Ch.2525. What the Hell, Let’s Give It a Try.

“W-What is this! Breaking news! Breaking news! Following the news of Red Dragon’s survival…”

“Exclusive! The person presumed to have saved Red Dragon, ‘Dr. Hyun,’ is reportedly the head of a small research institute called ‘Celtic Bio’…”

“It was Red Dragon who defeated Dark Arthur, not the Dragon King Sentai! The video evidence is believed to be at the Celtic Bio research institute…”

“News that the Dragon King Sentai killed Red Dragon!!”

Countless media reports began to spread uncontrollably. Information expanded, was reproduced, and shared.

“Geo, we’ve captured 32 percent of trending topics. Three out of ten people exposed to the information are now aware of the current situation.”

Lee Lu-a relayed the situation to me through communication.

Sufficient.

The Red Dragon revival scenario proceeded according to plan, though earlier than expected.

“Red Dragon, I beg you. Please, please come back alive…! Only you can defeat Emperor Recter! You can save this planet! You are our last hope!!”

Dr. Hyun held my hand while crying. His nose turned red and his glasses fogged up. Seeing his expression made me feel oddly moved.

Really.

What incredible acting.

“I understand. Doctor, please get to safety.”

The actors playing assistants forcibly pulled the doctor away. Until the very end, Dr. Hyun didn’t miss a single detail—from the tone of his lines to the movement of his fingertips.

I have to admit.

He’s a genuine master actor.

By the way, Dr. Hyun’s real name is Kim Duk-bae. A fifty-six-year-old unknown actor who had been drifting between back-alley theaters. Lu-a found him, and I wrote the script.

I turned to face Pegasus.

Well, everything has gone well so far, but this guy is a bit of a problem.

Right now, thanks to the revival bonus, my stats are sufficient—if not enough to face the Galaxy Empire head-on, at least enough to give it a try.

Obviously, I can’t take them all down alone, and the Emperor is still beyond my reach.

The problem is the stat adjustment.

There’s no guarantee I can deal damage according to my actual stats.

That’s how game systems typically work. Can a level 1 character wielding a max-level sword immediately join a raid?

Of course not. Attack power gets adjusted and weakened.

Right now, I need to set my job as a villain to fight. That way, when I defeat this guy, both my organization and Vengeance’s rank will increase. Not the rank designated by the Association, but the level recorded in the system.

However, the problem is that Vengeance’s rank is still low. I can’t fully utilize my stats.

In a system where the goal is to be the head of evil, I need to grow my organization to become stronger myself.

It would be simple if I set my job as a hero.

But then, when I defeat this guy, Vengeance would remain stagnant while the Hero Association and Dragon King Sentai would grow stronger.

It’s not just about numbers.

That’s the role assigned to me as a “player.” Determining the direction of the world.

I need to act as a villain so that, even while playing Red Dragon, Gerogius will be respected and Vengeance will grow more easily.

If I defeat Pegasus as a hero, when the Association Chairman later refutes the claim about Red Dragon’s murder, the public will be more likely to trust it.

I absolutely cannot stand that.

And there’s one more condition.

To the public, Hero Red Dragon is known to have only one ability.

The Dragon King Sentai and the Association believe the same.

‘Arrow of Light.’

That’s actually “White Pestilence,” one of the Red Dragon’s four skills.

When I was a hero, I only used that skill in front of others.

To be precise, I also used Red War, but that wasn’t very noticeable. I could just pass it off as my physical strength.

The reason was simple.

The other two abilities were too grotesque in appearance to be considered hero abilities.

Both the ability of the scythe from Blue Death and Black Famine are beyond description.

I can’t use those two here.

They must be reserved as skills used by Gerogius.

In my plan, the one who will defeat the Emperor is not Red Dragon but Gerogius.

If I use Death and Famine here, and later Gerogius also uses Death and Famine,

even an elementary school student could establish the equation: Red Dragon = Gerogius.

That’s also why I never used White Pestilence as Gerogius.

Tsk.

If I fought together with Lu-a, we could handle this easily.

I glanced back at the Dragon King Sentai.

Ji Se-hwa, Shin Yukyong, Kang Yerin, Choi Minseo.

Useless bunch. They couldn’t even handle one executive.

Beyond them is that orphanage. I can’t let Pegasus advance any further.

Stat restrictions, only two skills, and I have to take down a Galaxy Empire executive one-on-one.

Well.

What the hell, let’s give it a try.

◈ ◈ ◈

Shin Yukyong first wondered how he was still alive.

She still believed he was an enemy and evil.

But she wanted to ask about the Switch.

She wanted to know the truth—if he had really used Excalibur, Longominiard, and Clarent alone in that agony for her sake.

Choi Minseo wanted to run to him and throw herself into his arms immediately.

She no longer cared about the truth. Sin or punishment or Jung Ui-seok’s feelings—she was beyond caring about such cause and effect.

Right now, Jung Ui-seok was the only one who could support her heart.

But her legs gave way, her stomach churned, and convulsions prevented her from doing so.

Ji Se-hwa’s emotions were complicated.

She didn’t know what they were herself. With his return and all truths exposed, everything she had built was beginning to crumble.

While anger and resentment rose within her, a corner of her heart ached. She didn’t realize it was guilt and regret.

Unable to take a clear stance, she could neither move forward nor back.

And Kang Yerin.

“Ah, aah.”

She felt relief, relief, and gratitude.

Hope began to rise that even now, everything could be restored.

She was overjoyed at the thought of being able to say all the things she had wanted and needed to say.

No, there was no such rational thought.

Just seeing his face again made her so happy, so very happy.

Her head filled with positive clouds, and before it stopped working altogether, she realized she needed to move quickly.

Even in this situation.

Even though you became like that because of us.

You were trying to protect us.

And yet you’ve come out to fight again.

I was wrong after all.

I shouldn’t have doubted you even a little.

I have to tell him.

I have to tell him before he leaves again.

Kang Yerin desperately moved her lips.

Where to start?

What first?

She recalled her first meeting with Jung Ui-seok.

The hero who saved her and her father.

The four words she couldn’t say then.

Start there.

Start from the beginning.

“—Ui-seok!!”

Kang Yerin strained her throat with all her might.

“Thank you—!!”

Starting with the gratitude she couldn’t express then.

With everything in her heart.

That’s how she shouted.

◈ ◈ ◈

What is she thanking me for?

For dying like a sucker?

For being deceived?

Or is she misunderstanding that I appeared before Pegasus to save them?

Well, I wasn’t expecting an apology.

It’s not necessary either.

Still, it’s a bit surprising to hear that as a reunion greeting.

Seems like she’s just an ordinary crazy woman.

I put on my helmet.

“Transform.”

[Up a blind alley]

I prepared a generously sized helmet and suit to maintain my dragon form.

Now, let’s kill.

“Is the melodrama over? I’ll tear that weak flesh apart, inferior species!”

Clop-clop-clop. Pegasus charges toward me, raising dust. As expected of a four-legged creature, he’s quite fast.

“Red War.”

[BE■LUMR■BE■]

No time to waste this time.

I’ll go all out from the start.

Bang!

I exert maximum force to penetrate his defenses. The ground where I stepped has cracks in a 10-meter radius.

I intended to strike his heart directly, but his spear-handling reaction speed is fast. Pegasus defends against my moves with efficient movements.

Not easy.

I continue the exchange. He has a long lower body. I try to circle behind him to target his rear, but he’s well-trained and aware that’s his weakness.

With Blue Death, I could instantly get behind him, but it’s sealed. Not easy.

If I could hit his body with White Pestilence, I might have a chance, but he’s fast. He’d instantly dodge the Arrow of Light with those four legs, given its casting time.

“Ha! Not a trace of chivalry! Like a rat, you only aim for your opponent’s weaknesses!”

Chivalry. That’s laughable.

This is war.

Whether it’s dirty, cruel, or requires abandoning pride.

Victory belongs to the one who survives.

Victory belongs to the one who kills.

There must be a flaw in this value system.

“Targeting weaknesses? Isn’t that what you’re doing right now?”

“What?”

“You have no right to speak of chivalry. I am originally an ‘archer.’ A warrior who fights primarily with a bow. You, who force me into close combat with all your might, are the dirty rat.”

“W-what…!”

Pegasus’s face turns red.

“Is it the chivalry of the great Galaxy Empire’s knight commander to not even give an archer a chance to shoot?”

“Grr, y-you! Such insolence! Shut your mouth! I am a great knight! Go ahead, shoot your arrow! I won’t dodge—I’ll deflect it with my spear!”

Pegasus roars in a fit.

“I’ll prove it. You won’t lose to me because you can’t shoot your bow!”

“Oh? You won’t go back on your word?”

“On the name of the Galaxy Empire!”

Got him.

I created distance between us. 10 meters.

“White Pestilence.”

[L■■SAL■EDO]

A sphere of light appears in my hand. The brilliantly unfolding light forms an arc, becoming a bow. A sleek arrow is engraved. There is no bowstring.

The target is Pegasus. I aim precisely. I release my hand.

Pat— Swooosh!!

The light shoots forth. It collides with his spear. Huge sparks fly.

“Hnnngh!!”

Pegasus channels strength into his arms holding the spear. He competes with the arrow of light. Will he deflect it or be penetrated? That moment of tension—

—I have no intention of watching till the end.

“—You?!”

I ran to Pegasus immediately after firing the bow. I sprinted to his immediate vicinity. The arrow of light competing with the spear. I grasp it once more in my hand.

“Preconceptions. That’s your downfall, Pegasus.”

“W-what?!”

The next moment.

The arrow he was competing with vanishes, and his spear is entangled with the bow of light. The bow’s grip is aimed at Pegasus’s brainstem.

“This light is neither arrow nor bow.”

I whispered as I fired the next arrow directly into his skull.

“It’s pestilence.”

Pat—

Crack— Boom!!

A void forms in Pegasus’s head. His skull distorts and is sucked into the void. His brainstem soon disappears.

Blood fountains from the neck of the now headless creature.

Here it comes.

“■■■■—!!!”

Pegasus’s body turns red and begins to thrash.

Berserk mode.

Just before death, executive-level monsters deliver a final death blow with their last gasp.

The fatal spear thrust at me.

I create another void to twist its trajectory.

Still—what tremendous power. Just from the air pressure and force.

Boom!!

My body is shot and slammed into the ground.

Thud!

Fortunately, his attacks don’t continue, and the massive half-human, half-horse corpse collapses.

[Knight Commander Pegasus defeated!]

[Stats have increased!]

[Great achievement!]

[Solo play: Galaxy Empire Knight Commander]

[Villain organization Vengeance’s rank has increased!]

[Villains admire you!]

[Probability of commanding more powerful villains has increased!]

“Phew.”

I return the light in my palm with a sigh of relief. I stand up.

The ability to manipulate light that can become both bow and arrow, and create void spaces.

That’s White Pestilence.

‘Good thing I didn’t have to use other techniques.’

Things worked out well.

The issue is that I had to use Red Dragon’s revival earlier than expected.

I need to accelerate the plan.

‘I need to meet Emperor Recter right away.’

That was the conclusion I reached.

Then I heard a voice in my ear.

“Ui-seok… sir.”

I turned my head.

Kang Yerin stood at the front, with Ji Se-hwa, Shin Yukyong, and Choi Minseo behind her.