After being defeated, Kenji had provided an escape route for Ataru, who took advantage of the opening to call for reinforcements. Though reluctant, he knew the situation was beyond what they could handle. Besides, they had made an agreement beforehand—that's why Kenji was confident enough to take on the 14 Orchestra of Evil.
He just didn't expect he'd actually have to call for his help.
"Damn you, Kazama! " shouted a guy with a kappa-like appearance, veins bulging in frustration. "You actually brought a girl to help you!? "
"Yeah! Aren't you ashamed!? Asking a girl for help?! "
"Huh…? " I frowned, my brow twitching as I shot them a sharp glare. "Did they seriously just mistake me for a girl? "
Sure, I have girly features—soft skin, long hair, and a pretty face. But I'm not feminine.
If violence defines masculinity, then I'm the manliest bastard here. And they were about to find that out the hard way.
'Whatever. I'll beat them all up. Nothing's gonna change.'
I shifted my gaze to their so-called leader, who now looked like a wet chick caught in the rain—drenched in cold sweat, barely able to keep eye contact. That's because I had warned him beforehand:
"Don't mess with the Kazama Gang. Or there'll be consequences."
Back then, Sakura happened to overhear me. She thought I was protecting them in secret—which wasn't entirely wrong—but ever since then, she's been pestering me like a nosy delinquent who caught wind of a hidden hero.
Now, our eyes met again—and he immediately shuddered, involuntarily stepping back.
'Ah, right. Our second encounter…'
At first, this guy also mistook me for a girl and had the nerve to flirt.
So I broke both his arms and sent him straight to the hospital.
Apparently, that was when I unknowingly earned the nickname "King of Violence."
It stuck—and I didn't even find out until recently.
"Hey, you." I cracked my knuckles, stepping forward. "I believe I already warned you, didn't I? Do you want to spend the rest of the semester in a hospital bed again? "
My voice was calm, but the tension in the air was unbearable.
He backed away, waving his hands in panic.
"W-Whoa, calm down, Shin-sama! " he said with a forced smile, cold sweat pouring down his face. "This… this is all a misunderstanding! We didn't attack the Kazama Gang—we were just defending ourselves! That's all! "
The other members of the 14 Orchestra of Evil just stared at their leader in stunned disbelief. His sudden submission wasn't just unexpected—it was downright humiliating.
'Girls are important, sure… but does he really have to grovel like that? '
'This guy… he's clearly a simp! '
Some of them kept their thoughts to themselves, faces twitching in silent judgment. Others weren't so subtle.
"Hmph! " One of them stepped forward, arms crossed in disapproval. His voice rang with authority—and irritation.
"Leader, we all know you're desperate for women, but is this really necessary? Bowing down like a dog!? You're disgracing our name! This is shameful! "
Judging by his appearance, he looked like a man in his late 40s—yet somehow still in high school. A walking anomaly. Still, at least his face looked normal compared to the rest of them.
The leader simply turned his head toward him, blinking slowly. His expression looked like someone staring at a primitive caveman discovering fire.
'You fool... You have no idea what kind of monster you're provoking. This guy isn't someone you mess with—he's dragging us all straight into the abyss…'
He swallowed hard, then quickly turned back to Shin.
"Shin-sama! Please, don't be offended! " he stammered, bowing low enough to eat dust, rubbing his palms together with desperate energy. He was now groveling like some third-rate, bootlicking villain from a bad kung fu movie.
"This fool… he doesn't know what he's doing! I beg you—please forgive his ignorance! "
"No words are needed."
I took a step forward, ready to throw hands—but was immediately interrupted by a sudden explosion.
Boom!
The wall near the door was blasted open, chunks of concrete scattering like confetti.
'Who the hell destroys a wall when there's clearly a door wide open…? '
As the smoke cleared, four girls stood confidently at the edge of the newly made entrance.
"Let's just get this over with…" Chitose muttered, brushing dust from her uniform. Her eyes swept across the room, quickly taking in the scene—Kazama tied up, his gang unconscious nearby.
But no sign of an injured Shin.
Her eyes narrowed, then snapped toward the front of the warehouse—where I stood, completely fine. Not a scratch on me. Not even a single tear on my uniform.
"…What the hell is this? "
She turned sharply, glaring at the one cowering behind her. "What's the meaning of this, Ataru!? Didn't you say Shin was severely injured? Then why is he alive and well, standing there like nothing happened!? "
"Did you trick us? " Sakura asked, her smile twitching at the corner.
"Umm…" Ataru scratched the back of his head, a sheepish grin on his face. "I figured... It might be too much even for Shin to handle all of them at once. And, well... Since you guys were mad about being left out of the fight, I thought maybe you'd come help if I said he was dying."
A beat of silence followed.
"You lied to get us here? " Chitose deadpanned.
"Sorry…? " he tried weakly, clearly bracing himself.
But everyone in the room could feel it—he wasn't sorry. In fact, there was a suspicious sparkle in his eye and a faint blush on his cheeks.
"…You did this on purpose, didn't you? " she asked, expression blank. After all, he's a masochist.
"Tch… damn you, Ataru! " Chitose growled. "You'll take your punishment later! "
Still, she turned her attention back to the 14 Orchestra of Evil. Even if Kazama picked the fight first, he was still their clubmate. And watching him lying there, bruised and tied up... Well, it pissed them off.
"Who the hell are you guys? "
"Well… we're just passing by after getting lost on the way to the restroom," Roka said casually, causing the entire atmosphere to freeze in awkward silence.
"Don't you have a better excuse!? " Kenji snapped, veins bulging. As expected of the King of Tsukkomi, he'd never let nonsense slide, regardless of time or place.
Suddenly, someone from the orchestra gasped.
"Wait… they look familiar—"
"Isn't that the Student Council President!? "
"Why are there so many important people here!? " asked the kappa-looking guy, sweat running down his temple. His eyes darted toward Kenji. "And they're all girls! Don't tell me… they came all this way for you!? "
Kenji panicked. "No! Not me!!! "
"Yes, we came here for that thing, actually," Chitose said ambiguously, her smirk not helping the situation at all.
"You son of a bitch!! Buddha-faced guy," shouted a Buddha-faced guy. "You actually brought five girls (?) with you!? "
"So damn cocky… meanwhile, we're all still single!! "
"Aren't you guys misunderstanding something…!? " Kenji tried to interject, flailing, but none of them paid him any mind.
"I'm really shocked," said the suspiciously 40-year-old-looking high schooler, arms crossed. "I didn't expect you to be in a relationship with the Student Council President." He turned to Chitose with a knowing look.
"Huh? " she blinked. She didn't confirm or deny it, but the throbbing vein on her forehead and her clenched fists said more than words ever could.
"W-We're sorry!!! " They all bowed in sync, terrified.
"Then if it's not her… was it you? " They turned to Sakura, who just smiled sweetly and laughed them off, clearly not taking the bait.
Their eyes shifted toward Roka.
'This girl looks like a lost elementary schooler… impossible to be in a relationship,' they all collectively thought, then looked away silently.
Roka blinked. Why does it feel like they're silently insulting me…?
"Don't tell me it's you, Takao-san? "
She stared at them, deadpan. Completely unreadable.
Finally, their gaze shifted to me.
"Then… you are…"
"Yes. It must be her…" one of them muttered. "She was the first one to rush in. The rest followed her lead."
They didn't say anything out loud after that—but the sequence of events had already solidified the misunderstanding. It spread like wildfire.
Chitose's face turned beet red, clearly struggling to hold back laughter. The same went for Takao. Roka didn't say a word, but her eyes flicked toward me with something unreadable—until realization struck, and she too blushed and began trembling, barely holding in her giggles.
The misunderstanding had evolved into a full-blown comedy of errors.
"One, two, three... eleven." Chitose pointed at each of them one by one, counting aloud.
"Only eleven?" Sakura tilted her head. "I thought there were more. I could take them all out myself."
"Including Shin-san, there are five of us. Let's divide them: 2-2-2-2-3. Takao will take three," Roka proposed.
"Don't count me in!" Takao protested, but they ignored her completely.
"Well, I'd like to take three," Chitose said casually.
"Same here," Sakura chimed in.
"Anything goes for me," added Roka.
Black lines formed on the leader's forehead. 'It's over... we're going to die…'
While most members hesitated, the kappa-looking guy stepped forward. "Don't falter! This is our chance to strike back!" he shouted. "If we succeed, we're one step closer to our goal—"
"But… they're all girls. And one of them is the student council president!" another protested.
"Shut up, dimwit!" Kappa snapped. "To rule this school, we must harden our hearts! We are the 14 Orchestra of Evil!"
His fiery words raised morale.
"Yeah! Let's take over the school!"
"That's the spirit! Follow my lead—"
Crash!
Before Kappa could finish his charge, his body was flung backward and smashed into the wall, where he collapsed unconscious.
"That's one down. Only ten left," I said, cracking my knuckles. I dashed forward and delivered an uppercut to their dazed leader—his head lodged into the ceiling like a ceiling fan.
"That's two."
While I was handling the frontlines, the others weren't slacking off.
Sakura calmly poured water over her fists, confusing her opponents.
"What are you doing?"
"Oh, this?" she smiled innocently. "I don't like touching people directly… unless it's someone I like."
Her punches didn't connect physically—but the emotional damage alone made several collapse.
Chitose, meanwhile, picked up the door I kicked open earlier and slammed it into their heads like a pro wrestler.
Bam! Thud!
Roka stood still, her gaze fixed on Kenji's bruised body. One member tried to take advantage of her, thinking she was just a harmless elementary student—but she sacked him in seconds.
Takao was focused on untying Kenji, struggling with the tight knots.
But she didn't notice one guy—beaten earlier by Chitose—getting back up, wielding a thick metal pipe.
"Takao-san, behind you!" Roka cried out, too far to help. Takao turned slowly, fear freezing her limbs.
"No, no, no—it's over!" She shut her eyes, bracing for impact.
Splash!
She felt water drip on her face—but no pain.
She opened her eyes. In front of her stood her younger brother, Shin. He had blocked the attack with his forearm, but the pipe bent slightly and struck his temple.
I grabbed the attacker's wrist and squeezed hard.
Creak! Creak!
"Arghhh!!"
His scream—and the sound of bone snapping—brought the room to a standstill.
"What do you think you're doing?" I asked coldly, tightening my grip.
He couldn't answer. The pain overwhelmed him. The pipe clattered to the floor, and he finally passed out.
I let go, his limp body collapsing to the ground. Then I turned to Takao.
She wasn't hurt. She kept trying to untie Kenji.
"Shin… are you okay?" She asked, worried.
"Oh, that? Just a graze. Far from the heart!"
"But it's closer to the brain!" Kenji retorted.
"Hmm… now that you mention it, you're right," I replied, brushing it off like a joke.
Once Kenji was free, I turned serious. "Kenji, are you still planning to conquer this school?"
He stayed quiet for a moment, then nodded. "Yes. Even though I lost today, I won't give up." His eyes were filled with determination.
"I see. In that case, are you going to fight Roka and me?"
"Huh?" Kenji raised a brow. "I get why I'd fight you, but Roka too?"
"Well…" I gave her a meaningful glance. "Her position is actually higher than mine. Her nickname is… The Strongest Darkness."
Silence.
Roka tilted her head. "Oh? So you're going to fight me too, Kazama-san?" she said with a sweet but unnerving smile.
Two of the strongest people in his club… and Kenji needed to overcome both. He hesitated, and then I reassured him.
"Kenji, we're friends. I know your personality. So if you want to reach the top, I'll fight you fair and square."
Kenji glanced at me, then smiled slightly. "Thanks."
As for the 14 Orchestra of Evil, their fall was… rather anticlimactic. But that was probably the most fitting ending for them.