The bell rang, marking the end of lunch, but the usual post-meal chatter was absent. Instead, the halls were filled with rushed footsteps, urgent whispers, and growing tension.
"He took down all three of them…"
"No way…"
"Zack Lee, Vasco, and even Vin Jin?"
"Who the hell is back?"
The name started to travel like wildfire.
"Logan Lee."
Jalen had just stepped out into the corridor when he heard it. He paused, the name stirring a faint memory Daniel Park's old tormentor. The one from before everything changed. A walking nightmare from the past.
Jalen moved.
By the time he arrived, a crowd had gathered in the open courtyard near the rear of the school. Bodies were scattered. Zack was clutching his arm. Vasco was trying to sit up. Vin Jin was out cold. All three had taken a beating.
And in the center of it all stood Logan Lee. Bigger. Meaner. Still radiating the same cruelty.
Daniel was frozen in place, fists clenched, but unable to move. His eyes wide, lips trembling. He wasn't the same confident Daniel that Jalen saw in the ring or the classroom. This was the version haunted by his past.
Jalen's eyes scanned the scene and then stopped.
Mary Kim had pushed through the crowd. She was kneeling beside Vin Jin, her expression panicked but trying to stay calm. Her hand shook slightly as she checked if he was conscious.
Jalen's jaw tightened.
Without a word, he stepped through the ring of students. The crowd went silent. Logan turned his head with a crooked grin, recognizing the new face.
"You his little knight or somethin'? Gonna cry too?"
Jalen didn't answer. He didn't slow down.
He walked right up to Logan Lee. No flare. No talking. Just presence.
Logan's smirk widened. "Tch. Another rich boy with a death wish."
He pulled his fist back, big and heavy.
And that was his mistake.
Jalen moved once.
A blur.
His fist connected with Logan's jaw clean and fast. A perfect strike.
CRACK.
The air seemed to shift.
Logan's body staggered once, then collapsed backward, unconscious before he even hit the ground.
Gasps erupted. Some screamed. Others just stared in stunned silence.
Daniel blinked, the spell of fear broken. He looked at Jalen, still standing in the same spot, not even winded.
Mary looked up too, her eyes wide. She didn't say anything but Jalen saw it. The way she exhaled. The way her shoulders relaxed.
He turned away from Logan and glanced at Daniel.
"You don't owe fear to anyone like that anymore," he said quietly.
Then he walked off.
Behind him, students rushed in. Some to check on the others. Some still frozen in awe.
But all of them knew one thing now Jalen wasn't just good-looking, or strong, or rich.
He was something else entirely.