Chapter 29: Heroes Always Arrive Late (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 29: Heroes Always Arrive Late (3)
I mean, she looks cool and all, but where the hell is Lilac?
Watching the giant centipede’s head explode was certainly impactful and genuinely badass, but if Noona is the one coming out of there, what happens to all the build-up I just did?
This is so damn embarrassing.
Regardless, even if it wasn’t what I expected, there was no denying that a reliable ally had arrived.
Jin Gyeong-tae seemed momentarily stunned by the martial prowess she displayed, but he quickly regained his composure.
“I believe I’ve told you before, Professor Cathy. You really should carry a weapon. How can you go around smashing poisonous insects with your bare hands? Even if you reinforce your body with mana, there’s a limit.”
“Do you really have the luxury to be worrying about me right now?”
“Honestly, I was surprised. You’re excellent at physical reinforcement, Professor, but you lack the talent for shaping mana. Your unstable Protective Aura won’t be able to hold out for very long, will it?”
Protective Aura. To put it simply, it’s a defensive technique where one wraps their body in sturdily condensed energy to block attacks below a certain level of power.
Even in the game’s settings, it was noted that while Cathy could reinforce her physical body with mana without issue, she lacked the ability to project that energy outward and maintain it for long.
However, she didn’t waver in the slightest at his critique. She simply faced her enemy and thrust her fist forward.
“If you’re so confident.”
“…Pardon?”
“Stop babbling and come at me, Jin Gyeong-tae.”
No more words needed.
Damn, Noona, why are you being so cool?
“I used to pride myself on my eye for people, but seeing as I’ve been proven wrong twice today, I suppose I’m not as good as I thought.”
The countless poisonous insects filling the ceiling and walls glinted their eyes.
“You will pay the price for that arrogance. I’ll subdue you and finish my lesson with the cadets right in front of your eyes.”
“Even in the one-in-a-million chance that I lose, that won’t happen. The Villain Restraint Team will be arriving soon. And more importantly…”
Boom—!
As she threw a punch, the sound of something exploding rang out.
“You won’t be able to beat me before then anyway.”
Immediately after, a swarm of insects turned into a black wave and surged toward us.
The cadets screamed, but Cathy simply smiled and told them it was okay.
For some reason, I was reminded of the time I entered a dungeon with her a month ago, but she was different now.
The woman who had been flustered by overwhelming numbers and wounded by goblins was gone.
Swiftly and concisely, she struck down the monsters that drew closest, minimizing useless movements to the absolute limit.
One exchange didn’t just end as one exchange; it flowed into the preparatory stance for the next move. It was the ideal martial arts form she pursued, and her unwavering movements, rooted in a solid lower body, were the symbol of her hard work.
Having attained a sort of enlightenment and beginning to surpass her original limits, her martial arts were now manifesting her ideals and approaching perfection.
Even when stepping back, she didn’t panic or lose her flow.
She was likely thinking of the cadets behind her right now.
“Cadet Kang So-hyun…!”
“Yes?”
Uh, why are you calling me all of a sudden?
“It’s fine this time, so don’t you dare use your talent.”
Ah, so that’s why.
She’s probably worried that I’ll think she’s in danger and use my talent like I did when we were hunting goblins.
“Yes, Professor.”
I mean, you’re doing so overwhelmingly well, why would I even need to use it?
“Really, don’t use it…! I’m warning you!”
I said I wouldn’t…?
* * *
On the surface, the power dynamic seemed balanced—or rather, it looked advantageous for Jin Gyeong-tae as Cathy was being pushed back bit by bit—but the reality was entirely different.
Jin Gyeong-tae already predicted that he would lose in one way or another.
Even at a glance, Professor Cathy’s level was significantly higher than when he had last seen her.
No matter how many poisonous insects he had, there was a limit to their numbers. At this pace, the insects would be wiped out before they could ever reach the cadets.
Even if a miracle happened and she made a mistake, Kang So-hyun was still holding the line behind her, so reinforcements would eventually arrive first.
The one who appears in a moment of crisis to reassure the people and crush the threat.
The woman before his eyes was certainly worthy of being called a hero.
Considering that the majority of those called heroes by the world were either full of vanity, consumed by a desire for self-display, or moved only for their own self-interest, she was definitely a good person for an adult.
And that was exactly why he didn’t like her.
“I really don’t like this.”
What exactly was it that he didn’t like?
Was it a twisted resentment toward the fact that such a hero never came for him during his miserable childhood? Or was it simply frustration toward a hero trying to interfere with the desires he had finally revealed?
No, it was neither.
“Do you think anything will change if you save these cadets now?”
A person who gets annoyed for such normal reasons wouldn’t have committed this insane crime in the first place.
“Even if they survive now, the future for these cadets is dark. Someone will be betrayed and fall into despair, and someone else will become a traitorous, filthy adult. A cadet who admires you and becomes a real hero will die in the field from a tiny accident, and even if they survive, they’ll be met with criticism and gazes of fear rather than gratitude.”
That was it.
He was a resolute lunatic who truly believed he was right, and thus, he believed that dying by his hand now was the only salvation for the cadets.
To him, Cathy was nothing more than an interloper interfering in a win-win relationship between him and the cadets.
“If you die by my poisonous insects, you see hallucinations. You can die without pain or suffering. You will be remembered in my mind as children forever. Why on earth are you interfering?”
To anyone else, it was the talk of a madman, but he, at least, firmly believed his words were righteous.
“I won’t let you interfere. Yes, it’s only a few, but I won’t stand by and watch my precious students go out into this filthy world.”
While controlling the insects, he looked at the Gourd lying on the floor.
“Hey, Professor Cathy, did you know?”
She didn’t answer, but that didn’t matter.
“A Gourd that has Gu sealed inside can actually be released remotely. Aside from the fact that I’m suppressing it with mana, it’s just a regular gourd.”
She ignored him.
No matter how strong his Gu was, she didn’t think it was at a level she couldn’t block if she was prepared to risk her life.
“Yes, that’s right. How strong could the Gu I made really be? I know that well. I don’t intend to take you with me either.”
As he finished speaking, cracks appeared in the Gourd on the floor. Soon, it shattered into pieces, and a small spider crawled out from within.
“However… I do have a way to take the other cadets with me.”
Jin Gyeong-tae reached out his arm toward the spider running toward him.
The spider clung to his arm and began devouring his mana.
“This room is filled with the corpses of the poisonous insects you killed so many of. And now, this Gu will swallow up my mana as its caster, along with all that toxicity, as fast as it can.”
As if to prove his words, the energy flowing from the centipede and the insects began to gather toward the spider.
“No matter how insignificant it might seem, this is a Gu that has devoured all of one person’s mana and the toxicity of hundreds of monsters.”
An ominous smile played on Jin Gyeong-tae’s lips.
“When this Gu explodes, how many people here do you think will be able to withstand the toxicity that bursts out?”
“Ugh…!? You…!”
The moment he finished, anxiety finally appeared on Cathy’s face.
She was better than before, but projecting mana was still not her forte.
At the very least, she wouldn’t be able to deploy a Protective Aura capable of protecting every single cadet right now.
“I finally get to see that expression crumble, Professor Cathy. Personally, I don’t dislike people like you, but you were a bit too much of a nuisance this time. If it weren’t for you, I’d be enjoying a much more sophisticated and pleasant lesson with the cadets by now. To think I have to end it this way.”
The six red eyes of the spider, which had sucked up toxicity and mana to the limit, began to glow.
The mana had accumulated to the point where it was trying to evolve, but Jin Gyeong-tae didn’t let that happen.
He intentionally caused the mana inside the spider monster to go berserk.
The monster, its mana haywire, began to thrash about, making a sickening sound.
“Stop it! Jin Gyeong-tae!”
“Have you ever seen a villain stop just because someone told them to? Just stay there and regret. You couldn’t protect anything, and in the end, you’ll realize I was right!”
As Professor Cathy desperately struck down the other insects and Jin Gyeong-tae burst into manic laughter…
Just as the cadets, recalling their futures through the conversation so far, were about to scream in terror…
“Stop talking…”
That voice spread through the room with absolute clarity.
“…out of your ass.”
The light was so brilliant that it illuminated the dark classroom.
Kang So-hyun.
The sphere of light floating in his hand was so radiant that it was enough to make even a villain feel a sense of crisis.
“So-hyun, no!”
Only Cathy, who knew what that light was made of, shouted in worry, but he didn’t even pretend to listen.
“What? Couldn’t protect anything? You’re right in the end? What a load of absolute bullshit.”
“Cadet Kang So-hyun. You’ve given me quite a bit of trouble too, but your ability is reinforcement-type, isn’t it? It’s surprising that you can use it for more than just defense, but even if you reinforce Professor Cathy now, how much better can she get at something she couldn’t do in the first place? Oh, and just in case you’re wondering, even if you kill the Gu now, you can’t stop the toxicity from spreading. Or were you planning to block it yourself?”
“Hey.”
“Yes?”
“I told you. There’s never been a decent villain among those long-tongued bastards.”
“A bit hollow for a final testament.”
Ha.
“That’s why you’re a third-rate villain, you moron.”
The spider’s body, having reached its limit, swelled up.
“Dammit. Why the hell are you so late…!”
Kicking through the broken door, the person he had been desperately waiting for finally entered.
A handsome young man with brown hair and a gentle aura.
“That’s poison gas! Block it, quick! Lilac!”
“Uh…!?”
Arriving late were the protagonist of this novel, Lilac, along with Kang Ha-ni and Lee Yu-na, who had gone to get him at my request.
There were some unexpected faces, but that wasn’t important.
The moment the spider exploded and spewed out toxicity, the boy hastily drew his sword, and it erupted with golden light.
* * *
He was late.
The light of the Holy Sword Lilac used had the power of purification, so it could overcome the toxicity, but the toxicity itself was incredibly potent, and the spider’s explosion was a fraction of a second faster than him drawing his sword.
Not everyone would die, but one or two would, and many would be poisoned.
At this rate, Lilac would lose a friend right before his eyes and blame himself for being too late to save them again.
But of course, that wasn’t going to happen.
Ensuring that didn’t happen was exactly why I was here.
The Authority of Reinforcement I had prepared in advance settled into his Holy Sword.
Since I had poured almost all of my remaining Innate True Qi into the reinforcement, the effect was certain.
In an instant, the light emitted by his Holy Sword became even more brilliant, erasing the erupting toxicity.
When the light of the Holy Sword, which forgives nothing wicked, sliced through the dark night and burned away all the poison…
“…This is insane.”
Jin Gyeong-tae’s expression contorted.
Serves you right, you bastard. If you had a trump card, you should have used it sooner.
I saw our secret friend subduing Jin Gyeong-tae.
“So-hyun! What is all this!”
“I wondered why you suddenly ran off, but this is…”
After confirming the situation was settled, Lilac asked me while freeing the bound hostages, and Kang Ha-ni also approached me with a bewildered face.
Well, it’s nothing much.
The moment I opened my mouth to give a brief explanation of the incident…
“Gah…!”
Something red splattered out of my mouth.
It was a massive amount of blood, more fitting to be called a blood-vomit than just coughing up blood.
Uh, damn, did I really overdo it? It doesn’t even hurt that much?
“Hey…! What’s wrong with you!?”
“So-hyun! Are you okay!?”
“Cadet So-hyun…! So-hyun…! That’s why I told you…!”
From top to bottom, it was Kang Ha-ni, Lilac, and Professor Cathy.
No, I’m actually doing better than I look.
“Cough, hack…! Urgh…!”
No, this shit won’t stop, like I’ve got something caught in my throat, but I’m really fine.
The day must have changed at some point, because Resurrection was rapidly restoring my lost Innate True Qi, and the Will of the Saint had returned to reinforcing my recovery.
It felt like it would have been a real disaster if the timing had been even a little bit later, but I was truly okay now.
“Haaack…!”
“What do we do…! The blood won’t stop!”
Even Lee Yu-na, who usually doesn’t care about anyone but Lilac, had a distorted expression as if it looked incredibly serious.
No, seriously, I’m fine, you guys.