Chapter 57

A car that had crossed over to the opposite lane crashed into the ground.

“Huh…”

Startled, Professor Han panted and opened their eyes wide.

At that moment, another car soared through the sky and flew away.

With the sudden situation, all the vehicles came to a halt, and the sound of horns blared from all directions.

“Professor! What’s happening?!”

“It’s a villain.”

“What?!”

There was no need for confirmation.

If cars are flying on the highway in broad daylight, there can be no other reason than a villain.

“What should we do?”

“Wait. A jurisdictional hero will probably show up. Stay safely inside the car.”

While wrapping a defensive barrier around the car, Han Min-ha was assured.

There’s no need to get unnecessarily involved.

It’s dangerous to meddle without knowing the villain’s position or form.

There’s a very high probability of being mistakenly attacked by responding heroes.

It’s the same principle as needing to lie flat on the ground to avoid bullets when a riot squad comes in to suppress a hostage situation.

More importantly, there’s the problem of interfering with the achievements of the responding heroes.

In fact, that’s more serious than even being mistakenly attacked.

From the perspective of active heroes trying to rank up by killing as many villains as they can, it would be extremely frustrating if a retired former hero suddenly intervened and wrapped up the situation.

“Professor! There! Over there!”

With excitement, Han Min-ha wildly gestured forwards.

Beyond the central divider ahead, something large and black could be seen wildly swinging its arms.

Judging by how freely it was moving its arms, it didn’t seem to be wearing an exoskeleton suit…

Was it an organic villain?

An enhanced body? Or a mutant? What could it be?

With every swing of its arms, cars flew off in all directions.

“Professor…! Shouldn’t we do something?!”

“No. In such situations, it’s better to just take care of your own safety. Heroes always respond faster than fire trucks anyway. Look, they’re already here.”

In the distant sky, a green light was blinking as it quickly approached.

It slightly descended in altitude before curving to the side, and then a green aura stopped above the villain’s head.

Let’s see.

A green full-body tight suit… and shoes that aren’t combat boots but just regular sneakers.

I don’t know who it is.

They’ve probably just debuted or might be a new independent hero who’s separated from their sidekick.

Still, the fact that they came alone without a sidekick seems to suggest a certain level of skill.

Clothing is, after all, a matter of personal preference.

Once the hero extended both arms forward, thick green and brown tendrils shot out, beginning to bind the villain.

People who had gotten out of their cars clapped, cheered, and took photos on their phones.

“Watch carefully, Student Min-ha. This is what a ‘scene’ looks like.”

“Yes! Understood, Professor!”

With eyes wide open, Han Min-ha focused on the green hero in action.

The villain, its body restrained by the vines, thrashed powerfully with its robust arms, its mouth wide open.

Judging by the shape of its head, this biological villain seems to be a mutant.

Human? Or perhaps a monkey or a similar beast?

As the villain resisted, the green hero created even more vines, binding its joints and neck.

“Wow… Incredible…!”

Han Min-ha clasped their hands together and their eyes sparkled.

This kind of ability is clearly convenient for fighting.

You just need to spray out vines or tentacles and tie the opponent up completely.

Of course, this is only possible if you have physical superiority over your opponent.

Unfortunately, it seemed like this hero didn’t have enough strength.

As the villain pulled on the vines with one hand and grabbed them with the other, the hero began to be dragged gradually towards them.

“Uh? Professor!”

Ordinary heroes operate alone and rarely interfere in incidents assigned to others.

Another hero likely won’t come to assist this one.

“This is getting tough, it seems. Stay here.”

Anyway, if the hero gets overpowered, I’d have to step in whether I like it or not.

As I saw the hero strain with all their might, I immediately opened the car door and stepped out.

Since if the hero fails, ultimately, it’s my responsibility.

“Khryyyy…!!”

Exiting the car, I heard the sound of the hero straining.

“Keep going!” “You can do it!”

Onlookers made hand signs, whistled, and cheered the hero on.

Pushing through the crowd, I continued forward.

At that moment, the villain grabbed the vines with both hands, pulled them back like a whip, then swiftly swung them forward.

“Kyaaaaaack!!” “Mommy!!”

As people screamed and covered their eyes, I dashed forward and erected a defensive barrier in the middle of the vines the villain swung.

The barrier ascended quickly from below, slicing through the vines like a blade.

As a result, the green hero was propelled diagonally toward the ground at an incredible speed.

Ordinarily, a hero hitting the ground with such force might not be an issue, but I suspected that this hero couldn’t handle it.

To soften the impact of the hero’s descent, I erected dozens of layered defensive barriers along its trajectory.

Each barrier broke upon impact, absorbing the shock progressively, allowing the hero to land safely just as they were about to touch the ground.

“Huh… huh…”

The hero landed on the ground, panting heavily as they turned around to look at me in disbelief.

Looking closely, the hero was quite young—a woman who might have just graduated or perhaps looked younger than her years.

“Pull yourself together. With an enemy in front of you, looking behind isn’t wise.”

“Uh??!”

Startled by my voice, the hero accidentally shot vines at me.

Turning my head slightly to dodge, I gestured toward the villain coming over the central divider with its wreckage.

“You’ve been assigned this villain, so you have to handle it to the end.”

“Ah…”

A look of despair flashed in the hero’s eyes as she gazed at the approaching villain.

Indeed, the villain in front of us now was gargantuan.

Judging by its appearance and behavior, it was likely a bear that had developed villainous characteristics.

Villains like these are surprisingly easy to handle.

They’re strong and agile, but their intelligence isn’t high. You just need to play around a bit, then take them down with a single blow.

However, even this seems tough for this green hero who uses vines.

“Uh… Excuse me, are you… a hero…?”

The green hero asked me with a desperate voice.

“Not a hero, but a professor at Graford.”

“Huh?! A professor?! Excuse me, could you step back a bit?”

Active heroes generally avoid sharing credits for accomplishments at all costs.

Moreover, if they receive help in front of so many onlookers, it could severely impact their career.

Still, even considering that, it doesn’t seem like this hero will be able to handle this villain.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

“I can do it!”

The green hero clenched their fists and shouted intensely.

“Alright, then…”

As soon as I stepped aside, the hero burst with aura and shot upward…

The sudden mutant villain had already approached right beside us and stretched out its long arms to grab the hero’s ankles.

“Ugh! Let go!”

The hero stretched out their hands, but all that came out were vines.

While vines excel at restricting an opponent’s movements, they’re quite inappropriate for releasing an enemy’s grip on one’s own ankles.

Rather, they’d need to either crush or sever the grip forcefully—but at the skill level of this hero…

“Uh… Excuse me…!”

The hero, whose ankles were grabbed, called out to me desperately as they tried to ascend.

“Please help…”

“Don’t complain later.”

“I know… but… uh…! My ankle feels like it’s about to break…!”

I wiped my forehead, which was slowly starting to sweat under the blazing summer sun, and began to think.

Let’s see…

This isn’t a villain with specific malicious intent but a mutant biological villain just acting on instinct.

Even if we capture it alive, there’s no useful information to be gained.

And since it has no significant research value, it’s far simpler to just eliminate it.

I formed a large disc-shaped defensive barrier high in the sky.

“Ugh…! Excuse me…! Could you hurry up…?”

As the hero was being pulled toward the villain’s open mouth, they shouted.

“I’m working on it. Just wait. Besides, even if your ankle breaks, it’ll heal quickly.”

Although the hero urged me on, I calmly continued to saturate the barrier with aura to increase its weight.

Rushing often leads to failure.

“Excuse me… Professor… Could you please… make the barrier invisible…?” the hero pleaded faintly through the pain.

Even though they asked for help, they’re requesting to avoid drawing attention from others.

Anyway, even if I take down one villain, it won’t enhance my career, nor do I have any interest in such things.

By now, the hero had already been pulled close enough to feel the villain’s foul breath.

“Alright, hang on. Almost done.”

The barrier finally reached the weight I desired after continuously compressing the aura.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaah!! I’m about to get eaten!!”

Just as the villain was about to stuff the hero in its clenched fist into its mouth, I cut off control of the barrier.

The significantly heavier defensive barrier plunged straight down onto the villain’s head.

The barrier, which pierced the villain’s crown, cleanly severed its body as if it were a circular saw.

“Huh…?!”

At the sight, the hero momentarily forgot the pain in their ankle and opened their mouth wide.

The neatly sliced body of the villain slowly spread apart like a cake.

The hero desperately burst forth with an aura to escape the grips and, right after, the massive body of the mutant villain fell with a thunderous crash to the ground.

The hero, who had drawn a large circle in the sky like a roller coaster, landed beside me.

“Thank you so much… wow… how could you possibly…”

The hero marveled at the almost bloodless, clean incision.

“Are you injured anywhere?”

“Besides the ankle, not really… Ah… ouch…”

The hero lifted one foot and wobbled precariously, grabbing onto my shoulder.

“Ah, sorry.”

“Professor! Are you alright?!”

Right at that moment, Han Min-ha ran over and shouted.

“Uh…?”

Han Min-ha slightly opened their mouth upon seeing the hero holding onto my shoulder.

“Do you know them?”

“No, first time meeting. Their ankle was injured, and they grabbed onto me to maintain balance. Don’t misunderstand.”

“Ah, yes.”

Han Min-ha let out a sigh-like sound and gave an awkward smile.

They then raised a hand and gently grasped the edge of my shirt with their fingertips.

Their eyes, however, remained fixed on the silver-haired hero standing on the opposite side.