This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 554

【Chae-rim’s Perspective】

It’s already been seven years since ‘that incident’ happened.

Is that why the elders always talk about how time is fleeting?

What’s certain is that it doesn’t bother me as much as it used to.

Actually, maybe calling it an incident isn’t quite right.

It was more like a catastrophe.

I can’t speak for everyone else who was there at the time, but at least for me, Jeong Chae-rim, it was.

It was that shocking.

Finally confronting the existence of a ‘wall.’

Truthfully, before going through that incident, I thought others were too quick to give up.

I thought they were simply using a grand term like ‘wall’ to gloss over their lack of effort.

A wall?

If something pops up and blocks your way, shouldn’t you just jump over it or break it down?

Looking back now, it was a narrow-minded and arrogant view, completely devoid of empathy for others, but that’s genuinely how I thought back then.

That’s how it was until I met ‘it’ — and literally shattered my perspective.

‘Even thinking about it now makes me dizzy…’

So, it was at some kind of world superpower conference.

Even though they called it a conference, it was essentially a venue loaded with complaints from heroes around the world, brimming with discontent over the rankings announced by the World Hero Association.

Of course, the main sponsor of the event was none other than the Russian Superpower Research Society, where the ‘Fighting Saint,’ Natasha, served as an honorary advisor.

You can imagine how heated it was.

Despite being labeled a platform for complaints, it resembled a gallows, and that’s where ‘it’ made its appearance.

I clearly remember that moment amidst all the frustrated faces, only ‘it’ remained relaxed.

It was like seeing someone who calmly strolled into a park after enjoying their favorite meal.

Naturally, it’s probably not surprising to mention that I didn’t recognize ‘it’ at first.

Not just me — even the wide-eyed spectators watching how the association would respond felt the same.

And rightly so; ‘it’ had been virtually unknown in the industry until the rankings were announced.

When the World Hero Association released the rankings, only the activity name and nationality, meaning their association, were disclosed. No one had ever seen their face, so it was completely understandable.

Thus, not just me, but those who witnessed ‘it’ must have thought the same.

“Looks like a staff member, but they sure are relaxed.”

What started as that simple impression was flipped upside down when ‘it’ gracefully crossed the room and stood at the podium in front of the microphone.

And then came—

“To be honest, I still don’t quite get it.”

“What?”

“That woman… no, Miss Almighty’s speech, I mean.”

What’s certain is that the woman standing at the microphone tapped it a couple of times and asked, ‘Could you please be quiet?’ At that moment, a sense of discomfort enveloped me, and just as I hastily tried to move, I found myself utterly frozen like I was under some hypnotic spell.

And it affected the World Ranking ‘2nd’ who was ready to challenge at any moment.

“Well, it’s not like they’re 2nd for nothing; they did show some resistance.”

“So?”

“But when that woman glanced their way, they just completely crumbled.”

The notoriously hot-headed Fighting Saint lost her foothold and collapsed, for crying out loud.

At this point, I was seriously curious.

So, what kind of talent does this Miss Almighty have?

What truly caught my attention was the series of events that unfolded leading up to Chae-rim experiencing that phenomenon.

More precisely, it was when Miss Almighty spoke into the microphone.

“What if she has a talent related to sound, just like my senior?”

Thinking about it, that sounded quite plausible.

As I shook my head in contemplation, it seemed Chae-rim had a slightly different perspective.

“If that were the case, wouldn’t others also react in some way?”

“Ah, well… that does make sense.”

Honestly, I couldn’t deny that since Chae-rim’s reflexes were absolutely unmatched.

Even my senior, who was well-versed in that field, claimed they might not be able to catch up with her on this, so you can imagine how impressive it truly was.

Anyway, so that means there’s no sound whatsoever… So then, what could it be?

What kind of power does she possess that allows her to do such unbelievable things?

Miss Almighty merely ‘suppressed’ them, but it was a warning for the heroes assembled there, and those who had been present firsthand knew it better than I did.

To put it bluntly, if Miss Almighty hadn’t been satisfied with just suppressing them and aimed for more, things could have gone terribly wrong for them.

At worst, there could have been huge gaps in the rankings, like holes in a sponge.

“So, could it be that the Fighting Saint has been basically MIA all these years…”

“Maybe that incident impacted her? Well, it must’ve been incredibly shocking for her.”

Yeah, that makes sense.

Before experiencing Miss Almighty’s power, she firmly believed she was the strongest in the world, yet she crumbled before someone she thought was beneath her and sat there weakly.

It surely dealt a massive blow to her pride.

Regular folks might have chosen to retire at that moment.

Because such wounds don’t heal over time.

Instead, they only deepen as time passes.

Especially for someone like the Fighting Saint, known for having a tremendous amount of pride; if her wounds ran deeper, it didn’t mean she wouldn’t retire, but it did seem she was still hanging on.

‘Well, that’s probably why she got to that level at her age.’

And as I thought this, I began to worry about something else.

“Uh… is that sister of yours okay?”

Am I probing into Chae-rim’s old wounds out of my own curiosity?

As I cautiously posed the question, I was met with an unexpectedly calm response.

“Me? I’m doing just fine…”

Was there really any reason for me to be worried? Chae-rim shrugged her shoulders lightly.

At least it didn’t seem like she was pretending for my sake.

Thanks to that, I felt a little relieved.

“Honestly, it used to feel like a throbbing pain every time I thought about it.”

She pointed at her solar plexus.

So, even though she said she was fine, was she actually not?

Well, Chae-rim is known for her pride.

Thinking about that made me notice the lightness in her tone.

“But now… it actually feels reassuring?”

“True, from the Another’s perspective, your very existence must be a disaster.”

“No, that’s not what I meant…”

“…?”

“What I meant was, since now Dogun is here too. As long as I don’t give up, then someday, I might just catch up… that’s what I meant.”

“Ah, I see.”

This was the first time Chae-rim poured out her heartfelt thoughts like this.

Her face was slightly flushed as she spoke.

That cute expression made me stifle a giggle.

“Anyway, thinking back, it really is absurd. How can a person be that strong?”

“What…”

“I mean, is she even human?”

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While Chae-rim was sulking playfully at Dogun, in a park in America, discussions about the Another and Korea were underway.

“Hm… where did this information come from again?”

“It’s from the Korean Hero Association.”

“Is it officially provided by the Korean Hero Association?”

“…”

“I see. Hmm… Korea…”

After tapping the document in her hand with her fingers for a bit, a girl who looked like an ordinary college student suddenly shot upright from the bench.

“Korea is where Lightning Lady is affiliated, right?”

“…Do you remember her?”

“Well… of course I can’t forget. There are only a handful of people who can react to my abilities, even just for a moment…”

As she reminisced, she handed the document she had been holding to the association’s staff, a sly smile spreading across her face.

“I have to go.”

“…?”

“I must visit Korea.”

In an instant, the eyes of the staff member dispatched by the association widened when she suddenly vanished without a trace, as if she had evaporated into thin air.