34 Better off handicapped

"My role here… doesn't need much screen time."

Ike furrowed his brows, as that wasn't what he expected to hear. Many scenarios had played out in his mind about what Basty would do. One of them was the most cliche as the hero coming right on time to save the day. But alas, even when the bullies registered the duel successfully, Basty stayed idled by squatting down while doodling something on the ground with the tip of his finger.

'Hmm…' Ike folded his arms under his chest, back against the wall. His mind drifted to other angles, he hadn't thought about how things would unfold, but he kept his ears open to the vile conversation unfolding just around the corner.

"I… I…" one of the three bullies trembled nervously, peeking over his phone to look at the other two. He only saw the instigator standing. The other one was searching for the unconscious student on the floor. "I already submitted the duel request."

"Ah. Found it." The bully who was searching for the unconscious student took out a phone from the latter's pockets. "Let's see…"

When he opened the phone, a sigh of relief escaped his mouth when the phone wasn't locked.

"This fucker… who in the world doesn't use passcodes, anymore?" he muttered with a slight chuckle, going to the website to see the request duel.

There were only two ways to make their plan succeed. One was a qualified referee to host the duel, and second, both contenders should accept the match. They already completed the first one; the second problem was now resolved due to this student's lack of vigilance.

The student who held the unconscious student's phone lifted his head, gazing at the instigator of this plan. The latter smirked, nodding in approval.

The student holding the phone gulped down the tension building up in his throat. "Aish… shit," he cursed through his gritted teeth. Once he accepted the request, that would be it. But they already went this far. They couldn't back down now.

With that thought in mind, the youth was about to accept the request when the other student, the one who would facilitate this duel, spoke.

"Wai — wait!" the referee's voice was shaking, fear apparent in his voice. He watched the other two look back at him. "Do we really have to go this far? He might not say anything since he knew he would get another beating."

"Are you a fucking retard?" the instigator of this situation took a step forward; his head was lowered, pissed at the nonsense he just heard. "He might not say anything since he was afraid he would get another beating. Will he even get another beating if those motherfuckers in the student organization were on us?"

He stood in front of the meek youth, pressing his index on the latter's head. "Are you fucking kidding me? If we leave him here, who do you think will come for him? If they took him to the hospital or the school's infirmary, anyone else can enter? What the fuck are you saying, eh?!"

The referee, who also participated in the bullying, kept his head low while the other bully poked his head repeatedly.

"Do you think I'm bad at thinking of killing someone? Why? Am I not doing this for the three of us? We're in the same fucking boat. I am already considerate enough to put blood in my hands — the fuck are you so afraid of?" the bully continued, clicking his tongue in irritation. "Fucking — tch."

The bully drew a deep breath to contain his tumultuous emotions, planting his hands on the referee's shoulders. "Hey, look at me."

When the referee raised his head, the bully looked him straight in the eye while nodding encouragingly. "Listen to me. Just do what you are told, eh? You are the referee of this duel. All you have to do was facilitate this duel and call it over when he's dead."

"Things will be quite messy once you reported his death once this duel is over, but as long as the three of us will stick with each other, they will not hold us accountable. Do you know why? Because he accepted this duel. Tell them when they asked you that you were simply doing your role," he added, patting his 'friend's' shoulder gently. "Moreover, why are you so terrified? They wouldn't even focus on the two of you. All attention will be on the dead guy's opponent, right?"

The referee assessed the instigator's eyes before he meekly nodded. "Will you be alright, then?"

"Of course. I wouldn't even come up with this plan if I am not sure about it."

There was a moment of silence that descended on the three of them. When the quiet whistle of the wind blew past them, the referee huffed and nodded. The other youth who was holding the unconscious student's phone nodded in agreement, and it only took one tap to accept the request for the duel, which was granted almost in real-time.

The biggest bully among the three grinned from ear to ear while the other two stepped back cautiously. To their surprise, as soon as the two stood on the side, the instigator pulled out a pocketknife.

"You've been carrying that all along?" blurted out the referee, flinching when the bully cast him a look. The sincerity in the bully's eyes earlier was gone. All that was left was a look of hunger, like a beast about to bear its sharp teeth for its first meal.

He was scary.

"Right… stabbing him will be suspicious, right?" the bully chuckled, tossing the pocket knife to the youth standing beside the facilitator of the duel. The youth caught it on instinct, flinching as he did.

"Dang… these motherfuckers… you tremble so easily it's pathetic." The bully lectured the two with his finger pointing at them. "I won't stab him, alright? I told you. We're in the same boat. So instead of stabbing him that might kill him in an instant…"

He trailed off as all the suppressed wickedness unraveled underneath the many layers in his eyes. "... beating him to death slowly and painfully is better, right?"

The referee and the other youth looked at the instigator wide-eyed. They were aware this guy was violent, but right now, he scared them. Only then did they realize they didn't know this guy they had been hanging out with all along.

This guy was… enjoying the thought of murdering someone.

The shock and fear of the two didn't last long as their breath suddenly hitched a second later. Their irises went even wider, making the instigator furrow his brows at the strange countenance that turned up on their faces.

"Stabbing someone… don't kill anyone instantly. Especially with a knife that short." Suddenly, a voice came from behind the bully. "Not to mention the hassle when they try to fight back. Killing someone isn't that easy. You have to aim at the weakest point of the human body."

The bully froze when a finger from behind tapped the back of his head. "This here… is the weakest part of the skull. If you kicked me in the head, I wouldn't have a fighting chance — but then, what's the point? All you know is to hurt those you think are weaker than you. You probably didn't get time to study human anatomy, right?"

The person standing behind the bully felt a hand on his shoulder, turning him around. The bully followed, but a second later, flung his elbow to attack the one he beat up earlier. But before his elbow could land on the other youth's cheek, the latter raised an arm to block the attack.

The bully's eyes shook the moment he locked eyes with the one they bullied.

"Gosh… you are so predictable and weak. You make me sad." The youth was dirty because of all the dirt that clung to him while he was on the ground moments ago. "Your kicks are so weak I can't believe I actually fell asleep — oy, Basty, what are we going to do with this guy again? I fell asleep, so I didn't know if they said anything useful."

Suddenly, from the end of the corner, came two figures. The referee and the other bully turned their heads in their direction. Their eyes slowly dilated at the sight of Basty, making Ike narrow his eyes as he recognized that look in those bullies' eyes.

Fear.

Even the instigator of this duel turned pale at the sight of Basty. Ike couldn't help but cast Basty a curious look.

"They didn't say much I can consider useful. But those three planned to kill an innocent student under the disguise of an official duel. Didn't you say you are collecting battle points? Why not start with that guy in front of you? I heard he got a good number of points in his head," said Basty, jerking his chin towards the instigator. "Don't kill them, though. Yama will kill you if he heard you don't hold back again, Mav."

"Roger that, Captain." The bullied named Mav grinned from ear to ear, and without further ado, grabbed the bully's neck with his other hand. "Breaking his bones… is fine, then, right?"

"Just don't kill him. Someone like him is better off handicapped."

Ike listened to this exchange and instantly understood the reason for the student council's bad reputation. This was the reason… yet it didn't repel him. If anything, it made the corner of his lips curl up into a smirk.