novelraw Chapter 198 : Chapter 198
Chapter 198 : Chapter 198
Chapter 198: Yesterday's Enemy (2)
“What brought this on?”
An obvious enemy.
And the catalyst for that was the parting of ways between Lee Byeong-hoo, who wanted to destroy everything, and Ho-cheol.
“Do you think I’m trying to protect this world because it’s so perfect and beautiful?”
They had already gone their separate ways as far as they could.
“Changing the system isn't the problem. I agree with you to some extent. But not to the point of killing people.”
Ho-cheol turned his body at a question that suddenly came to mind.
“Before that, let me ask you one thing.”
He asked towards Lee Byeong-hoo.
The details about the heroes who had colluded with villains and had illegally accumulated achievements and made deals.
As expected, he seemed to have no idea.
“As expected.”
However, for his current goal, the complete collapse of the current hero system of society, it was a sufficient catalyst.
“So what's the perfect plan?”
“It’s simple.”
Ho-cheol explained the basic plan.
It was terribly simple, but just as effective.
The usual sham between heroes and villains that was held periodically.
At that time, he would bring in as many villains and fake heroes as possible, and force them to clash and be consumed.
Of course, there was no way they would clash so easily, but until then, Ho-cheol would do his best to sow discord between them, and even if they didn't fight, Ho-cheol, who would be there, was planning to force a fight.
And at the end, what would appear was the villain Eclipse.
“I understand the intention, but I can't understand the purpose.”
Lee Byeong-hoo said bluntly, putting his hands in his pockets.
“I’m going to do my best.”
He was just saying it indirectly, but it meant he was going to kill them all.
But Ho-cheol had already expected that answer.
“Right. Do as you please.”
It wasn't for nothing that Ho-cheol had refused the gold Hong Beom-do had offered and had asked to be a part of this business.
It was to directly control and prevent such variables.
“Good.”
For Byeong-hoo, it was a proposal he had no reason to refuse.
Just as the conversation seemed to be ending, Ho-cheol suddenly changed the subject.
“By the way, you’ve been quiet lately. Is there a reason?”
At Ho-cheol's question, the atmosphere, which had been quite relaxed until just a moment ago, instantly became tense.
Lee Byeong-hoo's eyes shone murderously as he glared at Ho-cheol.
“None of your business.”
Of course, Ho-cheol had not asked the question expecting a proper answer.
But just from that atmosphere and reaction, he could deduce to some extent.
To think that the guy who had been foaming at the mouth to destroy the world and had even gathered the villains he hated so much would suddenly be so quiet.
That meant he had learned something more important than that goal.
At the very least, in Ho-cheol's opinion, there was only one matter that was important.
The New World Trait Liberation Society, which had subtly offered to revive his loved ones.
There was no reason why they wouldn't have made a similar offer to Lee Byeong-hoo, who was on a similar level as himself.
Originally, if it had been Ho-cheol, he would not have cared what Lee Byeong-hoo did, as long as he did not harm the citizens in the end.
And that was right.
But now that he had seen the picture of his adopted daughter, he felt strangely uncomfortable.
After thinking for a moment, Ho-cheol advised him.
“Don’t. Whatever you’re thinking, whatever your plan is, a dead person is a dead person.”
Lee Byeong-hoo, who had been hit on the mark, frowned for a moment.
“I can’t understand it at all.”
He was one of the people who knew Ho-cheol's past best.
That's why he couldn't understand Ho-cheol's words.
Of all people, shouldn't Ho-cheol, at the very least, be the one to empathize with his situation the most?
“Don’t you miss her too?”
“Of course I do. She still appears in my dreams.”
Ho-cheol answered without a moment's hesitation.
“Then why are you trying to miss the chance to see her again?”
“Because there’s no way that being brought back to life in such a way is the right way. Because I can’t face her proudly. That’s more than enough of a reason.”
You might be tempted at first.
In fact, Ho-cheol had also been tempted to that side for a moment.
But in reality, there was no way that was the case.
They were not even guys whose goal was to simply revive people.
They were guys who were so consumed by the non-existent, virtual concept of transcendence that they were foaming at the mouth to revive the dead as a means to that end.
There was no way their methods were just.
“Heo. You’re going to miss the chance to bring back a precious person with just such a prediction?”
A heartless bastard with no blood, no tears, no love.
That's how Lee Byeong-hoo had condemned Ho-cheol.
No, he was about to.
“You’re just a beast wearing human skin…”
But he couldn't bring himself to finish his words.
“I really can’t understand.”
Instead, he muttered softly.
“Just by thinking of her, you make such a face. If she was so precious, then why?”
Blood flowed from Ho-cheol's lip, which he had bitten.
In his eyes, a droplet that he couldn't hide sparkled like a jewel.
Blood and tears.
There was even love.
And yet, he had refused to the end, saying it was not right.
Ho-cheol wiped his face with his palm.
He erased the sad expression he had been wearing until just a moment ago and returned to his usual self.
He let out a sigh and looked around the columbarium.
“And the one who will have a hard time is not me, but the one who is brought back.”
A dead person returns.
That alone would be enough to turn this society upside down, to the point where the expression ‘chaotic’ would not be enough.
And the center of that would, of course, be the resurrected person.
Would those around them accept them?
Would they leave them alone?
Would they recognize them as a human?
A sense of deprivation, loneliness, loss, and betrayal.
All the malice and injustice of the world would pour down on the head of his precious person.
“Just because I want to see her, you’re telling me to push a precious person into hell?”
Ho-cheol scoffed.
“I’d rather die and meet her.”
He was so fixated on reviving her that he had not thought about what came after at all.
No, he had not wanted to.
Lee Byeong-hoo also knew well about the malice of humanity, just as much as Ho-cheol.
If he were to revive his adopted daughter, she too would suffer in the hell of malice that Ho-cheol had mentioned.
He muttered.
“But, that child… just… just…”
Ho-cheol also stopped for a moment.
Certainly, he and Lee Byeong-hoo had the commonality of having lost a loved one, but there was also a clear difference between them.
At the very least, his parents, and Smiley, Ho-cheol had seen their final moments.
Their final choice had surely left a lot to him.
If he were to revive them, it would be spitting on that choice.
But Lee Byeong-hoo had only faced his adopted daughter in a cold morgue, and even that had just been an incomplete trace.
“I understand.”
And I sympathize.
“But most importantly…”
Ho-cheol's voice trembled very faintly.
“There’s no guarantee that the person who is brought back is really the person I missed.”
The true feelings he had revealed for the first time.
If the things he had listed before were reasons for his precious person, this was also a reason for him.
“What if it’s just another person who looks the same? No. What if it’s just that they share the same memory? What about the soul of a person who has already died? What about their essence?”
The worst-case scenario that Ho-cheol was thinking of.
What if that were to happen due to his wrong choice?
“I don't think I could ever forgive myself again.”
Just the thought of it was a miserable and terrible memory, as if everything he had built up until now was collapsing.
Ho-cheol's gaze turned to Byeong-hoo again.
“I lost a precious person twice. The first time, I was completely insane and tried to destroy everything, and the second time, I'm living desperately so as not to leave any regrets. I won't know which is the right answer until I die and meet them, but at the very least, I.”
He turned around and added softly.
“This way is much better. At the very least, I don't leave any regrets.”
But for a moment, he stopped walking.
“The Sun.”
Lee Byeong-hoo's expression changed strangely.
Ho-cheol already considered him a villain.
But not Eclipse, and not even Lee Byeong-hoo, but The Sun.
“E-section, 13th row. Numbers 8 and 9.”
As he was looking at Ho-cheol with a puzzled expression, Ho-cheol muttered.
“That’s my parents’ spot. They were your fans. They even had a huge poster at home. If you have time on your way, show your face once.”
He had had a surprisingly long conversation with Ho-cheol.
And if he had to choose the most surprising moment among them, it would undoubtedly be now.
He just stood there with a dumbfounded expression, unable to answer.
“And while you’re at it, tell them I’m doing well too.”
Ho-cheol did not look back and started walking again.
“I’m really leaving now.”
Ho-cheol left the columbarium.
***
Clington, Monday morning lecture.
Ho-cheol, who had checked the time, lowered the wooden practice sword he was holding.
“That’s all for today’s lecture.”
The students, who were scattered here and there, let out a groan and stood up.
He, who had set the wooden sword on the floor like a cane, said shortly.
“You all know the midterm is coming up, right?”
Last semester, unfortunately, since Ho-cheol had no authority, he had been forced to grade them on a written test.
But not this time.
He had the power of an associate department head.
And he had also left a clear result of the students' skills having improved dramatically through his teaching methods.
Thanks to that, he was able to make some adjustments to the test format through negotiations with the dean.
“This test will, of course, be in a practical format.”
He no longer had to rack his brains to make a damn written test.
This was a rather welcome thing not only for Ho-cheol, but also for the students.
Just last semester, there had been more students who had welcomed a written test over a practical one, but at the very least, most of the students who took this lecture were completely influenced by Ho-cheol.
“In this test, we’ll be focusing on the ‘Golden Equation’.”
Ho-cheol re-gripped his wooden sword and swung it up and down lightly.
Every time he swung his sword, a strong gust of wind spread out from him.
“The lectures and training so far have been a common foundation for everyone. We focused on building a foundation to move on to real combat with those as a focus. In fact, your basics are good enough at this level.”
Most of the students could not hide their dumbfounded feelings.
To think that all this harsh training so far was just the basics.
This was ridiculous in its own way.
“From now on, we’ll change the training for each individual, focusing on their strengths.”
Ho-cheol took out a notebook from his pocket.
It had only been half a year, but the notebook was already worn and tattered.
Each and every page was packed with advice and information for the students.
For this lecture, it was also the greatest treasure.
“Your traits, mind, body, and even your individual will and beliefs. I treated all of those situations as a single variable. And the process of training them so far is a different equation for each. Last semester, I presented you with dozens, hundreds of similar yet different equations.”
Ho-cheol flipped through the notebook quickly.
“I’ve found a training method that suits each and every one of you.”
If until now it had been a common training that benefited everyone, from now on, it meant that each individual would start a different method and form of training.
Of course, it would have been great if it had been like this from the beginning, but it was not an easy task even for Ho-cheol to find a training method that suited all of the more than 40 students.
“We’ll combine only the successful equations so far, fill in the missing parts, and gather the outstanding elements to create the most ideal form for you to become a great hero.”
The students who had barely stood up stealthily gathered around Ho-cheol.
It wasn't his usual advice, but they could feel instinctively that it was a more important content than he had thought.
“An ideal hero, and the ideal training for him.”
Someone stealthily raised their hand.
“Um, so what is that Golden Equation?”
“Why don’t you know?”
Ho-cheol looked at the students as if he genuinely couldn't understand.
But all the students who met his eyes just looked at him with a look that said they had no idea, just like the student who had asked the question.
Even Da-yeon and Ye-jin were the same.
Ho-cheol let out a faint sigh.
These guys, who are aspiring heroes.
Do I have to train their wits too?
They’ve completed their basics, and they’ll be training with their outstanding strengths and advantages as a focus.
He had explained it in such detail, and no one had noticed?
In the end, Ho-cheol had no choice but to say the embarrassing words himself.
He, who had always been so confident, was the first to avoid the students' gazes and said softly.
“We’re going to make a special move and test it.”
A very short silence followed.
“Ooh.”
“Uh uh uh.”
After a few foolish sounds from here and there.
“Woahhhhh!”
At the elation of learning something like a real hero academy for the first time, a shout erupted without anyone starting first.