Chapter 398: Ah, Great America (1)
Chapter 398: Ah, Great America (1)
I stood blankly in front of the Research Institute's main gate, lost in thought.
It was time for the reinforcements sent by the Management Bureau to arrive.
The problem was...
"He's late."
This was a blatant case of tardiness.
There was only one minute left until the scheduled arrival time, yet there was no sign of anything approaching.
I checked for a car, a helicopter, and even used my enhanced vision to scan the sky just in case, but there wasn't even a hint of a high-altitude plane passing by.
And so, radiating irritation, I tapped my foot against the ground and thought:
I am going to rain down every curse in the book on those damn white-collar, desk-jockey, pencil-pushing bureaucrats who don't have a single shred of a sense of urgency.
I used what was left of my authority to declare an emergency and told them to send help as fast as humanly possible because every second counted. And they have the audacity to be late?
For every second they're late, I'll spend a minute raising hell at the HR and Operations departments.
With that resolution, I looked down at the clock on my phone screen.
Ten seconds until the scheduled arrival.
Still, I felt no sign of anyone coming.
Oh, so that's how it is? They've gotten soft because I haven't gone on a rampage lately?
Since my salary is already zero, it's not like they can dock my pay anymore. I'll show them what a real madman's rampage looks like.
As I thought that, I let my imagination run wild.
Just as I was about to start happily planning how to flip the HR, Strategy, and even the General Affairs departments upside down—
Whir—.
What?
I felt something.
A massive flow of power.
Startled, I looked up at the sky.
BOOM!
Something possessing immense power plummeted from the heavens.
A force so fast I barely reacted, and so powerful it exceeded my imagination, slammed into the earth.
Three seconds past the appointment time.
It was highly unlikely that an Otherworldly enemy would coincidentally crash-land right in front of me at this exact moment. It was safe to assume the entity that had just created a crater was the reinforcement sent by the Bureau.
I had considered the worst-case scenario—that the Bureau, failing to realize the gravity of the situation, would send a single company of the Defense Force as "reinforcements"—but it seemed they had sent a decent Hero after all.
I waited about thirty seconds for the dust from the crater to settle.
Finally, the haze cleared, and I was able to identify the Hero who had fallen from the sky.
"Goddammit."
The moment I saw the reinforcement's face, a curse escaped my lips.
I had my suspicions, but I couldn't believe they actually sent this guy.
You sons of bitches in the U.S. government.
You money-grubbing bastards at the North American branch of the Bureau.
I did ask them to urgently send the strongest and most capable Hero available, but not this.
Even with Prohibition available, why him?
"No, seriously, why are you here?"
I hurled my complaint at the guy who had arrived as my "reinforcement."
The muscle-bound freak in a red, blue, and white spandex suit, currently striking a 'Hero Landing' pose in the middle of the dust-filled crater he'd just smashed into the ground.
In response to my words, he immediately straightened his body, struck a Side Chest pose, and opened his mouth.
"The strongest man!"
The lunatic's muscles bulged, but fortunately, the spandex didn't rip.
"Cut the crap. You're weaker than me and Misha when it comes to raw physical strength."
Despite my retort, the guy flashed his unnaturally bright white teeth and changed his pose.
Abdominal and Thigh.
Fuck. That's a pose name I never wanted to know in my life, but thanks to him, it's forced into my memory.
"The man closest to being all-powerful!"
"You're talking about superpowers, right? You'd lose to Prohibition."
Prohibition is female, but he probably meant "man" in the sense of "human."
I showered him with the sharp truth as a reward for his visual terrorism, but...
The Wall of muscle remained unresponsive, changing poses again as he spoke.
Front Double Biceps and Vacuum.
Goddammit.
"The most reliable man!"
"Well, that's subjective, but Macbeth is closer to—"
"Forget it. Just go home and call Prohibition."
I'd rather deal with a hysterical Prohibition than hang around this guy.
I said this to the pomaded, blonde, muscular, cape-fluttering idiot in front of me, but...
"That very Prohibition yielded her right of nomination to me!"
He struck a Front Lat Spread, showing off his chest, and gave a toothy grin that even I, who hated him, would have to call refreshing.
Of course, regardless of those teeth I wanted to smash, the words coming out from between them were quite shocking.
"Bullshit. There's no way. Those U.S. government bastards must have interfered again..."
"She said it's the anniversary of her family's death!"
"Ah... fuck, is it that time already?"
Then there was nothing to be done.
Sigh.
I let out a long breath and blamed the timing.
For Prohibition, that day was more important than anything else.
The day she lost her entire family in a single day.
The day Prohibition broke and awakened.
As she continued to deteriorate over time, those memories were the only thing she never let go of—the memories that allowed her to exist as herself.
Even if the coffins where her family slept were empty, it was a completely different story for her.
Anyway.
I'd already wasted enough time waiting for reinforcements, and I couldn't call someone else now. So, setting aside the fact that I hated the guy, I was about to talk to this otherwise decent man when—
"Master! I have a question!"
Baek Si-hyun, my disciple who had been waiting behind me, suddenly raised her voice.
Because the encounter was so shocking, I had completely forgotten about the two disciples behind me. I acknowledged them again.
"What is it?"
Thanks to meeting this refreshing-faced muscle monster, I couldn't control my expression. I turned a sour face toward Baek Si-hyun.
"Who is that person?"
Upon hearing Si-hyun’s question, my sour expression evaporated instantly, replaced by nothing but pure shock.
"How do you not know?"
No, seriously. How could she not know?
I wasn't the only one taken aback. Han A-bin also looked at Baek Si-hyun with a look of utter bewilderment.
"I don't know! Is he someone famous?"
Despite our reactions, Baek Si-hyun wasn't joking; she genuinely seemed to have no idea who that mountain of muscle was.
How could she not know?
Was I so stressed that I was hallucinating, and that was actually someone else?
With that thought, I looked back at the spot where the red, blue, and white muscles stood.
There stood the superhuman, striking a dignified pose and looking at Baek Si-hyun with an intrigued expression.
He clearly heard everything we said with his super-hearing.
It's definitely him.
There's no way this is a hallucination.
If there were two narcissistic muscle-heads with that much presence and power in the world, it would be a world deserving of destruction, and I would have destroyed it with my own hands.
Ending that train of thought, I turned back to Baek Si-hyun.
I saw Han A-bin whispering something to her.
"Si-hyun. He's... the World Ranking #1."
"Master is!"
"No, I mean officially."
"I don't know him!"
...She really doesn't know.
What kind of creature is Baek Si-hyun, exactly?
No matter how I thought about it, her knowledge seemed biased in a very strange way.
Why does she know so much about me, someone whose information is almost entirely classified, yet she knows nothing about the most famous muscle-head in the world of Heroes?
"Haah."
It couldn't be helped.
I hated even saying his name, but just as I was about to explain him to my lovely but bizarre disciple—
"Boom! Haha. Lady! It seems you don't know me!"
The lunatic, actually vocalizing his own sound effects, appeared beside us in an instant.
"As for me, I am the world's strongest—"
"Drop dead."
I immediately released my limiter for a split second and punched The Enemy in the gut.
A punch delivered with full sincerity, with no holding back.
With this, I hoped the person who made me feel hot and irritated just by being near him would be sent flying at least 1 kilometer away.
But that was merely a wish.
"Haha! You're the same as ever! Crimson★Hammer!"
Despite taking my punch, the muscle-head only took a single step back. Showing no signs of damage, he gave a thumbs-up and flashed his white teeth.
Right, I knew.
He's also an entity that has transcended the boundaries of ordinary Heroes, so he could handle that much.
And since I had swung as fast as possible, I hadn't put my full weight into it.
Still, I thought he'd at least be pushed back 10 meters.
Anyway, more importantly.
"I told you last time to call me Lee Ha-ram if you're going to address me."
I hated him saying my name too, but I'd rather be called by my real name than have that annoying Hero name uttered by such a loathsome guy.
"Haha! What are you saying! Once reborn as a Hero, one must take to heart the name that carries that weight!"
Then you should change your Hero name to something like Mr. Hot♥Muscle.
I'm dying of frustration because my request for a name change was rejected, yet he's acting like that just because his name is normal.
Anyway, I wanted to avoid a long conversation and was looking for a way out when—
"N-Nice to meet you!"
A hand accompanied by a trembling voice intervened between me and the muscles.
The owner of that hand was Han A-bin, who was clearly extremely tense.
Her eyes were darting around and her voice was shaking; she looked like a private standing before a four-star general.
She'd been nervous when meeting me, Macbeth, or Oxymoron, but it had never been this bad. It seemed the muscle-man's fame really was on a different level.
"A pleasure! Lady! What is your name!"
In response to A-bin’s request for a handshake, the massive mountain of muscle bent down and took her hand.
"I'm... Han A—"
The moment A-bin reflexively started to say her name—
"No! No! No! If you heard our conversation just now, you should know, shouldn't you? Tell me your Hero name!"
Mr. Muscle interrupted her with a clearly exaggerated tone, urging her on.
"Ah... I am... Nursewitch Carte."
A-bin hesitated for a moment, perhaps because she hadn't used her Hero name much lately, but she soon answered clearly.
To be honest, I had forgotten it too.
Come to think of it, what was Baek Si-hyun’s Hero name again?
"A cute name! It suits a lady like you!"
Shake. Shake. Shake.
Along with his booming voice, A-bin’s arm was shaken vigorously up and down.
"Ah. Yes. Well. Thank you."
A-bin seemed to have completely lost her mind at his hospitality, offering a stiff, emotionless greeting.
And perhaps he didn't like her reaction.
"Haha. Relax! Though I am more famous and stronger, are we not both Heroes who protect the world together! Treat me comfortably! Come! Call me by my Hero name!"
Mr. Hot♥Muscle flexed his muscles and flashed a brilliant smile.
A-bin, however, froze upon hearing that.
It was a natural result.
What Mr. Hot♥Muscle said was logically sound and true, but how could she casually address someone who was a vastly superior senior and world-renowned figure?
Normally, one would think a high-ranking person was just giving lip service.
Therefore, A-bin was likely searching for a suitable sentence.
A proper sentence for a member of society.
However, that wasn't the answer the muscle-head in front of her wanted.
It couldn't be helped. My cute disciple was in trouble, so I should help.
I hated getting involved, but for my disciple's sake, I had to.
"Hey, A-bin."
"Ah, yes, Senior."
"Just call him by his name. It's fine."
It really was fine.
I hated to admit it, but he was that kind of man.
"B-But, manners are..."
"It's fine. He's waiting for it, too."
Despite my words, Han A-bin couldn't make a decision.
I glanced at him, guiding A-bin’s gaze.
The man stood at attention, waiting for A-bin to call his Hero name with a confident, toothy grin.
Perhaps it was the strange aura he emitted combined with my reassurance.
A-bin finally seemed to make up her mind. She looked at the muscles, took a deep breath, and—
"I... I am honored to meet you! Ultimate... Hero-nim."
She finally said his name.
She didn't really need to add "Hero-nim."
Anyway, he seemed satisfied that A-bin had finally said his name.
"Yes! Next time we meet, I'd prefer if you dropped the 'Hero' and just called me Ultimate!"
He laughed boldly and replied to A-bin.
His tone was purely joyful, without a hint of malice or mockery.
Yes, that's the kind of man he is.
A purely bright man, devoid of malice.
Though his red, blue, and white American-style spandex costume was tacky, the sense of justice within it was second to none.
Even though he was a new-generation Hero who didn't know the old era well, he was one of the Bureau’s strongest.
One of the existing new-generation S-Ranks.
As he began to converse with Han A-bin, I quickly stepped over to Baek Si-hyun’s side and spoke.
"Si-hyun."
"Yes! Master!"
"Watch that guy closely."
Mr. Hot♥Muscle—no, Ultimate. He isn't the absolute strongest.
In terms of physical ability, he's behind me and Misha.
In terms of technique, he doesn't reach the level of Heavenly Sword or Meteor.
His superpowers are also lacking compared to Prohibition or Oxymoron.
And his intellectual abilities, like operational capacity or quick thinking, fall short compared to Macbeth or the Lord of Infinite Castles.
However, he has all of it.
Though he doesn't take first place in any single category, he's a man who can rank in the top ten in everything except intelligence.
That is the Hero who represents America.
Ultimate.
That versatility is the realm that Baek Si-hyun, born with numerous talents, must reach.
"Your goal lies there."
"I like you better, Master!"
Right, thank you.