episode_0116

115.

Whiiiiing.

The wind blew.

The cool summer breeze brushed against the skin.

Beyond the swaying strands of hair in the wind, a beautiful girl with a sinister smile was looking in this direction.

Although outwardly she appeared to be a lovely girl, inside her lurked a monster.

A maliciously coiled monster.

“….”

People remained silent, not uttering a word.

The sound of swallowing dry saliva echoed in their ears.

An unknown energy oozed steadily from the smiling girl, causing everyone, including Aisha, Soyeon, Gaon Nuri clan members, to look at Yoo Dahee with tense expressions.

Their trembling shoulders were visible to my eyes.

Was Yoo Dahee emitting such a fearsome energy?

It seemed like she had become even stronger than during the midterm exams.

Oh, of course.

I can’t sense energy like that.

But how did I know if Yoo Dahee was emitting energy or not?

Well, I just guessed based on the reactions around me.

Everyone suddenly looked nervous and tense.

It was clear that she was emitting energy with 100% certainty.

“Fascinating.”

Yoo Dahee was now looking at me.

“Even veteran heroes like Aisha Ilios from the Execution Unit and those from the Gaon Nuri clan seem slightly shaken by my energy.”

Her face showed interest.

“You don’t seem to care, do you?”

“….”

Well, that’s because I’m a piece of shit who can’t even sense energy….

“Come to think of it, we’ve met before, right? We met during the midterm exams, in the forest. You were as indifferent then as you are now, probably?”

Meeting Yoo Dahee during the Battle Survival wasn’t a pleasant memory.

Honestly, I thought I was going to die back then.

And maybe it wasn’t indifference, but rather a stiffening of the expression?

“You cut my hand, right? Oh, surprised? I didn’t expect a Union trainee to pierce my protective gear.”

It was partly luck.

At that time, Yoo Dahee was off guard, and I had an artifact that could pierce her protective gear.

“I’ve heard a lot about you. Even during the Ranking Matches, our Bai Yu… Oh, I shouldn’t say that.”

Bai Yu…?

Is she talking about Bai Yulin?

When it comes to the Ranking Matches, Bai Yulin is the only person that comes to mind.

“I never expected us to meet here. It’s quite amazing when you think about it. It doesn’t seem like a mere coincidence.”

Yoo Dahee raised her head and looked straight into my eyes.

“In fact, I’ve been watching how you fight outside the barrier.”

She must have observed our abilities with the help of Yuzabel.

“While everyone is fighting hard, you just keep giving orders, right?”

That’s true.

That’s all I can do.

For me, personally fighting would be suicidal.

“It was quite interesting to see how you analyzed our weaknesses, strengths, habits, and provided appropriate strategies.”

I clenched and unclenched my fist repeatedly.

“Whether it was Joon’s weakness, Alex’s extraordinary abilities, the pocket dimension, how did you know all this in advance?”

Yoo Dahee’s eyes gleamed sharply.

“…If I were to interrogate you, I might find out something, right? I think you’re hiding a lot of interesting things. Even that girl Aisha from the church listens to you obediently. Of course, there’s also the possibility that you’re just a fake decoy.”

“What?”

Soyeon furrowed her brow, looking agitated as if she had heard something nonsensical. She glared at Yudahee with a sinister look. Yudahee chuckled.

“Wow, full of energy. By the way, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

Yudahee pretended to know Soyeon.

It seemed like Soyeon remembered her.

Although they had only met once, it would be hard to forget a beauty like Soyeon.

“I was planning to half-kill you back then, but the situation didn’t allow it, so I just backed off. But here we are, facing each other again. You really have bad luck, huh?”

“What are you talking about? Can’t you see the people here? You may be strong, but what can you do alone?”

Soyeon gestured towards the people around her.

Aisha and a few heroes were surrounding Yudahee.

On the other hand, Alex and John were already injured. They couldn’t fight properly and could only try to grab Yudahee’s ankle.

“Oh, is that so?”

However, Soyeon overlooked one thing.

There were many other people here besides us.

“But can’t you see the people over there? Look, there.”

“What?”

Soyeon quickly glanced over without lowering her guard.

And then…

“Huh? What are those people?”

“Mom, mom, that man is bleeding!”

“The atmosphere seems strange, what’s going on? Did they fight each other?”

“What? A brawl? Should we call the police?”

The sight of people murmuring in the distance gradually came into view.

Because the barrier had been broken, our presence was exposed to the people. This situation was not good for us at all.

Because…

“There are so many powerless civilians, right?”

…we could use people’s lives as hostages to threaten.

That’s why we trapped Alex and his group inside the barrier so they couldn’t escape, but now being exposed in the middle of the street was a bit awkward.

Well, it’s not a big deal.

“So?”

“Huh?”

“So what should we do?”

“Wow.”

I pulled out a dagger and pressed the blade against So Yoo-young’s neck.

As the sharp blade touched her skin, So Yoo-young’s body flinched.

In her eyes, there was a hint of fear as she looked up at me.

On the other hand, Yudahee blinked her eyes and chuckled as if she found it amusing.

“Oh~ Are you going to play the hostage game in reverse? Hmm, this might be more suitable for us than heroes, don’t you think?”

They say an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

It’s only right to respond with a hostage to a hostage.

Of course, as a group of villains, even if we held our comrades hostage, it wouldn’t work out well, but Yudahee had been looking after the other comrades quite well.

Well, even so, I don’t expect much from Yudahee, who is also one of the villains.

It was just a move to buy some time.

Because the moment Yudahee broke the barrier, she quickly sent a help request.

To Kang Daehan and Hong Daye.

If Kang Daehan, who had been humiliated by Yudahee, and the responsible Hong Daye received my request, they would definitely come here.

Ah, well… I don’t think it will be of much use even if Kang Daehan comes, but what I want is not Kang Daehan but the guards who come with him.

I saw him yesterday.

Joo Hwayoon of the Hwadong Faction.

He is a very reliable force.

“Holding people hostage? Go ahead, try it.”

It was none other than So Yoo-young who was frightened by my non-threatening threat.

“W-wait a minute! W-why me?”

“No matter what happens to this kid, I don’t know. This kid, his abilities are quite useful, aren’t they? I don’t want to lose him so easily.”

“Oh, no! Y-you! Aren’t you a hero?!”

“Be quiet.”

“Eek!”

With a little more force, droplets of blood fell from Sooyoung’s skin, and in an instant, Sooyoung collapsed.

But this kid seemed subtly fearful.

Having lived as a villain, he must have had plenty of experiences.

Does he really think I’m going to stab him? Normally, wouldn’t he say something like, ‘Hah! Do you think you can stab me? It seems like you’ve never dealt with people before, you rookie!’ with some bravado?

“U-um, Jinhuk…?”

At my sudden actions, Soyeon looked bewildered, unsure of what to do.

Given her personality, even if she’s a villain, threatening someone with a knife to their throat can be quite unsettling in many ways.

I secretly looked at Soyeon with a reassuring look.

Soyeon hesitated for a moment, then nodded with a face that seemed to trust me.

I never really had any intention of actually stabbing him.

“If you make a mistake, I might actually stab you. Hmph. Well, you could do that. You’ve made quite a few villains so far.”

“What are you suddenly talking about?”

Did I make a villain by accident?

“I said it wasn’t him, but… you’re right, aren’t you?”

He said with a smile.

“Vitilante.”

With that word, a thud! echoed in my ears.

Pieces of dust and asphalt flew up.

Someone had fallen rapidly from the sky.

A huge figure appeared dimly through the dust.

It seemed to be Ryan.

Judging by how easily he broke the barrier, he must have been hiding for a moment.

“Oh, crap!”

Oh, my vision.

My vision was momentarily blurred by dust and rock fragments.

I blinked once, and Yoo Dahee was gone.

Damn, really?

“Aren’t you being too defenseless?”

He was approaching me at a speed much faster than during the midterms.

His movements were so fast and mysterious that even veteran heroes couldn’t react properly.

Only Aisha managed to react with a ‘Oh!’ expression, reaching out her hand towards Yoo Dahee, but she was a step too late.

“Show me your rumored skills.”

Yoo Dahee swung towards me using the technique of Venom Claw.

His nails, imbued with ominous magic, looked sharp enough to tear even steel to shreds.

An unavoidable fatal blow.

If I were to receive it head-on, I would surely meet my end.

And then, thud!

The moment Yoo Dahee’s nails touched my body.

“Ugh?”

Crackle, crackle!

A yellowish electricity sprang from my body.

Alright, I fell for it.