Chapter 170. Clean-up (2)

Intense hostility shot towards him from both sides.

His appearance had already made him the hottest potato in the Battleground as a terrorist.

Yet Ho-cheol just nonchalantly scratched his cheek over his mask.

“Or not?”

While everyone held their breath, tensed by his every move.

“The terrorist! 30 billion!”

Someone shouted from the Black Oskopf side.

The endlessly excited voice was too cheerful to belong to someone who had been engaged in a life-or-death battle until just now.

A female hunter cheered and rushed at Ho-cheol.

“What the.”

Ho-cheol muttered, flustered.

He hadn't expected to be greeted so warmly.

Ho-cheol, who had been planning to naturally overwhelm the atmosphere and end the fight, did not welcome that over-the-top reaction at all.

The hunter raised her nails and slashed at Ho-cheol.

The artificial nails and imitation jewels embedded in her nails.

They were not just for decoration.

They were special jewels, each worth hundreds of millions, and each one had a combat-use Trait.

Of course, since she couldn't pour hundreds of millions of won into a single battle, it was a trump card she only used when fighting top-tier monsters.

Naturally, she had no intention of using it for a money-losing job like the confrontation until just a moment ago.

But in front of a 30 billion bounty, there was no reason to hold back.

Kwadeudeudeuk—

The characteristic shimmer of space being crushed was clearly visible as her nails moved.

Of course, he was an opponent who had easily defeated two 1st-class hunters.

She had no expectation of defeating him with this one blow.

However, the battle with the two of them had been just a couple of hours ago.

A blow at this point-blank range should be able to do some damage.

But the result that followed was far beyond her imagination.

Ppujik—

Ppudeuk—

It was a small sound, enough to make her think it was a mistake for a moment.

But the pain that followed the sound was not a mistake, but a clear reality.

“Kkeuheueueuk—!”

All five of her nails had been ripped out.

No matter how strong a hunter was against pain, it was impossible to endure having all her nails torn out by the roots.

She clutched her hand and fell to her knees.

“Something felt off about your nails, and I couldn't tell if it was the nail art, the imitation jewels, or the nails themselves, so I just ripped them all off. I probably should have left the nails.”

When Ho-cheol opened his palm, five nails fell with a clatter.

Looking at the jewels that were emitting an eerie blue light, he raised his foot.

Kwadeuk—

He crushed them all to prepare for any unforeseen variables.

Then he turned his head to the side.

Another hunter who had approached at some point.

The aura he felt was also that of a 1st-class.

“So, are you going to attack too?”

“If I don’t?”

“Then I’ll let you go.”

Ho-cheol shrugged his shoulders.

“I appreciate the kindness.”

The middle-aged hunter helped the fallen female hunter to her feet.

He had secretly prided himself on being the strongest of the six 1st-class hunters gathered here.

Yet he had barely been able to see the terrorist's movements just now.

Even in the situation just now, if the terrorist had wanted, he was free enough to have killed the hunter next to him several times.

Yet he had not killed her.

The previous two had not just been lucky to survive, but had been clearly spared by him.

“My, my jewels…”

The female hunter whimpered, looking at the shattered jewels at Ho-cheol's feet.

The torn-out nails would heal in a few days with some red medicine, but how much trouble had she gone through to collect those Trait-imbued jewels.

It was nearly 30% of her entire fortune, which she had accumulated over several years of being a hunter.

“You idiot. I told you several times to pick your fights carefully.”

The middle-aged hunter smacked the female hunter on the head.

Ho-cheol's gaze turned to the other 2nd and 3rd-class hunters and the employees of Black Oskopf.

“Tell the other guys to back off too, will you?”

“That’s impossible. In the first place, we have no command or operational authority over them.”

They were just authorized to fight independently and freely, and in fact, as a 1st-class hunter in a simple contract relationship, they could not exert any influence in Black Oskopf's vertical command structure.

Most importantly, the loyalty of the exclusive hunters and employees was different from theirs.

Unlike them, who would retreat at any time for their lives, they would risk their lives to stop Ho-cheol and The Top.

“Is that so?”

Ho-cheol clicked his tongue.

They were certainly overwhelmed by him now, but their eyes were alive.

They were numerous and well-armed.

Even the security team from before was lacking in many ways compared to them.

In a situation where the 1st-class hunter who had been maintaining a certain balance had left, if they resisted, casualties were inevitable.

If this side isn't going to talk, then I have no choice.

“We’re leaving now.”

The hunter turned his back and said to the completely frozen Black Oskopf employee.

“Penalty or lawsuit, do as you please.”

Then he really disappeared without looking back.

Only the female hunter turned her head sharply and glared at Ho-cheol.

“Revenge for my nails! Ow!”

Then she was hit again.

There was also a 1st-class hunter who had been urgently hired by Black Oskopf here.

But he also felt that the balance of power had completely collapsed and stealthily backed away.

“Then since this side is taken care of.”

Ho-cheol turned around and looked at the hunter from The Top.

“You guys should also stop and clean up.”

They looked at Ho-cheol with a dumbfounded expression.

What the hell is this bastard?

Everyone was looking at Ho-cheol with that feeling.

But no one who had seen the battle just now could raise their voice.

If I step up here, it might not end with just my nails being pulled out this time, so am I crazy enough to take the lead?

“I can’t do that.”

The one who had said that was not a 1st-class hunter from The Top.

“In the first place, when we joined hands, we agreed not to interfere with each other’s plans.”

Charlotte stood in front of Ho-cheol.

Originally, the fact that the vice president had a relationship with a terrorist would have been a big blow to The Top's image, so she had been denying the relationship.

But the military power Ho-cheol had shown until just now, the way he had so easily subdued a 1st-class hunter, had already overwhelmed the negative image of a terrorist.

In the Battleground, where power was authority, Ho-cheol had a value greater than a strategic weapon.

The Top could gain a considerable advantage just by openly showing their close relationship with him and letting it spread as a rumor.

“Three 1st-class hunters have been neutralized, so why are you throwing away the best opportunity that has come up?”

“If we fight more, people will die. And I don’t think my persuasion will work on them.”

“So you’re going to stop us?”

“If necessary, by all means.”

Ho-cheol nodded his head.

At his firm attitude, Charlotte bit her lip.

Of course, they had only cooperated because their goals had overlapped, and they had never been on the same side.

But she was feeling a strange sense of betrayal.

“Why are you suddenly taking Black Oskopf’s side?”

“I told you. In exchange for cooperating with you, there was only one condition.”

Charlotte belatedly recalled their conversation at the cafe.

“Was the part about not killing people… real?”

“Yes.”

“But we can't back down. Your goal may have been achieved, but if we back down here, we’ll be like a dog chasing a chicken!”

Towards the troubled Charlotte, Ho-cheol took out a few photos.

“No. You guys succeeded too.”

Charlotte took the photos and checked them.

They were a few photos that Ho-cheol had taken as evidence just before leaving the research lab.

The photos of the ravaged research lab clearly showed the monster and human test subjects.

“These guys. They had hidden all the content and facilities related to the monsterification experiment in the headquarters. It must have been awkward to expose it to the outside even for a short time.”

Of course, the biggest reason was probably the monster bastard, but there was no reason to go out of his way to say that.

“Then this is.”

“Right. I smashed it all, and made it so they can't even recover it for years. In the first place, if the reason you attacked Black Oskopf was because you were worried you would be pushed out of the industry by that experiment, then this is enough.”

In fact, considering the damage Ho-cheol had inflicted, Black Oskopf would have to remove its name from the five major corporations.

They had poured most of their key personnel and resources into the monsterification technology, but just as it was about to show tangible results, Ho-cheol had ruined it all.

Of course, for The Top, who had been planning to steal more of the research results and key experimental materials to make them their own technology, the current situation could not be considered the best.

But to go further, Ho-cheol's presence was a burden.

Charlotte finally gave in.

“Alright. We’ll stop here.”

“Good thinking.”

Ho-cheol took out the communication device from his pocket and held it out.

“I’ll give this back.”

As Ho-cheol was about to leave, Charlotte asked him from behind.

“So, you’re not going to show me your bare face under the mask?”

“That was a promise you made on your own. I never said I would take it off.”

“That’s a shame. Maybe I could change in the future, and the trigger for that could be your bare face, don't you think?”

Ho-cheol, who had been walking away, stopped. He turned around, strode over, and came right in front of Charlotte.

At his forcefulness, Charlotte, as if tense, stepped back and stiffened.

Ho-cheol placed his hand on his mask.

And he lowered the mask just enough to reveal his eyes.

The sharp gaze under the mask looked at her.

“Oh my.”

“Is this enough of a trigger to change your mind?”

“A little.”

The corners of Ho-cheol's eyes curved slightly.

He put his mask back on.

“I’m really leaving now.”

Ho-cheol returned to his dorm at the academy.

In fact, he had a mountain of things to finish right away, but he had postponed them all.

For now, he just wanted to rest without thinking about anything.

“Oof, I’m tired.”

Ho-cheol grumbled, grabbed the doorknob, and entered the dorm.

Ji-an, who was doing her own homework at his desk, and So-hee, who was lying on the bed and fiddling with her phone, both raised their heads at the same time.

He couldn't even tell whose house it was anymore.

Ji-an shot up from her chair.

“Mister!”

So-hee wriggled and sat up.

“No, what kind of walk takes a whole day? If you’re going to stay out all night, you should at least let me know.”

She had thought nothing of it when he had said he was going out for some air at night.

But what was this, not even contacting her for a whole day.

“Things happen.”

At her words, Ho-cheol waved his hand casually and brushed it off.

It seemed the dummy doll for the alibi had carried out its last command properly.

In fact, Ho-cheol had not explained the situation to these two.

It was obvious that they would worry and make a fuss, so was there a need to?

As usual, Ji-an rushed to Ho-cheol.

She had expected to be flicked on the forehead and chased away before she could even hug him.

“Oot. Et. At?”

He did not stop Ji-an today.

He readily opened his arms and let her burrow into his embrace.

He even lightly patted her back.

Ji-an was rather flustered, but thinking that she didn't know when an opportunity like this would come again, she just rubbed her face against his chest.

At that sight, So-hee's eyes also widened in surprise.

“What’s gotten into you?”

“I used to think I was a guy who shouldn’t receive other people’s affection.”

Goodwill was one thing, but Ho-cheol had been blatantly avoiding the affection of others.

He had thought that since he was twisted from birth and had accumulated karma, he was not qualified to receive such an excessive thing.

But although his karma remained, he had learned that his birth was not twisted.

That alone was quite a relief.

“I’ve learned that I’m a person who can also give back what I’ve received. So I thought it would be okay to receive a little.”

“You went for a walk in the middle of the night and came back a completely different person.”

So-hee, who didn't know what Ho-cheol had gone through yesterday, had no choice but to think so.

“But then.”

So-hee, with her hands behind her back, gently rubbed the floor with the tip of her foot.

“Is there a share for me too?”

Ho-cheol chuckled and slightly widened the arm that had been hugging Ji-an.

Ji-an, in his embrace, made a blatantly displeased expression, but she slowly moved to make a space just big enough for one person.

Not missing the opportunity, So-hee also stealthily leaned against Ho-cheol's chest.

Ho-cheol's Monday 1st period lecture.

Towards the end of the lecture, he flipped through his notebook and tilted his head left and right.

“That’s all for today’s lecture. And number 18, number 31, you two stay behind after the lecture.”

It was the first time Ho-cheol had called a student by their attendance number instead of their name.

Naturally, the other students' eyes also widened in surprise.

Of course, the most surprised were the two students who had been called.

The students left the lecture hall, buzzing more than usual, and only the two remaining students came down to the front of the lectern.

A pair of a man and a woman.

Honestly, they were students who had not shown any prominence in the last semester.

Ho-cheol looked back and forth between the two of them and then leaned forward, resting his arms on the lectern.

“You two. You don’t want to be heroes, do you?”

“Pardon?”

The two students were visibly flustered.

Ho-cheol let out a sigh and flipped through the notebook from before.

“Your grades are at least maintaining the middle rank, but to be honest, you have less ambition than even the bottom rank. You're just somehow maintaining the middle rank in simple ranking, but if we were to grade your growth, you're the overwhelming last place. And I can see that you can't concentrate on the lecture.”

He closed the notebook again.

“I don't feel any motivation from you. Yes, as if being a hero is not your goal. As if you were forced to enter this academy and are forced to attend the lectures.”

The two students could not bring themselves to meet Ho-cheol's eyes.

That alone was a sufficient answer, but Ho-cheol went out of his way to ask the core question.

“A hero. Are you being forced to do it?”

Ho-cheol did not miss the flinch in their bodies.

Normally, he would have pushed them further until their true feelings came out, but…

He let out a faint sigh.

What was this affection?

He couldn't bring himself to say harsh words to the students who had believed in and followed him for a whole semester.

“My expression was a little harsh. I'm not blaming or belittling you. I'm asking because I'm worried about you. There's nothing more tormenting than being an unwilling hero. How much it eats away at your body and mind.”

No matter how much a person can't just live doing what they want, being a hero was not in the realm of a simple job.

“My goal is not to raise you into great heroes.”

Of course, if even one student was missing from his sentence reduction, he would suffer a loss, but the situation was not so urgent that he had to cling to a few years of his sentence.

“It's to make you into great adults. Not just adults who act big because they're old, but really proper adults.”

He came down from the podium and stood between the two students.

“At the very least, as long as you're wearing a school uniform, I'm your guardian. And the role of a guardian includes listening to your true feelings. If they're valid, I will of course support you.”

At Ho-cheol's sincere persuasion, the male student was the first to speak.

“You’re right, Professor. I actually wanted to be in the Support Item Production Engineering Department rather than a hero.”

“Then why? Did your parents force you?”

“No. They didn't force me, but since both of my parents are heroes, I think they just assumed I would naturally become a hero.”

He was in a difficult position.

The reason he had applied to Clington was actually with the item production department in mind, but his parents had completely misunderstood his aspiration as being a hero.

And that lie had led to this.

If he hadn't been suited to be a hero at all, that would have been one thing.

But thanks to his ambiguous talent, he had been pushed this far.

“Is that so?”

Ho-cheol stroked his chin and then nodded his head.

“Let's have a parent-teacher conference with you soon.”

“Pardon?”

The male student asked back, flustered.

“Why? You said you have something you want to do. But seeing you suffering alone like this, it seems you don't have the confidence to persuade your parents on your own. I have to help you. Or do you want to do it alone?”

“……That's not it.”

“Instead, I'm not just helping you for free. If you really have another dream, you must have made some effort towards that goal, right? You'll have to present that as evidence.”

“Yes.”

The male student nodded his head.

The effort, the materials for persuasion, were sufficient.

The only problem was that he lacked the courage to bring it out.

He could also tell.

The time when Ho-cheol was pushing his back was the only chance.

Ho-cheol turned his head to the side and looked at the other female student.

“So, is it a similar case with you?”

She was one of the group of four who had been hanging around with Da-yeon, a student with impressive wavy blonde hair.

Of course, Ho-cheol had had no contact with her outside of lectures.

The female student smiled and said.

“I’m an idol. I like being a singer too.”

“Oof.”

At the answer that was beyond his imagination, even Ho-cheol, who had been listening to their worries with a rather serious attitude, couldn't help but be flustered.

“But I’m in a bit of a difficult situation. I was forced to become a hero by my parents, even though I said I didn't want to from the beginning.”

In fact, since she had even been forced to enroll in this Clington, she couldn't help but lack motivation for the lectures.

The female student chattered on about how coercive her parents were and how she had no choice but to aspire to be a hero.

But Ho-cheol couldn't concentrate on her words at all.

He gave her some honest advice.

“Why don't you just be a hero?”

“You said you would support me!”

“Support is one thing, and reality is another.”

An idol wasn't just some dog's name.

Honestly, in this day and age, even heroes were sometimes treated as pseudo-celebrities.

Wouldn't it be better to take that route?

He had really tried to accept and support almost everything, but this was not easy.

“Still. Well, right. You need a parent-teacher conference too.”

It wasn't just about supporting her dream; it seemed that a rather in-depth conversation was needed about this kid as well.

“But when are you going to have the conference?”

“When else. Contact them right now.”

“Uh. Today?”

“I need some time to prepare myself.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

Ho-cheol hit the two of them on the head in turn with his pen.

“Call them quickly.”