The Internal Strife and Brawl of the Dragon King Squadron
I once watched a movie. The plot was filled with mundane clichés and standard tropes. The characters were cookie-cutter archetypes. A bit clumsy and lacking, the film would have been forgotten by everyone as a mediocre work, yet it remained the talk of the town for quite some time. This was because the greatest actor of the era had played the villain.
The villain's actions in the story, which seemed incomprehensible just by hearing about them, were fully explained by the actor's performance. The indescribable, profound look of remorse he showed when he died—that single moment of expression was the probability, the plot, and the perfection of the film. In that way, sometimes a single scene explains everything better than countless explanations, narratives, or persuasions.
“Ah, ah…!” Seeing my face, Cheolsango seemed to lose the strength in her legs and collapsed to the floor.
“You were… alive…!” As if the tears she had shed until now weren't enough, Cheolsango filled her face with a lake of them. At this moment, meeting the Red Dragon, all kinds of emotions swirled within her. Anxiety turned into relief, long-held patience into reward, loneliness into certainty, and admiration into sympathy. The person she had aimed to become was already deeply involved in her life from right by her side. How could she not be agitated?
I declared, “I cannot reveal myself to the world right now.”
“Why, why is that…!”
“Because it was the Dragon King Squadron that killed me.”
“That can’t be…!” Cheolsango clutched her chest with her fist as if in agony. “How, how much must you have suffered? How much pain were you in? I can’t even imagine it. Why would the Dragon King Squadron do that to Red Dragon?”
“The heroes of this country are rotten.” I asserted. “Your justice can never be realized under the current Association system. Form a resistance, Lee Jeong-hye.”
Cheolsango bit her lower lip. Still on her knees, she bowed her head to me.
“Respected Red Dragon. I am infinitely grateful for you saving my life twice, and I swear to devote the rest of my life to your loyalty.” She lifted her head. “From this moment on, I will discard the name Cheolsango and, as the human Lee Jeong-hye, I will lead a resistance to bring down the Hero Association.”
Cheolsango—no, Lee Jeong-hye’s tears had stopped. In those eyes, only my reflection remained.
“This man is the new Red?” Kang Ye-rin, who had entered the hospital room with the members of the Dragon King Squadron, already had a headache.
The new Red was wrapped in bandages from head to toe and was inside an intensive care capsule.
“He was attacked by terrorists on his way here. It’s those Vengeance bastards again. Damn it.” The Association President ground his teeth.
“Ah…? Ahhh… Dragon King Squadron… is it. You’re even more beautiful in person… haha…” Arcsi muttered, letting out a hollow, weak laugh.
The Dragon King Squadron was speechless at his horrific appearance.
“Was it Dark Matter again?” Shin Yu-kyung asked.
“Monster, it’s a monster. A devil, a red devil…” Arcsi mumbled as if he had lost his soul.
“A red devil? And a monster at that?” Hearing that, Kang Ye-rin tilted her head. Even though there were villain organizations that employed monsters, Arcsi was a B-class hero in his own right. It was hard to believe that a fledgling organization like Vengeance had the technical capability to create a monster powerful enough to crush him like that, let alone one that operated independently.
“That monster, could you talk to it?”
“I, I did…”
That meant it was at least executive level. It meant it was uncontrollable. It meant it wasn't a monster, but a villain.
‘A red monster-type ability user.’ Kang Ye-rin thought of a familiar person, but she shook her head because it obviously couldn't be him.
“The, the egg is gone… ah, it’s okay. The seal is still fine… Hey, Yellow lady, don't you feel sorry for me? We’re colleagues eating from the same pot now, so why don't you suck it for me…”
Kang Ye-rin’s face crumpled at those words. She walked straight up to Arcsi.
“Oh, good, good. I always welcome an active woman… Kuaaaack!!”
Kang Ye-rin slammed her fist into Arcsi’s face. She wiped her hand with a sanitizing tissue as if she had touched something filthy and walked out of the hospital room. The other squadron members followed her.
“Everyone, you saw the state of the new Red, right? Consider the Dragon King Squadron to be just the four of us.” Kang Ye-rin declared as soon as they left the room.
Shin Yu-kyung crossed her arms and sighed. “We don’t have time. We need to start training immediately from now on.”
“Do you think we can win by doing that?” Ji Se-hwa spat out pessimistically.
“We’ll have to try to know.”
“We’re going to die anyway, do you think we have any brains left to think?”
“Watch your language.”
“H, hey!” Choi Min-seo interrupted. “S, sisters…”
Trembling, Choi Min-seo looked up at the three. Shin Yu-kyung, Ji Se-hwa, and Kang Ye-rin focused on her.
“I, I’m sorry…” Choi Min-seo barely managed to speak. Upon hearing that, the three realized it was time to back off. How frustrating must they have looked for the youngest to be the first to say something like that?
“There’s nothing to be sorry about, Min-seo. You’ve had a hard time.” The eldest sister, Shin Yu-kyung, patted Choi Min-seo’s shoulder.
“B, but.” Choi Min-seo looked up at Shin Yu-kyung like a small rabbit. “If I had handled Quetzalcoatl better in the last battle, everyone would have been less hurt… I’m sorry.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I, I didn’t know the Dark Kingdom was that strong. It’s getting scarier lately… Ui-seok oppa said it was okay, but— Eek?!”
Bang! Ji Se-hwa shoved Choi Min-seo against the wall with a fierce expression. “What kind of bullshit is that! Who are you playing with? Are you picking a fight, you fucking bitch?!”
“Hey, stop it!” Shin Yu-kyung immediately pulled Ji Se-hwa away. She turned to Choi Min-seo. “Min-seo, what are you saying?”
“Yes? That… I talked to So-mi unni and she said if I apologized, everyone would understand… U, uh? This isn’t it?”
Thump. Choi Min-seo collapsed to the floor. Tears were already welling up in her eyes. “No, it’s strange. This memory, when is it from? Ui-seok oppa, where is Ui-seok oppa? Oppa, I’m having a hard time… Yu-kyung unni, where is Ui-seok oppa? I feel strange. I want to talk to him. Ui-seok oppa. When I’m like this, oppa always…”
“Shut your mouth!!”
Bang! Ji Se-hwa threw a punch with her left arm right next to Choi Min-seo’s face. The titanium fist dented the wall.
“Mention that bastard’s name one more time. Do you have any idea how fast I can rip your throat out? Do you understand?”
Choi Min-seo stared blankly at Ji Se-hwa. “Do you understand!!”
“Stop it.” Kang Ye-rin’s arm blocked Ji Se-hwa’s upper body.
“Don’t touch me.”
“You’re the one who shouldn’t touch Min-seo. She’s anxious.”
“Since when were you so close that you’re looking out for her? Are you mimicking that fucking bastard?”
“…Stop badmouthing Ui-seok-ssi.”
“What! My head is a mess right now because of that guy! I’m so pissed off I could die! If it weren’t for that fucking bastard—”
Smack! Unable to hold back any longer, Kang Ye-rin punched Ji Se-hwa in the face. Ji Se-hwa, who had stumbled back a few steps, seemed not to understand the situation for a moment before lifting her head and lunging at Kang Ye-rin.
“Hwaaang, hwaaaaang.” Choi Min-seo began to cry, curled up while clutching her head. In front of her, a brawl between Kang Ye-rin and Ji Se-hwa began. Shin Yu-kyung tried her best to stop them, but it was futile.
“Do I need your permission to badmouth that guy? Who the hell are you!”
“Ui-seok-ssi didn’t do anything to deserve being badmouthed so mindlessly! Se-hwa, you were saved by Ui-seok-ssi too! He helped you!”
“What do you know about other people’s business to be blabbering! It’s none of your concern!”
Ji Se-hwa was furious. She remembered it too, of course. When they were just venting instinctive desires, consuming only emotions, with death by their side, and the little time they had left slipping through their fingers. That honest man with the strange sensibilities. From the basics of communicating with people, to the trick of not being a picky eater, to how to maintain etiquette. The memories of a man named Jeong Ui-seok who taught her the vast world called society as if teaching her to take her first steps. That was her own. Her own memory. So she was angry that it was being contaminated by being on someone else’s lips. She was angry that it was weathering away. She had locked the memories away as memories and cut off the real Jeong Ui-seok herself. Anger management issues, drug addict, slave to capitalism, battle maniac, egoist. She had cut him off and killed him before he could abandon them, abandon justice, and become a villain, an enemy they would have no choice but to kill. She had no regrets about that decision. She shouldn’t have had any. She thought she wouldn’t. So she was so angry at Choi Min-seo and Kang Ye-rin for constantly shaking that decision that she couldn’t bear it.
“Then what do you know?” Kang Ye-rin asked back, throwing a punch.
“If you didn’t know anything, if you knew nothing at all, you shouldn’t have killed him!!”
Ji Se-hwa was flustered. Kang Ye-rin’s fighting style had become much sleeker and sharper. She couldn’t defend against it.
“You and I, the reason we made it this far is all thanks to Ui-seok-ssi!” Kang Ye-rin also began to pour out the words she had been holding back. “How could you throw away all those times and kill Ui-seok-ssi?! At the very least, you could have talked to him one more time!”
“How much more should I have done! Shin Yu-kyung and I were always clashing with that guy! You and Choi Min-seo were hiding in the back and didn’t even come out! After Han So-mi died, that guy changed!!”
“It’s natural for him to change! How could he be normal when the person he loved died!”
After Han So-mi’s death, Jeong Ui-seok changed. From that point on, when Jeong Ui-seok clashed with Ji Se-hwa or Shin Yu-kyung, even from Kang Ye-rin’s perspective, Jeong Ui-seok was often in the wrong. In the latter half of the battle against the Dark Kingdom, as the fighting intensified, Jeong Ui-seok’s anger became so severe that one had to wonder if he was mentally ill. The frequency with which he ate monsters also increased. A rough and grotesque appearance. Even the claim that it was a side effect of his ability sounded like the ramblings of a deranged person. He had even monopolized the switches. It was enough to suspect that he would become a villain if things continued like this. Now, Kang Ye-rin understood that heart. When a loved one dies, humans usually end up like that. That was normal. The person who didn’t break should have been the one suspected of being abnormal. Her fists were proving it right now. The accumulated sorrow, the regret flowing from the cellular level, the despair that had encroached like a swamp. It was turning into hatred and anger and erupting. The first time was the hardest. She had lived her whole life politely, never even speaking informally to others, let alone swearing. Now that she had started using violence once, she felt a desire to not just hurt Ji Se-hwa, but to truly kill her. A murderous intent was blooming.
“At the very least, if you had clearly told me that you planned to kill Ui-seok-ssi!!”
Filled with rage, Kang Ye-rin’s knee struck Ji Se-hwa’s abdomen deeply. Ji Se-hwa flew back, vomiting gastric juices, and crashed. Just as she was about to rush in for the finish.
“You’ve crossed the line. Kang Ye-rin, stop!” Shin Yu-kyung leaped at Kang Ye-rin and hugged her tightly, restraining her entire body.
“…Damn it. Damn it.” Ji Se-hwa, who had collapsed ungracefully to the floor, could not lift her head.
“Hwaaang. Oppaaa. Help me…” Choi Min-seo was still buried in her face, crying. Only then did Kang Ye-rin begin to catch her breath and lower her fists. On the monitor installed on the hallway wall, a small sound flowed out along with an advertisement video.
『Welcome the strongest heroes!』
『There is only one S-Squad that conquered the world!』
『Dragon King Squadron Drae-Ozer!』
『Transformation gear! Exclusive mecha! Now on sale!』
A quiet hallway with only the four of them. How long did the sound of the advertisement and Choi Min-seo’s crying echo? Kang Ye-rin finally steeled her resolve.
“…Everyone, please listen.”