The Dragon King Squadron, Disbanded

"Whoa, I can't believe it. That's sadistic."

Exile was getting beaten like a dog by Shin Yugyeong, who was darting between mirrors and keeping up a relentless martial arts assault. He tried to bluff his way through it, acting as if he were still composed—a habit from his New York days—but it looked like he had hit his physical limit.

"Move, you idiot. Player change."

"Red Dragon! You already took down Blue? Reliable as always."

Exile stepped back, and I moved in front of him. As Exile retreated, I faced off against Shin Yugyeong.

"Interfering? You came here to die, Jeong Uiseok."

"Give it a shot."

Shin Yugyeong initiated the attack. Shadow Clone Technique. A low tackle and a high aerial kick came at me simultaneously. I parried the low strike and dodged the high one, countering with an elbow strike to a pressure point that would paralyze her muscles.

Pop! Shin Yugyeong left a decoy behind, landed, and created some distance. It seemed her reaction speed had increased thanks to the Deleter. She was acting a bit like a ninja.

"Don't get cocky!"

She threw shuriken and throwing stars at the same time. She was weaving a trajectory that made them impossible to dodge, planning to ambush me with the dagger in her hand. Sure enough, she generated a mirror to use as a foothold and lunged for a stab. How annoying.

"What...?!"

It was too much trouble to dodge, so I just took them all. The damage was pathetic anyway. Thanks to that, Shin Yugyeong was right in front of me.

"Gotcha."

BOOM!!

I immediately grabbed her shoulders and slammed her into the ground. Mount. I pinned her shoulders with my knees so she couldn't move. Since having her lower body thrash around would be a nuisance, I pierced her thighs and stomach with White of Plague to pin her in place.

"Gyaaaah!"

"If you lose your teeth, your speech will slur, so keep your mouth shut."

I began to rhythmically and satisfyingly pummel Shin Yugyeong’s head, which was positioned between my thighs. After about twenty hits, there was no trace of her helmet left, and I could see her forehead skull caving in slightly. Any more, and she’d die.

"Hey."

"Y-you coward... if you only used that..."

"What exactly is your problem?"

"The problem is you. Selling your soul to something like Vengeance."

"This isn't some steroid addiction. You seem to have a lot of pride in being a hero, but that's not something you should be saying."

"Ha, that's not something I should hear from you either."

"Enough. Let's get to the point. What did you do to Somi?"

"What did I do?"

"Oh, playing dumb, are we? Let's see how long you can keep that up."

I began to press slowly into Shin Yugyeong’s eyeballs.

"Ugh! Wait, wait, hold on! Ughhh―!!"

With a squelching sound, blood began to overflow.

"I'll tell you the testimony from the day Han Somi died! So stop!"

I pulled my hand away. The whites of Shin Yugyeong’s eyes were completely stained red. Blood and tears mixed, staining her cheeks in a messy display. Shin Yugyeong glared at me with a face full of rage.

"Do it. If you lie, know that you'll be blind immediately."

"Sehwa, Minseo, and I were in a group at the lab, fighting combatants. There was a strengthening device from the Dark Kingdom there, and I wanted to use it."

"Why?"

"Because I wanted to get stronger. Power is the meaning of my existence."

"And what were you going to do after getting stronger?"

Shin Yugyeong didn't answer. I wasn't particularly curious, either.

"So?"

"Sehwa tried to stop me, saying it was dangerous. Minseo said it didn't look like a problem and that we should test it. There were plenty of corpses of ordinary people who seemed to have been used as test subjects. She put one in the device and told us to wait for Han Somi. Sehwa and I scolded Minseo."

"Why did Choi Minseo do that?"

"Because she hated Han Somi. She probably intended to play a prank."

"And?"

"Immediately after, Han Somi arrived. She thought there was a survivor inside the device, not a corpse, so she went in. The moment she did, the device activated automatically, and we tried to rescue her. And then you arrived, Jeong Uiseok. The rest is as you know."

"Why did you hide it?"

"Minseo asked me to. You didn't look like you were in your right mind, either."

"Does Kang Yerin know?"

"I've never told her, but I don't know if she knows."

"Hmm."

Shin Yugyeong and Ji Sehwa’s testimonies were nearly identical. They couldn't have conspired, as they wouldn't have known I would ask this question. Above all, it happened nearly seven months ago. Yet, if only one of the three had a different testimony, it was obvious who was lying. Choi Minseo. I have to kill her right now.

"I don't know how you found out about that, but Sehwa and I have no responsibility for it. If you're thinking of asking that, you're mistaken..."

"What?"

Upon hearing that, I immediately stabbed and pierced Shin Yugyeong’s right eye.

"Aaaaaaah!!"

"No responsibility? Hey, you're crossing the line."

"Damn it, you damn bastard!"

Shin Yugyeong desperately scratched at my knees, which were pinning her down, with both hands.

"Of course, you should have smashed that thing immediately. Strengthening power, this and that? Hey, you betrayed me because you wanted the switch, too. Why do you keep making excuses? Everything was ruined from the start because of your greed."

"Why is it only my fault...!?"

"What do you mean, 'only your fault'? Swallow your inferiority complex, you loser. After all that bullshit, are you stronger than me now? You said you were T1-ranked. Did you even leave a single scratch on me? Did you take the S-Squadron? I spoon-fed it to you."

Shin Yugyeong couldn't refute me; she just trembled, gritting her teeth in frustration.

"You all really piss me off. The heroes are going to get crushed anyway when the S-Squadron war happens, so should I just end the Korean heroes here? I feel like I could do that regardless of the plan. You guys are useless anyway since I'm fighting the Galactic Empire."

"Wait... just wait..."

"I don't know. I'll think about it after I kill you lot. Where is Choi Minseo?"

I asked that, reaching out to draw White of Plague. Just then.

BOOM!

The wall was destroyed, and a few people rolled in. It was Kang Yerin and three heroes.

"Shit. Definitely T2-ranked. Not easy."

Kang Yerin was overwhelming the other three. Those guys couldn't even beat one person despite ganging up on her? They were trash. Kang Yerin spotted me and Shin Yugyeong and ran over, surprised.

"Ugh, Uiseok! If you keep that up, you'll really kill her!"

"So what? I'm going to kill her."

"You can't! No matter what, at least spare her life."

"Where is Choi Minseo?"

"Minseo? Why all of a sudden..."

"Is she here? Or is she in the hospital ward?"

"Just a moment. First, calm down and let's talk..."

"Uiseok oppa!!"

I heard Ji Sehwa shouting. It seemed she had dragged her broken body up here. She rushed toward me.

"I, I was wrong. I think I thought about it wrong from the beginning. I, I know now. Let's talk, okay?"

Ji Sehwa was clinging to my arm, being a nuisance. My body was pushed back slightly by her momentum. Taking that opportunity, Shin Yugyeong, who had been pinned underneath, slipped out and escaped.

"Jeong Uiseok, next time I'll pay back the debt. You and Vengeance too!"

I didn't plan on giving her a next time. I tried to activate Blue of Death. However, Shin Yugyeong also equipped something to her transformation device.

In an instant, space tore, and a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠massive mirror appeared. At the same time, a massive gravitational field began to cover the entire scene. It must have been 15G. It was considerable power. Where did she get a switch with that kind of ability? No, was it not a switch?

"Haaap!"

I activated the blue and followed Shin Yugyeong. But Shin Yugyeong was fast, too. She changed the gravitational field and shot off like a missile. Shin Yugyeong pierced through the building, flew into the sky, and disappeared out of sight in an instant.

"Tsk."

Rumble!

The Association building couldn't withstand the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠continuous gravitational field and began to collapse.

"What on earth...! Clock Out!"

Kang Yerin tried to stop time to cancel out the gravitational field. However, gravity is a physical force that transcends time. It had the upper hand in terms of compatibility. The collapse didn't stop, and eventually, several floors crumbled down. I moved out of the range just in time. The effect of the gravitational field ended. The upper part of the Association, which had been miserably smashed, remained.

"How could this be..."

Kang Yerin sat down, devastated. I stood in front of her. The three American heroes also landed next to me.

"Yerin, do you want to continue?"

Kang Yerin slowly shook her head. It was a sign of surrender. A message appeared on my system window and the heroes' transformation device hologram guide window.

I offered my congratulations to Absolute Seven.

"You guys are the S-Squadron now. Welcome to your debut, Red Absolute."

"Thank you for your cooperation, Red Dragon. You are officially still in a state of being dead. We won't take away your honor of being 'Red.' Though it won't be the Dragon King Squadron."

"I like blue. Blue Exile! I like it. Let's return now, friends."

The American heroes laughed heartily, activated their jetpacks, and left the scene. I crossed my arms and looked down at Kang Yerin.

"Now you're just a Clocker, Yerin."

"...That's right."

"The Dragon King Squadron is disbanded."

"...Yes."

She accepted my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠words calmly. But there was someone who didn't.

"Disbanded...? No. I don't want that! It's our Dragon King Squadron! It's our name! Our..."

I turned back to the tearful Ji Sehwa.

"We were finished a long time ago."

At my declaration, Ji Sehwa stopped in her tracks, as if everything had drained out of her.

"Where is Choi Minseo?"

"...Annex medical ward, 6th floor."

I jumped over the ruined building and headed for my target. I went straight to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the hospital room with Green Nature's name on it and opened the door. The room was a private one. Outside the window, bright sunlight and a refreshing breeze were pouring in, making the battle from just moments ago feel surreal. I drew White of Plague in one hand, ready to pierce Choi Minseo’s brainstem and scatter it at any moment. I approached the bed and threw open the fluttering curtains.