Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: Villain and Dud
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Staring up at that mockingly torn red sky was starting to get tiresome.
The gate had been open for 18 hours.
The city's doomsday crisis vibe had somehow turned into a campsite atmosphere.
Darkness and White King were scraping the last bits of caviar off their plates and rolling around belly-up. To think the villain's minions were slacking off like this!
Boom...!
Suddenly, a vibration shot up through my feet.
Boom...! Boom...!
"Wh-what is it?"
The water in the paper cups on the table rippled.
"It's a monster! It finally showed up!"
I jumped to my feet, ready for battle, scanning the surroundings... but the other heroes were still casually sipping their drinks. Goldie was even filing her nails.
"Hey! Get into battle formation! A monster's coming out!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The vibrations grew stronger. A massive silhouette began to emerge beyond the mountain. A colossal body blotting out the sky—at least 50 meters tall.
"Eek! It's the Attack Titan!!!"
A scream burst out of me before I could stop it.
"Everyone, evacuate! A titan is invading from beyond the wall!"
They all stared at me blankly, then exploded into laughter.
"Wh-what's so funny?!"
"That's Titan, Grimoire."
"Ti... Titan?"
Looking closer, that huge silhouette was definitely a humanoid giant.
Titan. The S-rank hero who could freely control his body size.
"Hmph! Of course this body knew that! I was just... testing your reactions!"
He approached step by step, shaking the ground.
"All the other regional gates have been handled normally. All monsters eliminated. What's the situation here?"
"Ahem! As you can see, with this body here, there were no issues at all! The monsters were so intimidated by my mighty presence that they didn't dare crawl out!"
"...Is that so? Good work."
Pfft...!
Goldie burst out laughing. I could see the other heroes biting their lips to hold back their snickers.
'If Everlin were here, she'd have saved me from this embarrassment...'
Titan shrank down a bit to a "mere" three meters, but he was still a giant.
"Oh, Titan. Care to join? We're in the middle of a game of One Card."
One Card? Hmph, childish game... but a chance to make up for that humiliation from the last round of Bang!
"Fine! This body shall join! Behold my genius card skills this time!"
Squeak squeak!
Squeak!
Oh ho, Goldie has a Joker... and the giant has no defense cards?
I could hear whispers from Darkness and White King in my ear.
Apparently, Titan's massive fingers made his cards fully visible. Even Goldie's hand next to him!
Kekeke...!
Perfect! This round is mine!
"Joker defense here! And take this Heart 7!"
"Mm."
"One Card! Ka-kak! Another victory for this body! As expected, I'm a genius at games!"
With help from Darkness and White King, I racked up win after win. The others shot me suspicious looks, but who cares! A villain doesn't need to play fair! Victory is always thrilling!
And so time passed—24 hours, a full day. I was drunk on my winning streak, while the others writhed in boredom.
This was truly the limit. How long was that damned gate going to stay open? I was starting to go mad missing Everlin.
That's when it happened!
Wooooong──!!
Suddenly, the gate began thrashing wildly! Red light blazed more intensely than ever, warping the space around it!
"!!"
The atmosphere at the scene shifted in an instant.
The heroes mid-card game, the soldiers chatting idly, even the meditating old scholar—all leaped up and gripped their weapons.
Titan rose to his feet and bulked up too.
Finally...!
Kraaaah! Kee-eeeek! Grrooooowl...!
The roars and cries from beyond the gate swelled to an unprecedented volume and ferocity. It sounded like thousands, tens of thousands of monsters howling at once! The ground shook, the sky thundered!
"Is it finally starting...?"
Bald Chairman Park Cheol-gon's voice trembled with tension. Everyone held their breath, eyes fixed on the gate.
This time it's real! An insane horde is about to pour out!
"Ka-kak! Finally showing yourselves, you cowardly monsters! Hiding all day from this body's majesty, mustering courage only now? Come at me! This body will handle you all!"
The gate vibrated like a balloon about to burst. Red energy surged, swelling as if it might rip apart any second.
Pop.
"...Huh?"
Did that just... go 'pop'?
With a deflating sound, the blazing red gate light faded in an instant. The massive energy vortex contracted sharply. Like air hissing out of a punctured balloon, the huge rift shrank rapidly and...
...vanished completely, as if it had never been there.
Silence.
Dead silence blanketed the scene. Everyone stared blankly at the sky.
"......?"
The colossal gate that had yawned open like it would swallow the world had disappeared without a trace in the blink of an eye.
"What? That's it? All that racket for nothing? Where are the monsters? Where'd they all go?! Don't disappoint this body!"
"...Energy depletion complete. Gate collapse confirmed."
Dr. Dark Circle was the first to break the silence. She tilted her head, staring at her tablet screen.
"This is weird... Really weird. The energy readings clearly showed a massive number of monsters waiting behind the gate. Scale-wise, it was definitely the largest monster wave in human history... but it fizzled out like this. It's like... something inside sucked up all the energy at the last moment. I've never seen anything like it."
It self-destructed from within?
Or could it be... this body's Gray Matter destroyed the gate from the inside?! Urgh! Of course! My hidden power activated on its own again!
Kekeke... Can't be helped. This body is just too strong!
"Hmph! As expected, Korea can't be trusted! Pulling off such a lame show! Swap the gate measuring device for a made-in-Japan one!"
The high school girl snorted.
"Heh heh, this is surely proof that the vital energy of the Korean Peninsula still lives and breathes. The heavens have blessed our Korean people, warding off the threat on their own! Let us all offer grateful prayers to the sky with reverent hearts!"
The old fart scholar spouted nonsense again.
"Anyway! Crisis averted! Dodged a headache, so that's good. Everyone, good work! Disband now!"
Bald Chairman Park Cheol-gon waved his hand dismissively and ordered disbandment. He hurried into the command tent without looking back.
"All personnel, clean up the site immediately and prepare to withdraw! Relevant departments, submit reports on this incident ASAP! Heroes, you all did great too! You're free to head back!"
With his command, monitors powered down here and there, equipment got packed into cases. The heroes and soldiers, tense for over 24 hours, finally sighed in relief and gathered their gear to disperse.
...What? Is this really the end? So anticlimactic.
I stared blankly up at the sky. Where the gateway to catastrophe had loomed moments ago, now only peaceful blue skies and white clouds drifted.
I slumped dejectedly on a rock and grumbled to Darkness and White King.
"What is this? It was this body's chance to shine! And I was planning to betray them all villain-style while the heroes were worn out from fighting!"
This was a total flop.
"Annoying! So annoying! This is infuriating! We wasted all this time! What kind of idiot opens a gate and doesn't send out any monsters?!"
I kicked a small pebble in a rage.
To waste my precious life time like this—where could I even vent this anger!
Squeak squeak-
Darkness and White King patted my leg with their tiny paws.
"Thanks, you guys are the best minions. This body should head home now and eat the dinner Everlin made. Today's disappointment was huge... Yeah! I'll demand a super deluxe special dessert from Everlin! Something super sweet, loaded with cream!"
I slung my small backpack over my shoulder and started down the mountain path.
I hadn't gone far when—
Peep?
A cute cry came from somewhere.
I stopped and looked around.
"What? Who's there?"
Darkness and White King scanned around too, searching for the source.
Peep...
The cry came again, closer this time. I took a few steps toward it.
Something moved behind a big rock. A small pink thing twitched faintly.
'What is that? A monster?'
I crept up cautiously and peered behind the rock.
There was a little pink slime. Jiggly and round like jelly. About the size of a tennis ball, its slightly transparent surface glimmered pink from within.
"Huh? What are you? Did you come from the gate?"
The slime flinched at my voice, then slowly approached. Its movements looked weak, body wobbling unstably.
"Hungry? But you look awfully weak for a monster?"
Peeeep-
I tentatively reached out and stroked the slime. Squishy and softer than I'd imagined—like the softest jelly in the world.
"No need to fear this body! I'm the world's strongest villain, but I don't make a hobby of bullying weak, pathetic things like you! A true villain helps the weak and crushes the strong... Wait, no, that's a hero... Um..."
Ignoring my confused mumbling, the slime kept signaling hunger.
"Hmm... Hold on. Let me see if I have anything to eat..."
Rummaging in my pocket, I pulled out a chocolate bar I'd "borrowed" from Dr. Dark Circle.
"Ah, this! This is Dr. Dark Circle's... no, this body's chocolate. I'll share some specially!"
I set the chocolate in front of the slime, and amazingly, it absorbed the whole thing—wrapper and all—in one gulp.
"Whoa! You must've been starving. Eating the wrapper too!"
After the chocolate, the slime's pink glow brightened, and its body doubled to softball size.
I touched it again. Now firmer and more elastic.
"Wow, so squishy. Fluffy but chewy!"
Peep peep!
The slime rubbed against my hand, showing affection.
"Hm, cuter than expected. This body doesn't usually like cute things... but you're a special exception!"
Looking it over, I grew worried.
"But you're so small, no attack power... You'd have a hard time surviving in the wild, huh?"
Weak monsters don't last long in this world. Plenty of predators, and if humans find it, it'd end up as an experiment.
"A frail thing like you might get eaten by stray dogs or deer..."
I pondered. Leaving it here, it'd die soon for sure. The thought tugged at me.
"Alright! This body will protect you specially!"
This world is harsh—only the strong survive. The weak need protection.
"Now choose! Come with this body? Or die alone in this harsh mountain? I'm offering you a chance to become Great Villain Grimoire's minion!"
Peep peep peep peep-!
The slime bounced joyfully, crying louder. Clear agreement!
"Good! From now on, you're 'Squishy'!"
My bold declaration made the slime glow brighter pink with joy. It bounced at my feet happily.
"Squishy! I acknowledge you as this body's third minion! You'll join my world conquest plans from now on!"
Squeak-?
Darkness and White King eyed the sudden pink intruder warily, prodding it cautiously with their tiny paws.