Ch.5353. Jisehwa’s Testimony and Regret

The confrontation continues. There are seven people in this place. The number of conflicting interests is countless.

“This works out well. Yerin, Se-hwa. Let’s begin the battle.”

Shin Yukyong was the first to take out her five-light Switch. Ji Se-hwa followed by equipping Leviathan. Kang Yerin also clicked her tongue and completed her transformation last.

“Ui-seok! What did you do to Minseo?!”

Kang Yerin was the first to charge at me. I’d rather deal with Ji Se-hwa and Shin Yukyong one by one, but I blocked her attack and answered.

“I’m not really sure. Gerogius said he was going to punish her, I guess he went too far?”

“We thought Minseo just quit the Sentai! That’s what she told us…! To think she was kidnapped for a whole month!”

“She’s still alive and well, isn’t she? She might have taken a few hits, but nothing life-threatening. That means you’ll get the same treatment, right? Good news for you.”

“What are you saying…! She’s completely broken! She can’t even communicate properly!”

“Haha. So that’s why Gerogius sent her back at this timing.”

“What?”

“You can’t leave the S-Sentai without your own consent, right? Now you’ll have to face four opponents with just three people at the S-Sentai Tournament. You can exclude the dead or missing, but Minseo’s identity is confirmed now.”

“That’s…!”

Kang Yerin’s expression showed she’d been hit hard by this revelation.

In fact, I returned Choi Minseo now precisely for this purpose.

“Did you personally hijack the mecha recently, Ui-seok?”

“Yes. Got a problem with that? You were really determined to kill me, weren’t you?”

“No! That was your mecha, so it didn’t matter…”

For a moment, Kang Yerin’s fighting skills dulled. With Dillitter’s power, she’s definitely T2-class. Each of her movements carries considerable power.

I seized the opening, ducking in flamingo form and executing a spinning back kick. I struck her solar plexus like a missile fired from below.

“Ugh!”

Kang Yerin flew high into the air. I set my eyes on another target.

Maybe Ji Se-hwa next.

“Absolute, follow the plan.”

“Mm.”

Absolute and Greedy engage with Kang Yerin. We had planned for the two of them to handle the T2-class opponent while I deal with the other two one by one.

“You worthless scum!!”

Ji Se-hwa charged in, swinging her sword sharply. But what Dillitter enhanced was essentially just her stats. Her ability level and fighting sense remained the same.

I aimed for an opening and tackled her in the abdomen. She was pushed back dozens of meters, breaking through countless interior walls.

“Cough!”

Ji Se-hwa rolled backward to break her fall. Not giving her a chance, I rushed forward as she raised her head to get up, stepped on her knee, and executed a Shining Wizard, striking her chin with my knee. I could hear the sound of something cracking.

“Ugh… you…!”

Ji Se-hwa spun her sword and gripped it in reverse to counterattack. I lightly activated blue and crushed her wrist. Then came a flurry of blows. The shockwave broke the building floor, and we fell about five floors down.

“Gasp, ugh…!”

Her helmet cracked, revealing half of her face. Dillitter is certainly sturdy. Ji Se-hwa continued to counterattack, awkwardly attempting a joint lock with the capoeira I had taught her.

I reversed it and bent it twice. Crack! Instead, Ji Se-hwa’s joint bent backward, forming a grotesque angle. Her knee cartilage looked like it had split into three.

“Huk… hnngh…!”

She bit her lip tightly, determined not to scream. She must have bitten her tongue too.

I grabbed her by the collar and lifted her up. Clang. Ji Se-hwa’s right hand, its tendons severed, dropped the Leviathan saber.

“Why, why can’t I win…!”

“Why? Because I’m stronger.”

“But I, I got stronger too…!”

“You did. Just not as much as me.”

I interlocked fingers with her titanium left hand. Ji Se-hwa looked at it with trembling eyes.

“Can you feel it?”

“…Ugh.”

Crack!

I shattered her arm with just my grip strength. Mechanical pieces spilled out from inside.

“How about now?”

Ji Se-hwa averted her eyes from her left hand, as if she couldn’t bear to look at it anymore.

“I still can’t accept it. You, hanging out with villains…”

“Come on. When heroes are trying to kill me, where else should I go? What you were doing wasn’t much different, was it?”

“That’s…”

“Look at yourself. The Galaxy Empire is looming above, but you heroes care more about the S-Sentai title. It’s better to give up such decorations quickly. They only lead to battlefields. You probably can’t understand with that brain of yours.”

“…Damn it. What am I supposed to do! Do you think I wanted to be born stupid?!”

“So you were aware of your stupidity?”

“If I seemed that stupid to you, you should have explained things better, you bastard! Now, what am I supposed to do…”

“Ignorance at that level is a sin.”

I declared firmly.

“I taught you enough. Don’t hit people recklessly, keep justice in your heart, you can be a hero. You ignored it all and fell for the Association President’s sweet talk. That was your choice.”

Ji Se-hwa couldn’t answer.

“Never mind the rest. I need to confirm one of your stupidest actions.”

“What…?”

I glared at Ji Se-hwa with murderous intent and got to the point.

“The day Somi died, you, Shin Yukyong, and Choi Minseo. Explain what you did.”

At that moment, I could see Ji Se-hwa’s eyes trembling.

Since I don’t know who’s lying, interrogating them one by one for cross-verification is the answer.

To prevent collusion, they wouldn’t know I’d ask this question.

There was no more information I could extract from Choi Minseo.

Although she’s already unable to communicate properly, this matter was one reason I didn’t release her earlier.

“That day… I.”

Ji Se-hwa answered slowly.

“It was an accident. I, I did nothing wrong! It was all because Shin Yukyong brought up unnecessary things!”

I immediately slapped Ji Se-hwa across the face where her helmet had cracked.

She looked at me in disbelief, dumbfounded. Not a warrior’s battle, but simple violence against a victim.

Must be humiliating.

“No excuses. Explain the situation.”

I began to choke Ji Se-hwa. My fingertips dug into her carotid artery.

“Does this sound like a joke to you?”

“Huk, ugh, wait… just! Why, why are you doing this, I’m really going to die, die…”

“You won’t die from this much. Just answer.”

“Me, me and Yukyong unnie, and Minseo, we went to that lab first. After wiping out those guys, Yukyong unnie said she wanted to try the machine.”

“And then.”

“Minseo told her to try it, and I said that was nonsense. Yukyong unnie refused, so Minseo suggested putting Somi unnie in—”

Bang. I threw a punch. A hole opened on the right side of Ji Se-hwa’s head. The flesh above her ear was cleanly cut off. Her piercing dangled.

Already, Choi Minseo’s and Ji Se-hwa’s testimonies differed.

“Don’t lie.”

“It’s true, really. Minseo did it. Ui-seok oppa, you might not have known, but Minseo had disliked Somi unnie for a while. Huk.”

“Why did she dislike her?”

“Because she was dating, you. Ugh.”

“And you?”

“…I didn’t, like her much, either, since then.”

I picked up Ji Se-hwa’s right hand and began pulling out her fingernails one by one.

“Aaah, aaaah!”

“Don’t lie.”

“I hated her too! She acted like such a saint, it was annoying! But I didn’t suggest killing her that day!! It’s true! Believe me, oppa!!”

Blood streamed from Ji Se-hwa’s fingertips, which were twitching like freshly cut fish.

“So Minseo suggested putting her in.”

“Haa, huk. Huuu. Choi Minseo said there was a civilian corpse in the machine, and we should use that as bait.”

“And you?”

“I. I… Oppa. Please.”

“What did you do?”

“Nothing, nothing… Really. It was an accident. The machine suddenly activated, and Somi unnie got sucked in, and we tried to get her out. That’s when you arrived.”

Humans typically don’t tell stories that are disadvantageous to themselves.

I can cross-verify the rest with Shin Yukyong.

“I have no more business with you.”

I dropped Ji Se-hwa to the floor. She scratched her neck with her remaining right hand and retched.

“Why, why did it turn out like this? I thought I was stronger. I was annoyed, bothered, I wanted to win, thinking you’d listen if I won. I thought I could win. Me.”

Ji Se-hwa slowly looked up at me.

“Should I… should I have apologized first?”

She’s asking me that now?

Is she in her right mind?

“Ui-seok oppa. I think I wanted to undo everything. I didn’t know at first. I was deceived by the Association President too. I thought that was right. Hey, will you accept my apology if I apologize now?”

I tilted my head.

“Are you a goldfish?”

“Huh…?”

“Don’t you remember what you did to me, what I said at the Pegasus battle?”

“That, that.”

“When someone speaks, remember it. Learn from Kang Yerin and use what’s on your head. Hey, Ji Se-hwa.”

I drew out the white of Pestam. I pulled the bowstring taut and placed it directly against Ji Se-hwa’s brainstem.

“Huh? Huh? Why, oppa? That will really kill… kill me. I’ll die…”

“I’m going to kill you, Choi Minseo, and Shin Yukyong anyway. I might spare Kang Yerin depending on what she does, but she seems dangerous so I’m not sure. I’ve had countless opportunities to kill you already. You were too stupid to notice.”

“Why, why? It’s me, me… Huh…?”

“There are two reasons I haven’t killed you yet. First, I still need you for my plan. Second, death would be too merciful for you.”

I raised the bow high above my head. It fired through the hole I had made. An enormous void, unlike any before, appeared in the sky above the association building.

“I’ll make you wander in hell for the rest of your life.”

Hearing my declaration, Ji Se-hwa was stunned. I left her there and jumped up through the hole to the upper floor.

I followed the sounds of battle. I quickly found my target.

“Fall here!”

A silver warrior delivering a powerful kick.

I set my sights on Shin Yukyong.