Ch.6969. Eridanus, Defeated

“Just one last, last time…”

Ji Se-hwa approached Jung Ui-seok who had collapsed. Kang Yerin turned to look at Shin Yukyong and Choi Minseo, who appeared bewildered.

“I’ve never spoken with you two before. Don’t you want to reconcile with Ui-seok?”

“What are you talking about? Have you forgotten the mission? You’ve both lost your minds.”

Shin Yukyong immediately took a combat stance.

Choi Minseo glared with eyes full of rage.

“I thought you were smarter than this, Yerin.”

Judging that conversation was impossible, Kang Yerin promptly subdued them both. Choi Minseo struggled violently.

“Think about your life being at stake! You damn fools! Go to hell together!!”

Kang Yerin silenced them both with sleeping gas she had taken from Shin Yukyong, then approached Jung Ui-seok and Ji Se-hwa.

“Hey, oppa. I did something wrong to you. Something terribly wrong. I want your forgiveness, but it seems impossible. I need to go seek forgiveness now, but I’m so scared…”

Ji Se-hwa knelt before Jung Ui-seok, tightly grasping his hands and begging.

Jung Ui-seok immediately understood the situation from their demeanor.

“We’re inside Yerin’s ability, aren’t we? Originally, I was destined to die here.”

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, oppa…”

“Is my future self very angry?”

“Yes… He’s trying to kill us. He says there’s nothing more to discuss.”

“Ui-seok became a villain. Only the two of us remain in the Dragon King Sentai.”

“I see. Things have gotten difficult. Even so, I can come back to life, but he won’t accept your apologies?”

“There’s… there’s one more thing I did wrong… I actually bear responsibility for Somi’s death…”

“…What did you say?”

Jung Ui-seok’s expression turned grim.

“I also broke the taboo. I used the Dillitter and ranking system that you had forbidden.”

“Everything must be a mess. Sigh.”

Jung Ui-seok’s face showed complicated emotions.

“Anyway, I’m a person from a timeline that’s about to be erased. Even though I’m angry, I’ll give you some advice since we’re here.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Even though I’m furious, you’re still the ones I raised.”

Jung Ui-seok said this while roughly patting Ji Se-hwa’s head.

“My goal is simple. Clear the scenario.”

“Scenario?”

“Yes. There are enemies that need to be defeated in sequence. Emperor Recter, then the villain, so we need to ruin the S-Sentai Tournament so there’s no winner, then CEO E.lena. I don’t know what comes after that.”

“E.lena has already become your ally.”

“Really? What happens in that case? I don’t know either… Anyway, doing that will bring peace to this world.”

“Peace…”

“Help with that. Prove your worth to me. Even if I don’t accept you, forge your own path. Then we can open channels for dialogue.”

Jung Ui-seok smiled at them.

“Go now. Don’t look so gloomy. You’re heroes, aren’t you?”

With those final words, Jung Ui-seok relaxed his neck and rested his head on the ground.

“I’ll rest a bit now. I’m tired. That Dark Arthur bastard, he was incredibly strong. Don’t see me off.”

Jung Ui-seok closed his eyes. Ji Se-hwa stared blankly at him as Kang Yerin placed a hand on her shoulder. Ji Se-hwa slowly rose to her feet.

Blood was flowing from her lips as she bit down hard to hold back tears.

Kang Yerin nodded. She raised her arm.

The yellow dragon responded.

Golden light enveloped her.

The clock began to turn again.

Tick, tick,

Tick, tick——

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“Haak!”

Kang Yerin exhaled roughly.

Intense pain suddenly engulfed her entire body and brain.

The smell of blood on her face entered her nostrils.

The salty scent of the sea.

Yellow Dillitter suit on her limbs.

“Ah.”

Information entering her field of vision.

It matched exactly with the final scene.

Saint Eridanus attacking the underwater prison, the heroes—themselves—clashing with the villain alliance.

Shin Yukyong barging in and subduing Dark Matter, Gerogius’s identity being revealed, him killing Shin Yukyong.

After collapsing from some demerit, Eridanus completed her skill activation, fusing with a junior combatant to grow gigantic.

E.lena stood alone against it.

“‘Shoot’, ‘Spear’! ‘Bind’, ‘Chain’!”

E.lena was giving her all to subdue the giant Eridanus, emitting a terrifying light from her eyes.

However, she couldn’t deliver a fatal blow, only managing to halt its movements.

Behind her, Jung Ui-seok slowly got up. He seemed to have regained consciousness.

Even in this state, he still wants to fight.

Of course he would.

Now Kang Yerin understood his principles perfectly.

“Come at me, you fucking gorilla bastard!!”

From Kang Yerin’s left, Ji Se-hwa leaped toward Eridanus with her Leviathan Saber, showing great momentum.

“Yaaaaaaah!!”

Blue dragon energy enveloped her.

As if she herself had become a giant sword, the surrounding seawater swirled and sharply sliced at Eridanus’s ankle.

But Eridanus also moved its massive body swiftly to attack Ji Se-hwa. She was struck in the abdomen by a missile-like water attack and sent flying.

The hologram panel was displaying information.

Currently, Eridanus using the gigantification skill was ranked T5.

One level higher than before.

‘Only Ui-seok can defeat this. But.’

Leaving everything to him would change nothing.

And.

‘I am a hero.’

Kang Yerin manipulated the transformation device on her left arm.

Click.

The auxiliary slot popped out.

‘Strategy for gigantified Eridanus. The outer shell is based on a junior combatant. I need to destroy Eridanus’s core body with one powerful strike.’

Kang Yerin began walking.

Toward Eridanus.

And she took something out from her chest.

Clatter.

Three items.

They were Switches.

“With these, I can do it.”

Kang Yerin pressed the button on the first Switch firmly.

[EXCALIBUR!]

Without hesitation, Kang Yerin attached the Excalibur Switch to her transformation device.

Simultaneously, lightning struck through her synapses.

“Ugh, aaargh—!”

Pain like sharp knives stabbing her bones, blood vessels, and heart from within enveloped her entire body.

Kang Yerin steadied her breathing and pressed the button on the second Switch.

[CLARENT!]

She attached it next.

“Aah, aaaah!!”

Pain like a blunt dagger repeatedly slashing her mind and heart overwhelmed her.

She pressed the button on the last Switch.

[RHONGOMYNIAD!]

With trembling hands, she shoved it into the transformation device.

Pain like a thick spear severing her brain, nerves, and synapses flooded through her.

“——Ah.”

The string in her mind was breaking.

Grip!

She clenched both fists tightly, somehow holding on.

Jung Ui-seok.

That man always stood upon this pain.

So there was no time to scream.

Teeth clenched so hard that blood flowed from her mouth.

Kang Yerin pressed all the Switches in succession and forcefully rotated the upper part.

[EXCALIBUR!]

[RHONGOMYNIAD!]

[CLARENT!]

[Include! —NORZTORM!!]

Whoosh!

A golden aura, stronger and more brilliant than ever before, began to rise from Kang Yerin’s body.

Simultaneously.

Crack! Crunch!

“Ugh, aah, aaaah!”

Pieces of swords began to pierce through Kang Yerin’s skin from inside her body, penetrating her entire form.

The side effect of the Switches.

But there was no time to feel pain.

She opened her eyes wider than ever before.

Kang Yerin concentrated. She materialized the yellow dragon and wrapped it around her right foot in a condensed form.

She channeled all the power drawn from the three Switches into a single strike.

“Haa, haa, huaaaah!!”

Kang Yerin leaped up.

Her target was Eridanus’s heart.

Her eyes were bloodshot, with all capillaries burst and covered in blood.

Through the red vision, she could precisely discern the enemy’s form.

She strained her vocal cords.

Without even being aware she was doing so.

Focused solely on that one target.

Putting everything into this single kick.

“Aaaaaaaaaah!!”

Swoosh!

Crash!

The golden meteor, knowing exactly where it was headed, precisely pierced through the enemy.

“Oh——— Ah———”

The giant monster began to turn to ash and scatter in the wind, starting from the hole in its heart.

Thud.

Kang Yerin collapsed. Her vision was darkening. The swords piercing her entire body were tearing through her brain, preventing her from even passing out comfortably.

No, was this death?

“…I can’t die.”

Because she had promised.

Kang Yerin barely managed to turn her eyeballs to bring his figure into her field of vision.

Had he seen her?

What was he thinking?

She couldn’t know any of it.

Because she couldn’t know, she wanted to talk.

She wanted to embrace him once more and have a conversation.

With these thoughts, Kang Yerin closed her eyes.

***

“Lena, let’s fight together.”

I got up, forcing my body to move. Lena, who had been facing Eridanus, turned to look at me.

“Hey, Ui-seok. How do you plan to fight when you can’t even transform?”

“I took out insurance for times like this. Since Vengeance can’t gain experience points, I didn’t want to use this method if possible, but there’s no choice. While I’m a villain in the system, I’m also a hero, and I belong to the Dragon King Sentai.”

“What’s the hidden meaning in those words?”

“It means if I have a transformation device, I can transform using Switches.”

Saying that, I took out a hero transformation device for the left arm and a Supernova Switch.

“I can’t use Apocalypse, but I hope Pegasus is strong enough.”

I activated the Supernova Switch. Using this would allow me to use Pegasus’s power as a hero.

But soon that became unnecessary.

I heard the activation sounds of Excalibur, Rhongomyniad, and Clarent. And amazingly, Kang Yerin had pierced a hole in Eridanus’s chest.

How did she know that was the weak point?

No, how did she withstand using those three?

Intrigued, I approached the fallen Kang Yerin. She was one step away from death.

I observed her with the dragon’s eyes.

—-

Yellow Cloaker / Kang Yerin

Occupation: Hero

Rank: T3

Ability: Time Dragon Norztorm Lv.23

Affiliation: Seoul Hero Association

Alignment: Neutral/Good

Talent: Hero of Darkness (T20) (Updated)

The greatest weakness of this master strategist is her inability to be honest with her emotions.

—-

A masterpiece.

She seems to have been through multiple time loops with her ability.

Certainly, Kang Yerin has escalated to become an extremely dangerous individual. She must have experienced countless variables from the past and returned.

“U-Ui-seok oppa! No, don’t kill her! Yerin did it for you!!”

Ji Se-hwa runs toward me.

Judging by her reaction, she must have been within range and gone back in time too.

Well.

What should I do with these two?