Chapter 201: Smiley (1)
Speeding and all that, Ho-cheol frantically stepped on the gas pedal.
Not only did he ignore the signals, but he also forcibly pushed through the dian and even places where there were no roads, if he judged it to be the shortest route.
He had no ti to worry about such minor violations right now.
Ha-rin, sitting in the passenger seat, chewed on her thumbnail.
On their way to the academy, Ho-cheol had explained his identity, purpose, and the process, as if there was no need or reason to hide it any longer.
Ha-rin had been angry at first at the fact that he had deceived her, but she had quickly regained her composure.
If it hadn't been for Ho-cheol, she probably wouldn't have been able to even protect herself, let alone get her revenge.
In the end, his purpose and actions had all been to help her.
And in fact, with his help at the most important mont, she had been able to achieve her revenge while at the sa ti avoiding an irreversible, terrible choice.
Even though there had been other easier ways, he had chosen the troubleso and difficult path.
Simply to help her.
She was not so shaless as to get angry at such a person.
And to argue about that.
Hilkkeut—
Ha-rin, who had checked on Ho-cheol, looked straight ahead again.
The expression of Ho-cheol, who was holding the steering wheel next to her, was very serious.
Of course, Ha-rin was also worried about her grandfather, the dean, but not as much as Ho-cheol.
To her, her grandfather was invincible.
The best hero.
She couldn't even imagine that any accident would happen to him.
They had arrived at a distance that would have taken a good 3 hours in just over 40 minutes.
Clington was visible in the distance.
No, to be precise, it was not Clington, but a huge pillar of light that had shot up from its grounds.
Kwaaaang—!
The entire ground shook.
A huge pillar of light that soared to the end of the sky.
Ho-cheol knew it well.
The dean's full power.
The problem was that it was a distant past, almost 15 years ago.
To have reproduced that output now ant that he had clearly gone beyond his full power and had even used his life force.
Was the situation that dangerous?
In fact, if what Ho-cheol had seen on the news was not a mistake, that was not an exaggeration at all.
In fact, it was not enough.
The mont they passed through the main gate, Ho-cheol roughly turned the steering wheel, spun the car, and brought it to a stop.
Kkiiik—!
The tires scread and left a long tire mark on the side.
The inside of Clington was a ss, to say the least.
It was even more terrible compared to just an hour ago, when it had been on the news.
There were corpses everywhere, and the unpleasant sll of blood and ash was thick in the air.
The way to distinguish between heroes and professors, and enemies, was extrely simple.
Because the enemies were all hiding their identities with a cloak that covered their entire body from head to toe.
And the ones whose cloaks had been torn off occasionally had an appearance closer to a monster than a person.
Kwang—
“Grandpa!”
Ha-rin, who had gotten out of the car first, had sensed the dean's characteristic explosion from a distance and had gone to find him.
Even in this chaotic battle, the dean would surely be fighting the most dangerous enemy.
He should have stopped the relatively weak her, but unfortunately, Ho-cheol had no ti to stop her.
Ho-cheol did not get out of the car.
No, he couldn't.
Instead, he just fiddled with the steering wheel in silence.
His gaze was fixed on the single person who collapsed in front.
“Why…”
Ho-cheol muttered, as if he couldn't understand, and barely managed to release his grip on the steering wheel.
He slowly opened the driver's side door and got out.
And at that mont.
Kiiiiing—
Beyond just being unpleasant, a bizarre tearing sound, as if it were crushing the space itself, was announcing the appearance of sothing.
The villains and heroes who had been fighting fiercely until just a mont ago all felt an unknown chill run down their spines and spread throughout their bodies.
Everyone's gaze turned to one place.
And without a care for their gazes, Ho-cheol slowly approached the fallen person.
Ho-cheol knelt on one knee and reached out his hand.
His palm touched Ji-an's cheek.
Ji-an, who had been breathing heavily with her eyes closed until just a mont ago, barely opened her eyes.
The two eyes she had barely opened were out of focus.
She couldn't see well, but at the very least, she knew the touch of this hand better than anyone else.
She smiled faintly.
“Welco back.”
She had tried to smile, but even lifting the corners of her mouth was so difficult that the ends of them trembled.
Ho-cheol also forced a smile, suppressing his complicated feelings.
However, his smile was clearly tinged with bitterness.
“Right. I’m back.”
With his remaining hand, he held Ji-an's hand tightly.
“I’m sorry. I’m too late.”
“No. Just coming here is enough…”
She montarily stopped talking and coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Ho-cheol's expression crumpled again.
From the outside, the wound was not large.
But for her to be so tired and injured like this…
Ho-cheol looked around and asked.
“This. Did you do this?”
A vast site, and the walls surrounding it.
And the walls were covered with even more giant plants of all kinds.
The stems and vines were not just on the walls, but also wrapped around all the buildings.
The reason they were maintaining their shape even in a precarious state, as if they would collapse at any mont, was entirely due to the power of those vines.
“Heh heh. You caught .”
Ji-an stuck out her tongue slightly and laughed awkwardly.
However, the drop of blood on the tip of her tongue was not at all playful.
It wasn't just that she had stopped the collapse of the building.
The fallen heroes, professors, and guards.
The vines were also wrapped around them, as if to protect them from the aftermath of the attack.
The vines and stems that covered the entire Clington.
They were not simple plants, but contained all her traits and power.
Probably even a diocre A-rank wouldn't be able to leave a scratch even if they hit it with all their might.
It was impossible for even Ji-an to grow a plant with that much power on this scale.
A month ago, at the hospital health check-up, it had been stated that Ji-an was continuously using her Trait at an output that was more than necessary.
At that ti, she had kept the reason a secret, but he had finally been able to find out where and for what purpose she had used that power.
Perhaps to stop a villain with malice like her past self, if one were to appear again.
It was Ji-an's own way of atoning.
If it was this way, it would have been better not to know.
Her playful expression from just a mont ago disappeared, and Ji-an apologized in a pitiful voice.
“I’m sorry. I did my best. But maybe because there were too many people, I couldn’t protect everyone.”
“You’re a fool. You should have just evacuated with the other students. You have no responsibility or reason to protect this place.”
Ji-an raised her trembling hand and pressed Ho-cheol's nose.
“Why not.”
Boop—
Boop—
“You cherish it, Mister. Then it’s precious to too.”
The hand that had been pressing his nose ca down and touched Ho-cheol's lips.
Ji-an knew well.
She was a person far from ordinary.
In the first place, she had not lived a normal life.
A twisted and lacking person.
She was insensitive to human emotions and feelings.
Although those around her were trying to make her right, she could feel it instinctively.
She would probably never be the right kind of person they were talking about for the rest of her life.
But she had sothing precious.
Anything was fine.
If it was sothing Ho-cheol wanted and wanted to protect, it must be precious.
She had thought that it would be fine to risk her life like this.
“So, don't call a fool.”
Ho-cheol couldn't say anything.
He just held the limp body of Ji-an even more tightly.
“It’s suffocating.”
At Ji-an's weak voice, which had leaked out from his embrace, Ho-cheol relaxed his arms again.
Ji-an, who could finally see Ho-cheol's face, her eyes widened in surprise.
“Ing Why are you crying?”
Drip—
Drip—
The tears that had started from Ho-cheol flowed down his chin and onto Ji-an's cheek.
However, the emotion in these tears was not just sadness.
In fact, it was a joy that did not suit a situation like this.
“Thank you. You’ve proved that I wasn’t wrong, that there is hope.”
Ho-cheol slowly laid Ji-an's body on the floor.
It was essential to move her to a safe place, but that's why Ho-cheol did not put her far away.
Because the safest place here was not the underground shelter, nor another city, but right next to him.
Ji-an's eyes gradually closed.
“Mister. I’m so sleepy.”
In fact, she should have passed out a long ti ago, having gone beyond her physical limits.
In fact, she was just holding on with an absurd amount of ntal strength.
Ho-cheol also stroked her hair behind her ear as if he understood.
“Rest. I’ll take care of the rest.”
“Yeees But you’re not asking if the other people are okay?”
“I’m sure you protected them well.”
An unwavering belief and trust that was almost burdenso.
For Ji-an, who always craved Ho-cheol's acknowledgnt and affection, she was just happy.
“Be careful. That thing is strong.”
“I know.”
With a final worry, Ji-an closed her eyes again.
Ho-cheol carefully laid Ji-an on the floor.
He took off his overcoat and covered her with it.
Ho-cheol stood up again and turned around.
Until that mont, as if they were in a different world, neither the villains nor the heroes around them could interfere.
“I……”
Ho-cheol looked at the villains who had covered their faces and let out a long sigh.
“You’d better give a reason not to kill you, each and every one of you.”
“Ehei. There’s no such thing.”
While everyone was holding their breath and even being careful with their breathing, a voice was heard from the side.
A languid tone that felt leisurely in the middle of a serious situation.
At the very least, it was a voice that was very familiar to Ho-cheol.
He flinched for a mont and shifted his gaze to where the voice had co from.
A woman, who had pushed back the hood of her deep cloak, revealed her face and waved her hands.
“Hello, hello?”
Blonde hair so bright it seed to shine even though it was covered in dust.
In her green eyes, he could feel curiosity and joy.
Ho-cheol's face instantly crumpled.
“Always with a smiling face, fighting Smiley is here.”
As if teasing him, Smiley uttered her signature line from the past.
The sa habit, gaze, and atmosphere.
It was exactly the sa as the Smiley of the past.
“When I saw her briefly on the news, I thought it was just soone who looked like her but now that I’m face to face, I can’t possibly say she’s a fake.”
“A fake! I’m the real deal!”
A fresh smile and a beautiful appearance, but that bright atmosphere was rather anomalous.
Her blood-soaked hands splattered blood here and there as she gestured.
“It’s so good to see you again! It’s worth being brought back to life!”
She opened her arms and approached Ho-cheol as if to give him a hug.
“To see that face, and to say such things, it turns my stomach.”
“Jeong Ho-cheol! I told you not to say such bad words…”
Before Smiley could finish her words, Ho-cheol threw a punch.
Although it was not his full power, Smiley lightly dodged his punch.
Looking at her, who had stepped back, Ho-cheol muttered irritably.
“With that face, with that voice, speaking like her, did you think I would be swayed or sothing?”
“No?”
She placed her blood-soaked hand on her cheek and tilted her head.
“Judging by the fact that you threw a punch without even listening to , it seems you’re already plenty swayed.”
“To be chattering on like a fake, you’re just like her.”
“It’s not similar, that’s . My appearance, my mory, my power, it’s all the sa.”
Smiley stomped her feet as if genuinely resentful.
Ho-cheol sneered at her.
“She always smiled. But that was a smile to reassure others. It wasn't a smile she made because she was happy. Especially in front of a person's corpse, she would never smile.”
That's why he declared firmly, as if he was sure.
“You haven’t studied enough. You fake bastard.”
“Ah. Is that so? A sha.”
Perhaps because she had realized that she could no longer be deceived, her smiling expression from just a mont ago turned cold.
“Well, it’s alright.”
The fake grinned and touched the corner of her mouth.
The sa face, the sa voice, even the sa smile.
Yet the expression ‘that thing’ made was one Ho-cheol had never seen before.
“From now on, I’m the real one.”
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