Chapter 217: I’m Here to Support (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 217: I’m Here to Support (6)
Dawn breaks, and I finish preparing for the search.
The heroes who already know the plan have a strange tension in their eyes, while those kept in the dark look like office workers heading to a typical day at the job.
"Pack the equipment for direct combat."
As soon as the field team hears my order, their gazes sharpen, and they move with renewed speed.
Satomi and Hornet, who haven't received formal military training, watch blankly, but the atmosphere around the other members grows razor-sharp.
The vehicles carrying the heroes scatter to their assigned sectors according to the plan. Not long after, I transmit a message over Song Jae-ah’s public channel.
"Villain sighting confirmed in Otaki-machi. As of this moment, search duties are concluded. All units move to the new coordinates being transmitted now."
Hearing the transmission, Woo Jae-hee glances at me through the rearview mirror.
"Move to the coordinates, drop off the equipment, and immediately pull back to the perimeter."
Originally, the field team was supposed to wait at the edge of Otaki-machi while only the heroes entered. However, today, under the pretext of assisting the struggling heroes, the field team has entered as well.
Since it isn't clear who the enemy is, I’ve kept the heroes and the field team close so they can keep an eye on each other. Any vehicle that doesn't move according to the coordinates will be deemed an enemy and will either be detained or excluded from the operation.
When our vehicle arrives and we begin unloading the gear, Silver Blood’s vehicle pulls up, and Victoria steps out.
"Oh, you’re fast. Your driver is quite good."
"He’s an excellent member," I reply.
Woo Jae-hee wears a proud expression as he sets up the communicator.
"Checking comms."
"Comms are clear. Wasn't today supposed to be a search mission?"
Ryu Ji-hye, seeing the communication network for drone piloting being established, asks the question calmly.
"The mission has changed. It’s now villain suppression."
"Understood. We will provide our best support. Please, everyone in Black Unicorn, stay safe."
Despite the sudden change in plans, Ryu Ji-hye doesn't panic and begins issuing orders to the situation room.
"Output confirmed. Drones are ready for deployment at any time."
"We’re heading underground, so the signal might get spotty."
"Understood. Do you have the capacity to install transceivers?"
"The tunnels are deep, so I’m not sure if it’ll be possible."
"Acknowledged."
Listening to Ryu Ji-hye, I double-check the equipment one last time before heading toward the entrance Silver Blood has cleared.
Woo Jae-hee quickly starts the engine, while Kim Tae-eun and Joo Ji-hyun sling their rifles and hop into the vehicle.
As I watch them drive away, I turn to see Victoria smiling leisurely.
"I thought I was watching a professional army for a second."
"When it’s time to work, we do it right."
"What are you worried about when we’re here? Just think of it as a light stroll."
"I’ll hold you to that."
After responding to Victoria, I look at my team, who are now fully prepared.
"Let’s go. This is the real deal, so stay sharp."
Silver Blood and Black Unicorn enter the deep cavern.
Initially, it was so dark we had to create our own light, but as we venture deeper, bioluminescent rocks embedded in the ceiling begin to illuminate the path.
"Whew—they spent some serious cash here."
Luminescent materials, byproducts of D-rank monsters, aren't exactly expensive, but plastering an entire underground tunnel with them must have cost a fortune, just as Victoria said.
Extinguishing our light magic, we continue through the cavern.
Black Unicorn maintains a tight formation, but the members of Silver Blood walk as if they’re out for a neighborhood stroll, almost mocking our caution.
Well, I suppose they’ll fight as well as their confidence suggests. We only need to handle the detection; we can leave the heavy lifting to Silver Blood.
"Was it Ella? You didn't bring that fairy?"
"No. It’s too dangerous."
Elly has zero combat ability. Because she’s an 'Error,' monsters in dungeons don't attack her, but ironically, she’s an easy target for humans with ill intent. She flies fast enough that she wouldn't be caught easily, but it was still too risky.
"That’s a shame. I wanted to talk to her."
While Victoria is expressing her disappointment, my Mana Detection picks up Awakened signatures.
"Three people, 110 meters straight ahead."
"Hmm, quite detailed. Your detection range is longer than I thought."
Victoria narrows her eyes, peering into the darkness of the tunnel. She lets out a smirk and drops into a low stance.
"I’ll be right back."
From a sprinting start, Victoria vanishes forward in an instant.
I worry she’s being too reckless, but the Silver Blood party members don't seem concerned at all. They just chuckle and continue walking down the path.
"You’re late. Were you planning on making me do all the work?"
Victoria, having cleanly suppressed the three targets, stands casually, dropping a woman she had been holding by the throat to the floor.
"I asked a few questions, and they confirmed they’re with the Alliance. We hit the jackpot."
I glance at the two unconscious figures and then examine the wounds and the surrounding environment of the villain who is glaring at us in fear.
She really did take them down easily.
A light low kick, then grabbed by the collar and slammed against the wall.
I say 'light,' but a low kick from an A-rank would have enough force to shatter a leg. After staring at the dent in the wall for a moment, I crouch in front of the villain and ask, "What is the New Human Alliance’s objective?"
"You think I’d tell you that?"
"You seemed to answer Victoria quite kindly, but you’re being rather rude to me."
"That’s because I’m quite popular with people," Victoria quips with a giggle.
"Can't you be kind to me too?"
I speak in a seductive tone while stroking the villain’s leg, prompting the Silver Blood members behind me to whistle. However, the villain keeps her mouth shut, clearly having no intention of talking to me.
Yeah, that’s enough.
I scan the surrounding traces once more and stand up.
"We’ll leave the transport of the detainees to the follow-up team. Let’s keep moving."
After subduing the villains, we continue along the passage.
The place is a labyrinth of complex intersections, so we stop occasionally at forks to check the map. Even though the map was drafted from surface observations and I expected it to be inaccurate, it’s surprisingly decent. There are paths that don't exist on the map, but the chances of us getting lost seem slim.
"Comm—crackle—signal is—unstable—bzzzt—"
So this is the limit of the communication range.
I mark the spot on the map, head back a bit, and contact Ryu Ji-hye.
"Deploying drones. We’ll maintain a perimeter watch in two shifts."
"We’ll be on standby. Please stay safe."
Ryu Ji-hye’s clear voice sounds muffled through the heavy static.
As I end the transmission, Victoria stands beside me, smiling.
"You’re the incredibly cautious type. Is that why you’ve never used a Hero Card?"
"We haven't used them because my members are skilled. It has nothing to do with being cautious."
"Ho—you really trust your members. Then, have you never experienced death?"
"I think it’s a bit ridiculous to call a 'fake death' an actual death."
It honestly makes me sigh when I see heroes who get cocky because of their Hero Cards, only to freeze up in terror when they actually have to put their real lives on the line.
"Fake death? Hahaha! Your leader is quite the melancholic one, isn't he? How do you stand him? If it were me, I would’ve committed suicide a hundred times over."
"He’s an outstanding leader, and thanks to him, we haven't died," Kim Yun-ah replies, praising me as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.
Though she accepted the compliment, it wasn't the answer Victoria was looking for. She shrugs her shoulders in boredom and falls silent.
We continue forward, locating and subduing villains along the way. Every time I point out a location, Victoria is the first to charge in and take them down. And just like the previous villains, we don't get any useful answers.
"Hey, if there really was a machine that could force a dungeon to explode, how would you use it?"
Victoria is a flightier person than I expected; she hasn't stopped talking.
"Is there even a need for such a thing?"
"If you play innocent like that, I don't have much to say... but wouldn't it be an incredible weapon? It would sell for an astronomical amount, and if a villain had it, they could use it for all sorts of nasty things."
"And if a hero had it, they’d destroy it."
Victoria looks stunned for a moment, as if I’d landed a solid blow, then she narrows her eyes and laughs.
As she continues walking, nodding to herself as if she’s found something amusing, we enter a fairly large hall. After checking the surroundings from the entrance, we step inside.
"Was there something here? Or was it just built this way?"
The Silver Blood members look around as they speak. Judging by the scrape marks on the floor, it looks like some very heavy objects were moved through here.
Scanning the traces, I look toward the direction where I feel mana.
"Someone is approaching from the opposite tunnel."
"Just one?"
"Yes. They’re strong. Yun-ah, secure the retreat. Pinball."
At the word 'Pinball,' Kim Yun-ah glances at me and takes her position at the entrance we just came through.
As I assign positions to my members, Victoria laughs.
"Why all the preparation? I told you to leave the fighting to us. Don't you trust us?"
"It’s my melancholic personality."
"Hahaha! You don't seem melancholic at all."
While Victoria is busy acting relaxed, a woman emerges from the other side. She looks East Asian, with red hair tied back haphazardly. She saunters toward us. It doesn't look dyed; it probably changed when she Awakened.
She’s beautiful but has a fierce gaze. She isn't surprised to see us; she just keeps walking steadily, her eyes fixed on me.
"So you’re Jeong Yeon-woo? Heh—I guess it’s fine to have a taste before I kill you. You look delicious."
"Thanks. You look pretty tasty too."
"..."
What? Was that not the right response?
I feel everyone’s bewildered stares and shut my mouth.
"You’re more interesting than I thought. Interesting enough that I’m curious to see you sobbing underneath me."
I wanted to retort that I was curious to see her underneath me too, but I could feel Kim Yun-ah’s glare burning into the back of my head, so I kept it to myself.
I didn't say it. Stop glaring.
I glance at Yun-ah and then turn back to the woman.
"There are a lot of us here. You must be pretty confident in your skills."
"Well—there are idiots who think that way."
"We’ll see who the idiot is soon enough. What should I call you?"
"Spinner."
When the woman introduces herself as Spinner, Hornet looks surprised. She must be quite famous.
"Okay, Spinner. It was nice meeting you. See you next time. Hornet. Air Blast."
"Huh?"
"Air Blast!!"
Hornet, failing to understand the command at first, scowls when I shout, but she quickly triggers the compressed air.
BOOM!!
The Air Blast, detonating right in the middle of our formation, blows everyone—Black Unicorn and Silver Blood alike—in all directions.
Simultaneously, Kim Yun-ah places her hand on the ground and raises Ice Pillars in the direction we’re being blown.
Slamming my back against a solid Ice Pillar to stop my momentum, I fire my gun at the Black Unicorn members and then turn the muzzle toward Yun-ah.
Bang!
The final bullet hits Yun-ah’s hand, marking her. Tentacles erupt from the bullets that hit my members, hooking onto them and flying like arrows toward the mark on Yun-ah.
Yun-ah snatches the incoming tentacles and pulls with all her might. Like fish caught in a net, we are dragged toward her. Just as we reach her, the tentacles convert into mana and vanish.
"Formation B."
The Black Unicorn members, landing with a stylish skid, quickly maintain their formation and guard the front according to my command.
Spinner, caught off guard by the sudden turn of events, can only scowl without moving, while the Silver Blood members scramble to find their footing on the floor.
"Jeong Yeon-woo. What the hell do you think you’re doing?"
Victoria, who had been pushed back by the sudden explosion, wears a fierce scowl.
"What does it look like? It’s called betraying the traitor before they can betray you."
"...Did you know from the start?"
"No, I had my suspicions, but I only became certain after we came in together."
I sneer at Victoria’s contorted face.
"You were pulling your punches way too much because they’re your fellow Alliance members. Even I wouldn't feel a thing if I were hit like that."
"You don't think it’s just because the skill gap was so large I suppressed them easily?"
"Mmm~ no. Even with a skill gap, the way you moved... forget it. You’re not planning on making excuses anyway. And how did you know it was a 'machine' when we don't even know if it’s a skill or something else yet?"
At my sarcasm, Victoria stands up straight, a twisted smile on her face.
"I knew you were something else, but you’ve exceeded my expectations. But tell me, who do you think you’re messing with?"
"A traitorous piece of shit, that’s who. Anna, Demonization."
As I flash a bright smile and raise my middle finger, Victoria drops into a sprinting stance.
In the blink of an eye, she lunges toward me, reaching out her hand, but Anna snatches her wrist, slams her into the ground, and kicks her in the stomach.
Victoria is sent flying, crashing into the wall behind Spinner.
"You bitch! Who gave you permission to touch my darling Yeon-woo?"
Anna, now with horns on her head and a voluptuous, demonic physique, glares furiously as she hugs me from behind.
In terms of pure stats, a demonized Anna is a match for any A-rank.
Spinner, having glanced at the battered Victoria, turns her cold gaze back to me.
"This looks like it’ll be fun."
"Yes, but unfortunately, it’s closing time. My apologies."
The entire Black Unicorn team throws smoke grenades at the floor and begins to retreat.
"You think this kind of trick will work?!"
Obscuring vision only works on low-ranks who are poor at Mana Detection.
The enraged Silver Blood members charge in. Before Kim Yun-ah seals the passage with an ice wall, I toss a handful of flashbangs and retreat.
Bang!—EEEEEEEE—
Did I set off too many? Even though I closed off my senses, my ears are ringing. Kwon Ye-jin, who was further away, seems affected too; her head is spinning.
"Agh!"
"Motherfucker!!"
Oops. I guess they cranked up their sensory perception because their vision was blocked.
The Awakened in this world are so vulnerable to military weapons; it makes things too easy.
I wanted to leave a few wounds while I had the chance, but that woman, Spinner, hadn't moved an inch from her spot. And Victoria, who had been kicked away by Anna, likely wasn't affected by the flashbangs either.
"Now then, let’s run."
"Sigh, why did we even come here?"
Hornet grumbles but starts running after me.
Alright, let’s begin a deadly game of tag. If we get caught, we die; if we don't, they do.