The Hero Returns

Act 6

Adel knelt. He crossed his arms and blocked Su-hyeun's sword.

Clash, clash—

"Gasp!"

Su-hyeun gave one big shot. The power of Su-hyeun's sword was stronger than any other attack Adel had ever received. As Su-hyeun pressed down, Adel couldn't even stand up straight. He felt a burning feeling from the back of his hands that were blocking the sword.

Drip—

Blood leaked through the gauntlets and ran down the back of Adel's hands.

<<Blood? Am I bleeding right now?>>

Adel was wearing gauntlets made from adamantium. Although the adamantium content was low, it was confirmed that it couldn't be broken or cut by anything. The researchers said that even if he took a hit from a missile, the gauntlets would be fine. But now his adamantium gauntlets were cut. Although they were small cuts, it was still hard to believe.

<<But I stopped him, at least.>> Adel grinned.

Gordon Rohan couldn't have stopped this attack and had gotten injured, instead.

<<But I blocked his sword! Then, it's worth trying. I'll counterattack…>>

Thump—

At that moment, Su-hyeun trampled on Adel's knee. Adel, who was about to rise up and to swing his fist, widened his eyes. Because of the power of Su-hyeun stepping on his knee, he couldn't stand up.

"Don't move. Stay still." Su-hyeun lifted his sword again. "Don't avoid it unless you want to get your head cut."

Swish—!

Clang, clank—!

Su-hyeun continued to strike above Adel's head. Adel couldn't escape. He just kept raising his hands to block the sword. His arms were getting tired, they felt as if they would tear apart. But, as Su-hyeun said, Adel couldn't avoid the sword.

<<He's going to kill me…>>

Adel thought he really might die if things went wrong. He felt like his neck would be cut if his defense fell for even just a moment. But, even so, he couldn't keep blocking like this.

Adel clenched his teeth. He began to rise up with strength in his legs. Su-hyeun moved the foot that had been steeping on Adel's knee. They increased the distance. And, in that brief moment, Adel pulled his fist back and reloaded his power.

"You die!"

Whoosh—

The fist, with the adamantium gauntlet, flew to Su-hyeun's head. Su-hyeun didn't move his sword. Adel had a smile of satisfaction.

<<Yes! I got him!>>

Whoosh—

Wham—!

A Dull and heavy sound rang. Adel couldn't believe his eyes. He hadn't hit Su-hyeun's sword. Adel hit his fist. Su-hyeun blocked Adel's attack with his bare hand, without any weapons like gauntlets.

<<What a stupid bastard! His fingers must be all smashed…>>

Crack, crack—!

But the cracking sound came from a different side. Adel looked at his fist. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. The golden gauntlet on his fist began to crack.

Crack, crack—!

Clang—!

The shattered pieces of gauntlet fell to the floor. Adel backed off, staring at the gauntlet pieces scattered everywhere.

"W-what is this nonsense…," Adel said in surprise.

"That was quite hard," Su-hyeun said, shaking his fist.

"What the hell did you do? How… that's adamantium—"

"Even though it was a great weapon, the person who used it wasn't so great. And, in this world, there's no such thing as a perfect metal."

At Su-hyeun's words, Adel asked with a doubtful look, "Wait. No way. Did you plan all this from the beginning…?"

"Of course. If it weren't for this, I could have finished you already."

Stomp, stomp—

Su-hyeun slowly walked to Adel.

"So? How do you feel about losing your precious weapon? It was like a body part, wasn't it? What value do you have without it?"

"Aaaagh!"

Rap—!

Adel swung his fist instinctively. His fist hit Su-hyeun. Adel was puzzled. His reckless attack was successful?

Thump—

"Argh!"

Su-hyeun hit Adel's stomach. Adel's back bent and his knees shook with shock.

"Look at this," said Su-hyeun.

Whack—!

This time, Su-hyeun hit Adel's face. "You're awful."

"Argh…"

Blood began to pour from Adel's face. It looked like his nose was broken.

Grab—

Su-hyeun grabbed Adel's head as he tried to step back. And Su-hyeun's fist, raised high, smashed his face again.

Whack, whack—!

Adel's teeth broke, one by one, and fell to the floor. Adel, who was being beaten, hardly opened his mouth to say something.

"G-gi…"

Whack—!

Su-hyeun punched Adel's mouth again. Adel didn't even get a chance to give up. Su-hyeun made Adel unable to surrender. Su-hyeun held Adel's head tight.

"Argh…Ar…" Adel moaned.

"You say it right now, on your own." Su-hyeun's eyes turned cold and harsh. "About what you did yesterday and why you did it…"

Adel's eyes shook. <<Is he telling me to say everything about yesterday from here? About how I attacked Su-hyeun and Gordon Rohan because I was blinded by the thought of victory? No, I can't…>>

As soon as he confessed, he would be doomed. Not only he would be criticized for his morality by everyone, but he'd be a pariah for the rest of his life.

<<And what about the European Awakener Federation? What will happen if people find out the federation does such things?>>

The coalition would never even be formed. It would be impossible. Adel couldn't say it out loud.

"So… You don't want to say it, do you?" Su-hyeun asked, looking at Adel, who was held by his hand. Adel could only shake his head a little bit. "Well. You'll change your mind soon."

[The Curse of the Dark Psychic - Pain.]

In front of Adel's eyes, a soul wearing a black robe appeared. At that moment, the sensory organs of Adel's entire body became dozens of times more sensitive.

"Shake your hand whenever you change your mind."

Wham—!

Su-hyeun punched Adel's stomach. Adel's eyes turned white and his body bent almost in half.

"Argh…"

"I'll keep hitting you until then."

Su-hyeun raised his hand again. One-sided violence began.

<hr />

"Hey. Will you just watch it?"

At Johnny Brad's question, Gordon Rohan nodded. "Don't bother them. Adel didn't say that he'll give up yet."

"I saw his mouth. The guy tried to surrender."

"Yes. He tried to surrender. But he didn't actually surrender, did he?" Gordon Rohan looked down the stadium from the top of the stand and rested his chin on his desk.

Johnny Brad looked at Gordon Rohan as if he couldn't understand him. "People will criticize the Ranking Wars for allowing such one-sided violence."

"Let them. I don't care. If they have an issue with me, they can always come and find me. I'll smash them all."

"…I guess you really don't like him."

"Who? Adel?"

"Yes."

"I don't like him that much. He has quite a lot of talent and skills, but he didn't try to become stronger through effort. He only thought of petty tricks," Gordon Rohan said, looking at Adel, who was still being beaten up. "Let Su-hyeun beat him up until Adel says 'surrender.' That's the rule."

<hr />

"St…o…p…" Adel hardly opened his mouth to say.

While Adel was being beaten, he tried to surrender over and over again. But whenever he tried to open his mouth, Su-hyeun smashed it. Like that, Adel was beaten for a few minutes.

The Curse of the Dark Psychic was a skill to maximize the pain of the subdued object. It specialized in torture. Because of this skill, Adel was now experiencing a pain that he had never felt before. He was just being hit by a fist, but he felt pain like his body was breaking down.

"Are you ready to say it now?" Su-hyeun stopped the beating. He pulled Adel up and met his eyes.

Adel shook his body. He barely opened his eyes and hardly looked at Su-hyeun. And that moment, the third eye on Su-hyeun's forehead opened.

[Third Eye - Predator.]

Syaaaa—

Adel's body was frozen. He couldn't move his arms or legs, as if they were tied up. His mouth trembled. Under the influence of the Predator skill, Adel felt an instinctive fear of Su-hyeun.

"D-don't kill me…Please…Don't kill me…"

"Then say it." Su-hyeun dropped Adel and nodded his head. "Say it, and I won't kill you."

Adel couldn't think straight. His head was full of instinctive fear. He wanted to live. So, Adel turned his body away from Su-hyeun and knelt down on the floor.

"Don't kill me…"

At the very last moment, Adel had a brief conflict. He still had a little bit of reason in the back of his mind. But it didn't last. He felt the presence of Su-hyeun, standing in his back.

"I…"

<hr />

The CBC broadcasting station that had been broadcasting the Ranking Wars was in an uproar because of Adel. He suddenly opened his mouth and started to confess during the fight.

"What's happening?"

"Do you think that's true?"

CBC's producer, Bae Young-cheol and the writer, Kim Hyeun-su were staring at the broadcast screen. The screen was showing Adel's face. The game was paused. Adel's voice came out of the TV.

<ul>

I am so sorry. I will never do such things again…

</ul>

Adel was shivering and stuttering. He certainly didn't seem normal. Ordinarily, Adel was a man of laughter and always looked relaxed. But now, he was scared of Su-hyeun.

"So, the conclusion is," Bae Young-cheol said, "the European Union decided to create another union of European awakeners… and to make it look good, they tried to make Adel winner of the Ranking Wars… am I right?"

If it was all true, it would be a huge scoop. Too many S-Rank awakeners were involved to consider it a simple fight among awakeners.

"Yea. I think you're right," Kim Hyeun-su answered.

"Why the hell is he confessing, then?"

"I guess…he was afraid of dying because he was beaten up too much."

"Don't you think maybe he was threatened while he was beaten up?" Bae Young-cheol asked.

"His story is too detailed for that. And I think there is circumstantial evidence," Kim Hyeun-su said.

"Circumstantial evidence? Like what?" Bae Young-cheol asked in surprise.

"Some awakeners from the European Union disappeared. It's news from reporter Mr. Jeong from San Francisco."

"Wow. He got the news fast."

The story sounded convincing. In particular, just looking at the way the floor of the stadium was crushed, people could guess there was a big fight the day before.

"What do you think will happen now, sir?" Kim Hyeun-su asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean Kim Su-hyeun. He looks like he's about to pick a fight with the whole European Union openly."

"Fight? Do you think this is about to be a fight?"

"Yes?"

"This is a warning."

Kim Hyeun-su tilted his head and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Kim Su-hyeun resorted to violence against Adel and made him confess the reason himself."

"Yea. And why is that…?"

"What do European Union awakeners think of that? Do you think they'll keep trying to fight with Kim Su-hyeun? Creating a Union and joining the forces? Why? For what reason?"

"Because…"

Kim Hyeun-su couldn't answer. And he finally realized. The European Awakener Federation was still an unclear organization. It didn't officially exist, yet. And…

"No one's name was revealed, except Adel."

"Yes. That's right." Bae Young-cheol ignited an electronic cigarette and sucked a sip for a long time. "In this situation, if the European Awakener Federation was created and people joined? That would be like admitting you were one of the attackers."

"Wow. That's…"

"Now do you get it why I called it a warning?"

What Su-hyeun wanted to say about this was very clear.

"With this, he's making sure the European Awakener Federation isn't going to happen."