THUD, CRUNCH, WHAM, WHUMP…

“Ugh…” “Guh…” “Ah…” “…”

In an instant, Shoot struck each of the delinquents, sending them sprawling to the ground. With controlled force, he’d brought them all to the brink of collapse. He looked down on them with disdain, grabbing the blond delinquent’s hair again and forcing him to stand.

“You try to run away when things get tough, right? And you bully those weaker than you, using violence like this?”

WHAM! “Gyaaah!?”

Shoot struck the blond delinquent’s nose. Holding his hair, he couldn't fall. Soon, blood poured from his nose.

“And you laugh at them when they’re bleeding and injured, right? I won’t laugh, though.”

“So…sorry… Please forgive me…”

“Huh? You made those who said the same words you just said suffer even more, didn’t you? You extorted money and used violence, doing whatever you wanted. What’s with the ‘sorry’? You don’t mean it at all.”

SWISH—THUD! “Gyaaah!”

Shoot effortlessly lifted the blond delinquent by one arm and threw him to the ground. Air rushed from the blond delinquent’s lungs as he gasped and collapsed again.

“Hi… hi…!”

“D-Damn it… this middle schooler…”

“R-Run—!”

The delinquent with the piercings tried to get up and run, but—

“I said I wouldn’t let you escape.”

GRAB! “Waaaah!? L-let go!”

Shoot grabbed his leg, lifting him into the air. The delinquents were terrified by Shoot’s effortless display of strength.

“I’ll let you go. There.”

THUD! “Ah, gaaah…!”

He threw the delinquent to the ground, making him bounce. He moved to the fallen delinquent, lifting his face. His skin was abraded and bleeding, badly swollen.

“…” (SNAP!)

“IIIII-GYAAAAAH!!!”

Without a word, Shoot ripped out the earring from the delinquent’s jaw with brutal force. Blood streamed from the wound.

“You have quite a few on your ears, don’t you? It’ll be quite a sight if I tear them all out.”

“P-please stop… If you do that, my ears will be ruined…”

The delinquent trembled, begging for his life.

“That’s fine, isn’t it? You’ll still be able to hear.”

Shoot’s calm response turned the delinquent’s face ashen. Even Shoot was a little surprised at himself; the idea had come to him naturally. This was unimaginable for his pre-otherworld self.

(When did I become the kind of person who could come up with this…?)

He snapped out of his momentary daze and considered what he should do with these delinquents.

“For starters, I’ll make sure they can’t walk for a while. I’ll break their hands and arms so they can’t use violence…”

The delinquents were even more terrified at hearing his plan. Just as Shoot was about to act, the distant wail of a police siren reached them.

“Eh… Someone called the police?”

As the sound drew closer, Shoot gave up on further “punishing” the delinquents. Fortunately, their legs weren’t broken, and they scrambled away.

(That was unsatisfying… They’re still intact. They’ll probably target weaker people again later. The thought of those scumbags getting away scot-free is unbearable…!)

To the delinquents running away, Shoot issued a threat.

“You were lucky! I’ll let you go this time. But don’t forget! I’ll completely destroy you scum! I’ve memorized your faces, so I'll find you tomorrow and break your limbs, making sure you never go out again!”

Terrified by Shoot’s words, the delinquents fled the convenience store, leaving Shoot alone as the siren drew closer.

“…I worked up an appetite.”

Shoot quickly bought onigiri and hot snacks from the convenience store and used “Spatial Transfer” to go home unseen.

The convenience store clerk, who had witnessed the incident from inside, resolved to claim that he hadn’t seen anything if the police arrived.

After returning home, eating his late-night meal, Shoot started thinking about the future. He recalled the incident at the convenience store – that the power he'd gained in the other world worked in the real world. It was immense power; he'd single-handedly defeated five experienced delinquent high school students. With his current strength, Shoot could easily become a top-ranked fighter in the nation, both in the high school and adult divisions.

“I have power… This is the power I wanted. It’s finally mine…”

Feeling his newfound strength, Shoot trembled – not from fear, but from joy.

“I went to another world… I fought monsters and became stronger there. And even after returning, I’m still strong…

I have power…”

A smile spread across Shoot’s face.

“Then… revenge is mine… !!”

With this power, he could take revenge on his bullies, Shoot's heart filled with joy and anticipation. He could subdue his classmates with force, like he had done with the delinquents, and get his revenge, he imagined.

“I won’t forgive them… not a single one. Nakazato and his gang, who used violence against me unjustly; Gohara, who betrayed me after I saved him; Itakura, who lied to me and framed me as a stalker…!”

He gritted his teeth.

“Those classmates and adults who turned a blind eye are equally guilty. Some classmates even encouraged the bullying. I won’t forgive them either… I’ll make them suffer.”

His grip tightened. His nails dug into his skin, drawing blood.

“Justice… it’s not the beautiful thing I’d admired since childhood. I was greatly mistaken.

Justice is about eliminating those who are harmful to me.

Bullying is evil. Unjust violence is evil. Manipulating people’s feelings and deceiving them is evil. Enjoying and encouraging such things is also evil, as is allowing them to escalate.

Justice demands that we eliminate such evil.

It’s for my sake… so I can be saved.

So, I will! I will take revenge!!”

That night, Shoot resolved to take revenge, awakening to a new “justice.”

It wasn't the beautiful, altruistic justice he once admired; it was dark, bloody, and utterly self-serving.

This is the story of a middle school boy who embraces his own brand of justice, seeking revenge and living an overpowered life in both the real world and another—

Author's Note:

This marks roughly the halfway point of the prologue.