Automatic cannon firing via auto-battle.
Ironblood fell into the sea with a single shot from the main cannon.
“…….”
And I immediately ended the auto-battle.
I had no choice but to stop the battle. Otherwise, it felt like the ship, with all sorts of missiles and cannons inside Illinois, would erupt in flames.
“Ironblood, is it dead?”
Above the sea. Ironblood’s back floated on the surface. It looked as if a drowned person was rising, but I didn’t turn the ship around and kept my eyes on Ironblood through the monitor.
“Just in case, it might be pretending to be dead while waiting for us to let our guard down. It might just start swimming over to the ship.”
“It’s not dead… it seems to be unconscious.”
Elaine tilted her head as she looked at Ironblood, floating like a jellyfish.
“For now, one thing is clear: I can’t sense any magic power.”
“Magic power?”
“Yes. It’s as if the magic power was erased by the main cannon… it seems to have completely vanished.”
“……It can’t be true.”
A fleeting thought crossed my mind.
“It’s just temporarily deflated its magic power, right?”
“Commander. Are you worried that Ironblood might have permanently lost its magic power?”
“Rather than worrying about Ironblood becoming a magic-less being, I’m worried about myself, who possesses the power to strip even S-Ranks of all their magic.”
“What’s there to fear if you’ve acquired such power?”
“It’s not me that I fear, but whether the whole Earth will come to fear me.”
It might sound like a joke, but from a global perspective, it’s a rather terrifying notion.
A nuclear bomb switch was grasped in the hands of an ordinary 20-something who just two months ago had the word ‘resign’ on their lips?
It’s no wonder the entire world is trembling in fear.
Being Korean, for instance, even over there in Japan, they are hesitant to act out of fear, so how much less action would other countries take?
Especially China and the United States.
China must be scared since they sent back the three S-Rankers beneath Jeju Island.
And the U.S….
“Dry. While crossing the Pacific, check those out.”
“Who should I investigate?”
“Ironblood’s family, relatives, or acquaintances. If anyone in the U.S. has contacted them, they would likely be someone against President Louis or someone reluctant to have a Korean talent set foot in the U.S.”
Using Ironblood to eliminate me. If Ironblood goes on a rampage, the S-Rank hunters in Korea could label me a traitor and attempt to k*ll me, but once I leave Korea, those within the U.S. would have to start moving one by one.
‘That doesn’t mean I won’t go.’
Too many situations have unfolded to not leave.
Especially when I fired Ironblood with the main cannon, even if it was due to an automated attack, there’s no turning back now.
Above all….
“Dry. Is that currently under review?”
“Under review… oh my, it seems like they’re going to blow it.”
Information that circulated as rumor, the information that the U.S. tried to erase and erase is finally being released.
“Still, it’s quite impressive. To offend the president and go ahead and do this.”
Gwanghwamun. In a place crowded with citizens, a live video showed a man shouting from the top of a ladder truck.
[Everyone!! I’m about to reveal the identity of someone trying to go to the U.S…!!]
Splash.
The two A-Rank hunters swam through the sea and retrieved Ironblood, who had fallen into the water.
“Ah, d*mn it….”
“Cough, cough. Shouldn’t we do CPR?”
“Are you crazy? Wait for the women to arrive. If you or I do it, it’ll be this right here.”
While the two male hunters were shaking off the seawater on their bodies, a female hunter rushed in only to come to a sudden halt.
“What are you doing?”
“Seriously….”
“You’re not suggesting we do CPR, are you?”
“No, that’s not it…! It would be fine if it were another woman, but ah, seriously…!”
The female hunter looked down at the unconscious Ironblood with a remorseful expression.
“Ugh. If they say something about me touching their body later, please help out a bit, okay? Please!”
With a pained expression, the female hunter extended her clasped hands toward Ironblood’s solar plexus, channeling her magic.
No matter how much she was directly struck by an attack and thrown into the sea, as an S-Rank, she needed to effectively channel her magic to perform CPR even against another S-Rank—
“Eek?!”
Just as she was about to press her palm against Ironblood’s solar plexus, the female hunter screamed and stepped back.
“What, what’s wrong?”
“There’s… there’s no mana!”
“…What?”
“I can’t feel any mana in the body! My palm almost went right through! Like pressing a palm against an egg!!”
It almost crumbled.
Swallowing those words, the female hunter became flustered and started shaking her hands, while other hunters began to join in one by one.
“What’s going on?”
“What do you mean, no mana?”
“Could it be that it was an attack that wiped out all the mana?”
The evaporation of mana.
Having clearly witnessed the overwhelming light bombardment, and seeing Ironblood in front of them appear to be entirely devoid of magic power in real-time, the hunters had no choice but to be bewildered.
“Summoning an aircraft carrier out of nowhere doesn’t make sense, but an attack that completely wipes out mana…? Wh-what kind of person is this Master…?”
“Wow, insane.”
Someone pulled out their smartphone intending to report but ended up playing a video instead.
“Insane, a member of the National Assembly is broadcasting this.”
“…What?”
“A member of the National Assembly is currently revealing Master’s identity on a live stream!!”
“!!”
The hunters flinched and pulled out their smartphones. Some hesitated and put their phones away, while others logged into video sites only to see the message [This video cannot be played.]
However, while videos uploaded from sites may be blocked, memories can never be erased.
“Oh my, 27 years old…? A man who can transform into a maid…?”
“Ah, no. They exist separately. With transformation powers, can they now transform into an aircraft carrier?”
“It’s not just any aircraft carrier but the Iowa-class ship Illinois… no, that’s not the point right now! It is important, but!”
“Wow, cr*p. We’re screwed.”
One hunter raised both hands in resignation.
“A guy who just wanted to leave for the U.S. ended up crashing a helicopter, and a politician spreading info about such a person. Isn’t that insane?”
It was insane.
Though it might be a casual joke that someone tosses around, never in their wildest dreams did they think a situation like this would happen.
“He leaves well enough.”
An A-Rank hunter remarked with a smirk while glancing down at Ironblood.
“After all, if he stayed, a girl like this would grab him by the collar and start hitting him, or that politician who spread that info would use threats.”
“No, how could someone possess such power…?”
“Usually, those who say such things don’t think that way until they get a b*llet hole in their own head.”
“Are you suggesting…?”
“While I won’t be the one to do it, someone will probably go ahead and do it, right?”
“Uh, um…”
One hunter carefully raised a hand.
“What do we do now…?”
“…….”
“Things are happening that are so unorthodox that I don’t know what to do. No, no matter how I think about it….”
“Do what you were doing, but follow your heart. Senior.”
“!!”
Amidst the hunters who couldn’t find their footing, Blue Lightning walked in.
“Hey, you….”
“The choice is yours. Taking responsibility for that is also personal. However, as long as one person shoulders the burden and goes down that path, no one will say anything, even if they choose to leave.”
“Darum. You are….”
“I’m not trying to argue. I’m speaking sincerely. I will stay here.”
“……!”
“I will stay, so you seniors do as you please. Regardless of what the internet or news might say, let’s not criticize each other no matter where we decide to go from here.”
Blue Lightning reached out toward Ironblood.
“All the blame lies with those who abused Awakened Ones carelessly… and there lies the responsibility of those fools who lived simply by being manipulated.”
Crackle.
As a small electric shock of Blue Lightning touched Ironblood, Ironblood shivered and spat out sea water.
“I’m grateful to that… Master. If I had such abilities, I wouldn’t have made that choice and would have been foolishly revered as a hero.”
“…….”
“He didn’t abandon this country. He just changed to where he should be to protect something greater.”
“What does that mean?”
“Earth.”
Blue Lightning clenched their fists.
“They’ve shown us what we should protect beyond just this country. To protect the world… he just chose the most certain ally.”
“Isn’t that overly optimistic on your part?”
“Then what, is it pessimistic?”
Startled by Blue Lightning’s irritation, the hunter stiffened.
“Ugh… Enough. If there’s anyone who plans to stay in this country, let’s make a video together right now.”
“A video?”
“Yes. We express serious concerns about the politician who carelessly leaked the identity of a hunter. This is basic political rhetoric, but… we should take a step forward by showing such political action.”
Crackle.
“Until now, we’ve operated for people, but now I’ll create something out of anger.”
“What do you mean by create…?”
“Be it a political party, a union, or an association.”
Blue Lightning’s eyes began to glow a bright blue.
“That Master, who left this pathetic place to go to the U.S., should, one day, think that within this location, there still remains a flicker of hope when we fight together. Someone must be the hope of that Master… or those like him.”
“…….”
“First, about that politician who leaked the information.”
Blue Lightning shaped the flowing electricity in their hand into a blade.
“I’ll make them live like hell.”
[Three hours later, the Blue House.]
“Should I resign?”
The president sat alone in the chair of their office, covering their face with both hands.
Confusion.
Total chaos.
They thought that once the S-Rank Towers vanished, people would rejoice in peace; instead, the entire nation was plunged into a frenzy of anger and madness.
“k*ll Ironblood! We lost an EX-Rank hunter due to Ironblood going berserk. Abolish the Hunter Compulsory Mobilization Act. The government, which thinks of hunters as pet dogs, should awaken. Imprison those politicians who proposed bills to the Towers and let them tackle them. We are finished as they recklessly released our identities. Politician A, who has destroyed the country, apologize in Gwanghwamun. Actually, isn’t it that they’re agents of another country? Commit seppuku, etc.”
Bzzzzzz.
A phone rang.
Not the one in the office, but one of several mobile phones that the president owned.
“…Are you crazy?”
[What’s crazy? You see, they were someone we couldn’t control.]
As soon as the president answered the phone, they launched into a tirade, but the other party didn’t care and continued to speak.
[I heard Ironblood is dead?]
“It’s not dead. Just….”
[If it doesn’t recover its magic power, it’s just like being killed. So—]
“Oh, you crazy old man…! If you’ve lived off Japan and China, just gracefully age…!”
[Hahaha, this friend has gone crazy. Yeah, that position is tough, isn’t it? So let’s go with the direction from our side. It’s a good thing for a country to unite by turning against one person.]
“Bullshit.”
The president replied in a voice filled with irritation.
“What will you do when you need help from that one person later, huh?”
[Ha. That’s not funny. Do you really think any of the missing S-Rank Towers will return? They’ve all disappeared already—]
In an instant.
The night sky suddenly sparkled with light.
“……!!”
The president felt it.
Something, something new occurred at the moment that light shone.
[…What is that?]
Even the person on the phone seemed to realize something had happened.
[In the sky… a Tower?]
*
That day.
Towers began to appear wildly across the globe.
Towers larger and more massive than the existing S-Rank Towers, seemingly capable of covering entire nations.
![[TS] The Protagonist is Conquered](https://i3.wp.com/novelhitam.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/1743806812-5548-TS-The-Protagonist-is-Conquered.png?resize=85,105 "[TS] The Protagonist is Conquered")
