Aswa and Arca walked slowly across the empty field. They passed by unconscious bodies scattered like fallen leaves after a storm. Those still awake could only stare with blurry, trembling eyes—including the Gym members, even their leader who had fought against Arca.
One of the gym members whispered softly while clutching his chest, "Boss... he doesn't have muscles as big as ours, but his strength... is more than enough to crush us. Does he deserve to be our king?"
Their leader, who had been called "Boss" all this time, slowly walked toward the Gym building.
"Don't call me boss," he said quietly without turning around. "My name is Diolas. I'm not worthy of that title."
Without another word, he disappeared behind the door.
Meanwhile, Aswa and Arca had reunited with Mondy, who was standing in the shadow of a flagpole.
"Finally, you guys beat the king, huh," Mondy said with a relieved tone. "You know? When you left, they kept staring at me. I got traumatized!"
Arca just snorted. "Maybe you need some training, Mondy."
"Training is tiring! You know I'm allergic to sweat. By the way, why are you the one bringing the king, Arca?!"
Arca raised an eyebrow. "Is that wrong?"
"Should've been his subordinates!"
"Oh, so you want to carry him?"
"Not like that! I mean... it should be Aswa!"
Aswa pointed at herself, confused. "Me? Why me?"
Suddenly, Arca grabbed Mondy's head and pulled him close. "Listen carefully. The leader is Aswa, got it?!"
"What?!" Mondy was stunned. His face showed a mix of surprise and embarrassment.
"Because Aswa looks innocent and kind. Meanwhile, you, Arca... you have a really... scary aura!" Mondy said honestly.
They chuckled softly and continued walking towards the gate. But their steps halted when they saw a group of people trying to enter SMA Srengseng.
"Oi, who are you?!" one of them shouted.
Aswa and Mondy recognized their faces. "You... the ones who were fighting with the middle school kids earlier?!"
"So you know... ATTACK!!"
But before they could move, Aswa and Mondy moved first. In an instant, the enemies were trampled, helpless and surrendering.
"If you want to fight, you should find worthy opponents!" Mondy shouted. "Don't just dare to take on middle schoolers. Cowards!"
Arca, who had just finished stretching his back, joined in. "Yeah, I was annoyed just watching so far!"
They then left SMA Srengseng.
"So just two more left, and we control the whole district, right?" Aswa asked, wiping sweat.
Mondy nodded, but his expression was serious. "Yeah... but Aswa, after this, you will face a totally different enemy."
"Why? So far none have been truly strong. Except one..." Arca murmured.
"Because the one you'll fight is... the subdistrict leader!" Mondy declared.
Aswa turned, confused. "Subdistrict leader? What's the difference?"
"A big one! If the high school leader only has influence in the school, the subdistrict leader controls all high schools in the area!"
Aswa stared blankly. "So... who is our subdistrict leader?"
Arca quickly answered. "Of course, it's our school that is the strongest!"
"That's true!" Aswa said excitedly.
Mondy snorted. "You guys just claim without thinking! The strongest now is the South and North Flower Alliance."
"Aswa, you think it's just one-on-one? They have united! They used to compete, but someone came and destroyed them both and now leads them all!"
They kept walking along the road. Sometimes they hitched rides on trucks or open-bed cars. Some drivers refused, others pretended not to care. The world was too chaotic to care about three school kids.
Once at school, they went straight to the canteen.
"Ma'am! One fried rice!" Aswa called out.
"I want five shrimp tempoyak!" Mondy shouted.
"You're so greedy. I'll have warm iced tea... and just one serving of nasi uduk," Arca said calmly.
Mondy looked at Arca. "W-wait... did you say warm iced tea?!"
In the middle of the conversation, the figure they called King Srengseng—Momus—had actually been awake for a while but pretended to be unconscious. He didn't know if they were hostile or not, so he chose to stay silent.
However...
Krrkkkk~
His stomach growled loudly.
The three turned and looked.
Momus still pretended to sleep.
Krrkkkk~
His stomach growled again.
"You're awake, right?!" Aswa shouted.
"Don't pretend, even though you're our prisoner now!" Mondy added.
"You're our prisoner too, Mondy," Arca joked.
PONK!
A light punch from Arca landed on Momus's head.
"Ouch!!" Momus immediately sat up, holding his head. His eyes scanned around. "W-where am I?! And why did you kidnap me?!"
"This is SMA Srengseng. We just brought you as a symbol of victory. Don't worry, no ill intentions," Aswa replied while chewing.
"Your name is Momus, right?" Arca asked.
"Y-yes..."
"Ma'am! Add one more portion for Momus!" Arca shouted.
The three ate heartily. Around them, people watched with mixed feelings—admiration, fear, and awe. They knew Arca was now their new leader.
Suddenly, from behind, a group of other people appeared. Their heavy steps signaled something big...
TO BE CONTINUED