Summer Vacation (5): The Professor's Subtle Assist
A car that had veered across from the opposite lane slammed hard into the pavement. "Huk..." A startled Han Min-ha gasped for breath, her eyes flying wide open. Right then, another vehicle hurtled through the air and flew off in the same direction. The sudden chaos brought all the traffic to a screeching halt, horns blaring from every direction.
"Professor! What on earth is going on?!"
"It's a villain."
"What?!"
No need to double-check. If cars were flying across a highway in broad daylight, the only explanation was a villain.
"What should we do?"
"Just wait. The hero assigned to this jurisdiction will be dispatched soon. Stay safely inside the car."
I wrapped a barrier around the vehicle to reassure her. There was no point in rushing out. With the villain's position and exact nature still unknown, barging in blindly was far too dangerous. The arriving heroes would likely launch mistaken attacks with a very high probability. It was the same logic as dropping flat to the ground when a suppression team storms in during a hostage crisis to avoid catching a bullet.
More than that, the bigger issue was the appearance of stealing the dispatched heroes' achievements. In fact, that was far more serious than friendly fire. For active heroes desperate to rack up even one more villain takedown for their next promotion, nothing would piss them off more than a retired former hero suddenly stepping in to clean everything up.
"Professor! There! Look over there!"
Han Min-ha pointed frantically ahead, her voice buzzing with excitement. Beyond the median strip, something huge and pitch-black was swinging its massive arms wildly. The way it could move its limbs so freely ruled out an exoskeleton suit... A biological villain, then? Enhanced physique? Or a mutant? Hard to say.
Every swing of those arms sent cars flying in all directions.
"Professor...! Shouldn't we do something?!"
"No. In situations like this, it's better to prioritize your own safety. Heroes get dispatched faster than fire trucks anyway. Look, here they come now."
Far above even the villain, a green light flickered as it streaked rapidly toward us. It dipped slightly in altitude, tracing a smooth curve before rising again. The green aura came to a hovering stop directly above the villain's head.
Let's see. A cheap suit in the form of full-body green tights. And those weren't combat boots on her feet—they looked more like regular sneakers. I had no idea who she was. Probably a brand-new hero who had just debuted, or one who had recently gone independent from sidekick work. Still, the fact that she'd come alone without backup suggested she had some degree of skill. Clothes were ultimately a matter of personal taste anyway.
The hero who had secured the position above the villain's head thrust both arms forward. Thick, vine-like strands blending green and brown shot out, beginning to coil around and bind the creature.
People who had stepped out of their cars clapped and cheered, snapping photos with their phones.
"Watch closely, Student Min-ha. This is what the 'field' really looks like."
"Yes! I understand, Professor!"
Han Min-ha's eyes widened as she focused intently on the green hero's battle. The villain, its body restrained by the vines, gaped its maw wide and thrashed its enormous arms. It was definitely a biological villain, and the shape of its head suggested a mutant. Human? Or perhaps a monkey or some similar beast?
When the villain resisted, the green hero generated even more vines, wrapping up its joints and neck as well.
"Wow... That's incredible...!"
Han Min-ha clasped her hands together, eyes sparkling with admiration. This type of ability was certainly convenient for combat. Simply spewing out vines or tentacles and binding the target tightly was usually enough. Of course, it only worked if you held a clear advantage in raw strength.
Unfortunately, this hero seemed somewhat lacking in power. As the villain dragged its vine-wrapped arm back and seized the strands with its other hand, the hero began to get pulled forward little by little.
"Huh? Professor!"
Ordinary heroes usually operated alone and rarely interfered with another hero's assigned villain or incident. It was unlikely another hero would show up to assist this one.
"Looks like it's a bit much for her. Stay here."
Seeing the hero struggling as her aura flickered unsteadily, I immediately opened the car door and stepped out. If the hero went down, I'd have no choice but to intervene anyway.
"Grrrruuuugh...!!"
The moment I emerged, I heard the hero's strained groan as she fought with everything she had.
"You got this!"
"Go for it!"
The spectators cupped their hands around their mouths, whistling and cheering her on. I pushed through the crowd, walking steadily forward. At that moment, the villain gripped the vines with both hands, yanked them back like a whip, then slammed them forward with ferocious force.
"Uwaaaaaah!!"
"Oh my god!!"
As people screamed and squeezed their eyes shut, I dashed forward and raised a barrier directly in the path of the vine the villain was swinging. The barrier shot upward from below like a blade, slicing cleanly through the vine. The green hero immediately hurtled toward the ground at a terrifying diagonal angle.
A typical hero might have been fine after hitting the pavement at that speed, but this one clearly wouldn't be. I layered dozens of shock-absorbing barriers along her trajectory. Each one shattered on impact, steadily cushioning the force, until she was able to land safely just before touching the ground.
"Huff... Huff..."
The hero who had planted her feet on solid ground glanced behind her in disbelief, breathing hard. Up close, she was an incredibly youthful-looking woman. Either she had just graduated, or she simply had a naturally baby-faced appearance.
"Get a hold of yourself. How can you look away when the enemy is right in front of you?"
"Eek?!"
Startled by my voice, the hero suddenly fired vines straight at me. I tilted my head slightly to dodge them, then pointed at the villain smashing through the median and charging toward us.
"You have to finish off the villain you've been assigned."
"Ah..."
A flicker of despair crossed the hero's eyes as she stared at the approaching creature. No wonder—the villain now looming before us was absolutely massive. From its appearance and behavior, it looked like the villain trait had manifested from a wild bear.
These types were surprisingly straightforward to handle. Strong and agile, yes, but not particularly intelligent. You simply toyed with them a little before finishing them off with a single decisive blow. But this green hero who relied on vines seemed to find even that overwhelming.
"Um... Excuse me, but are you a hero by any chance...?"
The green hero asked me in a desperate tone.
"I'm not a hero... I'm a professor at Graford Academy."
"What?! A professor...? I'm sorry, but could you please step back?"
Active heroes almost never shared credit for takedowns. On top of that, being seen receiving help from someone else while this many people were watching would seriously damage her career.
Still, even taking that into account, it didn't look like this hero could handle the villain on her own...
"Are you really sure you'll be okay?"
"I can handle it!"
The green hero clenched her fist tightly and shouted with determination.
"Alright. Then..."
The moment I stepped aside, the hero exploded her aura and shot upward—only for the mutant villain, which had closed the distance in an instant, to stretch out a long arm and seize her ankle.
"Eek! Let go of me!"
The hero reached out, but only vines emerged from her hand. It was an excellent technique for restricting an opponent's movement, but completely useless for breaking free from an enemy gripping your ankle. If she could constrict it powerfully enough to crush or sever the limb, maybe—but at her current level...
"Um... Excuse me...!"
The hero, desperately trying to ascend while her ankle was caught, called out to me urgently.
"Please help me...!"
"Don't complain about it later."
"I won't...! Ugh...! It feels like my ankle's about to snap...!"
I wiped the sweat beginning to form on my forehead under the blazing summer sun and organized my thoughts. Let's see. This wasn't a villain acting with clear malice—just a mutant biological villain following its instincts. Capturing it alive wouldn't yield any useful information. It wasn't particularly valuable for research either. Killing it outright would be far simpler.
I began forming a large, flat, disk-shaped barrier high in the air.
"Ugh...! Hey...! Hurry up...!"
The hero shouted as she was slowly dragged toward the villain's gaping maw.
"I'm working on it. Just hold on. Besides, even if your ankle breaks, it can be fixed quickly."
Despite her urging, I calmly continued layering aura onto the barrier to increase its mass. Rushing the process would only ruin the result.
"Um... Teacher... I'm sorry, but... could you make the barrier invisible... please...?"
The hero, her face deathly pale from the pain, pleaded in a thin, strained voice. She wanted help, but didn't want anyone else to know about it. I understood.
In any case, killing a single villain wouldn't benefit my record in the slightest, and I had no desire to show off. The hero had already been dragged close enough to feel the villain's foul breath.
"Alright, just endure it a little longer. It's almost ready."
The barrier, now heavily compressed with aura, finally reached the weight I wanted.
"Uwaaaaaah!! It's going to eat me!!"
The instant the villain tried to shove its fist—still clutching the hero—into its mouth, I released my control over the barrier. The massively weighted disk dropped straight onto the villain's head. It sank into the creature's crown and sliced cleanly through its body from front to back, like a circular saw blade.
"Huk...?!"
The hero forgot the pain in her ankle and gaped at the sight. The villain's body, severed as neatly as a cake, slowly began to split apart. The hero exploded her aura in a desperate burst and broke free from its grasp. Immediately afterward, the mutant villain's massive corpse crashed to the ground, shaking the earth.
The hero traced a wide arc through the air like a roller coaster before landing beside me.
"Thank you so much... My god... How is that even possible..."
She stared at the clean cut with almost no blood and shook her head in amazement.
"Are you hurt anywhere?"
"Just my ankle... Ow... It hurts..."
The hero lifted one foot, wobbled unsteadily, and grabbed my shoulder for support.
"Ah, sorry about that."
"Professor! Are you okay?!"
At that moment, Han Min-ha came running over, calling out.
"Huh...?"
When Han Min-ha saw the hero holding onto my shoulder, her mouth fell slightly open.
"Is she... someone you know?"
"No. This is the first time I've seen her. She injured her ankle and was about to fall, so she's just holding onto me to stay upright. Don't misunderstand."
"Ah, right."
Han Min-ha let out what sounded like a sigh and smiled awkwardly. Then she reached out and lightly caught the hem of my shirt with her fingertips. Her gaze, however, remained fixed on the silver-haired hero standing across from us.