---

Jeong Gyeoul, who had come all the way to a distant country to curse Lee Ha-yoon, glared at Ian Cabill.

“…Why do you make me want to say such lines.”

Ian Cabill, who had been lying on the ground and was now brushing off the dirt, looked at Jeong Gyeoul incredulously.

“Who are you, kid?”

“Kid? Are you done talking?”

“Is there any reason I can’t call a brat like you a kid?”

“…Let me engrave my name in that empty head of yours.”

Ian Cabill, who had fearlessly provoked Jeong Gyeoul, felt a chill run down his spine at the murderous aura she suddenly emitted.

‘…Is this kid’s presence stronger than the Demon King’s?’

He had thought it was just a mistake that he didn’t sense Jeong Gyeoul’s presence earlier.

A mistake made because he was too focused on Jeong Ha-yul.

But now, feeling the aura Jeong Gyeoul was emitting, he realized it wasn’t a mistake.

At that moment, he felt something was wrong.

Cold sweat began to trickle down his back.

‘If I mess this up, I might end up buried here.’

She wasn’t someone to be taken lightly just because she was young.

Instinctively, he felt that she was at least on par with him, and that he would have to risk his life to fight her properly.

The survival instinct embedded in the human body since ancient times stirred within Ian Cabill.

“…I only want to fight the Demon King. I have nothing to do with you.”

“Why not? If you’re going to fight my sister, you’ll have to step over me.”

“…What? Are you saying you’re Jeong Gyeoul?”

“Do you know her?”

Ian Cabill, who had been burning with a desire for revenge against Jeong Ha-yul, had been checking news about her every day.

Naturally, he couldn’t have been unaware of Jeong Gyeoul.

“The youngest Awakened One, a failure who awakened early, but through effort or talent, gradually rose in rank and eventually reached A-Class.”

“…Is that a compliment or an insult?”

It seemed that Jeong Gyeoul’s rise to A-Class was already known worldwide.

Though he didn’t know she had surpassed S-Class and reached transcendence.

“The Association Chairman tried to keep it hidden, but it seems it’s already spread worldwide.”

“It doesn’t matter now. Back then, it was all to protect your safety.”

“True, if they wanted to keep it a secret, they wouldn’t have sent me here.”

The U.S., having lost the Prophet, wouldn’t politely bid farewell with a “Take care! Be friends with Serena!” so combat was inevitable.

He was debating whether to fight while holding back or to go all out, but after hearing Jeong Ha-yul’s words, his course was set.

‘I can fight at full strength.’

The moment Jeong Gyeoul decided to fight seriously, her aura became even more ferocious.

Everyone standing on the battlefield began to tense up.

Of course, Jeong Gyeoul at the center wasn’t tense, only raising her aura.

In any case, the situation was explosive.

“During the past Behemoth subjugation, I suffered a great humiliation at the hands of the Demon King. After that, I was practically an outcast in the industry. My nickname was the Nerd Hero. Burning with a desire for revenge, I struggled for years and eventually surpassed S-Class.”

“Why the sudden flashback…?”

Ian Cabill, seeing Jeong Gyeoul’s even stronger aura, gave up on fighting her.

‘I need to wait for the Vice Director. Whether it’s retreat or aborting the mission, I need to shift the responsibility to him.’

He was scheming to buy as much time as possible until David Burns arrived with a solution.

“Then one day, the CIA offered me a chance to fight the Demon King, who was coming, and I jumped at it. But honestly, I was half in doubt. If the Demon King was in England, maybe, but why the U.S.? I thought the CIA might be trying to use me for something else.”

Even as Jeong Gyeoul looked at him incredulously, Ian Cabill didn’t stop.

“…Why is he suddenly like this?”

Jeong Gyeoul turned around and asked, but neither Jeong Ha-yul nor Serena Olson could answer.

“When the Demon King really appeared before me, as the CIA said, I was so happy. Finally, finally, I could avenge my humiliation. I could restore my honor.”

“…Are you crazy?”

In the midst of the tense atmosphere, as if a fight could break out any moment, he suddenly started talking about the past like they were friends. Anyone would be taken aback.

‘Is this some high-level tactic to make me let my guard down?’

Even if it was, it wouldn’t work on her.

She hadn’t heard much about Jeong Ha-yul’s past, so she was a bit curious.

She could always beat him up later, so for now, she decided to listen.

“After all that struggle, I finally surpassed S-Class, and seeing the Demon King do the same, I could acknowledge him as my rival.”

“…My sister doesn’t even know your name.”

“But… you, the Demon King’s sister, have surpassed even me and the Demon King.”

“…Why do you keep talking like you’re someone important? Anyone would think you’re the world’s number one hero.”

Even though he was trying his best to keep talking, Ian wasn’t particularly eloquent.

Nor did he have many memories with Jeong Ha-yul.

He had only seen her once during the Behemoth subjugation.

“It seems the time has come to forget my long-held grudge.”

“Hey, are you mentally ill? I don’t hit real patients.”

Without answering Jeong Gyeoul, Ian Cabill suddenly sat down.

“I can’t trample on the future sprouts here. Especially not the sister of my rival. I’m not that petty. I’ll give you a chance, you can go.”

“…He’s really gone crazy.”

Jeong Gyeoul was offered an opportunity she didn’t want.

“So? What do you want to do? Should we just go back?”

“Anyone can see he’s scared, so there’s no need to torment him. Let’s just go back.”

“…Was he scared? I thought he was just crazy.”

“He’s probably scared but doesn’t want to show it. There were people like that with my sister too.”

Jeong Ha-yul’s words were genuinely concerned for Ian.

But from Ian’s perspective, Jeong Ha-yul, who was holding Jeong Gyeoul back, was even more hateful than Jeong Gyeoul herself.

But he didn’t show it, swallowing his anger inside.

He thought it was better to endure Jeong Ha-yul’s nagging than to be beaten by a much younger girl.

“Puhahaha! Look at that. Is this really Ian Cabill, the hero the U.S. is so proud of? My chest feels tight.”

“That tone. Not good.”

“…Shut up, old man.”

The S-Class villain from China who had attacked Jeong Gyeoul in England, Xiao Zhan.

And his younger sister, the A-Class villain, Xiao Lin, appeared.

“Jeong Gyeoul. Combat ability has increased over 200 times since our encounter in England.”

Xiao Zhan appeared, jotting something down in his notebook just like he did in England.

It was an analysis of Jeong Gyeoul’s combat power.

“200 times? Is that calculation even correct?”

“It seems wrong.”

Even back in England, she was an A-Class hero who had held her own against an Awakened One.

A sprout whose potential seemed limitless, one they had tried to eliminate on the spot.

Of course, it was a sprout that would bloom someday… but had it already reached its peak?

Even Xiao Lin herself had only just reached the entry level of S-Class.

No matter how talented she was, she didn’t think it was possible.

“Then again, 200 times is ridiculous.”

“At least 300 times. Up to 1000 times is possible.”

“…Has this tin can finally broken?”

Even 200 times was unbelievable, but Xiao Zhan revised it to at least 300 times, up to 1000 times.

Xiao Zhan, whose brain was gradually being replaced by machine parts after countless missions.

It wouldn’t be surprising if this mechanical human broke down at any moment, and it seemed like it had happened here.

“Anyway, I recommend abandoning this mission.”

“Crazy guy, if you just run away without doing anything and get caught, who’s going to take responsibility?”

“…I suggest defecting.”

“This tin can robot has really gone crazy. Anyway, leave her to me. I’ll handle her.”

The Chinese duo, who had just appeared, were already engaging in banter.

“Eek!”

Jeong Gyeoul, who had been watching them with interest, suddenly gasped.

All eyes turned to Jeong Gyeoul.

“They looked familiar, and now I remember! They’re the ones who tried to kill me in England!”

“…Now that you mention it, I think I remember too. Their names were definitely something like Xiao Long Bao.”

The Jeong sisters finally recognized the Chinese duo.

“What are these crazy bitches saying, suddenly turning a normal person into dumplings?”

“You had some fun when you were younger, didn’t you? But you’re saying something interesting now? You’re going to take me on?”

She threw back the words Xiao Lin had said to her in the past.

“Puhaha, it feels like just yesterday you were getting beaten like a dog in England. You’ve grown up, huh? The bigger you get, the more you’re my type, but today we meet as enemies again! What a shame.”

Xiao Lin also remembered her conversation with Jeong Gyeoul.

Once again, she wore a genuinely regretful expression.

“Oh, sis, now that I think about it, the ‘cry and beg’ thing wasn’t something I learned from Lee Ha-yoon.”

“…Suddenly?”

“Now I remember, that woman did it first. She cursed me, insulted me, and after all kinds of personal attacks, she ended with ‘cry and beg.’ It was a mess.”

That day, only mild curses were exchanged.

Except for the “cry and beg” part, everything else was Jeong Gyeoul’s exaggeration.

She had a habit of exaggerating everything, to the point where it could be called Exaggeration Syndrome.

Whether it was true or not, hearing those words, Jeong Ha-yul’s eyes sharpened.

Ian Cabill and Serena Olson also looked at Xiao Lin with strange expressions.

“…She’s a sociopath.”

“That was a bit much, even if it was a request.”

“Others might be fine, but I think I need to hit that Chinese woman.”

Seeing the darkened Lee Ha-yoon and the increasingly tainted Jeong Gyeoul next to her, Jeong Ha-yul realized many things.

Thanks to that, she had become much more docile and well-behaved, but her true nature hadn’t gone anywhere.

Especially when it came to family matters.

In an instant, Xiao Lin, who had become a terrible woman cursing and insulting a child, looked at Jeong Gyeoul in disbelief.

“Hey! When did I do that? You’re lying so beautifully! Brother, say something!”

“…I wasn’t there. I was fighting the bodyguard. But knowing you… it’s entirely possible.”

An enormous amount of magical power began to flow from Jeong Ha-yul’s body.

“Shut up and take the beating first.”

 

---