Chapter 179: A Superstar is Born in an Instant
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 179: A Superstar is Born in an Instant
Master Chen, who had been walking with his hands behind his back as if out for a casual stroll, slowly reached out his hand as he watched the Zboni rushing toward him.
The mana radiating from his body seemed ordinary, but the magic circles deployed by a mage who had lived as a master of barriers for decades were so complex that an average person couldn't even begin to comprehend them.
Though his mana reserves were modest, magic at the pinnacle of technical skill was activated. Thin blue lines flickered up from the floor, piercing through the charging Zboni and reaching all the way to the ceiling.
They were thread-like barriers that looked as if they possessed no strength at all, yet any Zboni that touched even a tiny part of them froze instantly, as if someone had pressed the pause button on a video.
There was no flashiness to the original magic Master Chen had spent decades perfecting, but only silence remained in his wake.
"Seeing these damn horned bastards on display brings back memories," Master Chen chuckled, breaking the silence. He wore a murderous smile as he spotted more Zboni rushing from a distance.
However, as he moved to approach them, Frey stepped into his path and looked down at him.
"What is it, you old hag? You want to go another round like the old days?"
"I don't care about an old man who's likely to kick the bucket tomorrow. More importantly, don't be so greedy at your age."
"Greedy?"
Master Chen frowned, his eyes landing on Akito, who was busy dealing with the Zboni.
The young man stood out no matter where he was.
Master Chen couldn't possibly miss a being who possessed formidable skill far beyond his years—a monster who was still growing even in the midst of this battle.
"Are you planning to take all the credit into your coffin with you? Leave some for the kids."
"Hahaha! Aren't you the greedy one? You're already raising one monster; did you have another one hidden away?"
"He's not my disciple."
When Frey shook her head, Master Chen frowned, unable to understand.
She led a mercenary group where talent was everything, yet she wasn't trying to recruit a monster who was the literal embodiment of the word 'talent'?
That wasn't Master Chen's only question.
She already had one monster under her wing, and since he didn't know the relationship between her and the other monster over there, he could let the first question slide.
But...
"You're giving up the credit?"
A mercenary was, first and foremost, a mercenary.
Even if Greyhound was famous everywhere, most talented mages belonged to the government and worked as Black Agents. They didn't become mercenaries, where they received no recognition and had no guarantee of safety.
Therefore, for the sake of their own market value, mercenaries had to grab whatever they could from a request.
Frey's Greyhound had grown that way, and all the mercenary companies under Greyhound's umbrella worked hard to squeeze out every bit of profit possible.
And yet, she was giving up the credit? It was unheard of.
"Because that's the nature of the request."
"...I swear, I have no idea what that sly little monster is thinking. Every time I hear about him from my granddaughter, I wonder how such a fellow exists."
"A narrow-minded old man like you wouldn't understand in a million years."
"Ha! That sly brat is helping a monster who might become his rival? Now that's the kind of bullshit I'd expect from you."
Frey didn't answer. Instead, she watched Akito, who was leading the charge.
Yeon-woo was a monster, but that boy was a formidable monster in his own right.
He possessed such extraordinary talent that if he just had more time to grow, he would soon become a mage comparable to the 12 Zodiacs.
Perhaps his talent even surpassed that of his father, the strongest mage, Daihara Yukio.
It wasn't just Akito.
His teammates' skills were also impressive; they were stable and well-grounded, to the point of being flawless.
Compared to her disciple Yeon-woo's team...
"..."
Judging coldly, there was no point in even comparing them.
Excluding Yukina, everyone on Yeon-woo's team was specialized in only one area.
Even the team leader, Yeon-woo, was below the level of an average combat mage without his combat style based on mana barriers.
There was Angelica, who had massive mana but couldn't handle reinforcement magic properly; Fei, who was fast but had almost zero mana resistance; Takeo, who had nothing going for him except reinforcement magic and being a bit sturdy; and then Rio and Masayoshi, whom she didn't even know why they were there.
Each had such distinct personalities that they might be advantageous in specific situations, but if they fought Akito's team, they would lose one hundred percent of the time.
It wasn't just a matter of individual skill; from their coordination to small-scale tactics, Akito's team was a group that wouldn't lose to veterans even if they were sent into the field right now.
But why was it? Even though her head told her they would lose, Frey smirked, feeling as though Yeon-woo wouldn't actually be defeated.
'The request isn't to defeat the Zbo... the demons who attacked the station. The request is to funnel all the credit to Akito and help him.'
Following her disciple's request, Frey gave appropriate orders to her subordinates, preparing a battlefield where Akito's team could run wild.
She didn't know why the credit had to be funneled to Akito.
But even if her disciple looked like a fool, he wasn't the type to do things for no reason.
With Greyhound's help, Akito suppressed the Zboni with incredible ease.
He had expected a difficult battle, but finding the situation much easier to handle than usual, Akito realized that Frey was helping him.
The mercenaries split their formations to adjust the number of enemies they faced and lured them into terrain that was advantageous for his team.
He didn't know why she was going this far, but Akito felt grateful toward the charming Frey and felt a surge of goodwill toward her.
After suppressing a wave of Zboni, Akito took a moment to catch his breath and approached Frey to express his gratitude.
"Thank you for your help."
"...It's just the request."
"Did Yeon-woo... tell you?"
"Yes."
Frey felt a strange sensation and gave a short reply.
It was a feeling similar to when she first met Yeon-woo. However, while she had felt a sense of revulsion toward Yeon-woo, she felt the exact opposite—goodwill—toward Akito.
It certainly wasn't magic, but some unknown power that governed emotions. Frey backed away as if she didn't want to talk anymore, and seeing her wary attitude, Akito felt a bit disappointed but didn't try to strike up more conversation.
Saving the occupied broadcasting station came first, so no matter how much Akito liked women, he focused on the objective and moved forward.
They scoured the vast station building, clearing out all the Zboni, and finally arrived at a studio by following the last remaining mana traces.
"Hehehe... You're too late."
It was a Zboni who had already been beaten once and fled. The blood-soaked man sneered as he saw the people arriving in the newsroom.
"Don't you realize it's already over? You're the only demon left. Surrender."
"Ahahahaha!"
At Shiori's demand for surrender, the man burst into loud laughter.
Just as Master Chen was about to use magic out of annoyance, the man's laughter stopped abruptly. His dry, emotionless eyes stared at the group.
"Do you really think this was the only place we attacked?"
"...You, are you hiding some—"
"Khahaha! I'm not hiding anything! Because all of you hateful humans are about to see that horrific sight! It won't end with this! It will go down in history and be etched deep into the minds of humans!"
Even though his comrades were wiped out and he was the only one left, the man became talkative in his dying moments, perhaps out of joy that the plan had succeeded.
He spoke of a daycare center that had been attacked in secret while the government was focused on the broadcasting station—and that the scene of young children being ruthlessly slaughtered would soon be broadcast live.
As the man's talkative explanation continued, the faces of everyone gathered in the studio hardened.
Even Master Chen's eyes trembled with rage at the impending catastrophe, and Akito gritted his teeth as he stepped forward.
"Why do you want humans and Zboni to fight so badly?! Is that something worth killing young children for?!"
"Hehehe... Yes, be that angry. Hate us Zboni. And attack us! Then those cowardly old farts will have no choice but to go to war!"
"Tell me where it is, right now!"
The man, grabbed by his collar, snickered at Akito's rage-filled face.
"Where? I'll show you, so find it yourself."
The man's weak gesture touched a broadcast panel, and all the nearby screens simultaneously switched to show someone.
"Congratulations on being part of a moment that will be recorded in history!! Ahahaha... ha... ha... huh?"
"—Because I'm damn handsome. I'm a cool guy."
"..."
Everyone's jaws dropped as they stared blankly at Yeon-woo's face filling the screen.
He didn't seem to realize the camera was on, moving in and out of the frame as he paced around. Behind him, children were sitting and watching.
Yeon-woo, who was performing some bizarre movement that might have been a dance, spoke to the children.
"What am I?"
"A cool guy~!"
"That's right. I'm the coolest guy in the world."
"..."
Not only the Zboni who had sent the broadcast, but also Frey and Akito stared at the screen with idiotic expressions, unable to grasp the situation.
Yeon-woo was bragging about how handsome he was while wiggling his butt, and the children were giggling with happy smiles.
They didn't know how it had happened, but it was a far cry from the horrific scene the Zboni had promised.
* * *
I definitely made the right call bringing Shizuka along.
Using the rapid growth I learned from Natsume, I succeeded in shielding the children and teachers.
I thought the barricade I built from nearby objects wouldn't last long when I saw it being breached instantly, but the wall made of plants never opened until the battle was over.
The actual combat time took about three minutes—not fifteen seconds, my foot—but my teammates protected the wall and took care of all the Zboni.
However, I couldn't show the children the dismembered corpses, so it took a bit more time to clean up before I deactivated the plants.
I immediately notified the government and requested reinforcements, but the agents still haven't arrived because of the broadcasting station.
Was it the director? She said she would contact the children's parents, but Park Yu-jeong stopped her, so we're all gathered in one place for now.
She said there was no need to increase the number of people we had to protect, and that parents coming in a panic would only cause chaos at the scene.
She argued it was better to maintain the current state until agents arrived to bolster our numbers.
Park Yu-jeong really is good at this kind of thing.
However, even with the teachers' efforts, they couldn't stop the terrified children from crying.
Can't be helped.
I nudged Rio, who was sitting next to me.
"Hey, go soothe the kids."
"I do like lolis, but—"
"Forget it. I must be crazy, bringing a sex offender to deal with demons. Move."
"No, no, no! I can do it!"
"Don't get within two meters of the kids. Hey kids! This mister is going to show you something fun!"
I pushed him into the center and shouted loudly to the children.
At my bright voice, even the little brat who had been whimpering stared blankly. When everyone looked at him, Rio froze in panic.
"I-I'm not a mister. I'm an oppa."
"Hey, look at the age gap. To them, both you and I are misters. Stop talking nonsense and show them something fun. Come on, everyone, clap~!"
When I clapped my hands, the children hesitated before following suit.
As everyone clapped, even the crying kids moved their tiny hands while tears still rolled down their cheeks.
This idiot, he can't even perform when the stage is set for him.
Rio, who had stood still until the clapping died down, flinched and opened his mouth when I gave him a look to hurry up.
"Uh... uh... ah, um... What does a turtle say when it gets lost?"
"Turtles can't talk."
"Turtles can talk."
"No, they can't."
Wow, look at them go. Look at them fighting amongst themselves.
The teachers told the kids to listen to what the oppa had to say, focusing their attention. Everyone stared at Rio in silence.
"Uh... 'Where do I turtle-go'?" (Note: A pun on 'Where do I go?')
"...?"
"Ah, I mean... you see, turtles go 'turtle-turtle'... no, no, not turtle, but 'turtle-go'—"
"Hey, you're embarrassing. Get out."
I pushed the failed comedian Rio aside and took center stage.
Where does he get off telling jokes that even a middle manager wouldn't laugh at?
"Is Yeon-woo going to show us something this time? I'm looking forward to it~"
Park Yu-jeong smiled brightly, playing along, and the children's eyes sparkled as they looked at me.
Argh—as a true gentleman, these pure gazes are a lot of pressure.
Understanding how Rio felt, I raised my hands and started to dance.
"Pfft—what is that dance?"
"Truly an eyesore."
At my pathetic, nursery-rhyme-like dance, Park Yu-jeong was the first to burst out laughing, and Bukgeuk-jwa looked at me with pity.
They don't know anything. The best way to make kids laugh is to move in a way that looks stupid.
Since Park Yu-jeong had broken the ice, the laughter became contagious, and several children started to giggle.
They weren't laughing because it was cool; they were laughing at a clown. But I can play the clown for a day.
As the teachers, who were experts at handling kids, started to play along with my efforts, the crying children vanished.
"Why is the reaction so different from mine..."
Rio became dejected as the kids went wild for my stupid dance.
I approached him while vigorously doing the 'dog-leg dance' and smirked.
"You know why? Because I'm damn handsome. I'm a cool guy."
Rio looked at me like I was a madman, but it was an undeniable fact.
Even kids care about looks. Because they're pure, they judge faces even more cruelly and accurately.
I moved my hands rhythmically, sweeping past my young fans who were cheering for me.
"What am I?"
"A cool guy~!"
The children called me different things—oppa, hyung, mister, uncle—but they all agreed that I was cool.
Fine, I'm in a good mood. I'll even wiggle my butt for you.
As my dainty butt wiggled along with the dance, the children giggled and laughed.
See how much better it is when they're laughing?
"That's right. I'm the coolest guy in the world."
"Huh? I think this turned on?"
At Masayoshi's words, which reached me while I was taming my young fans, I stopped moving and turned around.
A red light was blinking on the camera that the radical extremists had set up to live-stream the beheadings.
Was that... remote-controlled?
While I stared blankly, Bukgeuk-jwa, who was fiddling with her smartphone, showed me the broadcast screen with a bright smile.
"Congratulations, Superstar. Or should I say, Mr. Coolest-Guy-in-the-World? Your butt is quite sexy."
On the screen, I saw myself frozen in a bizarre pose against the backdrop of giggling children.
Was I wiggling my butt on a broadcast the whole nation was watching?
...I want to die.