Chapter 58
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: S-Rank Gate (5)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"..."
Jeon Il-seop was at a loss for words at the horrific sight unfolding below the hill.
The A-Rank heroes were either dead or had fled, and every last S-Rank hero had perished.
'And they couldn't even kill the Destroyer.'
It was the worst possible outcome he had imagined.
But there might still be a chance to turn things around.
'The Healer.'
Jeon Il-seop had heard about the Healer from Seo Do-kyung as well.
A Healer who not only restored one's abilities but could even bring the dead back to life.
That was precisely why he had handed over the Skill Stone stored at the Hero Association.
"The Healer... Can he even revive someone whose body has been blown apart like that...?"
He had wanted to ask if the Healer could revive someone whose body was more than half gone, but it was no use.
'Where did he go?'
The Healer, who had been watching the Destroyer alongside him just moments ago, had vanished without a trace.
Jeon Il-seop figured this damned Healer had taken his payment and run, but he didn't even have the luxury to vent his frustration.
"Jeon Il-seop!"
Because the Destroyer had called out his name and come charging right at him.
'Damn it.'
Jeon Il-seop was an A-Rank hero too, so he could fight if he had to.
No, considering the heroes who had died before him, he had to resist to the very end, but his body wouldn't move.
'What the hell is this pressure...'
The closer the Destroyer got, the more his body stiffened up in real time.
To be precise, his flesh and mind were overwhelmed by the Destroyer's ferocious pressure, spreading fear that left him unable to move.
"You pulled off quite the amusing stunt."
The Destroyer, who had closed the distance right up to Jeon Il-seop's nose, sneered cruelly as he spoke.
Jeon Il-seop looked up at the Destroyer, who towered over two meters tall, swallowed hard, and slowly opened his mouth.
"You... are not meant to exist in this world."
"Don't talk like you're speaking for the world, you piece of trash."
The Destroyer said that, then reached out his hand.
"And whether someone gets to exist or not? That's for me to decide."
Crack!
"Guh!"
The Destroyer's hand crushed Jeon Il-seop's shoulder like a cookie.
Jeon Il-seop grimaced in agony as the bones in his shoulder shattered to pieces, but he forced the words out anyway.
"Y-You tell me not to speak for it... but say it's up to you?"
"Because I have the right to."
With that incomprehensible reply, the Destroyer crushed his other shoulder as well.
He then shoved him over by the shoulders and stomped on his legs, pulverizing all four limbs.
"Jeon Il-seop. I'm sparing you. Watch and see what happens to this country because of your warped judgment."
"Hah... You think this country will fall just because of you?"
Jeon Il-seop brought up his country in what was almost his final act of defiance.
It was to make the Destroyer hesitate even a little, but the bastard just grinned as if it meant nothing.
"We'll find out soon enough."
With that, the Destroyer launched himself into the air and shot off somewhere.
Jeon Il-seop was certain the Destroyer would recover and start moving again soon, and rage boiled up to the top of his head.
'Now... now there's no way to stop the Destroyer.'
He had taken three special mana bombs and still effortlessly killed four S-Rank heroes.
Once he recovered, no amount of S-Rank heroes in Korea would be enough to take him down.
'If we had installed three special mana bombs...'
In any case, they had let the Destroyer escape, so the government would surely hold them accountable.
He could take the blame, but the Destroyer problem remained completely unsolved, which gnawed at him.
At that moment.
"He's finally gone."
The Healer, whom he had been searching for just moments ago, suddenly appeared and spoke up.
"Y-You! Where the hell have you been until now?!"
"Hiding. Or should I have died to the Destroyer too?"
It was obvious, but in that situation, the Healer hiding had been the right call.
Because they would need the Healer to revive those who died afterward.
"Then heal my body first."
"I got paid, so of course."
The Healer approached with unhurried steps that betrayed no sense of urgency and cast healing on Jeon Il-seop.
Flash!
A light seemed to bloom from the Healer's hand for a moment before Jeon Il-seop's pulverized limbs were restored to perfect condition.
"...!?"
The representative Healers in this world were those from the Geneva Cult.
Their healing worked by maximally boosting regenerative power, so aligning shattered bones was necessary first.
'But to heal like this in an instant.'
And no bone alignment was even needed.
It was as if time itself had been rewound, returning his body to normal.
"Incredible... More importantly, can you revive those dead ones over there too?"
"Guess I'll have to try."
The Healer said that and headed toward where the heroes' corpses were scattered.
Jeon Il-seop followed the Healer with an anxious expression and urged him to hurry.
"Aren't you being too laid-back?"
"No need to rush. As long as it's within five hours, I can save them."
"Five hours? So if we bring them to you within five hours, you can revive them."
"You planning to drag every corpse to me whenever someone dies?"
"..."
At the Healer's words, Jeon Il-seop realized the problem and shut his mouth.
If they brought a dead body and it came back resurrected, rumors were bound to spread.
'No, today's events will spread rumors anyway.'
The A-Rank heroes who fled.
Some of them had witnessed the deaths.
But if they saw those dead ones alive and well?
The rumors would spread like wildfire.
"Exactly. If word gets out, every bastard out there will come gunning for me."
"Good thing you're quick on the uptake."
The Healer left it at that and kept walking.
Jeon Il-seop felt complex emotions in many ways as he followed the Healer to the site of the carnage.
"Roughly ten dead, huh. Not worth the cost-benefit."
"You're calculating money even in this situation?"
"I figured it'd be over after healing two or three."
The Healer said that and first extended his hand toward Na Se-ha, whose head had been blown off.
"Complete Revival."
Flash!
Surprisingly, Na Se-ha's entire body was enveloped in light, and her missing head began to regenerate bit by bit.
"..."
Jeon Il-seop's jaw dropped at the unbelievable sight even after seeing it with his own eyes, but he made no sound for fear of interrupting.
"Ugh... ugh."
Once the regeneration finished and she was fully revived, Na Se-ha let out a small groan as she regained consciousness.
"What...? Did I just faint instead of dying?"
"No."
The Healer corrected Na Se-ha, who had mentioned fainting rather than death.
"You were dead. I just revived you."
"What are you talking about? You revived me after I died?"
"Looks like you get it. No issues then."
The Healer then moved on to Kang Ju-young, the next one who had died.
Na Se-ha stared at the Healer as she got to her feet and started asking about the revival.
"You mean you really brought me back from the dead? Is that true?"
"See for yourself."
The Healer replied as if even explaining was a hassle and revived Kang Ju-young the same way.
Flash!
Just like before, light enveloped Kang Ju-young's corpse, her head regenerated to its original state, and she soon regained consciousness.
"Uh... uhm?"
Na Se-ha watched the process of a truly dead person coming back to life and said it with eyes wide open, as if it couldn't be real.
"Insane."
Incredibly, he had actually resurrected someone who had died.
She had never even heard of a Healer with such an ability before.
'Seo Do-kyung paid 300 billion to bring him in, so I figured there had to be something special.'
But that it would be resurrection.
And she had even benefited from it herself.
However, even after reviving Kang Ju-young, the Healer frowned slightly.
"Now I see your body's in terrible shape."
With that, Kang Ju-young looked up at the Healer and spoke.
"...Wait. What the hell happened?"
"Revived your dead ass. And a bit of extra service."
The Healer used recovery healing to treat her minor wounds and injuries, even the eye she had always covered with an eyepatch.
"..."
Kang Ju-young stared at the Healer in shock from her prone position, feeling as if her body had returned to its prime.
"Hm. There's a curse too?"
"A curse...?"
Indeed, Kang Ju-young's body bore a powerful curse.
It was the vicious curse left behind by the dragon when she had slain it.
A curse that made wounds and injuries heal poorly and shaved off her lifespan bit by bit every time she circulated mana.
"Shall I take care of it?"
The Healer detected the curse and used his dispel ability as well.
Flash!
Then Kang Ju-young felt the curse that had been eating away at her body gradually fade away.
And with one of her eyes restored to normal as well, she blankly gazed at the Healer healing her with both eyes.
"All done. It wasn't much of a curse to begin with."
"Not much of a curse?"
It was a curse left by a dragon upon its death.
No Healer in the world had been able to dispel it, yet this one right in front of her had done it effortlessly.
"Wait. Can you heal and dispel for one more person besides me?"
At this, Kang Ju-young thought of one other person suffering from a curse and spoke up.
The nation's top hero even now, Joo Tae-ho, who had severed the dragon's life over a dozen years ago.
"Pass. Planning to go into hiding once this is over."
"Hiding?"
"Didn't you get it? Word of today will spread. If the Destroyer finds out, he'll come for me first."
The Healer said he would be in danger if the Destroyer learned those he had killed were coming back to life.
That was why he planned to vanish after today, leaving Kang Ju-young speechless for a moment as she fell into thought.
"..."
Indeed, there would be no one to stop the Destroyer if he came for the Healer.
Honestly speaking, even if Joo Tae-ho regained his full power, it was questionable if he could beat the Destroyer.
"Still... couldn't you help just one more time?"
"One time becomes two, then many more. But."
The Healer seemed resolute at first, but then he looked at Kang Ju-young's face for a moment.
In that gaze, Kang Ju-young read something akin to a familiar desire.
"Swear to become my woman as payment, and I'll help."
"Your woman?"
He naturally expected her to grimace and refuse.
But contrary to expectations, Kang Ju-young nodded as if it were no big deal.
"If that's all it takes, I accept."
"..."
This time, it was the Healer's turn to be at a loss for words.