Ch.101101. The Identity of Sulpure, Jung Euiseok Explores the Past

Wooooong―

Paaang!!

The resonance phenomenon from Sulphur’s and my fist created a shockwave that exploded.

I couldn’t gauge any impression from the opponent who exchanged the first blow with me. His expression was hidden behind that stylish helmet.

Well, let’s see what he’s capable of.

I step in quickly. With my left leg stretched back as an axis, I test him with a straight punch.

Sulphur avoids it lightly. His reaction speed is decent.

He extends his left arm to measure the distance between us and brings his right hand to his waist to increase striking power—a basic Chinese martial arts stance.

Sulphur’s right fist comes in fast. As I turn my head to avoid it, his elbow is waiting with a double step.

Liangdanshan—Wing Chun perhaps? But it seems modified with Western style elements.

Quite the mystery fighter.

I dodge with a jinga step using my extended left leg. Immediately connecting with a Torbaung. Flying through the air, I strike his chin repeatedly with my toes.

He takes damage and shakes his head briefly, but doesn’t tire and flies at me with a kick as I back away.

Good momentum.

From a handstand position, I spin half a turn and execute a Parapuju. Our legs tangle and I drive him straight into the ground.

Kuuuung!

With a breakfall, both he and I throw punches at each other simultaneously.

Straight punches.

Shwaaak!

Our arms cross as our fists graze each other’s cheeks. The resulting air pressure tears through and destroys the arena.

“What grudge do you have?”

“I’ve paid enough, haven’t I?”

Sulphur answers lightly. We continue our exchange. With each strike and defense, shockwaves shatter the space around us.

Twenty-one seconds so far.

“Jeo!”

“Ui-seok!”

Lu-a, Somi, and Boksil rush toward me. Sulphur’s movements slow momentarily. All team members join in and attack Sulphur together.

“My target is the devil. Get lost, girls.”

“Some hero you are, acting all high and mighty!”

Lu-a’s dark matter restrains Sulphur’s leg as he leaps up, and Somi strikes down from above with a magnificent roundhouse kick like a tomahawk. Boksil follows with a grenade bombardment.

Sulphur is instantly cornered.

“Tsk, as cowardly as I’ve heard.”

Kwaaang!

When Sulphur releases an energy explosion, Lu-a, Somi, and Boksil are thrown back.

I immediately recognize the black energy emanating from him.

“An aura.”

So he is indeed a monster.

It’s too dangerous to drag this out any longer.

The situation is complicated by the dense crowd of civilian spectators.

“I’ll end this now.”

As if responding to my thoughts, the belt and card appear in my hand. I insert it immediately and transform.

[The End begins]

[Harmagedōn]

I don’t have many Armageddon skills available right now, but thanks to Lu-a, one gauge is fully charged.

“Avarice.”

[ARARITIA]

I grasp the sacred spear that appears and charge at Sulphur.

He uses some kind of ability. A white barrier with fluidity appears, but I cut through it.

Sulphur is surprised, not having expected this. Without giving him an opening, I throw the Spear of Avarice toward his heart.

Thwack!

Using some technique at the last moment, the spear slightly misses and pierces through his bicep instead.

Though he saved his life, the damage was powerful enough to make Sulphur drop to one knee.

Whether it’s bravado or not, he maintains a relaxed attitude, shaking his head slightly.

“Interesting, Gerogius. I see it wasn’t just luck that brought down Emperor Recter.”

“Who are you?”

“I’ll be back. For your head.”

Sulphur snapped his fingers. Then.

Swoosh! Whioooooo―!

A small black hole formed before my eyes. It begins to suck in everything around it with tremendous gravity. The space warps and destroys like a tornado has formed.

“Aaaah, save me!”

“What’s happening!”

This is bad. The spectators are about to get caught up in it.

Sulphur had already jumped into the black hole and disappeared. The Spear of Avarice pulled out of him and vanished.

“Jeo, leave it to me!”

Lu-a generated a massive amount of dark matter to contain the black hole. She counteracts the gravity by blocking it in reverse. After a while…

Flash!

The black hole disappeared.

Lu-a sits down with a sigh of relief.

Sulphur was nowhere to be found, leaving only the wrecked arena behind.

***

Despite the incident, the UVC concluded successfully.

Although Sulphur’s intrusion caused a commotion, there were no casualties, which actually helped boost the event’s popularity.

Some public opinions were buzzing, but ultimately it indirectly proved that Vengeance and I were the strongest.

After all, I overwhelmed Sulphur, who had killed Scooter, the UVC champion, with a single blow, and Lu-a even blocked his finishing move.

“A worldwide arrest warrant has been issued. So, what kind of person is he?”

“He’s calling himself a hero while targeting Ui-seok. Must be someone with a grudge.”

“There are so many that it’s hard to guess.”

The team members exchanged opinions about him. I shared one fact that only I could know.

“He’s a monster.”

“A monster?”

“Lu-a, you couldn’t see his system window description, right?”

“Ah, that’s right! I couldn’t see anything.”

“He created a black hole at the end. Fortunately, Lu-a’s ability could counteract it. He must be connected to the Galaxy Empire.”

Characters from the Galaxy Empire don’t appear after the second scenario ends. There were no hidden executives, and we searched all the ships and confirmed Dorado’s death.

Could he be a character from the home country that only existed in the background setting?

“Above all, he was strong.”

“Indeed. Ui-seok, you two seemed quite evenly matched.”

“If he’s someone from the Galaxy Empire’s home country with a major grudge against me and that strong, could he be Recter’s child?”

“He had children?”

“Dorado mentioned it. There was an heir in the home country.”

“That makes sense. But why would he come alone and pose as a hero?”

“That’s in the realm of speculation, so there’s no point in guessing. He’s strong. We need to eliminate him as soon as possible. How’s the progress on your end?”

I turned to Lena.

She nodded.

“Wait a little longer. The ‘training ground’ for using the Cloaker’s switch is being prepared.”

“Training ground?”

I nodded to Lu-a.

“Since we don’t know how many uses we have, we need to use it as effectively as possible. We’ll gather the strongest monsters and Vengeance villains in one place and repeat time. This way, we can maximize our ability levels. After using up all the uses, we’ll return to reality and disband.”

“I don’t quite understand, but it means we can eat unlimited delicacies, right? Exciting!”

Boksil grinned and drooled.

“Won’t there be problems?”

“I’ll test it alone first, so it’ll be fine.”

“Hey, Jeo.”

Lu-a tugged at my collar.

“About the Cloaker’s switch, isn’t it a bit wasteful to use it all for training? Maybe we should save some for later…”

“No matter what we do in the past with this, it won’t change reality. It’s precisely an ability meant for training.”

“But we could still find clues, right? And maybe… when we make mistakes, we could use it for comfort. For mental care?”

“That’s what Pestam is for.”

I stated firmly.

“Preparation that doesn’t help solve problems isn’t insurance. It’s an escape. If I leave it, it’ll only weaken my current actions.”

“You’re right… Jeo is right.”

Lu-a nodded as if she understood, but there was still a hint of bitterness in her expression.

Perhaps Lu-a has personal reasons for wanting to use this switch?

I should ask her when we’re alone.

“Good work, everyone. Let’s rest well today.”

Vengeance disbanded, looking forward to next time.

***

“Haa, haa.”

In the underground sewers of the city—illegally expanded by various construction companies and filled with cement, with a structure no one could accurately grasp.

A hero in a pure white suit waded through the rotten water where rats crawled and no light penetrated, barely managing to return to his dwelling.

The stench of the sewer was now familiar.

But now, there wasn’t even energy to smell it.

Gerogius was stronger than expected.

Crash!

Sulphur fell to his knees, roughly pulled out a syringe from a toolbox, and jabbed it into his chest.

“Haa, huu…”

Sulphur barely regulated his breathing.

Soon he let go of all strength and collapsed onto a makeshift bed.

After calming down a bit, Sulphur took out a hidden switch from deep inside his arm and deactivated the transformation.

A small body that had been hidden under thick, sophisticated armor was revealed.

Sweat poured down the small jawline like rain.

The tangled blonde hair caught in the helmet broke and stung.

Kang Yerin stared at the low ceiling for a moment, then slowly closed her eyes, hoping for a good dream.

Unfortunately, since parting with the yellow dragon, she had never dreamed even once.

Drip, drip.

Only the small sound of water droplets falling from somewhere, creating ripples on the floor, echoed.

***

“Test case 01. Be careful, Ui-seok.”

I gave Somi a thumbs up. I had equipped a villain belt at my waist and held the yellow dragon’s switch in my right hand.

The ability to leap into the past.

Before training, I want to check what side effects there might be, what the limits are for returning, and various rules.

“I’ll be back.”

I pressed the yellow dragon’s switch.

[NOZTORM!]

I attached it to the belt. After pressing and rotating the top of the switch once more, a golden light burst forth.

[MAX PERFORMANCE!]

I heard the sound of a spring winding in my ear—

The next moment.

“—Jeo?”

Lu-a was beside me, on a date.