Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: My Hero (2)
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While Baek Do-hyun was locked in a brutal brawl with Kang Chang-su, Yubyeol-ha and Lee Gyeo-ul arrived at the site where the rift was forming.
As Baek Do-hyun had described, the ritual was unfolding in the redevelopment zone of the 13th District.
Amid the eerie concrete graveyard stalled by adult circumstances, Yubyeol-ha turned her gaze to what looked like the skeletal rooftop of a high-rise building.
Space itself was warping. A sphere pulsing with an ominous crimson glow writhed like a fetus stirring in the womb.
If that rift fully opened, the entire Academy City could end up as a wasteland just like this redevelopment zone. She had to stop it—no matter what.
"Junior Yubyeol-ha."
"Yes, Senior."
"You know my abilities. Go all out—make it flashy. Don't sweat the small stuff."
"Understood..."
Lee Gyeo-ul suited up in her hunter gear for the first time in ages. Her signature weapon, Ganggangdo, forged primarily from dimensional matter harvested from a Rank-1 Dimensional Beast and shape-memory superalloy.
Unlike her godawful naming sense, the Ganggangdo—modeled after a traditional hwando—possessed the refined beauty of a master swordsmith's masterpiece.
Not a single nick after countless battles, the famed blade gleamed in Lee Gyeo-ul's grip as she shot Yubyeol-ha a sidelong glance.
The junior who would one day succeed her... no, surpass her outright. Time to see what she could do.
The fiends lurking among the steel girders began to focus their attention.
One by one, they emerged from the shadows.
Lee Gyeo-ul kicked off with a twisted smirk. Yubyeol-ha closed her eyes, beginning to weave her flashes of light.
"That bitch is for Teams A and B! Kill the one in back!"
The fiends surged forward, intent on slaughtering the intruders radiating dangerous intent.
For the record, both Yubyeol-ha and Lee Gyeo-ul wore black masks.
'Baek Do-hyun aside, using powers would blow our cover instantly. What's with the masks?'
'Style points, obviously.'
The masks had been Han Cheong-ah's idea, through and through.
Inspired by footage of Baek Do-hyun donning one to take down the Satyr brothers in Noah Tower, or so she claimed.
Lee Gyeo-ul carved through the fiends blocking her path while erecting a wind barrier around Yubyeol-ha's position.
A few managed to land hits, drawing blood. But she regenerated the wounds in a heartbeat.
"Folks think I was some backline superpower slinger, but in my prime? Frontline point woman."
A gale of blood and carnage whipped up at the vanguard. Lee Gyeo-ul stood as an unyielding bulwark, granting no quarter to any fiend nearing Yubyeol-ha.
The mindless horde scattered like chaff, the ones lunging for Yubyeol-ha blasted away by gusts.
"Graaaah!!"
"Aaaargh!!"
Before the shattered fiends could regroup, Yubyeol-ha finished her setup.
Light served as an indispensable beacon for all who walked the world—but hers was nothing more than a weapon.
A blunt instrument to stab, to beguile, to snuff out life. Crimson sparks began crackling across her body.
Among psykers the world over, even when fully eroded by the virus, only Yubyeol-ha retained her sanity.
Her power outclassed others in sheer devastation, and with stamina to spare, she could unleash it endlessly.
Unlike her scraps with Baek Do-hyun or Goat, where she held back for bystanders—here, her true nature unleashed.
✨ AHURA MAZDA ACTIVATED ✨ S-Rank Psi Ability Massive light pillars descend, incinerating all in the concrete graveyard...
From the heavens, colossal pillars plunged earthward, taking root. One, two, three. The immense beams of light swallowed the concrete graveyard whole.
Ku-gu-gu-gu────!!!
Vast radiance scorched the concrete tomb to ash. An angel's fury made manifest, apocalypse draped across the scene.
Fiends and Lee Gyeo-ul alike were engulfed. While the fiends perished in agony, Lee Gyeo-ul endured—whistling as she regenerated her severed arm.
Dozens of fiends wiped out in a blink.
"Never seen an AoE like that, not even from Dimensional Beasts... As expected of you, Junior Yubyeol-ha! Humanity's savior! Hero of the next era! Future Special-Class Hunter!"
"You're too kind..."
Far from the heroic image she'd imagined, the "hero" seemed disappointingly casual—but Yubyeol-ha was thrilled all the same.
The Hell Dog was praising her. Respect earned from someone she idolized.
For a mere cadet like Yubyeol-ha, words from Lee Gyeo-ul were pure elation.
"Then let's head to the rooftop..."
"Lee Gyeo-ul and Yubyeol-ha, eh? Quite the surprise guests. If you're dropping by, at least send word ahead. Humans these days got no manners."
Red-haired alchemist Alchemi cut them off, materializing before them with an annoyed huff—vial clutched in hand.
"Cockroaches infesting the master bedroom? Gotta fumigate, obviously."
Lee Gyeo-ul fixed Alchemi with an icy glare. She itched to charge and cleave his throat right then—but held position.
An unnatural pressure emanated from behind him.
Her decades-honed battlefield instincts screamed: danger lurks here.
"Sharp senses for a pup."
The hooded man blurred into striking distance. Lee Gyeo-ul swung Ganggangdo on reflex—but...
Their eyes met. Her body locked for a split second. He capitalized, driving a fist into her gut.
"Kehk!"
"Senior!"
Bones splintered with a sickening crack. Lee Gyeo-ul's body ragdolled backward. The man gave chase.
Alchemi smashed his vial. The spilled fluid morphed into slime, surging toward Yubyeol-ha.
"Get lost!"
The slime vaporized in a flash. Steam curled from its remains as Alchemi and Yubyeol-ha squared off.
Yubyeol-ha narrowed her eyes, scanning the situation.
Baek Do-hyun had pegged the conical-hatted witch as the main threat here. But the man who'd just smashed Lee Gyeo-ul? Special-Class Hunter level, at minimum.
A wildcard. Drop this clown fast, then back up her senior.
Regen and wind mastery didn't make Lee Gyeo-ul invincible. Didn't expect her to lose, but a 2-on-1 minimized drain.
"Yubyeol-ha."
Alchemi had zero plans to let her slip away. If anything, he looked thrilled, like he'd been waiting for this.
"Knew your face rang a bell. Back when you were the hotshot prospect shaking up Academy City, even us fiends took notice."
The rumors swirling around her back then.
Golden eyes framed by red locks—her face matched someone etched in his memory.
Alchemi's recall was photographic.
Hundreds of alchemy tomes memorized verbatim, after all.
"I never forget a face. Once seen, it's burned in forever. So where'd I spot you? Why stick in my head? Answer is..."
Yubyeol-ha lunged. Death's Scythe gripped two-handed, she moved like the reaper incarnate to claim his life.
Alchemi's lips curled. He downed his vial in one go.
Gulp. Gulp.
Death's Scythe kissed his neck—poof! Cartoonish smoke erupted. He vanished from the world.
"What!?"
As Yubyeol-ha whipped around, a gale slammed in.
Smoke cleared. Alchemi's true form emerged.
⚔ TRANSFORMATION COMPLETE ⚔ Sphinx Form Human-faced lion body towers, immense and grotesque...
Enormous brown fur sheathed his body save the face. A beast's frame, majestic as a king ruling vast plains.
Yet no mane crowned the head—instead, a human's.
The grotesque sphinx parted jaws five times a normal man's size.
"We crossed paths when you were just a brat. Dark night—you watched it all from inside the wardrobe."
Yubyeol-ha's pupils quivered.
That night replayed in her mind.
The sphinx devouring her parents. The helplessness. The terror—it all seized her flesh anew.
"Who'd guess the kid Zero One let live for kicks would chase the hunter life! And blow up as some 'future Special-Class' prodigy!"
Alchemi read the storm in her eyes.
Looked like he could solo her without Mimir's help.
Ritual on track. Two hours tops, and Academy City gets its rift.
The godsend? That man showing up. No clue why he hit the city, but it let him tag the Hell Dog.
The sphinx extended its nightmarish maw, slowly closing in on Yubyeol-ha.