Hell University-Chapter 28 - 27: Saved

Zein’s Point of View

I picked up my backpack once more and glanced at Matt, who was fast asleep from drinking.

I sighed and shook my head. Matt didn’t usually drink, so I had no idea what had prompted him to drown himself in alcohol tonight.

When I stepped outside, I immediately scanned the area for my friends, but I couldn’t see a single one of them.

Where could they be?

I walked toward the wide open space where I knew everyone usually gathered. The avoidance among them was unmistakable. Whenever they crossed paths, both parties would move several meters away, as if afraid that someone might suddenly stab them without warning.

"Hey!"

I shot Jerome a sharp look when he startled me, but he only laughed.

"That’s not funny!"

"I know," he replied with a smile. "I was about to leave, but then I saw you," he added.

"Where are the others?"

He then gestured toward a girl with a man beside her, seated on one of the benches in the wide space.

"Who is Van with?" I asked.

The man had his back turned to me, so I could not recognize him.

"Liam," he replied curtly.

I frowned before realizing who that Liam was. He was the man I had once teased Van about in the cafeteria, the one the girls would secretly steal glances at.

My gaze returned to Jerome, who could not bring himself to look in their direction. I could sense something, so I could not help but smile to myself. Jerome did not notice my grin, as his attention was elsewhere.

"I know what you’re thinking," he said, without even glancing at me.

Pft.

"Just come with me and help me look for the others," I suggested. He merely nodded, and we walked together.

"S–So, who is yours?" I asked. The question had been bothering me for some time, and I knew I would not be at ease until I finally asked it.

I really could not control my curiosity.

"Anonymous," he joked. Sensing that I did not find his remark amusing, he let out a heavy sigh. "There are things we do not need to know, things we should not dwell on," he said.

I fell silent. Why was I so inquisitive? Had I been in his position, I probably would not have been able to answer that question either. One must keep it a secret, and it is difficult to reveal the name of the person you are supposed to kill.

Sigh.

But what I was certain of was that he had seen a name. He definitely knew who his target was, who he had to aim for in order to survive the danger.

"C–Can you kill that person?"

Shit. Zein Shion. You really cannot control your mouth. I scolded myself inwardly.

"Uh, sorry. It’s fine even if you don’t answ-"

"Why not?" I felt as though I had lost my breath upon hearing his blunt reply. "If that is the only way, I must," he added.

My throat went dry. I simply closed my mouth and asked no further questions.

"How about you?"

I closed my eyes repeatedly, for I truly expected my question to be returned to me. I should be more careful next time; at that moment, I was groping for an answer.

"Psh."

"I don’t know," I replied coldly.

I really did not know. Perhaps I could even collapse here without warning.

"That’s bad." He looked at me then and stopped walking. "Does Matt know about this?" he asked, his brow furrowed.

That man again. I also had no idea what was happening to him. "He was drunk, didn’t you know?" I asked.

His brow furrowed even more. That, I thought, was his answer, he did not know. So it really was only Matt who had gotten drunk.

"What concern is Matt’s?" I realized only then the implication behind his question.

"You really don’t know, huh?" A smirk escaped his lips.

I am not slow, but I truly did not understand what he was talking about, and I did not want to think of anything more to add to my already overwhelmed mind.

I shifted my gaze elsewhere and happened to see Mia walking ahead, looking dazed. I was about to wave at her when I froze upon seeing a woman approach her.

Mia stopped walking and faced the woman. "Shit!" Jerome exclaimed when he saw the blade the woman had drawn

For a brief moment, my heart seemed to stop before I felt my feet carrying me swiftly toward them.

Everything appeared to move in slow motion. I wanted to scream, but my mouth refused to open.

Mia! Damn it!

The woman lunged at her with a stabbing motion, which Mia managed to avoid, though her arm was grazed and a large amount of blood immediately flowed from the wound.

I came to a halt mid-run, while Jerome continued forward, clearly overwhelmed with panic as well.

I struggled to catch my breath when I saw Mia pull a knife from her bag and swiftly drive it into the woman’s leg, causing her to collapse onto the floor.

Just then, Jerome reached them and pulled Mia away from the woman, who was screaming in pain. Despite my own breathlessness, I hurried over to them as well.

"Hey! Look at me! Are you okay?!" Jerome gently tapped Mia’s cheek, who remained in a daze, seemingly unaware of the deep knife wound on her arm.

I snapped back to reality and stepped closer to Mia and Jerome.

"I-I didn’t mean to," Mia apologized to the woman, who was glaring at her angrily.

Mia forcefully pulled her hand away from Jerome’s and mine in an attempt to approach the woman.

"I will not be okay until I kill you." The woman rose swiftly, preparing to stab Mia once more. Jerome reacted at once, alert and ready to pull Mia away, but he was too late.

In an instant, a great amount of blood spilled from the woman’s chest and mouth. I barely saw what truly happened, since everything unfolded with alarming speed; all I knew was that the woman collapsed lifelessly onto the floor.

Fortunately, Mia had struck first.

"Ah!" Jerome quickly caught Mia as she nearly collapsed. Only then did she seem to feel the pain in her arm, which continued to bleed without stopping.

I moved closer to them. "We need to take her to the clinic," I said.

Mia released the knife, but we did not bother to pick it up, fearing that something worse might happen if we did not bring her to the clinic immediately.

I cast a glance at the woman lying motionless on the floor with her own blood thickly spreading around her.

Mia killed her. She is now saved.

But knowing Mia, she would never forget this. It would take time for her to fully recover from the incident; the experience would leave a lasting scar. What mattered most, however, was that she was safe.

When we arrived at the clinic, Nurse Cha immediately approached us, her brow furrowed.

"What are you doing here?"

If only I could have struck her in the face. "This is a clinic, damn it!" I shouted.

"But the clinic is closed until tomorro-"

"I don’t care!" I glanced at Mia, who was merely watching us, her expression strained with pain. "Please, treat her wound." I was almost kneeling before her.

"I am so sorr-"

"You will regret it for the rest of your life if something bad happens to our friend," Jerome warned, barely containing his anger.

I, too, was exercising extreme restraint. Otherwise, she might have been the first one I would have harmed. Damn it.

"It’s an order from the Headmistress," she replied. I grabbed her by the collar, but she did not flinch. My body trembled with rage.

It was clear that she had no intention of taking action, so I thought of someone who might be able to help us. I released my grip on her collar and hurried out of the clinic.

Damn them all. They closed the clinic knowing full well that many would need help, especially with it being Bloody Week.

I nearly shoved aside everyone who stood in my way before finally reaching the SSG Office, where I found Teacher Kath, Onel, and Ace in the middle of a conversation.

I managed to catch all of their attention. "There you are, good thing you arri-"

"Come with me," I said, cutting the words short.

I gripped Supremo’s arm tightly as his brow creased in confusion. I knew what I was doing was disrespectful and likely a violation of the rules, but I no longer cared.

"What are you doing?!" Teacher Kath shouted angrily, but I did not spare her a glance, my eyes fixed instead on Ace, silently pleading for him to come with me.

"Please," I added.

"We were in the middle of a discu-"

"Come with me." Everyone turned pale, yet Supremo remained calm, seemingly unbothered by the blade pressed against his neck.

He showed no fear nor intimidation at all, as though he did not care about what was aimed at him. Damn it, what was I thinking? Of all people, I threatened Supremo, the very man who was unafraid of death.

"Miss Shion, you are breaking Rule Number One." I could not say why, but I sensed a hint of satisfaction in Teacher Kath’s voice.

I no longer cared about whatever rule I had violated, even the most prioritized one, as long as I could save my friend.

"You know what the punishment will be?" she asked again.

"You seem so desperate, Miss Shion. You badly need me, don’t you?"

"Please, I need your help," I said. The knife slipped from my trembling hand and fell to the floor.

I lowered my head, feeling as though my tears might fall at any second. Damn it.

"Where did you get that knife?!" Teacher Kath asked in shock. "That belongs to-"

"I am going with you, but you will have to face the consequences of this." He took hold of my hand, and I could feel the firmness of his grip.

I lifted my gaze and managed a bitter smile. He bent down and picked up the knife he had given me. "Keep it."

With trembling hands, I carefully returned the blade to its case before Supremo pulled me outside.

"What do you want?"

Instead of answering his question, I simply pulled him along. My knees trembled, and I could feel his gaze burning into my back. Shit! I couldn’t shake the thought of the consequences that would follow my recklessness.

When we reached the clinic, Mia’s mouth was already open, struggling to breathe. She had lost a significant amount of blood.

"Supremo, please... save her," I pleaded.

We both stared at Nurse Cha, and I could sense her flustered state, unable to meet Supremo’s gaze.

"Heal her wounds," Supremo said without any emotion.

Nurse Cha looked at him, and I felt her knees quiver as she faced Ace.

"S-Supremo, that’s strictly prohibit-" 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"Nurse Cha, you wouldn’t want me to repeat my orders," I now felt the authority and threat in Supremo’s chillingly calm voice. "I will count."

"No need! I’ll do it now, Supremo," she quickly replied.

I let out a sigh of relief as Nurse Cha turned to gather the necessary supplies. I approached Mia and gently tapped her cheek.

"You’ll be okay. Just don’t sleep, alright?" I said softly, and she nodded in response. She smiled at me, and I silently mouthed my thanks.

"How come?" Jerome asked in disbelief, staring at Supremo as he stood by the clinic door. His gaze shifted back to me, brow furrowed.

I just shrugged. We stepped aside as Nurse Cha arrived and began treating Mia’s continuously bleeding arm. Mia closed her eyes from the pain, and I averted my gaze, feeling almost as though I, too, were hurting.

I glanced at Supremo, who was staring at me with a serious expression. Our eyes met, and all I received was a slight shake of his head, an unspoken warning about the price I would have to pay for dragging him there and, worse, for pointing a knife at the Supreme Student Government President.

What kind of punishment awaited me?

Suddenly, a man burst into the room, breathless and visibly exhausted. I gave him a bitter smile as his gaze fell upon the woman being treated by the nurse

"Damn," he cursed. He moved closer to Mia, prompting Jerome to step back slightly to give Dave space. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked with concern.

Mia answered only with a nod, her weakness still evident from the amount of blood she had lost. I let out a quiet sigh before turning to Supremo.

"Punish me now," I said bitterly.

He did not speak and simply continued to look at me with a serious expression.

I had spoken almost in a whisper, unwilling for my friends, especially Mia, to hear. I did not want her to blame herself for what had happened.

"Why are you always like this?" Supremo asked.

"Careless," and he let out a small sigh.

I pulled him outside to have a more serious conversation. I led him to the back of the clinic, where no one could hear us even if we shouted.

"Dragging me as always... you’re the only one who could do this to me," he said, shaking his head.

I could not tell whether what he said was a threat or an expression of astonishment.

"What punishment?" I asked. "Cleaning the cafeteria for two months? Cleaning the entire university for a week?"

"No. That is not the punishment prepared for you." His gaze turned serious once more. "Death," he added.

I leaned back against the wall before slowly sliding down. I pressed my hand to my forehead as his words replayed in my mind like a broken record.

"Death."

Gradually, my lips stretched into a smile, and before I realized it, I was laughing, then laughing harder, until it became full-blown hysteria.

Supremo simply watched me, his expression serious. It was as though he were staring at a woman who had lost her sanity, a woman whose days were numbered.

I did not notice the tears streaming down my face, but I continued to laugh, and gradually, the laughter turned into sobs.

"Don’t worry. I’ll give you until Saturday to live. We’ll meet on Saturday night, here," he said.

I wiped my eyes firmly before standing up. I stepped closer to Supremo. "Don’t tell anyone about this. That is my last request," I said, before leaving the place.

I would die without anyone knowing. I suppose this truly is my end, but at least, I saved my friend.