Ch.253Chapter 10. Manufactured Hero (5)

At that moment, southern Phuket.

“Leader! The prisoners are being taken down one by one! Someone seems to be subduing the prisoners right now!”

“…That’s impossible. The heroes should have gone to Coral Island by now. Any heroes left behind would have been subdued by the villains we released!”

The middle-aged soldier with white hair frowned as he examined the satellite map on the display.

“Damn those villains…! Did they run away?”

“I don’t think they’ve fled. A-rank villains including Puphatphong are all advancing toward the Hero Association, and other villains are similarly confronting Phuket’s remaining heroes throughout the streets.”

“Then where the hell are these heroes coming from?”

“T-that’s….”

“Damn it. Forget it. Whether phantoms appear or not, that’s not what’s important.”

The soldier—Rai Chai, son of General Akrang and leader of the Southern Corps—shouted into his Thailand Watch, holding it close to his face.

“Attention all troops! Somehow attack the Hero Association and rescue our ‘assets’! If we can just secure them, we can certainly fight again!”

The command center screen showed the front of the Hero Association.

“Tell the villains! Break through the Jeongukhungdowang somehow! Damn it, what is she doing in someone else’s country!”

A single woman, Jeongukhungdowang, was fighting against several A-rank villains.

The woman’s valiant struggle to defend the Hero Association’s main entrance against multiple prisoners was admirable, but for Rai Chai and the rebels, she was an extremely irritating presence.

And for good reason—the woman was from Vietnam.

She had absolutely nothing to do with Thailand, yet despite being here on vacation, she had now interfered in civil unrest twice, using her abilities.

“Damn it…! Why doesn’t she just go back to her own country!”

“General! Urgent news! The heroes will likely return to Phuket within 30 minutes!”

“What? Did they take a plane?!”

“N-no! It’s…!”

The display screen switched to another location.

Two screens: on one, a speedboat carrying several people was racing across the sea, creating white foam.

Its speed matched that of a sports car on the Autobahn, far beyond what a speedboat motor could achieve.

[Rai-rai cha-cha-cha!]

With battle cries, ability users wearing red octagonal hats were frantically rowing with oars pulled out from both sides.

The oars weren’t even proper ones but looked crudely cut from metal sheets.

But no matter how crude they might be, when magical power was applied and ability users were directly rowing, it was a different story.

“Damn them too! What do they think they’re doing in someone else’s country! Korean Marines or whatever, what’s the point of putting ability users in the military!”

One could say they were bringing strong ability users on boats, but no one could answer that directly.

Another screen.

“…Huh.”

[Rai-rai cha-cha-cha!!]

[I’m coming to save you now!!]

One person was swimming directly through the sea, and another was running on top of the water.

Their speed was even faster than the ability users rowing in unison.

With some exaggeration, it seemed like crossing the sea from Coral Island to Phuket would take less than an hour.

“Crazy monsters….”

For Rai Chai, who was merely an ordinary(?) special forces soldier and not an ability user, those impossible physical abilities made his skin crawl repeatedly.

That’s why he had acted immediately after those monsters went to Coral Island, but now things were only getting more disadvantageous, and anxiety began to creep in.

If.

If this became a coup d’état instead of a revolution, it would just be a failed rebellion.

Restoring General Akrang’s honor and taking over this country would become impossible.

“Damn it…! All they do is suck on Korea’s warm teat and spread their legs…! That’s why this country is crawling with Kosians like ants…!”

No one denied his vulgar outburst.

What did it matter now—they were “purists” even within General Akrang’s unit.

“Tell the villains! We absolutely must secure those young ones! Before the chip implant story we told them is exposed!!”

Rai Chai shouted with veins bulging in his neck.

“Secure the human weapons and use them to occupy Phuket!!”

They had to.

Otherwise—

“G-General!”

“What now!”

“The Hero Association’s main entrance has been breached!”

“!!”

Finally.

News of victory rang out.

* * *

“…That hurts. Tsk.”

The Hero Association’s front glass door was shattered.

Her body had flown toward the glass window and crashed into the association lobby, and now her legs wouldn’t support her.

“Hahaha! There’s no defense against numbers! Even if you’re Jeonhungdao, your name is just for show!”

“The gorilla is noisy.”

“Gorilla? I have a name—Puphatphong! Just like you have the name ‘Reina’!”

Puphatphong stepped through the broken main entrance with his dirty feet and entered.

Along with him, other A-rank villains began to enter one by one, licking their lips.

“Should we kill her?”

“Killing Korea’s second-rate colonial hero would make quite the headline. Kuhehe.”

“You’re talking nonsense when I’m not even dead yet. And who are you calling a second-rate colonial hero? Sigh.”

Jeongukhungdowang, Reina, pressed her trembling legs with her hands and struggled to get up.

She couldn’t even stand on both legs and had to lean against the lobby counter, but her eyes still burned with fighting spirit as she steadied her breathing.

“I haven’t fallen yet. Come at me, punks. Do you think I’d lose to villains who were foolish enough to be deceived?”

“Deceived? Who? Us? Haha. What a foolish woman.”

Puphatphong tapped his temple and sneered.

“Did you really think we’d believe that nonsense about bombs being implanted in our heads?”

“…!”

“If so, I’m sorry to disappoint you. We’re the kind who don’t even listen to our parents. We know it’s all lies. But the reason we’re still joining their rebellion….”

BOOM!

Puphatphong stomped the floor hard.

The marble floor instantly shattered, sending pieces flying in all directions, some hitting Reina.

“Is simply because we want to run wild!!”

“…Even if it causes civilian casualties?”

“Civilian casualties? Why should I care? It’s not my home being destroyed, not my life being lost. Hehe.”

“You’re truly beyond redemption…”

“And you lost to someone beyond redemption. Hehe.”

“If it were one-on-one, you couldn’t even win…!”

“That’s in the top 3 things heroes say when they can’t admit defeat.”

Puphatphong approached with thundering steps.

“Step aside. Out of respect for a strong opponent, if you withdraw now, I’ll just knock you unconscious.”

“And after I’m unconscious? That guy behind you who’s licking his lips won’t stay still, will he?”

“That’s not my problem.”

“…I can’t back down.”

Reina clenched her fists tightly.

Her weapon was broken and her legs severely injured; all she had left was to put strength into her two fists.

“If I back down here, I’d be disgracing the people who gave me the title Jeonhungdao…!”

“I’ll say it again.”

Puphatphong raised his right fist high.

“Not my problem!!”

Swoosh!!

His fist, charged with magical power, rushed toward Reina.

Reina clenched her fists, trying to counter like a shot-putter, but the magical power in her fists dimmed like a light bulb running out of power.

“Ah…!”

At this rate—

CRASH!!

The glass ceiling of the association lobby shattered as a black silhouette fell down.

The black figure pounced on Puphatphong, stepping on his head and kicking it away.

“ARGH!!”

Having taken glass shards directly on his head and even being kicked in the face, Puphatphong screamed and fell backward.

Though magical power protected his body from the glass shards, his face was bleeding from what appeared to be a broken nose and split lip.

Thud.

Something steel-like landed on the floor.

A deformed being wearing silver military boots like beast’s paws, clad in a steel-like suit, and holding file bunkers with three sharp claws on each arm.

Its head resembled a “dragon,” and its entire body was dark gray.

“W-what are you…!”

The villains formed a semicircle and aimed their weapons.

The suddenly appearing suited monster showed a form completely different from those riders or whatever was popular in Korea.

[Who am I?]

Grammatically incorrect speech.

Without opening its mouth, only blood-red eyes gleamed from inside the dragon-like helmet as it scanned the villains.

[I wonder. Then who are you?]

“Don’t answer a question with another question!”

One villain aimed his bow at the monster and shot an arrow.

Yellow magical power immediately formed into an arrow and rushed toward the monster, but wing-like objects behind the monster’s back came forward to serve as a shield.

CLANG!

The octagonal shield, joined from left and right, easily deflected the arrow, then split apart again and returned behind the monster like wings.

“T-that just now…! That shield’s emblem! That’s it!”

“What is it?”

“Sephiroth!! It’s similar to the emblem that Dark Charisma guy or whatever showed!!”

“…!!”

Sephiroth.

At that word, the villains’ hearts sank.

“Y-you crazy…! Are you also that Dark Charisma or whatever?!”

[That is not my name. I am.]

Click.

As the monster stepped forward, flashing its sharp silver claws.

“D-don’t come closer!!”

[Don’t come closer?]

The villains unleashed attacks at the monster, but it stood in front of Reina without budging.

[Weak.]

“C-crazy…! Is that all magical barriers…?!”

“AAAGH! G-get away! You monster!”

[Get away?]

Flash.

[I.]

Though it was a full-face helmet without even a mouth, the red eyes seemed to mock the villains.

[Do not take orders from those weaker than me.]