Chapter 96: The Dignity Of Rank S (4)
Villains didn’t have the right to an official portrait.
So, they needed to hide their identities even more. If they showed their faces, they needed to have powerful economic strength or power that could overwhelm the disadvantages.
But why was such an environment created?
Simply because in the 21st century, with the ability revolution, electronic devices also developed?
Because anyone with a smartphone could become a broadcaster, who could broadcast live on the Internet?
Correct.
Those were true, but there was something that coincided with it.
There was an ability user called Cheonrian.
Their name seemed to mean to see a very long distance, a thousand miles away, but the actual function and role were like a ‘Big Brother’.
-No matter if it’s the government, they can’t monitor our server!
-What if a villain appears, and they are exchanging information about trying to mess with your granddaughter?
-But this is personal information…
-The Court’s position is that a little infringement on individual freedom is allowed for national security. Sir, this is Korea, not America.
-… It’s for villain intelligence only. I’ll shut down the server immediately if it’s used for political reasons.
-Thank you for your cooperation. Sir.
Whether it was a smartphone or a Taeguk Watch, in the end, the data went to the central station, and the data usually went through the telecom’s server.
Cheonrian was a ‘Big Brother’ who monitored this server and discovered information about villains.
On the surface, they only collected big data related to villains, but the reality was known only to Cheonrian himself, a handful of government agents, and the company that rented the server.
I had been thoroughly avoiding being detected by Cheonrian so far.
At least when discussing the Secret Society, I had thoroughly hidden myself.
However, there’s nothing I could do if other people filmed me.
Like right now.
Beep-beep-beep!!
Yuliana’s Taeguk Watch started ringing loudly, alerting them of the discovery of a villain.
“Wh, why…! I didn’t report!”
[I know. You were reported automatically.]
This was why the alarm went off loudly when a villain was reported.
[It’s only your fault, Yuliana, that you set up the cloud to auto-update. It would have ended with just that if it was just video storage.]
Apart from the automatic reporting, when Cheonrian found a villain, it was set to ‘forcibly’ ring the alarm.
[As an American, you might not know, but as soon as the data enters the Korean server, government agents start monitoring the villain.]
“No, it can’t be…! That’s a violation of privacy…!”
[You don’t know this country well.]
“No, this can’t be…! How could such a horrible privacy violation occur in a hero-advanced country…!”
[That’s the difference between this country and other countries.]
There was no need to explain everything one by one.
[What are you going to do? Are you going to Yangyang, or are you going to stay here quietly?]
“What are you…going to do?”
Yuliana’s gaze was directed at the spewing fire.
As she slowly turned her head toward me, the look in her eyes looking up at me was clearly one that considered me a ‘murderer’.
[I just executed a villain who was trying to kill you for a mission. It’s inconvenient to look at it that way.]
“…….”
[My given mission is to escort you to the airport. Since you reported the appearance of the Goblin-]
“I didn’t report it!!”
She flared up, screaming at the top of her lungs when I teased her once.
I was about to justify myself by thinking, ‘Isn’t it okay to kill someone who steals and does villainous acts?’ but considering this woman’s age, I maintained my composure.
[That doesn’t matter. I have a bike over there, make your choice. Are you going to Yangyang airport alone, or are you going to move with me?]
The car exploded, but the bike Yeongro rode on was still there.
Even if the bike ran out of fuel on the way, carrying her to Yangyang Airport was not impossible.
[What are you going to do? Make your choice. There’s no time to delay.]
“…….”
[I’ll give you 3 seconds. 3, 2, 1.]
“But, but!”
Yuliana hesitated, pointing at the carry-on she was gripping so hard her fingers turned white.
“Why would I…for doing something so big wrong…!”
[It’s over. I clearly told you to choose. You hesitated.]
“Huh?”
I kicked Yuliana along with her carry-on.
Yuliana opened her eyes wide in astonishment for a moment, thinking that I had attacked her, but I wasn’t trying to kill Yuliana.
Thud!!
A hunk of steel zipped between Yuliana and me.
It was a fist with a rocket attached, and the steel fist quickly turned around and flew back to its owner.
“The armor of Taejo–––!”
Thump–––!
A hefty piece of steel landed, causing the asphalt road to sink considerably.
Even I had to admit it was a hero landing that I’d want to imitate at least once, and as he stretched out his hand, the gauntlet that had attacked us reattached itself to his hand.
“Armored Taejo! Arrival!”
Did he fly in from Busan?
The fact that he showed up at this time meant that he had been flying towards Gangwondo from the moment the escort operation started.
“Long time no see, Goblin!”
“Ah…!”
Yuliana, who had fallen to the ground, looked terrified at the sight of Taejo.
“And Yuliana Feygreen. We only parted half a day ago, but seeing you again feels crappy.”
“Ah, that, that’s…!”
“To secretly tie up and take away what was thrown in the trash can. Isn’t that a bit too unscrupulous?”
At Taejo’s barb, Yuliana cast her eyes down.
It was impossible for a mere C-rank ability user to handle the cold fury of an S-rank.
While I might have said something, and there was some sense of injustice for her and the understanding that I was a bodyguard, to Yuliana, Taejo was an entity she couldn’t dare to face.
“Where’s my DNA? Hand it over.”
“…….”
“Don’t tell me you don’t have it. I knew you had it when I came.”
“I, I don’t have it.”
Yuliana’s voice was trembling.
“I’ve already sent it to the airport.”
“Really? Then I guess I’ll have to do a body search.”
Taejo clenched his fist and tilted his head.
“It was a fun night, but the wrap-up is quite shabby…What?”
[I’m sorry, but she’s still under protection.]
“Do I have a reason to spare her?”
[I received quite a lot of money from her grandfather.]
I blocked Yuliana’s path.
“Hey, Goblin. This is a matter between Yuliana and me.”
[October Travel made a request to our company. If you want to search Yuliana, you’ll need to bring a warrant.]
“A warrant? Ha! The existence of an S-rank hero itself is a warrant. What nonsense!”
[Do you think heroes are above the law?]
“Uh, um, that’s…. Yeah! A villain who disregards the law shouldn’t have much to say. Since when did the strongest villain become so law-abiding?”
[A fair point. I’ll concede.]
“Yeah!”
Taejo punched the air, expressing his feeling of victory.
“Nice! It feels great to put my argument skills to use!”
I gave him a slight advantage in the argument, but he wasn’t exactly wrong, so I let it slide.
Arguing with someone like him would only wear me out.
[Still, you should bring a warrant. That’s if you don’t want to break the law.]
“Ugh…!”
[It’s one thing for me, a villain, to break the law, but wouldn’t it be a problem if you, one of the top-ranked S-class heroes in this country, were to break the law?]
“What?”
Taejo’s voice brightened.
“Are you saying that I’m within the top 5?”
[…….]
“Ha, even the Goblin admits it! Yeah, that’s me. Not some lowly seventh-ranked….”
[I never said ‘one hand’.]
“What!!”
Taejo shook his fist at me, trembling with rage.
“Alright! When a hero and a villain meet, we can’t just let it pass! Goblin! I’ll subdue you and retrieve my DNA from Yuliana! And…!”
Clank!
“I’ll prove it! The power of the S-class hero, Armored Taejo!”
Taejo’s full-body armor began to jut out as if it was shedding.
[Fusing?]
“That’s not it! This is…!”
Clank.
“A sword!”
The chunks of metal that had sprung out interlocked and recombined, soon becoming a single weapon.
Boom!
The blade of the straight sword, shaped like a phantom, began to twinkle with a red laser.
Armored Taejo.
His ability was ‘Metal Manipulation’.
The armor that constituted his body was the culmination of modern technology, and Taejo fought while keeping each part of the armor attached to his body through this ability.
And….
“Let’s start with disarming you first, Goblin!!”
Taejo stretched out one hand towards me, creating a magnetic field made of mana.
“Come here!!”
He tried to pull me in using the metal mass in my body, but it was useless.
“What, why…?!”
[Just because it looks like armor doesn’t mean it’s all metal.]
Dodjiider’s ultimate form was not for show.
It was all made up of mana, and the metallic parts were protected by the mana that surrounded my exterior.
[Are you going to fight?]
“Of course!”
[That’s unfortunate.]
I lightly rolled on the ground and rushed towards Armored Taejo.
[Next time, try developing something like nanomachines.]
“What?!”
[Or, at least, bring a better radar.]
Instant Materialization.
“What…! This speed…?!”
[It’s not about speed.]
Taejo missed me and turned his head left and right, but I kept running forward.
[Did you think you could beat me by just relying on machines?]
“Ugh, when…!”
[The other S-class heroes react to this and even counteract.]
[Solar—]
Already, my fist had reached Taejo’s vital point.
[So, you’re hearing the sound of an S-class scanner.]
“Th, this…!”
[If you only depend on the suit, you’ll end there.]
“!!!!”
Anger, astonishment, and a touch of bitterness flashed across his eyes visible beyond the visor, but-
[Goodbye.]
[FLARE—!!]
I unleashed the mana of my ultimate technique contained within my fist.
The power of the flames exploded, and Taejo flew back with the explosion.
[Well then.]
I immediately turned around and ran towards Yuliana.
[Before I hesitate again and the others come, I’ll forcibly take you to the airport.]
“Ah…!”
I forcibly put the hidden Yuliana on my shoulder, then got on the bike left by Youngno and stepped on the accelerator.
“Wa, wait a minute!! At least put me in front, or, at least, in the back!!”
[We don’t have time.]
Holding a princess?
Perhaps if it was the leader, an executive, Baek Seol-hee, or Yumir.
Why would I do that for this woman?
“Kyaaa! My skirt, my skirt is flipping up?!”
[Shut up. You’re noisy.]
Whether the national highway CCTV captured the image of a woman clutching her suitcase for dear life while being held like a sack of rice by the Goblin or not, I raced down the road toward Yangyang.
Slowly, the sun began to rise.
1 hour until the flight departure time.
[Ah ah, can you hear me? Chief Do. It seems like you are on standby at the airport?]
The information came through the comm made of mana.
[Two S-class are on standby at the airport~ One of them is the princess~]
“Confirmed.”
I gathered mana and drove the bike towards Yangyang airport.
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