Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: The Villain's Fall
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Another day began.
At 3:30 a.m., right on schedule as planned the day before, Kang Hyunwoo opened his eyes and kicked off the day with an even more intensified routine than yesterday.
150 push-ups, a tasteless meal of chicken breast, and five and a half hours of grueling training.
He patrolled his district as usual today. He cleaned up an illegal dumping site and planned to keep watch next on a vacant lot where trucks were secretly disposing of construction waste.
"Another peaceful day, just like always."
His voice carried a mix of relief and an odd sense of emptiness. By now, he knew all too well that saving the world was never as glamorous as it seemed.
That was when it happened.
Weee-oooong—!
A blaring siren echoed throughout the city.
Beep—beep—beep—
Then an emergency alert rang from Hyunwoo's smartphone.
A glance at the Hero Association app revealed a map of nearby heroes. A single blue dot—himself—within a 3km radius of the red danger zone.
'I'm the only one here.'
His mouth went dry. His heart began to race.
A C-Rank monster. That was a threat far beyond the capabilities of a D-Rank hero like him.
'Can I even handle this?'
His mind raced. Taking on a beast like that as a D-Rank was suicide... but...
It would take at least ten minutes for a higher-rank hero to arrive. How many civilians would be in danger during that time?
'The people are at risk.'
'Someone has to do something.'
'Right now, I'm the only hero here.'
Hyunwoo took a deep breath. And he resolved himself.
"Justice will always prevail."
There was no more hesitation.
A hero had to rush toward danger when people were in peril. That was the image of heroism he'd always dreamed of.
He repeated the mantra to himself as he sprinted toward the eastern shopping district.
By the time he arrived, chaos had reached its peak.
Flames devoured several shops, and people screamed as they fled.
And at the center was the monster.
The C-Rank monster, Flame Boar.
It was the size of a small truck, a massive boar with a mane of roaring flames along its back and neck. Everywhere it passed, the asphalt melted.
Hyunwoo steadied his trembling legs. He closed his eyes, drew in a deep breath, and exhaled slowly.
Then he adjusted his mask and took a step forward.
"D-Rank Hero Endure, reporting for duty!"
A few nearby civilians turned to stare at him in shock.
"A D-Rank?"
"Endure? Never heard of him..."
"How's a D-Rank supposed to handle a C-Rank monster...?"
He ignored the whispers. His task was clear.
"Everyone, this way! Head to the western exit, now!"
He shouted to the civilians. Guiding the panicked crowd to safety was his top priority.
"Run to this exit! If you can walk, help the elderly and weak!"
He searched shops for hiding survivors, rescuing them one by one... two by two... leading them to safety.
"I'm looking for my child! I can't see my kid! She's a five-year-old girl in a red dress!"
Hyunwoo scanned the area urgently. At last, he spotted her: a little girl in a red dress, huddled and crying in the corner of a small playground.
The problem was that the playground was right next to the Flame Boar.
'That child...'
No time to think. The Flame Boar was slowly turning toward the playground. The girl was in danger.
Hyunwoo looked around. He grabbed a trash can and hurled it at the monster's head.
Clang!
The trash can struck true. It wasn't much of a threat, but it was enough to draw attention.
"Hey, pig! Over here!"
Grunt?
The monster slowly turned its head, glaring at Hyunwoo. Sparks flew from its eyes.
"Run! Go to your mom!"
At his shout, the girl ran crying in the direction he'd indicated.
Now it was just Hyunwoo and the Flame Boar.
Groooar—!
The Flame Boar bellowed and charged at Hyunwoo. Embers from its burning mane set the surroundings ablaze.
'I just need to buy time. Until a higher-rank hero arrives...'
He barely rolled aside, dodging the first attack. His training paid off in that moment.
Hyunwoo glanced around again. The civilians seemed to have all evacuated.
'Good. Now I can focus purely on survival.'
The Flame Boar charged again. This time, he couldn't fully evade. Its flaming mane grazed his jacket.
"Argh!"
His jacket caught fire. Hyunwoo quickly stripped it off and continued the fight in his half-burned T-shirt.
He grabbed debris from around him and threw it at the Flame Boar—trash cans, sign fragments, bricks... anything he could wield as a weapon.
Huff... huff—!
Suddenly, the Flame Boar inhaled deeply. Tiny embers sparked from its nostrils, and then...
Whoosh—
A massive fireball hurtled toward Hyunwoo.
"Since when do boars breathe fire?!"
He dodged just in time, but the heat washed over his back. He felt his skin blistering.
Flames seared his flesh, every nerve screaming in agony.
'I have to endure... I'm Endure, after all...'
But his body was reaching its limit. The pain of burns and fatigue in his legs weighed him down. The stench of burning flesh assaulted his nose.
The Flame Boar charged once more, faster this time.
Bam—!
The monster's head slammed into Hyunwoo's chest head-on. He flew several meters before crashing into a wall.
Pain flooded his body. Several ribs were definitely broken.
He slid down the wall and collapsed limply to the ground. His body was scorched by fire, blood seeping from wounds everywhere. Blood trickled down his face, blurring his vision.
'Move... please, move...'
He desperately commanded his body, but it refused to obey.
The Flame Boar approached slowly. Hot steam rose from its burning mane.
'Is this... the end?'
Lying on the ground, Kang Hyunwoo reflected on his life.
First came memories of the orphanage—a miniature society where the strong trampled the weak.
He was ten. On a rainy day, behind the orphanage in the garbage dump, he met his destiny.
A hero comic book discarded in the trash heap.
Soaked by rain, pages stuck together, the hero's face blurred beyond recognition. But beyond the faded art, the speech bubble stood out clearly.
'Justice will always prevail.'
From that day on, Hyunwoo's life changed.
No matter how much he was beaten, bullied, or starved, he endured steadfastly.
Endure... Just hold on and bear it. That was his life.
Pushed aside, exploited, and beaten down, he lived on with a calm, innocent faith that tomorrow would be better.
'I thought if I just endured and worked hard, everything would work out.'
Dozens of pages of self-introduction essays for the hero exam, achievements from subduing petty criminals, the day he barely passed the association's test, the joy of receiving his first D-Rank hero uniform, endless stamina training, and the mantra always on his lips: "Justice will always prevail."
All of it ending in vain.
Hyunwoo suddenly felt like laughing. How pathetic. It was a perfect end for someone who knew nothing but enduring.
Yet he found a small comfort too.
'At least I saved the civilians. Yeah... that's enough.'
Even if he died here, the child would have made it safely back to her mother.
Lying on the burning asphalt, Hyunwoo felt a profound sense of liberation, as if a heavy burden had finally lifted.
No more enduring. He'd endured enough.
The thud of the Flame Boar's hooves grew closer, the heat of death approaching.
Hyunwoo squeezed his eyes shut.
'Justice will always prevail...'
Even if he faded away, justice in the world would go on.
The only regret was that he wouldn't have a place in it.
And soon—
"Eek!"
Suddenly, a girl's scream from the sky.
BOOM!!!
A massive impact shook the ground with vibrations.
Hyunwoo snapped his eyes open in shock.
Instead of the expected pain, the Flame Boar's massive body lay crumpled before him.
A hole pierced the monster's chest, its flaming mane flickering out. The threat that had scorched the streets was now just a boar carcass.
'What... just happened?'
Beyond the corpse, he spotted something even more absurd.
"It's dark down here! Is anyone there? Get me out quick!"
There was a girl, buried up to her upper body in the ground like a carrot, flailing her legs.
"The great Grimoire, stuck in the dirt like this! Unacceptable! It ruins my evil villain image completely!"
Hyunwoo gaped, forgetting the pain of his burns and fractures.
"Ugh! You stupid pigeons! When I get back, I'll ship you all to KFC! Turn you into pigeon chicken!"
His mind went blank. If he'd heard right, this girl was the new hero from yesterday's news: "Great Grimoire."