Chapter 66

Chapter 66: The Raid (1)

The first strike team returned with the best possible results.

The strike team had finished clearing through Stage 2 and even set up a Makeshift Gate.

A Makeshift Gate was a device that allowed the next strike team to instantly travel to the starting point and the farthest point the previous team had cleared.

WOOOOAAH--

A roar like thunder greeted the returning Heroes.

Everyone joyfully welcomed their comrades who'd come back victorious.

"We're off to an excellent start."

"SS-rank dungeon's nothing special!"

"Yeah! Let's ride this momentum all the way to the end!"

Lie Xiao was the first to approach me upon his return.

"Professor Cha!"

Without either of us leading, we embraced each other.

"Well done. I never doubted you'd pull it off."

"It's all thanks to you, Professor."

As Lie Xiao said, it was indeed thanks to me.

Still, I modestly gave them the credit.

"It's because all of you put in the work. This is an achievement we accomplished together."

The other strike team members also drifted over one by one.

I hugged each of them the same way I had Lie Xiao.

"We couldn't have done this without you."

"Korea's professor! You're way more incredible than I expected."

"We'll never forget what you did."

S-rank Heroes -- the pinnacle of their respective nations.

These connections could prove helpful in any number of ways down the road.

Building the best impression now could only be a good thing.

The last one to come was Wang Sheng.

"Hey, small nat-- no, Korean professor. I'm... for looking down on you... so-sorry."

I hadn't expected that ball of pride to utter an apology.

When I looked at him in surprise, Wang Sheng yelled.

"What are you staring at? Acknowledging someone superior is only natural."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. It's just how it is."

When I cracked a smile, Wang Sheng whipped his head away.

His face was bright red, apparently embarrassed.

The expedition's commander, Edelin, also approached.

"Well done, everyone."

Edelin wore a smile as bright as the sun.

She was genuinely happy that the raid was progressing smoothly without a single casualty.

"To think you've already cleared through Stage 2... No one predicted this pace. At this rate, we might finish the dungeon before the monsters inside start coming through the Gate."

"It's too early to say for certain. The dungeon still holds countless variables."

"But we have a powerful weapon to counter every one of those variables."

"A powerful weapon?"

Edelin pointed at me with a grin.

"Yes. We have Professor Cha."

Other Heroes chimed in.

"That's right! Professor Cha, if you're leading us, we're not afraid of any SS-rank dungeon!"

"Hear, hear!"

"Professor, even if you ordered me to stab Hanson, I'd trust you and do it!"

"What? You crazy bitch, why would you stab me?"

"It's a figure of speech. A figure of speech."

The Heroes' rock-solid trust made my shoulders rise on their own.

The results were more satisfying than I'd anticipated.

With this, the Hero Association could no longer afford to snub me.

Chairman Daniel.

With things having turned out this way, his plans must have changed.

He'd no longer seek to antagonize me, but to win me over to his side.

If this expedition ended successfully and they returned home, Daniel's influence would only solidify further.

Who would reject a leader who successfully resolved humanity's worst catastrophe?

The public didn't know what happened behind the scenes of the expedition.

What the public would remember was the fact alone -- the achievement of clearing an SS-rank dungeon.

If I needed political power, aligning with Daniel could've been a reasonable choice.

Of course, I had absolutely no such intention.

Where I belonged was the Academy, and my role was as a professor.

What I needed was a force that could shield me from being dragged into annoying affairs, and that could move when needed.

Getting entangled with a politician like Daniel would inevitably mean he'd try to wield me as he saw fit.

Speaking of which, where was Daniel and what was he doing?

Everyone was celebrating the victory, but the man who was supposed to be the Hero Association's Chairman had yet to show his face.

"Where is the Chairman?"

"No idea. Haven't seen him since earlier."

The person who appeared in Daniel's place was the Hero Association executive, Andrew.

"Excellent work. Your achievements will go down in history."

"Hey, Andrew. Where's the Chairman?"

"Don't tell me he's sulking in his room because the professor Unicorn invited stole the show?"

Someone's remark turned the ship into a sea of laughter.

Only the Heroes closely affiliated with the US Hero Association couldn't laugh, their faces reddening.

Andrew answered calmly.

"The Chairman is feeling unwell and is resting in bed."

"He was perfectly fine earlier and now he's sick? Did he come down with anger disease?"

The ship erupted in laughter again.

Andrew left without responding, repeating like a parrot only that the Chairman was ill.

Jo Seongung said,

"The head of the Hero Association, and his heart's that small. Tsk tsk."

Small-hearted?

There was no way.

Daniel was the kind of man always ready to cut off his own allies like a lizard shedding its tail.

That bat of a man would backstab every guild that followed him and switch to Unicorn the moment the wind changed.

There was actually a route like that in the game.

The Daniel I knew should've been making moves to recruit me by now.

A moment like this, with spirits running high, was the perfect time to buddy up -- that was the most Daniel-like play.

The fact that he was lying low right now might mean......

A hypothesis flickered through my mind.

"Professor Jo, bring your ear closer for a moment."

I whispered my thoughts to Jo Seongung in a hushed voice.

I wasn't certain, but it was a plausible theory.

Jo Seongung's eyes widened as he listened.

"S-Surely not. Couldn't you be mistaken, Professor Cha?"

"It's just a guess. Nothing's confirmed yet."

"Th-Then what should we do?"

"Just follow my instructions."

It couldn't hurt to be prepared.

Preventing an incident before it happened was important.

***

Deep at night, inside a cabin on the ship.

Andrew and two S-rank Heroes on the American side were present.

All of them wore rings engraved with the SH insignia.

These were the equivalent of membership cards for the terrorist organization SH.

SH.

Known to the public as a terrorist organization, but that was merely a label slapped on by the ignorant masses.

The Awakened -- Superhumans -- were a superior race that had evolved beyond humanity.

It was the natural order for Superhumans to rule over inferior humans.

For now they bore the stigma of terrorists, but soon the world would call SH prophets.

"Now is the perfect opportunity. With most of America's S-rank Heroes tied up in the Pacific... we can turn America into a sea of fire."

"When they see America burning, our ranks will swell."

"Exactly. Every Awakened already knows the truth deep down. That we are superior and they are inferior. They've simply been brainwashed by the fake morality that inferior humans implanted in them."

Andrew laughed heartily.

The great plan had already begun.

He had no doubt that soon every Awakened in the world would understand SH's cause.

If they could successfully keep the Heroes' feet bound here at the Pacific Dungeon, everything would fall into place.

The variable was Cha Eunwoo. That man.

Cha Eunwoo's presence had accelerated the dungeon's clearance speed to an abnormal degree.

At this rate, things would be dire.

"A sorrowful night. To think we must kill a fine Superhuman with our own hands."

Killing Chairman Daniel had caused Andrew no hesitation whatsoever.

If anything, it had been a pleasure.

Daniel was the worst kind of human -- inferior and incompetent at once.

Andrew had always regretted making him Chairman.

No matter how grand the endgame, watching a creature like that mistreat Superhumans had been hard to bear.

But Cha Eunwoo was different from Chairman Daniel.

He was a talented individual who could lead the Superhumans of the future.

However, the way he used his abilities was misguided.

Intentional or not, interfering with SH's plans was unforgivable.

"We kill Cha Eunwoo. That'll slow the raid to a crawl. If we're lucky, the entire expedition might dissolve."

"Yes, sir."

They erased their presence and moved to Cha Eunwoo's room.

He was making a noble sacrifice for the world of Superhumans.

Andrew resolved to memorialize him once the world was changed.

The SH operatives opened the door and entered the room.

Andrew silently drew a dagger.

Cha Eunwoo, lying on the bed.

'All for the Superhumans!'

Andrew brought the dagger down like lightning.

But what rang out was a fierce clash of metal.

CLANG--!

"......!"

Not the sound of piercing flesh, but metal on metal.

In that instant, the SH operatives knew everything had gone wrong.

FLASH!

The room lit up.

With the lights on, Andrew spotted a camera in the corner of the room.

They'd intended to kill without anyone knowing, but damning evidence had just been left behind.

Only then could he piece together what had happened.

"...You knew we were coming."

"Yeah. I put myself in your shoes and realized you only had one option."

Put himself in their shoes?

That sounded as if he'd known from the start that SH agents were hiding within the expedition.

How?

With things come to this, there was only one option.

Every SH operative was an S-rank Hero.

They'd have to kill Cha Eunwoo by force and flee--

SLASH!

"Gkh!"

It was fast.

One SH operative's head left his body.

No matter how sudden the ambush, few Heroes could instantly kill an S-rank.

Andrew and the remaining operative tensed, their eyes fixed on their comrade's body.

Standing there was Professor Jo Seongung.

Korea's former S-rank Hero.

"Repeat after me: you're all dead. Who dares touch Professor Cha?"

Andrew's mind raced.

During his active days, the man had been ranked a mere fourth in Korea.

And now he'd retired and was just playing professor.

It was hard to comprehend how his subordinate had been killed so effortlessly by such a man.

'He must have a skill specialized for ambushes.'

An ambush was only effective when you didn't know it was coming.

If you knew the attack was coming, it wasn't threatening at all.

"Kill him!"

"Yes!"

At Andrew's command, the SH operative charged at Jo Seongung.

He'd used a dirty trick before, but it wouldn't work twice.

An old man whose senses had dulled in retirement couldn't possibly stand up to an active-duty Hero.

"Good call luring us out, Professor Cha, but your countermeasure was sloppy! Leaving just one decrepit old man? That weapon of his won't work anymore!"

"Weapon?"

"That's right! He obviously has a skill specialized for ambush-- wait, what?"

SHLICK--!

The sound of a sword parting flesh.

In a mere five exchanges, the SH operative's head was gone.

Andrew stared at his subordinate's corpse, mouth agape.

"H-How... He was just a Hero ranked fourth in Korea at best......"

"Heh, it's true I was worse at killing monsters than the guys above me."

"Mon... sters?"

"But in my life, I've never lost to a person. That's what I'm saying."

During his active days, there had been swordsmen ranked higher than Jo Seongung.

But only Jo Seongung had been called the Sword Saint.

Every swordsman who'd ever crossed blades with him said the same thing in unison.

There is no human who can defeat Jo Seongung in single combat.

However, Jo Seongung's strength was limited to one-on-one.

He lacked the ability to suppress multiple enemies simultaneously, which meant his career as a Hero -- a monster hunter -- fell short of what his skill warranted.

"Want to try your luck?"

He couldn't accept it.

How had it come to this?

Everything was for the sake of the superior race. They were here to fulfill a great cause.

How did Cha Eunwoo know the attack was coming?

Could there be a traitor inside SH?

Andrew believed all their comrades were trustworthy people.

The idea that a traitor existed among them was something he couldn't fathom.

But the situation left no other explanation.

Who.

Who dared to obstruct the Superhumans' resurgence?

"AAAARGH!"

Andrew let out a bestial scream and charged at Jo Seongung.

There was no need to even swing the sword.

Jo Seongung casually stuck out his foot, and Andrew tripped and fell.

"Ugh!"

"Weren't we both former S-ranks? Why are you this weak?"

Jo Seongung pressed his foot down on Andrew's back.

Under the overwhelming force bearing down on him, Andrew couldn't move -- as if his entire body were shackled.

"Damn it, damn it......!"

Cha Eunwoo looked down at Andrew and said,

"Seems like we have a lot to discuss."