The Villain's Appearance (Part 3)
Gasping. Breath caught in my throat.
I couldn't draw a proper breath.
“Ugh, ugh, ugh…”
Kang Daehan twisted his brows like crumpled paper, glaring at the white-haired girl with savage intensity.
Her grip on his throat left him no options.
Flailing around would only earn mocking laughter from Yu Dahui.
This damn girl… what is she?
She was strong.
Stronger than anyone his age should be.
Was there really a person this powerful in their peer group?
From Kang Daehan’s perspective, no one came to mind.
Not even the academy’s celebrated genius, Lee Siwoo, would stand a chance against that girl.
She might even be high-rank level.
If this were under normal circumstances, he would have laughed it off as nonsense.
But having seen it firsthand, he had to admit it was possible she was genuinely high-rank.
Goddamn it.
“Don’t worry. Don’t worry.”
Yu Dahui’s fingers tightened around his throat, a smile curling at the corner of her lips.
She laughed like a mischievous child, a smile that looked almost beautiful on the surface.
But with blood smeared across her face, it only came across as terrifying.
“I’m not going to kill you.”
Right.
It wasn’t a joke.
She really didn’t intend to kill anyone.
All Yu Dahui wanted was for them to suffer, for their lives to be completely ruined.
“I’ll just make sure you never dream of becoming a hero again.”
Yu Dahui raised her hand, dark and heavy malice gathering at her fingertips.
The power was immense.
Kang Daehan gulped down dry saliva.
This girl wasn’t planning to destroy the power core…!
So just let go for a moment… urgh?
In a flash.
A blade-shaped shadow surged up from the ground.
Divided into five razor edges, it targeted Yu Dahui’s neck, arms, legs, shoulders, and abdomen.
Whoa, that’s fast.
Yu Dahui jerked her body back.
She missed Kang Daehan in the process, but she avoided the shadow blades completely.
Wait… was she really trying to save him from the start?
“Prioritize evacuating the injured and students. We move fast.”
“Yes!”
She tilted her head slightly.
In the distance, about a dozen heroes appeared.
How had they not noticed our approach?
Hmm.
They looked strong.
Not security personnel.
“Ah… w-we made it….”
“Why… why so late…?”
“It’s Hero Oh Han-young, thank goodness.”
Aah, Oh Han-young.
I remember her as a mid-to-high rank shadow manipulator.
She worked at the academy security team after retirement.
She was already here?
This is…
Did we really waste this much time?
“If you surrender quietly, we’ll show leniency.”
“…”
Yu Dahui glanced over the security team.
A decent number.
Specialized in capturing villains, their skills were no joke.
All right.
Dealing with them all would take time.
I’d probably get injured too.
- Brring.
A message popped up.
From Isabel.
She was an observer-type anomaly user.
She could track someone once she recognized their presence.
I had instructed her to send messages every time she detected a target.
Isabel must have found someone again.
Yu Dahui checked the message.
Then…
- B-1 area. Northwest direction. Detected presence of one of the targets, Lee Siwoo.
“Hmm.”
Lee Siwoo…
Since he was the academy’s top student, I wanted to poke at him at least once.
If I stalled here any longer, the other heroes would swarm in.
So I had no choice but to ask the big guy.
“Hey, Mr. Ryan. Sorry, but can you handle this? I want to check on Siwoo.”
“…”
Ryan slowly nodded, his massive frame rising.
His hood hid his face, but his broad shoulders and muscles gave off an overwhelming presence.
Muscles flexed as if alive, like a macho bodybuilder.
“Then I’ll go ahead first. See you later.”
“Where… ugh?!”
Before Yu Dahui could move, Oh Han-young’s shadow lunged at her.
But a massive fist exploded from the darkness.
Whoa, with a bare fist?
It was just a single swing, yet it sent a tearing sonic boom.
The shadow shattered like clay.
A fierce gust whipped through, leaves and dust swirling wildly.
That was immense power.
“What… what is that?”
“What kind of power…?”
“Strength ability user?”
“That level is probably elite or higher.”
The security team murmured.
Excluding the white-haired girl, the intruders were mostly low-tier villains.
This giant didn’t seem like one of those.
…Oh. Ryan, the big guy’s name is Ryan?
Oh Han-young swallowed dryly and muttered.
“…”
The giant simply raised his right fist.
An inexplicable pressure filled the air.
Upon hearing the name Ryan Jones, several security members instinctively stepped back.
Is he really the Pulverizer?
An evil from a few years ago.
A monster who tore through a dozen mid-rank heroes with his bare hands.
As a strength-type, his power, endurance, and regeneration were off the charts.
He was almost immune to normal physical attacks.
Insanely strong, tough, and hard to kill.
Simple, but terrifyingly effective.
High-rankers had to join forces to capture him.
Exactly one year ago, a transport vehicle carrying the Pulverizer was ambushed and he escaped, but I never imagined he’d storm the Union Academy.
The Pulverizer probably didn’t have a grudge against the Union.
Why attack then?
“Team 2, take the injured and students and retreat. I and Team 1 will buy time.”
“…”
“Stay alert. That giant might really be the Pulverizer.”
“…”
I had no idea what he was thinking by attacking the Union with low-tier villains.
But one thing was clear—this wasn’t normal.
The Union Academy was the cradle of Korea’s heroes.
If the news spread that a major villain assault had hit this place, the public reaction would be explosive.
Especially if there were casualties…
Is it possible that villains of this level exist in greater numbers?
Low-tier villains might not threaten students much, but if white-haired girls and the Pulverizer were among them, the students’ lives would be in danger.
They weren’t the kind of villains students could casually fight.
***
“Heh heh… I’m just someone who had a good family… but…”
“…”
“Grown up spoiled in luxury, yet still so confident…?”
“…”
“Shut up and answer the question.”
By now, we had defeated all the villains.
We bound Kim Hwasung tightly with wire and were interrogating him.
Lee Siwoo slowly opened his mouth.
“How many intruders entered the exam site and what was their goal?”
“H-hah… I don’t know either.”
“What?”
“I didn’t really care about stuff like that in the first place.”
Lee Siwoo furrowed his brows.
“I don’t know exactly, but there were over a hundred, I think.”
“…”
“A hundred villains attacking in an organized raid? What was their purpose?”
“For me, it was simply to burn the hero hopefuls. I don’t know about the others.”
“…”
Lee Siwoo’s gaze grew colder.
“Heh heh. Kid, you should run away from here fast. A scary villain is targeting you.”
“…”
“As a low-tier nobody, I took you down with ease. You’ll regret it, kid.”
“…”
“So kid, if you don’t want to die, hurry… ugh!”
“Stop talking.”
Finally, Lee Siwoo struck the back of Kim Hwasung’s neck, knocking him unconscious.
I looked down at the unconscious Kim Hwasung and thought.
If this really was the Rebellion, their goal was probably to strike the Union Academy, instill fear and helplessness in the hero hopefuls, and spread chaos and anxiety in society.
Low-tier villains weren’t a big threat, but I had no idea how many Rebellion members were involved.
Rebellion members were all talentless freaks or monsters, the antithesis of the protagonist party.
Ah, damn. If this were the normal story, this event should have happened after the protagonist party grew stronger.
Why now…
Unlike the protagonist party who were still growing, these guys were already fully formed villains.
What if I faced them now?
Even in the training camp arc where they grew stronger, I couldn’t handle Rebellion members.
They were mostly middle-boss level or higher, so facing them head-on was hopeless.
Yu Dahui was definitely involved… and if she hated heroes, she’d probably target high-profile students first… so…
I glanced at Lee Siwoo.
“…”
Lee Siwoo.
The academy’s top student.
As the blood of the SL Group, he would be a good meal for Yu Dahui.
It was true in the game too.