Ch.44. City, Citizens, and Nothing but Bastards

Under a blue sky with pristine white clouds—anyone sick of such a view should probably head to a psychiatrist right away.

This isn’t my first time falling from the sky to the ground, yet this scenery never gets old.

It’s just air accelerating and hitting me, but my head clears and my tension rises.

If the brain had an F5 key, would this be it?

BOOM!

I land on the ground.

I’ve sworn never to do that disgusting hero landing again.

A massive crater forms where I land. Uprooted trees are scattered everywhere.

Not far away, Seoul comes into view.

This world’s setting was slightly more futuristic than the Seoul I lived in, and a bit more chaotic.

The time when the sun sets and darkness arrives.

Countless skyscrapers are illuminated by brilliant rainbow-colored lights.

I start walking toward them.

◈ ◈ ◈

Thanks to the wind, my head has cooled a bit.

But now nothing can cool my heart anymore.

Morgan’s words come to mind.

Living for desire.

Of course, defeating evil organizations and clearing scenarios is also my desire.

But that’s not primal.

It’s a rational desire answered by my brain.

Not the brain. I ask my heart.

What do I want right now, at this very moment?

Thump, thump, thump.

The red muscle mass filled with blood answered immediately.

Revenge.

It tells me to find those bitches right now and rip their spinal cords from their bodies.

But.

Would I be satisfied just by killing them?

How much pleasure would I get from violating pieces of meat that look like them but can’t speak or feel anything?

It would end with just one or two seconds of adrenaline.

What a waste.

Such a terrible waste.

Then what method should I use?

What kind of revenge would suit me?

I only know justice and fighting. I have little knowledge of cruel methods.

…

Still, after thinking a bit, I’ve sketched a rough blueprint.

A way to prepare for the Galaxy Empire, the main enemy of the next scenario, while also punishing the Dragon King Sentai.

It would be good if I could find a place where many villains gather.

Walking aimlessly, I eventually find myself in a slum alley.

Nothing special about that. This city has more slums than normal areas, so the probability of passing through one is high.

From here on, I’ll encounter civilians.

In this form, I might be mistaken for a monster. But I can’t show my face. I’m already a dead man.

I cover just my eyes and nose like a mask and deactivate the rest of my transformation. Having no clothes, I pick up suitable ones from a nearby collection bin. The bin had sewer rats crawling around and smelled like food waste that had been rotting for a week.

“Citizens, rest assured. Dragon King Sentai Draodger has annihilated the Dark Kingdom Apocamellot.”

I look up at the familiar voice.

In the distance, on the electronic billboards of high-rise buildings, I see a face I know well.

Silver Mirrored, Shin Yukyong.

Seeing that face, I unconsciously clench my fist.

“Is Red Dragon’s betrayal true?!”

A reporter’s question. Hearing those words, my blood boils.

“As you may already know from articles and press releases, it’s all true. When the battle situation became unfavorable, Red Dragon collaborated with Dark Arthur, and the four of us defeated them both.”

Trash bastards.

I expected this. Having gone this far, they intended to bury me completely.

No need to preserve the honor of a dead man.

It’s undeniably an efficient approach.

The Association President.

It’s obviously her scenario.

She plans to steal all the achievements I’ve fought for until now.

“Dragon King Sentai Draodger has recruited a new Red. We believe we can introduce him to citizens soon. Rest assured. Your peace will definitely be protected by us, the Dragon King Sentai.”

It makes me want to vomit.

Seeing Shin Yukyong shamelessly flapping her mouth without even wetting her lips makes me want to squeeze my stomach out and spill its contents.

New Red?

Who on earth could replace me under this sky?

Dragon King Sentai Draodger is a sentai I created. A name I gave.

They’re willing to throw me away but keep the name value.

Still, there must be people who still believe in Red Dragon.

What I’ve done, what I’ve protected, can’t be meaningless.

“Dragons don’t shed tears!”

Turning my head, I see children about five or six years old playing together in a dirt field without grass.

They’re wearing Dragon King Sentai transformation toy devices on their wrists.

“Transform!”

“Red Dragon Kick!”

“Blue Saber Slash!”

Children playing happily, losing track of time. Despite the chilly weather making their noses run, smiles never leave their faces.

Even in such a slum, children’s laughter blooms.

Right.

This is what I wanted to protect.

“You little shits, how many times do I have to tell you to come in!”

A man who appears drunk approaches the children and threatens them. Seems to be their father.

“Huh? It’s a Red Dragon toy? Hey, woman! Why didn’t you throw this away! Stupid bitch. Buying trash toys we can’t even resell. Fuck, is money growing on trees?”

The man snatches the Red Dragon transformation device from the child’s arm, breaks it in half, and throws it away. The child starts crying as if the world is ending. The man grabs the child’s arm and forcibly drags him back home.

Is Red Dragon no longer welcome even in the slums?

I continue walking. There are men gathered around a drum with a fire, warming themselves.

“Now that Apocamellot is gone, we can breathe easier.”

“What’s that got to do with us? We don’t even have money for next week’s rent.”

“Peace is precious. Thanks to taxes paid by the rich, we have things like Dragon King Sentai, and they finally defeated Apocamellot.”

“Why don’t those taxes come to us? Tsk.”

“They should confiscate Red Dragon’s assets and distribute them, right?”

“I heard he had nothing. Spent it all on drugs.”

“I didn’t know he was that kind of guy. Must have been doing drugs and fucking prostitutes like crazy.”

“An S-class hero must have had money to burn, right? Even spending 100 million a day. He must have fucked every beautiful woman in the world. Hehehe.”

“Damn~ He lived life to the fullest. We should live like that bastard, doing whatever we want.”

“The sentai is all women too, isn’t it obvious? Silver and Yellow are both smoking hot. The condition to join must have been whether they could swallow Red’s dick whole.”

“Obviously. Even Pink who was there before…”

In that moment, something in my mind collapsed.

What have I been protecting all this time?

Training without a single day’s rest, enduring the side effects of the Switch, living with wounds from fighting monsters.

The people I protected by enduring those hellish times.

Were they these kinds of people?

Thump, thump, thump.

My heart pounds.

The dragon’s power is already surging in my arms.

Step, step.

One step, two steps toward them. Approaching little by little.

If I swing my arm now, they’ll be torn apart like beasts mauled by predators, their upper and lower bodies separated.

It wouldn’t be difficult.

The moment my deltoid and upper trapezius muscles contract.

“Hey, I told you not to say bad things!”

Someone rushes in and chops the men’s heads with the side of her hand.

“Ouch!”

“Ow, my head!”

“Where did you appear from like a ghost again?”

In front of the complaining men stands a woman with her arms crossed. A woman with long brown hair wearing a mass-produced hero suit and helmet.

What’s unique is the red muffler she’s wearing.

“Red Dragon isn’t that kind of person!”

“Jung-hye is really sharp-eared.”

“I’m on duty! Call me Iron Mountain Tiger!”

“You’re only a D-class hero.”

“A hero is a hero!”

“Alright, alright. Everyone knows Jung-hye’s love for Red Dragon.”

“I-it’s not love, it’s fan admiration! There’s never been a more righteous hero in Korean history!”

“Yes, yes. We were wrong. Men say dirty things they don’t mean when they gather. We’re sorry.”

“We’re ignorant guys. Sorry.”

“As long as you understand. Red Dragon… betrayal? I don’t believe such things.”

The shoulders of the D-class hero, Iron Mountain Tiger, drooped.

“There must have been a misunderstanding. The Hero Association is too much. Shouldn’t they investigate more?!”

“Why are you getting angry at us? We don’t know. That’s what the news says.”

“Didn’t you say you’re on duty? Is it okay to chat with us?”

“Ah, that’s right! Returning to patrol duty!”

Iron Mountain Tiger walks away with spirited steps. Seems to be a local hero.

The association headquarters can’t directly dispatch heroes to slums like this, so they just pick someone with abilities from among the slum residents and have them patrol to keep up appearances.

Pretty capable for a D-class.

She just saved those men’s lives.

The men seem to know how to reflect, so I’ll let it go.

That’s when it happened.

“Kyaaaah!”

“A monster!”

Screams were heard from a distance. About a block away? Iron Mountain Tiger runs toward the source at full speed. Slightly intrigued, I follow behind on foot.

“Peacock Retreat!”

Iron Mountain Tiger enters combat. The opponent is a remnant of Apocamellot. Seems like it was hiding in the sewers and came out hungry to attack people. Mid-level. B-class as a villain.

“Beast! Measuring Retreat!”

Iron Mountain Tiger uses martial arts and throws her whole body at the monster, but it’s not very effective. Seems she has the ability to generate energy from her body. But it’s too weak.

Slash!

Rather, Iron Mountain Tiger’s arm is torn by the monster’s sharp claws, and she bleeds.

“Ugh…! I can’t give up. If it were Red Dragon, he would never kneel…!”

Even as she becomes covered in blood and sweat, Iron Mountain Tiger continues to recklessly throw her body at the monster.

She’s a foolish woman.

It would be wiser to consider the limits of her abilities and request support, but she’s throwing her life away.

“Haa, haa…! Huaaaah!!”

All members of Dragon King Sentai Draodger were excellent. They knew all kinds of strategies and tactics, so they didn’t fight recklessly like this. I taught them that.

I emphasized to them many times that charging in recklessly, not valuing one’s life, is stupid.

So, this is just a whim.

“Transform.”

[Up a blind alley]

A red dragon flows from my heart. Red skin enveloping me. I lightly step between Iron Mountain Tiger and the monster.

“What, you…?!”

The monster charges at me.

It’s a creature without intelligence that can’t even judge the difference in power.

Such a creature doesn’t require much technique, but I want to test it to get a feel.

“Apocalypse.”

[REVELATION]

“Red of War.”

[BEELZEBUB]

Power dwells in each joint of my fingers. A vicious gauntlet is fitted.

The monster bares its huge teeth. It opens its jaws wide enough to chew through steel bars and rushes to tear my head apart.

I don’t even need to make a fist.

I bring just one index finger to the creature’s head. I press down gently.

KABOOM!!

Like an explosion, the monster’s body shatters into hundreds of pieces, destroying the ground.

Hmm.

So this is the effect of stat increase.

I turned my head.

Iron Mountain Tiger is dumbfounded looking at me.

No wonder. Seeing this form and power, she must be completely despairing.

She probably thinks I’m an S-class villain or higher.

She must not think she’ll return alive.

Iron Mountain Tiger immediately bows to me.

Begging for her life?

But what came out of her mouth was a little different from what I expected.

“Master! Please accept me as your disciple!!”

Hoo. This was unexpected.

She’s someone without prejudice.

She seems to respect Red Dragon.

Out of respect for her purity, I answered.

“Get lost.”