The End of the Association President
“The S-Squad is your achievement?” I couldn't help but laugh at the Association President’s words, a dry, incredulous sound. “Did you create the Dragon King Squad? Did you recruit Ji Se-hwa, Kang Ye-rin, and Choi Min-seo yourself?”
“I-I told you about Shin Yu-kyung’s profile!”
“I volunteered to be a hero on my own. You were just a lucky, empty-headed girl who rode her parents’ coattails into a position of power.”
“D-don’t make me laugh. I’m a top-tier strategist! Who else in this world could have exploited the loopholes in those treaties to secure all the interests? You had it easy as a hero because of me!”
“But you betrayed me.”
“T-that’s….”
“Since the opportunity has presented itself, let me ask. Between Ji Se-hwa, Shin Yu-kyung, and you—who was the first to suggest killing me?”
“I-it wasn’t me. It must have been one of the other two, right? They were obviously just jealous of you.”
“Then why did you go along with it? What reason did you have to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs?”
“Ugh… that’s….”
“Ji Se-hwa is a dim-witted girl; her motive is weak. She might have been swept up in it. Shin Yu-kyung might have done it if she were aiming for the Switch. But you? You’re the type to lead the operation, not follow. You had no reason to agree.”
“No, that’s….”
“So, you were pulling strings in Washington to make me the Association President?”
The Association President bit her lip. It seemed I had hit the mark. Until I turned the Dragon King Squad into the S-Squad, that title had historically belonged to the United States, and Washington had always controlled the world’s heroes. The international treaties were also skewed in America's favor. But as that authority was transferred to this idiot girl in Seoul, Washington must have grown anxious and moved to shrink our influence. Politics is always the problem. I never had the slightest interest in such things.
“Is power that delicious?”
At my question, the Association President wore a look of contempt. I understood the meaning perfectly. She was looking down on me, wondering how someone of such low standing, who didn't even understand that, could be lecturing her.
“You still don’t seem to have your head straight, even after being beaten.”
I grabbed the Association President by her hair and began to drag her. There was no longer any reason to treat this thing like a human being.
“Aack! It hurts! Wait!”
She was noisy, so I smashed her face, breaking about ten of her teeth.
“Uup. Uuuup.”
“Lead me to the Magenta-aurus. Unless you want to die.”
The Association President began to walk, stumbling. “Walk faster.” I bent three fingers on her left hand backward—fingers she didn't need for walking. When she screamed again, I slapped her three times, tearing her cheeks.
Just then, her communicator started buzzing. It was a direct line. First Shin Yu-kyung, and soon after, Kang Ye-rin. They would be arriving soon, too. I put on my mask. We reached the target, the weapons hangar. The Association was in chaos due to the riots. By dragging the Association President along, I was able to infiltrate smoothly and move while avoiding surveillance. Using the Association President’s clearance to enter the final security door, we found about five security guards. I took them all down quickly.
It was a massive, single-story hangar. For the first time in a while, I laid eyes on the thing that had been left neglected, without even basic maintenance. A sleek, red fighter jet, 19 meters in length. Near the wide cockpit, a dragon-head ornament was engraved. Magenta-aurus. The partner mecha of the Red Dragon.
“Heh-eh, heh-hee.”
I threw the Association President, who was gasping for air through her broken teeth, into the cockpit and climbed in. I didn't close the hatch yet. The green eyes of the Magenta-aurus flickered to life, and the engine roared. VTOL—vertical takeoff began. Naturally, it wasn't loaded with a single bullet, let alone missiles. Only flares remained.
I partially transformed my arm and activated a skill.
Plague's White
I pierced the ceiling. Bright light poured in, reflecting off the surface of the fighter jet, making it shimmer. A red that wasn't quite direct rippled like a lakeside. I lifted the head of the Association President, who was collapsed behind the pilot’s seat, and said, “Even if I take you with me, you’re useless. Let’s end this here.”
“U-ugh.”
“The new grading system—you must have unlocked my files and used them without permission. You shouldn't have done that. You know?”
“N-no. I didn’t do it.”
“What?”
“Ye-Yerin. Yerin brought it. I only… approved it.”
“The Deleter development, too?”
The Association President nodded. This was unexpected. I had predicted that Kang Ye-rin gave the Association President hints and that she had orchestrated everything. Was it the opposite? Was Kang Ye-rin the reason the third scenario began? The Association President was truly incompetent, even more useless than I had thought. Is Kang Ye-rin actually the dangerous one?
“How did you get your hands on Nameless?”
“I-I barely made contact. Even that was Yerin… Here, it’s here.”
The Association President transferred a file to me. It was Nameless’s contact information.
“Even if Kang Ye-rin handled the work, the authority is yours. Give up the S-Squad title.”
“No, I can’t. Not that. This Association, this base… I built all of this up to this point.”
“Ha.”
She didn't know the weight of things. I grabbed the control stick. The side stick recognized the pressure of my hand smoothly. The machine soared instantly and hovered above the Association. The building was already a speck far below. The wind blasted fiercely.
“Hiiiik, wait! You said you didn't need me! L-let me go!”
“That’s right. I don’t need you.”
I grabbed the Association President by the collar and dragged her to the open side of the hatch. When she looked down, her face turned deathly pale, as if she realized what was about to happen.
“Wait, wait! Don’t let go here!”
“Like you said, it’s a building you raised. You have no complaints, right?”
“W-wait. Eui-seok. Watch your step, okay? You’re a hero, aren’t you? You know there’s no turning back if you do this, right? You can still go back. You’re not an idiot. You have to choose wisely….”
I transformed. Into Georgius.
“…Huk.”
“I already chose.”
Without hesitation, I pushed the Association President. She let out a pathetic scream, flailing her arms before her stomach was pierced by the lightning rod on the highest spire of the Association, ending her life.
I closed the cockpit and piloted the Magenta-aurus again. By now, Rua should have stolen and hidden Siagus, the mecha of Green Nature. I intended to take this one there as well. Just then, an alert rang out. I had been targeted. An open channel picked up the transmission.
『Why is that mecha moving! Hey, what’s that on the spire?!』
『I’ll zoom in. …It’s the Association President.』
『No way! The only explanation is that she fell from that mecha!』
It was the voices of Ji Se-hwa, Shin Yu-kyung, and Kang Ye-rin. They were fast. I wanted to rush over and tear the mouths off Ji Se-hwa and Shin Yu-kyung right now, but I had no weaponry. I had no choice but to flee. I immediately flipped the switches to activate Second Annul. The output section tightened, and the machine ascended. For a moment, 6.5G of force pressed down on my body.
『It’s running away!』
『Let’s chase it!』
The blue, silver, and yellow mechas pursued immediately. In an instant, we reached an altitude of 30,000 meters. The Magenta-aurus was confused. Its IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) was currently recognizing the three pursuing mechas as allies. Manual control. I set them to enemy.
『How did he steal the Magenta-aurus?!』
『Surely… it shouldn't be able to move unless it’s Jung Eui-seok.』
『Could it be… Eui-seok! Is that you, Eui-seok?!』
I ignored their communications. I was locked on. It was Shin Yu-kyung. She was full of intent to fight.
『Yu-kyung, wait! If that’s Eui-seok!』
『So what? Right now, he’s a villain’s puppet. We can’t hand over the mecha. I’m shooting him down here.』
『I’m the leader right now!!』
Ignoring Kang Ye-rin’s words, Shin Yu-kyung engaged me. The AI popped up the MTI (Moving Target Indicator).
Thump-thump-thump-thump. The heavy firing sound of an anti-aircraft cannon echoed. I banked the machine sharply and entered evasive maneuvers. Zooming (climbing maneuver) while leaving a contrail. In an aerial battle, the one who gets their tail caught loses. But there were three of them. There were no blind spots in a triangle. If there was one hole, it was this.
I banked left and descended. I stuck to Kang Ye-rin’s rear at 600 meters. At this distance, Ji Se-hwa and Shin Yu-kyung couldn't use missiles because they might get Kang Ye-rin caught in the blast.
『You cowardly bastard!』
『On my tail…!』
Kang Ye-rin, surprised by my maneuverability, climbed at 5G, avoiding being pinned in the rear. I also pulled maximum angle of attack, following at 5.5G. My whole body felt crushed. Distance, 300 meters. It was narrowing. The air resistance of the two mechas, mine and Kang Ye-rin’s, collided, and the surfaces began to vibrate violently. It felt like the wings were about to be torn off. Now was the time.
I deployed flares. They were sucked into the intake of Kang Ye-rin’s engine, destroying the ABS. Control lost.
『Kang Ye-rin!』
I immediately rolled. Rotating, flying inverted, and descending. In the end, Ji Se-hwa and Shin Yu-kyung gave up their pursuit of me and swarmed to rescue Kang Ye-rin’s spinning, crashing machine. Kang Ye-rin desperately activated the jet fuel starter. I threw one last word at them.
“Ji Se-hwa, Shin Yu-kyung. Wait for me. I’ll come find you soon.”
The reply came quickly.
『You, Jung Eui-seok, you bastard! That’s my line! You… wait… there…』
The distance increased, and I went out of communication range. I leisurely returned with the machine.
A few days later, I received a report as I started my day.
“Deep Dive.”
“The hacking of Siagus is almost finished, Boss. It’ll be usable soon, but do you have a use for it?”
“Make it so it can be used at any time. The Dragon King Squad uses six mechas; I plan to hijack and use all of them.”
“Yeeees.”
“Rua.”
“I sent the package to Kang Ye-rin. It should have arrived by now.”
“Well done. Rena, has the hotline with that guy been established?”
“It’s right here.”
Rena handed me an old-fashioned cell phone.
“Are you going to include me this time? Do you know how heartbroken I was when you left me out and went on an outing to the Association last time?”
“It was urgent then. You were at the office.”
“Your excuses are trivial. ‘Make me itch’.”
“What a troublesome woman.”
I dialed the number saved in the phone. The person who would be the key to the next operation answered immediately.