Chapter 75
Chapter 75
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: What a Mess!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Ughhhh…."
Plopping down into her seat, Valkyrie let out a long sigh.
Domestic business trip. Academy instructor. Another trip to Japan. And even out to Ulleungdo.
Climaxing with a battle against an Apocalypse-Class monster.
Even for an S-Rank Hero, this was way, way over the line.
"Argh! If you're gonna make me work more, just kill me already! Kill me! I can't do it anymore! I want to rest!"
After storming into the Union Korea Branch and throwing a fit right in front of the branch chief.
To be precise, after rolling around on the floor with all her might and kicking up a fuss.
Valkyrie had finally—truly finally—managed to snag some vacation time.
It was only three days, but beggars couldn't be choosers.
Unless another Apocalypse-Class monster showed up to wreck a city.
Or unless one of the Seven Evils' heavy hitters started causing trouble.
Those three days of hers were untouchable, no matter who came knocking!
Ding!-
Come here.
"…."
Of course, that didn't make it entirely impossible.
"Argh! This old geezer for real! Does he think I'm some neighborhood stray?!"
She screamed at the top of her lungs about how tired she was, how exhausted.
But the next message silenced her completely.
Old man. At least give a heads-up on stuff like this.
Griping under her breath, Valkyrie hurried to get ready to head out.
She couldn't ignore anything involving the Smiling Man, after all.
That guy. That lunatic. Even thinking about it now, it's absurd.
When she'd first sensed another Apocalypse-Class monster, she'd braced for death.
Then the Smiling Man's presence had given her a slight sense of relief.
And when that blinding flash lit up the world, even she had shivered involuntarily.
It wasn't just her. The monsters had sensed something was wrong too.
They'd forgotten their foes and whipped around to flee in a panic.
"You're here."
"I'm here."
She put on a deliberately sulky face, and the Sword Saint chuckled.
"I heard you were on vacation. I didn't call you during busy times, so why the long face?"
"What the hell are you saying, old man? Why not call me when I'm working? Who in their right mind drags someone out on vacation and then asks why they're pissed?"
She was in the middle of sulking when she noticed something off about the Sword Saint's demeanor.
He was fiddling with his sword, and a strange sensation washed over her.
"…What are you planning?"
"Sorry, but could you take one hit for me?"
"You're insane. Don't tell me you called me here for that?"
Why did my dad have to get stuck with a crazy old coot like this!
Lamenting inwardly, Valkyrie hurriedly activated her Ability.
An S-Rank Hero's body was tougher than most tanks.
But the Sword Saint's blade could slice through a tank like tofu.
Above all, the words "take one hit" had come from the Sword Saint's own mouth.
This was the real deal. Let her guard down, and she'd be done for in an instant.
"You're not planning to go all out, are you?"
"You think I'd swing at full power?"
"Fair enough. Alright, I'm ready."
She thumped her shield with a thunk! thunk! to signal.
The Sword Saint seemed to settle into his stance…
"…!!"
Thwang!!-
Whoa, shit. Valkyrie had to curse sincerely in her mind.
For a split second, she'd lost sight of the Sword Saint's movements. They were barely visible.
A lightning-quick draw, unleashing the ultimate strike.
If she hadn't raised her shield in advance, she'd have been deeply gashed somewhere for sure.
"Hm."
"What's with that 'hm!'? To me, it looks like you could jump right back into active duty, old man. So why the dissatisfied 'hm!'? It's scary!"
"Compared to that guy."
"Who?"
"The Smiling Man."
Ah. That guy. The one who'd turned her shield to golden dust. Valkyrie replied.
"Speed and trajectory-wise, pretty similar."
"Hmm."
"Power's clearly different, though."
But that couldn't be helped.
The Sword Saint had obviously held back just now.
If not, her shield might've been cleaved clean in two.
"He said he had no interest in the sword."
"The Smiling Man said that?"
"What a guy. Never thought I'd feel rivalry toward some young punk at my age."
"That bad?"
Valkyrie had seen the Sword Saint's true ultimate technique as a little girl.
Even then, he'd already passed his prime, but he was still overwhelmingly strong.
She'd thought he'd just sit atop his perch, watching over the juniors forever.
Who knew he'd feel competitive toward a villain who wasn't even a hero.
"You felt it too, didn't you? The monsters did as well."
"…Yeah. First time I've seen Apocalypse-Class monsters flee that desperately."
"Why not pursue?"
"You know why. The ocean's the monsters' lair, not humanity's turf."
Valkyrie narrowed her eyes, and the Sword Saint laughed.
Too stingy over a little joke, he said.
"Care for some tea?"
"Just ice water."
After quenching their thirsts, the Sword Saint spoke first.
"I met with Representative Heo Chan-uk."
"…Who?"
"Heo Chan-uk, Representative. You don't know him?"
"No. Who talks about meeting the opposition leader like they grabbed coffee with a neighborhood gramps? So, what? Why'd you meet the opposition leader?"
"Asked him to keep an eye on Ulleungdo."
"Ulleungdo? Heroes are already deployed there."
"Not that."
The Sword Saint held out his phone. A video played inside.
After watching it all, Valkyrie sighed, "Whew."
These were people who made their living off tourists at a tourist spot, right?
Losing the tourists' trust would be the end of them. Did they not realize that?
"A thorough investigation will kick off soon."
"Looking forward to purging those parasites."
"And."
The Smiling Man, the Sword Saint continued.
"His rank is getting reevaluated."
"A bit late, isn't it? Thought it'd change right after Holy Knight died."
"Holy Knight's death had to be framed as a sneak attack somehow."
Villain, Smiling Man. Promoted from Highest Danger Class to Catastrophe Class.
What would he do when he heard?
What reaction? Obviously, haha! He'd just laugh.
…Huh? Wait a sec. That ID on the video uploader…
"This incident shook Union's position."
"Yeah. Smiling Man, and even the Clan boss. A holy site for heroes worldwide got saved by villains."
"Weather was the worst, but timely support was basically nonexistent. Even with heroic resistance on Ulleungdo, people prioritize victory."
The more people talked about villains, the more Union got provoked.
That was what worried both the Sword Saint and Valkyrie.
If there was something more dangerous than a wounded beast.
It was a human whose pride had taken a scratch.
The Papal See. The UN. Organizations aiming for pan-national influence.
They're "not happening" now, but they had potential at first.
Union believed the reason they crumbled was this:
The clear enemy in people's minds had vanished.
Heresy and demons. Gangster nations threatening world peace.
Once those lines blurred, they lost power in a flash and staggered.
So Union tried harder than anyone to paint villains as pure evil.
Monsters didn't listen to reason anyway, so no need to worry.
Perfect the remaining pillar—villains as devils—and it was complete.
One hand with heroes. The other clutching the banner of justice.
A massive organization that could even manipulate nations.
"…And now, just as our journey bears fruit, we've hit a massive reef."
"You mean the villain, Smiling Man?"
"It started with him, but he's not the only issue. Everything revolving around him is. People still don't fear villains like they did demons of old."
Ironically, that was because Union had strengthened heroes' power and authority.
People needed a stronger foe to blindly hate and rage against.
But in this great hero era, villains mostly lost.
Hero training systematized, raising the baseline level too.
"Looks like we need to enact that plan we'd been mulling over."
"You sure? Mess up, and it could blow up even bigger."
"If they start questioning heroes' existence and grow wary of Union, they'll dig up everything we've hidden. Then Union becomes just a profit-chasing group. No more position, no more justification—nothing."
The meeting leader's words drew groans from the others.
Discontent lingered, but no better ideas.
Hate trusting those bastards, but hate falling from here more.
Humans can't let go or step down from what they have.
Decades as the supreme pan-national authority.
Who'd go back to nothing now?
"No choice. Shift policy to provoking the 'Evil Brigade'."
"How far to indulge them?"
"Any heroes we absolutely need. Businesses and investments Union directly manages. Anything else is fine. Mass civilian slaughter, kidnapping and torturing low-tier heroes. Respond, but keep it subtle—no obvious weakness. Can't let the Brigade vanish."
Not the end. Some wanted more.
The truly depraved aimed beyond.
"Freeze over half the Evil Brigade's funding sources."
"Desperate ones'll rob banks then."
"Casualties from that? Even better."
"Delay hero alerts on raids as much as possible."
"Remember: Can't look like we can't respond! Union's useless rumor spreads, we're done!"
For perfect villain demonization.
Now, they'd use any means necessary.