Chapter 8: Shin Yu-kyung, using Excalibur’s switch.

“Manage the hostages thoroughly.”

“I know. This one’s abilities come from his palm, so cut off his hand. This one has telepathy? I’ll knock him out, it’s too much of a hassle.”

As Irúa handled the tied-up hostages, screams erupted.

Among the subordinate villains, there seemed to be some dissatisfaction with Irúa being second-in-command, but seeing her abilities, the atmosphere shifted to one of understanding.

Currently, Irúa’s specs are as follows:

[Dark Matter / Irúa]
[Occupation: Villain]
[Rank: Pre-debut]
[Ability: Dark Matter Lv.4]
[[Uncivilized]]
[Affiliation: Villain Organization Vengeance]
[Evil Legion Vengeance]
[Alignment: Chaotic-Good]

Her ability is at level 4, and her stats are quite impressive.

I, too, wear a mass-produced mask like my subordinates and hide among them.

For now, I plan to send Irúa out as the figurehead leader.

“Do you have any problems with this terror, Emma?”

I asked Emma, who was also disguised as a regular villain. Without hesitation, she bowed her head to me.

“Yes. Your will is my will.”

“Even though I, once the guardian of justice, am now leading villains in a terror attack?”

“I have no doubt that you’re doing this for the peace of the world.”

Her words were unwavering.

It seemed I wasn’t entirely devoid of influence.

I felt grateful to her.

“Boss, they’re coming.”

A quick-witted subordinate reported. I turned my head.

In the distance, a silver dragon-shaped mech was flying toward us.

The protagonist of the party’s procession was arriving.

We’d need to get ready to greet them.

“Such reckless fools.”

Shin Yookyung gripped the switch of Excalibur and immediately moved.

“Shin Yookyung! Are you planning to go alone?”

“It might be dangerous! Perhaps the Dragon King Squadron should accompany…”

“Thanks, Sehwa, Minseo. But this is an issue involving my crew. I’ll handle it on my own.”

Shin Yookyung gave a confident and charming smile and headed to the launch room.

“Well, there’s no Dark Kingdom left, so how tough could the villains be?”

“True. Looks like most of them are new faces.”

“Heh, so they’re just small fry, huh? Guess I worried for nothing.”

“But if they’ve taken the entire crew hostage…”

“Maybe they were caught off guard because they were in a party.”

“Could be.”

Shin Yookyung quickened her steps, letting her body be fueled by the surge of adrenaline.

Bastards. I’ll take their heads right now.

How dare they touch my subordinates.

And they even called me out alone?

They’ve lost their minds. I’ll feed them to the sharks without a coffin.

Shin Yookyung boarded her partner mech and headed to her destination. It was far superior to the latest fighter jets, capable of space travel. The speed exceeded Mach 1 with ease.

In an instant, she arrived at her destination, from Seocho, where the Association’s headquarters were located, to the waters off Incheon.

Upon arrival, she slowed down and opened the cockpit.

Villains were gathered on the deck of a cruise ship.

There were about thirty subordinates wearing masks. The hostages, the crew members, seemed to be inside the cabins.

The long-haired woman standing imposingly as the leader annoyed her. As expected, she was wearing a mask, so her face was not visible.

“Silver Mirror! Silver Mirror has arrived! We’re broadcasting live from the waters off Incheon!”

She looked around. Several news helicopters were flying nearby.

‘The media’s already here. We can’t afford a messy fight.’

As a member of the S-Team, managing the image and creating the right character was essential. So, Ji Sehwa always said that it was a nightmare whenever the media showed up.

Shin Yookyung didn’t particularly enjoy the act of pretending to be a hero, but she didn’t mind it either.

Going overboard like Red or Jeong Euseok wasn’t really her style.

Still, she had a professional sense of duty to meet the public’s expectations to some extent.

“I came alone, as requested. What do you want? Money?”

Shin Yookyung asked through the speaker.

The leader woman responded with only a slight flick of her fingers.

A provocation, huh.

Shin Yookyung was confident. There was no villain in the world who could oppose her at this point.

She leaped out of the mech, landing perfectly on the deck.

Kwoooong!

It was a textbook-perfect hero landing. Shin Yookyung looked up and glared at the wicked foe.

“Do you want my life?”

“Yes.”

Finally, the boss of the enemies spoke. She spread her arms wide, and a sinister black substance rose above her.

“We are Vengeance. I am the leader, Dark Matter. The one who kills heroes.”

“Tch. Cowardly and pathetic. You want to kill me to gain fame, but you can’t take on the Dragon King Squadron, so you captured hostages to set up a one-on-one? Aren’t you ashamed?”

Shin Yookyung felt a surge of disdain as Dark Matter spoke, and it made her throat tighten.

“If you feel even a little shame for your cowardice, then promise me this, Dark Matter. If you lose to me, guarantee the safety of my crew.”

“Fine. But that won’t happen.”

They were all cowards. Shin Yookyung had no intention of trusting them. She planned to find an opening, kill Dark Matter, and use her powers to rescue her crew.

“But I’ll make a promise too.”

“What?”

“If I win, I’ll kill your entire crew.”

“Tch. That won’t happen. Let’s start.”

Shin Yookyung raised her left arm’s transformation device. In her right hand, a bright-colored switch with a silver dragon engraved on it was held tightly. She pressed the left button forcefully.

[AO’GUANG!]

With the sound, the switch gleamed. Shin Yookyung inserted the switch into the transformation device with a poised gesture.

“Transform!”

[On your way!]

[Here comes the Dragon Lord!]

Light surrounded Shin Yookyung, and a silver dragon leapt out, opening its mouth as if to devour her. A helmet formed on her head.

In the next moment, the hero Silver Mirror of the Dragon King Squadron stood in her place.

“Ridiculous.”

Dark Matter muttered briefly before firing dark matter from his hand. It was the black lightning of speed.

“Ugh!”

Shin Yookyung swung the mechanical staff she was holding, striking the incoming blasts away. Her movements were those of a skilled martial artist.

In an instant, the staff elongated and shot toward Dark Matter. Dark Matter shot his substance toward the ground and used the rebound to dodge.

Shin Yookyung used that moment to form a seal with her hand. She intended to end it in one strike.

“Moonlight Mirror!”

An elliptical trajectory formed around Shin Yookyung and Dark Matter as mirrors materialized. Before long, Silver Mirror’s image was reflected in every mirror.

Dark Matter turned his head. No matter where he looked, it was the same image.

“Ha!”

Shin Yookyung leapt out of the mirror and attacked Dark Matter. If the strike landed, she would return to the mirror again.

“…!”

Blood appeared on the corner of Dark Matter’s lips. Shin Yookyung didn’t give him a chance to recover, continuing her assault. Dark Matter tried to defend with his dark substance, but it wasn’t enough.

“Did you underestimate me? A hero is supposed to be killed, huh?”

Shin Yookyung increased the speed of her attacks.

“Of course, heroes get hurt. They die eventually. But not by you. Justice never dies at the hands of vile, despicable villains who don’t even know their own worth!”

Shouting this, Shin Yookyung increased her power. It was time to finish it. The silver dragon’s energy, Ao Guang, surged into her hand.

“Take this, my justice!”

“Pfft.”

At that moment, Shin Yookyung heard it.

It wasn’t Dark Matter.

Someone was mocking her.

Who was it?

But before she could even think further…

Crash!!

All her mirrors shattered.

“What…?!”

At the same time,

Crack!

Dark Matter’s dark substance attached itself to Shin Yookyung’s limbs, twisting her joints into impossible angles.

“Ugh!”

The overwhelming pain struck her. Before she could regain distance, Dark Matter’s next attack came.

Shin Yookyung was hit squarely in the face and collapsed grotesquely. The visor of her helmet shattered, and blood began to spill.

“Damn it!”

Shin Yookyung twisted her bent joints back into place. She faced Dark Matter again.

‘How did he do that? He broke my Moonlight Mirror. Impossible. Was he hiding his power? But why would he? No, maybe it’s a necessary ability…’

Shin Yookyung desperately tried to analyze the situation.

Understanding the enemy’s abilities was crucial in battle.

She had learned that long ago, but had forgotten in the heat of the moment.

‘That black substance. It’s not a simple natural ability. Is it a material that absorbs power? Was he taking the hits on purpose? Then is his power now surpassing mine?’

Anxiety washed over Shin Yookyung.

“Damn it. I was too complacent. I should’ve finished him with a single, unstoppable strike.”

A thought crossed Shin Yookyung’s mind.

The switch in her pocket.

She pulled it out.

“Excalibur.”

With this, I can slice that woman’s body in one go. I had seen the power when Jeong E-seok used it. This cannot be absorbed.

“Justice is truly on my side.”

Click!

With this conviction, Shin Yookyung confidently inserted the Excalibur switch into the transformation device.

“Don’t mock me!”

Shin Yookyung pressed the Excalibur switch and Ao Guang’s switch together with force, turning the upper dial.

[EXCALIBUR!]

[-Include! AO’GUANG!]

This will end it.

The moment she anticipated the deadly power.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH?!”

From her heart, to her bones, and all the way to her marrow, a sharp pain, like a sword piercing from within, overwhelmed her brain. Her body began to spasm as though it had been electrocuted, writhing in agony.

“W-Why, why, why is this happening?! AAAAAAAGH!!!!”

Experiencing incomprehensible, hellish pain, Shin Yookyung collapsed, blood spurting from every orifice of her body.

“Shin Yookyung uses the mirror? Then make sure she pays for it.”

“Why?”

Irua responded with a question to my statement.

“What do you think your dark matter ability does?”

“Hmm… It generates magnetic fields and controls gravity?”

“That’s not all. It also took my memories and emotions.”

“Ah, right.”

“Your dark matter can affect the human mind.”

“Even the mind?”

“Yeah. Shin Yookyung will use the mirror to attack relentlessly. In the meantime, implant emotions into her body with your dark matter—‘anxiety,’ ‘nervousness,’ and ‘urgency.’”

“And then what happens?”

“She’ll destroy herself.”

I had told Irua this during training, and he executed it brilliantly.

Although, based on the specs, this should’ve been something they could both handle. But Shin Yookyung’s disadvantage from her teammate’s spirit, and Irua’s growth, came together perfectly.

Not to mention, Irua’s combat sense is excellent.

He’s a good asset.

“Hey.”

I gave a signal, and one of my subordinates hesitated but then approached.

I walked over to the fallen Shin Yookyung. The recoil from Excalibur had canceled her transformation. Her body was drenched in blood. Fear was now evident in her usually expressionless face.

I’ve been wanting to see this, Yookyung.

“I’ve won.”

Irua came up beside me and looked down at Shin Yookyung, declaring his victory.

“W-Wait… I… I used Justice’s powers, but… why… am I…”

“Didn’t you promise to keep your word?”

One of my subordinates dragged an hostage toward us. I grabbed the hero’s hair and pulled out a knife from my pocket.

“No… no…”

Shin Yookyung mumbled weakly as I asked her a question.

“Then will you die in their place, Silver? If you give your life, I’ll spare twenty of them.”