Chapter 104
Chapter 104
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 104
Chapter Title: Try Barking
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“...”
Pssht!- Psssh!-
Massacre stared blankly at her right arm.
More precisely, at the spot where her right arm had been.
Red blood spurted from below her empty shoulder.
The flowing liquid pooled, forming a puddle.
Yet Massacre felt no pain at all.
Instead, a massive question dominated her mind.
‘Why... exactly?’
Why hadn't she realized this was all the Smiling Man's trap?
Why had she closed in for the kill instead of finishing from afar?
And why had she been so certain she'd won?
He wasn't someone to let her guard down against. She'd already seen his strength.
Right before her eyes, another of the Seven Evils—the Trickster—had died without even a scream.
Letting her guard down after witnessing that would make her nothing more than a stupid beast.
No. Even a beast wouldn't relax; it would flee.
“Ooh! How unsightly.”
Thud!-
The Smiling Man casually tossed the severed right arm he was holding.
He rubbed his hands vigorously on his clothes as if he'd touched something filthy.
Then, flashing a grin, he looked at Massacre and clicked his tongue.
“Looks like you've got a lot on your mind all of a sudden. I don't have a hobby of beating the disabled either. I'll send you somewhere else. Go think hard about it there.”
Swish!-
Mana Threads wrapped around Massacre's ankles, hoisting her into the air.
Then, with a mighty swing, they hurled her down, slamming her into the ground in an instant.
Boom! Crash!-
On top of losing her right arm, more injuries piled onto her body.
But still, Massacre's questions outweighed any pain.
Why had she fallen so pathetically? She'd fought plenty of battles before.
Why had she charged in emotionally without even suspecting a trap?
The illusion had long since ended. Why? How?
“...?”
Then Massacre turned her head at the presence she felt behind her.
“...Villain.”
The ones facing her were none other than four cadets.
Seo Ha-eun was first, her eyes blazing with hatred and rage.
Jin Seo-ah followed, drawing her sword, with Kang Yuna at her side.
Last came Louise, aiming precisely and waiting for her moment.
“Just as I thought. Villains really did invade.”
“Who's the opponent? Do you know which villain it is?”
“Does it matter? Who cares.”
It didn't matter who. All that mattered was that they were villains.
Her hatred for villains had seemed to fade a bit while encountering the Smiling Man lately.
But Seo Ha-eun's animosity toward villains was still immense.
And Jin Seo-ah, ambushed not long ago, felt the same.
“For all the members of the Jin family who lost their lives, we have to exterminate every last villain.”
“...?”
That girl with the sword over there—she looked familiar from the Jin family ambush.
Looking at Jin Seo-ah, Massacre realized she was the Sword Saint's granddaughter.
Just as she remembered her, they should remember Massacre too.
But Jin Seo-ah reacted as if seeing her for the first time.
And rightly so—Massacre's current state was unrecognizable.
She was a wretched mess, covered in blood and dust.
Having used her Ability extensively, her strength had waned greatly.
So to these mere cadets, she was unrecognizable.
At best, they'd peg her as 'one of the villains who attacked the police station.'
“...Hahaha.”
But to Massacre, it felt entirely different.
She hadn't imagined they wouldn't recognize her.
She took it as those vermin provoking her.
With one arm gone, she must look like easy prey.
“I'll kill you all.”
Dagger in one hand. Another dagger clenched in her teeth.
She closed the distance in a flash, not even considering letting them strike first.
‘F-Fast!’
Louise briefly lost sight of her movements.
From a bullet clan lineage. A gunner must always track their target.
Losing the target means failure. And failure means death.
Knowing that better than anyone, the moment Louise gritted her teeth—
Clang!-
“Grgh!”
A bit late, but Jin Seo-ah's sword blocked Massacre.
A cadet blocking a Seven Evils member. Utterly impossible.
But various circumstances made it possible.
Two arms against one. A clear difference in power output.
Next, the extent of injuries. Massacre had accumulated blood loss, fractures, and more.
This was why heroes rotated in shifts.
Even monsters struggled against cumulative physical damage.
Thanks to that, this absurd scene unfolded before them.
Scraaape!!-
Yet Jin Seo-ah was the one gradually being pushed back, not Massacre.
Even in perfect condition, Jin Seo-ah's opponent was a Seven Evils member.
A powerhouse on par with her grandfather, the Sword Saint, whom she respected most.
Even clashing like this for a moment was tremendous growth.
‘That battle helped a lot...!’
Still unaware her foe was a Seven Evils member.
Jin Seo-ah chalked it up to real combat experience and training letting her hold out.
And the courage and strength born of ignorance weren't hers alone.
“Get away from Seo-ah!”
Bang!-
The bullet bursting from the barrel hurtled toward Massacre's temple with terrifying speed.
Massacre slightly shifted her force, disrupting Jin Seo-ah's balance.
Jin Seo-ah's back now positioned squarely in the bullet's path.
Whizz!-
But the bullet veered sharply, like refracted light.
Then it targeted the opposite side of Massacre precisely.
‘Hit.’
The instant Louise was certain of the strike, she could only gasp in shock.
Clang!!-
She'd deflected her own Ability with the dagger in her mouth.
Incredible reflexes. Astonishing combat prowess.
Was the one they faced really just some ordinary villain?
She'd thought it was just a danger rating thing, but it was beyond that?!
Thwack!-
The moment Massacre blocked Louise's attack and tried to press Jin Seo-ah again.
A crunch from her jaw, her head snapping slightly to the side.
Kang Yuna's strike with a concrete-wrapped rebar swung at full force.
‘Got her good!’
The jaw is one of the human body's weak points. It can't fully absorb the impact.
The skull rattles, inducing concussion and sealing movement.
“...”
But Massacre casually turned her head and glared at Kang Yuna.
She shoved Jin Seo-ah away and switched targets to Kang Yuna.
Boom! Crash!-
“Urgh!”
Incredibly fast. Overwhelmingly strong.
As expected of a powerful villain. She still had much to learn.
The Smiling Man had only shown pity because she was weak.
‘...But that can't last forever.’
She was a cadet now, but she dreamed of becoming a full-fledged hero.
Cadets weren't incapable of beating villains.
If she had the resolve to make it happen!
“Duck, Yuna!”
Seo Ha-eun unleashed her rampaging Ability to its limit, landing a strike.
Massacre's left shoulder twisted unnaturally—the one she could still move.
This too would normally be impossible, but it was the Smiling Man's setup.
Her shoulder had cracked when Mana Threads slammed her into the ground.
Seo Ha-eun had struck it precisely, worsening the fracture.
“Gah!”
Right arm severed. Body covered in wounds.
These vermin showed no fear, charging relentlessly.
As she fell further on the defensive, everything felt alien to Massacre.
‘It was perfect. I'd read all his moves. How did it come to this?’
Crunch!-
Kang Yuna's strike landed squarely on her face again.
Even as she took the hit, Massacre instinctively counterattacked.
But slightly slow. Giving Kang Yuna room to dodge.
And gaining experience: ‘Attacking like this might lead to this counter.’
Stab!-
Jin Seo-ah's sword, gleaming coldly, pierced her side.
As her organs suffered, Massacre tensed her upper body fiercely.
Aiming to snap the blade, but lacking the strength.
Thanks to that, Jin Seo-ah learned a sword could be both strength and weakness.
‘...Ah.’
That Smiling Man bastard. Had he deliberately let her read him?
Yielding distance, yielding injuries. Making her drop her guard completely.
All to lure her into closing the gap herself?
Worse than a villain. Risking his own life without hesitation.
Crack!-
“Grk!”
The opponents were strong. Handling them alone was practically impossible.
Seo Ha-eun quickly accepted that and aimed for the next move.
She clung to Massacre's left arm like a vise grip.
Aiming to snap the joint, but even if not, it was fine.
She now knew she had friends. Comrades.
“Louise!!”
Perfectly suppressing the foe for a moment, aiming precisely.
Louise reflected on her brief misconception.
Heroes were certainly noble and just.
But the process was never honorable or perfect.
She'd thought cowardly, petty tactics were villains' domain.
But heroes had to do whatever it took to win too.
Right. Like this 4:1 fight—they had to embrace it gladly.
Bang!!-
The bullet left the barrel, perfectly targeting Massacre's head this time.
Point-blank. It would pierce her skull and through her brain.
Her first villain takedown. Probably a great experience all around...
“You vermin have no business getting cocky!”
Rooooar!!-
An unimaginable power erupted from Massacre's entire body.
Her body and mind at their limit had synced, causing her Ability to go berserk.
Utterly different from Seo Ha-eun's rampage.
A brief stat boost was all hers gave—but this turned her into a living bomb.
If hers just caused physical overload after time, this would collapse everything.
Thud! Thwack!-
“Kgh!”
“Agh!!”
“Guh!”
Kang Yuna, Seo Ha-eun, and Jin Seo-ah tumbled across the ground.
They'd thought they had her. Villains were villains after all.
As mere cadets, even this was inevitably tough.
“Ooh. My goodness.”
Clap! Clap! Clap!-
“You did far better than expected. All of you. Charging in blind is so efficient, isn't it? Well, closer to beginner's luck, but still.”
The Smiling Man approached slowly, clapping leisurely.
Mana Threads restrained Massacre, rendering her immobile.
“Smi...ling... Man...!”
“That's enough. Good work. My good little dog.”
He patted her head like one would a dog.
Then whispered softly into her ear.
“You've gotten more than enough experience points. I'd love to feed you more, but you'd just get sick. Besides, you'll grow on your own anyway. Sorry, but this is where we part.”
“Die... with... me...!”
“Ooh. One dog's death is enough for a dog's end, don't you think? People should die like people!”
Swish swish swish!-
More and more Mana Threads gathered.
Forming a massive thread cocoon around Massacre.
Just before it covered her face, the last thing she saw was—
“The Seven Evils lived up to their name. Whew, I nearly died myself. No joke—this is serious. So feel proud on your final journey.”
The Smiling Man, squinting slightly and giving a light wink.
As Massacre's body glowed red and the Mana Threads fully enveloped her—
“Farewell.”
With a gesture from the Smiling Man, the cocoon shot high into the sky.
A massive red explosion then blanketed the heavens.