Bab 16: CHAPTER 15 - Unlikely Allies (5)

Ichiro was the last one to change and was on his way home when he noticed a group of students gathered around a corner. He knew exactly who they were waiting for. Deciding to take a different route to avoid them, he turned around, only to find someone blocking his path.

"Ichiro, going somewhere?" a voice taunted him.

Ichiro could only manage a smile. He knew that saying anything would only make the situation worse than he already knew it was about to become.

In one of the secluded areas on the campus, Ichiro found himself being attacked by the group of students. His face became covered in bruises and cuts, yet he made no attempt to fight back.

-Warning-

The system repeatedly alerted him to the injuries he was sustaining. Ichiro was aware that his ribs were broken, but without any magic affinity, the system couldn't heal his wounds.

"Damn it!" Ichiro cursed internally, the pain becoming almost unbearable as he fought the urge to retaliate.

"You idiot, why did you have to come back!"

"You're a disgrace to this school and country!"

"Just die already, no one would care!"

Ichiro paid no heed to their mocking words, fully aware that he was a figure of insignificance, someone forgotten and unimportant. He believed that even his grandparents, who might shed tears for him, wouldn't ultimately know of his passing.

Then, suddenly, the students felt as if the wind had ceased to blow. They exchanged bewildered glances, uncertain about what was happening.

"Can you feel that?" one of them asked.

"Feel what?"

"That."

A female student, who possessed a slight sensitivity to magic, sensed that the air around them was no longer normal.

"What's wrong with you?" the male student inquired, noticing the fear in the girl's eyes. "It's all your fault, you bastard! If you had just died, I wouldn't be in this mess!"

Ichiro couldn't comprehend why this particular group of students held such a vehement hatred for him. He could only speculate that it might be connected to his mother. Perhaps, their family had been saved by his mother in the past, and they held deep gratitude toward her. The anger they felt might stem from Ichiro's involvement in his mother's death.

"Seriously, we should go," the female student insisted, feeling that something was terribly amiss.

Suddenly, the wind around them intensified, as though a storm was brewing.

The wind blew with an intensity that left the students feeling trapped and helpless. Ichiro, despite the pain from his injuries, strained to look up and understand what was happening. To his shock, he witnessed a fierce windstorm forming around them, encircling them like an impenetrable barrier. It was as if nature itself had conspired to imprison them within its furious grip.

The howling wind whipped through the air, creating a deafening cacophony that drowned out their voices. Dust and debris swirled around, making it nearly impossible for them to see anything beyond the tempest that surrounded them.

Fear and confusion washed over the group of students. They huddled together, seeking refuge from the relentless force of the storm. It was a moment of realization that something far beyond their understanding was at play, and Ichiro, for the first time in a long while, felt a glimmer of hope amidst the chaos.

"What's going on?" one of the students exclaimed, his voice strained with fear and confusion.

"Come out, you bastard!" another yelled, frustration evident in his voice.

"Don't think we don't know," a third student chimed in, his words filled with anger and suspicion.

The group of male students sensed that someone was responsible for this ominous spell. The fear in their female companions' eyes made it clear that they were not alone in their unease.

One of the female students spoke up, her voice trembling. "We really should have just left."

"Why are you so scared?" the male student questioned. He believed that there were nine of them and only one unknown person responsible for the windstorm. In his mind, they could easily overpower one person.

"No, we should really just run," she insisted, her intuition telling her that the person behind the windstorm was not to be underestimated.

"Come out, will you!" the leader of the group angrily demanded, growing frustrated by the mysterious figure who had trapped them within the swirling tempest.

As a small opening appeared in the wind vortex, the students eagerly anticipated the revelation of the person responsible for their predicament. However, Ichiro had no energy left to bother; his weakened body and fading vision consumed him.

"Everyone, get ready," the leader of the group commanded. The rest of the students prepared to attack the impending figure, while the female student, realizing her survival depended on Ichiro, retreated and hid near him.

Finally, the enigmatic figure they had been waiting for materialized within the windstorm. Their expressions all paled as if they were facing the grim reaper himself, ready to claim their lives.

"So, who wants to go first?" the figure asked.

The students trembled in fear, questioning why their challenge had led them to confront him of all people. The person before them maintained his characteristic cold and indifferent expression, someone whom everyone had learned to avoid.

"Wait, Nakamura, there must be a misunderstanding," one student stammered.

"That's right, it's all a misunderstanding," another quickly chimed in.

"You see, we were all just practicing," yet another student added.

"That's right, practicing," they echoed.

"Hmm, really?" Akihiko Nakamura's indifferent tone sent shivers down their spines. His cold voice and the ceaseless vortex intensified the fear in their hearts.

"That?" Akihiko pointed at the weak and bloody Ichiro on the ground. When the students turned to see what he was indicating, some of them dropped to their knees without realizing it.

"Well, we can explain," one student began.

"That's right, this is all part of our training," another quickly followed.

"Yeah, training," they insisted, desperately hoping for mercy and understanding from the person who had caught them in this dire situation.

"Then, I'll join you," Akihiko said with an eerie smile that sent fear coursing through their veins. "Shall we start?"

"No, this..." the leader of the group stammered, panic overwhelming him. Unknowingly, fear triggered his self-defense instincts, causing him to cast a protective spell. "Fight back!"

Each student launched attacks against Akihiko, but their efforts were futile. An invisible layer of wind enveloped Akihiko's entire body. Every time they attempted to strike him, their hands were met with a hundred cuts and bloodied wounds, as if a multitude of daggers were slicing through their flesh in an instant.

The female student who had been hiding behind Ichiro fell to the ground, finally understanding the source of her overwhelming fear. The mastermind behind this terrifying magic was Akihiko Nakamura. If he desired their deaths, no one would dare question him; their families were not powerful enough to challenge the Nakamura family.

"Everyone, stop!" she pleaded with tears in her eyes, fearing that they were all on the brink of death.

Akihiko, on the other hand, seemed to be losing himself in the moment. His crazed smile suggested that he was relishing what he was doing. He didn't particularly enjoy bullying others, but the thrill of overpowering and beating them seemed to ignite something within him. "Is that the best you all can do?"

As the students lay on the ground, covered in cuts and blood, their uniforms torn apart, they looked like battered meat in a butcher's shop.

When the vortex finally dissipated, the female student hastily fled, leaving her friends behind. She wanted no part in what had transpired and had no intention of ending up like them. However, she had forgotten that she was facing one of the academy's most formidable students.

Akihiko extended his hand like a gun, a sinister smile on his face as a small vortex of wind gathered at his fingertip.

"Bang," he uttered with a chilling calmness, and like a bullet, the magic struck the girl, causing her to collapse onto the ground.

With everyone on the ground, unconscious, Akihiko finally made his way over to check on Ichiro.

"Yo, you still alive?" Akihiko's tone was far from gentle as he approached Ichiro. Using his wind magic, he lifted Ichiro from the ground and examined him while the injured boy floated in the air.

"I'm fine," Ichiro replied faintly, despite his evident poor condition.

"You don't look fine," Akihiko remarked, stating the obvious. It irked Ichiro that Akihiko felt the need to point it out.

Akihiko let go of his magic and caught Ichiro, guiding him to sit down. He handed Ichiro a small pill. "Here, eat this for now. This should help a bit."

It was a low-grade pill that Akihiko had procured from his inventory. He had sensed the trouble Ichiro was facing earlier and didn't want to get involved, but he couldn't explain why he had rushed to the clinic, retrieved the medicine, and hurried back to help Ichiro in such a hurry.

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