Ch.88. Shin Yookyung Uses Excalibur’s Switch

“Keep a close eye on the hostages.”

“I know. This one’s power comes from his palms, so cut off his hands. This one has telepathy? Annoying, so I’ll just knock him out.”

When Lu-a started handling the bound hostages, screams erupted.

Among the villain underlings, some seemed displeased that Lu-a was second-in-command, but after seeing her skills, they appeared to understand.

Currently, Lu-a’s specs are as follows:

[Dark Matter / Lee Lu-a]

[Occupation: Villain]

[Rank: Pre-debut]

[Ability: Dark Matter Lv.4]

[ [Undeveloped] ]

[Affiliation: Villain Organization Vengeance]

[ Evil Sentai Vengeance]

[Alignment: Chaotic-Good]

Her ability is level 4, and her stats are at a considerable level.

I’m wearing the same mass-produced mask as the underling villains, hiding among them.

For the time being, I plan to have Lu-a be the public face of leadership.

“Do you have any objections to this terrorism, Emma?”

I asked Emma, who was also disguised as a regular villain. Without hesitation, she bowed her head to me.

“No. Your will is my will, Master.”

“Even though I, once a guardian of justice, am now leading villains in acts of terrorism?”

“I believe without doubt that Master is doing this for world peace.”

There was no wavering in her words.

I guess I’m not completely devoid of luck with people.

I felt grateful to her.

“Boss, they’re coming.”

A quick-witted underling reported. I turned my head.

Far in the sky, a silver dragon-shaped mecha was flying toward us.

The party’s main character is arriving.

I should prepare to welcome them.

◈ ◈ ◈

“Fearless bastards.”

Shin Yukyong put the Excalibur switch in her pocket and moved immediately.

“Yukyong! Are you going alone?”

“It could be dangerous! Just in case, Dragon King Sentai should go together…”

“Thanks, Se-hwa, Minseo. But this involves my crew. I should handle this much on my own.”

Yukyong flashed a confident, cool smile and headed to the launch bay.

“Well, with the Dark Kingdom gone, how formidable could these villains be?”

“That’s true. They seem to be mostly new faces.”

“Heh. You mean small fry? I was worried for nothing.”

“But to take all of Yukyong’s crew members hostage…”

“They were probably caught off guard during the party, right?”

“I suppose so.”

Yukyong hurried her steps, giving herself over to the rush of noradrenaline.

Bastards. I’ll cut off their heads right now.

How dare they touch my subordinates.

And even summon me alone?

Brainless fools. I’ll turn them into shark food without even a coffin.

Yukyong boarded her partner mecha and headed to the destination. A mecha with specs several times superior to the latest fighter jets, capable of space travel. It easily breaks the sound barrier.

She reached the waters off Incheon in an instant from Seocho, where the Association headquarters was located.

Upon reaching her destination, Yukyong slowed down and opened the cockpit.

A group of villains stood on the cruise ship’s deck.

About thirty masked underlings. The hostage crew members seemed to be inside the cabin.

She didn’t like the sight of the long black-haired woman standing proudly as the leader. Her face was also hidden behind a mask.

“Silver Mirrored! Silver Mirrored has arrived! We’re broadcasting live from the waters off Incheon!”

She looked around. Several news helicopters were present.

‘The media is already here. I can’t fight messily.’

Image management and character creation were essential for S-Sentai members. That’s why Ji Se-hwa said she hated it when the media showed up.

While Yukyong wasn’t particularly fond of the justice-preaching act, she didn’t dislike it either.

She certainly didn’t want to overdo it like Red, Jung Ui-seok, though.

She had a professional awareness that she needed to meet public expectations to some extent.

“I came alone as requested. What do you want? Money?”

Yukyong asked through the speaker.

The female leader merely wiggled her finger without answering.

A provocation?

Yukyong was confident. She believed no villain in the world could match her current self.

Yukyong jumped from the mecha and landed on the deck.

BOOM!

It was a perfect hero landing that could be in textbooks. Yukyong raised her head to glare at the evil enemy.

“Do you want my life?”

“Yes.”

The enemy boss finally spoke. She spread her arms. Ominous black matter floated above them.

“We are Vengeance. I am the leader, Dark Matter. I am the hero killer.”

“Hmph. Weak and cowardly bunch. You want to kill me to gain notoriety, but you can’t face all of Dragon King Sentai, so you took hostages to create a one-on-one situation. Aren’t you ashamed?”

Yukyong felt such contempt for Dark Matter that phlegm bubbled up in her throat.

“If you have even a shred of shame for your cowardice, promise me this, Dark Matter. If I defeat you, guarantee the safety of my crew members.”

“Fine. That won’t happen anyway.”

Cowardly bastards. Yukyong had no intention of trusting them at all. She planned to find an opening to kill Dark Matter and locate her crew members to rescue them with her ability.

“In return, I’ll make a promise too.”

“What?”

“If I win, I’ll kill all your crew members.”

“Hmph. That won’t happen either. Let’s begin.”

Yukyong raised the transformation device on her left arm. In her right hand was a bright-colored switch with a silver dragon engraved on it. She pressed the left button forcefully.

[AO′GUANG!]

With the voice announcement, the switch sparkled. Yukyong inserted the switch into the transformation device with a restrained pose.

“Transform!”

[On your way!]

[Here comes the Dragon Lord!]

Light enveloped Yukyong, and a silver dragon emerged, opening its mouth as if to devour her. The helmet was equipped.

The next moment, the hero Silver Mirrored of Dragon King Sentai stood there.

“What bullshit.”

Dark Matter left this brief comment and fired the dark matter from her hand. A swift black lightning.

“Hup!”

Yukyong swung the mechanical staff that had suddenly appeared in her hand to deflect them. The movement of a trained martial arts master.

In an instant, the staff extended and shot toward Dark Matter. Dark Matter dodged by firing matter at the ground and using the repulsive force to jump.

Yukyong took the opportunity to form a hand seal. She intended to end it instantly.

“Moonlight Mirror!”

Mirrors formed along an elliptical trajectory with Yukyong and Dark Matter as the central axis. Suddenly, Silver Mirrored was reflected in all the mirrors.

Dark Matter turned her head. The same image appeared everywhere she looked.

“Haah!”

Yukyong leaped out from a mirror to attack Dark Matter. After landing a hit, she returned into another mirror.

“Ugh…!”

Blood formed at the corner of Dark Matter’s mouth. Yukyong continued her attacks without giving any opening. Dark Matter tried to defend with dark matter, but it wasn’t effective.

“Did you underestimate me? You said you’d kill heroes?”

Yukyong increased her attack speed.

“Of course heroes get hurt too. Eventually they die. But not to you. Justice doesn’t die to vile, low, self-unaware evil!”

Shouting this, Yukyong increased her output. It was time to finish this. The power of the silver dragon, Ao’guang, gathered in her hand.

“Take this, my justice!”

“Pfft.”

In that moment, Yukyong heard it.

It wasn’t Dark Matter.

Someone was laughing at her.

Who was it?

But before she could think about it—

CRASH!!

All her mirrors shattered.

“What…?!”

Simultaneously,

CRACK!

Dark Matter’s substance attached to Yukyong’s limbs and bent her joints at impossible angles.

“Ugh!”

Pain overwhelmed her. Before she could create distance, Dark Matter’s next attack came.

Taking a direct hit to the face, Yukyong fell ungracefully. The visor of her helmet cracked and blood flowed.

“Damn it!”

Yukyong cracked her broken joints back into place with a crunch. She faced off against Dark Matter.

‘How did she do that? She broke the Moonlight Mirror. That’s impossible. Was she hiding her strength? What reason would she have for that? No, it could be an ability that requires doing so.’

Yukyong thought desperately.

Understanding the enemy’s ability.

That was the first thing to do in battle, as he had taught her so many times before, yet she had forgotten.

‘That black substance. It’s not a simple natural ability. Then is it a substance that absorbs power? Was she deliberately taking hits? Does that mean her power now exceeds mine?’

Anxiety crept over Yukyong.

‘Damn it. I was careless. I should have killed her with one blow. With a stronger, irresistible strike.’

A thought crossed Yukyong’s mind.

The switch in her possession.

Yukyong took it out.

‘Excalibur.’

With this, she could slice that woman’s body in one go. She had directly witnessed its power when Jung Ui-seok used it. This couldn’t be absorbed.

‘Indeed, justice is on my side.’

Click!

With that conviction, Yukyong installed the Excalibur switch into her transformation device without hesitation.

“Don’t laugh at me!”

Yukyong pressed the Excalibur and Ao’guang switches forcefully. She rotated the upper dial.

[EXCALIBUR!]

[―Include! AO′GUANG!]

I’ll end this now.

Just as she expected the fatal power—

“Ah— AAAAAAAAAAAAHHH?!”

From her heart to every bone marrow.

Pain like sharp swords stabbing her entire body from the inside attacked her brain.

Yukyong’s body began to convulse as if electrocuted, writhing in agony.

“Why, why, WHY— AAAAAAHHH!!!!”

Experiencing an incomprehensible, hellish pain, Yukyong collapsed on the spot, blood gushing from every orifice of her body.

◈ ◈ ◈

“When Shin Yukyong uses her mirrors, let her hit you.”

“Why?”

Lu-a questioned my strategy.

“What do you think your dark matter’s ability is?”

“Umm… generating magnetic fields and controlling gravity?”

“It’s more than that. You took my memories and emotions.”

“Ah, yes.”

“Your dark matter can affect human minds.”

“Even minds?”

“Yes. Shin Yukyong will launch consecutive attacks with her mirrors. During that time, use your dark matter to implant emotions in her body. ‘Anxiety,’ ‘unease,’ ‘urgency.'”

“What will happen then?”

“She’ll self-destruct.”

I had instructed Lu-a this during training. And she executed it brilliantly.

In any case, this was only possible because they were roughly equal in specs.

Yukyong’s demerit from her comrade’s soul, and Lu-a’s growth rate matched well.

Additionally, Lu-a has excellent combat sense.

She’s a good talent.

“Hey.”

At my signal, one of the underlings moved. I approached the fallen Yukyong.

The Excalibur’s recoil had undone her transformation. Her entire body was covered in blood. Fear had settled on that expressionless face.

I’ve missed you, Yukyong.

“I won.”

Lu-a came to my side and declared while looking down at Yukyong.

“W-wait… Ui-seok used it… why, not me…”

“I have to keep my promise, right?”

An underling brought one hostage. I grabbed the hero’s hair and took out a knife from my pocket.

“N-no… don’t…”

To the muttering Yukyong, I asked:

“Then would you die instead, Silver? If you give up your life, I’ll spare twenty of them.”