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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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The car, having sailed over the median, crashed onto the other side of the highway.
“Gasp…”
Han Min-ha, startled, gasped and widened her eyes.
Then, another car flew across the sky.
Vehicles screeched to a halt, horns blaring in every direction.
“Professor! What’s going on?!”
“A villain.”
“What?!”
There was no need for confirmation.
Cars flying across the highway in broad daylight could only mean one thing.
“What should we do?”
“Wait. The hero in charge of this area will be dispatched soon. Stay in the car, it’s safe.”
I reassured Han Min-ha, reinforcing the barrier around the car.
There was no need to get involved.
Interfering before identifying the villain’s location or abilities was dangerous.
The chances of being hit by friendly fire were high.
It was the same principle as lying flat on the ground to avoid being shot when a SWAT team raided a hostage situation.
More importantly, carelessly intervening and stealing credit from the dispatched hero was a bigger problem.
That was more serious than friendly fire.
From the perspective of active heroes who needed to take down every villain they could to get promoted, a retired hero suddenly stepping in and resolving the situation was infuriating.
“Professor! There! There it is!”
Han Min-ha excitedly pointed towards something in the distance.
Beyond the median, a large, dark figure was flailing its arms.
Judging by the freedom of its movements, it wasn’t wearing an exoskeleton…
A bio-villain?
Enhanced physique? Or a mutant?
With each swing of its arm, cars were sent flying.
“Professor…! Shouldn’t we do something…?!”
“No. In these situations, it’s better to prioritize your safety and stay put. Heroes are dispatched faster than fire trucks. And look, there’s one now.”
A green light flickered in the distant sky and rapidly approached.
The green Aura, descending slightly before curving upwards, stopped above the villain.
Let’s see.
A cheap, green full-body tights suit.
And the shoes… they looked like sneakers, not combat boots.
I didn’t recognize them.
Probably a newly debuted hero or a sidekick who had recently gone independent.
Still, if they came alone without any sidekicks, they must be somewhat competent.
It didn’t matter what they wore.
As the hero extended their arms, thick, vine-like tendrils, a mix of green and brown, shot out, ensnaring the villain.
People got out of their cars, clapping, cheering, and taking pictures with their phones.
“Watch carefully, Han Min-ha. This is the ‘field’.”
“Yes! Understood, Professor!”
Han Min-ha’s eyes were glued to the green hero.
The villain, restrained by the vines, roared, thrashing its massive arms.
It was indeed a bio-villain, and judging by its head, a mutant.
Human?
Or an ape, or some similar animal?
The green hero produced more vines, binding the villain’s joints and neck.
“Wow… amazing…!”
Han Min-ha clasped her hands together, her eyes shining.
That type of ability was certainly convenient for combat.
Just shoot out vines or tendrils and tie up the opponent.
Of course, it only worked if the hero was stronger than the villain.
Unfortunately, this hero seemed to be lacking in strength.
As the villain pulled on the vines with one arm and grabbed them with the other, the hero started getting dragged forward.
“Uh? Professor!”
Heroes typically operated alone and rarely interfered with other heroes’ villains or incidents.
It was unlikely that another hero would come to this one’s aid.
“They seem to be struggling. Stay here.”
Seeing the hero straining their Aura, I immediately opened the car door and stepped out.
If the hero fell, I would have to step in anyway.
“Ugh…!!”
The hero’s strained groans reached me.
“You can do it!”
“Fighting!”
Onlookers cheered and whistled, encouraging the hero.
I pushed through the crowd.
The villain grabbed the vines with both hands and, like cracking a whip, pulled back and then slammed them forward.
“Aaaah!!”
“Oh my god!!”
As people screamed and closed their eyes, I ran forward and deployed a barrier in the path of the vines.
The barrier, rising from below, sliced through the vines like a blade.
The green hero was flung backwards at high speed.
A normal hero would be fine after such an impact, but this one seemed different.
I created multiple layers of barriers along the hero’s trajectory to cushion the impact.
The barriers shattered upon impact, absorbing the force, and the hero landed safely just before hitting the ground.
“Gasp… gasp…”
The hero, back on solid ground, looked back in disbelief, breathing heavily.
Up close, she looked very young.
Either recently graduated, or naturally baby-faced.
“Focus. You shouldn’t be looking back when there’s an enemy in front of you.”
“Huh?!”
Startled by my voice, the hero instinctively shot a vine at me.
I tilted my head slightly to dodge it and pointed at the villain, who was now clambering over the median.
“You should finish the villain you’re assigned to.”
“Oh…”
A flicker of despair crossed the hero’s face.
The villain approaching us was enormous.
Judging by its appearance and behavior, it seemed to be a wild bear that had manifested villainous traits.
Such villains were surprisingly easy to deal with.
Strong and agile, but not very intelligent.
Just play along for a bit and then subdue them in one blow.
But this green, vine-wielding hero seemed overwhelmed.
“Um… excuse me… are you a hero…?”
The green hero asked in a desperate voice.
“Not a hero… a professor at Graford.”
“What?! A professor…? Excuse me, but could you please step back?”
Active heroes rarely shared credit.
Moreover, being seen receiving help in front of so many people would damage their reputation.
Even considering that, I doubted this hero could handle the villain…
“Are you really sure?”
“I can do this!”
The green hero shouted, clenching her fists.
“Alright, then…”
As I stepped back, the hero exploded with Aura and shot upwards…
The mutant villain, having reached us unnoticed, reached out a long arm and grabbed the hero’s ankle.
“Ugh! Let go!”
The hero reached out, but only vines emerged from her hands.
Vines were excellent for restricting movement, but useless for freeing oneself from a grip.
It would have been better to constrict and crush or sever the arm, but judging by this hero’s skill level…
“Um… excuse me…!”
The hero, desperately trying to ascend while being held by the ankle, called out to me urgently.
“Help me…!”
“Don’t complain later.”
“Just do it…! Ugh…! My ankle is going to break…!”
I wiped the sweat from my forehead, the summer heat starting to get to me, and assessed the situation.
A mutant bio-villain, acting on instinct, not malice.
Capturing it wouldn’t yield any useful information.
And it wasn’t worth researching, so killing it would be more efficient.
I started forming a large, flat, disc-shaped barrier in the air.
“Ugh…! Excuse me…! Hurry up…!”
The hero cried out, being pulled closer to the villain’s gaping maw.
“I’m working on it. Wait. And a broken ankle is easily fixed.”
I calmly continued to infuse the barrier with Aura, increasing its weight, despite the hero’s pleas.
Haste makes waste.
“Um… um… Professor… Could you… make the barrier invisible…? Please…”
The hero pleaded weakly, her face pale with pain.
She wanted help but didn’t want anyone to see it.
I didn’t care about taking credit for killing a villain; it wouldn’t benefit my career, and I had no intention of doing so anyway.
The hero was now close enough to the villain to feel its foul breath.
“Just hold on. I’m almost done.”
The barrier, densely packed with compressed Aura, finally reached the desired weight.
“Aaaah!! I’m going to be eaten!!”
Just as the villain was about to shove its fist, clutching the hero, into its mouth, I released control of the barrier.
The heavy barrier plummeted onto the villain’s head.
Like a circular saw, it sliced cleanly through the villain’s body.
“Gasp…?!”
The hero, forgetting her ankle pain, stared in shock.
The villain’s bisected body slowly began to separate.
The hero exploded with Aura, freeing herself from the villain’s grasp just as its massive body crashed to the ground.
The hero, having been flung high into the air, landed gracefully beside me.
“Thank you so much… Oh my god… how did you…?”
She stared at the cleanly severed body, almost bloodless.
“Are you alright?”
“My ankle aside… not really… Ow…”
The hero lifted her injured foot and, swaying precariously, grabbed my shoulder for support.
“Oh, sorry.”
“Professor! Are you okay?!”
Just then, Han Min-ha ran over, shouting.
“Huh…?”
She paused, seeing the silver-haired hero holding onto me.
“Do you… know her?”
“No. I’ve never met her before. She injured her ankle and was about to fall, so she grabbed onto me for support. Don’t misunderstand.”
“Oh, okay.”
Han Min-ha let out a sigh of relief and smiled awkwardly.
Then, she reached out and lightly grasped the hem of my shirt, her eyes still fixed on the hero.
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