Chapter 162: What It Means to Be a Hero
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 162: What It Means to Be a Hero
"Did none of you eat lunch? Why are you all so sluggish! Look at your movements. Your legs are lagging. Move those feet quickly and diligently, double time!"
"Double time!"
The thunderous command of the woman running at the front rang out.
"I know you've worked hard, but the situation is urgent. I'll make sure you're taken care of once this is over. For now, focus on moving."
"Yes, ma'am!"
The emergency response team shouted back at the top of their lungs. Though clearly exhausted, they ran as if their calves were about to burst.
They followed closely behind the woman, just like the morning jogs they led for the cadets. They didn't even have time to wipe the blood off their instructor uniforms.
For some reason, Lee Won-bin was reminded of the good old days. I learned how to whip cadets into shape from her.
Their life-and-death struggle with those villain bastards had just ended. The result was a victory for Joaquin Academy.
The deciding factor wasn't numerical superiority, nor was it the result of their steady training.
As the team members moved diligently together, Lee Won-bin stole a glance to his side.
A woman running with her black robe fluttering behind her. It was Medea, the Academy Principal and the direct superior of the emergency response team.
Her expression was fiercely distorted. The way she gritted her teeth revealed the urgency in her eyes. Lee Won-bin let out a low groan.
To think the Academy Principal's arrival would completely change the playing field...
Indeed. With her arrival, the tense, desperate battle was swiftly brought to a close.
Of course, Lee Won-bin and his team had fought hard too. Even though the matchup was unfavorable, they had boldly stood their ground.
But those villain bastards were far tougher opponents than expected. Despite being naturally uncooperative, they had attacked with impressive teamwork.
And that wasn't all. Even individually, they were incredibly tricky foes.
As the standoff dragged on, the tide turned against them. Just as the situation was taking a turn for the worse, Medea plummeted vertically from the sky.
With her right fist slammed into the ground and her left knee bent. A cloud of dust billowed around her. It was a scene reminiscent of the Terminator.
Immediately after, one of the smirking villains had his face flattened like a pancake before he even had time to gasp.
Right after, the villains reacted instantly. Their resistance was fierce. They cast all kinds of magic, unleashing it solely at Medea.
And they were utterly crushed by Medea's iron fists. Helplessly and miserably, they were cast into the fires of hell by the tyrant's blows.
To think the strength she displayed just now doesn't even match her prime...
And she even had a twin sister who was said to be stronger than her: All-Power Meain Poison.
Lee Won-bin swallowed hard without realizing it. Just what kind of monstrous clan was the Poison family?
Their strength went without saying. As descendants of the Ancients, they lived hundreds of years longer than ordinary humans while maintaining their youth. It was like the difference in perceived lifespan between a human and a dog.
Although the Academy Principal had lived for nearly seventy years, her actual age—or rather, her physical age—was around twenty.
Her current appearance was merely a disguise she maintained using a blessing to look older. Even so, she only looked to be in her mid-twenties.
"Wait, stop!"
Medea extended her arm backward, signaling her subordinates to halt. Unable to overcome their momentum, several instructors face-planted into the mud. Among them was Choi Seol-ah, who was panting heavily.
Rumbleeeee...!
The earth convulsed. Just as the heavy rain seemed to be dying down, the ground began to shake.
The instructors could not hide their bewilderment at the sudden earthquake. Losing their balance, their formation collapsed, and they quickly fell to the ground.
Only Medea remained standing, casting her gaze into the distance. Toward the election hall.
Screeeeeeech!
A massive figure rising high into the sky reflected in her eyes.
"...Jörmungandr?"
Medea's eyes shook violently. The monstrous serpent that should have been coiled up in the Demon Realm Gehenna had suddenly appeared inside the academy grounds.
Only then did a crack fracture the composure she had been desperately trying to maintain. The sheer gravity of the situation had finally hit home.
Jörmungandr was a monster she couldn't handle alone. Though it looked like a magical beast, it was a specter classified as a demon.
There would only be a chance of subjugating it if that geezer Zieg or the gorilla Myura were with her.
Charging in blindly by herself would only make her a quick snack.
"Damn it!"
Medea bit her lip hard. Her white upper teeth were stained with blood.
The most important thing was the safety of the cadets. However, if a subjugation battle began, the cadets would inevitably be caught in the crossfire.
That single fact clawed at her heart. It was the reason Medea hesitated.
She herself had lived long enough, but what sin had those young children committed? All of this stemmed from her own shortcomings.
They had already suffered casualties; she couldn't let the damage increase any further.
Besides, as the Academy Principal, how could she be afraid of throwing herself at a mere monster?
She had a duty to protect the academy from external threats. For this, she was willing to fight until her very bones were crushed.
That was what she had been taught here at Joaquin Academy.
And now, as the Academy Principal.
Because that was exactly what a "hero"—the concept she taught to the cadets—was supposed to be.
In that case.
Medea pulled her clenched fists to her sides and took a stance. Then, she channeled the immense physical strength gathered in her hands straight into her dantian.
`[The Poet's Blessing is manifested.]`
`[The Blessing of the Oath is manifested.]`
`[The Blessing of Release is manifested.]`
A green glow emanated from Medea's eyes. Steam billowed from her entire musculature. She bared her teeth and roared.
"Hah!"
Simultaneously with her shout, her thighs and calves swelled to about five times their original size.
She would leap in a single bound and drive her straight punch right into that flickering, slithering maw. With veins bulging on her face, Medea spoke.
"I will deal with that thing! You all secure the safety of the cadets!"
Just before Medea, having issued her orders to the instructors, could take a step, Choi Seol-ah sensed a familiar energy.
Is this...?
She peeked up from where her head had been resting against the ground. Instantly, her eyes sparkled like beads.
"My Lord!"
My Lord? Everyone, including the Academy Principal, snapped their heads up. A stunned silence, laced with shock, began to settle over their faces.
Screeeeeeeeech!
Silver threads carved themselves into the serpent's scales. Its Fear distorted into a shriek of agony.
Medea's face, which had been as hard as stone, softened. She rubbed her eyes and opened them again. Her green irises dilated even wider.
Jörmungandr thrashed its body like wet laundry in an attempt to dodge. But the swarm of blades pursued relentlessly, flaying the serpent's skin.
...Crash!
The massive body, which had been howling for so long, collapsed. Medea, staring blankly, thought to herself:
That even without being told, she knew exactly who had made sashimi out of Jörmungandr so spectacularly.
* * *
Saki blinked. She stared intently at Kang Geomma's back.
Behind Kang Geomma's back, sashimi knives fanned out like a peacock's tail. It was a bizarre yet mystical sight.
The blades floating in the air crushed the enemy with a single gesture of his hand. Moreover, they had brought down a beast so massive it blocked out the sun.
The monster's death didn't matter to Saki. Having rushed all the way here, her rationality had already ceased to function. Her mind was filled only with concern for Kang Geomma's safety.
Saki looked at Kang Geomma's back again. His black hair fluttered gently in the wind. Suddenly, tears welled up in her eyes.
"...You're back."
Kang Geomma turned around. Emotion spread across his previously expressionless face. He offered a faint smile.
"Thanks. My head's cooled down a bit thanks to you. Once this is all wrapped up, I'll buy you a whole box of yanggaeng."
"......?"
"The expensive kind."
Leaving it at that, Kang Geomma looked forward. He stared at the enemy with narrowed eyes.
A faint groan came from ahead. Vesna could only twitch her fingers and toes; she was unable to move.
The battle was practically settled. Now, it was time to finish it. Kang Geomma slowly walked toward Vesna.
As he drew closer, Vesna was enveloped in a chilling cold. Eternal annihilation was near.
She had fought with all her might. She had unleashed her secret magic and summoned her most malevolent familiar.
Yet, rendering all her efforts meaningless, she was dying. Slain by the monster drawing closer step by step.
Humans feared demons. The reason was incredibly simple: demons were far superior to those insignificant creatures huddled together like a pack of rats.
The strong preying on the weak was the natural order of things, an instinct engraved into their very being.
Then why did those lowly creatures get to live in a land flowing with milk and honey, while they, the strong, were driven into the barren wasteland of the Demon Realm?
Vesna boiled with rage at this situation that defied the natural order. Therefore, she would slaughter every last human and claim this fertile land.
Furthermore, once That Person opened his eyes once more in the near future, the Human Realm would be drenched in grief.
A blood-red future had naturally painted itself in her mind. Just imagining it brought a smile to her face—until she crossed paths with this insane human.
Step.
Kang Geomma stopped about seven paces away from Vesna. His low, sunken eyes looked down at the 3rd Corps Commander.
An unfamiliar emotion stirred within Vesna's soul. She shrieked, gritting her teeth.
"How dare an insignificant bug look at me with those eyes?! No matter how strong you are, human! When That Person returns, he will dye this land in dark crimson, and...!"
"Hey."
Kang Geomma's single word cut off her fit like a knife. He picked at his ear and said,
"Don't you know that talkative villains always die the most miserable deaths? Your brother didn't talk much, so he went relatively peacefully. In one shot."
"W-What?!"
"And all this 'That Person' crap. You're so pathetic that you have to brag about your backer, yet you call others bugs. It's ridiculous."
"H-How dare you! Are you not afraid of That Person?!"
"I'll worry about that when the time comes."
Kang Geomma pulled his hand out of his pocket and raised it. Thousands of sashimi knives aimed at Vesna like gun barrels.
"Die."
The blades cast sharp shadows, blanketing Vesna's face in silver. Then, as if they had been waiting for this moment, the sashimi knives plummeted. A few screams echoed, but they soon faded away.
...By the time the surroundings were drenched in blood, an unrecognizable heap of flesh sank beneath the bubbling lake.
One by one, the swords that had soared through the air...
...began to plunge into the water in clusters, standing like tombstones. As if mourning the cadets who had fallen in the tragedy.
The setting sun pushed away the rain clouds. The howling cold wind subsided, and warmth returned to their skin.
Though the cadets wore different expressions, their thoughts flowed in the same direction.
The special admission student they had once looked down upon with contempt. No one had forced Kang Geomma, yet he had stepped onto the battlefield.
It wasn't because he wanted recognition or understanding. Presumably, he had stepped forward simply because it was what he had to do.
His figure brought a single word to mind. A cadet wondered briefly if that word could ever suit someone so perfectly.
They looked up. Sunlight bathed Joaquin Academy. Their eyes stung.
Closing and opening their eyes, the cadet—who could be a boy, a girl, or perhaps both—could not tear their gaze away from the lake.
They simply stared at the hero standing quietly in that place.