Ch.151Chapter 6. Hellfire Peninsula (8)

S-class fighters join forces.

Even for S-class individuals, heroes and villains fighting together is problematic.

Especially when it’s two people who were fighting each other in Gangwon Province not long ago.

But if their opponent is a demon.

If it’s an enemy that any human would objectively and universally despise.

“Wow…!”

That changes everything.

“What is this…!”

On his way from Busan to Ulsan, Armored Taejo was driving his sports car with his ability while watching the situation in Jindo on his tablet when he was stunned by what he saw.

“A-autonomous driving!”

Taejo, who had sworn never to let AI drive, switched the car to self-driving mode and turned his attention to the tablet.

“Damn, if I’d known it would be like this, I should have gone to Jindo myself!”

Each S-class hero has their assigned territory.

Taejo protects Busan, Ulsan, and South Gyeongsang Province, and he had already subdued eight demons and locked them up.

But they were all D-class or C-class demons—weak ones or those already subdued when academy students had no way to contain them further.

In reality, Taejo hadn’t personally handled many of them.

Even among the living demons or demon corpses he had locked up, some had already been “executed” by someone else.

“Goblin…!”

He had felt it when they fought in Gangwon Province.

He had felt it when he watched from the airplane at Yangyang Airport.

This man.

“He’s so cool…!”

Though he had lost their fight, Taejo is a man who gives credit where it’s due.

Look at him.

Appearing on a flying motorcycle wreathed in flames to protect Baek Seol-hee.

Instructing Baek Seol-hee to protect people as a hero while he confronts the demon directly, pressuring it with just a few words.

And the moment Baek Seol-hee can securely protect the surroundings, immediately switching to offense and wounding the demon’s body.

“Th-that bike! He definitely copied mine! Hah, that’s right! Flying through the air on a metal object! He must have envied my Iron Dragon and created that!”

Setting aside the technical questions of how a motorcycle could fly, Taejo felt an inexplicable chill watching Goblin soaring through the sky on his bike.

And then.

“Holy…!”

Transformed into a rider, he soars into the sky with wings of flame.

The fiery wings on his back begin to concentrate on his right foot, becoming like a lance wrapped in a cloak as he aims downward.

“Goblin Kick…!”

WHOOSH!

A pillar of fire shoots up dozens of meters high.

Red flames engulf the entire demon Scullian, burning it away.

BOOM!

A tremendous explosion erupts with a deafening sound.

As if the demon could no longer maintain its existence after being struck by the flame-wrapped Goblin Kick, it caused a powerful explosion.

Crack, snap.

In the burning flames.

Before the split skull.

“Wow, incredible…!”

Goblin was slowly straightening his posture.

After landing lightly on the ground and rising to his feet, his red-tinged eyes behind the mask sparkled as he looked toward the tablet.

Tap.

Goblin lightly dusted off his right hand.

His transformation then dissolved, returning him to his usual appearance in a suit.

Rustle.

As he adjusted his black tie and straightened his clothes with the hand he had just dusted off, another explosion occurred behind him.

“Demon response… eliminated…”

He seemed certain the demon had died from his attack.

If the demon had suddenly emerged from the flames with its jaws wide open, wouldn’t Goblin have been quite embarrassed?

No.

If that had happened, Goblin would have immediately delivered a back kick as if he’d been waiting for it.

“Wow, just wow…”

All Taejo could do was marvel.

It might be irritating to face someone like that, but from a distance, one could only admire and feel incredibly envious.

Like…

The feeling of wanting to do the same.

“…Ah, damn.”

Taejo scratched his head vigorously.

“I should walk my own path, but if I copy that, people will call me a copycat who just imitates others.”

He’d heard that Haeguneul was already cleverly twisting patent licenses to create designs that were similar but different, but if he changed his appearance in that way too, what would people think?

A hero’s appearance is directly connected to how the world perceives them.

If it meant copying a villain’s appearance, public criticism—no, condemnation—would be even fiercer.

“…I’ll have to try it secretly someday.”

Taejo could only earnestly hope for such a day to come in the future.

“Hello, this is Taejo! Report the location of the remaining demons!”

[Ah, sorry! The whale demon in the waters off Ulsan that I mentioned 10 minutes ago was just subdued!]

“Huh?”

Taejo paused for a moment.

“Then, the remaining demons are…”

[Two! Their locations are…]

* * *

[So there are two in Ulleungdo.]

I headed toward my bike, leaving the burning Scullian behind.

Sizzle.

Qiongqi’s magical power was completely used up purifying and burning the S-class demon, counteracting the demonic energy as it burned away.

Now I only have my power as Goblin left, and one hidden card remaining.

My power as Goblin alone is naturally on the lower side.

Not enough to face an S-class hero alone.

But.

[You seem tired too. Are you thinking of chasing after me?]

“……”

[You worked hard. Sealing those demons in ice pillars. You used quite a lot of magical power. Do you still think you can catch me?]

I could easily defeat Baek Seol-hee now, who has used even more magical power than I have.

[You can’t defeat me in your current state. And I have no intention of fighting you either.]

Even for S-class individuals, if it comes down to who’s in better condition, I naturally have the advantage since I know how to fight more efficiently with less magical power.

[There are still demons that need to be dealt with.]

“You…”

Baek Seol-hee continued to look at me with a complicated expression.

“Are you going… to kill demons?”

[Killing demons is part of it, but more importantly, I need to stop them from rampaging further.]

Above all, the fact that the remaining demons are in Ulleungdo is most significant.

[In a hurry? I could give you a ride if necessary.]

I climbed onto my bike.

Baek Seol-hee looked at me incredulously, but there was a moment of hesitation.

“…I’m sorry, but I can’t have physical contact with a strange man.”

[What an interesting thing to say. Are you from the Joseon Dynasty?]

“It’s because I’m…”

She speaks quietly, just mouthing the words, perhaps afraid others might hear.

[…What?]

She might think she made a sound, but I couldn’t even guess from her lip movements.

But I can guess that Baek Seol-hee is saying she can’t have contact with Goblin because she has a man named Do Ji-hwan.

[Well, fine. I don’t want to carry an S-class who might try to capture me anyway.]

Vroom.

The bike roars roughly again.

I’ve used up all of Qiongqi’s power, but now it’s time to use someone else’s.

Just in time, she’s calling.

Far away in Ulleungdo, she’s waiting for me to arrive.

[The S-class who went to Ulleungdo is… Princess Bari. I see.]

“W-wait, are you really going to Ulleungdo now?”

[Of course. Why? Are you going to stop me?]

“N-no! It’s just…”

Baek Seol-hee fidgeted with her hands for a moment, then looked up at me with trembling eyes.

“…I’ll let you go just this once.”

Swoosh!

As Baek Seol-hee extended her hand to the side, an ice overpass formed in the middle of the collapsed Jindo Bridge.

“Go.”

[Oh? I didn’t expect you to let me leave.]

“If you hadn’t been here, I couldn’t have saved these people, and it would have been difficult to handle the demon alone.”

[I’m glad you think so. But… someone will surely have something to say about this.]

I turned my bike toward the ice overpass.

[Someone will criticize you for letting a villain go.]

“Let them. I’m in a groggy state right now. Even if I wanted to fight more, I couldn’t.”

[Yet you just created an overpass.]

“It’s not a road for you, but a temporary bridge for the people of Jindo. Please don’t misunderstand.”

[Heh.]

“What? Why are you laughing?”

[Nothing, just…]

I couldn’t help but smile.

[Right. Heroes and villains helping each other is absurd. Our goals just happened to align briefly. You saved people, and I executed a demon. That’s all there is to it.]

“…Yes.”

[People are starting to arrive, so I’ll be on my way.]

Since she made it for me, I might as well use that road.

[Transform.]

[Change, Tigris!]

Beep beep beep.

Green mana flowed from the bike, enveloping my entire body, and I rode toward the overpass.

A green circle unfolds before the bike.

Others might not see it, but an elongated path stretches out in front of my bike.

Ah.

I really tried to resist this.

‘I’m in no position to criticize Armored Taejo.’

I couldn’t help myself.

[…Riding.]

Into the world of speed.

As the eyes of the Goblin mask turned green, I rode my bike along the ice path.

[I’m coming, Taowu.]

Aah.

[Acceleration.]

I was satisfied.