Ch.7272. Raiding the Switch Laboratory

We returned to our hideout and immediately set out with our troops.

The unit consisted of five members per squad, five squads per platoon, and we departed with four platoons.

In other words, 100 S-class or higher villains.

I had reviewed reports about that research facility while at the Association. It was a place that received investment from the Association to develop auxiliary Switches.

They did have B-class heroes dispatched as security, but that was about it.

It wasn’t a place that required this level of military force.

But I plan to crush it thoroughly and cruelly.

Just thinking about what they were doing right under my feet makes my blood boil.

We flew through the air on an airship. Lena spoke while looking at the helicopters following us.

“You’ve got the media involved too. You’re quite actively using public opinion now, aren’t you?”

“There are more media outlets friendly to the Villain Alliance now. But how they report is up to them. I don’t interfere that far. The public just needs to know. What the heroes’ hypocrisy has been built upon all this time.”

“Hmm. Those who don’t care will keep their eyes closed until the end anyway.”

“And Lena, I’ve modified the plan a bit based on your suggestion from last time.”

“Geo, you mean…?”

I answered Lu-a.

“We’ll finish off all heroes. All of them, along with the S-Sentai Tournament.”

“Master, Master.”

While we were having a serious conversation, Boksil approached with sparkling eyes and pushed her head into my hand.

Hmm.

Her ears and fur are quite soft and nice to the touch.

“Hey, I’m talking here.”

“Boksil is hungry.”

“This is unbelievable.”

Lu-a bared her teeth at Boksil. Boksil growled back in response.

“Lu-a, you should pet her too. It’ll help with stress management.”

“Why should I…?”

“Just try it, it’s fine.”

When I softened my tone, Lu-a reluctantly reached out her hand toward Boksil.

Lu-a slowly touched Boksil’s twitching ears.

She must have liked it because she continued to massage them.

“…Not bad.”

“Mmm. I like senior’s hand too.”

“S-senior?”

Lu-a blushed in embarrassment. I handed Lu-a some beef jerky. Lu-a fed the jerky to Boksil.

They seemed to be getting along better.

We had almost reached our destination. A spot just before the mountains in a corner of Gyeonggi Province.

A small building stood prominently in the middle of an empty field.

That couldn’t be all of it. They must have illegally expanded underground.

“Let’s move.”

“Operation start! Everyone descend!!”

At Kang Wan’s booming voice, villains began jumping from the transport ship.

I, Lu-a, Lena, and Boksil also completed our combat preparations.

“Hmm?”

But something strange was happening with our villain subordinates. Those who were descending couldn’t approach the research facility and were sliding in mid-air.

“An invisible barrier is active. Since even SSS-class villains are falling, it must be quite powerful.”

After receiving Kang Wan’s report, I descended to the ground. The three others stood beside me.

I tossed a piece of beef jerky to Boksil and gave her an order.

“Boksil, let’s work.”

“Yes! Boksil works as much as she eats! Master, what should I do?”

“That thing, grind it all down.”

“Yeees!”

Let’s see what she can do.

Boksil walked forward energetically without hesitation. A black hole larger than usual appeared in the air, and an anti-tank machine gun that belonged in a bunker dropped down with a clank.

Boksil stuffed the beef jerky into her mouth and pulled up her mask. When she focused her eyes, combined with her tall stature, she instantly transformed into a strong big-sister image.

Boksil placed her left foot on the footrest and gripped the handles with practiced ease.

Drrrrrrrrrr—!!

The eardrums of several subordinate villains standing nearby burst without warning. Blinding flashes of light continuously filled our vision.

Clang, clang!

The countless falling shell casings were quite heavy. Hundreds of rounds were being fired every second, too many to track even with dragon eyes.

What was certain was that the research facility was being erased from the landscape in an instant.

It was such a bizarre sight that it felt like someone was taking a photo of the view and erasing it with an eraser.

When the firing stopped, not only was the barrier gone, but the research facility itself had disappeared, leaving only the plain.

“Master, Boksil is hungry again.”

Boksil lowered her mask and wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead while grinning broadly.

Seeing this, Lena and Lu-a glanced at me and clicked their tongues.

“What on earth did you pick up?”

We approached the research facility to investigate. The ground level was just a facade, with a large underground expansion—just as I had expected. I hadn’t received any reports about a barrier. Given the scale of research, illegal facilities were inevitable.

“Lu-a. The person in charge here is someone called Dr. Sun. Do you know his face?”

Lu-a’s expression hardened.

“I do. I’ve seen him a few times.”

“Do you want to kill him yourself?”

Lu-a hesitated a bit before nodding.

“There’s also the option of rescuing the children who are still captive.”

“…Then I’ll prioritize the rescue.”

Determination was etched on Lu-a’s face.

“Let’s go.”

We jumped down into the underground facility.

***

The underground facility was quite substantial in size. They must have received significant funding.

The funding from the Association wouldn’t have been this large before, so it must have increased after I disappeared.

There’s only one person I can think of behind this.

Shin Yukyong.

The samples of next-generation transformation items, Pads, visible throughout the facility confirmed this fact.

Lu-a commanded the platoons to search for the children. In the process, they massacred any researchers and heroes they encountered and destroyed all the data.

Lena usually preferred to act independently during operations, but this time she stuck close to Lu-a.

“Found them, they’re here!”

Lu-a finally called out. I checked inside as well. About a hundred children in white gowns were confined in a white room. Most were teenagers, with some as young as six.

“…I’m sorry. I was too late.”

Lu-a ran to them and immediately embraced them. But like Lu-a when I first met her, none of the children showed any emotion.

Even in this situation, they barely reacted, as if numb to stimuli.

Lena opened her fan to cover her mouth, her face showing disgust.

“Geo, you saw it on the way here. What a revolting place. Operating tables, extractors, compressors, and dissolution tanks for efficiently processing humans. If Lu-a hadn’t escaped, she would have ended up in those tanks due to her delayed awakening.”

“Yes. I’ll leave Lu-a’s care to you.”

“Leave it to me.”

I left the children’s rescue to the three of them and went to find the person in charge of this facility.

Dr. Sun.

The psychology of someone who builds a facility like this is predictable. When things go wrong, they want to preserve their own life at all costs.

I thoroughly searched and destroyed every possible location for a panic room. I expected an escape route not far from the sewers.

And finally, I found it.

He was hiding in a panic room at the end of a long corridor behind a cleverly hidden wall with several layers of shielding.

Dr. Sun calmly stood in place to greet me. He was a clean-cut man.

“Hello, Gerogius. I’m Red Dragon.”

“I have no greetings for vermin. Don’t flap your mouth.”

I strode forward and reached for his collar. At that moment, his body turned to smoke and instantly moved behind me as if teleporting.

“A Pad, I see. What a pathetic trick.”

“You were once a hero, so you should have no reason to attack me. Why are you doing this?”

“I told you not to flap your mouth.”

“All my research was conducted to help heroes maintain peace.”

Swoosh!

I couldn’t contain my anger.

I shifted to blue form to prevent him from using the Pad, then grabbed his leg with my red form and tore it off.

“Urgh, ugh…”

Dr. Sun groaned in pain. He was a civilian with no combat experience. Even using the Pad’s abilities now was putting tremendous strain on his body.

It was practically suicide.

“Is it my ethics that’s the problem? You, as a villain now, have no grounds to question that! Even if it were a problem, I’ve actually created a new transformation item that surpasses the Switch…?!”

Tired of listening, I ripped off his jawbone. I also tore off his left arm to prevent him from using the Pad.

“Urk, uuuurgh.”

I tilted my neck, making a cracking sound.

“You didn’t report to me when I was a hero.”

I tore open his solar plexus.

“You didn’t obey me as a villain.”

I grabbed him by the hair and lifted him up.

“You helped Shin Yukyong ruin the Eridanus battle, you tormented Lu-a terribly, and I have more than enough reasons to tear you apart a hundred times over.”

Finally, the calm disappeared from Dr. Sun’s eyes.

Fear took its place.

“But you’ve crossed the line beyond just being killed. The decisive reason.”

I bared my teeth.

“You killed innocent children.”

Air escaped from Dr. Sun’s throat. He was probably trying to scream, but his vocal cords were gone, so no sound came out.

I carried Dr. Sun back and threw him in front of Lu-a.

“Lu-a. What do you want to do with him?”

Lu-a slowly approached and looked down at Dr. Sun. Her eyes were filled with anger and contempt.

Dr. Sun was full of fear and despair, but also seemed somewhat resigned.

Lu-a raised her hand. Dark matter formed at her fingertips. However, she didn’t immediately fire it.

Watching this, Lena spoke up.

“Are you hesitating? Lu-a.”

“…I don’t know.”

“They say the end of revenge often feels empty. Geo, how was it for you? Did you feel empty after beheading Banwolgyeong?”

Lena glanced at me, blinking her long-lashed eyes as if giving me a hint.

I answered immediately.

“No, it felt fucking great. That’s just what losers who failed at revenge tell themselves to feel better. It’s bullshit made up by media trying to force some moral lesson.”

“Is… that so? I’ve never taken revenge myself, so I wouldn’t know. Your answer is a bit different from what I expected, so I’m surprised. Was that helpful? Lu-a.”

Lu-a stared at Dr. Sun for a long time. Dark matter hung from her fingertips.

And finally, she made her choice.