Everyone winced as Slive writhed on the floor, his screams piercing through the air. He clutched his hand, staring wide-eyed at the bent, disfigured finger.
"Ahhh! My finger, my finger!" Slive wailed.
Joe, sitting just a few desks away, felt a twinge of sympathy. He knew that pain all too well, it was sharper, deeper than the others could imagine. It was the kind of pain that left a mark, not just on the body but in the mind. And it was something he never wanted to experience again.
Eventually, Slive's shrieking became unbearable, and Max snapped. He lifted his foot, and without hesitation, swung it. His shoe struck Slive clean across the face, sending his head skidding along the floor.
The room went dead silent.
A few students jolted up from their seats, instinctively stepping back, their eyes wide with disbelief.
"Did Max just… do that?"
"I think he finally lost it."
"Yeah, I've seen it happen before… Sometimes, they just break under the pressure and lash out."
"I've seen breakdowns too, but… this feels different."
They all whispered, glancing around nervously. When students were pushed too far, bullied to the edge, it wasn't unheard of for one of them to snap. They'd lash out, throw punches, toss chairs, scream until they were dragged away.
But what Max had just done… didn't feel like a breakdown. It felt like something else. Something controlled. Something terrifying.
It wasn't unusual for kids who were bullied to eventually snap. To scream, throw things, flail their arms around in a desperate attempt to push back after being pushed too far.
But Max wasn't doing any of that.
He stood there, perfectly still. Focused. Calm. What he had done, it didn't look like a breakdown. It looked practiced. As if he'd done it a hundred times before.
"Have you gone mad, Max?!" Ko shouted, stepping forward with disbelief in his eyes. "You've finally cracked, huh? After what happened to your little friend? Sorry big friend, I can't believe you still haven't learned your place!"
Then, Ko did something unexpected, he raised his hands and clapped. Twice. Loud and sharp.
"Everyone, clear out!" he commanded.
Max had never seen Ko act like this before, had never heard those words from him, but it was clear they meant something. Some kind of hidden signal.
Because, immediately, the classroom shifted.
Students began moving, fast. Desks and chairs were pushed to the sides, scraped along the floor until the center of the room was wide open. A few of the girls and some of the quieter boys grabbed their bags and slipped out, not daring to stick around.
One of the guys dragged Slive's limp body across the floor, laying him out of the way.
But the rest, twelve of them, all boys, gathered around Ko. Close-knit, standing firm, their eyes all locked on Max.
Even Joe was among them. And every single one of them looked ready for a fight.
Right… these are all the delinquents in the class. The ones who greet Ko every morning like he's royalty. I get it now. They're following his lead, just like always.
Outside the room, the students who had fled were now gathered in the hallway, peering through the glass window. Watching. Waiting. No one dared to step in.
"Max," Ko said, his voice loud and clear. "I could tell something was different about you. You've been acting strange for a while now. But I'm here to show you, nothing's changed!"
Max slowly curled his fingers into fists as he studied the scene.
Twelve of them. Eleven if I don't count Joe. Can this body really handle that many at once? Max thought.
There wasn't time to wonder. Several of the boys charged at him across the room.
In one swift motion, Max spun around, grabbed a chair, and hurled it at the group.
It smashed into the legs of two boys mid-sprint, sending them tumbling over each other with loud grunts of pain.
Without hesitation, Max dashed forward, catching even more of them off guard. He leapt into the air and delivered a devastating Superman punch, his fist driving straight into the first kid's face.
The force of the blow lifted the student off his feet. He crumpled to the floor like a rag doll, completely out cold.
Right after, Max ducked beneath another punch and drove a solid kick into one of the student's stomachs.
The boy folded over, gasping, and Max quickly moved behind him, grabbing both of his arms and yanking him upright. In an instant, he turned the student into a makeshift shield.
But Max didn't hold him for long, he kicked the stunned boy forward, sending him crashing into the group.
As the student's body slammed into the others, Max followed up without hesitation. He stepped in and swung a wide, powerful hook, smashing it into someone's face with everything he had.
I have to take them out in one hit… If they get back up, this is going to get a lot harder!
Outside, the students watching through the windows were stunned, and the crowd kept growing.
Kids from other classes, students passing through the hall, they all paused, drawn in by the commotion. Everyone wanted to see what was happening.
"Damn, did you know Max could fight like that? He's holding his own, and it's just him!"
"It's like watching a stunt guy in a movie or something!"
It wasn't just the bystanders who were surprised, Joe, who had only pretended to jump in and was hanging back behind the others, was just as shocked.
I knew he was strong, but fighting one person and going up against this many at once… those are two completely different things. How did he learn to fight like this? Joe thought, stunned.
Max, on the other hand, had lost count of how many times he'd faced situations like this, him versus a crowd. But this time was different. This wasn't his original body.
He'd only been training for a week. His stamina was getting there, sure, but his strength? That would take much longer to return.
The students he'd hit earlier? They were still fighting. One of them managed to land a solid kick to Max's stomach. He tensed just in time, but it still winded him.
Sensing an opening, two of the students tackled him around the waist, slamming his back against the wall with a heavy thud.
They pinned him there, locking down his arms, and Max could see a third one charging toward him, fist pulled back, aiming straight for his face.
He tried to move his hands, but he couldn't. They had him locked in place.
The punch came closer and closer…
Then it stopped, caught mid-air by someone else.
"Sorry," Joe said coolly. "My hand moved on its own."
And without hesitation, he reeled back and drove his fist into the attacker's face, dropping him instantly.