Doctor Hetra (3)
“Ha-ha-ha-ha! No use putting on that calm act, Smile. I already know every last detail of your ‘condition.’”
Squish. Squish.
“Hiiik! Wh-why the hell is that monster Hetra in Korea…! B-but Smile’s here, so he’ll handle it somehow, right?”
“Y-yeah! Smile’s right next to us! …But what’s that guy been rambling about this whole time? Don’t tell me he actually believed that stupid rumor and came all the way to Korea…?”
Murmurs rippled through the crowd.
“…Ah, the one about Smile getting weaker? That rumor vanished the second they caught Justice’s killer a few days ago. Is this guy just slow on the news…?”
After the sudden villain attack—
Surprisingly little chaos broke out inside the Ability Management Department, home to Choi Na-yul’s research institute. A brief initial panic, then calm returned.
Doctor Hetra remained the kind of nightmarish villain whose name still sent shivers through China, a country that executed ability-user escapees on principle and was still hunting him with bloodshot eyes. Even after vanishing for years, everyone still knew who he was.
Yet fortune had smiled on them today: Smile had come to visit Choi Na-yul.
No matter how leisurely that foolish villain grinned while believing the baseless rumors about Smile…
Once the people here confirmed Smile’s presence at their side, there was nothing left to fear.
Whatever colossal danger might crash down upon them, Smile’s immediate vicinity had always been the safest place on earth.
KRA-KOOM—!!
“Huh…? Something feels off. Isn’t this fight dragging on way too long…? And looking closer, Smile almost seems to be getting pushed back a little…”
Yet that absolute faith and relief began to curdle into strange unease the longer the battle between Smile and Hetra refused to end.
“What? D-don’t talk nonsense! Hetra’s dangerous, sure, but there’s no way he can match Smile!”
KRAAA-KOOM—!
“Ha-ha-ha-ha! What’s wrong, Smile? Your fists aren’t what they used to be. Even if I’ve ‘evolved’ far beyond what I was thirteen years ago… the old you would never have left my body this intact!”
…What the hell? Why is this bastard so tough?
True, I was throwing every punch with the care of poking a tissue with a toothpick…
Yet even after landing blow after blow, he showed zero damage. If I had to put a number on it, his hardness sat somewhere between a rock-hard cookie and a piece of hardtack.
Among every villain I had ever faced, only Eternox possessed durability worth comparing to this.
Gloop. Gloop!
…The grotesque, octopus-like flesh that quivered and regenerated with every hit still lagged far behind Eternox’s recovery. But pure defensive power? This guy edged him out.
“Ha-ha-ha! Just how far have you fallen, Smile?! The you of the past was never this weak! Show me before you die—that miraculous form that once filled me with terror!”
KRAK! KRAAAK! KRAK!
Hmm. I distinctly remember him being soft and squishy like an octopus bun back then. He’s hardened up a lot while I wasn’t looking.
…At this point he was less octopus bun and more firm octopus sashimi. These toothpick punches of mine weren’t going to do real damage no matter how many times I stabbed.
Tsk. Cranking the power higher still feels risky… but if I keep stalling the people will start getting weirded out. Maybe just a tiny bit more force…?
KRAAA-KOOM—!!
While I weighed the risk of upgrading my toothpick to a fork, the octopus villain I had just punched across the room crawled back to his feet, still monologuing to himself on the ground.
Squish. Squish.
“Haaah…. Weak. You’ve grown far too weak, Smile. At this level I can barely even work up the mood for revenge. …Ah, you were once a masterpiece sculpted by the gods themselves. Yet after a mere dozen years… what a pitiful wreck you’ve become…”
He rose fully and lifted an arm lined with actual suckers, voice swelling as if delivering a stage monologue.
Squish. Squish.
“…Ah, how can the devotion of a hero meet so hollow an end? After burning that brilliant talent for so many years to save everyone, the only reward is that ruined body and the shallow trust of the rabble around you? Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!”
Finished with his private nonsense, he shot a sly grin over my shoulder—straight at the trembling Na-yul—and asked as if seeking her agreement.
“Haaah, don’t you agree…? Specimen R-28. …Ah, it’s Director Choi Na-yul now, is it? My finest masterpiece, the one who knows Smile’s secret.”
Murmurs erupted.
“Secret…? What the hell has this villain been babbling about this whole time…? What is the Director supposed to know…?”
“…He’s just trying to rattle us, right? Villains do that all the time. The real weird part is Smile still hasn’t finished him. …Don’t tell me eating people actually made him stronger than Eternox…?”
Tremble. Tremble.
“I-I don’t know anything…! Hic, hup…!”
…This was bad. The second that damned octopus face looked directly at Na-yul and spoke, her already fragile state since his arrival collapsed further. She was struggling even to breathe.
…I had almost forgotten, because she was normally so cheerful and playful. Years ago that madman had kidnapped her and subjected her to twisted experiments. Of course she would be terrified with him standing right there.
Haa… I was hesitating because I didn’t want to wreck the place, but I should just end this. …Watching Na-yul suffer like that is honestly harder to take.
…Fine. The ruckus he caused had already emptied the building of people.
If my fist happened to drop a nearby structure or two, so what?
That damned status window already twisted my heart every time I did something it disliked. Another day, another ache. If I slipped up and the pain hit, I would just grit my teeth and ride it out. Accidental property damage during hero work was one of the milder penalties that bastard handed out anyway.
Hoo. I’ve gotten pretty good at power control by now. Surely I won’t make any huge mistakes. …And since China executes escapees on sight, I don’t even have to worry about keeping this scum alive.
So before I sent the octopus head in front of me to the afterlife, I walked over to the spot where Na-yul—someone I had known for over ten years, practically an old friend even if we didn’t meet often—was still shaking. I carefully wrapped my arms around her trembling body and spoke to the girl clutching her chest, choking on pure terror.
“Haha! Nothing to fear. You don’t actually think a nobody like him could ever touch me, do you? I’ll thrash him just like the old days and come right back. You don’t have to worry about a thing.”
“Hup…. Y-yeah. Got it. I just… felt sick when I looked into his eyes all of a sudden…”
…Her face was still pale as death and breathing remained hard, yet the tremors gradually eased. Relieved, I turned so that not only Na-yul but every office worker from the institute and the Ability Management Department—plus the security team now arriving with weapons drawn—could hear me clearly.
“…Doctor Hetra. You’ve certainly grown stronger than before, yet the power you’ve piled up through those filthy crimes can never reach me, who has fought to protect everyone. The time has come to cut short your wicked life.”
I declared it in a ringing voice, face full of confidence.
The crowd erupted.
“Whoa! Smile’s about to finish him off! See? No way Smile was actually losing!”
“Right! He was just holding back until now! Smile always tries not to kill even garbage like that!”
“…Security team, all units hold weapons ready! As long as Mr. Smile is here, any intervention from us will only get in the way!”
Squish. Squish.
“Ha-ha-ha-ha! Magnificent, Smile. Even at the edge of death you still tell such pretty lies for those rabble.”
.
.
“…But even rabble deserve the right to know the cruel ‘truth’ about the hero who protects them, don’t they?”
Flash.
What…? Why is he…?
…At that exact moment, just as I was about to step forward and finish the octopus head even if it meant a little pain—
The bastard in front of me pressed a small button he had been cradling against his chest.
Instantly, every wristwatch-phone on the surrounding people, every massive advertising billboard on the nearby skyscrapers, and even the ancient smartphone in my own pocket—every electronic device capable of displaying video, regardless of size or quality—lit up at once.
And there, in perfect, merciless clarity, played the footage of me collapsed after eating pine mushrooms just days ago… complete with the completely unnecessary oxygen mask I had been wearing while unconscious.