Episode 189

The Dark Charisma vanished.

With a sprinkle of rainbow-colored lights, he disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Was it possible for a human to suddenly disappear?

If it’s the Goblin, it’s possible.

And then, the Platinum Sun also could do it.

An unidentified being vanished without warning in front of everyone.

His powerful force was undeniable, but the act he committed was surely a huge incident.

“Trouble, we’re in trouble.”

The hero Naeje, Kim Yoon-ji, landed on the ferry and shook her head.

“Mission failed. The prisoner and the people from the Hero Association being escorted were kidnapped. Wow, this is really big trouble.”

“Why are you so calm? We need to chase that monster right away!”

Tusin, Lee Jun-young, turned red with anger.

“Why? What are you so angry about? Are you angry about the people being kidnapped, or are you angry at yourself for failing the mission?”

“What did you say?”

“You were spaced out watching Susanoo attack, right? Me too. It’s unavoidable for ability users. Having seen such majesty.”

Naeje flexed her fingers and took deep breaths to calm herself.

“Overwhelming power. Strong will. I understood what he wanted to say. And in the meantime, we got distracted. We should have attacked and captured him, whether he was giving a long speech towards Susanoo or not.”

“That’s cowardly…!”

“Cowardly or not, he’s a villain. We, as nationally recognized S-class individuals, have a duty to do our best for the country.”

“Ugh…!”

Tusin gritted his teeth and hung his head.

The enemy’s spectacular appearance and overwhelming power had indeed momentarily mesmerized him, to the point of awe when swinging a fist towards Susanoo’s head.

The problem was that it was not the situation to feel such things.

“By now, the press must be going crazy. Korea’s S-class, is this okay? Tusin and Naeje, rendered helpless by an enemy appearing out of nowhere. A waste of taxes. Something like that.”

“What about going abroad?”

The Heavenly Demon, Lee Yerin, also landed on the ferry.

“Don’t try to sneakily recruit me. I’m different from my sister.”

“You might change your mind if you get backstabbed.”

“I’ll think about it if that happens. So, is my sister also with that Dark Charisma person?”

“No.”

Heavenly Demon rubbed the watch in her hand and shrugged her shoulders.

“I just came because I was asked to save someone from our side. The situation has changed, though.”

“The situation has changed?”

“It seems like their thoughts changed when the Dark Charisma appeared. They contacted me, saying not to proceed with the rescue.”

“…Suddenly?”

“Yeah.”

Heavenly Demon pointed below the ferry deck.

“A true hero should know how to overcome and win against the crises given to them. Whining for rescue as soon as they lose their abilities isn’t the way of a hero association member. Well, that’s how they canceled the rescue.”

“Did those great people get influenced by the Dark Charisma or what?”

“Seems like it.”

Heavenly Demon shrugged as if she couldn’t understand.

“So, I’m just going to take it as a night out. I have no intention of causing an international incident; I just came because I wanted to fight Tusin.”

“Who would let you get away with it so easily?”

“Then? Are you going to leave the newly appeared Sephiroth Knights alone and deal with me first? What if I join them, what will you do?”

“Ugh…!”

“Lee Yerin.”

Tusin clenched his fist and stood in front of Heavenly Demon.

“I still can’t accept you.”

“You’ll understand once you experience it.”

“I understand. But the place you chose is the problem.”

“…….”

“Nowhere else but this country, by putting that red flag on your chest badge to screw over this country, you remain my enemy. So now is the time to back off.”

“Backing off…you’re angry. Fine.”

Heavenly Demon climbed onto the railing of the ferry.

“Take care. If you ever want to come over, contact me. Even if it’s not where I am, I can send you anywhere else.”

“I’m not leaving.”

“Are you ready to be cursed from now on? The cause lies with the Dark Charisma, but people will blame those who failed to detect and handle it early on. As always.”

The two S-classes were unable to rebut the cynical words of Heavenly Demon.

“Accidents are caused by villains, and the responsibility falls on heroes and field agents. Hmm, what a lovely place. But-”

“Hey, Chinese.”

As the wind began to flow from Tusin’s body, Heavenly Demon’s expression hardened.

“If you’re done talking, get out of this country.”

“…….”

“This is your last warning. Three, two, one-”

“Tch.”

Heavenly Demon leaped towards the sea.

“Don’t forget what I said. In the end, only fools suffer.”

Whoosh.

Heavenly Demon ran across the water’s surface and disappeared westward.

Her speed was so fast that not even a warship could catch up, and no one was able to follow her departure.

Even with two S-classes present, in the end, they had to protect the ferry.

“…The Chairman’s orders have come.”

Naeje lightly tapped her Taeguk watch.

[Tusin. Naeje. Natural disasters are inevitable. Ensure the remaining prisoners are safely transported to Sejong Island. End of message.]

“Understood.”

Tusin replied to the Chairman’s orders with a heavy face and sighed.

“Just wait until we catch those guys. They won’t get away with this….”

[Monster Attack. Korea is no longer a safe zone.]

[Neither warships nor heroes are of any use. Where have the kidnapped agents gone?]

[Can lost abilities be regained? Opinions from an ability school professor.]

[What are the Sephiroth Knights? An in-depth analysis.]

Three hours after the incident.

The ferry finally arrived at Sejong Island, and all sorts of articles began to pour out.

[“Individual Deviation” No responsibility on the Japanese government for Susanoo’s rampage.]

[“Heavenly Demon goes where she wants” Controversy over the Chinese Hero Association Vice Chairman’s support declaration for Heavenly Demon Lee Yerin]

[Where is ‘Kwang Ik Gong’ at this time?]

“Is it a trend these days to write long article titles?”

As expected, various countries showed support for Susanoo and Heavenly Demon, severing ties with them.

Let them be.

How can one stop an ability user who does as they please?

No one died, so please understand.

We will persuade them effectively.

Given that ability users were mostly in their late teens to early twenties, each country was requesting leniency for the heroes in a manner that benefited them.

“Teacher, what are you looking at?”

“Articles. They’re all unnecessarily stirring up controversy.”

“Hmm… If you think about it, didn’t you cause all this chaos, teacher?”

“Not me, Duoexini, a rectifier of wrongs.”

Pandemonium was to blame, the rectifiers of wrongs.

The situation has unfolded this way, but it’s because the rectifiers of wrongs were wrong that these events have occurred consecutively.

“So, I’m not bad. The bad ones are the rectifiers of wrongs.”

Not just barely not bad, but I was completely innocent.

“Don’t forget. This all started with Duoexini creating the 72 demons.”

“It’s bitter. Right now, it seems like no one is pointing that out.”

“Duoexini was declared dead by society. And….”

I pointed to the calendar.

“Because I’ve marked May 3rd, everyone is waiting with bated breath, just in case.”

“Isn’t that a bit tight?”

“It’s tight. But extracting information in the meantime is not a big deal. Yumir. From now on….”

Transformation.

[It’s time for the Goblin to step in.]

[Then, I will too.]

As a Goblin, and as the Platinum Sun.

I opened the door to the interrogation room and faced the agent sitting across the table.

“You are?!”

[Do you know me?]

“That, that’s right…! It was a scam by the society! You scamming society!”

Upon seeing me, the agent immediately realized the truth.

“The materials you guys showed! The one called the Dark Charisma in there! Definitely another executive of the society!”

[Imagination is free. The important thing is that I’m here in front of you, and you’re a pawn of Pandemonium and a traitor to the Hero Association.]

The agent clenched his mouth shut.

[You’re not the only one who has come to know the truth. We’re in the same boat. We know you planned to send ability users to Sejong Island and switch them midway to study the real Zenros somewhere else.]

“……!”

[It’s information that can be sufficiently obtained with a bit of inference.]

We had already grasped this through others.

Through threats and torture, because there was no negotiating with lives at stake.

“Even if you try to extract information from me, it will be futile…! Kill me!”

[Really?]

“…What?”

[Looks like I’ll have to show you.]

I pulled out a tablet and showed a prepared photo.

[Those who didn’t answer died, and those who did were spared.]

“You, you…! Murderers!”

[A collaborator of the monster that turns humans into demons shouldn’t be saying that.]

The fact was, the corpses were fabricated.

It’s an illusion created through abilities, and not a single person has died yet.

[Will you answer and survive, or not answer and die?]

“…….”

[Your superior told the truth. She spoke quite detailedly about why she joined Pandemonium.]

But being trapped here, where conversation with others was strictly controlled, one couldn’t help but feel anxious.

[Wanting to become stronger, even if it means dealing with the devil. What a funny thought.]

“You wouldn’t understand. Someone born as an S-class from the start.”

[Well.]

I became an S-class through technique, but if we’re talking pure magic power, I was actually C-class.

“Kill me. I won’t give any information to the likes of you. No matter what torture I face-”

[Hong Chang-sik. Age, 23. From Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province. Both of your parents run a pension in Gapyeong, right?]

“……! Background investigation…!”

[Of course. Did you think we wouldn’t do even that much?]

I displayed photos of the treacherous agent, Hong Chang-sik’s home, on the tablet.

[If you spill the information smoothly-]

“Threatening me using family, you coward!!!”

[Family? No, I don’t do that. There are heroes who fled to China because their families were messed with. That’s out of line. I’ll only threaten you.]

I flipped to the next photo.

[If you don’t hand over the information willingly, I’ll spread all the data from your hard disk and SNS secret accounts.]

“……What?”

[Asking to be killed? Fine. I’ll grant that. But it won’t be me doing the killing.]

It’ll be society.

[What would shock people more? D-class ability user Hong Chang-sik, who sold his soul to the devil to become stronger? Or…]

Slowly.

[Hong Chang-sik, who ranted that non-ability users should all be weeded out and die, and that non-ability women should be supplied to each household in threes to serve as breeding machines for ability users. Which one?]

“I ran a cleaner…”

[Do you think there’s no data left on the server? Oh, there’s more.]

I pulled out another piece of evidence.

[Or a man who said he wanted to spread his genes to 15-year-old S-class Baridegi to patriotically give birth. Which one would shock the world the most?]

The sea of information knew the answer.