Part 1, Chapter 4 (8)

“…I feel a little bad.”

– I, I didn’t see anything?

“As if.”

I had forgotten what kind of person they were. The Gluttonous Cloud, which had enveloped Deokbae, was ravenously devouring Deokbae from the feet up.

Just before Deokbae could grab Unsa and injure them, I unconsciously gave an order.

‘Don’t hurt them.’

Naturally, the Fire Giant, Deokbae, rebelled. What was I talking about when they had an enemy right in front of them? They were about to grab them and smash them to death, so why stop them?

But the opponent was someone who shouldn’t be killed or even injured.

One of the protagonist’s initial three Heroes. A main heroine who lost her mana and became a wreck after being betrayed by her commander, now trying to make a comeback starting from an E-rank ability user.

‘I never thought that drunkard would be such a diligent person….’

She was a woman far removed from diligence and conscientiousness. Because of that, in Chapter 1 of the original work, she caused conflict with her comrades, leading to a bad ending.

Just like Cheon Gaeul, perhaps because it was five years before the original story, she was a completely different person.

‘Still, it’s strange how their core nature is the same.’

Just as Cheon Gaeul was Cheon Gaeul, Park Raon was also the same.

Her diligence in doing her best when it came to missions. Her toughness in defeating enemies without hesitation, even if her clothes were torn and her underwear was exposed.

Deokbae, seeing Park Raon, taunted them excitedly.

– Hey, their body is seriously amazing. They’re not even covering up? Are they a slut?

So I yelled at Deokbae.

How dare they try to look at Park Raon’s exposed body. Turn away.

– Hey, you fu*king bas*ard! How can you tell me to fight without looking?!

But Deokbae, of all things, perceived that as an order. Because of that, Deokbae kept trying to avert their gaze from Unsa, and the result was that Unsa got seriously pissed off.

It was my mistake.

“Ah, I’m sorry, Subordinate No. 2. …You can look now. I’m retracting the order.”

– I’m already being eaten up to my knees! What are you going to do about it!!

The Fire Giant on the screen suddenly shrank in height. The amount of Gluttonous Cloud also decreased, but the Fire Giant was struggling to escape from the cloud hell.

“…Alright. Jo Deokbae-ssi. We can’t kill them like this.”

The Gluttonous Cloud had already reached Deokbae’s waist. If the Gluttonous Cloud touched Jo Deokbae’s core, located near their solar plexus, Deokbae would be completely devoured.

“Fire Giant. Release. You can use your original ability. Fight to your heart’s content until you’ve used up all your spirit stone mana.”

– Hell yeah!

The Fire Giant’s body shimmered.

* * *

“……What?”

The Fire Giant vanished in an instant. Unsa, who had been squeezing out every last drop of mana, struggled to lift their head.

It was gone. The Fire Giant had completely hidden itself, just as it hid itself during the dimensional gate incident.

“Hmph!”

Unsa gathered the spread-out Gluttonous Cloud back into the tip of their spear. They had to conserve even a little mana.

A combat style where, despite a significantly low maximum mana capacity, mana is stolen from the opponent through the Gluttonous Cloud to recover. In that sense, the opponent was a rather difficult foe for Unsa.

Mana was only being consumed without anything being taken. Unsa’s mana had already fallen below half.

Thump.

Footsteps were heard from somewhere. Unsa quickly regulated their mana. There wasn’t much left.

Thump. Thump.

Someone was walking from where the Fire Giant had disappeared. A man with a massive physique, easily over 2.5m tall. Unsa squinted their eyes at the hair shimmering in the sunlight.

The blue flames seeping through the rock-like skin, which looked ready to burst, instantly revealed the man’s identity.

“Is that your true form?”

“Hmph. Yes.”

Deokbae clashed their fists together. Sand fell and scattered on the ground.

“No need for introductions, here I come.”

Deokbae kicked off the ground and charged, swinging a fist at Unsa.

* * *

At the same time Unsa’s team was lost in the labyrinth in Guro.

In Gangnam, the stench of blood filled the air as Hellhounds fell one by one.

Vroooom–!

The earth-shattering sound of a chainsaw made the Hellhound flinch. But the rapidly spinning chainsaw blade completely severed the Hellhound’s leg.

Splat.

Blue blood splattered on the dark blue suit. The Hellhound was vertically split and killed by the mana-infused chainsaw blade. Haneulseong turned off the chainsaw’s power and vented the heat.

Pshhh—-

The chainsaw, which had been glowing blue just moments before, lost its light as if its power had run out. Smoke subtly rose from inside the motor and caught fire.

“Giving me cheap junk, those damn bastards.”

Haneulseong threw the chainsaw Core Weapon at the face of a charging Hellhound.

Other Villains were already throwing their Core Weapons to the ground or using them as throwing weapons.

“Haneulseong! What do we do now?!”

“Run! For now, run towards Gangdong and hide!”

Non-ability user Villains who lost their Core Weapons lost their combat effectiveness. Staying here would make them nothing more than Hellhound fodder.

“Damn it! They should’ve given us something better!”

“Isn’t this a scam?”

Regardless of whether they were ability users or non-ability users, the Core Weapons were powerful enough to injure and eventually kill Hellhounds, but their durability was too low, breaking quickly.

“Why are you so afraid!”

Ultimately, the Villains met their worst adversaries. A green wind swept through the main road, clearing the Hellhound corpses onto the sidewalk, and the monsters faced the Heroes approaching from the opposite side of the road.

“Well, well, if it isn’t a pleasant surprise.”

Pungbaek spun his staff and laughed. On the opposite side of the road, the Heroes were regulating their mana after just finishing a battle. Haneulseong pointed at the monster corpses and grumbled.

“If you’re not going to help clean up the front yard, why don’t you just go on your way?”

“Monster subjugation is what Heroes do, so why are you being so sarcastic? Hahaha!”

Likewise, the Heroes were also in a terrible state from battling monsters, but the mana they exuded still showed their strength.

Grrr!

The Hellhound pack, surrounded by Villains and Heroes, bared their claws at both sides.

Villains, Heroes, monsters. The three factions glared at each other in a standoff. The rift between Heroes and Villains was too deep for humanity to join hands against the monsters.

“Are Heroes allowed to leave monster subjugation to ordinary citizens?”

The Villains’ eyes were fierce, as if they could kill all the Heroes with just their gaze. As Haneulseong stirred their mana, Pungbaek chuckled heartily.

“I don’t know where you got those strange toys, but it’s not right for grown-ups to interfere with children playing.”

“You damn old geezer!”

A subordinate Villain was about to charge, but Haneulseong raised a hand to stop them.

“Fine. Then don’t interfere and get lost. Gangnam is our territory.”

“Do you think this is the Stone Age, where planting a flag makes it your territory? All land belongs to the country, where is it personal property? Should I go to New Seoul and dig through the land registry?”

Wusa tapped the ground with their staff.

“Headquarters, how many enemies are there?”

– There are roughly over 200 Villain patterns! One A-rank, Villain Haneulseong!

Thanks to the watch’s volume being turned up for all to hear, the Villains all flinched. Even if Haneulseong was quasi-S-rank, an A-rank was still an A-rank. Most of the Villains gathered in Gangnam were C-rank or D-rank.

In contrast, their side included Wusa and Pungbaek, seasoned generals, plus eight A-ranks. The total number of Heroes wasn’t that high, but their overall strength was comparable to Team A.

“That’s what they say. What will you do? If you surrender now, I’ll even send you some outside food in prison.”

“I refuse.”

“They’re not even pretending to listen, hmph!”

Pungbaek gripped his staff tightly and lowered his stance. The Villains flinched and backed away at his posture, which looked ready to charge at any moment.

“Haneulseong-nim! What do we do? Do we really fight?”

“…We have to fight.”

Haneulseong instinctively checked the Heroes’ necks. Those who fanatically covered their necks with accessories like scarves, helmets, and neckerchiefs.

The faces above those necks were all familiar to Haneulseong, former Villains they knew.

“The Pine Tree Unit is here too. If you get caught by them, you’ll either die or be arrested as a cripple. Still going to run?”

“Eek.”

The President’s execution squad. Their notoriety, which could even stop crying monsters, was well known to everyone. The Villains reluctantly picked up their weapons.

“Oh dear. They’re even more scared because of you. What will you do?”

Pungbaek sneered at the man with the raised collar.

“What do I care? I’m only interested in results.”

“Was it ten days for each Villain arrested? Tsk tsk. Seonui Cheol really put a nasty leash on them.”

“…Shut up.”

The Heroes also stirred their mana and drew their weapons. Whether they were pure Heroes or members of the Pine Tree Unit, their mindset towards facing the Villains in front of them was the same.

Kill the monsters, arrest the Villains.

Wusa tapped their watch to call the commander-nim.

“This is Wusa. We are currently in a standoff with Villains at Gangnam Station Intersection. Awaiting orders.”

– Villains? Those buggers are hiding there? Tsk, kill them all!

“…Commander-nim. Villains are people too.”

– They are cancer cells eating away at this country! They all need to be excised! How much tax money do you think goes to those vermin?!

Shin Jingwang continued to fume.

“Minister-nim.”

What!

“Go eat your damn pension, you motherf*cker.”

Wusa took the watch off their wrist and threw it on the ground. Pungbaek burst into hearty laughter and nudged Wusa with his elbow.

“You, is that how you should be? What if you get on the commander-nim’s bad side and get disciplined later?”

“I might as well retire with you, old man-nim. Team A will handle things well enough. After we retire, let’s go to some countryside and make Unsa S-rank.”

“Hahaha! I’m not living with a guy!”

Wusa stood in front of the Heroes and gathered mana.

The first thing to do before arresting Villains. Wusa’s voice boomed across Gangnam Boulevard.

“You have the right to remain silent—!!”

* * *

– The Hero East Team has encountered Haneulseong’s group in Gangnam. Combat is commencing.

– In Guro, the Heroes are attempting to break out of the encirclement. A concentrated breakthrough. If this continues, the Hellhounds’ encirclement will break.

– Jo Deokbae-nim is fighting Unsa. They are engaged in hand-to-hand combat.

– Seonmudang, there’s still no movement in the vicinity. It seems they’re observing the situation.

– Black Flame Dragon, standing by.

Jihwa’s dry reports continued. The battlefield was so vast and the number of combatants so large that the reports naturally became numerous.

“What’s the situation in Gangnam?”

– The Villains are at a disadvantage. Their numbers are much greater, but they are overwhelmingly outmatched in quality.

On the screen, Villains and Heroes were engaged in a battle, no, a war, on the main road.

Heroes systematically formed small teams to respond, while Villains attacked haphazardly. As ability users engaged in close combat, clashing blades, the Villains in the rear began to flee one by one.

“As expected, without a proper chain of command, they can’t fight.”

Even if Villains had an advantage in small-scale skirmishes, Heroes had a much greater advantage in large-scale battles.

“After all, Villains only care about saving their own lives.”

‘In contrast, Heroes have a lot of experience in group combat. Their camaraderie is also strong.’

Haneulseong tried to grab Pungbaek with their bursting muscles. But Pungbaek smoothly slipped out of their grasp, and in the meantime, Wusa pierced Haneulseong’s tough muscles with dozens of streams of water.

Clang-!

The water streams bounced off as if hitting an iron plate. The steel-skinned giant, measuring 3m tall, threw its body around, trying to catch Pungbaek.

“Tsk.”

Haneulseong fought hard, but it was not enough. While Pungbaek and Wusa tied Haneulseong’s feet, the remaining six A-ranks slammed the Villains to the ground.

“At this rate, they’ll completely lose.”

Haneulseong, Gangnam’s strongest force. The leader who should be commanding the Villains was caught by Pungbaek and Wusa, unable to give any proper orders, leaving the other subordinate Villains to be helplessly overwhelmed by the Heroes.

“If quality is lacking, we’ll have to make up for it with quantity, won’t we?”

I subtly pulled back the surviving Hellhounds. The Hellhounds, positioned at every intersection, ran through alleys and scattered among buildings according to my instructions.

“I’ve opened the path with this.”

‘All that’s left is to break the seal.’

Fortunately, there is one group among the Villains that wants to follow my command. I projected my consciousness into the Mini Phoenix I sent towards Gangdong.

Now it’s time to let the Black Flame Dragon run wild.