Chapter 2526 – 2526. Savior Of The Academy

“The reason I don’t belong to the Hero Association… is because I don’t want to work under a dirty bastard like you.”

Of course, the reason I’m rambling to this guy is because I’m filming a video. A video that the entire nation, no, the entire world, will see. If I throw in some information verbally, it’ll be more immersive.

‘So, it’s the dark hero’s circumstances, huh.’

Na Doryong sneered at me.

“A very noble hero has arrived.”

『Name: Na Doryong
Strength: B Stamina: B- Agility: C Durability: B Mana: B-
Trait: Giant’s Strength (A)
Skills: Close Combat (A-), Strike (A)
Trust: 3』

I quickly checked Na Doryong’s stats. His average stats are roughly B-. His stats themselves are well-balanced. Quite impressive considering his age.

‘The Giant’s Strength (A) trait must have affected his physique. Considering his skills and trait… he’s about a lower-tier A-class hero in active duty.’

If I wanted to, I could kill him in 10 seconds. But I couldn’t do that.

‘Even if this bastard dies, he has to die using the power of mana. That’s the only way to prove he’s a traitor to humanity, a demon.’

Na Doryong’s foot pushed off the ground. *Bang*. A movement technique that gains propulsion by deliberately exploding mana. He instantly closed the distance and threw a punch. I tilted my head to the side, dodging the punch.

*Bang!*

The sound of air exploding rang out. In reality, it wasn’t air exploding, but mana. His fist was brimming with mana, even if it wasn’t visible on the surface.

‘A fist technique that releases mana with a punch. Simple and powerful, I see. The downside is the heavy burden on the body, huh.’

I could see the pattern right away.

In a martial arts world, it’s the kind of martial art that the unorthodox sects would learn.

His fist kept swinging.

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

I dodged all the attacks with ease.

“I can see all your movements. I heard you were a great hero once… was that just a false reputation? Did you pay off the media to buy your fame? Just like your nephew?”

“You’re nothing without that suit, just a loudmouth!”

“You’re mistaken about something. This suit doesn’t have as many great functions as you think.”

“Then take off that suit and fight!”

“Do you think I’d fall for such a cheap taunt? This suit is my identity.”

This time, instead of dodging, I raised my fist. Na Doryong, noticing my counterattack, laughed and prepared his fist.

‘Judging by his reaction, he’s planning to break my fist by meeting it with his own.’

He still hasn’t grasped the difference in our abilities.

‘Do I look that weak?’

It’s not strange. Even though I’ve been active as Red Light, I haven’t shown my true abilities. Many people think my power comes from the suit.

I extended my fist. As expected, Na Doryong met my fist with his own.

*Clang!*

A sonic boom and shockwave rang out. What shattered was Na Doryong’s right arm. The impact reached his elbow, revealing the broken bones.

“Kuh… This, this bastard… how did you… my fist technique?!”

“Fist technique? Can you call exploding mana in your fist a fist technique? It’s a simple trick anyone can use with a little practice. The reason my fist is fine and yours is shattered… I don’t need to explain, do I? It’s because your level is low.”

“You little brat! Don’t be so arrogant, relying on your suit! I have countless combat experiences that you don’t!”

“Ah. So, surviving makes you strong? I know the villains you’ve faced so far. They’re all weaklings. And the notable villains you fought weren’t alone, but with your comrades. You even took advantage of when the villains were weakened.”

His face turned red, and he roared.

“Shut up!!”

Enraged, he charged at me, swinging his remaining left arm and both legs. I dodged with ease once again.

And then, a counterattack.

A single punch landed squarely in Na Doryong’s abdomen.

*Bang!*

He coughed up blood, flew into the air, and then crashed to the ground. I placed my foot on his head. I slowly applied pressure.

“Kuh…”

“There’s nothing to see. Just die by being crushed like this.”

“You rotten bastard… I’ll make you regret this!”

Black mana erupted from Na Doryong’s body. I quickly retreated.

‘Finally, he’s using the demon’s power.’

Na Doryong slowly rose to his feet. His skin turned pitch black, his severed right arm slowly regenerated, and he was whole again. Horns sprouted from his head, and a pair of black wings unfurled from his back. The demon he contracted with must be from the 2nd Legion.

『Name: Na Doryong
Strength: S Stamina: A+ Agility: A+ Durability: A+ Mana: A
Trait: Giant’s Strength (A)
Skills: Close Combat (A-), Strike (A)
Trust: 0』

“I didn’t want to use this power. You can be happy. The fact that you made me use this power… means you’ve become my equal!”

Equal my ass.

The demonized Na Doryong flapped his wings and flew towards me. I raised my hand, blocking his attack.

*KWAANG!*

My body flew backward, crashing into a wall. Na Doryong descended from the sky, trying to stomp on me with both feet.

Emergency evasion! I rolled to the side, avoiding the attack. Even though I could counterattack, I didn’t.

‘It’s no fun if I kill him too easily.’

I’m filming a video right now. I’ll hide my abilities and engage in a suitable battle.

“Haha. Your panicked face is hilarious. Are you starting to regret it now?”

“A so-called executive of the Hero Association makes a contract with a demon… aren’t you ashamed?”

“It would be a lie to say I’m not ashamed. But by contracting with a demon, I can gain power beyond my prime. My lifespan also increases. If I just bow my head once, I can gain so much. Just because I contracted with a demon doesn’t mean I’m a slave to the demon. I can control this power.”

“No matter how much you chuckle, it just looks like the demon is laughing.”

“Haha. Is that so? But what are you going to do about it? In the end, if I just kill you, no one will know I’m a demon. All I have to do is kill you.”

His barrage of punches continued.

I blocked or dodged.

[Damage is accumulating.]

The demonized Na Doryong was not someone to be completely ignored. His close combat (A-), based on his increased physical abilities, was quite threatening. Above all, I had to be wary of the occasional Strike (A) he mixed in.

‘This is enough for the video. Shall I finish it now?’

Heavenly Demon Divine Art (天魔神功) Heavenly Demon Descent Step (天魔君臨步).

I lifted my right foot and stomped on the ground.

A shockwave spread around. The guy who was preparing to swing his fist in front of me paused.

“This pressure… what did you do?!”

“It’s called Conqueror’s Haki. Don’t you know, old man? Or is it called ‘low health’ these days?”

“Nonsense!”

Na Doryong quickly broke free from the Heavenly Demon Descent Step. If he were a demon who had mastered demonic arts, he would have been easily neutralized by this… but since demonic energy and mana are different, I couldn’t subdue him with just the Heavenly Demon Descent Step.

‘Maybe it’s because I’m not properly using the Heavenly Demon Divine Art in this world.’

My body wasn’t suited for the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, nor was it a body that had been trained and honed through the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.

Heavenly Demon Divine Art (天魔神功) Heavenly Demon Asura (天魔修羅).

I wrapped my right hand in pitch-black Heavenly Demon energy.

“…Mana? No, it’s not mana.”

“Your eyes aren’t completely useless. This is a technique from my family.”

“Even so, you can’t beat my power!”

His fist, using Strike, collided with my fist.

Heavenly Demon Divine Art (天魔神功) Dragon Fist (竜拳).

The moment our fists touched, a shockwave and Heavenly Demon energy pierced through Na Doryong’s arm and shot out in a straight line. The impact blew away more than half of Na Doryong’s upper body.

Na Doryong, in shock, staggered and knelt on the ground. Even if he was a demon, it was hard to survive with more than half of his heart gone.

“You… were hiding your power.”

*Thud.*

I finished him off by striking his head. Maybe because he was weakened, the durability of his head was at the level of an ordinary human.

『Karma: Goodness increases by 3.』

“Edit out the part where I said I was hiding my power.”

[Okay. Is that it for today?]

“No. I’m going to kill two more.”

[Two more?]

“I killed an executive of the Association, so I should kill a member of the National Assembly and a businessman to be fair.”

Things went even better than I thought.

When the member of the National Assembly and the businessman were on the verge of death, they used demonization to resist. They weren’t as strong as Na Doryong, so I played along for a bit before killing them.

When I returned to the dorm, it was past 1 AM. The internet was in chaos. News and negative articles were flooding the web, saying that Red Light had killed good people. Most of them were cursing Red Light.

“Makina. Just respond now. Edit the videos and spread them all over the internet. Not just in Korea, but overseas too. Even if Korea tries to censor it, you can ignore it, right?”

“I’m a god in cyberspace!”

Makina puffed out her non-existent chest and said confidently. She seemed quite excited. It seems like her tension is rising now that she’s actually doing it. I understand. The cyber world is Makina’s home turf.

I threw her the two promised spirit orbs, took a shower, and went to sleep.

• • •

The next morning, the world was, as expected, in chaos.

-Red Light, the true hero who fights for humanity!
-Why did he become a dark hero?
-Is the Hero Association, whom we trusted, okay?
-The chairman of Dongguk Group, his true identity is a demon. Citizens begin a boycott of Dongguk Group!
-The traitors of humanity are already deep within the heart of Korea! Who should Korea trust?!
-Some netizens say Red Light is the only hope for Korea.
-The World Hero Association announces plans to audit branches of the World Hero Association worldwide.
-Red Light, with a bounty of 50 billion. The government raises the bounty. Is the current president a demon?

I smiled contentedly as I read the news headlines. There were some articles cursing me, but they were few.

“Good job, Makina.”

I praised Makina, who was sitting on the floor. Next to Makina, a mana cube was deployed. Makina was absorbing and using the mana generated by the mana cube. Even Makina, as a spirit, needed mana to use her power.

“Hehe. It was fun. Oh, right. I’ve organized the information of those who are strangely hostile to Red Light and sent it to you. I think they’re demons!”

“You did something I didn’t even ask you to do. You’re really good.”

“Just with words?”

Makina held out her tiny hand and her eyes sparkled. This time, she really did a good job, so I threw a spirit orb into her palm.

“Hehe.”

Makina smiled happily as she put the spirit orb in her mouth.

I checked the public opinion on my smartphone. Thanks to Makina’s direct manipulation of public opinion, it was even more favorable to me. Besides that, there were many posts analyzing Red Light or speculating about his past.

‘Red Light was kidnapped and modified by a demon when he was young? They’re writing a whole novel.’

The Hero Association, which was the most concerning, was relatively quiet. No, they didn’t even have the time to worry about me. The fact that an executive of the Hero Association, who could be called a guardian of humanity, was a demon had been revealed. Rather than criticizing Red Light, they were focusing on cleaning up their own mess.

‘Seeing this, the Hero Association isn’t completely incompetent.’

There were also those who were worried that Korea would be shaken by the deaths of such prominent figures in such a short time. Especially since the chairman of Dongguk Group, whom I killed, was the head of a large corporation.

‘They shouldn’t be surprised by this much.’

Starting today, I plan to kill at least three prominent demon figures every day.

Korea is shaking? That was none of my concern.