Heroes Are Those Who Overcome Injustice (1)
The scene had entered a lull. The villain Lilith, transformed into a devil, had been obliterated by Dokkaebi's secret technique, and the mysterious Platinum Knight who appeared at the site vanished in a flash of light.
"......."
Only now did Baek Seolhui clench her fist, watching the Hero Association staff sorting through the collapsed debris.
Isn't it ridiculous to just stand here and get angry? If this had been Busan instead of Sejong Island, she would have rushed in to help people right away. But even though she'd come within 200 meters, Baek Seolhui couldn't get close to the site.
"Kyaa! Unnie, I'm a fan!"
"It's Snow White! The real Snow White!"
"Whoa... look at that white hair. I could die happy now."
The crowd swarming her because she'd come to check out the accident site.
- Snow White.
- I'm telling you clearly: don't act recklessly.
- Leave the cleanup to the underlings and maintain the dignity of an S-rank. Got it?
Because of the incessant texts from some old fogey higher-ups.
"......."
Baek Seolhui stayed silent. If she said anything, she'd just explode in anger, so she stuck to her concept—like her old moniker "Ice Princess"—and remained still. The crowd was chaotic enough, but there were too many things complicating her mind.
The Platinum Knight issue. Well, she could chalk it up to some unregistered hero. It could be someone who suddenly awakened their superpower before enrollment and showed up to take down a villain at a restaurant. As she checked new students during instructor duties, someone would eventually reveal that power and their identity. So, no real worry there.
The real problem was 'Dokkaebi'.
"By the way, how did Dokkaebi even show up?"
"Dokkaebi shows up anywhere. What's the big deal? It's just one or two days."
"He's popped up when bored before, but he's never appeared on Sejong Island till now."
"Who knows. Maybe his stalker came here."
The grating words brushed past Baek Seolhui's ears. She couldn't flatly deny it since she suspected the same. Currently, Snow White and Dokkaebi had formed a sort of 'rival' relationship. Partly because Snow White always let Dokkaebi slip away, and they'd clashed several times before, the public framed them as the classic hero-vs-villain, good-vs-evil duo.
"That Platinum Knight was seriously strong, right?"
"Probably the first knight to go toe-to-toe with Dokkaebi in close quarters? Even Snow White fights from range."
"Damn, S-ranks make it look casual, but it's straight-up chilling. I wanna fight like that for real."
"...Isn't Dokkaebi's rival the Gold Knight Lady now? Heh."
But another entity had stolen that spot. Someone who fought Dokkaebi more aggressively than her, refusing to back down and even threatening him.
And above all.
"Check this photo. Is this Dokkaebi's second form or something?"
"Better call it combat mode? He's always in a suit before. But this is totally... tactical combat suit vibes."
"If you made a powered suit look like Dokkaebi, it'd be exactly this. And holding those baton-like things in both hands? First time, right?"
"Means he hasn't even shown half his power till now. Scary bastard, Imae Mangnyang's Dokkaebi...!"
Dokkaebi's new form. Far stronger and faster than the suited Dokkaebi from before. And instead of his usual blunt, nail-less bat, the refined, sharp rods exuded elegance over brutality.
"The Gold Knight Lady must've been that strong to force out Dokkaebi's combat mode...."
"So is she Dokkaebi's rival now?"
"Who knows. How do we even know if she's a hero?"
"This is gonna be good. Real good. If he fights Snow White later without switching to combat mode, doesn't that make her look like a total fool?"
"......."
The chatter around her boiled Baek Seolhui's blood. Should she flip out? No.
Thud, thud.
Baek Seolhui pushed through the crowd. Stretching her hand toward the ruined restaurant, she—
What the hell are you doing?! Just stand back and look dignified! Don't you know how much hell it puts the lower heroes through when an S-rank like you plays savior?!
The higher-up's noisy voice blared. Of course, it only reached Baek Seolhui's in-ear comms, inaudible to the crowd—but it was loud enough to potentially echo everywhere if mishandled.
"Excuse me."
Baek Seolhui placed her hand on the Taeguk Watch.
"...Eat shit."
She cut the mana flow to the watch, then extended her hand toward the debris.
Shhh.
Her ice magic stretched out, shattering and sorting the rubble to clean up the mess.
No one dared say, Should an S-rank hero be doing this? Baek Seolhui's expression while tidying was too fearsome.
"Hmmm. Didn't expect this variable."
A young man in a red-and-black checkered modified hanbok scratched his cheek with a faint smile, a short distance from the site.
"Gave them a pretty potent devil seed as a gift for once, and it burst before it could even sprout properly."
The young man reviewed the numerous videos stamped on his Taeguk Watch.
"Secret technique, Grand Cross."
At least 17 clips from different angles. Dokkaebi gripped his bat with both hands, mana surging powerfully as he swung it wide, obliterating the devil without a trace in an instant.
"Interesting. Using a secret technique called 'Grand Cross' on Sejong Island. If it were me, I'd name it something like 'Midsummer Southern Cross'. Tsk. Is it true Dokkaebi's uncultured? Just using English doesn't make you American or British...."
The young man smirked at a statue in the plaza.
"Daring to name a technique in English on an island named after King Sejong, creator of Hangul. Teacher Juisung would weep. Their org's called Imae Mangnyang, yet their moves are in English. Tsk tsk."
He shook his head, clicking his tongue repeatedly. Then his Taeguk Watch buzzed.
"...Yeah, it failed. No responsibility."
[Responsibility? Just drawing out Dokkaebi was a huge win. Plus, that 'Unknown'—]
"What?"
[...That unidentified ability user is a bonus. A brand-new variable we didn't know about.]
"Right. New variable. ...Seemed beyond special-grade at least."
[S-rank.]
"Special-grade."
[Hey, you old fart. There's international standards, you know. Don't make up your own ranks—]
Click.
The young man snapped the Taeguk Watch shut. It rang again, but he ignored it.
"Truly tragic. Hearing anything but Korean spoken in Korea. And the saddest part...."
He glanced at a book in his bosom, twisting his lips.
"...Not a single yokai on our soil lacks 'absolute evil'.... Tsk, guess we have to import from abroad to make them go berserk properly. Sigh."
He sighed genuinely regretful.
"Gold Knight Lady, Dokkaebi, and even Snow White.... Heh heh heh. Yeah, a bit of adversity makes the game fun."
The young man turned and slipped away from the site.
"It's game on, Imae Mangnyang. I'll show you who the true pinnacle of evil is... Du Eok Sini."
Squeeze.
Wearing his modified hanbok and pressing down his hat, he vanished into the shadows.
And at that moment, somewhere in the hero dorms.
"Aaaah!!"
The blonde girl buried her face in her pillow, writhing.
"Aaaaah!!"
She screamed silently to avoid alerting others, but her sharp cries filled the room anyway.
Bam!
Yumir kicked off the blanket—not upward, but kneeing the neatly folded one like she was tormenting it—then punched her pillow and tore at her hair.
"Uwaaa...! How could I make such a mistake...!"
Her scalp red now, Yumir was crying. Not from sadness, but humiliation, tears streaming down.
"No one's ever seen it...! No one's ever shown it to anyone! Ugh, now I can never get married...!"
She'd shown her naked body to a man. To an enemy, the villain executor, no less.
"......."
Yumir sprawled out starfish-style. Clutching the black robe draped over her, she fiddled with it, biting her lower lip.
"Never again... I'll never transform to play hero and save people. Damn it...."
Why had she transformed? She hadn't even resolved this 'side effect' yet.
This drawback where clothes didn't return after transforming—
Yumir suddenly remembered why she'd transformed.
"Teacher!"
A man's worried voice. Yumir flipped over, bringing the Taeguk Watch close to her face.
"Yeah...! What about you, teacher?!"
"......!"
Yumir nearly bolted outside, then peeked inside the robe and grimaced.
"Um."
She scrunched her face.
"...Teacher, can we continue dinner another time?"
"N-no! Not that, or maybe it is...."
His utterly serious tone.
"...Yes."
Yumir admitted truthfully despite the shame, and a relieved laugh followed.
"......Yes. Thank you."
Yumir.
"...Auto-record."
Pulling out her smartphone, she quickly manipulated the app, looping a phrase on repeat as she closed her eyes softly.
I'm on your side, Yumir— -_-
"......Hee hee."