Chapter 220: I’ve Come to Support You (9)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 220: I’ve Come to Support You (9)
The moment I felt something strange in Otaki-machi, I contacted Lee Ru-da immediately.
I couldn't ask someone as busy as her to come to Japan just to protect me, but I could at least ask for a small favor.
From the moment I realized the Alliance existed, I knew I needed insurance to save us from danger.
What I requested from Lee Ru-da was the black cube—the spatial teleportation item that villains like Baek Seo-woo used to carry around.
It was a technology I hadn't experienced in my previous world, but I knew exactly how to use it.
Run away? Why would I run away? I just had to give it to someone I could trust who was also insanely strong.
Those things aren't cheap, and providing them for every member of Black Unicorn would have cost a fortune.
But one. Just one was enough.
I asked Lee Ru-da about the heroes and sought help from the strongest, most trustworthy person she knew, then gave her the item Square Garden had sent.
And that person was this little kid, Hwa-ryeon, whom I currently felt like patting on the head.
Hey, Spinner. You think you’re that good at fighting?
Well, I brought someone even better.
As I smiled while making eye contact with Hwa-ryeon, Spinner moved first, lunging forward.
"Watch out! It's a Spatial Fixation skill!"
Spinner's skill is dangerous if you're caught off guard.
I shouted while raising my shotgun.
Hwa-ryeon watched Spinner's charge with a relaxed expression, then stepped back upon hearing my warning.
"Too late."
Spinner smirked and reached out. As Hwa-ryeon retreated, the tips of her fingers were caught.
The skill fixes anything within its range regardless of surface area. Hwa-ryeon tried to pull away, but her two fingers were stuck in mid-air as if clamped in a vise, unable to move even as her hand twitched.
In that brief moment, Spinner closed the distance to apply the skill again, and I fired my gun into the space between them.
Bang—! Swish—
The moment the bullet left the barrel, Hwa-ryeon’s sword moved.
She cleanly sliced off her own fingers and retreated. As the bullet froze in mid-air and the magic took effect, the severed fingers fell to the ground with a dull thud.
"..."
"If you could break it, you should have said so sooner."
Hwa-ryeon spoke calmly, looking back and forth between her fallen fingers and her dripping hand.
This woman has some serious grit.
To slice off her own fingers without a moment's hesitation just to escape...
"I-I'll reattach them for you."
"Forget it. I'll finish this first, then get treated."
Hwa-ryeon swung her sword forward. A gust of wind surged, and the fingers on the ground flew toward me as if moved by telekinesis.
Hwa-ryeon started to scratch her head while looking at Spinner, but realizing she was missing fingers, she used her pinky instead.
Blood dripped from the stumps, staining her white dobok, but Hwa-ryeon didn't seem to care. She spun her sword and took a starting stance.
"You use a rather interesting technique."
"You're Hwa-ryeon, right? Are you still A-rank? Well, it doesn't matter. I needed an S-rank's head anyway, so this works out."
"From the way you talk, it seems you've never actually fought an S-rank."
Hwa-ryeon gave a thin smirk and began to swing her sword through the air with fluid, slow movements, as if performing a sword dance.
...Wait, that's just cheating.
I’d heard from Lee Ru-da that she had a copying skill and the hero name 'Ten Thousand Swords,' but copying a copied sword is just broken.
As her blade moved, it left afterimages that solidified into duplicate swords floating in the air.
But those duplicates copied themselves again. Increasing exponentially rather than linearly, the swords multiplied until they seemed to fill the entire corridor in an instant.
"Try blocking this. You're about to learn why so many heroes never reach S-rank."
The moment Hwa-ryeon finished speaking, the swords rained down on Spinner all at once.
As they flew, the scene became even more terrifying.
The swords continued to duplicate mid-flight, surging forward like a literal river of steel.
Spinner tried to hold her ground by fixing the space around her, but the sheer volume was too much. Her skill shattered under the pressure, and swords began to bury themselves in her body.
"Guh... cough...!"
Spinner, who had absolutely trashed us earlier, was helplessly turned into a pincushion. She fell to her knees, coughing up blood.
I learned something useful—that you can break Spatial Fixation with sheer mass—but how the hell do you beat a person like this?
I couldn't think of a single way to counter Ten Thousand Swords. I could only let out a hollow laugh.
There was a reason she could go toe-to-toe with Lee Ru-da.
Hwa-ryeon walked toward Spinner, stepping over the swords that had fallen to the floor after breaking the spatial lock.
"Any last words?"
"You... damn Chinese bitch..."
"I see. How pathetic that those are your final words."
Hwa-ryeon took a sword lodged near Spinner's heart and thrust it deeper.
Spinner died instantly and slumped to the floor. Hwa-ryeon spun her sword and returned it to its sheath.
With a sharp click, her sword was fully sheathed, and the thousands of blades filling the area vanished like an illusion.
"I am unskilled in the arts, so I must ask for treatment."
Hwa-ryeon, who referred to magic as 'arts,' held out her hand with the missing fingers.
I reattached her fingers and healed the battered members of my party while explaining what had happened.
Even when I told her Silver Blood had betrayed us, Hwa-ryeon didn't look surprised. She listened calmly, seemed to ponder for a moment, and then spoke.
"Do you have proof that Silver Blood betrayed you?"
"Yes, I recorded everything."
"Thorough, aren't you?"
Hwa-ryeon gave a smile that made it hard to tell if she was mocking me or just impressed. She flexed her reattached fingers to check the sensation.
"Can you give the evidence to me and let me handle this matter?"
I had to hand over command to her anyway.
Just as I was about to answer Hwa-ryeon, who was speaking in a requesting tone, she spoke again.
"I won't reveal that Silver Blood betrayed us. They will return to their home country remembered as heroes."
I closed my mouth at her words.
Victoria and Hwa-ryeon didn't get along.
When Victoria went to support China, there was a subtle war of nerves between them, which led to Victoria being cut from the support team and moved to Otaki-machi.
On the surface, that was the story, though the real goal was to monitor me and lure me here.
Was there some other connection between Victoria and Hwa-ryeon that I didn't know about?
No, Hwa-ryeon was planning to use this as leverage against the US.
"Are you going to use it as a bargaining chip?"
When I asked, Hwa-ryeon looked at me with a glint in her eyes.
"You are quite clever. But you should watch your mouth."
"I heard that earlier too."
"Hahaha! To receive concern even from an enemy... you truly are a hero loved by all under heaven."
Is that a compliment? Or a dig?
As I wore a bitter smile at her incomprehensible words, Hwa-ryeon nodded.
"As you said, I intend to use this to blackmail the United States—or more accurately, the clan Silver Blood belongs to."
Hwa-ryeon spoke honestly.
Um... you're being a bit too honest, which is making me nervous...
You're not going to go 'stab-stab' for the sake of security after this, right?
Having exhausted our mana and stamina, we couldn't resist her even if we wanted to.
Not that we should have, anyway.
"I simply feel there is no point in hiding it from you. You are a difficult child to read. One moment you are wise, the next you are a fool. One moment you are brave, and the next you are prostrating yourself. Truly interesting."
"Ahaha... thank you for thinking well of me."
She is thinking well of me, right?
The other members, who didn't know Chinese, tried to guess the conversation by my expression, but they wouldn't be able to tell.
"I am a woman who does not forget a debt. Will you yield this to me just this once? I will surely repay the favor."
I mean, she saved our lives, so she can do whatever she wants.
But I should still get what I can.
When a monster on Lee Ru-da's level makes a request, who says no?
You just say, "Yes! Understood!" and bow your head.
I pulled out the combat record data, handed it to Hwa-ryeon, and spoke to the members.
"Give me all your data."
Without any objection, the members immediately pulled out their data chips and handed them to me.
Hwa-ryeon watched with interest as the members followed my orders without a single complaint. I handed only Satomi's data to Hwa-ryeon as a spare and destroyed the rest.
"Our data was all destroyed during the battle. And Silver Blood didn't betray us; they died fighting Spinner."
"Is that... what you negotiated with Hero Hwa-ryeon?"
"It wasn't even a negotiation. She saved our lives; this is the least we can do."
Lee Yu-na accepted this, met Hwa-ryeon's gaze, and bowed her head in greeting.
"It's still annoying that those bitches who betrayed us will be treated as heroes."
"Let's just think of it as the price for our lives. No need to get angry at the dead."
"Got it, Master."
"Everyone heard Yeon-woo, right? Silver Blood died gallantly fighting Spinner. If anyone asks, that's all you say. Especially you, Ye-jin."
As Lee Yu-na summarized the situation, Kwon Ye-jin grumbled an affirmative.
"And you too, Hornet."
"Those crazy bitches bit off more than they could chew and got killed by Spinner. Got it."
"Yes, that's enough."
After hearing the members' responses, Lee Yu-na nodded to me, and I spoke to Hwa-ryeon.
"I've relayed the message to the members. We've decided to do as you said."
"Thank you for yielding. I will surely repay this debt."
"Yes, I'll look forward to it. Oh, right. I haven't properly thanked you. Thank you for saving Black Unicorn. I will also make sure to repay this favor."
Hwa-ryeon nodded at my thanks.
"Now, what shall we do? Should we mop up the villains?"
"Yes, but first we'll retreat to where the signal reaches to report the situation before we move."
We retreated to an area with a stable signal and exchanged information with Song Jae-ah.
Song Jae-ah was shocked to hear that Silver Blood had been taken out and asked if Black Unicorn was okay.
When I told her Hwa-ryeon had helped and saved our lives, she expressed her gratitude and explained the situation.
Since Silver Blood was the only A-rank hero party, only we had entered early. The other heroes, who were planning to enter through other entrances later, were all blocked by the villains' desperate resistance.
No wonder there weren't that many villains chasing us; they were all spread out.
As soon as the presence of villains was confirmed, the other support headquarters, which had been reluctant to help, quickly sent high-ranking heroes. They planned to enter once the A-rank parties from the UK and Russia arrived.
After finishing the call, I translated for Hwa-ryeon, and she gave a lopsided grin.
"Good food should be shared with family, not strangers."
Yeah, let's make a family... wait, get a grip, you lunatic.
How can I even think that after seeing Spinner turned into a pincushion?
If I mess with Hwa-ryeon, I won't even have bones left.
I resisted the urge to slap my own cheek. Hwa-ryeon tilted her head while looking at me, a strange expression on her face.
"You've become a fool again. You're like a chameleon, child."
"Sorry, I'll focus."
Hwa-ryeon was suggesting that we clear this place ourselves and take all the credit.
We were currently exhausted.
But so what?
An S-rank hero was offering us a carry.
We just had to follow her around and bag the villains she knocked down. Why would we refuse?
The moment the decision was made, we moved through the cave, mopping up the villains.
With me detecting and Hwa-ryeon neutralizing, the members followed up by restraining them. We repeated this until all the villains were gathered in the large hall we had seen earlier.
"This is Josephine of the Rutan Heavy Infantry Regiment. What is the situation?"
It seemed additional equipment had been installed in the cave, as a transmission came through. They announced that the heroes from the UK and Russia had arrived, but we had already cleaned out all the villains inside.
"You people always start late and then act like you arrived early. But this time, you are definitely late. The situation is already over, so just clean up the mess and go home."
Hwa-ryeon, who was sitting on top of a neutralized villain, mocked the British and Russian heroes before ripping off the communicator and tossing it away.
When you have the skills to back it up, everything you do looks cool.