Chapter 95
Chapter 95
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: Time to Beat Him Up
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Union Korea Branch.
"So, I'm telling you, I'm really innocent!"
Deputy Branch Manager Lee Han-min pounded his chest repeatedly in frustration.
They say when someone is too wronged, they can't even think or judge rationally.
Valkyrie had barged in out of nowhere, pressuring him to spill everything straight.
Thanks to her, he had even felt a slight threat to his life.
"Can I believe you?"
"Being deputy doesn't mean I wield power second only to the branch manager! You know that! I'm just the guy who cleans up when the branch manager steps out for a bit!"
"...Then where is the branch manager right now?"
"I don't know! Things got weird at the Korea Branch, so he suddenly said something came up at headquarters and left! Because of that, I'm stuck handling everything here on short notice!"
Lee Han-min was a former A-rank hero who had joined the Union.
At first glance, he sounded impressive, but he wasn't at all.
On the contrary, because he was a hero, he faced subtle checks and balances.
Even his appointment as deputy was basically a powerless honorary position.
That's why he could cry out his innocence at Valkyrie's visit.
"Alright. Then I have some questions."
"No. I really don't know a single... "
"Answer to the best of your knowledge. You're the deputy branch manager; surely you're not blind and deaf."
No matter how powerless the position was. Even if it was just honorary.
The title of deputy branch manager was still no small thing.
Valkyrie prioritized what she could get out of leveraging that fact.
"People from the Union showed up when Holy Knight died."
"That... "
"Yes or no."
"...Yeah. People from the Union went there. It was a huge incident, after all. Of course, I don't know exactly what they did... "
Up to there. If people from the Union had gone 'secretly,' that was the end of the story.
Concrete proof that the Union was involved in covering up Holy Knight's misdeeds.
"Next. Besides Holy Knight, there have been other times when Union people went out like that to erase or alter something, right?"
"I don't know. Really, I have no idea about that."
"I'll ask the branch manager when he returns. Then, third."
A flicker of hostility lingered briefly in Valkyrie's eyes before vanishing.
"I heard the Jin Family sent out support requests to nearby heroes when they were attacked. But half of those requests got cut off midway, and the other half didn't reach the heroes properly."
"... "
"Don't say it's not true. I've already met with all the heroes around the Jin Family."
The deputy bit his lip. Yeah, he knew about that too.
However, he hadn't realized the Jin Family incident was that severe.
"I thought maybe there was some mix-up... "
"There might have been a mix-up. Or someone might have manipulated it to cause one. Good. Next."
"Wait, Hero Valkyrie! Pushing it like that is too much!"
"I'm just discussing possibilities. Think about it. They tried to cover up the Holy Knight case—do you think nothing else would raise suspicions? Everyone knows the Jin Family and the Union are rivals within Korea."
Valkyrie let out a silent sigh inwardly.
She appeared cold on the outside, but that was all an act.
She too was a hero who had benefited greatly from the Union's support.
She had believed it was an organization advancing alongside for justice and good.
She thought it was a pro-hero group incomparable to the government.
But that faith had been betrayed. Thoroughly and cunningly.
Of course, not everyone in the Union was like that.
But most were. Prioritizing profit and greed.
"I heard something else. You know Light Dagger, right?"
"Light Dagger? The A-rank hero! Why him?"
"Does that hero have something to hide too?"
"No? Light Dagger keeps his private life quiet. Aside from being overly brutal when catching villains, there's no issue!"
"You sure?"
"Positive!"
As Valkyrie stared silently, the deputy shrank back.
Then he hurriedly added, 'As far as I know.'
"Haa."
She had come with a sliver of hope, but hadn't gained much.
Still, it wasn't a total bust. She had confirmed a few things.
The Union did have hidden agendas.
Not everyone in the Union was complicit in this absurdity.
"Alright. For now, Deputy Branch Manager... "
Unfortunately, Valkyrie couldn't finish her sentence.
Kwaaaang!!-
A massive explosion rocked the building with intense vibrations.
The deputy lost his balance, and even Valkyrie staggered for a moment.
"Eek!"
"...What the hell?"
Unlike the flailing deputy, Valkyrie's response was swift.
She ordered an evacuation and left the deputy's office.
'If I'm not mistaken, that power just now... '
Probably. No, definitely.
'That man.' The crazy bastard had come to the Union Korea Branch.
That thought led to even more horrifying hypotheses.
The explosion just now. And the shaking. No way, right?
Kwaaaang!!-
"Urk!!"
A section of the branch building was torn away entirely.
Rebar twisted like taffy, concrete crumbled like snacks.
Ridiculous strength. This was monster-level.
Of course, as an S-rank hero, she could handle this much easily...
"Gah! Cough!"
"...?"
Amid the rising dust, someone was heard gasping.
Thinking it was an injured person, Valkyrie froze as she went to check.
"Hm? Oh. No way. Isn't this Hero Valkyrie! Hahaha!"
A familiar voice. Familiar power. Familiar laugh.
The villain, Smiling Man. Or maybe not quite a villain anymore.
Anyway. That figure had appeared at the Union branch.
"You...!"
In one hand, he gripped someone barely clinging to life.
Valkyrie realized it was Hero Light Dagger.
He'd come after gruesomely killing another villain and getting reprimanded, huh.
She remembered what the deputy had just said.
"Hahaha! Talk about lucky! I came because all the other S-rank heroes were dispatched, and here you are, the great Hero Valkyrie!"
"Urgh! P-Please... spare me! Hero Valkyrie! Save... urgh!"
"Oh, oh. My goodness. A hero begging for his life. Isn't this too much?"
Hahaha. Hahahaha. Hahahahaha!!
Smiling Man's laughter filled the crumbling branch.
Light Dagger trembled violently in his grasp.
"... "
Valkyrie watched the scene, tense to the max.
'What the hell.'
Others might not imagine it, but she knew Smiling Man.
Not casually—they'd even talked on the phone.
Not allies as heroes, but not enemies who hated each other.
Ally-like foe. Foe-like ally. Yeah, that fit.
But why was she feeling fear?
Facing that laugh made her soul quiver.
"What are you doing, Hero Valkyrie?"
At Smiling Man's words, Valkyrie snapped back.
To others, it sounded like 'Aren't you going to save this hero?'
But she knew him. It meant 'Get it together and play along.'
'...Not that I'd stand by and let him kill!'
She didn't know yet what crimes Hero Light Dagger had committed.
Only that Smiling Man thought he deserved death.
Just like Holy Knight. That's what she thought.
But nothing was certain. So she had to stop it.
Even if he was guilty, legal punishment was right.
Smiling Man's actions were murder at best, vigilante justice at worst.
"Stop right now, Smiling Man. This is a warning."
"My god. Warning a villain instead of attacking? Had a drink at lunch?"
"I'm giving you leeway because of your past actions. That's far enough. I won't tolerate more crimes."
Valkyrie issued her warning to Smiling Man in earnest.
This wasn't acting. She genuinely wanted to stop him.
Holy Knight, the other heroes he'd killed.
Even this rotten Light Dagger in his grip.
Executing them was still murder and private sanction.
The world must run on law. It had to.
If that crumbled, it'd revert to rule by might.
Heroes didn't conform to society because they were fools.
The moment those with great power rampaged, the world would collapse.
Great power comes with great responsibility!
"Hahaha! Hahahaha! Wow. Trusting a so-called villain like this. Heroes really are hopeless idiots!"
Crack!-
"Aaaagh!!"
Far from releasing Light Dagger, he snapped both his arms.
A horrific scream followed. Smiling Man's smile deepened.
"So, what now?"
"What do you think."
They'd ended up as reluctant collaborators, but that was it.
Now, she had to stop the murder. Intervene.
Make sure whoever it was faced proper legal punishment.
That was a hero's duty in this era.
"Brace yourself, Smiling Man! This time, I'll definitely catch you!"
"Oh! Please do! Hahahaha!!"
"... "
To cut to the chase, Valkyrie ultimately let Smiling Man escape.
She fought in earnest. Nearly had him too.
Until he mentioned the people who hadn't evacuated yet.
"Lose them all for this guy? Or lose him and save them?"
In that moment of hesitation, Smiling Man vanished instantly.
Still clutching Light Dagger in his grip.
Probably, they'd find his corpse soon enough.
"Haa."
As she sighed, something caught Valkyrie's eye.
A single strand of mana thread draped amid the rubble.
At its end dangled a subway locker key.
'What is this... '
She had a rough idea what was inside.
Yeah. Smiling Man. Even if he committed crimes.
He definitely moved for his own sense of justice...
Bzzzzt!!-
The giant screen in the city center suddenly changed.
"... "
Watching the screen with the ongoing laughter.
She genuinely wanted to catch this damn bastard.