Chapter 722

〈 Chapter 722 〉 Part 2, Chapter 5, Section 16

Dark Legion officer, Penril of Gale, has perished.

Through the dimensional gate that appeared in Manchester, Penril of Gale revealed his presence. Though he looked quite different from 25 years ago, his ferocity and the “Gale” attribute remained unchanged.

Thus, everyone was reminded once more:

The seven calamities that altered the first digit of the world population in 1999 were officers of the Dark Legion.

The identities of six officers, including Penril of Gale, were merely disguised as monstrous beings.

The beasts that shattered the world operated under cover as fiends and officers.

– Fiends are everywhere.

They could be living next door or even be heroes who receive overwhelming public support but secretly serve the Dark Legion.

With trust in traditional heroes crumbling, humanity realized they could be attacked by Dark Legion officers at any moment.

– But citizens, fear not! We have hope!

– Commander! Commander! Commander!

And that sole hope to defeat them is the Commander, who humanity discovered was cultivating heroes to counter these threats.

SS Rank Hero, <Banargande>.

A woman in a white suit adorned with mint-colored cat ears and tail toyed with Penril of Gale effortlessly. Even Jeolpung’s powers were blocked by just a flick of her finger. Humanity marveled at her strength as the beast known as Penril of Gale fell powerless.

All of humanity realized:

Banargande was truly the strongest being on Earth. The secret weapon cultivated by the Commander possessed destructive power surpassing even tactical nuclear weapons.

And the Commander, who nurtured Banargande, was reaffirmed as humanity’s sole beacon of hope.

– If the Commander trains one person per year, we’d have ten Banargandes in ten years, right?

– We don’t even know when training started, so isn’t this speculation too extreme?

– Or maybe… the Commander turned an S-rank hero into SS-rank in just a week?

Has Banargande ever been publicly known before? No!

Banargande made her debut solely to defeat Penril of Gale.

She had never appeared on any battlefield before, despite hiding her identity as the Wind Dragon.

Her new magic pattern and unprecedented abilities left even the Association speechless. Despite their efforts to gather information about the Commander, they knew nothing of Banargande’s true nature.

Code BWP.

‘B’lue flame ‘W’hite ‘P’hoenix.

Registered directly by none other than the Commander, she had never officially or unofficially revealed herself to the public until now.

And the hero personally trained by the Commander demonstrated power far beyond the conventional SS-rank.

– Isn’t this basically Round Table level already?

– Beyond Round Table. They say her mana density rivals Sir Gawein’s!

She was powerful enough to potentially defeat Penril of Gale alone.

– This person can’t be classified as SS-rank.

Thus, people sought to assign Banargande a new classification.

Extra. Beyond Rank.

An existence transcending human categorization.

And with respect for her as a special creation directly cultivated by the Commander, she was called:

Special Extra Class.

Shortened to: S-Ex Rank.

Commonly referred to as: S-Ecks Tier Hero.

Absolutely, it does NOT refer to SEX.

It simply means Special EX-tier Hero.

And thus, people worldwide hailed her as an S-Ecks Tier Hero.

* * *

“Hey, Sex-tier Hero.”

“I’ll kill you, nya.”

Kim Penril swiped her claws at me. Her nails, sharpened like Core Weapons and dyed red, were sharp enough to easily slice through an A-rank battlesuit.

“Why are you trying to kill me? You already killed yourself.”

“Shouldn’t you explain if you accidentally broadcast over open channels, nya!!”

That’s right.

Kim Penril didn’t intentionally say anything. She was just muttering to herself happily.

But because it happened on an open channel—worse yet, during the stabilization of mana after Penril of Gale’s death—it was broadcast worldwide.

Everyone makes mistakes.

And depending on the severity of the error, reactions vary.

Penril’s mistake falls into the cute category. An S-Ex tier hero wanting a reward from the Commander after battle?

“Don’t worry, people will find it adorable.”

Looking on the bright side, folks might forgive Penril’s slip-up.

– The Commander supplies mana to King Justice anyway.

– It’s mutual reward, right?

– After this fight, let’s do S-Ecks (cough cough).

“Throughout history, many direct subordinates of the Commander have done similar things. What you said isn’t that bad. Some heroes got addicted to working with the Commander…”

I created a spooky atmosphere. Penril swallowed nervously, focusing on my voice.

“Binding the Commander to the bed, making him stay still while they went out to fight…”

“Who would do such a thing, nya?”

Jeolpung did.

“It’s just a metaphor, a metaphor. In reality… there have been cases worse and less severe.”

Just because someone awakens as a spirit doesn’t mean they’re exempt from cheesy lines. Bad endings can pop up anytime, anywhere in this game.

Previous Commanders—male ones kidnapped, imprisoned, and obsessed over; female ones drugged and violated—are common plot devices warning players of potential dangers.

This mostly happens to heroines and spirits alike.

“So, Commander, how many people think kindly of me, nya?”

“…30%?”

“Then 70% must see me as some mana-crazed woman, nya!!”

Penril buried her head in the bed and screamed. Was she asking for a backrub? She wiggled her butt, sending signals to my lower regions.

– Cough cough

– Cough cough

– Backrub, cough cough, go go go!

‘Resist, my inner mini Phoenix.’

I can’t do it with Penril. Since I’ve promised not to do it with Penril, I suppressed countless cries of cough cough from the crowd for a healthy conversation.

“The remaining 40% are analyzing Banargande. They aren’t focused on sex but rather on the concept of S-Ecks rank.”

Analyzing the value of Banargande, a wind-attribute hero, objectively.

For instance, what form do her special abilities take?

Why does she have mint-colored cat ears and tails?

Can she use non-wind-based magic?

If she goes all-out, how powerful can she become?

Is the mint tail a magical illusion or an anal flag?

“The first hero to emerge and defeat Penril of Gale! New heroes are always welcomed. That’s how much expectation there is for you right now.”

“Then that’s fortunate…what about the remaining 30%?”

Penril asked with a pout. So I relayed the comments directed at her.

“Wants to tie Banargande to the bed, insert something into her tail, and fill her with mint chocolate until she overflows?”

“…Wow.”

An S-Ecks woman. Not a solemn spirit, but Officer Penril, radiating sexual charm naturally.

Penril alone exudes flirtatious vibes, compounded by Park Ra-on’s genuine D-cup figure in a tight white suit fit.

“Congratulations, Penril. Today, you’ve killed at least two billion lives.”

“What does that even mean, nya?”

“I mean two billion men want to be your boyfriend today.”

Though Banargande killed Penril of Gale, she also extinguished two billion sperms.

“So, Penril, saying you want to be with me isn’t necessarily bad.”

Far from it, it’s actually good. This incident widely declared Banargande as the Commander’s, raising the Commander’s stock even higher.

‘Even among the officers.’

Not all Dark Legion officers actively contribute to humanity’s destruction. With Kim Penril siding with the Commander, others may undergo a change of heart. We can recruit them appropriately.

“And what’s wrong with supplying mana to the Commander?”

“Is…that so?”

“Yeah. Hence, Penril, this is your reward.”

I pulled out the tub of mint chocolate ice cream Penril had brought. As soon as she smelled it, her eyes lit up—but then froze upon seeing its contents.

“What is this, nya?”

“Reward.”

Inside the tub was a pool of mint liquid. All the ice cream had melted, and Penril looked angrier than when she fought Jeolpung.

“What are you trying to do with this, nya?”

“We’re conducting a pre-mana-supply ritual.”

I lifted the tub high.

‘This is strawberry-flavored.’

Glug, glug, glug.

I drained the half-gallon container. Penril stared blankly at me for a while before grabbing the collar of my shirt.

“…Are you really giving me a reward?”

“Of course. I keep my promises.”

I threw Penril onto the bed. She wagged her tail.

“Penril, I have one request before we begin.”

“What is it?”

“Will you help me with this?”

“…”

Penril closed her eyes tightly. From her body flowed a mint-like mana fluid, forming another Penril.

“…Ah.”

Her hair returned to black, and her tail disappeared. Ra-on looked at me blankly while beside her lay a mint-colored Ra-on clone.

“Park Ra-on, Kim Penril.”

I carelessly stripped off my clothes.

“Expect teamwork in your bed tonight.”

The best wind-attribute match endorsed by the creators.

“Double cough cough.”

The cooldown for mana supply had just ended.