I Become a Mafia in the Academy

Chapter 72

"Hello, little one?"

A sudden explosion, followed by a sharp right arm aimed at my neck.

As my body flies back, I instinctively knock away her arm reaching for my neck, then aim [Al Capone's Tommy] at her face and pull the trigger.

"That's a rough welcome!"

Firing.

As the sound of rain echoes from Tommy, the creature covers its face with both arms and is pushed back.

"You're just as rough, though...!"

Pushed back by the hail of bullets, Blanca glares at me while licking the arm that blocked the shots.

Despite the close-range shooting, there's not a single visible wound on her arm.

It's not surprising, given how tough she was in the game, but I didn't expect not to leave even a scratch.

"Even the shots from the guards in Niflheim didn't hurt this much. What did you fire at me?"

While diligently licking her arm as if in pain, she shoots me a sharp look. I wave the gun in my hand, taunting her.

She grimaces.

"...That toy won't work on me, too bad."

"I was planning to take you down with a surprise attack. I suppressed my presence, but how did you know I was there?"

Listening to my question, Blanca laughs as if amused and covers her mouth with her hand.

"Are you that curious? I'll tell you if you answer my question."

"Question?"

Is she proposing a Q&A?

Interesting.

I nod at her suggestion, and she claps her hands, smiling broadly.

"I didn't expect you to accept so easily! Alright, then I'll ask first?"

Blanca smiles brightly, looking quite pleased.

"Who do you belong to?"

...Is she trying to figure out my identity from the start?

Well, thanks to her, I learned something important.

"Seeing you ask about my affiliation first, it seems Ratte hasn't spoken yet."

"Oh, him? He was surprisingly stubborn. You should answer more easily, don't you think? Huh?"

I glance at Ratte behind her.

A woman tied to a chair, slumped over. Her clothes were so covered in blood and dust that it was hard to recognize their original appearance.

For now, I'll answer.

"I'm with Familia."

"...Familia? Never heard of it."

"That's understandable. It's an organization that's not even a month old."

After hearing my story, Blanca leans forward and suddenly closes her eyes.

A moment later, her nose starts twitching.

"Doesn't seem like you're lying... Alright, my turn to answer? Your question was definitely how I knew you were outside the door, right?"

To this, she points at her nose and says,

"Smell. I smelled something unfamiliar from outside."

She answers confidently with a smirk.

"...You smelled the aura?"

"Oh, good guess? Yes. Also, I can distinguish lies by smell. Want to continue?"

Shaking my head at her confident demeanor,

"No, I'll hear the rest after subduing you."

"Oh? Tough guy."

She stops licking her arm, slowly lowers her body, and begins to flex her fingers.

It's the precursor to one of Blanca's attack patterns, the charge move.

Her characteristics are high mobility and solid defense.

Deciding that [Al Capone's Tommy] won't be needed, I put Tommy back into the cube and clench my fist, watching her.

"What? So, the gun wasn't your main weapon?"

"Got a problem with that?"

"No, I prefer you fighting bare-handed."

Lick.

As she licks her lips, her figure vanishes before my eyes.

"Then, shall we start by tearing your mouth open?"

She instantly closes the distance and slashes at my face with her claws.

"Too predictable."

Blanca's first attack pattern.

Her charge attack usually targets the upper body, especially the face for the first strike.

And this attack pattern, discovered through numerous battles, still shines in reality.

"Huh? What──?!"

Bang─!!

The sound of air being torn apart.

Weaving to the left, I swing my right fist, wrapped in aura, towards her hand, causing a massive shockwave that sounds like an explosion.

She naturally flies back, dissipating the shock, and lands lightly.

"...What's going on? It didn't feel like you were keeping up with my speed. Have we met before?"

"No, I just have a common face."

"No way. I don't forget a face as handsome as yours. If not from before, did you perhaps investigate me?"

Smiling, she shakes off the hand that clashed with my fist.

Red blood drips from that hand.

"Judging by your skills and equipment, you're no ordinary person... What exactly does Familia do?"

"But one thing is certain."

"Huh?"

"You're part of the Villain Alliance."

Blanca tilts her head as if puzzled.

"That's all I need."

[[Trait: Hitman] is activated!]

[2. Hunter of Villains - You are a hitman very accustomed to hunting villains. Villains will feel fear towards you, and it will be easier for you to hunt them.

The fear that villains feel towards you increases by 1.5 times.

Your ability to use aura against villains slightly increases.]

Blanca.

She's a villain who enjoys dogfight-style combat.

In other words, she enjoys fighting dirty and persistently at close range.

Interestingly, I also prefer that style.

I spread the [Bloodline: Calione] that rises from my body throughout, watching her.

Thanks to the newly added [Hunter of Villains] to [Trait: Hitman], the aura flows more smoothly than usual.

"...Red aura? It felt familiar earlier too. Are you really with an organization called Familia?"

"Didn't your great nose tell you the truth?"

"That's true, but you could also be affiliated with another organization at the same time, like that rat over there...!"

Suddenly, Blanca turns and rushes towards the room where Ratte is.

It seemed she wanted to use Ratte as a hostage to gain an advantage.

To prevent her plan from succeeding, I infused aura into my foot and slammed it into the ground with all my might.

With a thud! the floor completely collapsed.

Thanks to this, the concrete floor crumbled, and our bodies fell to the first-floor lobby.

"Hahaha! You destroyed the floor just because I turned my body for a moment?"

Blanca's voice came from the thick dust that enveloped the surroundings.

"Haven't you heard? It's rude to leave during a conversation."

The dust was so thick that nothing could be seen. Moreover, with the building collapsing, the pungent smell of earth would prevent her from tracking me by scent anymore.

With this, I had sealed one of her abilities.

As I cautiously raised my fist, keeping an eye on my surroundings.

"Manners? Aren't you expecting too much from me?"

Her voice came from within the dust.

"I am... a villain!"

As soon as she shouted, I blocked her flying kick with my forearm, then instantly exploded aura to clear away the surrounding dust.

"That's quite fiery."

"Hearing it from you just makes me feel worse."

True to her reputation as a named villain, even though I blocked her kick properly, my forearm throbbed painfully.

Of course, Blanca was known as one of the villains with high attack power in the game, but experiencing it in reality made me wonder just how formidable her strength was.

I tried to grab her ankle and slam it into the ground, but Blanca retracted her foot and bent down to target my lower body.

But.

"Be crushed."

I forced aura into my fist, causing a crackling sound to emanate from it as the aura gathered there began to shake violently.

It was the very technique that had completely torn apart the chest of 'Shinchulgwimol', amplifying the repulsive force of the aura.

With plenty of elixirs on hand, I threw the punch with the intention of finishing her off completely, even at the cost of my leg.

In response, she smirked amusingly.

"That sounds fun!"

As soon as she finished speaking, she raised both arms, and a bright white light began to envelop her.

Like wearing clothes made from animal hide, the white aura clung to her arms, legs, and body, taking the form of garments.

Then, as the two auras collided, a massive shockwave enveloped the building.

A powerful wind started to sweep the surroundings. Then, I noticed two fluttering shapes above her head and a white object at her rear.

They were white triangular ears and a tail reminiscent of a dog's──

"......So that's why she's called Blanca."

"Isn't it quite beautiful?"

She was truly Blanca (Blanca: to shine white).

It was her signature awakened skill that had captured the hearts of those mysteriously wealthy individuals.

It was a perfect aura that completely enveloped her body in one form.

Compared to my struggle to even grasp a solid form, her aura manipulation was beyond imagination.

"Oh, and I just remembered something."

Pushing up her arms that had blocked my fist, Blanca kicked my chest.

The impact was beyond my imagination, cutting off my breath and sending waves of pain through me as my body flew backward.

I slammed into the wall back-first, enduring the throbbing pain while keeping my eyes fixed on her.

The Maestro's suit. If it weren't for DisPater, I might have passed out from the shock.

Perhaps finding my state amusing, Blanca slowly opened her mouth with a smile.

"Your scent. It's similar to that man's."

"......That man?"

"Vito Calione. The damn old man who threw me into Niflheim."

With her arms and one leg lowered, she smirked.

"......You're Calione's son, aren't you?"

It seemed she had figured it out.

"Yes, that explains everything. An organization that could put that guy in Niflheim, an organization trying to investigate the Villain Alliance, and such skill at a young age. It all fits if you consider that the old man, Calione, was involved."

At this point──

"The son of Vito Calione. How much would your father sacrifice for you?"

That was the only way.

"Ratte!"

Squeezing out the last of my aura, I enveloped my body with it. Then, I shouted upward while covering my head with my arms.

"Huh? What are you───"

At the same time, a blinding light and a loud noise erupted.

It was the booby trap I had located before going up to the second floor - a flash-bang and an explosive.

Though I protected my body with aura and closed my eyes tightly against the deafening noise and piercing light, I couldn't do anything about the recoil from the explosion.

─────────!

My body slammed into the wall, and intense heat enveloped me.

It was a gamble I wouldn't have attempted under normal circumstances.

But in the end, all of this was thanks to the Maestro's masterpiece, DisPater, which I couldn't penetrate. It went according to plan.

And given how I was affected, it's clear how much worse it was for her without seeing it.

"Aaaaargh──!! Damn Calione's brat!!"

Leaving Blanca behind, who was wildly destroying the building with her aura-formed claws while her eyes were tightly shut, I immediately drew my flare gun and fired it at the ceiling that had collapsed due to the explosion.

The flare from the flare gun signified only one thing.

'Annihilate.'

It was my last resort, hidden as a desperate measure.