Friday, 10:00 AM
Daejin High – Auditorium
The auditorium had never been this full.
Every seat was packed. Every aisle crammed. Students, teachers, upperclassmen from the elite Divisions—even club captains and class presidents. The lights dimmed, a single spotlight falling on the tribunal stage.
Banners of the Crimson Division hung like royal drapes behind the judges' table. Three staff members—handpicked by the Division Captains—sat with neutral expressions and school-issued tablets.
This wasn't just a trial.
It was a performance.
---
Scene 1: Arrival of the Accused
The Grey List entered together.
Dae-hyun led the way in his black uniform, sleeves rolled up, neck bruised from recent fights. Behind him: Min-ji, calm and composed; Sun-woo, fists clenched but silent; Tae-yul, looking like he'd rather break bones than sit through legalese.
Hae-rin followed last, head down, separate from them but still present.
Whispers followed their steps.
> "That's them."
"The ones who cracked the locker room."
"They don't stand a chance."
"I heard they're getting expelled live."
Chan-mi was already seated near the front row. Her arms were folded. Her eyes locked on the Crimson Captains at the edge of the stage.
Jin Do-won sat among them, silent.
Watching.
Waiting.
---
Scene 2: Opening Statements
A sharp chime echoed.
> "This tribunal is now in session," said Ms. Bae, head of student conduct. "Shin Dae-hyun, Park Sun-woo, Kang Tae-yul, and Oh Min-ji stand accused of the following: unauthorized access to restricted facilities, data theft, intentional destabilization of the student hierarchy, and conspiracy to sabotage the Division structure."
> "Do you understand the charges?"
Dae-hyun stepped forward.
> "Yes. But we don't accept them."
Gasps.
> "We don't deny what we accessed," he continued. "But what we found is more criminal than what we did."
> "Objection," said Mr. Han, a faculty rep. "This is not a place for counter-accusations."
> "It is now," Dae-hyun said calmly. "You wanted a spectacle. Let's give them one."
---
Scene 3: The Playback
He placed a flash drive on the center table.
> "This contains video footage, decrypted records, and internal files from Division 1."
Ms. Bae looked alarmed. "That data is unauthorized—"
> "Exactly. You want us gone for touching it. But none of you are asking why it exists."
He nodded toward Tae-yul, who activated a nearby projector.
The first image: PROJECT BISHOP
The second: CLEAN LIST: PHASE 4
The third: Surveillance footage of students being followed, stalked, ambushed.
> "Division 1 created a hit list," Dae-hyun said. "They called it a 'cleansing'. They assigned invisible students—'Bishops'—to destroy the ones they couldn't control."
Gasps.
A few faculty members murmured among themselves.
> "This is fabricated," Mr. Han said quickly.
> "No," Chan-mi said, standing. "I've seen it with my own eyes. So has half the crowd."
> "Lies from a known ex-Crimson," snapped a voice from the Captains' section.
> "Then why erase our AV room?" Dae-hyun asked. "Why strip our drives if we had nothing?"
---
Scene 4: The Counterattack
The room buzzed. Ms. Bae held up her hand.
> "If you're claiming these files are real, you must present proof."
Dae-hyun nodded. "Check the Division system. The files were stored in the fourth-floor locker room. Try to access them now."
The staff rep clicked her tablet.
Her eyes widened.
> "They're gone."
> "Exactly. Deleted two days after we entered. Who has that clearance?"
A long pause.
Then a voice from the upper deck said:
> "Kim Ra-on."
Everyone turned.
Seo Mi-rae stepped forward from the shadows of the auditorium, dressed in a grey jacket, hands in her pockets.
> "Only he could delete core logs. Only a Bishop can initiate a Clean List."
> "You're Division 2," Ms. Bae said, surprised. "Why are you here?"
> "Because even soldiers get tired of being lied to."
She looked at Dae-hyun.
> "I saw the list. I saw my own name on it. That was enough."
---
Scene 5: The Verdict Reels
Dae-hyun pressed on.
> "We're not asking for mercy. We're asking for truth. If you expel us for exposing corruption, fine. But do it knowing you're protecting a shadow regime that sees every student as a calculation."
> "We're not rebels," Min-ji added. "We're survivors."
> "And this school needs fewer kings," Sun-woo growled, "and more shields."
Ms. Bae turned to the other staff.
They whispered, fast and urgent.
Then:
> "The tribunal is suspended for further investigation. Until the internal data breach is clarified, no disciplinary action will be taken."
---
Scene 6: Backlash Begins
The announcement was made official by the afternoon. No expulsion. But no absolution either.
Students were divided.
Some hailed the Grey List as heroes. Others called them manipulators. Social media flooded with hashtags:
> #GreyListFiles
#CrimsonTruth
#FreeTheKraken
But as the Grey List walked back to their room, a familiar face stood waiting.
Jin Do-won.
He was calm. Immaculate uniform. Gloves on. Arms behind his back.
> "You think this is over?" he said.
> "We think it's started," Dae-hyun replied.
Do-won smiled. "You've embarrassed me. That will cost you."
> "Then charge us," Min-ji snapped.
> "Oh, not here. Not in a room. Not in front of teachers."
He stepped closer.
> "I'm giving you one month."
> "For what?" Sun-woo said.
> "To survive."
---
Scene 7: The Letter
That night, a folded note was slipped under their door. Written in calligraphy:
> "You disrupted a system that was never meant to be fair.
You exposed the Kraken, but forgot the ocean it swims in.
You'll soon meet the Leviathans.
—R"
Dae-hyun sat silently at the table, rereading the letter.
Tae-yul placed a bowl of instant noodles beside him.
> "Leviathans?"
> "A different class," Dae-hyun murmured.
> "Division 1?" Sun-woo asked.
> "No. Worse."
Chan-mi entered the room
, her jacket wet from rain.
> "Underground students. Expelled fighters. Weaponized ghosts. They're not listed anywhere. But they move under Ra-on's orders."
> "So… what now?" Min-ji asked.
Dae-hyun looked at the others.
> "Now we hunt Bishop 4. And then… we cut the head off the serpent."
---
End of Chapter 10