Chapter 290

〈 Chapter 290: Part 1, Episode 13, Scene 7 〉

“Why waste time resting while we’re on the move? Magic power gets stiff if you don’t keep moving. And with the magic power loss happening, head to the training room. Heheh.”

Following Phoenix’s suggestion, the dispatched squad ended up sparring against an SS-Rank Villain. Though no one knew what the monster was thinking by agreeing to a duel, the subtly mocking and lewd grin made the heroes bristle with irritation.

“Heheh.”

“I kinda wanna sock her one.”

“Agreed. I’d love to tie her to a bed and make her cry.”

Phantom licked their lips, more serious than ever before. Despite being a master of illusions, they openly revealed the limits of their special abilities, even though exposing such powers could be dangerous.

“So…you can transform into any hero participating in the battle…?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Can transform into anyone. And use their special abilities too.”

Phantom brushed their mask with their hand. Gray mist swirled around their body, transforming them into a masked version of Hwakwon.

“This is possible too.”

“…Are you deliberately not changing your voice, or is it impossible for you?”

“Why change it if it’ll confuse people?”

“It does confuse. Just speak normally, please.”

Though hearing a high-pitched female voice from the masked Hwakwon felt unbalanced, tactically speaking, having two Hwakwons wasn’t a bad thing. The Executioner reorganized the team.

Frontline: Hwakwon, Pungbaek.


Midline: Gongsung, Tempest Lady.


Rearguard: Usa.


Phantom would act as a wildcard, freely supporting depending on the situation.

“Do you not trust me?”

“For now, we’ll form teams with those who’ve already practiced together. Phantom, please provide appropriate support.”

“Hmm… Alright.”

Despite being Phoenix’s loyal follower, there was doubt about whether Phantom would truly give their all.

“Let’s first gather information on our raid target.”

What kind of fighting style did Phoenix have? Based on the Executioner’s judgment, “Most similar to Hwakwon.”

“In Guanak, she shot fire arrows but fundamentally prefers close combat.”

“Can’t ignore long-range attacks either. A single hit might leave us unable to analyze her movements.”

“She carries a bat, but you never know when she’ll start throwing punches.”

“……”

Other than preferring close combat, there was no clear way to gauge how much power Phoenix was using.

“Gongsung, have you fought Phoenix before?”

“My neck was cleanly severed in one strike.”

“……”

The heroes suddenly felt uneasy. The lady carrying Deokbate on her back seemed far fiercer than her appearance suggested.

“Don’t worry too much. Core material for creating monsters is too valuable to waste on killing you.”

“Since this is just a spar, feel free to attack without holding back. Surely Sun-Dae-Jung wouldn’t allow fatalities.”

Phantom and Gongsung continued to reassure the heroes, but doubts still lingered. Eventually, Phantom directly questioned Phoenix, who was casually stretching her legs.

“What will you do if you accidentally kill someone during this duel?”

“Huh, why would I?”

“With your impressive track record, it’s only natural to ask.”

“…Hmm, seems we haven’t built enough trust yet, huh? Understood.”

Trust was nonexistent, and distrust remained unresolved. Phoenix graciously accepted the heroes’ skepticism.

“Then let’s do this. If I end up injuring any of you during this duel, I’ll register as a Hero with the association.”

“Aren’t you already registered as a Hero?”

“Nope. Not as Qinghua, but as Villain <Phoenix>. I’ll publicly apologize to the nation and face legal consequences too.”

Phoenix made a bold move, offering to register as a Hero merely for a single spar. For a villain, voluntarily submitting oneself to the association meant abandoning all established status and willingly putting oneself under surveillance.

“…You do realize registering with the association means real-time tracking of your location, right?”

“Of course. Do you think I’d be unaware of that?”

Phoenix confidently declared her intention to ensure no one got hurt.

“…Then…”

“Hmph, quite tempting.”

Heroes are deeply rooted in the belief that villains must be reformed, so Phoenix’s willingness to submit herself as a condition eased some concerns.

Even if they got injured, successfully recruiting a major figure like Phoenix as a Hero would be worth the sacrifice, and the heroes were prepared to make that sacrifice.

“So…why don’t you trust me more?”

“You brought this upon yourself. Who trusts a villain in this world?”

“Tch. Got it.”

Phoenix momentarily reflected on her past misdeeds but chose not to abandon her life as a villain.

“Must I really go this far…”

Muttering to herself, Phoenix stepped away and positioned herself at the center of the training ground.

Whoosh!

She ignited blue flames at the tip of her Deokbate and planted it on the ground, drawing a circle roughly 2 meters in diameter. Nodding, she declared:

“For ten minutes, I won’t step out of this circle. If I do before the time’s up, I’ll register as a Hero. Okay?”

“…Shall we begin immediately?”

Without waiting for Phoenix to finish speaking, the Executioner pulled out a command board. Receiving orders via smartwatch, the heroes quickly spread out according to their positions.

“Oh ho, splendid! Attack me with everything-”

“Long-range full assault! Begin!”

“Hey!”

Under the Executioner’s command, six special ability users began unleashing firepower from a distance at Phoenix.

* * *

Whooosh!

I swung my Deokbate to intercept an arrow aimed at my neck. The emerald magical energy carried the clear intent to pierce through my throat – it was Gongsung’s attack.

‘This guy’s getting cocky now that he’s playing by the rules.’

“Thanks to you, I’ve learned something interesting.”

Clang!

I deflected another greenish-gray arrow coming from a completely opposite angle with my Deokbate. Though it looked identical to Gongsung’s technique, this arrow carried stronger magical energy, making my lips curl.

‘This one’s actually trying to capture me.’

“To relieve stress, huh?”

Phantom and Cheon Gaeul transformed into Gongsung and unleashed a hail of arrows. I blocked and shattered every arrow flying irregularly from all directions with my Deokbate. So far, not even the edge of my clothes had been grazed.

‘Since this is a sparring match, even monsters can attack me.’

“Probably until just before the killing blow.”

Monsters cannot raise weapons against their master. However, since this was officially labeled as a “spar” and “training,” it seemed monster attacks could reach me to some extent.

‘Constantly testing with Deokbate has thrown off my sense.’

“S-Rank monsters can attack too…”

Phantom freely transformed while attacking me. Arrows from the transformed Gongsung sometimes came together, other times from opposite trajectories, aiming at my chest and waist.

‘They’re really going all out.’

After telling them to hold nothing back, they’re doing exactly that. I understand Phantom might have pent-up frustrations, but Gongsung’s enthusiasm is surprising.

Clang!

I swung my Deokbate forcefully to deflect four arrows simultaneously. But in that moment, another projectile flew toward me from my blind spot.

Not an arrow. A wind-powered magical bullet traveled arrow-like speed. If it connected, it would hit my face-

Clang!

It barely missed. A faint protective barrier in front of my face deflected the wind bullet, causing it to dissipate. Tempest Lady extended her hand from the front, looking disappointed.

“Aww, that was so close!”

“Planning to hit someone’s face and then saying ‘so close’ isn’t normal, is it?”

“Mind your own business!”

As Tempest Lady pulled her arm back, dozens of magical bullets appeared. Whether one wasn’t enough or she planned to overwhelm with numbers, dozens of magical bullets flew directly at me. The intention was clear.

“Try blocking these!”

I flipped my Deokbate over my shoulder. The leading magical bullets gently tapped my skin.

Tap tap tap…

‘With the protection barrier, this doesn’t count as getting hit, right?’

The magical bullets bounced off my protection barrier and rolled on the ground. Feeling absolutely no pain, it wasn’t a direct hit. I firmly planted both feet within the circle and swung my Deokbate widely at the incoming magical bullets.

Clang!!

With a crisp sound, the magical bullets struck by my Deokbate scattered everywhere. Almost all of them burned up and disappeared, except for one that narrowly grazed Tempest Lady’s hair after passing through the air.

Whoosh…

The flame-encased magical bullet vanished after grazing Tempest Lady. Despite nearly hitting her with almost all her attacks, seeing my counterattack graze her face made her eyes widen in shock.

“Is this your attempt to injure someone?! Commander!”

“No? It was deflected, right? Even a stray shot counts as a critical injury?”

“…That’s not true.”

Baek Hee-a defended me. As an Executioner, my counterattack was judged as merely a warning shot, intentionally designed to singe just a slightly curled strand of hair.

“I didn’t say I wouldn’t counterattack, just that I’d stay here, right?”

“Then you deliberately aimed for me! That’s different from what you said earlier!!”

“…Triple!”

Clang!

This time, I deflected Gongsung’s arrow. The curved trajectory of the arrow, after striking my bat, flew off.

“Ugh?!”

Tempest Lady almost got hit again. The fire arrow grazing her side burned a single strand of thread near the quarantine line before disappearing.

“You, you’re deliberately targeting me, aren’t you?!”

“It was an accident!”

Clang! Clang!

I dodged arrows, deflected magical bullets, and threatened Tempest Lady. With each increase in long-range attacks, the number of fire arrows targeting Tempest Lady also increased, leaving her struggling to evade my attacks.

“Tempest Lady focuses on evasion! Everyone else, maintain long-range bombardment!”

“Commander?!”

Tempest Lady, feeling betrayed, used all her magical power to evade while whimpering. The commander’s order was to intensify the barrage, and the archers and mages followed without hesitation.

“Chunja, dodge on your own!”

“My name’s Yang Seonyu!!”

Despite the waves of projectiles targeting her, Tempest Lady maintained her composure. She accurately slipped into the blind spots and escape routes I intentionally created, avoiding counterattacks.

“Gongsung! Phantom! Ignore Tempest Lady and unleash full rapid-fire!”

The indiscriminate firing order was issued. Dozens of arrows split into hundreds, doubled by Phantom’s transformation. Hundreds of arrows surrounded me from 360 degrees.

“Hmm…”

Just as I was pondering how to deflect everything and knock Tempest Lady down, I felt a sudden chill run down my spine. I forcibly twisted the trajectory of my Deokbate.

BOOM!!

My Deokbate sliced through the air. Before I could deflect the scorching arrows, I precisely detonated a single dagger hidden among hundreds of arrows covering my entire field of vision.

“Tch!”

Usa, who had delivered the finishing blow, clicked their tongue. Following the commander’s orders, Gongsung and Phantom lowered their bows.

“Great teamwork. Hiding a water arrow within the wind arrows was clever.”

“…How did you spot it like a ghost?”

“Naturally, when someone stays silent, you need to be cautious.”

While it’s true I was wary of Usa, the fact that the water arrow stood out particularly caught my attention. Even if the entire battlefield was saturated with water element energy, the main attacks were wind element-based combinations from Tempest Lady-Gongsung-Phantom.

“Melee fighters! How long do you plan to just stand there watching?”

Swinging my water-soaked Deokbate, I taunted the two in the frontline. While Pungbaek and Hwakwon constantly moved to find openings in my defenses, they hesitated to step into the circle.

“Cowardly! Using a hostage to invite us in!”

“Hostage? What nonsense. Isn’t this seat rather comfortable?”

I asked the hostage-cum-audience clinging tightly to my shoulder.

“How about it? Have you been hit even once?”

“…No. No, but still…”

Park Ra-on trembled his lips while scanning the surroundings. Although the attacks clearly targeted me, several would have definitely hit Park Ra-on if I hadn’t deflected them with my body.

“You’re doing well. Pay attention to the flow of magical power. You need to become more accustomed to situations like this.”

“…Can I really reach S-Rank through this?”

Park Ra-on looked at me skeptically. Though he entered the safety circle I protected following the commander’s orders, he doubted my claim that simply sitting and observing the battle could lead to S-Rank.

“All this is statistically verified training methods. Just have a little patience. You’ll start noticing things eventually.”

After patting Park Ra-on’s shoulder to encourage him, I raised my Deokbate again to threaten the heroes. The long-awaited alarm from my magical gear finally rang.

Ding ding ding good morning ding ding ding

“Alright! Time’s up! Ten minutes have passed!”

I took a big step forward, and the ring of flames surrounding me faded away.

“So, shall we proceed to direct interception now?”

I pointed my Deokbate at the commander.

Click.

“Changing patterns is the rule for phase two!”