Sun-Myun lay sprawled across the blood-soaked ground, crimson seeping steadily from his numerous wounds as he glimpsed what he desperately hoped might be salvation. His voice cracked with raw desperation as he spoke. "Brother Oliver, Brother Oliver, I won't compete with you for Choi-Gyu anymore. Please, I beg you, ask Azrael to spare me this time."
His words tumbled out in a frantic, breathless rush. "I really didn't mean for any of this to happen. You have to believe me."
Azrael completely ignored Sun-Myun's pathetic pleas, turning instead to face the three figures who had materialized behind him through the swirling dust and debris. The interruption had come from Oliver, of course, his once-perfectly styled hair now thoroughly disheveled, with exhaustion etched deep into every weathered line of his pale face.
Despite his thoroughly haggard appearance, Oliver maintained an unnaturally eerie calm. His earlier words, spoken under direct supernatural compulsion, hadn't fazed him in the slightest. "I'm not trying to stop you from what you're doing," he said, approaching Azrael with carefully measured steps.
Azrael's dark eyebrows rose slightly in genuine surprise as Oliver continued with cold calculation. "It's just that if you were to do something like this here and now, it would inevitably tarnish your hard-earned reputation."
Sun-Myun listened intently to Oliver's carefully chosen words from his prone position on the ground, his bloodied expression slowly morphing from desperate hope to dull, creeping horror. His broken body trembled uncontrollably as the true meaning of those words finally sank in.
"Brother Oliver, what are you talking about? What do you mean?" Sun-Myun's voice barely rose above a hoarse whisper.
Oliver sighed heavily, crouching down directly in front of the severely wounded student. "I've always known you liked Choi-Gyu deeply, but I didn't expect you to hate me so much that you'd stoop to something this low."
Sun-Myun's eyes widened in complete disbelief as Oliver's next words hit him like a devastating physical blow. "For the sake of Pixar University's sterling reputation, I have absolutely no choice but to ask you to die quietly."
The cold declaration completely shattered what remained of Sun-Myun's fragile composure. He erupted into hysterical, ear-piercing screams, his voice cutting through the air like a blade. "You can't do this to me! The school will definitely not let you get away with this!"
Azrael's laughter was cold, calculating, and utterly without mercy. "In this particular situation, it's probably safe to say you were killed by a rampaging demon, don't you think?"
The blood drained completely from Sun-Myun's ashen face as the terrible truth settled over him like a suffocating blanket. Azrael was absolutely right, who would dare question such a convenient explanation?
Just as Sun-Myun opened his mouth to protest further, Oliver's right hand clamped down firmly over his face. "Don't worry about the pain," Oliver said with mock gentleness. "I won't let you feel any unnecessary suffering."
At that precise moment, Jea-Min approached them with measured steps. She had put her distinctive black-framed glasses back on, returning to her usual completely emotionless expression. Only the deep crimson flush staining her pale cheeks like spilled blood betrayed the raw intensity of her earlier emotions. If not for that single telltale sign, Azrael might have seriously doubted this was the same girl who had shown such violent passion moments before.
"Ah!"
A bone-chilling scream of pure agony tore through the air as Sun-Myun lost his right arm in the blink of an eye. Blood spurted violently from the cleanly severed limb, painting the scattered debris around them in fresh, glistening crimson.
After completing her swift, grisly work, Jea-Min leaned casually against a nearby pile of rubble, watching Azrael and Oliver with cold, clinical detachment.
Azrael glanced briefly at Jea-Min, then turned back to Sun-Myun with a cruel, satisfied smile. "It seems everyone here wants you dead."
Fine beads of cold sweat covered Sun-Myun's increasingly ashen face. The excruciating agony radiating from his brutally severed arm combined with the overwhelming terror flooding his shattered mind, leaving him completely speechless and desperately gasping for air.
Not far away, Choi-Gyu suddenly stirred from her forced unconsciousness. She trembled violently as she approached Sun-Myun's mutilated form, her eyes reflecting a disturbing mixture of horror and grim determination.
Then, closing her eyes tightly shut, she raised her foot high and brought it down with savage, unrestrained force.
The scream that followed was far more agonizing than anything that had come before, echoing through the devastated ruins and seeming to linger in the very air itself like a curse.
Seeing that his three companions had all left their unmistakable mark, Oliver whispered his final words to the dying student. "You can go with complete peace of mind. I'll personally tell the school that you died heroically in battle against the demons."
His voice took on a tone of false, practiced sympathy. "The school administration will not treat your grieving parents unfairly."
Without waiting for Sun-Myun to respond or protest, Oliver crushed the student's head completely with his right hand. The sickening crunch of splintering bone and brain matter filled the heavy silence that followed.
After completing the brutal execution, Oliver silently wiped the fresh blood from his hands and turned to face Azrael directly.
"You really surprised me today," Azrael said, his voice carrying a note of genuine admiration.
As he spoke those words, the writhing black and red tentacles that were his distinctive signature manifestation crushed what remained of Sun-Myun's body into an utterly unrecognizable pulp of flesh and bone.
"Now," Azrael declared with deep satisfaction, "we are all willing accomplices."
Oliver and the two girls stared at Azrael in stunned, uncomfortable silence. They understood perfectly the significance of what had just happened. There had been absolutely no need for Azrael to destroy the evidence so thoroughly and completely, after all, the three of them had acted first, giving Azrael perfect leverage over them.
But now Azrael had deliberately eliminated that advantage, making himself equally culpable in Sun-Myun's cold-blooded murder. He had willingly given up the very handle that could have been used to control them indefinitely.
A slow, relieved smile spread across Oliver's face, the relief evident in his relaxing features. "Let's go. We still need to report on this matter."
Azrael nodded in agreement, summoning his ghostly soldier with a casual gesture. "Today really was quite a tough battle."
Oliver's smile widened considerably. "Who could possibly argue with that assessment?"
At the entrance to the secret realm, Chisaki sat in the van, smoking a cigarette and fighting off persistent boredom. He wasn't entirely sure how long the five students' dangerous mission would take, but his job was to wait patiently regardless of the duration.
When the spatial portal at the entrance began to vibrate ominously, he quickly stubbed out his cigarette and straightened up alertly.
Four figures emerged from the shimmering gateway.
Four?
Chisaki's initial confusion quickly gave way to grim understanding as he counted again carefully. He asked the question he already dreaded the answer to. "Where's Sun-Myun?"
Azrael remained perfectly composed as he delivered the carefully prepared explanation. "There was something seriously wrong with the demons inside. Sun-Myun died while carrying out the mission."
"Dead?" Chisaki's voice cracked with disbelief. This secret realm had been carefully selected by the school specifically because it should have been completely safe for students of their level.
Oliver smoothly took over the detailed explanation. "There was definitely something wrong with the demons inside. One of them possessed an ability we've never encountered before, something called the Eye of the Heart."
Chisaki's brow furrowed deeply as he studied the four survivors more carefully. Azrael looked much the same as when he'd confidently entered the realm, but the other three clearly showed unmistakable signs of a brutal battle. Their faces were pale with exhaustion, and they all appeared to be on the verge of complete collapse.
Azrael had even changed his clothes entirely, suggesting he'd suffered significant injuries during the fierce fight.
"Damn," Chisaki muttered, lighting another cigarette to calm his frayed nerves. "Get in the car first. I want you to tell me everything that happened in that realm."
He couldn't reasonably blame the four students for failing to save Sun-Myun. If the intelligence had been completely wrong about the demons' true capabilities, then the fact that four of them had managed to survive was actually quite remarkable.
The four students obediently climbed into the van. This time, however, the seating arrangement had noticeably shifted. Azrael sat alone, while Oliver and Choi-Gyu huddled together for mutual comfort. Jea-Min, as she had when they'd first arrived, pressed herself into a corner of the vehicle.
Chisaki didn't notice the subtle change in their group dynamics.
As the van started up and pulled away from the realm entrance, Azrael began his carefully crafted account of their harrowing experiences inside. Of course, he couldn't possibly reveal the truth about their final actions against Sun-Myun.
"This is really bad news," Chisaki said after hearing the complete report, feeling overwhelmed by the serious implications. The appearance of a previously unknown demonic ability not mentioned in any of their extensive documentation was definitely a major problem.
He was genuinely grateful that only Sun-Myun had been lost. If Azrael had been the one to die instead, Chisaki couldn't even imagine the severe consequences that would surely follow.
"Go home and get some rest today," he instructed firmly. "I'll report everything to the school administration."
His voice softened slightly as he continued. "As for Sun-Myun, try not to be too upset about it. Although no one wanted this to happen, the dead are gone, and we need to focus on moving forward."
Hearing Chisaki's understanding words, Azrael could barely contain his inner satisfaction, closing his eyes to hide his true expression.
Behind him, Oliver squeezed Choi-Gyu's slightly cold hand in a gesture of comfort.
Feeling the warmth of his reassuring touch, Choi-Gyu pressed her lips together and managed a forced smile for Oliver's benefit.
Watching this touching scene through the rearview mirror, Chisaki sighed inwardly. He assumed the students were simply traumatized by their experiences in the secret realm and their failure to save their classmate.
As for Jea-Min, she seemed perfectly content to be ignored, which suited everyone just fine under the circumstances.
Back at the school gate, Chisaki urged the four students to get some rest before hurrying off to report the incident to the school's leadership.
"Looks like everything's settled for now," Azrael said, bidding farewell to his three companions. "I'll be going home. Make sure you all get some proper rest."
With that, he disappeared through the school gates, eager to examine whatever rewards Ming had promised him for successfully completing this mission.