Chapter 25: Why not give it a try?

“This… What is going on?! Breaking news! Following the survival news of Red Dragon…”

“This is a scoop! The person believed to have saved Red Dragon, ‘Dr. Hyun,’ is said to be the head of a small research institute called ‘Celtic Bio’…”

“They say it was Red Dragon, not the Dragon King Squad, who defeated Dark Arthur! The video evidence is thought to be at Celtic Bio…”

“The news is that the Dragon King Squad killed Red Dragon!!”

Numerous media reports began to spread uncontrollably. Information expanded, was reproduced, and shared.

“Jeo, the trend dominance rate is 32%. Three out of every ten people exposed to the information are now aware of the current situation.”

Irua sent the update via communication.

This is enough.

The Red Dragon resurrection scenario came earlier than expected, but it proceeded according to plan.

“Red Dragon, please. I beg you, come back alive… Only you can defeat Emperor Rector! You can save this world! You are the last hope!!”

Dr. Hyun, holding my hand, cried as his nose turned red, fogging up his glasses. Seeing that expression, my heart grew heavy as well.

Really.

What an incredible performance.

“I understand. Please stay safe, Doctor.”

The assistants, acting as his role players, forcibly dragged Dr. Hyun away. Until the end, Dr. Hyun didn’t miss a single detail of his lines or the movement of his fingertips.

I must admit.

He’s a real actor.

By the way, Dr. Hyun’s real name is Kim Deok-bae. He’s fifty-six years old and was an unknown actor who wandered from street theaters. Irua found him, and I wrote the script.

I turned to face Pegasus.

So far, so good, but this one is a problem.

Thanks to the resurrection bonus, my stats are enough to face the Galactic Empire, but they’re not quite enough for a total win.

Of course, I can’t take down everyone alone, and the Emperor is still too much for me.

The issue is the modifiers.

There’s no guarantee that the damage will be dealt exactly as my stats suggest.

That’s how game systems work. Can a level 1 character wield a max-level sword and go on a raid?

Of course not. The attack power is adjusted and weakened.

Right now, I need to fight with the Villain class. That way, when I take down this guy, the organization and Squad Vengeance’s ranking will increase. The ranking recorded in the system, not the one assigned by the association.

However, the problem is that Vengeance’s rank is still low. I can’t fully utilize my stats yet.

Since the goal is to take down the leader of evil, I need to strengthen my organization to get stronger too.

It would be simple if I just set my class to Hero.

But if I do that, Vengeance’s rank will stay the same when I defeat this guy, and both the Hero Association and Dragon King Squad will become stronger.

It’s not just about the numbers.

That’s the role assigned to me as a ‘player’. It’s about determining the world’s direction.

If I act as a Villain, even while playing Red Dragon, Georgius will earn respect, and Vengeance will grow more easily. If I defeat Pegasus as a Hero, when the association’s president later makes a counterclaim about the Red Dragon’s death, the public is more likely to believe it.

I can’t let that happen.

Another condition:

The public knows that Red Dragon’s Hero ability is just one.

‘Light Arrow.’

It’s one of the Red Dragon’s four skills, ‘Pestilence White.’

When I was a Hero, I only used that skill in front of others.

I also used the ‘War’s Red’ skill, but that didn’t make much of a difference. It’s just my physical strength in the end.

The reason is simple.

The other two skills were too grotesque to be considered Hero abilities.

The ability from the scythe in ‘Death’s Blue’ and the ‘Famine’s Black’ ability are even worse.

I can’t use those here.

Those should remain skills used by Georgius.

In my plan, the one who defeats the Emperor is not Red Dragon, but Georgius.

If I use Death and Famine here, and later Georgius uses them as well…

The formula Red Dragon = Georgius becomes so obvious that even an elementary student could figure it out. That’s why I didn’t use Pestilence White as Georgius.

Hmm.

I’d be able to handle it easily if I fought alongside Irua.

I glanced over at the Dragon King Squad.

Ji Sehwa, Shin Yookyung, Kang Yerin, Choi Minseo.

“Useless bastards. You couldn’t even take care of one executive.”

Beyond here lies the orphanage. I can’t let Pegasus advance further.

Due to stat limitations and only two skills, I must take on the executives of the Galactic Empire one-on-one.

Well, let’s give it a try.

Shin Yoo-kyung was first curious about how he was still alive.

She still hadn’t changed her mind about him being the enemy and evil.

But she wanted to ask about the switch.

She really wanted to know if he had used Excalibur, Longominad, and Clarent alone, enduring that pain for her.

Choi Min-seo wanted to run to him immediately and embrace him.

At this point, she no longer cared about the truth. She didn’t care about guilt, punishment, or the emotional ties with Jeong Yi-seok. None of that mattered.

Right now, the only person who could support her heart was Jeong Yi-seok.

But her legs were giving out, her stomach was churning, and she was experiencing convulsions, so she couldn’t do that.

Ji Se-hwa’s feelings were complicated.

Even she didn’t understand what they were. Now that he had returned alive and all the truths had been revealed, it was certain that everything she had built up was starting to collapse.

While anger and resentment filled her, a corner of her heart ached. She didn’t even realize that the ache was guilt and remorse.

That’s why she couldn’t make a clear stance and was stuck, unable to do anything.

And Kang Ye-rin…

“Ah, ah!”

She felt relieved, relieved, and thankful.

The hope that everything could be reversed started to rise.

She was so happy at the thought of finally being able to say the words she had always wanted and needed to say.

No, there wasn’t any rational thinking. She was simply so happy to see his face again.

Her mind was overflowing with positive clouds, and before it could stop, she realized she had to move quickly.

Even in this state.

Because of us, you ended up like this.

You were trying to protect us.

Yet, you went back to fight again.

I was wrong.

I shouldn’t have doubted you, even for a moment.

I need to tell you.

Before you leave again, I must tell you.

Kang Ye-rin desperately moved her lips.

Where should she begin?

What should she say first?

She recalled her first meeting with Jeong Yi-seok.

The hero who saved her and her father.

The four words she couldn’t say back then.

Let’s start there.

“Yi-seok-ssi!!”

Kang Ye-rin shouted with all her might.

“Thank you-!!”

She shouted that gratitude, the one she couldn’t express back then, with all her heart.

What is she thanking him for?

Thanking him for dying like a fool?

Thanking him for being deceived?

Or does she think he’s appearing now to save them from Pegasus?

Well, she wasn’t expecting an apology.

She didn’t need it.

Still, it was a bit surprising to hear words she hadn’t anticipated as a greeting.

She must be a normal crazy person.

I put on my helmet.

“Transformation.”

[Up a blind alley]

To maintain the ‘Yongin’ form, the helmet and suit were prepared to be generously sized.

Now, shall we try killing?

“Is the melodrama over? I’ll tear apart that weak body, you inferior species!”

Clop-clop-clop. Pegasus charged forward, kicking up dust. He was fast, probably due to having four legs.

“War’s Crimson.”

[BE LUMR■BE]

This time, I couldn’t afford to relax.

From the start, I had to go all out.

Bang!

I maximized my strength and plunged through his opening. The ground I stepped on cracked within a 10-meter radius.

I was about to strike at his heart, but the guy wielding the spear responded quickly. Pegasus blocked my attack with efficient movements.

He’s not weak.

I continue the attack. The bastard has long lower limbs. I try to target his rear, but he’s well-trained, knowing full well that it’s his weakness.

If I used the “Death’s Blue,” I could instantly get behind him, but it’s sealed. This isn’t easy.

If I could land the “Plague’s White” on his body, I might have a chance, but he’s fast. The “Light Arrow” requires a casting time, and with his four legs, he’ll dodge it in a flash.

“Hah! No sense of chivalry! You rat, only targeting the enemy’s weakness!”

Chivalry. It makes me laugh.

This is war.

Whether it’s cowardly, cruel, or abandoning one’s pride.

The one who survives wins.

The one who kills wins.

There’s a flaw in this value system.

“Targeting weaknesses? Isn’t that exactly what you’re doing now?”

“What did you say?”

“You have no right to talk about chivalry. I am a ‘bowman’ by nature. A warrior who fights with a bow as my primary weapon. And you, who are trying to engage in close combat with me, are a filthy rat.”

“W-What did you say…!”

Pegasus’s face turned red.

“Is this the chivalry of the great Galactic Empire’s commander, who won’t even give a bowman the chance to shoot?”

“C-Cough! How dare you insult me like that! Shut your mouth! I am a great knight! Try shooting your arrows, and I will deflect them with my spear without evading!”

Pegasus roared, convulsing with rage.

“I’ll prove it to you. It’s not that I will lose to you just because you won’t let me shoot!”

“Oh? You won’t take that back?”

“I swear by the name of the Galactic Empire!”

He fell into my trap.

I created some distance between us, ten meters.

“Plague’s White.”

[L■■SAL■EDO]

A sphere of light appeared in my hand. The light spread out, drawing a bowstring. A sleek arrow formed. There was no bowstring.

The target was Pegasus. I aimed carefully and let go.

P-SSHEEEEW!!

The light shot through the air, colliding with his spear. A massive spark exploded.

“HHRRGGHH!!”

Pegasus exerted all his strength into his two arms holding the spear, clashing against the light arrow. Would it bounce off or pierce through? The tension in that moment…

I didn’t plan to see it through.

“Y-You?!”

I fired the arrow and immediately closed the distance, leaping toward Pegasus. I moved close, right at his side. The light arrow, still locked in a battle with his spear, I grasped it in my hand again.

“Your mindset. That’s your downfall, Pegasus.”

“W-What?!”

The next moment.

The arrow he was battling with was gone, and his spear was tangled with the light bow. The bowstring was now aiming directly at Pegasus’s brain.

“This light is neither an arrow nor a bow.”

I whispered softly as I fired the next arrow directly into his head.

“It’s the plague.”

P-SSHEW-

KRRRRRNNN!! BOOM!!

A vacuum formed in Pegasus’s skull. His skull twisted, and it was sucked into the void. His brain quickly vanished.

Blood spouted from the stump of his neck like a fountain.

So it begins.

-!!!

Pegasus’s body turned red, and he started thrashing around.

Berserk.

At the moment of death, high-ranking monsters unleash their final attack with their last breath.

He thrust his spear toward me with lethal force.

Once again, I summoned a vacuum to twist its trajectory.

Still, it was an immense power. The wind pressure and force alone were enough to send me flying.

BOOM!!

My body was flung to the ground with great force.

KRA-KOOM!

Fortunately, his attack didn’t continue, and the giant half-human, half-horse creature fell to the ground, lifeless.

[Commander Pegasus has been defeated!]

[Stats have increased!]

[Achievement!] Great

[Solo Play: Galactic Empire Commander]

[The villain organization Vengeance’s ranking has increased!]

[Villains now hold respect for you!]

[The chance to recruit more powerful villains as subordinates has increased!]

“Phew.”

I sighed in relief as I turned the light in my palm back into its original form. I stood up.

It was the ability to manipulate light, which could form both a bow and arrow and create a void space. That is Plague’s White.

‘I’m glad I didn’t have to use another trick.’

It went well.

The real issue was the unexpected early use of Red Dragon’s revival in the current situation.

The operation needed to be accelerated.

‘I need to meet Emperor Rektor immediately.’

That was the conclusion I had reached.

At that moment, I heard a voice in my ear.

“Eui-seok… sir.”

I turned my head.

Leading the group were Kang Ye-rin, Ji Se-hwa, Shin Yu-kyung, and Choi Min-seo.