AUTHOR'S NOTE:
I'm back. The Amazon was a crazy experience, but it's good to be home.
Enjoy the chapter.
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The wind rustled and fluttered the clothes of the many delinquents that littered the rooftop.
The sun was beginning to set, the golden hour of sunlight creating a serene and beautiful atmosphere that was a contrast to the trepidation that the middle schoolers felt in front of the first year. A couple of them gave each other hushed whispers as they wondered what the crazy foreigner wanted with them.
They watched as Romeo stood in silence before them, his knuckles still red with bits of dried blood. His crimson eyes bled into their own, daring them to give him any excuse to use them as an example.
After a few moments of silence, he finally spoke.
"My name, is Romeo Antonio Giovanni."
His voice traveled throughout the rooftop, every mouth stopping whatever hushed conversation they had as they listened intently.
"My fists have painted the school with the blood of many people today, including your former head."
He brought his fist up to eye level, the skin of his knuckles still torn and just beginning to heal, and admired it as he continued to speak.
"This is your last chance."
He brought his fist back down to his side, his eyes piercing through every one of the delinquents as he scanned through them.
"If there's anyone who has something to say, anyone who thinks they can take me on."
He lifted both his hands in a welcoming gesture, but his eyes were anything but.
"If there's anyone who wants to try me, now's your chance."
His eyes gleamed dangerously.
"Because I don't beat the ones who fuck with me."
"I execute them, publicly. For everyone to see as I paint the ground with their blood, break every bone in their body, and leave them to die in agony."
He delivered the promise of a painful death as if talking about weather.
The terrifying thing, however, was that there was something in his eyes as he stared down at them unflinchingly. Something about the way he carried himself, the way he moved, the way he talked — that made all of them there, believe every single word that came from his mouth.
Romeo waited patiently for someone, anyone, to say something. To come out and try their luck at taking the school from him. To see him as weakened from fighting the first and third years, and try to finish the job.
"Nobody?"
His fists ached for the feeling of colliding against someone's face, of making the blood fly from their mouth as he knocked their teeth out and fractured their jaw. Of hurting someone.
No one stood forward.
"Then listen very closely."
They already were, but they continued to do so in tense silence.
"From now on, you're not Incheon Middle School. You're not a third year head, or a second year boss."
"You're only one thing, and that's a soldier of my empire."
.
.
.
The rooftop meeting ended without a single fight.
Romeo had rebranded the entirety of Incheon Middle School, and the delinquents didn't know what to think about it, a lot of them still processing the events that took place on the first day of school.
No longer were they simply Incheon Middle School, but The Empire.
Every single one of the heads of each grade were required to join a group chat for orders. There was an Imperial Tax, with 55% of all extortion and money collecting going straight to Romeo's pocket.
Every internal strife, every rivalry, every bad blood, was held in check with the threat of a thrashing.
The remaining second and third year big shots of the school didn't know what exactly Romeo was planning, only that it was big. Some of them were excited at the prospect, likened to the idea of potentially conquering the neighboring schools. But there was no definite announcement yet for what the foreigner would use his newly acquired army for, simply speculation.
In the following days afterward, some of the people that Romeo had beaten prior were finished recuperating, physically at least.
Even though they were recovered physically, there were some like Ryu Baeksan, who still had a lingering setback mentally. Even he however, didn't have it as bad as Lee Hyeon, the former third year head.
He still didn't return to the school, and no one heard from him either — not even his closest people. The only thing that people got hints of, however, was the irreversible trauma that Romeo had inflicted on him mentally.
As the days passed and more people got back to their classes from the hospital, Romeo was still studying and training every single day.
He started forming what he deemed Kill Squad, a collection of hand-picked individuals throughout all the delinquents of Incheon Middle School that were deemed the strongest. There were only a select few, every name a reputable figure known for being an absolute monster — Ryu Baeksan, Park Heejun, and Yeopo.
The second and third years didn't take it well that their underclassmen were chosen to be what amounted to the second-in-commands of the school. They were appeased, however, when Romeo had declared that anyone who successfully challenged and defeated any one of the three members of the Kill Squad could take their place.
Not a single one was able to scratch them.
The same thing applied to himself, as well — he had let every single delinquent under him know, that at any time, if one of them challenged him openly and successfully defeated him, they would be the new head of the newly formed Empire.
The only one that took him on that offer was Yeopo, who after recuperating from the injuries of their first fight, came after him like a rabid dog in order to try and break free from Romeo's control.
He had played with the red haired giant like a child, his immense speed and reaction time not allowing Yeopo the chance to even graze his clothes before getting beaten into unconsciousness yet again.
After that, he accepted his place, but only until he grew strong enough to take over everything for himself.
The tension between the members of the Kill Squad themselves was palpable at first. Yeopo and Ryu were like fire and water, both arrogant and egotistical people who have the word "no" in their dictionary.
Romeo didn't care at all how much they didn't getting along, forcing them to attend a daily training session at a certain local gym every single day after school.
Hun-gil Lee followed him wherever he went, acting as his personal attendant as well as his messenger. Romeo forced him to undertake the same training, declaring that anyone that stands by his side isn't allowed to be a mere weakling.
The gym was home to a no-nonsense coach that looked down on the middle schoolers as soon as they walked in.
"You little shits think you can just walk in here, and use my cage whenever you feel like it? I don't care if you have a membership or not — I got fighters that use this time to spar."
The muscular old man with a graying beard towered even over Yeopo, and not by a small amount. Romeo spoke back with an almost bored gaze.
"Send them in, old man. If any of your little fighters manages to beat one of us, then we'll wait 'til after their session's over. If not, then they can fuck off and change their schedule."
Head Coach Nelson glared down at the arrogant youth in front of him.
He recognized potential at a first glance, and he knew that every single one of these youngsters had something special about them — but that was it. They were still unpolished gems, not having an ounce of actual training yet.
If they thought they could come in here after a few fights in the classroom and do whatever the hell they wanted, they had a rude awakening coming real soon.
"Don't go crying back to your mommy after you get your face smashed in, boy. Because these guys won't hold back, no matter how old you are."
Nelson's face was filled with a haughty air of indifference, as if the result was already set in stone.
Romeo didn't even bother to respond to him.
"Blah, blah, blah — we get it, old bastard. Hurry up and send in my punching bags. You're not the first gym who thought their fighters were something. They all got their face broken, and so will the weak fucks here."
Ryu spoke in a bored arrogance as he picked his ear.
He had regained his confidence after beating down everyone of the second and third years who had tried taking his spot at the Killer Squad from him, along with fighting Yeopo who was at odds with at the get-go.
None of them had gained victory over the other, with Ryu not having the necessary power to fully knock Yeopo out, and Yeopo not having the speed to land a fully connecting blow. Even though they developed a fierce rivalry, they acknowledged the other's strength. And compared to Yeopo, none of these so-called fighters would last a single round against him.
"The snake-like bastard is right, there's not a single one of the weaklings here that can take a single punch from me. Send them all in at once, it'll make it entertaining for me."
Yeopo's face grew an arrogant grin as he spoke, standing in front of the Head Coach without any fear or hesitation and daringly staring into his hardened eyes.
"Who're you calling a bastard, you fucking gorilla?!"
Ryu's face contorted in anger as he yelled out in indignation. Yeopo turned in response, towering intimidatingly over him before giving him a mocking smirk.
"What are you going to do about it, you white-haired fuck."
Both of them, tensed and poised to strike, immediately relaxed their bodies — the dangerous air surrounding them evaporating like smoke when Romeo's voice reached their ears.
"Enough. Ryu, go."
No more words were said, and Ryu changed and stood in the middle of the cage as a tall and muscular guy walked inside. He would make this quick. Losing wasn't an option, both for his pride, and for his own safety — he didn't know what Romeo would do to him, and he didn't plan on finding out.