Chapter 253: Manufactured Heroes (5)
At that moment, in southern Phuket.
“Leader! The prisoners are being taken down one by one! It seems someone is suppressing them right now!”
“...That can’t be. The heroes should be at Coral Island, shouldn’t they? The remaining heroes must have been subdued by the villains we released!”
The middle-aged soldier with graying hair frowned as he examined the satellite map on the display.
“Damn it, those villain bastards...! Did they escape?”
“It doesn’t seem like they escaped. A-grade villains, including Phupatpong, are all advancing towards the Hero Alliance, and other villains are also confronting the remaining heroes of Phuket all over the streets.”
“Then where the hell did these heroes come from?”
“Well, that...”
“Damn it. It doesn’t matter if ghosts we can’t identify are showing up or not, it’s not important.”
The soldier, who could be called the leader of the southern corps and the son of General Jeokrang—‘Chairai’—shouted into his Thai Watch close to his face.
“Aah! I command all troops. No matter what, after attacking the Hero Alliance, rescue our ‘forces’! If we can just rescue those guys, we can fight again!”
The screen of the command headquarters pointed to the front of the Hero Alliance.
“Tell the villains to somehow break through Jeongguk Heungdo Wang! Damn it, what is this in a foreign country!”
A woman, Jeongguk Heungdo Wang, was fighting desperately against several A-grade villains.
The desperate struggle of a woman guarding the main gate of the Hero Alliance against several prisoners could be seen as admirable, but to Chairai and the rebels, she was a very annoying existence.
After all, that woman was from Vietnam.
She had nothing to do with Thailand, but had intervened in the commotion twice, using her abilities while on vacation in Thailand.
“Damn it...! Why doesn’t she just go back to her own country!”
“General! Urgent news! The heroes are expected to return to Phuket within 30 minutes!”
“What? Did they take a plane?!”
“N-no! That’s...!”
The display screen showed another location.
Two screens, one showing a speedboat with several people aboard, cutting through the white waves on the sea.
The speed was comparable to that of a sports car on the Autobahn, and it was definitely not a speed that could be achieved by the motor of a speedboat.
[Rai Rai Cha Cha Cha!]
With a shout, ability users in red octagonal hats were rowing frantically from side to side.
The oars looked crudely made, as if they were cut from iron plates instead of being regular oars.
But no matter how crude they were, if they were imbued with magic power and rowed by ability users, the story changed.
“Damn it, what are those guys doing! Coming to a foreign country and doing this! What are they doing by putting ability users in the military!”
One could say they were bringing strong ability users aboard the boat, but no one could give a straight answer.
Another screen.
“...Huh.”
[Rai Rai Cha Cha Cha!!]
[I’m coming to save you now!]
One person was swimming directly in the sea, while another was running on the water.
The speed was faster than that of the ability users rowing to the rhythm.
Adding a bit of exaggeration, it seemed like it would take less than an hour to cross the sea from Coral Island to Phuket.
“Crazy monsters....”
For Chairai, who was just an ordinary(?) special forces soldier, those absurd physical abilities made his skin crawl several times.
So when those monsters went to Coral Island, he acted immediately, but now the situation was getting worse, causing a creeping sense of unease.
If.
If it became a coup d’état instead of a revolution, if it just turned into a failed rebellion.
Restoring General Jeokrang’s honor and taking over this country would become impossible.
“Damn it...! Sucking on Korea’s warm teat and just spreading their legs...! That’s why there are so many Kosians crawling like ants in this country...!”
No one contradicted his explosive words.
It didn’t matter what was important now; they were ‘purebloodists’ even within General Jeokrang’s troops.
“Tell the villains! We must, absolutely must, secure those young ones! Before it’s discovered that we’ve implanted chips in their heads!!”
Chairai shouted, veins bulging in his neck.
Phupatpong raised his right fist high.
“That’s not my concern!!”
Swoosh!!
A magic-infused punch rushed towards Reina.
Reina clenched her fists and tried to counter it like a shot put, but the magic in her punch dimmed like a light bulb running out of power.
“Oh...!”
At this rate—
Crash!!
The glass ceiling of the lobby shattered, and a dark figure fell below.
The dark figure landed on Phupatpong, kicking him in the head.
“Aargh!!”
Phupatpong fell backward, receiving the glass shards directly on his head, even getting his face kicked. Though he protected himself with magic, his face was bleeding from a broken nose and split lips.
Thud.
Something akin to steel landed on the floor.
Wearing silver boots reminiscent of a beast and a suit like steel, holding three sharp-clawed file bunkers in each hand, the figure appeared.
The head resembled a ‘dragon,’ and the entire body was pitch black.
“Who... who are you...!”
The villains formed a semicircle, aiming their weapons.
The sudden appearance of the armored figure was unlike the popular riders in Korea.
[Who am I?]
The grammatically incorrect words.
Without opening its mouth, the helmet shaped like a dragon’s head, with blood-red eyes, scanned the villains.
[Curious. Then who are you?]
“Don’t answer a question with a question!”
One villain aimed his bow at the figure and shot an arrow.
Yellow magic formed the arrow that rushed towards the figure, but the wing-like object on the figure’s back came forward and became a shield.
Clang!
The hexagonal shield formed by combining from both sides easily deflected the arrow and then split back to the sides, forming wings again behind the figure.
“Th-that just now...! The emblem on that shield! It’s that, that!”
“What is it?”
“Sephiroth!! It’s similar to the emblem shown by that Dark Charisma or whatever!”
“.......!!”
Sephiroth.
At that word, the villains’ hearts sank.
“T-this crazy...! Are you also that Dark Charisma or whatever!!”
[That name is not mine.]
Click.
The figure stepped forward, flashing sharp silver claws.
“D-don’t come closer!!”
[Don’t come closer?]
The villains attacked the figure, but it stood still in front of Reina without budging.
[Weak.]
“C-crazy...! Is that a magic shield...?!”
“Aaah! Get, get lost! You monster!”
[Get lost?]
Flash.
[I do not take orders from those weaker than me.]