Chapter 23…
Jin Yeon-hee.
Same age as me. Known as the fraternal twin of Jin Gyeong-beom.
A superhuman affiliated with Taeseong Corporation—his company. Rather than working under the Association, she operated as a mercenary, moving only when necessary.
That in itself wasn’t strange. Jin Gyeong-beom’s family was practically synonymous with Taeseong Corporation to begin with.
If she was his twin, it would actually be more profitable to work under the company and earn big money.
Honestly, I didn’t really care about things like that. I wasn’t interested in other people’s work anyway.
‘…Not really.’
We weren’t that close.
When Jin Gyeong-beom and I were attending school, Jin Yeon-hee had already awakened. From then on, she’d been active in the field.
‘If anything, Yujin’s the weird one.’
Despite awakening and becoming the strongest in Korea, that guy kept attending school.
Thanks to him, the Superhuman Academy got massive publicity.
Normally, once you reached around S-rank, there was no reason to keep going to school.
Just like Jin Yeon-hee.
Because of that, my connection with her wasn’t particularly deep.
Ah.
‘We did know each other when we were kids.’
A long time ago.
Back when my parents were still alive. There was a connection then—but it was ancient history now.
At present, we weren’t close at all.
More like… the older sister of a friend.
But still—
‘I never expected her to be here.’
Were there so many superhumans here that I just didn’t notice?
‘Well… she is S-rank too.’
Of course she could be here. But still—
‘Why did she talk to me?’
She suddenly asked if I was Korean. It was strange enough that she approached me out of nowhere, but asking that outright caught me off guard.
“Can’t you hear me?”
Jin Yeon-hee stared straight at me, narrowing her eyes. Others around us flinched at the sight.
“……She’s asking that so boldly?”
“I’ve heard the Lightning Witch has a personality like that, but still… she’s something else.”
Amid the murmurs, I spotted Yujin. He looked like he was about to approach me, then stopped awkwardly.
“I’m asking if you’re Korean.”
I looked back at Jin Yeon-hee.
“Can’t talk?”
“……”
“Or are you dangerous like that lunatic Wi A-jun? The type who ignores people lower-ranked than him?”
Her narrowed eyes swept up and down my body.
“Well, whatever. If you don’t want to answer, that’s fine. I didn’t think you would anyway. But…”
Her gaze felt sticky. What was she trying to see?
“Hm.”
She then compared her head to mine with her hand, as if checking our height.
“Roughly similar, but no matter how I look at it… the feeling’s different.”
‘What is she checking?’
I stood there silently, wondering what she was doing.
“Yeah. Guess not.”
Her eyes lost interest as she turned away.
“I came just in case—but I guess no is no.”
She walked off lightly. Then—
“Yeon-hee.”
Yujin called out to her. Her expression twisted instantly.
“I—”
Yujin hesitated, but she spoke faster.
“Don’t talk to me.”
“……”
The waiting room turned colder than before. Her voice was filled with unmistakable hostility.
“I told you. Never talk to me again. Not for the rest of your life.”
“……Yeon-hee.”
“Don’t even say my name. I don’t want to hear it.”
“……”
“So annoying…”
She snapped, then turned away.
And then—
“I withdraw.”
She waved her pale hand casually. At that moment, an alarm rang, and Jin Yeon-hee’s body began to fade.
[■ Participant Lightning Witch has declared withdrawal.]
[■ Withdrawal accepted.]
[■ Participant exiting.]
As the alarm sounded, Jin Yeon-hee’s body vanished completely.
Gone in an instant.
Watching this, Yujin scratched the back of his head.
“……Damn…”
As he gave an awkward smile—
“What’s this? A love triangle?”
A Russian superhuman, Lirias, spoke to Yujin with interest.
Yujin smiled faintly.
“It’s not like that.”
“Sure it’s not. Anyone can see it is. I heard rumors—guess they were true?”
“Rumors about what…?”
“About you and that lightning ice queen.”
Was that a thing? First I’d heard of it.
“You like girls with tempers that bad? Interesting taste. Then what about this noona?”
Wearing revealing clothes, Lirias leaned toward Yujin.
Yujin flinched and stepped back.
“Why are you dodging? I don’t lose in the personality department either.”
Amused by his reaction, Lirias moved closer—
“That’s enough.”
Someone intervened.
It was Derek Offer, an American S-rank superhuman.
“This doesn’t seem like the time for jokes.”
“…What? Who do you think you are, interrupting—”
“Look behind you.”
“….”
At Derek’s words, Lirias turned around.
Our eyes met.
Only then did she click her tongue.
“…Tch. Guess I can’t joke around when people are this scary.”
What did I do?
The moment she saw me, Lirias subtly widened the distance between us.
What?
As I stood there confused—
“You as well…”
Derek Offer spoke to me.
“I don’t know what you’re upset about, but unless you’re planning to explode here, could you calm down? I can barely breathe.”
Calm down?
‘Me?’
What was he talking about?
I narrowed my eyes in confusion.
‘Ah.’
Could it be—
Panicked, I checked my skill window.
It was a skill I’d obtained after clearing a quest the moment I entered the colosseum.
[■ Manifestation of Presence (S)]
[■ You manifest the rank of your soul, projecting your presence.]
‘Is this the cause?’
Projecting presence. I hadn’t understood what that meant before—but now I did.
I looked at my hand. Something flickered faintly along the edges of my skin.
So this was the skill.
Then how do I turn it off?
The method came to me instinctively.
—Click.
The moment I deactivated it, gasps erupted from all around.
“Haa…”
“……Huh…”
People clutched their chests, relieved.
It must have been oppressive.
‘…Manifesting rank, huh.’
Considering the Martial God’s rank was EX, was this projecting pressure equal to that level?
Something like that, probably.
‘Interesting.’
I nodded to myself and walked toward the wall.
As I moved, I saw the superhumans flinch.
Ignoring them, I leaned against the wall and crossed my arms.
Just staying still like that made everyone swallow dryly.
‘Good thing they’re not approaching.’
With the atmosphere this tense, no one came near me.
At least I could rest comfortably.
‘The only issue is—’
Yujin.
He’d been trying to come over earlier.
He glanced at me once, but didn’t move.
Was it because of Jin Yeon-hee?
‘What was he trying to ask?’
I was curious—but didn’t pry.
Asking him outright would’ve been awkward.
And so—
[■ The next duel will begin. Next—]
The uncomfortable colosseum carried on.
* * *
—“Information brokers are currently mobilizing regarding the newly emerged S-rank Gate—”
—“Fortunately, this Gate does not appear to affect contamination levels—”
—“A disaster-class Gate occurring for the first time in years. Moreover, what impact a NODES Gate may have on superhumans—”
—“A-rank informant Misato Toshimo reports exclusively from Japan—”
Click.
The noisy TV shut off.
The screen went black, reflecting a woman holding a remote.
Her expression was deeply irritated.
Hale Irene glared at the middle-aged man sitting across from her.
Baek Hyun-ho flinched slightly under her gaze.
“You seem displeased.”
“Seem?”
“…Very.”
Correcting himself quickly, Baek Hyun-ho continued.
“I—”
Irene cut in.
“If you called me here for a pointless reason, I’ll be very angry.”
“……Haha.”
A Gate had opened.
Normally, Irene would have participated in the colosseum Gate.
No—she should have.
‘Misato said it.’
That the Martial God had appeared in the colosseum.
That alone was reason enough.
She should have gone there no matter what.
If not for this.
“Irene.”
Baek Hyun-ho spoke.
“I regret that you’re disappointed… truly. I feel the same.”
Baek Hyun-ho was also an S-rank superhuman.
He too wanted to go to the colosseum Gate.
But—
‘The same, huh.’
To Irene, his words didn’t carry much weight.
What he wanted and what she wanted were on entirely different levels.
She simply chose not to show it.
Waiting silently—
“We’ve received information regarding terrorists.”
At the word terrorists, Irene adjusted her posture.
A faint glint of interest appeared in her eyes.
“…Have you found them?”
“Not exactly—but…”
After a brief pause, Baek Hyun-ho continued.
“It seems we’ve caught their trail.”
“Their trail?”
“Yes. At most, three days. We believe something will happen around then.”
“Three days?”
That was very specific.
“How…?”
Where did the information come from?
But—
“Ha ha…”
Baek Hyun-ho only laughed it off.
Irene considered pressing him, then stopped.
“I hope you’ll understand. We can’t afford leaks.”
“…Hmm.”
She tilted her head.
She could force the issue if she wanted—but for now, she restrained herself.
“So… is that why you called me here…?”
It didn’t feel like the right moment yet.
“I believed this would be the safest time—when everyone’s focused on the Gates.”
“…Safe?”
The barrier filling the room looked pitifully loose to Irene.
“Hale Irene. It may seem insufficient to a Grand Magus—but with you here, it’s different.”
“Oh… so you’re using me?”
“Wouldn’t assistance sound better?”
“A very simple way of putting it.”
He wasn’t wrong.
The first thing Irene had done upon arrival was reinforce the weak barrier.
“It’s not that we doubt you. There’s another issue. Who would suspect the world’s strongest?”
Baek Hyun-ho smiled.
“If you wanted, this entire Association could be erased in seconds.”
“Hm.”
He was quick to assess reality.
‘As expected.’
A fox-like man, more than he appeared.
“…So what’s the point?”
Three days later—then what?
After a pause, Baek Hyun-ho spoke.
“In three days, Lee Jin-woo will return to the Association—for a proper rank reassessment.”
“…Hm?”
Irene’s eyes narrowed.
That meant—
“Yes. Exactly.”
Baek Hyun-ho confirmed her realization.
“That’s when the terrorists will strike. When Lee Jin-woo arrives at the Association. And even…”
He took a breath.
“Knowing full well that you are here.”
“….”
At that, Irene’s lips curled upward.
“Heh.”
She was smiling—
But her eyes were not.
What she felt was nothing but contempt….
