The Hot-Blooded Successor Irie Saaya, the Nouveau Riche Boss
The sudden appearance of the successor caught me off guard.
No, a successor at this exact timing? Why?
The dust settled.
Before the successor, two figures rose like heat haze before vanishing as if absorbed.
“I am Irie Saaya, the successor! I’ve come to arrest you!”
“Me? Who put out the request?”
“Count Devilrenov! Enough talk!”
“Son of a bitch…!”
So that’s who it was. Mirinda must’ve run her mouth after Jerome got beaten down.
Count Devilrenov was at least a reasonable man. Just like our father.
‘Even so, listening to his wife’s sweet talk. What a henpecked husband.’
Whoosh, tatatatat!
Saaya charged in, scattering green light.
I waited on purpose.
To read her pattern.
“Haaah!”
Surprisingly straightforward, Saaya rushed straight from the front.
Without any feint or circling, she simply threw a punch head-on.
“Haaahaaht!”
Even letting out a battle cry.
A sigh escaped me.
‘A hot-blooded idiot hero type.’
This won’t work. I’ll have to finish it with parries.
Now I’ve got an annoying one stuck to me.
“It’s over!”
Saaya twisted her body slightly and threw her fist.
Good. I’ve locked onto it.
Origin Divine Art – Parry
If Parry lands, you’re finished.
There was a time when I believed that.
Suddenly Saaya’s fist vanished midway.
Bauuung!
Out of nowhere, a high kick came flying from the opposite side.
Fast, and heavy like a swinging bat.
“Fast… I wish I could say that.”
I spun once.
The surroundings blurred rapidly, mixing like a cocktail.
Dodging the high kick, I tapped Saaya’s ankle in return.
Origin Divine Art – Parry
“Aaht!”
Saaya’s posture crumbled and she slid sideways.
Taking the opening, I reset my stance and launched a flying knee kick.
Huuuung!
My body felt light, like a bird soaring into the sky.
All thanks to the experience I’d built up fighting until now.
But Saaya looked up, eyes gleaming.
She was smiling.
“You’re the one who’s caught!”
Mind Parasite
Was that the Genesis Divine Art used by the immortal hero Yur Phoenixia?
Mana erupted from Saaya’s right hand and transformed into a centipede.
The centipede-like mana instantly burrowed into my body.
Whirik, jjeojeujeuk!
I tilted my head.
Saaya grinned.
“It devours the mana inside you and dominates your mind. The more refined the mana, the stronger the effect…”
“Yeah, never used it.”
I hadn’t even refined mana, let alone used it.
Unfortunately for Saaya, she’d screwed up.
Smack!
I drove an elbow into her.
Even as her face twisted, Saaya looked shocked.
She backed away and shouted.
“That’s impossible!”
“What’s impossible? It worked.”
“Impossible!”
“It did.”
Saaya paused, tilting her head. Then she regained her composure.
“Ha, fine. I’ll have to get serious. I’ll crush an evil like you!”
“Why am I evil?”
“Shut up! Evil must be slain!”
“…You’ll be saying ‘Adol’ next? Whatever, don’t use such grand words. It makes you look weak.”
We clashed again.
This time I struck first.
I raised my knee on purpose, then switched to my pivoting foot and struck.
Saaya dodged nimbly. She wasn’t simple at all.
Pretending to be straightforward while trying to read my moves.
Saaya came in from the side.
She threw a one-two followed by a high kick.
I dodged the one-two and tried to parry the high kick.
Whirik, paaat!
The high kick bent like a whip and slammed into my thigh. It stung.
“Guh…!”
“It’s over!”
As if executing perfect footwork, Saaya set her stance and thrust forward in an instant.
Annihilation Kick
As expected, the Genesis Divine Art used by Yur Phoenixia.
Successors were always like that. They wielded the power of past heroes.
An ultimate strike layered with excessive mana on the fist.
‘I can’t dodge this…!’
No choice. I touched the ring and thrust my hand forward.
Thud! Tuuuung!
I summoned Imperial Gaz and barely blocked it. Saaya’s flustered face came into view.
“What? Where did that sword come from…?!”
“From my mama suspension.”
“Such vulgar words!”
Thud!
I delivered a calf kick to Saaya as she talked back.
Her center wavered, and she pushed forward with raw power.
This was better. It turned the opponent who had been reading moves into a simple fighter.
Now it was my turn.
Origin Divine Art – True Upper Heaven
I gripped the sword with one hand.
Rotating my body with force, I slashed.
Then slashed upward again.
Saaya took the hit directly and floated upward like a feather.
I brought the sword down with both hands.
At that moment, Saaya was engulfed in flames. Like a phoenix.
“Never, I will never lose. Not to evil…!”
Mana gathered before Saaya’s chest, swelling to the size of a soccer ball.
Engulfed in fire, she prepared to launch herself at me.
‘Even as a successor, she’s still a rookie, yet she’s reached this level? Countless effort and innate talent must be backing her. But she picked the wrong opponent.’
Origin Divine Art had one absolute counter technique.
Gripping the sword in one hand, I stared at Saaya. In that single instant, her opening glowed red and revealed itself.
‘There!’
Whoosh, tueng, shupahak!
Origin Divine Art – Killing the Firebird
I thrust with the sword.
Yet the sound was like a powerful punch or kick landing—a light, crisp, and satisfying impact.
Saaya, struck by Killing the Firebird in midair.
Her movements froze as if time had stopped, then shockwaves erupted outward from her body.
Papapapang!
Without even screaming, Saaya was sent flying backward.
Her abdomen was torn open by the sword, and I could see her insides spilling out.
“Kheeyaaaak!”
Kwang! Tukwakakakakak!
She smashed through one building, then several walls in succession before tumbling down the hill.
I landed on the ground and caught my breath.
‘Damn it. She must be dead.’
She fought to protect me, but the aftertaste was bitter.
Successors were national assets. Of course, being both assets and tools, even if I killed one in a fight, the NIS types wouldn’t come after me.
Acquired 5000 Slay Points (SP)!
I let out a sigh. I won.
‘Still a long way to go. Even against a successor who inherited the power of past heroes, I’m still far from ready!’
I caught my breath and headed toward a crowded area to avoid unnecessary trouble.
Count Devilrenov wouldn’t have sent just one person to take me down.
Not only his wealth, but the power he wielded was considerable.
No wonder there was a saying that Count Devilrenov was more than a duke.
‘Count Devilrenov, I’ll remember this. Beating up one of your lackeys and you retaliate like this? Your family’s backing really is gangster-level.’
This applied to reality too—you really needed to be born into a good family.
A sneer escaped me naturally.
I returned Imperial Gaz to the ring and entered a nearby guild. My arms were shaking badly, but I barely held it together.
‘This shitty risk.’
Checking for available work, I noticed people gathered in front of the bulletin board.
They were murmuring.
“Just do what they want and they’ll pay 300 gold, 300!”
“Idiot, they’re asking you to hunt monsters instead. Can’t you see?”
“For the price of your life, isn’t this worth it?”
“But the client is that Devilrenov guy, the underworld nouveau riche!”
The Devilrenov mentioned here had to be that thug.
This was perfect.
Guys with too much money but no sense always posted notices like this.
People showed interest but tried to avoid it.
Because the client was Devilrenov.
‘That’s the one.’
The request posted by Devilrenov on the bulletin board. I decided to take it.
-Urgent recruitment of heroes to eliminate the Water Prankster appearing in the Eros Forest located west of Womanchester!
The Water Prankster was D-rank, but a mutant monster dangerous enough to be called D+ rank.
As expected, this timing?
Buying the Eros Forest.
I grinned.
Wearing the mask, I confidently tore the notice off the board.
Everyone looked shocked.
“What, you’re actually going to do that?”
“Hey! You look like a newbie. If you fail, you’ll be turned into firewood!”
“Reckless. So reckless.”
This was good.
Following the address on the request form, I arrived at an office.
Big men guarded the door, but when I showed the request form, they let me through.
I stepped inside.
An office with a business-like atmosphere appeared, but the faces inside were anything but business-like.
All of them were muscular with massive builds, and one was even a Cross tribe member.
Zwil, that bastard, using even Cross tribe as subordinates?
I approached Zwil and handed over the request form. He glanced at it and ignored me.
“Hmph. Just because you’re a woman, you think you can play hero?”
“Does gender matter when I’m offering to solve your problem?”
“Name?”
“Regina.”
“Obviously a fake name. Can’t trust you. Show your face at least.”
“Shouldn’t skill be enough? Why the face? I’m not here to spread my legs.”
I answered without hesitation. Interest flickered across Zwil’s face.
Then one of the Cross tribe guys spat and approached.
“Talking back so obediently, you bitch!”
As he tried to grab me, I dodged. He immediately took a boxing stance.
“Boss, I’ll handle this bitch. Where did this nobody come from…!”
He threw a light one-two.
As I dodged, the Cross tribe subordinate instantly grabbed me from behind.
Thud!
“Showing off with boxing, you Cross scum.”
I activated the Unknown Fighter’s Gloves.
Better copy it before beating him up.
Unknown Fighter’s Gloves have copied the opponent’s ‘Boxing’!
And I smashed the back of my head straight into his face.
Puhheok!
As the subordinate clutched his face in agony, I rushed in and unleashed a one-two hook combo.
Thanks to the gloves, the proper way to fight flashed through my mind instantly.
He backed away and got cornered against the wall.
“Take a nap, bastard!”
I threw a straight with all my strength. It connected directly with his solar plexus, embedding him into the wall.
Then Zwil clapped.
“Good, Regina. Let’s do one job together.”
Yeah, let’s do it together. But you won’t be smiling like that when it ends.
Saaya’s corpse lay embedded below the hill.
Fwoosh, fwaaak!
The corpse suddenly burst into bright red flames. The fire that had ignited so abruptly quickly died down. And then—
“Hueoook!”
As if it were a lie, the dead Saaya rose completely healed.
She looked around, eyes wide.
“Phoenix’s power…?”
The torn abdomen and ruined body had all been restored to their original state.
That’s right.
She had returned.
From death.