Ch.189Chapter 7. What’s Wrong is Wrong, No Matter Who Sees It (3)

The charisma of darkness had vanished.

Scattering a rainbow-colored aura, he disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Is it possible for a human to suddenly disappear like that?

For a Goblin, it’s possible.

And after that, Platinum Sun appeared as well.

A mysterious being who suddenly disappeared without warning in front of everyone.

Beyond his overwhelming power, what he had done was certainly causing a tremendous situation.

“We’re in trouble, big trouble.”

Thunder Empress Kim Yoon-ji shook her head as she landed on the passenger ship.

“Mission failed. The prisoner we were escorting and the people from the Hero Association have been kidnapped. Man, this is really serious.”

“Why are you so calm about it? We should chase after that strange being right now!”

Battle God Lee Jun-young flushed red with anger.

“Why? Why are you so angry? Are you angry about people being kidnapped, or angry at yourself for failing the mission?”

“What did you say?”

“You were stunned watching him attack Susanoo, weren’t you? Me too. That’s inevitable for ability users. After seeing such an imposing figure.”

Thunder Empress flexed her hands while regulating her breathing.

“Overwhelming power. Strong will. I understood well what he was trying to say. And while watching that, we got distracted. Whether he was giving a speech to Susanoo or not, we should have attacked and captured him.”

“That’s cowardly…!”

“Cowardly or not, he’s a villain. We are nationally certified S-class heroes with a duty to do our best for the nation.”

“Ugh…!”

Battle God lowered his head while breathing heavily.

It was clear that he had been momentarily stunned by the enemy’s flashy entrance and overwhelming power, and the sight of Susanoo swinging his fist toward his head was even awe-inspiring.

The problem was simply that this wasn’t the situation to feel such things.

“The press must be going crazy printing headlines by now. ‘Are Korea’s S-class heroes good enough?’ ‘Battle God and Thunder Empress helpless against an enemy appearing in the blink of an eye.’ ‘Tax waste.’ Something like that.”

“How about going overseas then?”

Heavenly Demon Lee Ye-ryeong also landed on the passenger ship.

“Don’t try to recruit me sneakily. I’m not like my sister.”

“You might change your mind if you get backstabbed?”

“I’ll think about it when that happens. So, is my sister also in cahoots with that Charisma of Darkness person?”

“No.”

Heavenly Demon rubbed the watch on her wrist and shrugged.

“I just came because I was asked to rescue someone from the party. But the situation has changed.”

“The situation has changed?”

“It seems they changed their minds when this Charisma of Darkness appeared. I got a message saying not to rescue them.”

“…Suddenly?”

“Yes.”

Heavenly Demon pointed below the passenger ship’s deck.

“A true hero should know how to overcome and win against the crisis given to them. Whining for help just because you lost your ability is not the way of a heroic warrior. Well, that’s what they said when canceling the rescue.”

“…Did those great people get inspired by the Charisma of Darkness or something?”

“It seems that way.”

Heavenly Demon shrugged as if she couldn’t understand it either.

“So let’s just say I came out for a stroll. I don’t particularly want to cause an international dispute, I just wanted to fight Battle God in person.”

“Who would let you off that easily?”

“Then what? Are you going to deal with me first instead of those suddenly appearing Sephirot Knights? What if I join their side too?”

“Grrr…!”

“Lee Ye-ryeong.”

Battle God clenched his fist and stood in front of Heavenly Demon.

“I still cannot accept you.”

“You’ll understand once you face me.”

“I understand. But it’s because of where you went.”

“……”

“Not just anywhere, but by putting that red flag on your badge specifically to spite this country, you remain my enemy. So back off now while I’m letting you.”

“Letting me… you must be angry. Fine.”

Seeing Battle God’s fierce face, Heavenly Demon climbed onto the ship’s railing.

“Good luck. If you ever want to come over, contact me. Even if not to where I am, I can send you somewhere else.”

“I’m not leaving.”

“From now on, they’ll blame you with all kinds of insults. The cause lies with the Charisma of Darkness, but they’ll place responsibility on those who failed to detect and respond to it early. As always.”

Neither S-class hero could refute Heavenly Demon’s cynical words.

“Villains cause accidents, but heroes and field workers take the blame. Hmm, what a nice place. But—”

“Hey, Chinese.”

As wind began to flow from Battle God’s body, Heavenly Demon’s expression hardened.

“If you’re done talking, get out of this country.”

“……”

“Last warning. Three, two, one—”

“Tch.”

Heavenly Demon jumped toward the sea.

“Don’t forget what I said. In the end, only the suckers suffer.”

Tap-tap.

Heavenly Demon disappeared westward, running across the water’s surface.

Her speed was too fast for even a warship to chase, and no one could pursue Heavenly Demon’s departure.

Even with two S-class heroes present, those S-class heroes ultimately had to protect the passenger ship.

“…Instructions from the Association President are in.”

Thunder Empress lightly tapped her Taegeuk Watch.

[Battle God. Thunder Empress. Natural disasters are unavoidable. Safely escort the remaining prisoners to Sejong Island. Over.]

“…Understood.”

Battle God responded to the Association President’s instructions with a heavy face and sighed.

“Just wait until we catch whoever they are. I won’t let them off easy…”

* * *

[Strange Being Attack. Korea No Longer a Safe Zone.]

[Warships and Heroes Useless. Where Are the Kidnapped Agents?]

[Can Lost Abilities Return? Ability School Professor’s Opinion.]

[What is the Sephirot Knights? In-depth Analysis.]

Three hours after the incident.

The passenger ship barely reached Sejong Island, and meanwhile, all kinds of articles began pouring out.

[“Individual Deviation” Japan Government Claims No Responsibility for Susanoo’s Rampage.]

[“Heavenly Demon Goes Where She Wants” Chinese Hero Association Vice President’s Support Statement Causes Controversy]

[Where is ‘Lord of Radiant Wings’ at a Time Like This?]

“Is writing long article titles the trend these days?”

As expected, regarding the appearance of Susanoo and Heavenly Demon, each country took a stance defending them as if cutting ties.

As they please.

How could anyone stop ability users who did what they wanted?

No one died, so please understand.

We will persuade them well.

Even though they’re ability users, they’re all in their late teens to early twenties, so each country is asking society to be lenient with heroes in ways that benefit themselves.

“Teacher, what are you looking at?”

“Articles. Everyone uselessly stirring up conflict.”

“Hmm… technically, didn’t you cause all this commotion, teacher?”

“Not me, but Dueoksini, Wijungcheoksa.”

The bad ones are Pandemonium and Wijungcheoksa.

Although the situation has unfolded this way, it’s because Wijungcheoksa went wrong that these things keep happening.

“So I’m not bad. Wijungcheoksa is bad.”

Not just barely not bad, but completely innocent.

“Remember. This all started when Dueoksini created the 72 demons.”

“…It’s bitter. That no one seems to be pointing that out now.”

“That’s because The Syndicate announced that Dueoksini died. And…”

I pointed at the calendar.

“Because I emphasized May 3rd, everyone is waiting with anticipation.”

“Isn’t that a bit tight?”

“It is tight. But extracting information in the meantime is nothing. Ymir. From now on…”

Transformation.

[I’ll proceed as the Goblin.]

[Then I’ll also.]

As the Goblin, as Platinum Sun.

I opened the interrogation room door and faced the agent across the desk.

“Y-you?!”

[Do you know me?]

“S-so…! It was The Syndicate! The Syndicate was pulling a scam!”

The agent immediately realized the truth upon seeing me.

“The materials you showed us! That Charisma of Darkness guy in them! He must be another executive from The Syndicate!”

[Imagine what you will. What matters is that I’m in front of you, and you’re a puppet of Pandemonium and a traitor to the Hero Association.]

“……!”

The agent kept his mouth shut.

[You’re not the only one who learned the truth. So did we. That you planned to send ability users to Sejong Island, and tried to switch people to research the real Zenros somewhere else.]

“……!”

[Just a little deduction is enough to obtain this information.]

I already figured it out through others.

Because there’s no business in the face of threats, torture, and life.

“You won’t get any information from me…! Kill me!”

[Really?]

“…What?”

[I’ll have to show you.]

I took out a tablet and showed him prepared photos.

[Those who didn’t answer died, and those who answered were spared.]

“Y-you…! Murderers!”

[That’s rich coming from someone who cooperated with monsters who turned humans into demons.]

Actually, the corpses are fake.

They’re illusions created through ability, and no one has died yet.

[Will you answer and survive? Or not answer and die?]

“…….”

[Your boss told the truth. She told me quite in detail. Why she joined Pandemonium.]

But in a place like this, where communication with others is strictly controlled, one can’t help but feel anxious.

[Wanting to become stronger even by making deals with demons. What a funny thought.]

“…Someone like you wouldn’t understand. Someone born S-class from birth.”

[I wonder.]

I became S-class through technique, but if we’re just talking about magical power, I’m C-class.

“Kill me. I won’t give any information to people like you. No matter what torture I endure—”

[Hong Chang-sik. Age, 23. From Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province. Both your parents run a pension in Gapyeong, right?]

“……! You, you investigated…!”

[Of course I did. Did you think we wouldn’t do that much research?]

I displayed photos of the traitor agent Hong Chang-sik’s home on the tablet.

[If you cooperate with information—]

“Threatening with family, how cowardly!!!”

[Family? No, I don’t do that. There’s even a hero who defected to China because someone targeted their family. That goes against etiquette. I will only threaten you directly.]

I moved to the next photo.

[If you don’t willingly provide information, I’ll release all the data from your hard drive and your secret SNS accounts.]

“……What?”

[You asked me to kill you? Fine. I’ll kill you. But I won’t be the one doing the killing.]

It will be this society.

[What would be more shocking to people? D-class ability user Hong Chang-sik who sold his soul to a demon to become stronger? Or…]

Slide.

[Hong Chang-sik who ranted that non-ability users should all die out, and that three non-ability women should be distributed to each household as machines to birth ability users. Which one would it be?]

“I ran… a cleaner…?”

[Did you think no data would remain on the server? Ah, there’s one more.]

I pulled out another file.

[Or perhaps a man who said he wanted to impregnate the 15-year-old S-class Princess Bari for patriotic childbirth. Which would be most shocking to the world?]

The sea of information knows the answer.