Chapter 380: I Don’t Need It Anymore. (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 380: I Don’t Need It Anymore. (2)
It was strange.
I thought I had prepared her. I’d even warned my sister that I was going to cause a scene before we arrived, yet she wore a look of utter shock, as if she were witnessing something impossible.
Did she think I was joking?
Well, her surprise was one thing, but what was done was done.
To be honest, these were words I’d wanted to say for a long time, so I felt incredibly refreshed.
[What… what did you just say?]
“I can see you trembling even through the screen, so stop pretending you didn’t hear me. It’s annoying.”
Thinking about how the Association President and the rest of those idiots were seething right now made me feel even better.
“Well, if you really want to hear it that badly, should I say it again?”
It wasn’t exactly a compliment, but since they seemed so eager, I opened my mouth once more.
“I said I have no intention of listening to a word you people say, you dumbasses.”
[…You’ve grown arrogant after gaining power at such a young age.]
[Indeed. Whether they are heroes or villains, they all become so arrogant the moment they stumble upon a bit of pathetic power. It’s a problem.]
[Is this not the privilege of youth? Learning through failure.]
Their voices were shaking so much I could tell even through the voice modulators. Their attempts to stay calm were pathetic.
[Is it not our duty to lead such a youth back onto the right path?]
“I—I’m so sorr—!”
“Don’t you dare apologize, Sister.”
“So-hyun. I don’t know how strong you’ve become, but this is too much…!”
When I stopped her from apologizing on my behalf, my sister looked at me with trembling, anxious eyes.
Mm. I understood her heart—she was worried that this would bring harm to me—but there was really no need for that anymore.
The reason I had held back, even when I secretly wanted to crush these Association bastards, was simple.
I was weak.
To be precise, I was strong, but not strong enough.
I possessed power at the level of a high-tier S-rank, but that was it. If I officially made an enemy of the Association and they issued an official mandate to borrow S-rank heroes from other countries, I would have had no way to win.
Even if I somehow managed to drag the Association into the abyss, I wouldn’t have been able to handle the influx of villains that would follow all by myself.
But now, the first condition was met.
I had successfully regained enough martial might that it didn’t matter if the Association targeted me.
Based on the moment I asked Sun Wukong to release the first seal, my power had recovered to about half of what it was back when I drove the world to ruin in the 1st Timeline.
Stating it was “only half” might make it sound small, but considering the things I had crushed and devoured back then, half of that power was an utterly nonsensical level of strength.
[We shall correct that arrogance of yours.]
The moment the words left his mouth, a barrage of attacks poured down on my sister and me: hallucination-type talents, curse-type talents, mechanical soldiers surging from the ceiling, walls, and floor simultaneously, and strikes utilizing numerous artifacts.
The petty displays of power these old farts at the Association put on by borrowing the strength of others were at a level I could easily ignore.
I didn’t even need to exert much force.
As long as I could see the essence and grasp the structure—whether it was an artifact, a talent, or a machine—neutralizing them was child’s play.
Curses and hallucinations didn’t even work on me anymore. In a world where time flowed slowly, I simply blocked or parried the things approaching me. What was so difficult about that?
[Huh?]
However, to an outside observer, it must have looked like every single attack that converged on me had simply exploded mid-air.
“Is that all?”
The exchange just now should have made them realize.
If they wanted to capture the current me, they would need to deploy at least fifty S-rank heroes—no, maybe eighty—just to have a sliver of a chance.
Not that such prideful and selfish S-rank heroes would ever gather in such numbers anyway.
[Y-You think you can continue being a hero after doing something like this to the Association…!]
“I have no intention of working under you, so shut your trap.”
[Wh-What…!?]
And here was something I’d thought of the moment I gained the power to suppress the Association.
The second reason I had left the Association intact.
The part about not being able to handle every villain alone, and the fact that the heroes of the Association—excluding the leadership—hadn’t done much wrong.
If I thought about it carefully, this wasn’t necessarily a job that had to be done by the Association.
Now that I could stop the Association’s tyranny through my own power as a deterrent, there was a way.
“It’s not just me. Other heroes are going to start hating working under you, too.”
The Association was a state institution, but that didn’t mean one couldn’t call themselves a hero without being part of it.
There were private hero teams and individuals working independently, and hero certifications could be obtained from the Academy, not just the Association.
The Association was merely the most stable platform for hero activities.
“I’m planning to personally create a private organization to replace the Association—one that’s much more decent than you lot.”
[…What?]
Are they dumbfounded? Why? What’s stopping me?
“Is there a law saying a private organization can’t become larger than a state institution?”
If anything, this country was living too “normally” for a superhuman society.
In a place like the United States, the status of the Number One Hero already eclipsed that of the President, and powerful individual heroes held more authority than the state’s hero business.
So, if a new organization were to emerge—one where hero qualifications could be earned through the Academy, and where there were no corrupt bastards taking whatever they wanted—would there be any reason for me to leave you lot alone?
“Ah, of course, there are things to prepare, so I won’t be able to replace you immediately.”
Even after seeing what I just did, they seemed to think I was just acting out of youthful bravado. But I was certain.
I would turn the current Association into a trash can to bury the stagnant, rotten upper management and the bastards who, like that Flash guy, had grown far too comfortable there to be called heroes.
I was certain I could create a place where those truly fit to be called heroes could receive better treatment than they did now.
“If I look arrogant to you, feel free to ignore me. But for starters, my sister and the entire Starlight Team have decided to quit the Association.”
[…What? You can’t do that. There are contracts. Do you have any idea how much the penalty for breaking those contracts is? Or what, are you planning to beg for help from the Yuseong Group?]
“Mm, I know. Honestly, since there are quite a few people, it’s not an amount I could solve by asking my father for a hand.”
[Then how on earth…!]
“Hey, I’m still talking. Don’t worry. Those kinds of unfair contracts? I can nullify them whenever I want. More importantly, in a little while, you won’t have the time to worry about things like that.”
[What?]
“You probably think I’m just acting out because I trust my strength. I guarantee you, in exactly one month, you’ll be begging me for your lives.”
Usually, in stories, people show some half-baked mercy, giving bastards like these a chance to dream of a comeback and do something stupid.
I really hate that.
It’s frustrating, and it feels like a waste of effort. If it’s something that needs to be done, it’s better to do it cleanly all at once.
“I had the means to take you down even when I didn’t have power. I was just holding back because the aftermath would have been difficult to handle.”
By now, Rose, having received my request, was likely having a grand time organizing the corruption, incidents, and accidents involving the Association that I had told her about.
“Ah, since you might think I’m lying, should I give you a few examples? The rockfall incident early this year where several private heroes died. You killed them because they were tailing you, didn’t you?”
I could feel their panic from here.
“Oh, or how about this? The Association President, a man nearly forty years old, has an underage mistress despite having a family. Oh, he even used a charm-type artifact on a civilian? The reporters are going to love that. Right?”
Information control? Try it if you can.
Let’s see if you can block the internet, block the flyers, block the rumors spreading among the people, and block the victims themselves from screaming the truth.
“Listen well. You will lose the public’s trust, you will lose the people who work for you, and you will be stripped of everything—from the image you’ve built to the achievements of your predecessors.”
To be honest, I did consider ending this quietly, but no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t see a scenario where you lot just stepped down peacefully without causing trouble.
“You hypocritical bastards, taking everything you could behind the name of ‘hero’ without making a single sacrifice. You’re just spitting out what you’ve unfairly consumed, so don’t feel too wronged.”
Well, I’d said most of what I came to say.
“Then, farewell. Spend the rest of your days waiting for death while enjoying what little power play you have left.”
Once you’ve said your piece, leaving is one of the best ways to piss off your opponent.
[Stop…!]
Of course, it didn’t seem like those bastards were going to just let us go.
As I turned to leave, the exit was suddenly blocked, and a massive wall rose to bar our path.
Mm, made of special metal? That must have cost a lot.
[Do you honestly think you can walk out of here alive after daring to say such things? You should have hidden the fact that you possessed such information.]
[Did you think the little game we showed you earlier was the full strength of the Association? Foolish boy.]
[If the Association exerts its full power, burying someone like you is a simple task!]
Look at these guys. They usually hate each other’s guts, but the moment a common enemy appears, they’re perfectly in sync.
Why couldn’t you have acted like that normally?
If you had, maybe you could have lasted a bit longer.
“As if that was the Association’s full strength. If it were, you wouldn’t have been much help anyway, and I would have overturned this place long ago without waiting.”
[If you swear to keep your mouth shut even now and accept a restriction to follow our orders, we will at least spare your life…!]
“But you know what? Do you really think what I showed you earlier was me being serious?”
Now, if I wanted to threaten them in the most intuitive way possible, I needed to use a somewhat flashy technique.
This should do.
Nimbus Cloud.
The Taoist Arts I learned through Sun Wukong’s artifacts were all incredibly useful, but among them, the Nimbus Cloud was in a league of its own.
Simply put, it was a technique to reduce one’s own weight and create solid clouds to ride on, but in reality, it was less about transportation and more about the manipulation of clouds.
Being able to manipulate the clouds in the sky was a more significant feat than one might think.
It required a fair amount of power, but being able to manipulate the weather to some extent and make the clouds themselves solid enough for someone to ride was a power with truly infinite possibilities.
For example…
[Crazy…]
The Association President, finally dropping his act, cursed as he looked up at the sky.
Right now, a giant made of clouds, formed by the Nimbus Cloud, would be looking down at the Association building with a raised fist.
This sort of thing was possible too.
Well, it was difficult to give it actual mass, so it was half-bluff, but still, if I swung that down, the building would be a mess, wouldn’t it?
“So, are you starting to get the picture now?”
Mm, there was probably chaos breaking out upstairs, but that wasn’t my concern.
[Your abilities should be suppressed while you are here…! How have you been using your power so freely since earlier!]
“That’s only true for the level of ordinary superhumans.”
I was now the strongest human being, as certified by Sun Wukong herself.
“Now that you understand, don’t do anything stupid.”
As a final performance, I placed my hand on the wall blocking us, layered multiple Reinforcements, and literally tore the special alloy wall apart.
“If you don’t want to end up like this, you’d better behave.”
I could practically see them trembling, unable to utter a single word.
…Wow, it was so frustrating not being able to do this in the 1st Timeline.
“Let’s go, Sister!”
My sister, who had been staring at me blankly, snapped out of it and took my outstretched hand.
“…Is this really happening?”
“Of course. I told you there was nothing to worry about. As of today, you’re a freelance hero, Sister.”
“…It doesn’t feel real at all.”
“It’s always like that at first. It might help if you say this.”
“Huh…?”
“It was a shitty experience meeting you, and let’s never see each other again, you Association bastards.”
“Pfft…!”
Oh, she laughed. Since she wasn’t someone who laughed often, I felt a sense of pride.
“Right, I should try it.”
After we emerged from the Association’s basement, my sister took a deep breath and shouted toward the building.
“It was a shitty experience meeting you! Let’s never see each other again! You Association bastards…!”
It was such a spirited shout that I couldn’t help but think, That’s my sister.