chapter 99
99 – EP4. Despair, justice
[You who hate heroes. Come here.]
A chilly winter day.
I felt that the phrase that no one on the street paid attention to was especially noticeable that day.
At best, it’s obvious that it’s just propaganda aimed at attracting people with provocative phrases. Why was I particularly drawn to that phrase?
Nowadays, this may be considered a trivial act of rebellion, but at the time, even such triviality was taken very seriously.
At that time, I was a person who looked at everything in the world pessimistically because I had a hard time even thinking about myself.
But no matter the size of your heart, in the end, it is a foolish determination.
Coincidentally, the place where I had my ideals was the battlefield, and the battlefield was an extremely heartless place for those who were powerless.
As someone who is not born with anything, I just end up failing after failing.
As this happened repeatedly, it got to the point where I couldn’t even tell whether what I claimed to be my convictions was stubbornness or self-satisfaction.
‘Why on earth do I remain here?’
‘On a topic that doesn’t accomplish anything. ‘Why do we keep repeating meaningless actions?’
Maybe my remaining here is just an act of self-defense, ignoring the wrong choices I once made…….
A life steeped in such regret and self-deprecation was in itself like walking through a swamp in a dark cave.
A series of moments where you are engulfed in fear of falling in a place where no one can reach, the moment you relax even a little.
But even though I felt oppressed by such misery and felt like giving up everything, my body was moving towards a certain place regardless of my will.
A ray of light illuminating this dark mire.
The light was so dazzling that I developed a desire to see what was in the place that produced the light.
‘I want to see what lies at the end of this road.’
Even if it is far from the original meaning.
Nevertheless, I firmly believe that something more valuable awaits.
***
-Cudangtang!!
A series of violent collisions that occurred at the location we reached after chasing that light.
When I fell through the broken floor from the impact, the battle that was thought to continue entered a brief lull.
The foul smell from where I crashed made me stop my actions for a moment.
“…… “What is this again?”
A sewer system located underground in the facility.
But since it has already been abandoned for over 10 years, all that remains are marks of dirt.
Because there is no soil or sunlight, the spilled material will decay, but the decomposition process is very slow.
What dissolved in the wastewater and stuck to the walls and floor were the remains of what was once called a person.
It probably belongs to the children who died in this underground testing site. Although they are a small number, the white coats that exist here and there probably belong to researchers who rebelled against the experiment.
“You.”
No matter what happened, it was still a disgusting sight.
“After seeing this, can you still be proud of your power?”
“Close your mouth…….”
-Kugua River!
A body being pushed against the wall by repeated punches.
He tried to muster his strength to somehow make a comeback, but by then his fist, with red sparks flying out of it, was already aimed at my chin.
Pow! The moment the body that was pushed out with a sound broke the ceiling and was thrown into the room above.
“Look at me.”
Vanguard came after me to chase me, and aimed his fist while holding onto my collar.
“What are you asking me to do?”
-Pow!!
“Everything was already over when I found out!! By the time I realized what kind of power I had, it was all already…… !!”
Puuk, puk!
Mounts continue one after another.
It was a simple attack, but as it continued, it was turning into a blood clot, unable to even keep up with the regenerative power of the head.
I can feel that even the envelope I am using is soaked in blood and becoming heavier.
-Cludly
But even at this moment, the arm is regenerating.
“So….”
I managed to squeeze the guy’s fist with my free hand and turned my clearly opened eyes towards him.
“The water has already been spilled, so I decided to just comply and live like an asshole?”
-Cow!!
Ignoring that force, the force that carried me broke the floor again, and once again my body fell into the disgusting sewer.
I quickly got out of the debris and pulled myself up, but before I could react, his fist was already aimed at my face.
-Quad!
But this time, I didn’t just get hit either.
The moment the face is hit, the lower body bounces back reflexively.
Just grab the guy’s arm with both legs and use the force of the push against it in reverse.
-Tduduk!
An arm twisted in an armbar that continued for a split second.
My body was pushed out of its seat and hit the floor, but that is a problem that can be solved by regenerating it with regenerative power.
“You should do your best to live your dream.”
A sarcasm that bursts out as soon as the crushed mouth can recover.
“If that guy’s justice is good in the first place, shouldn’t he have lived honorably from the beginning and not resorted to expedients?”
“What do you know… ….”
“I know very well. “If you’ve already started, you have to see it through to the end.”
-Quang!
A body staggering from the continued hammering. I raised my arms to defend myself, but those arms had already been twisted from previous counterattacks a long time ago.
If it were me, I would have forced my arms up to defend myself.
-Quang!!
Even so, the Vanguard hesitates in the end and allows the attack.
Still, I shouted, aiming the hammer in his hand again at the stumbling guy who stubbornly tried to maintain his balance.
“What were you doing when Spiritas was receiving universal praise on earth?”
Suddenly. A body that stops.
I took advantage of that moment to leap at the guy and swing the sledgehammer.
“Yes, I fell asleep thinking I was taking care of that damn old man. “Just accept the food he gives you and eat it as if it’s okay as long as no one finds out!”
-Quang! Thud!
The Vanguard mercilessly faces the one-sided attacks. The debris exploding every time he was attacked showed that his defense had reached its limit.
“Anyway, if you sell your conscience, all kinds of things will come to you, so it wouldn’t be a bad thing to live like that. I’ll congratulate you in advance, you idiot. If you beat me here, no one will know what you did, and everyone in the world will look up to you and support you!”
Pazzu!! A powerful spark echoes as if retorting a shout.
I tried to twist my body to avoid the fist that was swung at him, but the place where the attack was actually made was not me, but the floor.
-Quaaang!!
The moment when the body hits the ground with countless shocks.
As if gravity had been reversed, everything that existed where I was standing rose upward.
After breaking several ceilings, we reached a place at the end.
Near the test table covered in blood on all sides, there was a test table covered in flesh and blood.
Unlike being buried underground, it doesn’t look like it’s been around for a few days.
“For me… ….”
When I came to my senses, he had followed me and was in front of the operating table.
“For me, there is no power like Justice or the Heavenly Demon.”
The man who roughly pushed it away came towards me with shaky steps.
“Not only does it have a heightened sense of justice… …. “You can’t achieve anything with just grit.”
Light leaking from sparks bouncing around the body. What shines from it is a bloodshot eye shining through a broken lens.
“How much more so to achieve what even they could not achieve… ….”
Tears of blood flowing down there.
“You have to become a monster. “To erase all people like you from this world!!”
-Kwaang!!!
The body that was pushed back by the swung fist broke the wall, and blood poured out from the body that was rolling around in the hallway.
A wound that explodes during regeneration. The damage that exceeded the load accumulated on the body gradually reached a point where it exceeded the regenerative capacity.
Yes, no matter how much the limiter has been lifted, it is still based on super-gravity.
The more it is exhausted, the less regenerative power it will have.
“I know best that it is something that deserves criticism.”
But that’s the same for everyone.
“But not you.”
That man is coming through the gap in the collapsed wall.
Even though its body was not protected by its already broken defenses, it was showing its tenacity towards me.
“No one else but you… You have no right to criticize me.”
What comes out of that mouth will definitely be called hatred.
Yes, I can completely understand.
Evil existed on this earth even before I and he existed.
The affair taking place now is a response to the evil that already exists.
Even if it is an dishonest thing to do, in today’s era, if we do not gain power, it may collapse at any moment.
“… Ginger, bread.”
But in the end, it is just a phenomenon caused by the repetition of a vicious cycle.
-Kugugung!
The guy who rushed at me grabbed my body and pushed me up to the wall. Flesh crushed by the grip digging into his neck.
“Why on earth did you become a villain?”
Even as broken fingernails dig in and veins protrude, the intense hatred toward me shows no signs of abating.
“You are a more proper human being than me…” …. “What on earth are you trying to achieve by becoming a villain?”
-Kuddeuk!
I can feel my body being pushed into the wall by the force of it being carried.
This side is also in a state of loss of strength. If you fall behind the pace, it’s over.
“…… Entire.”
Then, squeeze out all the strength you have.
If you don’t have teeth, just use your gums. If superhuman strength is depleted, as always, by will.
“Destroy everything… ….”
He grabbed both of his hands around my neck and put in so much force that my fingers were about to break.
From that moment on, I feel like I can breathe freely.
His eyes widened as he looked at me at the words he spoke at the end.
“Just breaking it… …. “Is this everything you hoped for?”
“Yes.”
“Are you really saying that destroying this world is your entire purpose!?”
“Yes, everything!!”
Knock!
The grip pierced through the hard skin and dug straight into the guy’s wrist. Nevertheless, I am ready to cut off the hand of the guy who won’t let go.
“I will destroy everything on this earth.”
I declare this to him with such force.
“For what…” ….”
“To prevent more bastards like us from appearing!!”
-Quang!
Soon, the tendons break and the grip strength weakens.
I took advantage of that opportunity to headbutt the guy’s head, push him away, and pick up the hammer that had fallen on the floor.
“People… ….”
I pull the hammer and approach the guy again.
“This is an era where people can’t choose anything.”
Even after playing, I was exhausted and my legs were shaking.
Nevertheless, he is persistent in moving. To narrow the distance between me and him even a little.
“We live in an age where people who think like that are all over the world. “No matter who dies, no matter who is starving, no matter how much children cry, we live in an era where we are encouraged to act cool and think that all of this is common!”
Although there are many things that should never happen in a society that advocates equality and peace, the people who live contrary to such claims always insist on patience and pretense.
But the truth is, they probably know it too.
The world is not equal, it is not kind, it is heartless and cruel.
If they do not compromise, they exist in despair and pain every moment of their lives, and they are just serving idols and drowning out that pain.
Even the grief that should be heard at someone’s funeral is covered with a hymn to a hero, and even those who do not understand it are thoroughly rejected as evil, creating false hope…….
“What on earth caused such a world to be created…?”
In the end, it is a world where only those who do not participate are treated like assholes.
“Is justice cowardly? Or is it because the number of things we call evil continues to increase?”
“That’s… ….”
“No, it’s because the world was created that way in the first place!!”
-Kwaang, Kwaang!!
The moment when our bodies collide with each other, the sound of shock resonates.
At this moment, when our broken bodies clashed with each other with all their might, a small earthquake deep underground began to shake with the force of destroying everything around us.
It was just a series of continuous attempts to destroy each other’s bodies.
With the force of breaking an unbreakable body.
With the momentum of exploding the heart of an endlessly regenerating body.
“What is justice, what is evil… Those are not issues we can do anything about in the first place.”
Even in such a cruel and pitiful fight, blood is boiling from the neck.
“This land has already been on a dog-like path from the beginning. Even in such a sh*tty world, we have created an environment conducive to mischief by adapting to it, so what does it matter whether it is justice or evil? “How can we choose to live in this crappy world in the first place?”
I hate a pretentious society.
It is disgusting to see someone who is not proud of himself and has to hide his shame and sin to receive praise from everyone.
Are people really beings who should avoid revealing their private parts?
They can’t win everyone’s trust by revealing such secrets, so are they just watching the foundation that supports them rot away?
“You guys might want to protect that damn world, but I don’t.”
If we have to comply with it because it is a natural result, infidelity permitted in the name of justice will at some point degenerate into common sense.
As a result, there will eventually come a time when the line between good and evil is unclear.
At the end, the moment when the ‘evil evil of the times’, which can be called evil in itself and encroaching on the era, arrives.
To destroy such an era, ‘becoming a monster’, which the guy in front of me was determined to do, is not enough.
“What on earth…?” ….”
-Quang!!
In a series of slugfests. The guy’s body leaning towards the end.
I didn’t miss the opportunity and slammed the body to the ground and aimed the hammer.
As I look into the eyes of this guy who is gradually becoming frustrated by my persistence that seems to have no limits.
“Did you make yourself like that? The conviction that it is right to destroy everything…….”
The question now is, will this be his last struggle?
The answer to that naturally appeared in my mind.
In the end, everything is a problem that arises because humans cannot go against the environment.
Then, what if non-human beings continue to rule with broad generosity that encompasses all of them?
Even though it’s not perfect, it may be a slightly better world…….
“…… “Even if I tell you, you won’t understand.”
Eventually, its origins were derived from ‘evil’ with the mission of threatening humanity.
No one will understand her unless she achieves her ideals.
Unless she stands above everyone else.
“So stop falling down.”
So, I just wait without explaining.
Endure all indignities until the promised time comes.
I am prepared to destroy everything that stands in my way.
“That’s not possible… ….”
“Shut up and stop falling!!!”
-Kwakang, bang!!
The body of a man being struck deeply by a powerful swing of a hammer.
In the meantime, his fist was driven into his body as if he was making a final struggle, but even so, the hand holding his body did not lose its strength.
We will not be discouraged by strong counterattacks.
Even if it is broken, it will be put right again.
I will continue that belief until the end of this era, and I will use this moment to drive a wedge.
So, justice, weep.
–
And despair.
–
The seeds of evil you gave birth to.
At this moment, we are preparing to sprout from the burial ground you ignored.
-Quarring!!
Sequential crushing of dozens of floors.
The forced march ended up swallowing up everything that fell and burying it deep underground.
All I could do was dig through the rubble and escape to catch my breath. To support his body, he tried to drive a sledgehammer into the ground, but even with that, the handle broke and his upper body fell over.
The only thing left in the body is a slight regenerative power. After a long struggle, this body finally reached its limits.
-Patter.
But at that moment, a hand breaks through the collapsed rubble.
No, it is an object so distorted that it can no longer be called a hand.
“…Uh, how.”
I didn’t even have the strength left to stop it, so I sat down and watched the scene in silence.
The guy with a body that doesn’t even have the ability to regenerate, withstood even the most powerful attacks and was left standing there.
“How did you stand up? You… ….”
There are people like me who don’t even have insurance that guarantees the lowest level of life.
How is it possible to maintain consciousness so desperately?
“…… In the street.”
A man complaining and breathing with difficulty, even with a twisted jaw.
“I saw… A leaflet.”
The sunken eyes visible through the cracks in the shattered mask clearly belong to someone who chose to become a monster.
“Even if you have no power, you can become someone’s hero…” ….”
But it doesn’t waver.
Even though it was an affair, it clearly existed within it.
“That phrase… …. “It led me here.”
Only those who are truly called heroes have it.
Such ‘nobility’.