The Unmasking of Georgius

“He seems good-natured on the surface, but what a terrifying expression he wears. …Hm? Hahaha. No, I see. Even his very nature is being disguised by some kind of ability.”

Of course, Dorado couldn’t actually see the System window, but he felt it in his gut. If Jung Eui-seok had looked at Choi Min-seo with the Eyes of the Dragon at this very moment, he would have seen a string of glitched, corrupted text.

Dorado found himself intrigued by Choi Min-seo. Even for someone ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠who had lived as long as he had, that ominous aura was a rare sight. Choi Min-seo began to mutter, her lips curling into the smile of a madwoman.

“Pestam is a wonderful drug. Ahh. I lived in a dream. I truly thought time had turned back. I thought I had my place, and people who acknowledged me.”

Choi Min-seo slowly raised both hands. “But you know what? Eui-seok oppa must have thought the drug’s side effects would torment me, but even those nightmares felt like a dream to me. Thanks to the way it amplified only my jealousy and guilt even in my subconscious, I ended up believing it was all real.”

Dorado read the madness in Choi Min-seo. It was a potential he hadn’t seen in any human, nor any warrior of the Empire. “Ahh, Han So-mi. If that pathetic bitch had just died right there, I wouldn’t have had to kill Eui-seok oppa, too. I’m relieved. The moment I tasted that trashy, low-quality Pestam, I remembered everything.”

Choi Min-seo hugged her own shoulders, trembling. “Yeah. I killed her because I was scared. Because if Eui-seok oppa found out I killed Han So-mi, he would have killed me. Se-hwa unni and Yu-kyung unni are ticking time bombs, too. But they both hated Han So-mi anyway, right? Then it’s easier to kill one than to deal with both.”

Choi Min-seo slowly lifted the corners of her mouth. “Does Eui-seok oppa know? That it was me who drove a wedge between him, Se-hwa unni, and Yu-kyung unni. He still doesn’t know, does he? That the Association President was actually my biological sister. That I planned everything that day.”

The ecstatic expression on Choi Min-seo’s face suddenly vanished. She stared at the drifting clouds. “But I ruined it so damn badly.”

Choi Min-seo let out a long sigh. “It’s Eui-seok oppa’s fault. Isn’t it? If you save a tragic heroine like me, you should love her until the end, so why are you off fucking other women? Haha. It’s absurd. Retribution. Poetic justice. Righteousness. That’s how it’s supposed to be, isn’t it?”

Choi Min-seo tilted her head. “I didn’t know he was such a monster. So.” Choi Min-seo looked at Dorado. “Grandfather, make me a monster.”

Dorado looked at Choi Min-seo and curled his lips into a wide grin. “You are a child strong in both body and mind. That desire, that green jealousy, is more lovely than anything else. A truly excellent vessel.”

Dorado lightly waved his staff. Choi Min-seo’s body began to float. “Let us go together.”

The next moment, the two were engulfed in a pillar of light, and soon, nothing remained in that spot.

“What is that….” Ji Se-hwa stared at Shin Yu-kyung, cold sweat dripping down her face, rendered speechless. When Shin Yu-kyung had appeared and begun attacking Dark Matter, she had felt a sense of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠catharsis. But seeing the cruel power with which she toyed with Dark Matter like a plaything made her skin crawl. Shin Yu-kyung was destroying everything like a lunatic. If she had been caught in the middle of that, she would surely have been torn to shreds, friend or foe alike.

“Se-hwa-ssi! Eridanus is preparing something!” Kang Ye-rin called out to Ji Se-hwa. Eridanus was climbing a high spire to form a magic circle. She tried to reach that position, but the path was blocked as the combatants stopped their demolition work and swarmed toward her in droves.

『Unbelievable! Hero Half-Moon Mirror is overwhelming the Villain Alliance’s Dark Matter!』

『The ranks and ability information for the key players at this scene have arrived! Please check your screens!』

“They’re even revealing ability information?!” Kang Ye-rin clicked her tongue. Shin Yu-kyung was completely out of control. She wasn’t in her right mind. ‘Or is Nameless providing the information to the media directly? For what purpose?’

Nameless, the mysterious ability user who could objectively evaluate the powers of all ability users. Kang Ye-rin had searched for a long time to finally make contact and secure his cooperation. For some reason, he hadn’t revealed the information on Jung Eui-seok or Georgius, though.

‘Did he say, “The balance between heroes and villains cannot be maintained this way”? I still don’t know what ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that means.’ He hadn’t revealed the ability info back then either, so what had changed?

『It’s incredible! What could have happened to Hero Half-Moon Mirror, who was T1-rank! Here are the ranks of the ability users at the East Sea Underwater Prison scene!』

Kang Ye-rin checked the holographic screen displayed on her transformation device.

“Yu-kyung-ssi is T4…?! The same rank as Eridanus?!” Kang Ye-rin was shocked. Her ability level wasn’t that high, and the Deleter she was currently equipped with was broken and couldn’t even be repaired properly. The secret clearly lay in the part attached to the transformation device. Still, Eridanus was the priority. There was neither the justification nor the energy to stop the fight between Shin Yu-kyung and Dark Matter.

And finally, the moment Dark Matter collapsed, Kang Ye-rin witnessed Georgius intervening. At that moment, she thought that even Georgius couldn’t face a T4 Shin Yu-kyung alone. And then.

“…Huh?” Kang Ye-rin let out a foolish sound. She had witnessed a pure white arrow of light held in Georgius’s hand. “Did Eui-seok-ssi pass on his ability? Is that even possible? No, he was using arrows even during the title match….” Another possibility flashed through Kang Ye-rin’s mind, but she tried her best to ignore it. “…No way.”

“What a mess this is.” Lena’s voice came from behind me. I didn’t give her a separate order. Lena understood what needed to be done immediately and began emergency treatment on Lua using her Word Spirit.

“The internal organs are the priority. I will stitch the severed sections while draining some blood. Bear with it.”

“…Ugh.” Lua gritted her teeth. I walked toward Shin Yu-kyung.

“Georgio, Georgius—!!” Shin Yu-kyung shrieked, swinging her severed wrist. The transformation device attached to her other wrist glowed. I see, a pad. Since the Civil War started, the guys who developed that must have come out, too. A next-generation transformation item. So that’s how she overwhelmed Lua. She pulled some cheap tricks.

“I’ll kill you.” I declared briefly and charged. Shin Yu-kyung reacted instantly. She generated a gravitational field on me. It seems they made it so it could be operated in other ways without touching the pad. The gravity on my legs was roughly 20 times normal. My body weight increased to 2 tons. Fuck that.

When a person is pissed off, they move roughly the same regardless of the load on their body.

“Monster—!” Shin Yu-kyung pointed her finger at me and fired a quantum cannon from the tip. That’s quite strong, too. I held out my palm and tore it apart. My arm was charred black because of it, but since I was pissed off, it didn’t really matter. I continued to charge.

“No way! How!” I stuck to Shin Yu-kyung. She deployed a super-hardened new-material barrier around her entire body. It was a shield that would be fine even if an atomic bomb went off. I threw a punch. Aimed precisely at Shin Yu-kyung’s face.

Kwoooooong!!

Shield or not, I smashed through it all and slammed my fist into Shin Yu-kyung’s face. The skin where I struck couldn’t withstand the shockwave and was torn away. Her teeth burst like corn meeting a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thresher, and her jawbone and skull were crushed. Her neck snapped, and her entire body bent in a grotesque fashion. Unable to even scream, she was slammed straight into the ground.

“No, way—”

“If you’re pissed off and punch with everything you’ve got, it usually works.”

I immediately grabbed Shin Yu-kyung’s left arm and ripped it off entirely. I crushed all the pads on the transformation device.

“Ahh, no, don’t— my power—”

“I’ll show you my power, too.”

I pulled out the White of Plague. Without hesitation, I shot it into Shin Yu-kyung’s gut.

“Aaaack, aaaaaaaa—!!!”

A small void emerged and rotated. Shin Yu-kyung’s internal organs were sucked in, spinning like a blender. Unable to endure the pain, Shin Yu-kyung rolled her eyes back.

“Or how about this?” I used the Blue of Death. I pulled out a scythe. I killed exactly one of Shin Yu-kyung’s lungs. “Hup— hup— huh?! Hu-ok— o-ok—” No matter how much she breathed, oxygen wasn’t reaching her properly. Along with the pain, she must be feeling death rising to her chin.

“Are you scared?” At my question, Shin Yu-kyung’s pupils trembled. She finally understood, too. That she was going to die soon.

“Georgio— giu—”

“Yu-kyung, it’s me.”

“—Huh?”

“It’s me. Jung Eui-seok.”

“Lies.”

At that moment, Ji Se-hwa and Kang Ye-rin jumped and stood in front of me. “Georgius! Let Shin Yu-kyung go!”

“We won’t forgive you if you take her life!”

I crossed my arms and lightly rested my foot on Shin Yu-kyung’s gut. “Didn’t I tell you? You guys are going to die anyway.”

At my words, Kang Ye-rin and Ji Se-hwa were flustered.

『Georgius! Georgius, who invaded the East Sea Underwater Prison, is suppressing Half-Moon Mirror!』

『Georgius’s rank and ability are being revealed here!!』

『Wait, huh? Is Red Dragon here too?! Red Dragon has been revealed as well!』

『Wait a second. Georgius and Red Dragon’s ranks and abilities are…!!』

Kang Ye-rin hoped the display was wrong. She didn’t want to believe it. The reason she continued to be a hero even after Jung Eui-seok died? Because it was the only way she could remember him. The reason she continued to be a hero even though Jung Eui-seok had despaired of heroes? Because she thought that if she did, he would eventually acknowledge her and return. Even if she was just cooperating with villains because her path was blocked, if there was justice here.

If she showed him that she was steadfastly following his teachings without giving up. That he would eventually know. That if she kept at it, he would love her. With that hope, she had endured all the grueling training, the painful subjugation of the Galactic Empire, and the difficult position of leader.

If he had chosen the path of a villain who kills heroes from the very beginning. If the villain who had tormented Shin Yu-kyung, Choi Min-seo, and Ji Se-hwa to death was actually Jung Eui-seok. This was already a premise that couldn’t hold. Wasn’t this a beginning with nothing but despair?

“No… no, please.” Kang Ye-rin checked the trembling screen. It was written there.