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The floor was covered with a large inverted pentagram, and the walls were smeared with blood.

Inside the church, where the cross was hung upside down.

The cult leader had summoned the apostles again, but not many showed up.

Out of the 12 seats meant for the apostles, only the 1st, 5th, 6th, and 8th apostles were present.

Just four of them.

“That Rust bitch, fine, but… Jealousy, followed by Grid and Pigrithia too?”

“Yes…”

“Pathetic.”

“I’m sorry, Cult Leader.”

The 12 apostles were disposable anyway, but he hadn’t expected the 11th Apostle of Jealousy, the 10th Apostle of Greed, and the 9th Apostle of Sloth to all fall.

“The 2nd, 4th, and 7th apostles sacrificed themselves to complete the mission, so Satan’s descent is near. But… you’re saying there’s no body for Satan to use?”

“S-sorry!”

“This is your last chance. All of you, head to the academy and retrieve ST-156.”

“Yes!”

The cult leader gave the order as if he couldn’t stand the sight of them and immediately left.

After the cult leader disappeared, Fury, the 1st Apostle of Wrath, looked at the remaining apostles and spoke.

“Gula, Eruogens, Rage… only four of us left.”

“I’m actually glad. That bastard Grid didn’t suit Greed. Stingy, maybe.”

Gula, the 8th Apostle of Greed, seemed fine with Grid’s disappearance, no matter what else happened.

“Not just four, but a whopping four. I alone am enough.”

Eruogens, the 6th Apostle of Pride, seemed dissatisfied that there were still four of them left.

Fury clicked her tongue and turned to Rage, the 5th Apostle of Wrath, who had been silent.

“Rage, what do you think?”

“Too much talking! Let’s just storm the academy!”

“Ugh, it’s embarrassing to share the title of apostle with someone like you. Why don’t the rest of you just kill yourselves? I’ll retrieve ST-156 alone.”

“Everyone, shut up and focus on what I’m saying.”

Fury growled with an intimidating aura, and everyone straightened up.

Though there was no hierarchy among the apostles, they knew better than to defy Fury, who had been the first to join and was favored by the cult leader.

Fury continued, commanding their attention.

“With four of us going in, we’ll definitely be noticed.”

“Then let’s sneak in one by one, like Jealousy did.”

“Do you really think all four of us can move stealthily inside? Rage? That musclehead will stick out like a sore thumb.”

“Then what do you suggest? Go in separately and get caught again?”

“I can handle it alone. Send me, Fury.”

Eruogens, the Apostle of Pride, had grown increasingly arrogant since her appointment, to the point where she now believed she could defeat even Demon King Jeong Ha-yul.

Once appointed as one of the Seven Deadly Sins’ apostles, their personalities inevitably shifted to match their sin… but Eruogens was the most extreme.

“Tch.”

Fury clicked her tongue at Eruogens’ boastful words, as if she were Satan herself.

“In a few days, the academy will be on break. That’s when their defenses are weakest.”

“Shouldn’t they actually strengthen their defenses then?”

“I thought the same, but the follower we planted inside is reliable. They said they can sneak us in.”

“So we attack on the last day of the semester?”

“Yes, we’ll strike the academy with all the followers we can muster.”

That would be a battle worthy of being called a war.

‘The spoils will be plentiful.’

Gula’s lips curled into a smile.

She seemed excited about the extra income from the battlefield.

She wasn’t the only one smiling.

Rage was thrilled at the thought of combat, and Eruogens looked forward to a fight that would spread her fame.

Even Fury, seeing their expressions, felt it.

The apostles were all looking forward to the coming war.

***

As early summer passed and true heat arrived, the Hero Academy’s Student Council members were busy preparing for the end-of-semester ceremony.

“Why do we have to do this…?”

“I should’ve quit the Student Council at the right time!”

Of course, Jeong Gyeoul and Lee Ha-yoon were also there.

“Complaining won’t change anything. We’re basically the academy’s slaves… Hey! Can’t you even count the chairs properly?!”

Kang Min-kyung, the Student Council President, was also frowning but, true to her role, encouraged the students.

Though only briefly, as the Student Council President was extremely busy, she shouted and then disappeared.

“Why can’t we use our abilities?”

“Right, magic would make this so much easier.”

“Haha, consider this part of your training.”

The academy president, watching the preparations, approached with a grandfatherly tone, teasing them.

“Isn’t this just outdated tradition? We need to get rid of it. Why do we even need a ceremony for the end of the semester? And even if we do, why can’t we use our abilities to prepare? This is too much.”

“…Take that up with the government. Hang in there.”

Kim Yu-shin also found the ceremony annoying and couldn’t understand why the rule prohibiting the use of abilities during preparations existed.

But he couldn’t unilaterally change the rule, which had been established by the first president, the Education Office, and even the National Assembly.

Not knowing how to respond, he quickly left.

“Seriously… Our master is no help at all. What good is being president if you can’t do anything?”

“At least it’s almost over.”

“You two! Stop chatting and get back to work!”

As their chatter dragged on, the Student Council President shouted at Jeong Gyeoul and Lee Ha-yoon.

“Yes, ma’am!”

They snapped back irritably and refocused on their tasks.

The Student Council members had been working since morning.

By 10 a.m., the outside grew noisy as students began to enter, and the instructors took their seats.

Instructor Kim Gae-soo stepped onto the stage, and the ceremony began.

Usually, the administrative staff handled the hosting, but after Jealousy wiped them out, the new hires were essentially rookies.

So Instructor Kim Gae-soo took over.

“First, let’s begin with the national ceremony. Please stand and face the national flag. Salute the flag!”

“I am proud of the Taegeukgi…”

“Now, the president will give his address.”

The time everyone dreaded—students, instructors, and staff alike—had arrived.

The president’s speech.

It was Kim Yu-shin’s first time in this role, so no one knew what to expect.

Everyone in the auditorium nervously watched as Kim Yu-shin stepped onto the stage.

“Students of Hero Academy, I am President Kim Yu-shin.”

He started with a simple greeting.

But…

“During this semester, we faced many hardships and challenges. I believe you all know why I’m standing here…”

Everyone’s worst fears came true.

‘Ugh! It’s so long!’

‘This reminds me of my elementary school nightmares…’

‘I miss President Kim Bong-du…’

‘Should I fake fainting? Maybe they’ll take me to the infirmary.’

Though no one said it aloud, they could all guess what the others were thinking, exchanging the same looks whenever their eyes met.

‘This is so boring, I could fall asleep standing.’

‘You too? Me too.’

“With that…”

“Finally…”

Just as it seemed Kim Yu-shin, who reminded everyone of their elementary school principal, was about to finish his speech—

Boom!

“What’s that?!”

“The ceiling’s been breached!”

“The main gate’s been broken through!”

“The back gate too!”

Explosions echoed from all directions as followers of the Satan Church began pouring in.

“Who… who are they?”

“Idiots! It’s an attack! They’re enemies!”

Though some students shouted warnings, most were still standing in shock.

The instructors were slightly better off, but they too were caught off guard by the sudden assault.

“Where did they come from…?”

“How did such a large force get in without anyone noticing?!”

The instructors, led by Yoo Soo-gap, quickly sprang into action.

“Protect the students and eliminate the intruders! I’ll take responsibility, so kill them if necessary!”

As President Kim Yu-shin gave the order to kill if necessary and moved to protect the students, a figure blocked his path.

“I’ll handle you. I’m Eruogens, the 6th Apostle.”

“The Satan Church? I had no idea there were so many heretics in this land…”

Eruogens had somehow appeared on stage, blocking the president.

Fury, anticipating Eruogens’ solo move, had secretly sent Gula, who also climbed onto the stage.

“Eruogens! Fury said no solo actions!”

“…I said I’d handle this alone.”

“Take that up with Fury.”

Swoosh—

“Come at me together. I need to finish this quickly and protect the students.”

In an instant, the president found himself in a 2-on-1 situation and drew his sword.

The president’s urgency was justified—the situation in the auditorium was dire.

“Ugh! Chang-soo, why are you…?”

“…I’m sorry.”

The enemy wasn’t just outside.

Staff members turned on each other, stabbing their colleagues.

The students weren’t faring well either.

“…Why are you doing this?”

“Everything is for Satan.”

“What are you talking about?!”

As a student disguised as a follower drew a dagger to attack another student—

Slash—

Their wrist was severed.

“Ahhh!”

“Too noisy.”

Jeong Gyeoul cut the disguised follower’s wrist, and Lee Ha-yoon immediately cast a spell to knock them out.

“Are you okay?”

“…Th-thank you.”

Jeong Gyeoul and Lee Ha-yoon continued to move, protecting the dazed students.

Of course, they had already sent an emergency signal with their watches.

‘Just hold out a little longer, like always.’

Kim Yu-shin was tied up by the two apostles.

Though the instructors were holding the line, the Satan Church’s followers kept pouring in.

In the end, there was no choice but to kill them.

The long-awaited end-of-semester ceremony was being stained with blood.

 

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