Ch.99Chapter 4. The Dignity of S-Rank (7)

“Ah. This is [Princess Bari]. Snow White has secured October Travel’s private jet. It’s currently tied down at the airport. And… I’m currently in a standoff with Goblin.”

S-class hero Tae Yi-rin reported the scene before her eyes through her Taegeuk Watch while sipping an energy drink through a straw on the airport building rooftop overlooking the runway.

“Snow White has deployed a barrier, and Goblin is trapped inside. Looks like we picked the right day.”

[R-really! So we can arrest Goblin today?!]

“Who knows. Goblin always escapes well.”

Yi-rin looked at the Taegeuk Watch screen with a tired face, letting out a long yawn.

Her dark circles were quite pronounced.

Her curly black bob hair looked a bit dry, probably from staying up all night, and dark circles were deeply set under her eyes.

Even for an S-class ability user, going several days and nights without proper sleep was clearly exhausting.

[Please, Yi-rin. I know it’s unfair to ask you to clean up after him every time he causes trouble…!]

“Is it Grandfather’s fault that he grew up that way? It’s his parents’ fault.”

[…….]

“It’s okay. You took care of us. But what are you going to do about October Travel?”

[It ends when we secure Tae Jo’s genetic material. It’s legally difficult to punish them, and if we say Tae Jo did such a thing, he’ll also be caught up in rumors.]

Though Juliana from October Travel was the one causing problems, the dignity of an S-class hero was at stake.

No matter how much of a troublemaker image Tae Jo had, this kind of incident was directly connected to not just Tae Jo’s but the nation’s image.

[Please. Arrest Juliana and recover the genetic material. You wouldn’t want to suddenly have hundreds of nieces and nephews either, would you?]

“Yes, that’s true. Without parents… no, they would have mothers. Well, no need for long explanations. I’ll arrest her as soon as the barrier breaks.”

Yi-rin covered the Taegeuk Watch with her hand to end the call.

“…I can’t miss this epic match.”

Though she had missed some of the beginning while reporting, the battle between the two S-class heroes was gradually intensifying.

“Wow…!”

White wings spread behind Snow White’s back.

Each ice feather was a blade with powerful killing potential, and Goblin stepped back slightly at the sight.

“As expected of big sis.”

Even Goblin couldn’t escape easily.

No matter how powerful Goblin was, fighting in a place where an S-class hero had laid traps 30 minutes in advance meant he couldn’t suddenly disappear with that strange ability of his.

“This time I’ll definitely figure it out.”

Teleportation?

Invisibility?

Spatial movement?

Time leap?

Whatever the ability, she was determined to discover how he vanished without a trace after every battle.

“…Among S-class heroes, only I can figure this out. So I have to discover it. This time for sure…”

Yi-rin fought off her fatigue with the caffeine from her energy drink, steeling her resolve.

Though she was extremely tired from “flying” all the way from Gangwon-do, she was determined to uncover Goblin’s true nature, slapping her cheeks to keep herself awake.

“Ah!”

In the moment she dozed off, Snow White’s attack failed.

Goblin sprinkled flames on the ice feathers, causing an explosion, and the ice feathers rushing toward him fell to the ground.

“When that happens…! Ah, of course. Big sis isn’t someone who would end it there.”

Snow White immediately recovered the falling ice feathers and formed a massive ice crystal.

A meteor?

Or perhaps closer to a glacier.

“Wow, big sis is amazing.”

Snow White created an enormous glacier with just a few hand gestures and hurled it.

Even for an S-class hero, taking that directly would obviously result in being pinned down under the glacier.

Would he dodge?

If he dodged, would he activate that disappearing ability again?

I must see it.

Yi-rin stared intently with wide eyes—

“Huh?”

She saw it.

Red flames gathering at Goblin’s feet as he slightly turned around.

Blood-red flames gathered at his feet, blazing brightly, and Goblin merely turned his head to the side without dodging the incoming glacier.

“No way…”

Slash.

A sound like something being cut.

In the brief moment she blinked, a red crescent trajectory flashed in her darkened vision.

“Ah…!”

When she opened her eyes again, the glacier had split in two.

CRASH!!

The glacier was split lengthwise and fell to either side of Goblin.

Amidst the ice dust scattering like mist, Goblin landed lightly on both feet and straightened his posture.

The entire sequence was as clean and precise as if it were a programmed movement.

“Is that… a technique?”

It wasn’t simply using magical power for a special ability.

Like a fighting game character executing a command input, the entire process from preparation to landing was a fixed technique.

“Wow… insane…”

Yi-rin almost dropped her energy drink bottle.

“He… split the glacier…?”

Gulp.

Looking at the composed Goblin, Yi-rin felt a hint of awe.

“Ah…”

That man.

“If my brother were someone like that instead of Tae Jo… no, that’s not right.”

Slap, slap slap.

Yi-rin slapped her cheeks and widened her eyes again.

“Surely, after all that showing off, he’ll run away again…!”

With sleep driven away, Yi-rin glared at Goblin with wide eyes.

* * *

I had split the glacier-like meteor.

Standing between the halves that fell to either side, I gathered my magical power and immediately checked its status, my heart sinking.

‘It’s getting precarious.’

My magical power hadn’t recovered much since meeting Ymir.

Although I had received magical power from Qiongqi, I had used quite a bit traveling from Samcheok to Yangyang.

And just now, I had consumed a significant amount of magical power to directly counter the meteor attack from the S-class hero.

The remaining magical power from Qiongqi was less than 10%.

For a giant of light, this would be when the red flame starts flickering on the chest, and the red light flowing through my suit was gradually dimming.

“Ha…”

Fortunately, Snow White didn’t follow up with another attack.

She stood still, letting out a hollow laugh at seeing her attack split in one go.

[You’re strong indeed. But… are you trying to kill me?]

“Don’t whine. I was just planning to bury you in the ground.”

[That’s frightening.]

“Without killing you.”

Of course, I wouldn’t die.

Instead, the moment I’m captured and my identity is revealed, I would die as the “mysterious Goblin.”

-Goblin is Do Ji-hwan!!-

That would be spread everywhere, and my real name would be plastered on the villain wiki.

Even my face would be prominently displayed on the wiki.

What would Baek Seol-hee do if she found out Goblin was Do Ji-hwan?

Would she waver, or would she act exactly as the hero she appears to be now?

I’m curious, but I don’t really want to create such a situation.

[Do you plan to keep me trapped here? If the battle continues here, the airport will be paralyzed.]

“It’s only temporary. And people will understand if S-class heroes are fighting, right? Though it’s ridiculous.”

Snow White glanced behind her.

“Look, can you see the people? They’re all pressed against the airport windows watching us.”

As Snow White said, everyone at Yangyang Airport was pointing their smartphones and Taegeuk Watches through the windows, recording the battle.

[You’ll be criticized for tying up October Travel’s private jet like this.]

“October Travel won’t dare speak the truth either. Not unless that woman starts blabbing about it.”

[I see. But there’s one thing you’re overlooking.]

I pointed at the airplane caught in the ice net.

[Trolls typically appear more often and more frequently against heroes than villains.]

“…!”

The ground where Snow White stood began to shake.

The airplane was trying to ignite its engines despite being tied up in the ice net.

“W-what is this…?!”

[It seems someone inside has forcibly ignited the plane’s engines. So, what will you do? If you keep using your ability, the engines will overheat… and the plane will explode.]

“This is such bullshit…!”

Snow White uttered some rather harsh words.

“Hey! Turn off the engines! Now!”

[Didn’t you operate the net separately? If you release the one on the plane, will this one be released too? That’s unfortunate. Though I didn’t intend it… I should thank Juliana for this.]

Half-sincerely.

Clunk, clunk!

The turbines were trying to turn but the plane remained restrained, and I could feel the heat gradually rising near the engines.

[What will you do? Will you release the barrier, or maintain it to keep me trapped in this battlefield?]

“Kuh…!”

[Next time, create separate barriers. Or don’t restrain the airplane with your ability, but use some other method…]

Suddenly.

A loud noise came from behind.

ROAAAAAAR!!

The sound of a metal dragon roaring.

“Ah…!”

Snow White exclaimed with delight, while I couldn’t help but sigh.

[Even a rotten S-class is still S-class, I suppose.]

“COME HERE!!”

The source of all this trouble.

“COME TO ME!!”

Armored Taejo arrived at Yangyang Airport riding a flying metal dragon.

“Behold the iron dragon soars! I have arrived!!”

Buzz.

With thrusters attached to various parts of the metal dragon, Armored Taejo controlled the flying dragon directly and pointed at the airplane.

“Sister! I’ll handle Juliana Faygreen! You take care of Goblin!!”

[Tch.]

The net binding the airplane was released.

Simultaneously, Snow White leaped from the plane and rushed toward me, while the metal dragon latched onto the airplane’s neck like it was biting it.

Whirrrr.

The airplane’s engines stopped.

The metal dragon coiled around the airplane like a vortex.

Behind me, the ice net disappeared.

I jumped backward from my position, but Snow White, with ice feathers like daggers in both hands, wasn’t about to let me go.

“It’s over, Goblin!!”

At this rate—

Unfortunately.

[Five minutes have passed.]

A massive pillar of fire poured down on me.

The pillar of fire became a whirlwind surrounding me, protecting me.

Grrrr.

With a roar like that of a tiger.