Ch.4848. The Hero Association’s Major Announcement

“What’s going on here?”

I woke up from sleep to find Lena’s face right in front of me.

I could feel her breath. The distance between us was barely 5 centimeters. I could even tell that Lena was breathing 70% through her nose and 30% through her mouth.

Lena’s long hair gently covered the side of her face and flowed down onto the bed like a skein of thread. The ends tickled my collarbone. If Lu-a had a lime scent, Lena smelled like a firm winter pear.

Lena was gazing at me intently with her long eyelashes lowered. Under the sunlight, her eyebrows had a subtle blue tint.

I asked, “What is it?”

“I came to give you a reward for growing the Villain Alliance so quickly. You seem to have been tossing and turning all night.”

“Emma should have been on guard.”

“She let me in after I explained my purpose. She’s quite reasonable.”

“What did you do?”

“While you were sleeping, your bones and muscles were twisting, so I straightened them out. Aren’t you grateful?”

“I was wearing a sleep mask.”

“I took it off. Who chose that for you anyway? No sense of style. Just like your regular clothes. Let’s go shopping sometime.”

“What’s your real purpose?”

“I told you, it’s a reward. Shouldn’t you be bowing in gratitude, Jeo?”

Lena made an unpleasant expression. She genuinely seemed to want me to bow to her.

Then don’t crawl into my bed while I’m sleeping. Does she have no common sense?

No, if she did, she wouldn’t be a villain.

“Yawn. In the morning, I eat one sunny-side-up egg, two strips of soggy bacon, and a mixed berry latte. Hurry up and prepare it.”

Lena rolled around on my bed spouting nonsense.

If only she wasn’t ranked first…

“Hey! What are you doing?!”

Bang. The door opened roughly and Lu-a burst in. Her face was flushed red with excitement.

“‘Hey’? Did you just call me ‘hey’? By social position and age, I deserve your respect, little girl.”

“Someone who crawls into other people’s beds uninvited doesn’t deserve any respect!”

Lu-a strode over and tried to forcibly pull Lena out. Before her hand could make contact, Lena softly muttered:

“‘Left hand up, right hand and right foot back.'”

Lu-a froze in a figure skating pose. She immediately brought out her dark matter and used its force to forcibly move her body. That’s a good workaround. Decent idea.

“Get out! Won’t you get out already?!”

“This isn’t even your bed, so what’s it to you! I’m not leaving until I get my bed breakfast!”

At this rate, they were going to pull out each other’s hair until they were both bald, so I got up from the bed.

Left hand on Lu-a, right hand on Lena.

I grabbed both of them by the back of their necks and lifted them up.

“Both of you, out.”

I threw Lu-a and Lena out the window.

◈ ◈ ◈

“‘Decelerate.'”

Lee Lu-a, who controlled gravity to land gently on the ground, glared disapprovingly at Lena descending beside her. Lena paid no attention to Lu-a and casually dusted off her uniform as if nothing had happened.

“What’s your problem? Waking up Jeo in the morning is my job. Why are you interfering?”

“You’re the one who interrupted my breakfast. This would normally be grounds for war. Be grateful I’m letting it slide because you’re Jeo’s subordinate.”

Lu-a’s jaw dropped at Lena’s shamelessness.

“I’m the only one who calls him Jeo! Until recently, you were desperate to kill him, so why are you acting all friendly?!”

“Is time important for intimacy? It’s depth that matters.”

This woman just won’t back down.

Lu-a felt her head getting hot.

“I win in depth too! Yesterday, Jeo even h-hugged me tightly. And his thigh was like, like this.”

It was an action taken to provoke Choi Minseo. However, since Jung Ui-seok hadn’t given her any warning, Lu-a had been quite flustered at that moment.

“J-Jeo even pounced on me once because he couldn’t hold back. Hmph.”

Feeling an unfamiliar anxiety, Lu-a was saying anything that came to mind, true or not.

But Lena only looked at Lu-a with contemptuous eyes.

“How pitiful. The proof of dominating a man isn’t physical intimacy. It’s precisely the opposite.”

“I-I know that! I was just saying I did something you couldn’t do!”

Snap. Lena opened her fan and covered her mouth.

“You know too, Lu-a. I am not the master of this body. From the beginning, I had no intention of giving this body to Jeo, nor did I desire his.”

“…What? Then why did you go into Jeo’s room?”

“It’s nothing special. I just helped him sleep comfortably. Jeo needs to manage his condition since he has to lead the Villain Alliance.”

Hearing that answer, Lu-a felt like she’d been hit on the head.

“…You helped him with his pain? Is that possible?”

“It’s not difficult. Observe and command the opposite of the problem.”

Lu-a’s shoulders slumped.

She knew that Jung Ui-seok lived with a lot of pain.

The nighttime pain from injuries sustained in the Dark Kingdom battle.

Various side effects from the Apocalypse’s demerits.

She couldn’t solve any of them.

She could bring the corpse of the Glutton Aberrant, but it was Jung Ui-seok who had to eat it while fighting nausea.

Even if she wanted to help with his anger-induced abnormalities, Jung Ui-seok solved them alone.

Spending time together to combat sloth was something anyone could do.

And after the first incident, Emma had been handling lust entirely on her own.

For nighttime pain, Jung Ui-seok just took painkillers from Hans and went to sleep.

There was nothing Lu-a could do.

Lena had solved one of these problems so simply.

No, according to her words, she had observed Jung Ui-seok’s body all night and continuously given him verbal commands.

It was an act filled with dedication and perseverance.

Lu-a felt an inexplicable sense of self-loathing rising within her.

The power Lena had shown yesterday was also impressive. Even though it was just once, Jung Ui-seok had recommended using an executive’s Switch.

‘…I’ve never been allowed to use one.’

Lu-a had to admit it.

Lena was definitely a villain strong enough to be desired by Jung Ui-seok.

Not just in power. She had wealth and authority too.

Lu-a had thought that at least her heart was closer to his.

‘At this rate…’

She would lose even that.

Anxiety swept over Lu-a.

‘I need to get stronger.’

She hadn’t been able to uncover Green Nature’s memories and couldn’t help Jung Ui-seok.

Judging by how angry he had been, it must have been important.

Jung Ui-seok had also mentioned breaking limits. Lu-a had an idea of what that concept meant.

‘My dark matter is level 8. Since Lena and Yellow Cloaker seem to have evolved from level 10, that must be the natural limit.’

First, she needed to reach that level quickly.

When the limit break came, Lena would clearly become so strong that she would be beyond Lu-a’s reach.

Lu-a clenched her fist in frustration.

◈ ◈ ◈

As the Villain Alliance grew in size, there was more to manage.

I left most of it to Lena to control the system.

However, if her authority grows too much, it could become a problem later. Therefore, I need to devise measures before Lena’s ability reaches level 15 or 20 and evolves.

Since that’s likely a year away, there’s still time.

According to the system, ability levels cannot exceed 10 during the second scenario.

The strategy needed more careful modification.

To allow villains to infiltrate society, and to eliminate heroes while capturing Shin Yukyong, Ji Se-hwa, Kang Yerin, and the Association President.

I need to maintain balance while doing all this simultaneously. If I completely annihilate Korea’s heroes, the war with the Galaxy Empire will fall entirely on the Villain Alliance.

With our current resources, that would be too burdensome. While we have the most powerful individuals, heroes have much greater strength globally.

If the Villain Alliance is attacked and dismantled by heroes after defeating the Galaxy Empire, it would defeat the purpose.

Above all, I might not be able to effectively deploy forces in the third scenario. That scenario is designed to favor the hero faction from the start.

I need to target Shin Yukyong and Ji Se-hwa more carefully since I have business with them.

If I meet them clumsily on the battlefield like before, I might kill them in anger before hearing the truth.

As I developed these plans and helped the villains grow, a month quickly passed.

“How’s the situation?”

Lu-a reported in response to my question.

“Villains’ influence has increased worldwide. In Korea, villain infiltration into society is at 27 percent. It rose by 11 percent in a short time. Spies have infiltrated various corporations, the National Assembly, and prosecutors’ offices.”

“What about public opinion?”

“Hero support rate is 37 percent, villain support rate is 22 percent. Neutral is 41 percent.”

We’re in a period of chaos.

Not bad.

“Emergence. Executive-level. Appeared.”

Deep Dive reported. The scene was projected on the large monitor in the hall.

“Hmm?”

I frowned.

Busan, in front of City Hall.

“Jeo, should we move?”

“Wait. That executive is…”

The media is broadcasting the scene.

“An executive-level aberrant from the Galaxy Empire has appeared! Calling himself ‘Gladiator Epsilon,’ he’s destroying the area!”

“Epsilon?”

I was a bit puzzled.

It’s a name I’ve never heard before.

This guy is also an executive who wasn’t in the original work.

Is he someone appointed as an executive from elsewhere, like Morgan becoming Ursula?

The naming convention is a bit different too.

“Jeo?”

“Let’s observe for now. We don’t have information on him. Without knowing how to deal with him, we might take damage if we move carelessly. Tell Lena the same.”

“Got it.”

I continued watching the broadcast. That’s when:

“Breaking news! The Seoul Hero Association is making a major announcement! They say it’s an important announcement that will completely change the hero mechanism!”

At this timing?

The Association President must be plotting something.

Two screens are broadcasting simultaneously. The executive Epsilon and the Hero Association President holding a press conference.

“Hello, I am the President of the Seoul Hero Association! In the face of unprecedented crises like the Galaxy Empire and the Villain Alliance threatening citizens’ safety, the Association has successfully devised a definitive solution to overcome the current situation!”

The Dragon King Sentai appears on the scene.

They look different. All three—Shin Yukyong, Ji Se-hwa, and Kang Yerin—were wearing tactical, sleek steel armor.

“The Association has successfully introduced new technology that greatly increases heroes’ combat power. This is the new hero suit, ‘Dillitter’!”

Hmm.

This is quite interesting.