Chapter 162 – What is a hero?

“Did you skip lunch or what? You look malnourished! Look at those movements! I can see your legs shaking! Move faster, come on, march!”

“Yes, ma’am!”

The commanding voice of a woman rang out at the front of the march.

“I know you’ve worked hard, but the situation is urgent. Once it’s over, you’ll be able to rest all you want. For now, focus on moving.”

“Understood!”

The emergency response team responded in unison. Despite the exhaustion evident on their faces, they kept running with everything they had, their calves on the verge of bursting.

They ran in line behind the woman, as if doing morning drills with cadets. They didn’t even have a second to wipe the blood staining their instructor uniforms.

Lee Won-Bin felt a wave of nostalgia. He recalled his cadet days, when he trained under that very woman’s command.

The battle against the villains had just ended. The result—a victory for Joaquin Academy.

But the deciding factor wasn’t numbers or years of training.

As the team advanced quickly, Lee Won-Bin glanced to the side.

Running alongside them, her black cape fluttering behind her, was the woman leading them—Media, the academy’s headmistress and overseer of the emergency response team.

Her expression was tense, her teeth clenched. Her eyes reflected urgent concern.

Lee Won-Bin swallowed hard.

‘The director’s arrival completely turned the tide of the battle…’

Indeed, her appearance brought the fierce struggle to an instant close.

Of course, he and his team had fought with everything they had. Despite being at a disadvantage, they faced the enemy bravely.

But the villains were stronger than expected. Even with poor coordination, their combat synchronization was surprisingly sharp.

And worst of all, each of them was extremely troublesome on their own.

The longer the fight dragged on, the more unfavorable the situation became.

Just when things were going south, Media dropped from the sky like a meteorite.

She struck the ground with her right fist, planting her left knee. The earth shook around her, and a cloud of dust exploded. It looked straight out of an action movie.

In the next moment, one of the sneering villains didn’t even have time to react before his face was flattened like a pancake.

The others immediately retaliated, firing all their spells at her without hesitation.

But it didn’t matter. They were crushed without mercy—beaten down, overwhelmed, and dragged into hell by the fists of the tyrant.

‘And that’s not even close to her full power…’

Yet her twin sister was even stronger.

Media Meain Poison.

Lee Won-Bin swallowed again.

What kind of monsters were the Poisons?

Their strength was unquestionable, but their bloodline was even more baffling. As descendants of the Ancients, they lived hundreds of years longer than humans and retained their youth.

It was like the difference in lifespan between a person and a dog.

Though the director was nearly seventy years old, her physical age was that of a woman in her twenties.

Even her current appearance was a disguise created by her blessing to look older. But at most, she looked twenty-something.

“Stop!”

Media extended an arm behind her, signaling the team to halt.

Some instructors couldn’t stop in time and crashed into the muddy ground. Among them was Choi Seol-Ah, gasping for breath.

RUMBLE!

The ground shook violently.

It seemed like the storm was dying down, but now the earth itself was trembling furiously.

A sudden earthquake rattled the area, and the instructors couldn’t hide their confusion.

Their balance faltered, and the formation collapsed. Everyone had to brace against the ground to avoid falling.

Only Media remained standing.

Her gaze turned to the voting center building.

KIEEEEEEK!

A massive monster rose toward the sky.

“…Jörmungandr?”

Media’s eyes shook intensely. A creature that should’ve been sealed deep in the Abyss of Gehenna.

Yet there it was, emerging on academy grounds.

Only then did the composure she had struggled to maintain finally shatter.

The gravity of the situation became clear.

Jörmungandr wasn’t just any beast. Despite its monstrous appearance, it was a demonic spirit classified as a high-ranking entity in the Demon King’s army.

A being she could not face alone.

To have any chance of defeating it, she would need Siegfried or “Gorilla” Mura.

If she charged in recklessly, she’d only end up devoured.

“Shit!”

Media bit down hard on her lip. The metallic taste of blood spread through her mouth.

The most important thing was the safety of the cadets.

But a full-scale battle would inevitably pull them into danger.

That thought tormented her. It was the only reason she hesitated.

She didn’t care about risking her own life. But those children had done nothing wrong.

This was all the result of her incompetence.

There were already casualties. She couldn’t allow any more.

She couldn’t sit idly by.

And as the academy’s headmistress, she couldn’t fear a mere monster.

Her duty was to protect the academy from outside threats.

And for that, she was willing to fight until her bones turned to dust.

That was what she had learned at Joaquin Academy. Now, as its director.

That is what it means to be a hero, just as she teaches her students.

‘In that case.’

Media clenched her fists tightly and took a combat stance. Then she channeled her energy into her hands and concentrated it in her abdomen.

[The Blessing of the Poet has manifested.]

[The Blessing of the Oath has manifested.]

[The Blessing of the Opening has manifested.]

Media’s eyes shone with a green glow. Steam rose from her muscles as her expression hardened.

“HAAH!”

With a shout, her thighs and calves swelled to nearly five times their size.

She leapt in an instant and delivered a punch straight to the monster’s snout just as it extended its tongue.

Her face twisted with rage, Media shouted:

“I’ll take care of this bastard! You secure the cadets!”

Just as she was about to charge into battle, Choi Seol-Ah felt a familiar presence.

‘That energy—’

She raised her head from the ground, her vision still blurry.

Her eyes widened in shock.

“My lord!”

“Lord?”

Everyone, including the director, turned their heads in unison. A mix of astonishment and confusion filled the air.

KIEEEEEEK!

Silver markings carved themselves into the giant serpent’s scales.

The corrupted mana let out a pained shriek.

Media’s face, which had been tense like stone just moments ago, softened.

She rubbed her eyes hard, as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

When she opened them again, her emerald pupils widened even more.

Jörmungandr’s massive body twisted in desperation, thrashing like clothing caught in the wind.

A swarm of blades chased it relentlessly, tearing through its thick skin and flaying it alive.

BOOM!

The colossal creature collapsed with a final, gut-wrenching roar.

Media stared at the scene in shock. No one needed to tell her who had destroyed the beast.

It was obvious.

***

Saki blinked.

She was staring at Kang Geom-Ma’s back.

Behind him, countless sashimi blades floated, fanned out like a peacock’s tail.

It was a scene as strange as it was mesmerizing.

The blades, suspended in the air, responded to a simple gesture from him, dismembering enemies with terrifying precision.

They had even brought down the creature that rose like a mountain and blocked out the sun.

To Saki, the monster’s death didn’t matter.

After all, her mind could barely process the situation she had thrown herself into.

From the moment she ran to him, her only concern was Kang Geom-Ma’s safety.

She looked at his back again.

His black hair fluttered in the wind.

Suddenly, a lump formed in her throat and tears welled in her eyes.

“…You’re back.”

Kang Geom-Ma turned his head. His once-expressionless face softened into a faint smile.

“Thanks. You helped clear my head. When this is over, I’ll buy you a box of red bean cakes.”

“…?”

“The most expensive ones.”

After saying that, he looked forward again. His eyes narrowed lazily, locking on his target.

A faint whimper came from ahead.

Vesna could barely move her fingers.

The battle was practically over. Only the final blow remained.

Kang Geom-Ma began walking toward her.

With each step he took, the air around Vesna grew colder.

The end was near. She had tried everything.

She had unleashed her most powerful magic. She had summoned her most fearsome servant.

But none of it mattered. Now, she was dying.

At the hands of that human monster.

Humans had always feared demons. And the reason was simple.

Because demons stood above those pathetic creatures that crawled like rats.

The strong devour the weak. That is the law of nature. An instinct engraved into their being.

Then why?

Why did those inferior creatures live in a world of abundance, while the true predators were confined to the barren, lifeless Gehenna?

Vesna felt a surge of fury at the absurdity before her.

If the laws of nature had been overturned, then she would simply annihilate all humans and claim this fertile land as her own.

Besides, soon, when He opened His eyes again, the human world would drown in despair.

That future, painted in blood-red hues, formed vividly in her mind.

It was an image that made her smile by instinct.

Until she met that madman.

Step.

Kang Geom-Ma stopped seven paces from her. His deep, shadowed eyes looked down on her.

An unfamiliar emotion shivered through Vesna’s core.

She clenched her teeth until they ground together.

“How dare you look at me with those eyes, you insignificant insect?! No matter how strong you are, you’re still just a mere human! When He returns, He will drown this land in darkness and blood, and—!”

“Hey.”

Kang Geom-Ma’s cold interruption sliced through her rant like a blade.

He picked at his ear casually and said,

“Don’t you know villains who talk too much always die the most pathetic deaths? Your little sister, at least, went pretty clean. One blow.”

“W-what?!”

“And by the way, all this ‘He, He’ stuff… It’s pathetic seeing a bug like you brag about her boss.”

“Y-you dare! H-how can you not fear Him?!”

“I’ll think about that when the time comes.”

Kang Geom-Ma raised the hand he’d taken from his pocket.

Thousands of floating blades aimed at Vesna, aligned like the barrels of an artillery battery.

“Die.”

The blades shot forward with a sharp whistle, casting silver shadows across her face.

Vesna barely had time to scream before the storm of blades consumed her completely.

For a moment, her shrieks mingled with the roar of impacts.

And then, silence.

…When the blood soaked the ground and the lake’s waters bubbled a deep crimson, what had once been Vesna slowly sank to the bottom, unrecognizable.

The blades that had filled the sky began to fall, one by one.

Some stuck into the lake’s surface like gravestones raised in honor of the fallen.

The setting sun broke through the dark clouds, pushing away the storm.

The cold air faded, and warmth returned to the skin of those present.

Though the students wore different expressions, they all shared one thought.

That strange student they had freely looked down on.

Kang Geom-Ma hadn’t been pushed into battle by anyone.

He hadn’t sought recognition or understanding.

He had probably just done what he felt needed to be done.

That image brought a word to one student’s mind.

For a moment, they hesitated.

Did that word really suit him?

They looked up.

The sunlight bathed Joaquin Academy.

The light was almost blinding.

They blinked. Not a boy, not a girl. Maybe both.

But even without fully understanding it, the student couldn’t look away from the lake.

And from the solitary figure standing there.

Watching in silence.

A hero.