Chapter 85
Chapter 85
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 85
Chapter Title: Cataclysm
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“Dispatch order, Valkyrie!”
“Wait a second!”
She sends out the A-Rank heroes moving with her first.
Valkyrie clutched a memory card in her hand, saying she'd follow shortly.
This thing the Smiling Man had given her contained something enormous.
The S-Rank hero Holy Knight, who had been about to commit unspeakably heinous acts.
The Union, trying to cover up and conceal everything related to his death.
The moment this was released to the public, the world would be plunged into shock.
It would be the unmasking of the heroes people had believed to be comic-book saviors.
She absolutely didn't think it was just Holy Knight's personal deviation.
There was even a chance victims or associates who had been silenced would come forward.
Evidence that could spark the self-correction Valkyrie had so desperately wanted.
But following the Smiling Man's advice, she hadn't released it.
The first thing that would happen if this video spread was that Seo Ha-eun could get hurt too.
The footage had been edited so she wouldn't appear in it.
However, investigating the incident would eventually reveal the full story.
Undesirable attention might focus on Seo Ha-eun.
Next, as the Smiling Man said, the Union's influence was still too strong.
Though she knew the corruption was worsening, only a tiny few did.
The billions around the world still accepted the Union as the Hero Alliance.
They believed it fully supported heroes and contributed to world peace.
Attacking the Union could turn the entire world against them.
Without thorough preparation, they'd be painted as the villains instead.
‘That's why you've stayed silent despite knowing everything until now, right? But why...’
Just yesterday, Valkyrie had come face-to-face with the Smiling Man.
He appeared without a sound. She thought her heart would stop.
“Hero Valkyrie. The time has come.”
“The time has come? Don't tell me this is a sneak attack?!”
“Hahaha! If it were a sneak attack, I wouldn't show myself so openly, would I?”
“Or like those weird villains, boldly picking a fight!”
“That was a fun joke. Now, let's get to the point.”
She had a tiny bit of expectation. And worry too.
If she fought the Smiling Man, who would win?
“The gift I gave you last time. Release it tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow? Pinpointing tomorrow specifically is pretty suspicious.”
She said that, but inside, she thought the moment had finally arrived.
From what she'd seen so far, that Smiling Man was no ordinary guy.
He seemed like a maniac doing whatever he wanted, like other villains.
But looking closer, he moved according to meticulously laid plans.
If that Smiling Man came and said something like that?
It meant the time had come. For the strike against the Union.
“Smiling Man. Let me ask one thing.”
“Don't bite too hard! Hahaha!”
“...Can't you skip that trash line?”
The Sword Saint had once given his assessment of the Smiling Man.
Strong, free-spirited yet disciplined.
If he weren't a villain, he'd have been tempted enough to lose sleep over him.
But that guy's weird dad jokes were unforgivable!
‘Damn. The old man's evaluation was spot on anyway!’
How and where should she release this gift for maximum effect?
Throw it to the hack journalists for a safe play?
Leak it to those YouXube wreckers who were great at stirring public sentiment lately?
Or broadcast it on a big billboard?
“...I'll meet Cadet Seo Ha-eun first and get her opinion. That okay?”
“Of course. In my view, she'll say it's fine!”
Then he said he'd be going. Have a good night.
Tomorrow, a series of very fun things would explode one after another.
The Smiling Man casually dropped words that made any hero shiver.
“Well then, I need to prepare a grand fireworks show for this wonderful performance.”
Wonderful show? Grand fireworks? What the hell did that mean?
Valkyrie's unease only grew.
And the next day—today—it became reality.
Villains weren't just launching terror attacks everywhere.
Contact with the Jin family had suddenly been cut off.
Releasing the Union-related video at this timing felt right.
People's confusion might peak.
But they couldn't let that stop them from reaching a just world.
This was unavoidable. Pus-filled wounds had to be lanced.
Fortunately, she'd met Seo Ha-eun that morning and talked it over.
She'd try to minimize harm to her, but it might be tough.
Seo Ha-eun said it was fine and instead urged Valkyrie on.
If the Union was truly wrong, fix it.
The heroes who sacrificed for justice would want that too!
‘Got permission. Alright. Let's start.’
She had the original; copies would suffice.
Before heading out, Valkyrie sent emails.
To reporters she knew and fairly famous leakers.
A dark shadow targets a swordsman's back.
He's in the middle of fighting another villain head-on.
No time to look back. Even if he did, it'd be too late.
“Not on my watch!!”
Jin Seo-ah leaps in, blocking the villain aiming for his back.
She blocked it this time, fortunately. But she couldn't keep it up forever.
Enemies everywhere. They targeted his back and sides from all directions.
Definitely pros trained in ambushes.
Villains with stealth and assassination abilities too.
They couldn't match Jin family swordsmen in a straight fight.
But in this chaotic melee wrecking their focus, they were overwhelming.
On top of that, their side was numbed by poison mist dulling their senses.
Many Jin family members were already injured.
Ping!-
Another trajectory from the Sword Saint's sword slices through the villains.
Accuracy still overwhelming, but power lacking.
Too many allies around; he had to hold back.
One slip, and Jin family members would be bisected too.
The villains didn't care if their own got caught in the crossfire.
If they could hit the enemy, they didn't hesitate even if comrades died.
Under the indiscriminate attacks, even the Sword Saint took a wound.
“Grandfather!”
Horrified, Jin Seo-ah hurriedly checks his injury.
Blood gushed from the gaping gash on his arm.
A bit deeper, and the arm might have come off.
“Are you okay?!”
“I'm fine. This is nothing.”
The Sword Saint expertly stops the bleeding and reassures Jin Seo-ah.
Then he surveys the battlefield with unshaken eyes.
No—the Jin estate turned battlefield—with a heavy heart.
Even the Sword Saint struggled to unleash full power in this fight.
The poison mist aside, too many people to protect.
More to guard meant easier to crumble, they said.
He'd considered they might storm in like this all at once.
But this villain assault was far from expected.
Their actions screamed no expectation of outside support.
Overconfidence oozed from every move.
‘...No. Certainty, maybe.’
An unpleasant premonition flashes by, but he shakes it off.
For now, drive out these unwelcome intruders.
“Oh. There you are, old man.”
“That the Sword Saint? Looks weaker than I thought.”
“Obviously. Past his prime by a long shot.”
Two Seven Evils members approach from the front.
Not all of them, surely. More behind, probably.
The Sword Saint hides Jin Seo-ah behind him and smiles leisurely.
“Heh heh heh. If you know I'm past my prime, can't you come one at a time?”
Someone like the Smiling Man might oblige.
“Bullshit, old man.”
“Too much, even for the land of Eastern courtesy.”
“I'm not Korean?”
The Massacrer kindly flips him off, rejecting the proposal.
Resolve to kill the obstacle here burned fiercely.
Even if it meant sacrificing all his underlings!
This was quite the pickle. The Sword Saint clicked his tongue.
Fine then. He'd do the utmost he could.
“...This damn old monster tricked me?!”
Figured it out already. Seven Evils were Seven Evils, after all.
The Sword Saint smiles and unleashes the sword energy he'd gathered in that instant.
He'd needed a little time, and they'd kindly chatted.
Boom!!-
The Massacrer, hit squarely by the sword energy, skids back.
Blocked at the last moment, but not unscathed.
Blood trickles from a shallow facial cut.
The Massacrer licks the blood and bursts into mad laughter.
“Hey. Catch that thing, chop it up, and feed it to the dogs.”
“There are guys who only eat hero meat. Sell it to them expensive?”
“Sounds good? Whatever works!”
The Massacrer vanishes, reappearing at the Sword Saint's side in a flash.
As if anticipating it, the Sword Saint thrusts his sword there.
It hits true. But the Sword Saint's expression sours.
‘Hmm. As expected.’
The foe's form wavers, collapsing into black liquid.
Then reappears opposite, scattering red energy.
“Die!”
“Hup!”
Clang! Cha-clang!!-
The Sword Saint grimaces slightly. The seven Evils were truly the Seven Evils.
Specialized in ambushes, yet they didn't yield in raw power.
Dozens of clashes in under ten seconds.
In that instant, he realized: the situation wasn't good.
Don't close distance too much, but not too far either.
If he used everything, he could take this Seven Evil.
But next? How to handle the one behind?
No guarantee that the Seven Evil would just watch.
This was the Jin estate. The Sword Saint had to protect it.
A strength in some cases, chains in others.
Focus on now, and the future suffers; future first, and today crumbles.
‘What a pain. In my youth, I could've bulldozed through anything.’
Regrettable. If only his children surpassed him.
They grew well, but lacked overwhelming swordsmanship.
In the end, the Sword Saint stayed rooted.
Even great trees eventually become withered stumps.
Now he even thought of handing it to someone reliable and resting.
“This is dragging too long. I'll join in.”
The worst-case scenario. The other Seven Evil intervenes.
Last resort: play his final card?
As the Sword Saint bitterly smiles and switches his sword grip—
“Mind if we stop there?”
“...?!”
Suddenly, someone grabs the Trickster's shoulder.
The shocked Seven Evil recoils in horror, desperately creating distance.
When? How? Grabbed from behind without sensing a presence?
“Smiling Man?”
The Massacrer looks in panic at the one behind the Trickster.
His face twists, and he speaks.
“What the hell. You here to screw us over? Betraying us? Teaming up with those?!”
“Ouch. Hearing that from Clan runaways who betrayed us hurts my heart. Hahaha!”
“Answer me!”
“As if I'd do that.”
A gait utterly mismatched to the blood-soaked battlefield.
The Smiling Man saunters between the Sword Saint and the Seven Evils.
“I'm here to fight the Sword Saint. We have unfinished business, shall we say?”
“Then get over here now! What are you doing?!”
“Oh dear. I just said: I have unfinished business with the Sword Saint.”
Hahaha! The Smiling Man's head tilts sideways.
His bright smile twists into a sneer in an instant.
“You're in the way, gentlemen. So if you would kindly leave.”
“You...”
“Ahh.”
By the way.
“This isn't a request.”
Ping! Slash!!-
The moment the Smiling Man opens his clenched hand—
Mana Threads snap taut, slicing the villains apart.