difficult to clear the Gate while protecting an injured child.

“The girl told them to leave her. Because she was going to die anyway.”

“…….”

“But the Hunters said—”

Suddenly, Juju stroked Ruah’s head with her gloved hand.

“It’s okay, kids should rely on adults.”

“…Huh?”

“And they cleared it spectacularly. Seeing them made me dream of becoming a Hunter.”

Juju chuckled.

“Even if you’re a teacher, you’re still a kid, so you can rely on me, an adult!”

“…….”

‘Uh… that’s not right….’

It was a touching story, but Juju had gotten it completely wrong.

Ruah thought the misunderstanding had been cleared up during the last Gate raid, but Juju still seemed to firmly believe Ruah was twelve years old.

However, Ruah wasn’t so clueless as to correct her now, so she decided to just let Juju pet her.

‘I’ll tell her properly later….’

“Hey! Are you ready to come up here?”

Hwi-seong called out from the other side and climbed into the ring.

“Then, I’ll be back.”

Ruah watched Juju’s back as she climbed into the ring.

It was trembling slightly.

“…Juju, fighting!”

Ruah placed both hands on Juju’s back and infused her with energy.

“Lee Hwi-seong specializes in shields anyway. Beat him up…!”

“Okay!”

Juju and Hwi-seong stood facing each other in the cleared ring. One of the third-year students acted as the referee.

Her opponent was vastly superior in height, build, and skill, but Juju calmly warmed up. Hwi-seong looked at her and smirked condescendingly.

“You know I won’t go easy on you just because you’re a girl, right? That’s not how aspiring Hunters do things.”

“That’s what I want.”

“Ready!”

The two faced each other at the referee’s command.

“Equip skills!”

Both Juju and Hwi-seong closed their eyes and equipped three skills. They didn’t know each other’s hand.

A few tense seconds passed, and the bell rang.

—Ding!

“Hah!”

Juju threw a jab. Hwi-seong dodged it with just a movement of his head. It was a feint, but by no means a slow punch.

“This is too easy. What’s your rank?”

“…Tenth.”

“What, you’re last?”

—Whoosh!

Hwi-seong’s fist flew out without any warning. It was a light jab, but Juju’s upper body shook as she blocked it with her guard up.

‘The weight difference…!’

Moreover, Hwi-seong was much more skilled. Although his main weapon was a shield, he had clearly trained with gauntlets as well.

‘He couldn’t even equip them in the game, this is cheating…!’

“Tsk!”

—Swish!

Juju activated the first skill. [Charge Straight]. The sound of her fist cutting through the air was clean.

“Hmph.”

But Hwi-seong deflected it with his arm. He followed up with an uppercut from below.

“Ugh!”

Juju staggered, grazed by the blow. Ruah hopped from foot to foot below the ring.

‘Is there any way I can help….’

Fortunately, Juju quickly regained her balance and went into a defensive stance. Seeing Juju switch to defense, apparently seeing her as easy prey, Hwi-seong relentlessly launched his attacks.

—Thwack!

—Thwack!

She blocked with her guard, but the damage accumulated. Gradually pushed back, Juju’s back eventually touched the ropes.

“Hey! Lee Hwi-seong! Finish her!”

“Poor junior! Put her down already!”

The third-years yelled. A sharp smile appeared on Hwi-seong’s face.

“Gladly!”

Hwi-seong pulled back his right fist and right foot.

Ruah didn’t miss the motion.

“J-Juju! Defend and look for the opening!”

The skill Hwi-seong activated, [Mega Assault], exploded against Juju’s guard. Juju winced in pain, but didn’t fall.

—Whoosh….

Hwi-seong’s fist swiped through the air from the remaining force.

That was the opening after [Mega Assault] that Ruah had mentioned earlier. As expected, Hwi-seong had ignored Ruah’s advice and hadn’t incorporated any evasion.

‘Now…!’

Almost simultaneously with Ruah’s thought, Juju moved.

—Thwack!

[Arang Fist].

“Ugh!”

Hit cleanly in his unguarded body, Hwi-seong staggered.

—Whoosh, Bang!

And then, [Charge Straight].

As Ruah had advised during practice, the two skills, with their order switched, flowed naturally, pounding Hwi-seong’s body.

“Gah!”

His guard down, Hwi-seong was completely defenseless.

“F-Finisher!”

With Ruah’s shout, Juju’s final skill, [Storm Hook], activated.

“Finisher!”

—Thwack.

Echoing Ruah’s words, Juju’s glove landed a direct hit on Hwi-seong’s chin.

“Urk!”

Hwi-seong staggered, lost his balance, and fell forward.

As if bowing to Juju and Ruah, just as he had said he would.

“Hey! Don’t embarrass yourself!”

“Lee Hwi-seong! Get up!”

The third-years yelled, but Hwi-seong didn’t move. He was lying in an undignified splayed position, eyes rolled back, unconscious.

“Huff, puff.”

The victor looked down at the fallen loser, catching her breath.

“Shame on you, senior.”

Juju had won by K.O.