Chapter 21: Red? Just someone like you?

• Bzzzt

“Who are we, you ask?”

“Listen and be amazed, then fall unconscious!”

“Even if we cannot ascend to the heavens!”

“With the spirit that refuses to become a snake’s tail!”

“Until we lock all evil into the dragon pearl!”

“Soar high!”

““Dragon King Squadron, Dragozer!””

Six warriors charge forward. With breathtakingly fluid martial arts, they quickly subdue the villains. Their perfect teamwork even allows them the leisure of a celebratory high-five. Within moments, they vanquish the SS-class villain and their underlings.

“Dragons do not shed tears!”

“They simply soar!”

The six strike a flawless finishing pose without the slightest gap in their formation.

The rescued citizens cheer in delight.

“Huff, huff.”

Hearing the cheers, exhilarated by the triumph over the villains, Choi Minseo couldn’t control the heat coursing through her body.

“Kyaaah, amazing, amazing, absolutely perfect!”

Ji Sehwa stomped her feet in excitement. The other members all celebrated the success of their debut mission as a squadron.

“Everyone! You showed off the results of your training brilliantly! Minseo, you worked especially hard!”

Jeong Iseok patted her back with his large hand. Choi Minseo appreciated the gesture. After every mission, Jeong Iseok always praised her like this.

“Hehe, hehe.”

• Bzzzt

“Why are you grinning like that? If you don’t eat quickly, I’ll take yours!”

They were now eating lunch together, sitting on the training ground floor with newspapers spread out. Each of them devoured a bowl of jajangmyeon with gusto.

“No way! That’s why you keep gaining weight, Yoo Kyung unni!”

Choi Minseo hastily picked up a dumpling and stuffed it into her mouth.

“What did you just say! It’s not my fault—it’s all the rice cake gifts we got for Chuseok!”

Watching the two argue, Han Somin chuckled softly. She always had such a beautiful smile.

• Bzzzt

As Choi Minseo reached for her chopsticks again, they had transformed into a fishing rod.

“Ughhh. Why haven’t I caught a single fish?!”

Kang Yerin, who had been sitting beside her, finally exploded in frustration. The squad had gone on a trip to a valley, and for an hour, only Choi Minseo’s fishing rod had been catching fish.

“Maybe it’s thanks to Quetzalcoatl? It’s a creature close to nature.”

“Unfair! This is cheating!”

“Haha. Who cares who catches them? Thanks to Minseo, we’ll have a proper spicy fish stew tonight!”

Jeong Iseok, chopping firewood nearby, laughed heartily. Watching him, Choi Minseo smiled brightly, her teeth on full display.

“But Minseo!”

“Yes, Iseok oppa!”

“Why did you kill me?”

“Huh?”

• Bzzzt

No, I didn’t mean to… I wasn’t in my right mind back then. I’m sorry, I’m sorry. It’s my fault. Please don’t… No, no, no, no, no! Stop it! It hurts! It’s my fault. No, no, no, no—ahhhhhh!

• Bzzzt

“Hehe, hehe.”

Choi Minseo opened her eyes.

“Huh? I can remember a little more clearly this time.”

Her eyes blinked sluggishly like a pufferfish.

“Hehe. Yeah, this medicine is pretty good. Hm. I feel really nice.”

Rising from her bed, Choi Minseo hugged her knees on the mattress.

“…Maybe I should go see Iseok oppa. Why haven’t I met him lately?”

Something in the boundaries of her mind was breaking apart.

Vroooom!

Even as people starved to death in the back alleys, this city wasted no electricity. The streets at night were blindingly bright and colorful. On a pitch-black motorcycle, she sped down the asphalt.

Her target was a van, often called a freezer truck. Inside was that ridiculous clown.

『Jeo, are you really planning to attack Arcsil? Even if so, how will you escape?!』

Lee Rua’s worried voice came through the communicator.

“I’ll figure out how to shake them off. I’m just really pissed off right now.”

『Jeo!』

The transmission ended.

The van was right ahead. She switched her bike to AI driving mode.

“Transform.”

[Up a blind alley]

Without hesitation, she leaped onto the van.

Crash! Riiiip!

The roof of the VIP-grade vehicle, sturdy enough to withstand bombings, tore apart like rice paper. The startled face of the clown came into view.

At his feet lay a weeping Cheolsango.

“What, what is this monster?!”

I answered lightly.

“Vengeance.”

“Be… Vengeance?! Hey! Shoot him already!!”

The guards in the front seat hurriedly tried to draw their guns. Before they could, I leaped down, extending both legs in a powerful kick.

The side of the car crumpled, and the guards were knocked unconscious.

I turned my attention to the driver and the passenger in the front seats, slamming their heads together to subdue them.

Now, it was just me, the clown, and Cheolsango left in the car.

“Y-you useless fools!! Get out of here! Do you even know who I am?! I’m the Red of the Yongwang Squadron!!”

“You? The Red?”

A scoff escaped my lips.

Slap!

I lightly flicked the back of my hand across his face. Even such a small motion caused his nose to break, blood to splatter, and three teeth to fall out.

“Aaaaagh! My face, my god-given face!!”

The clown curled up, desperately trying to protect his face with his hands.

“You! Do you think you’ll get away with this? As soon as this vehicle is damaged, the association’s heroes will be deployed immediately!!”

“Oh, really? Then why hasn’t the car stopped yet?”

“Huh? W-what?”

Just as he said, the car was still moving smoothly down the road. Normally, a VIP vehicle would halt and automatically trigger a roadblock in case of any damage.

Of course, I had already hacked the system. No one would notice the anomaly.

“God… God, no! You useless garbage!!”

“Garbage? The real garbage is you.”

“Garbage? I’m the Red! The Red of the S-Squadron! The world’s greatest hero!!”

“With skills like yours?”

Smack!

Another slap sent his face whipping to the side.

“Ugh… Ugh…”

“Red?”

Smack!

By now, his face was drenched in blood. His labored breathing escaped through his clenched teeth.

“S-stop… I-I’m going to die. I-I won’t be the Red anymore. Just please stop…”

“Won’t be the Red?”

Smack!

“Spineless idiot.”

Smack!

“Aaaagh! F-fine, I’ll do it! I’ll stay the Red!”

Then, I pressed my knee against his groin.

“Aaaargh! Aaaaahhh!!!”

“Even your lower half seems to be lacking.”

“Stop! It hurts too much! Aaaargh! It’s going to burst! It’s really going to burst!!!”

Pop.

The faint sound of something bursting reached my ears. The clown’s eyes rolled back as he let out an indescribable scream of agony.

“Please… Please spare me. I beg you…”

“Don’t worry. I won’t kill you. You still have a role to play as the Red of Yongwang Squadron.”

Even having such a worthless person as a member of the Yongwang Squadron would surely disrupt their teamwork. I was looking forward to it.

“R-really? T-thank you. I’ll give you money. Please, just leave. My… my… I can’t feel anything down there anymore…”

“What are you talking about?”

I tilted my head.

“You still have one left, don’t you?”

“Noooooooo!!!”

The clown let out a blood-curdling scream, his voice tearing at his throat.

Once I was done, I turned to look at Cheolsango.

“…Teacher.”

He recognized me, tears streaming down his face like a child.

“Get on.”

Without hesitation, he climbed onto my back. I carried him as I leaped back onto the bike.

With Cheolsango seated securely, I sped down the road.

Exiting the interchange, I noticed we were being followed.

As expected, we had drawn attention.

Fortunately, it was only regular police vehicles, not VIP responders. This was manageable.

“Hold on tight.”

Cheolsango tightened her arms around my waist with all her strength.

I shifted gears and pulled the accelerator.

The roar of the four-cylinder engine echoed loudly.

The speed climbed rapidly.

Like navigating a bullet-hell game, I weaved through the cars on the road. But this wasn’t a game.

Even a single collision would mean total destruction.

If something flew out, it would be my body.

We left the highway and entered a regular road.

At the intersection, the light was red.

A container truck crossed horizontally in front of us.

I spotted a gap beneath its chassis.

Grabbing Cheolsango’s head, I sharply turned the handlebars.

The bike tilted, its side scraping the ground as sparks flew.

We slid through the gap under the truck.

The bike rose upright again, and we sped off.

The police cars chasing us slammed on their brakes, resulting in collisions.

After evading pursuit, I took a mountain road.

We disappeared completely into the forested terrain.

Reaching a suitably secluded spot, I set Cheolsango down on a tree stump.

“Why did you form the Investigation Committee?”

“Because… I trust Red Dragon…”

“Me?”

It was brief.

If Red Dragon hadn’t betrayed us as she believed, had she never considered that it was the Hero Association concealing the truth?

Cheolsango blinked in confusion.

“Running headlong to the enemy, practically begging to be killed? That’s foolish.”

“…You’re right, Teacher.”

Cheolsango looked despondent.

“But I had no other choice. Many people doubt Red Dragon’s death. And yet, neither the internet nor the media covers any of it. The only way was to meet directly…”

“You organized it?”

Cheolsango nodded.

“You do realize that this incident has marked you with the Association, right? You won’t be able to return to your normal life.”

“But!”

Cheolsango sprang to her feet.

“I’m a hero! I have a duty to protect the citizens!”

“Do you think that makes sense?”

“Red Dragon wouldn’t have run away!”

Cheolsango’s eyes welled with tears, but her gaze remained unwavering.

“What if I told you to run away?”

“I can’t give up being a hero.”

“What if Red Dragon herself told you to stop?”

“I can’t give up being a hero!”

“Do you really think that makes sense?”

“Red Dragon wouldn’t have run away!”

Her tear-filled eyes were resolute.

“What if I told you to run away?”

“I can’t give up being a hero.”

“What if Red Dragon told you to stop?”

[Red Dragon’s justice is her justice.]

How unexpected.

Even a worm can roll over when it has to.

The Resistance.

This referred to a group of unaligned individuals with abilities.

Neither heroes nor villains, they played as unaligned forces in the scenario.

Although they didn’t stand out in society, their influence was significant.

‘The Bringer of Chaos’ was a goal that saw both heroes and villains as enemies, yielding the highest growth.

‘The Citizen Hiding Power’ was harder to grow but offered hidden quests and unique items.

Then there was the ‘Saint of the Vanguard.’

Among the unaligned, it was a rare talent that received massive leadership bonuses.

Cheolsango wasn’t suited to be a hero.

She was destined to shine as an unaligned force.

I had already planned to gather the unaligned someday, and planting the seeds now seemed like a good choice.

“Give up being a hero. You’ll be eliminated by the Association sooner or later. The people who followed you will face

the same fate. Form the Resistance. The truth about Red Dragon’s death will soon be revealed. Build your

organization and gather strength for that moment.”

“But my justice…”

Before she could finish, I removed my disguise without leaving a trace.