Chapter 24: Heroes Are Those Who Overcome The Irrational (1)
The scene of the incident had calmed down.
Villain Lilith, who had become a demon, was destroyed by the Goblin’s strikes, and the unidentified Golden Knight who appeared on the scene disappeared in a flash of light.
“…….”
Looking at the Hero Alliance officials who were only now starting to clean up the rubble, Baek Seol-hee clenched her fists.
Wasn’t it ridiculous to just watch and get angry?
If it hadn’t been Sejong Island, but Busan, she would have run to help people.
She had come within less than 200m, but Baek Seol-hee could not approach the scene.
“Eeeek! Unnie, I’m a fan!”
“It’s Snow White! The real Snow White!”
“Wow…. look at that Snow White. I think I could die without regret now.”
Because of the crowd surrounding her, who had come to see the incident site.
Beep.
[Snow White.]
[Let me be clear, do not ‘cause a scene’.]
[Leave the scene clean-up to the lower ranks, maintain the dignity of an S-class. Understand?]
Because of the incessant messages from some nagging old men.
“…….”
Baek Seol-hee remained silent.
Fearing that saying something might just make her angrier, she maintained her persona—remaining quiet, as befitting her old nickname of ‘Ice Princess’.
Just dealing with the people was complex enough, but far too many elements complicated her thoughts.
The issue of the Golden Knight.
Well, the Golden Knight could be thought of as just an unregistered hero.
It could be a person who suddenly awakened their ability before entering school and appeared to defeat the villain in a restaurant.
In time, while the instructors evaluated the freshmen, surely someone would reveal their abilities, and their identity would be discovered.
So she wasn’t really worried about that.
What she was really worried about was the ‘Goblin’.
“By the way, how did the Goblin appear?”
“Goblins have a way of showing up anywhere. It’s just a matter of time.”
“Sure, he shows up when he’s bored, but he’s never appeared on Sejong Island before.”
“Who knows? Maybe it’s because the girl who stalked him has come here.”
These irritating comments reached Baek Seol-hee’s ears.
She couldn’t categorically deny them because she, too, had such thoughts.
Currently, Snow White and the Goblin have formed a sort of ‘rival’ relationship.
It was partly because Snow White always failed to catch the Goblin, but also because they had clashed several times already, leading the world to regard them as the typical hero-villain – good and evil arrangement.
“That Golden Knight was really strong, right?”
“I think the first to ever engage the Goblin in close combat might be that Knight, right? Even Snow White fights from a distance.”
“Wow, shit. S-class fights look so effortless, but they’re really chilling. I want to fight like that, seriously.”
“…Now, isn’t the Goblin’s rival the Golden Knight? Hehe.”
However, another existence appeared and seized that spot.
They fought against the Goblin more aggressively than she did and even threatened the Goblin instead of backing down.
More than anything else…
“Look at this photo. Should this be called Goblin’s second form?”
“Wouldn’t it be better to call it the battle form? It’s always been in a suit. But this… it’s completely… It looks like a tactical battle suit.”
“If you made a powered suit in the form of a Goblin, it would look just like this. Isn’t it the first time we’ve seen him wielding something like batons in both hands?”
“So he hasn’t even shown half of his abilities so far. What a terrifying creature, that dedicated Goblin…!”
The new form that the Goblin showed.
It was much stronger and faster than the previous Suit Goblin.
The weapon it wielded was not a crude object like a bat without nails that it normally used, but a sophisticated and sharp rod, which was stylish rather than fierce.
“So, was the Golden Knight strong enough to draw out the battle form of the Goblin….”
“Then, is that Knight now the Goblin’s adversary?”
“How should I know? How can we know whether that Knight is a hero or not?”
“Wow, this will be worth watching. If it doesn’t transform into battle form and just fights Snow White, wouldn’t that just make Snow White look foolish?”
“…….”
The voices that spoke around her made Baek Seol-hee’s insides churn.
Should she knock them out?
No.
Step by step,
Baek Seol-hee made her way forward through the crowd.
She reached out her hand towards the destroyed restaurant building.
Beep-beep.
[What are you doing! You just need to hold up the rear! Do you have any idea how hard the heroes below struggle when an S-class hero unnecessarily tries to save people?!]
The loud voice of a higher-up echoed in her ear.
Of course, the sound was not heard by people but only transmitted to the in-ear communicator in Baek Seol-hee’s ear. Nevertheless, it was noisy enough to potentially spread all over if not handled carefully.
“Excuse me.”
After raising her hand to the Taegeuk Watch,
“…Just shove it.”
After severing the mana flowing in the Taegeuk Watch, she reached out her hand toward the debris.
Swoosh.
The icy power reaching out towards the debris quickly broke down and started cleaning up the mess.
An S-class hero doing this kind of work?
Nobody dared to say, “An S-class hero doing this kind of work?” outright.
It was due to Snow White’s rather grim expression as she cleaned up the debris.
“Hmm. I didn’t expect this variable.”
A little bit away from the scene, a young man dressed in a red and black checkered modernized Hanbok scratched his cheek and gave a faint smile.
“I finally gave a seed of a reasonably strong devil as a gift, but it exploded before it could properly sprout.”
The young man replayed the countless images captured on his Taegeuk Watch.
“Divine Skill, Grand Cross.”
Scenes were captured from nearly 17 different angles.
The Goblin’s bat that was held in both hands was imbued with powerful mana, and the Goblin swung it forcefully, eradicating the devil without leaving a trace.
“Interesting. Using a Divine Skill called ‘Grand Cross’ on Sejong Island. If it were me, I would have named it something like ‘Summer Triangle.’ Tsk. Is it true what they say, that the Goblin is a swordsman with no brains? It’s not like using English makes you American or British….”
The young man raised the corner of his mouth while looking at a statue erected on one side of the square.
“How dare you speak an English technique on an island named after King Sejong, who created the Korean alphabet. Teacher Jushi-gyeong would be outraged. Your organization’s name is ‘Yi Maemangryang’, but you use English for your techniques. Tsk, tsk.”
The young man clicked his tongue repeatedly and shook his head.
Suddenly, his Taegeuk Watch started ringing.
“…Ah, yes. It failed. I’ll take responsibility.”
[Responsibility? Just bringing out the Goblin was a great achievement. Not to mention the ‘Unknown’-]
“What?”
[…That unidentified ability user also yielded good results. We have a completely new variable that we didn’t know of.]
“Right. A new variable. …They seemed to be at least a special grade.”
[S-class.]
“Special grade.”
[Hey, you stubborn guy. No matter what, there are international standards. You can’t just make up your own ranks-]
Click.
The young man closed his Taegeuk Watch.
The call rang again, whether out of persistence or annoyance, but the young man paid it no mind.
“It’s truly a sad thing. That a language other than Korean is being used in Korea. And most regretfully….”
The young man glanced at a book tucked away in his pocket, twisting the corners of his mouth.
“All the monsters on our land lack ‘Absolute Evil’… Tsk, so in the end, to properly incite a rampage, we have to bring in something foreign. Sigh.”
He lamented as though he was genuinely regretful.
“The Golden Knight, the Goblin, and now even Snow White. …Hehehe. Well, it only becomes an interesting match when there are some adversities.”
Turning his body, the young man exited the scene.
“It’s a contest. A decisive battle. Who is the true pinnacle of evil…I, Duoexini, will show you.”
With a deep sigh, the young man, still dressed in his modernized Hanbok and pulling his hat lower, disappeared into the darkness.
At that moment, in a girl’s dormitory room.
“Ah!”
A blonde girl thrashed about, her face buried in her pillow.
“Ahhh!”
Although she was screaming, she was careful not to let others hear, but her voice filled the room sharply, despite her attempt to muffle it.
Bang!
Yumir kicked the blanket.
Not from bottom to top, but a knee kick against the neatly folded blanket. She tormented the fabric and started to tear at her hair while punching her pillow.
“Ahhh…! How could I make such a mistake…!”
Yumir, her scalp now flushed red, was crying.
She was shedding tears not out of sadness but out of shame.
“I’ve never shown anyone…! I’ve never exposed myself to anyone! Ahh, I can’t get married now…!”
She had shown her naked body to a man.
Moreover, to a man she had been in conflict with, to a villain of all people.
“…….”
Yumir lay flat on her back.
Clutching the black Durumagi placed on her body tightly, Yumir bit her lower lip while fiddling with the Durumagi.
“I’ll never transform again…to save people, meddling in their business. Tsk….”
Why did she transform?
Even when she hadn’t yet resolved this ‘side effect’.
This side effect where her clothes didn’t return after the transformation-
Beep beep beep.
Her Taegeuk Watch began to ring.
Yumir realized once again why she had transformed.
“Teacher!”
“Yumir, are you okay?”
A man’s voice that was filled with concern.
Yumir flipped over, bringing the Taegeuk Watch close to her face.
“Yes…! And you, teacher?!”
“I’m still at the scene, I couldn’t see Yumir, so I was searching for you.”
“……!”
Yumir was about to rush out, but stopped short, looking down at the Durumagi and making a crying face.
“Well, you see.”
Yumir frowned heavily.
“…Teacher, can we continue our meal next time?”
“Yumir? Is there something wrong?”
“No, no! Not like that, or should I say there is….”
“Are you safe right now?”
A very serious voice.
“…Yes.”
Yumir spoke the embarrassing truth, and soon, a sigh of relief and laughter flowed out.
“I’m glad. As long as you’re safe. And Yumir, no matter what happened…I hope you’re not hurt. I’m on your side, Yumir.”
“……Yes. Thank you.”
“Hehe. See you next time, then.”
Yumir.
“…Auto-recording.”
She pulled out her smartphone, quickly operated the app that would play a certain phrase on repeat, and quietly closed her eyes.
[I’m on your side, Yumir—–]
“……Hehe.”
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