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Chapter 278: Where There Is Light, There Is Darkness (2)
Chapter 278: Where There Is Light, There Is Darkness (2)
Chapter 278: Where There Is Light, There Is Darkness (2)
At that moment, in the underground grand training hall on Sejong Island.
“It’s been a while since we’ve had this many S-ranks gathered together.”
Baek Seol-hee scanned the three S-rank heroes standing before her.
“Tushin, Noeje, and Taejo.”
Respectively, the 3rd, 4th, and now the 8th-ranked heroes stood in front of her.
Not just in uniforms, but in clear combat gear, they faced Baek Seol-hee.
It seemed the three had positioned themselves to fight Baek Seol-hee simultaneously.
Rather than sending wary glances at each other, they exchanged brief looks and simply fiddled with their weapons.
[Ahem. Are you all ready?]
The voice of the vice-chairman flowed from the speaker attached to the ceiling.[Many of those present here are looking forward to your performance, especially Snow White’s. They also expect to see new skills from the three of you.]
Everyone turned their gaze to the glass wall, where numerous men in suits and aides were standing.
[As many of you are here, please demonstrate your powers to the fullest.]
They all looked at the interior of the grand training hall with different expressions.
Some with anticipation.
Some with curiosity.
Others with concern.
[We will now test the new abilities of Hero Snow White. Ah, yes, the president has a word to say before we begin.]
Even though each had different motives in mind, the common factor was to witness Baek Seol-hee—Snow White’s abilities.
[Ahem. I will speak briefly to you heroes.]
The voice of President Tae Chae-jin, who grabbed the microphone, was quite excited.
[I look forward to this. It’s fine if this facility is destroyed, let’s confirm Snow White’s new power to the fullest.]
[No, Mr. President…!]
[Don’t worry about the aftermath. Now, let’s begin.]
Beep.
With those words, the president pressed a button.
[Three.]
Soon, a voice announcing the countdown echoed from the ceiling.
[Two.]
At the same time, mana surged from the bodies of the four in the grand training hall.
[One.]
Bang!!
With the sound of an explosion, the three S-rank heroes charged straight at Snow White.
“Sorry, unnie!”
Crackle!
“I’ll finish it in one blow!”
Noeje was the fastest.
“Do you think I’ll be finished in one blow?”
“Sorry! My body is faster than my words!”
“……!”
Running at lightning speed, Noeje aimed a swift kick at Snow White.
Crunch!
With the sound of something heavy breaking, an ice mist sparkled around Noeje.
“This is-”
“It’s an ice bomb! Dodge it!”
“Instead of dodging, counter it!”
The mist was the mana of Baek Seol-hee, shattered upon colliding with Noeje’s magic power, causing an explosion around Noeje.
Crackle!!
The sphere of electricity spread out from Noeje, scattering ice powder.
Soon, the ice powder dispersed to the floor and ceiling, slowly starting to freeze the surfaces it touched.
“Chase!”
“Haa!”
Following the path of the electric strike that Noeje extended forward, Tushin ran down the split middle path.
With both fists enveloped in glowing blue mana, he ran straight towards Snow White with blue glowing eyes.
Bang, bang, bang!!
Thick ice pillars rose from the ground.
Though these pillars were taller and thicker than a person, Tushin did not avoid them.
“Trucking!”
Rather, he ran forward as if he had turned into a dump truck.
Without slowing down, he sped up and extended his fist forward.
Bang, bang, crash!!
After breaking through the successive ice pillars, Snow White was seen leaping backwards behind the last pillar.
“I’m not going easy!”
Tushin swung his fist towards Snow White’s abdomen.
The full-strength fist was imbued with an immense amount of mana, and Snow White extended both hands towards the fist.
“Bloom.”
“!!”
An ice flower bloomed from her outstretched hands like a shield.
Unlike the merely thick ice pillars, the ice flower gleamed with sharp petals when the fist touched it.
Creak!
The mana contained in Tushin’s fist was shaved off.
Simultaneously, the petals shattered, scattering ice powder that froze Tushin’s fist and arm upon contact.
“Where!”
Thump!
Tushin extended his foot once more, releasing mana forward.
As the blue light burst forward, Snow White’s eyes widened in surprise, and soon mana began to flicker in Tushin’s opposite hand.
“Like a bee!”
Buzz!
The mana extending from his fist formed a shape like a bee’s sting, the sharp tip piercing straight into the center of the ice flower.
Crunch.
“…Wasn’t Tushin primarily a striker?”
“Just because you fight with your body doesn’t mean you only use striking techniques.”
The sharp mana sting passed through the ice flower and reached Snow White.
The tip was very shallow, but it touched Snow White’s abdomen.
“It’s over, senior.”
“Who said so?”
Smirk.
Snow White twisted the corner of her mouth, and soon her body began to crumble.
“What the…?!”
As Tushin’s eyes widened in shock at the sight of a person suddenly crumbling, a large shadow sprang forward from behind.
“Dragon Power!”
With an unidentified shout, Armored Taejo stood before Tushin, swinging large steel claws on both hands in an X shape.
What was ‘Snow White’ instantly scattered.
“Taejo!”
“It’s an illusion! Brother, I’ll handle this!”
Snow White’s crumbled body began to hurl snowballs.
Tatata-dang!
Snowball bullets started pouring down on Armored Taejo’s body, blocking his path.
“Ugh?!”
The suit imbued with mana successfully deflected the ice bullets, but the continuous barrage of snowballs from the gatling gun forced Taejo to retreat.
“Thruster power, to the max!!”
Ka-ga-ga-ga-gang!!
The motor attached to Taejo’s back started emitting mana.
While spewing actual flames below and mana above, Taejo continued to advance despite being hit by the snowball gatling gun.
“Uoooo!!”
Taejo pushed forward through the ice mist, releasing wheels from the heels of his suit to run on the ground, and swung his crossed arms widely to the sides.
“Brothers!”
“Thanks!”
“I’m not your brother!”
To the left was Tushin.
To the right was Noeje.
“Rock Breaker!”
“Gale Thunder!”
Both attacked Snow White simultaneously from both sides, who had appeared in the ice mist.
Kwaaaaaaang!!
A massive explosion of mana occurred.
The interior of the grand training hall briefly flashed as if a flashbang had gone off, and a tremendous vibration followed.
Gugugugu.
The vibration was strong enough to cause dirt to fall from the ceiling.
“Haa, haa. There’s no way we… defeated her.”
“…….”
Amid the mana mist, Snow White stood with her arms outstretched, catching Tushin and Noeje’s attacks with her hands.
“Senior, just like the Goblin grabbed your hand in Gangneung, are you also catching attacks with your hands now?”
“Wow, this unnie got tougher…! Who was your master, the Goblin?!”
“…I just blocked it.”
Despite having caught the two attacks with her hands, she didn’t have a single scratch, and both of them bit their lower lips before twisting them into a grin.
“We were blocked by her!”
“But it’s still 3 against 1!”
“Uooo!”
Between the two S-ranks, Armored Taejo extended his hand forward.
“Final Taejo Attack!!”
“…!”
From Taejo’s outstretched hands, three sharp claws extended like blades.
The steel blades made of alloy, imbued with Taejo’s mana, aimed directly at Snow White’s-
“Taejo War Dragon!”
Puuuuck!
“…Huh?”
He stabbed her in the abdomen.
“Ugh, aah?!”
Red blood splattered to the sides, and Taejo stomped the ground hard to suppress his momentum.
“N-no?! What, what is this?! Aaaah!”
“Don’t panic. Do you think the senior would be hurt by that?! By you?!”
“…….”
Drip.
“…Huh?”
“Un…nie?”
Red blood flowed from Snow White’s mouth.
At the same time, her white shirt started to turn red, and the eyes of the three S-ranks began to shake violently.
“N-no, right? No, she blocked our attacks, and now she gets stabbed by Taejo…?”
“Doctor! Get a healer here!!”
“Hey, hey!! Don’t panic! If the knife shakes, she’ll get more hurt!!”
“What are you doing?”
Snow White, with a knife in her stomach, sighed with a disappointed look.
“What if the attacked person tries a suicide attack?”
“…!!”
“Boom. You’re all dead now.”
[First mock battle concluded. First mock battle concluded. The winner is Snow White.]
As the playful announcement echoed, the voice resonated from the entrance of the grand training hall.
“Un…nie?”
“Introducing Snow White’s new ability. It’s ‘Clone’.”
Grabbing the microphone, Snow White casually placed her hand on the shoulder of the clone with a stabbed abdomen, causing its body to crumble.
“Senior, what just happened…?”
“I was up there until just now. I created a clone and controlled it remotely.”
[Fantastic, truly fantastic. Ms. Baek Seol-hee.]
Clap, clap, clap.
Applause echoed in the hall.
[As long as you can maintain the clone, you can do anything with it! Haha!]
[Fantastic. Haha, Snow White can still fight even if she’s pregnant with a clone! No more worries! Haha!]
[Using the clone for… well, never mind.]
“…….”
Baek Seol-hee looked up with a slightly sulky face before turning her head forward again.
“I can create a clone and fight with it.”
“Senior, then….”
“You have to help me. Just in case, if I ever get married or have a child, and I need to fight with the clone….”
Smirk.
“The main body protects the child, and the clone fights.”
“Unnie, then…?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Snow White raised her head proudly.
“I’m planning to have a child before I get older.”
[The government will actively support Ms. Baek Seol-hee’s pregnancy plans!]
“…….”
[You three, please continue to assist Ms. Baek Seol-hee in controlling her clone! Ensure that Ms. Baek Seol-hee can have a child with peace of mind!]
All around the world.
An S-rank hero wanting to have a child is a top national priority.