Chapter 27
Chapter 27
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: The Commotion is Just Beginning
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“S-Rank Hero Valkyrie. Please come to the branch immediately.”
How long had it been since they dispatched her, and now they were calling her back already?
If Archangel hadn’t been there with her, she would have cursed up a storm—
“You were about to curse if I wasn’t here, right?”
“...Senior, did you learn mind reading or something? Or is it an Ability?”
Valkyrie let out a small grumble in disbelief before looking out the window.
This summons was probably about the incident at the Academy.
Officially, they’d say it was to discuss the Apocalypse-Class monster.
But Valkyrie knew the real reason.
Why else would the branch call only her and Archangel?
“Valkyrie.”
“Yes, Senior.”
“That monster... It wasn’t made by our kids, was it?”
“It’d be great if the cadets had done it. No, they didn’t.”
The branch had told her to keep it secret, but who were they trying to fool?
She was the treatment room director now, but Archangel was an S-Rank Hero just like Valkyrie.
A veteran who had once roamed countless battlefields, facing monsters and villains alike.
A monster was still a monster, even if it had only just entered Apocalypse-Class.
The idea that it got held up by cadets? Absurd. Unless they were just toying with it.
“It was a villain.”
“Do you really have a mind-reading Ability?”
“A monster wouldn’t only kill other monsters. If it had been a hero, you wouldn’t have stayed quiet. So there’s only one answer.”
But really, a villain did that? At Hero Academy?
Archangel looked baffled, and Valkyrie nodded in agreement.
She still couldn’t figure it out. Why was the Smiling Man acting like that?
If he was a traitor secretly persuaded by the branch, he wouldn’t have killed Holy Knight.
If it was an act as a fake collaborator, it felt too genuine.
He was an utterly inscrutable, bizarre man.
No idea what he wanted or what plans he had.
The one certain thing was that he was a villain who had helped heroes.
‘Especially Seo Ha-eun. The Smiling Man saved her twice...’
What if? No way. Nah, that couldn’t be. That’s just not right.
“What are you thinking about, shaking your head like that?”
“It’s nothing, Senior.”
As they chatted, the two heroes arrived at the Union Korea Branch.
Agents waiting at the entrance guided them directly inside.
No ID checks or formal procedures.
No one stopped them as they took the elevator straight to the top floor.
The awed whispers of “As expected of S-Rank Heroes” around them were just icing on the cake.
“Welcome. Hero Valkyrie. Hero Archangel.”
The branch chief stood from his seat to greet them.
This was no ordinary matter. For that strict old man to welcome them personally.
His secretary brought tea, and they exchanged brief small talk.
“Since you’re both busy, let’s get to the point.”
The branch chief set down his teacup and spoke in a heavy tone.
“The Academy incident will focus on the cadets’ brave exploits.”
As expected. Valkyrie nodded as if she had known it all along.
It would be the flashiest, most sensational topic.
An Apocalypse-Class monster that even A-Rank Heroes struggled against.
Young heroes who risked their lives to hold it back and buy time.
Social trust and prestige for heroes and cadets would soar even higher.
And the Union’s position would solidify further as a result.
“Not everyone will accept that quietly, Branch Chief.”
“We’ve prepared plausible reasons.”
How could cadets handle an Apocalypse-Class monster?
It had just risen from Catastrophe-Class, so there was a gap in power!
And they were all promising talents with exceptional skills!
But they soon fell into crisis, and that’s when Valkyrie appeared!
“—If we say that, the reporters will nod along obediently.”
Obediently, sure. They’d bribe or threaten as needed.
She knew many networks were already on the Union’s payroll.
The Union’s influence reached every sector.
It started to protect the world from villains and monsters.
But at some point, it had become the Union’s world.
Still, better than a world ruled by villains, she thought.
That’s why she went along with their incomprehensible demands.
She believed they still held the heart to protect people as people.
‘But now, I can’t even be sure that hasn’t changed.’
You don’t have to take lives to be a villain.
Killing souls. Wasting away body and mind.
All who commit such atrocities are villains and monsters.
Heroes exist to protect people from them.
“Branch Chief.”
The Smiling Man had advised her not to get involved.
No, warned her. As if he knew the Union’s true nature.
Valkyrie knew the Union had changed from its origins.
But being told to stay silent again stirred her resentment.
“It wasn’t the cadets who pushed that Apocalypse-Class monster to the brink of defeat. Nor was it me. I’ve told you this several times—why this conclusion?”
“A villain appearing in the middle of the Academy, attacking the monster, and saving cadets. Is there a story more chaotic for society than that, Hero Valkyrie?”
“That’s—”
“Good and evil must not be confused. Once it starts shaking, distinctions vanish, boundaries blur. Then the society that senior heroes built with their blood will completely collapse.”
How many heroes had died fighting villains?
Many of Valkyrie’s seniors, peers, and juniors were no longer in this world.
Half fell to monsters, the other half to villains.
“Unless every villain surrenders and pays for their crimes, there’s no reason to make such an announcement over one deviation. And they might have ulterior motives.”
“...”
“If they truly intended to turn over a new leaf, they’d come to the Union. What, do they think they’re Batman? At least that comic guy had a no-kill rule. But the Smiling Man is different. He’s killed numerous heroes, including S-Rank Hero Holy Knight! He’s an enemy of the Union and heroes to the end!”
Yes. That was the problem. Even Valkyrie acknowledged it.
The Smiling Man had killed heroes. He was undeniably a murderer.
Even if he helped cadets, his crimes didn’t change.
Whims from a villain. That’s how the Union saw it.
So they were declaring they wouldn’t play along with his intentions.
We remember what you did—don’t pull any stunts.
“Never mention villains. Hero Valkyrie, Hero Archangel. It insults all other heroes. And Holy Knight, who was once your comrade.”
Archangel agreed first.
The branch chief, satisfied, looked at Valkyrie.
Your senior’s like this—what about you?
“...”
For a moment, Valkyrie considered bringing up Holy Knight’s ugly side.
Asking what if she had proof.
“...Understood, Branch Chief.”
But she held back. For Seo Ha-eun’s sake, not her own.
The evidence didn’t just involve Holy Knight.
She needed Seo Ha-eun’s consent first.
It would cause a bigger stir if she revealed it.
Maybe that’s why the Smiling Man held her back.
“Speaking of villains, the situation has twisted strangely in several ways.”
He handed her a single sheet of paper, fresh intel.
Top: Level 1 Confidential.
Shared only among Union branch heads and S-Rank Heroes.
“There seems to be trouble inside the Clan.”
“Villains? Did they start killing each other?”
“Not quite, but similar.”
Valkyrie and Archangel quickly scanned the report.
Soon, both let out bewildered “Huh?”s.
“Branch Chief. This intel—is it solid?”
“Straight from Union HQ. Reliable.”
“So... The Seven Evils under the Clan all bolted? Not just defecting—they’re forming a new organization?”
Valkyrie and Archangel exchanged glances.
The current Clan boss being a villain was a given.
But they’d never massacred civilians.
They’d even declared heroes their main enemy long ago.
‘In contrast, the Seven Evils are insane murderers who kill heroes and civilians alike.’
‘If those bound to the Clan break free and form their own group...’
Extremely radical, brutal beasts forming a new pack.
What would happen next... was horrifying to imagine.
“Branch Chief. If this really happens...”
“Villain crimes against civilians will spike. In the most brutal ways. This is when we must raise awareness about villains. They’re beings you can never trust. Even a child could say it.”
Would that solve everything?
If the Seven Evils broke from the Clan and rampaged freely.
If they massacred civilians and took them hostage.
Could heroes remain noble agents of justice, saving everyone like before?
“I found trash by chance on the street. I threw it in the bin. I don’t see how that’s about grand purposes.”
For some reason, Valkyrie recalled the Smiling Man’s words.
And then, a somewhat—no, utterly foolish thought crossed her mind.
What if the Smiling Man helped...?
‘No, no. That doesn’t make sense. Anyway, the Smiling Man’s a villain—a villain! A self-serving one!’