Ch.94Chapter 4. The Dignity of S-Class (2)

At that moment, on the outskirts of Samcheok, Gangwon Province.

Rat-tat-tat-tat!

The hail of bullets didn’t stop.

Several cars had already been reduced to rags from concentrated gunfire, with red traces flowing alongside the sticky engine oil.

“A-are you alright?”

“Yes. Of course. We’re safe.”

“No, I mean my granddaughter!”

Desmond pointed in the direction where one car had sped off.

It was already out of sight, with only skid marks on the ground and Hwalbindang rioters chasing after it.

“Yes. She’s safer than you are, Chairman. The agent with her is a specialist.”

“Who is that?!”

“Goblin.”

“……”

At Qiongqi’s words, Desmond’s eyes widened momentarily before he placed his hand on his chest and let out a deep sigh of relief.

“Haaa….”

“Does hearing it’s Goblin really make you that relieved?”

“If you’re lying, I’ll sue you. Wait, didn’t you say Goblin wasn’t around?”

“I caught him visiting Samcheok at dawn. Do you know how much I had to beg him to help when it wasn’t even an official mission?”

Qiongqi grinned as he returned fire from behind the barricade of cars.

“Still, as a special service to you, Chairman, I won’t charge you for Goblin’s employment.”

“Th-thank you….”

“But we can’t take responsibility for other cases.”

“Other cases…?”

“Yes. As always, you know what happens when Goblin is with a female ability user, right?”

“…Gasp!”

Chairman Desmond covered his mouth with his hand.

“S-surely Goblin wouldn’t try to seduce my granddaughter?!”

“It’s the opposite. If he doesn’t transform, it would be fine, but if he transforms while saving someone, she’ll definitely fall for him.”

“…Huh!”

At Qiongqi’s matter-of-fact statement, Chairman Desmond clenched his fist and pounded his chest.

“If I had known it was Goblin…!”

“What? You wouldn’t have sent him with your granddaughter?”

“No. I would have gotten his autograph.”

“…Good grief.”

Qiongqi let out a snicker at the old man’s innocent gaze.

Did this old man know?

That while Goblin would save his granddaughter, he was also trying to eliminate Taejo’s genes that she possessed.

“But… is it okay for us to just stay here like this? I mean us.”

“Us? Well… I think a problem solver will appear soon.”

“A problem solver?”

“Yes. There he comes.”

Qiongqi pointed to the southern sky.

“Dealing with situations like this is a hero’s job.”

Whoooosh!

Cutting across the dawn sky, a figure in a red dragon robe-like suit landed in the middle of the road.

The sound of gunfire began to cease, and the Hwalbindang members started looking at each other nervously.

As if an unexpected entity had appeared.

“Ah, Armored Taejo?!”

“You bastards.”

Armored Taejo, who had landed in a perfect hero landing pose, quickly rose to his feet and cracked his neck from side to side.

“You dare kill people with guns in this country?”

“Sh-shoot! Aim for his eyes or vital points!”

The confused Hwalbindang members aimed their guns at Armored Taejo and unleashed a barrage of bullets.

But the bullets fell to the ground before even reaching Armored Taejo.

“Th-that…!”

“Damn it! Don’t we have any ability users?! We can’t stop him with bullets!”

“The very idea of stopping an S-class is laughable. And….”

As Armored Taejo stretched his hand forward, the bullets and casings on the ground began to gather and form a massive shape.

“Who told you to scatter bullets and casings all over the road like this? Huh? All of you will be caught and made to collect every single casing you fired until none remain in this area.”

“Wh-what?!”

“Drop your guns! Get off those bikes! That guy, he’s going to take everything!”

Click, click.

“I’m arresting you all for flagrante delicto. Reckless driving, firearms violations, attacking foreigners, oh, and… well, more importantly.”

Crushed bullets, casings, guns, and even bikes began gathering above Taejo’s outstretched right hand, forming a massive ‘steel dragon’.

“Murder.”

Ka-ga-ga-gang!

“You’re all under arrest for flagrante delicto.”

The steel dragon opened its jaws and rushed toward the Hwalbindang members.

* * *

The car is driving along the outskirts of Gangneung City toward Yangyang.

Thanks to driving at maximum speed, all those who had been chasing us from Samcheok had fallen behind.

If anyone could still pursue us, they would have to take a different route to block our path ahead rather than follow directly.

“Um, are you angry because I asked you to join our company? Huh?”

“I’m not angry. It’s just an absurd suggestion.”

Like telling a player competing in Europe who’s already completed his military service to play for a military sports team.

“Juliana Faygreen. How old are you this year?”

“Seventeen. Why?”

“I see. That’s what I thought.”

As a working adult used to dealing with grown-ups, I truly have to exercise patience when dealing with people like her.

I may not be completely mature myself, but there’s nothing more unsightly than an immature person drunk on power.

‘Maybe it’s because I’ve seen the Chairman.’

Despite being the same age as Juliana this year, the Chairman is not only mentally mature but also runs The Syndicate, a massive corporation, better than any CEO.

Comparing this woman to the Chairman, I can’t help but laugh.

“Hey. But October Travel… Kyaah?!”

I slammed on the brakes again.

This time, perhaps because she was prepared, Juliana didn’t face-plant into the dashboard like before.

“You did that on purpose…!”

“Unfasten your seatbelt. We need to abandon the car.”

I immediately unbuckled my seatbelt and unlocked the doors.

Ahead of us, a Hwalbindang member on a motorcycle was aiming a cylindrical object at us from his shoulder.

“Th-that…!”

“It’s an anti-tank rocket.”

I turned the steering wheel to the right while opening the door.

“Grab your carrier and jump out. As an ability user, you can manage that, right?”

“Oh, seriously…!”

Soon, Juliana unbuckled her seatbelt, opened her door, and leaped out.

‘So it’s in the carrier, not on her person.’

I had thought she might be storing it inside her body, but fortunately, she’s not that vicious.

Screech!

As the car tilted slightly to the right, I extended my left hand toward the open door, raising only my index and middle fingers together.

Go ahead and shoot.

Twitch, twitch.

No sooner had I signaled him to shoot than he pulled the trigger on the anti-tank rocket.

With a puff of white smoke, a large shell flew toward us, and I twisted the already tilting car sideways.

Thud!

The car tipped over onto its side, and the anti-tank rocket hit the roof.

KABOOM!!

A powerful explosion crushed the car, and I quickly created a strong protective barrier of mana around my body before the car exploded.

BANG!

The rocket’s explosion triggered a chain reaction in the car.

I stood up unharmed inside, holding my breath, and walked forward, shaking off the black smoke from gunpowder and oil.

[Don’t you think that’s too powerful a weapon to use on a national highway?]

“Who are you…?”

Seeing me emerge unaffected by the rocket explosion, the Hwalbindang rioter in a ghost mask trembled.

“How did you survive that explosion…!”

[Any decent ability user should be able to protect themselves from modern explosive weapons.]

It seems I lost about 8% of my magical power creating such a strong barrier, but this 8% achieved one definite effect.

“Ugh…!”

Demoralization.

Loss of fighting spirit.

Who wouldn’t feel fear seeing someone emerge without a scratch from an anti-tank rocket explosion?

[Are you Yeongno?]

“……”

[So you’re the one who sent the death threat video to Juliana Faygreen.]

I stretched my right hand to the side and pulled out another mask.

[Threats are one thing, but firing a rocket like this means you must be punished.]

“……You, don’t tell me!”

[Transform.]

As I pressed the newly created mask over the dolphin mask, I quickly converted the magical power covering my face.

[Villain, Yeongno.]

Then, lightly flicking the belt made of magical power, I completed the transformation at the speed of light.

[Any last words before your execution?]

“Ugh…! Goblin…!”

I lightly bumped my fists together, then transformed the Goblin clubs into “knuckle”-like forms on both hands.

“Th-that power…! I’ve never heard that Goblin uses red flames!”

[I got a little heated from the explosion.]

In truth, it was a conversion to the state where I could best utilize Qiongqi’s magical power.

[STRIKE!]

[Before protecting the target, I’ll deal with you first.]

I pointed toward the sea, addressing Juliana who had peeked out from behind the exploded car debris to see what was happening.

[If you don’t want to die, stay hidden somewhere safe. At least there’s no one around here who can kill you.]

“Ah…!”

Juliana nodded vigorously at me and climbed over the guardrail.

“I won’t let you escape!”

Yeongno rushed toward me with a huge leap.

He tried to jump over me with tremendous leaping power, but I jumped up from my position and drove my fist into his solar plexus.

Whoosh!!

“Gaaah!”

Red flames exploded into his solar plexus.

I landed lightly on both feet and dusted off my hands, while Yeongno was thrown backward despite his charging speed.

“Kuh, kuhak…!”

[Where are you looking?]

I wiggled my fingers at him again, just as I had done before getting out of the car.

[I am your opponent.]