Chapter 116
Chapter 116
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 116
Chapter Title: The Tragedy of London
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Hero Academy in Korea, welcoming summer vacation.
"Gah."
Jin Seo-ah collapsed onto the grass with a scream.
Kang Yuna stroked her back sympathetically.
"You must be exhausted."
Jin Seo-ah lifted her head at Jeong Ye-bin's question from where she sat beside them.
"How long has it been since our vacation started?"
"Just a week. Yeah, exactly one week."
"Only a week.... God. I'm dying.... I'm going to die...."
The Sword Saint's recent visit to the academy had become quite famous.
He had been extremely cautious, lest his granddaughter receive special treatment.
Yet he broke his own rule and came to the academy in person.
The reason? He wanted to start special training for his granddaughter as soon as possible.
With exams over anyway, he figured they could begin immediately.
'Other heroes were jealous when they heard about the Sword Saint's special training.'
Especially those who wielded swords, influenced by the Jin family.
They wanted to join the training if possible, or at least observe.
But this was the sword bestowed upon his granddaughter by the head of the Jin family.
It was regrettable for them, but permitted only to Jin Seo-ah.
For the person in question, though, there was no training more horrific than this.
"He's definitely my grandfather. But he doesn't feel like one. He pushes so hard every time that I thought I'd gotten used to it.... But after one day of training, my mind completely changed."
"If you're saying that much, the Sword Saint must be training you very harshly."
"It's beyond harsh. He tells me to become like the Smiling Man.... As if that's easy...."
This wasn't exaggeration. It was an utterly objective assessment.
The Smiling Man was the one who had slain an Apocalypse-Class monster with his sword.
They thought he was all about mana threads, but he had hidden something else.
Even more shocking was that he had surpassed mana threads.
What if the Smiling Man had operated solely with the sword, without mana threads?
"And one day, he promised it was a rest day, but then told me to receive his sword?"
"Ah. So that's why you're here like this...."
Jin Seo-ah had been venting about how tough it was for a bit longer.
Then, as if just remembering, she looked at Jeong Ye-bin.
"Yuna's staying here briefly for her next sidekick mission, but why are you at the academy, Cadet Jeong Ye-bin?"
"Well. In case the Smiling Man shows up."
"...Ah."
Jeong Ye-bin was from the Hwiun family, the owners of the company. It clicked immediately.
After the Smiling Man's full-scale activities began, the biggest beneficiary was...
Omega Coffee, which had long been stuck in second place among domestic coffee chains.
Thanks to the Smiling Man, it snatched first place in just three months.
This was just the beginning. His "favors" continued afterward.
He kept showing himself using Hwiun Electronics products.
Especially at the most decisive moments, exposing the Hwiun logo.
When he hunted the Apocalypse-Class monster on Ulleungdo and saved people.
When he spread the video exposing the Union's misdeeds to the world.
Thanks to that, Hwiun gained tremendous global recognition.
The massive corporation was now vividly etched in people's minds worldwide.
The impact on corporate profits was enormous.
A man walking his own path with his own justice and convictions.
The products he favored? What an incredible story!
"Some executives at Hwiun are even waiting for the Smiling Man to appear, if you exaggerate a bit."
"With the Smiling Man vanishing again, they must be on edge."
To Kang Yuna. To Jeong Ye-bin. And to Jin Seo-ah herself.
Whether intentional or something he didn't even care about.
They had no way to know, but one thing was certain.
At some point, they had all been greatly influenced by the Smiling Man.
The tall man had become their signpost. Their ideal they longed to reach.
"Is Cadet Seo Ha-eun training again?"
"Instructor Valkyrie promised to give her special attention."
True to their conversation, Seo Ha-eun was being looked after by Valkyrie.
There were several reasons the three cadets were unaware of.
Seo Ha-eun's parents were seniors Valkyrie had known reasonably well.
A sense of debt, having to atone for Holy Knight's sins as a comrade.
And crucially, a personal request from the Smiling Man himself.
In any case, all four cadets were spending busy times like this.
At the center, knowingly or unknowingly, stood one man.
"I wonder if Louise made it to the UK safely. She said she'd let us know right away."
"Yeah. Maybe she's just really busy."
Jeong Ye-bin was about to chime in to Jin Seo-ah and Kang Yuna's conversation.
Bzzz!
"Hm? One sec."
Jeong Ye-bin's face hardened as she checked her phone.
Sensing something ominous immediately, Jin Seo-ah asked casually.
"Something wrong?"
"Cadet Louise. She went back to the UK, right?"
"Yes. I heard she was going briefly during vacation. But why...?"
That was it. The two cadets couldn't continue.
They had seen the screen Jeong Ye-bin held out.
"W-What is this...?"
"This is London? That capital of the UK, London?"
Flames and smoke rose everywhere, people fleeing.
Approaching from behind were unmistakably Britain's heroes.
Since monsters and villains appeared, cities being attacked had become commonplace.
At first, people talked about the end of the world, but humans are animals of adaptation, after all.
As heroes became systematized and stable, people gradually adapted.
Evacuate quickly when a monster appears. Hide in bomb shelters when villains show up.
No matter how horrific the enemy, familiarity sets in with repetition.
In that sense, the London incident was incomparable to anything before.
"Gah! W-Why...."
"W-What the hell! Why are you doing this!!"
"Snap out of it! Heroes of Britain!"
If they were corpses, they would have tearfully granted them rest.
If hallucinating, they would have broken it somehow.
If blackmailed, they would have negotiated.
But nothing worked. They wanted nothing.
The proud heroes of Britain who had protected citizens until recently.
Now, they had completely lost their reason.
Their forms were human. They were still heroes.
But their actions were exactly like the monsters they hunted.
What an ironic, miserable spectacle.
"Subdue them! I don't know the reason, but they're no longer your comrades or our heroes. Subdue them by any means!"
"We'll try, but what if civilian casualties are inevitable?"
"Then...."
With blood in their mouths, the order came from above.
"If impossible, kill them.... Kill them. That's fine."
"...!!"
Heroes are the most precious human resource worldwide.
Even ordering their deaths had come to this.
But it was no easy task. The situation remained grim.
They rampaged in destruction, forgetting who they were.
Yet they were just people, no different from this side.
If monsters, perhaps. If infamous villains, maybe.
But comrades they fought with side by side, turned like that? Kill them outright?
Regrettable, but humans can't be that cold.
They gritted their teeth to subdue, desperately trying to restore them.
"Ngh!"
"Hold on! A bit more and we can subdue them!"
From reluctance to kill comrades. From hope they could be fixed.
The remaining heroes struggled to capture them alive.
Even that was hard. They weren't ordinary people.
They used abilities. With power far greater than before.
C-Rank outputting B-Rank strength. B-Rank showing A-Rank might.
At this rate, other heroes would fall too.
Finally, the British Prime Minister made a decision and broadcast it.
"Before they bear the disgrace of harming citizens further. By your hands, who were their comrades. Grant them an honorable end."
Capture if possible. Subdue somehow.
But if they threaten civilians, kill them.
They, no longer heroes, would want that too.
Protect their honor by any means.
"Uwaaa!! Damn it! Sorry!!"
Heroes killing heroes.
The Tragedy of London was reaching its peak.
Never waver, no matter what's beyond the barrel.
Some dismiss guns, saying even children handle them easily.
But looking ahead, steadying breath, pulling the trigger.
Those actions hold agonies they can't comprehend.
Bang!
The bullet flew with the gunshot, bending at bizarre angles.
First hit the thigh. Next the shoulder. Last the abdomen.
'Movement restricted, but with treatment, no threat to life.'
Avoided major vessels and organs as much as possible. They wouldn't die.
Please just collapse and stop moving. Please.
"Ugh...."
They felt pain. Falling forward.
Groans escaped lips, spasms at wound sites.
"Ugh!!"
But the hero unleashed abilities wildly anyway.
A massive flame engulfed and incinerated an entire building.
Evacuation complete, no casualties, but the city crumbled.
Too many early heroes down for rescue or suppression.
Numbers short, bigger issue separate.
The pressure of harming comrades fought beside until yesterday.
If betrayed and turned villain, anger at least.
But no. Bodies and minds seized.
They wouldn't want this. How to kill them?
In the end, the Hero Department issued the order.
Louise, as a volunteered cadet, had to carry it out.
Hoo. Steady breath, aim at approaching hero.
"...Ah."
Of all people. The hero from the hospital.
First to deploy when the monster appeared.
Britain's hero who fought desperately for citizens.
Now, she had to shoot and kill him.
No glory in this death. No sacrifice. Nothing.
Just futile, miserable, absurd.
And she, of all people, had to deliver it.
Tremble-
Finger wouldn't hook the trigger.
Shoulder against stock shaking, breath unsteady.
The face beyond the barrel crushed her heart.
Have to. Must. Can I?
"Didn't I tell you?"
Someone beside clicked tongue, wrapped her shoulder.
Then large hand covered Louise's eyes.
So she wouldn't see the heroes' miserable fates.
"Ah...."
She turned her head. There stood the Smiling Man.
"There's no way."
The Smiling Man wasn't smiling at all.