Chapter 39

Yu Hye-won’s body began to emit a slow-rising aura, and Professor Han blinked in apparent confusion.

“Why the aura? Trying to head back?”

“No.”

Hye-won continued to survey the surroundings without relaxing her guard.

What on earth… is it…?

Professor Han, now equally uneasy, scanned the area with a tense gaze.

The bright neon signs, people laughing and chatting as they passed, and store music played all around.

There didn’t seem to be anything particularly unusual.

What’s Hye-won looking for…?

“Did you feel it too?”

“What exactly is it?”

Just as Professor Han was about to nag about something again, an unusual movement was spotted from the alleyway.

It was a truly bizarre motion.

Perhaps it would resemble sprinkling boiling tar into the air.

A slithering, rapidly writhing mass of something black extended and squirmed like an angry centipede stretching out its long body.

Yet, no one on the bustling street noticed it.

This was due to the contrast between the well-lit main streets and the dim alleys, and perhaps because everyone was too preoccupied with their own pleasures to notice such a secluded place.

But Hye-won had clearly spotted it.

Is that… a Villain…?

But how is there a Villain right here, in the heart of Graford City, right outside the Academy?

With just a single emergency, a whole truckload of professors from the Academy could respond immediately.

What kind of crazy Villain would be here…

“Huhk!”

Professor Han took a startled breath.

The black liquid stretched high, soaring into the air and drawing a parabolic curve as it descended towards the center of the busy street.

And by bad luck, it completely drenched a person standing there.

“Uhggg… H-Hye-won…!”

The liquid began to envelop the victim like a living thing, forming a protective layer.

“Shit… What the hell IS this?!”

Even Hye-won could only swear in response to the grotesque scene, unable to do anything.

The same went for the crowd around them.

Frozen like broken robots, they stood motionless, unable to process what was happening right before their eyes.

The person inside the protective layer suddenly stopped resisting.

And then, the menacing black liquid completely adhered to the person’s body, transforming into the massive shape of a humanoid figure.

The liquid human slowly turned its head, making a grotesque sound.

“Kkkkeeeeeeeaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrk—!!”

At the end of its long belch, the remains of the partially digested victim’s head popped out.

The discolored head, soaked in digestive liquid, rolled away and stopped, its hollow eyes gazing at the sky.

“AAHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

Someone screamed, triggering a panic as everyone began running wildly in all directions.

Stimulated by the chaos, the black humanoid began making strange projections on its back while elongating its abnormally long arms into sharp blades.

“Aiyah!”

Professor Han tripped over someone running in panic and fell to the ground.

Hye-won had no time to scold her lack of composure as a would-be hero just for bumping shoulders with a civilian.

“Everyone, get down!”

Hye-won’s warning came half a beat too late.

The black humanoid swung its arms, shattering several store signs in an explosion of sparks. Fragments rained around, striking people and leaving them crumpled and unconscious.

Seeing this, Hye-won explosively channeled her aura.

A radiant golden aura erupted, with her initially clear blue eyes now glowing gold.

“Hyewon! Don’t! You can’t fight a Villain like this…!”

Before Professor Han could finish, Hye-won accelerated towards the black humanoid in a burst of speed.

A freshman Academy student shouldn’t directly confront a Villain.

The correct approach would be reporting the situation to the Organization while evacuating.

But Hye-won took a risky move for several reasons.

One, to gain her father’s approval; two, her confidence in her own abilities; and three, the attention of the public.

If she succeeded, she would gain everything.

The safety of the citizens was of little concern to Hye-won.

“Yahhh!”

Hye-won rammed into the black humanoid with a war cry.

Like a comet cutting across the ground, her lethal charge was unstoppable.

However, the black humanoid simply split itself into five parts, effortlessly evading her.

Hye-won crashed into the opposite storefront with the momentum.

An Academy freshman was no match for an actual Villain.

The fragmented black humanoid reassembled, giggling eerily while regenerating.

“Hyewon! Hyewon…!”

Professor Han tried to rise but her trembling legs wouldn’t support her.

The top student’s fierce attack had failed, while the Villain remained unscathed.

Without the ability to manipulate aura, there was nothing Professor Han could do.

Watching the citizens bleed and collapse, Professor Han could only sit helplessly, trembling and unable to act.

“You moron…”

Emerging from the crumbling shop, Hye-won, covered in dust, ground her teeth.

At the instant of close contact, Hye-won realized something.

This Villain wasn’t one with rational intelligence, acting with a purpose.

It was an unconscious Villain, manifesting abilities out of random impulse.

A Villain that couldn’t control its own body, immune to reasoning.

An unpredictable time-bomb, you could say.

That’s why Academy professors couldn’t tolerate sudden rampages so close to Graford City.

While easy prey for full-fledged heroes to crush, the Villain posed a real headache for the relatively weaker Hye-won.

Not to mention the Villain’s ability to freely scatter and regroup, which was irritatingly counter to Hye-won’s primarily close-combat style.

At least two people would be needed to coordinate an ambush to exploit any weaknesses.

That would buy enough time until nearby heroes could be summoned via alerts or reports.

Professor Han… needs to step up.

“What are you doing, standing there like an idiot?!”

Hye-won spat out blood while shouting.

“Do you want to end up like that?!”

Hye-won pointed at the severed head rolling around.

“Snap out of it and get up! Use your aura!”

“But… I should call the Organization…”

“The Organization phones are already fried! Fight now!”

Indeed, as Hye-won said, nearby citizens had already pulled out their cell phones and were frantically reporting the emergency.

“Get up! If this is why you joined the Academy, then what’s the point?”

“H-Huh… But…”

The black humanoid, seemingly uninterested in the trembling Professor Han muttering in place, turned away.

That direction was where multiple injured people lay. Standing over three meters tall, the towering monstrosity would surely crush the already wounded victims if it simply walked over them.

“Y-You can’t get over there!”

Professor Han, rising quickly, rushed to them.

Several times on the verge of stumbling, she nonetheless made it to the injured and stood firmly on her legs.

“You idiot! Use your aura! Stand like that and you’ll die!!”

Hye-won scolded harshly, but Professor Han still couldn’t channel her aura.

Still, she couldn’t just cower like a frightened civilian while wearing the Graford PE uniform.

“Oi… Don’t come any closer!”

Professor Han spread her arms wide and shouted at the black humanoid.

“Ugh! You idiot!”

Hye-won, enveloped by her aura, rushed in once more.

The black humanoid, without turning around, swung its arm like a whip from behind.

Hye-won, smashing through the pavement, got thrown far away, leaving Professor Han defenseless before the Villain.

“Kihikikikik… Krrrrrrrrik!”

Teeth gritted, Professor Han covered her ears and screamed as the sound of metal grating against metal filled the air.

But her body wasn’t pierced, nor were her limbs severed.

“Student Han. Are you alright?”

“Breathing… heavily…”

Lifting her head while gasping for breath, Professor Han saw Professor Hyun looking down at her.

“Professor… Professor?”

“You don’t appear injured, that’s fortunate.”

Professor Hyun had one hand on Professor Han’s shoulder and the other extended towards the Villain.

Professor Han, finally following the metal-grating sound, saw its source: a squarish defensive barrier placed between her and the Villain. The Villain’s blade scratched against it.

“Did you come alone?”

“No. Wait! Hye-won is in danger!”

Professor Han pointed frantically at where Hye-won had fallen.

“Ah, I see. Two students roaming in Academy uniforms in Graford’s bustling streets.”

“Sorry…”

“Not now. This isn’t the time for scolding or apologies.”

Professor Hyun raised the hand on Professor Han’s shoulder and lightly snapped his fingers.

In an instant, protective barriers enveloped the injured civilians lying about.

The combination of Basic Physical Barrier and Multiple Target Settings.

Professor Han’s eyes widened as she witnessed firsthand the textbook-level combination of skills.

“Stay here. I’ll deal with this Villain first, then we can talk.”

Professor Hyun slowly stood up and walked forward through the barrier.

The Villain, spotting the unexpected arrival of Professor Hyun, emitted a strange laugh and swung both blade arms.

Professor Hyun easily countered each blade trajectory by creating small, one-time barriers the size of A4 paper merely by flicking his fingers.

Ting! Ting!

Each small protective barrier that popped up around Professor Hyun deflected the blades with a ringing sound before dispersing.

Blocking every continuous attack, Professor Hyun gradually approached. The Villain, realizing the futility, decided to evade instead.

As the Villain split its body into five and scattered, it immediately ran into resistance.

Professor Hyun had already anticipated each fragment’s movement and deployed barriers to block their paths.

The chunks of flesh, hurriedly attempting to regroup, were again faster beaten to it by Professor Hyun, who swiftly encased each fragment in a Superior Composite Barrier, trapping them like in a cage.

The trapped body parts were helplessly trapped in place, futilely struggling to break through the barriers.

Standing beside the barrier containing the Villain’s head, Professor Hyun spoke calmly.

“Just stay put for a moment. The Organization will come to collect you soon. The air conditioning isn’t on, so it might get a bit warm.”

As ridiculous as the joke was, Professor Han couldn’t laugh.

The Villain, whose destructive entrance was followed by a comically anticlimactic defeat.

Professor Hyun, who had reduced the Villain to pieces without so much as a swirl of his coat.

Was this… the power of a professional?

The true fighting of a real hero…