The Regressed SSS-Rank Supporter Who Turned Dark - Chapter 37

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#Episode 37
To be honest, I felt a bit wronged.
I’d made a genuine effort in my own way, yet an incident had to break out on my very first day of enrollment.
Of course, since I hadn’t known the exact date from my perspective, I couldn’t really complain.
‘There’s no helping it.’
What’s done is done.
Hypotheticals about what could have been are meaningless.
For now, I needed to focus on the present situation—I could indulge in such thoughts later.
“Bravo Team! Over here!”
Kim Sang-eung’s voice cut through the chaos.
I quickened my pace toward him.
“Listen up.”
Kim Sang-eung swept his gaze across us before speaking.
“This is not a drill. This is a real situation. So everyone needs to stay sharp and focused. Understood?”
“Yes, sir!”
“I’ll brief you quickly. A large-scale dungeon break has occurred three kilometers to the west, and the tidal conditions have cut off vehicle access for evacuation transport.”
Jebu Island was unique—its roads were submerged or exposed depending on the tides.
With the tides currently blocking passage, vehicular escape was impossible.
“However, don’t worry too much. Transport aircraft and helicopters from the Defense Strategy Department should arrive within thirty minutes at the earliest, or an hour at the latest, so there’s no need to panic.”
That was welcome news to hear.
With aerial assets being deployed, escape wouldn’t be particularly difficult.
‘At least it won’t be completely ineffective.’
Though the timing was unfortunate, thanks to Minister Lim’s decisive action, I could reasonably expect a faster response—every second counted.
“But sir, do we have a mission too?”
Ra Si-hyun asked Kim Sang-eung.
“Of course you do.”
“But we’re trainees, not official Hunters?”
“Trainee status or not, as Awakened individuals, you hold Hunter status.”
“What?!”
“Did you expect special treatment?”
“Isn’t that obvious? We’re the most important trainees here, aren’t we?”
I couldn’t let this slide any longer.
“Drop it.”
“Excuse me?”
“You’re sitting this one out.”
“What do you mean?”
“You call yourself a mage and expect special treatment—forget it. Just hide among the civilians over there and evacuate safely.”
I gestured toward the doctors, janitors, administrative officials, and cooks scattered about.
“That’s not what I meant. We nobles are….”
Crack!
With a sharp sound, Ra Si-hyun’s head snapped around.
“So that’s what happens when you push it.”
Kim Seung-hye growled.
“…!”
We were startled.
Kim Seung-hye, who had seemed so timid until now, was revealing a murderous rage toward Ra Si-hyun.
“Where do you get off spouting nonsense about nobility, you disrespectful brat? What are you? Some kind of princess?”
Ra Si-hyun didn’t take it lying down.
“Did you just hit me?”
Ra Si-hyun’s eyes narrowed to slits as she glared at Kim Seung-hye.
Shhhhh!
Ra Si-hyun’s eyes darkened with ether.
“You think I’ll go easy on you because you’re older? How dare a Guardian presume to strike a Mage.”
Crack!
Kim Seung-hye silently backhanded Ra Si-hyun across the face.
“So you’re
Crack!
a Mage,
Crack!
is that it?
Crack!
Should I treat you
Crack!
as my master?”
Crack!
Ra Si-hyun was helpless before Kim Seung-hye’s overwhelming violence.
The destructive force behind Kim Seung-hye’s palm strikes was far more powerful than expected, and she couldn’t withstand it.
“Enough.”
Instructor Kim Sang-eung stepped in.
“Yes, Instructor.”
Kim Seung-hye withdrew without complaint.
The way she showed no excitement suggested that wielding violence came naturally to her.
Right, of course.
‘No wonder she’s part of Bravo Team.’
I found myself nodding involuntarily.
“I’ll kill her… I’ll kill her….”
Ra Si-hyun, barely able to steady herself, snarled at Kim Seung-hye.
“Trainee Ra Si-hyun, do you lack the will to protect the nation and its civilians?”
Instructor Kim Sang-eung spoke to Ra Si-hyun in a low voice.
“Why should I have to…?”
Ra Si-hyun spoke with an expression of utter incomprehension.
“I awakened this talent myself… I was born superior to others… So why should I help anyone? No one has ever helped me or saved me…?”
Ra Si-hyun’s voice trembled with emotion as she spoke.
I sensed something like resentment in her words, but I had no interest in understanding it.
“…By your logic, then.”
Ra Si-hyun’s gaze turned toward me.
“Is it justified for those things that emerge over there to kill people and destroy the world? Because they’re stronger than humanity? They can trample on us as they please?”
“….”
As I pointed toward where the dimensional rift had opened, Ra Si-hyun bit her lip.
“If you want to be treated like nobility, then act like nobility.”
“Act like nobility…?”
“No one owes you special treatment just because you’re a mage. If you want to be treated like nobility, shouldn’t you first prove yourself worthy of that treatment through your actions?”
“That’s….”
“Forget it. I won’t trust you to watch my back.”
An incompetent ally is more dangerous than an enemy.
It was my long-held principle and an immutable truth.
“If you test my patience one more time….”
I deliberately left the threat unfinished.
There were limits to how much I’d tolerate a minor.
If necessary, I could kill.
If she threatened my life or my comrades’ lives.
Before I returned to the past.
I was a monster who killed my comrades and wouldn’t hesitate at humanity’s extinction for revenge.
* * *
We left Ra Si-hyun behind and moved under Kim Sang-eung’s command.
“Bravo Team and Alpha Team’s mission is to protect civilians and assist them in boarding when the transport arrives.”
Kim Sang-eung issued the mission briefing.
“From this moment on, do your utmost to protect the civilians and get them on the transport. Understood?”
“Yes, sir!”
It seemed like an appropriate assignment.
Bravo Team was composed of the most promising prospects from each class, so deploying them to the most critical and demanding civilian protection operation made sense.
“Please come this way! Move in an orderly fashion!”
At Kim Sang-eung’s call, civilians began to gather.
“We’re moving to the runway now! Everyone, please proceed calmly and follow the procedures!”
The civilians working at the Special Armed Forces Training Institute had been trained in evacuation procedures and protocols in case of dimensional rifts, so controlling the crowd was remarkably easy.
‘I should have paid more attention to the news back then.’
Having lost my father in the past, I’d been unable to focus on world events, and I regretted it now.
‘Still, the evacuation order came five minutes earlier than it would have, so at least I’ve gained that much time.’
Boom, crash!
A deafening explosion echoed from the distant west.
It seemed the Defense Force’s artillery barrage had commenced.
Soon, multi-launch rocket systems and missile strikes would follow.
“Remain calm! This is an attack from our allied forces to protect you! Transport aircraft, military personnel, and Hunters from the Defense Strategy Department will arrive shortly—stay composed!”
Kim Sang-eung’s voice rang out, meant to reassure the civilians.
But his expression was far from reassuring.
“Is it very serious?”
“Very.”
I approached quietly and asked; Kim Sang-eung answered in a low voice.
“You’ll see for yourself… the situation is dire.”
Kim Sang-eung showed me his tablet.
From far out at sea, countless dark shapes were swimming toward us at tremendous speed—there had to be tens of thousands of them.
Boom! Boom boom boom!
Despite our forces’ artillery and bombing runs, the enemy numbers weren’t diminishing at all.
“Still, air support is coming, so there’s no need to worry too much. Stay calm.”
“Yes.”
A green dot representing our transport aircraft was approaching rapidly on the tablet screen, so Kim Sang-eung’s words seemed justified—there was little reason for excessive concern.
Whoooooosh!
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat!
From the eastern sky came the sonic boom of fighter jets, accompanied by the rotor sounds of transport aircraft and various helicopters.
Whiiiiiing!
The sound of attack drones approaching was also audible.
“Shrieeeeeek!”
“Shriek!”
Gargoyles descended from the west in a massive black swarm.
There seemed to be nearly thousands of them, making an aerial melee unavoidable.
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!
Boom, crash!
Aerial combat erupted.
Thud!
Gargoyle corpses, shell casings from our helicopters’ machine guns, and fragments of destroyed drones rained down overhead in a cascade.
Whiiiiiii!
Crash!
One of our helicopters plummeted, creating a massive explosion.
Whirrrrrk!
A rotor blade fragment from the downed helicopter flew toward me like a colossal boomerang.
Screeeech!
I reflexively swung [Maniac’s Butcher].
Thunk, thwack!
The rotor fragment, now split in two, embedded itself on either side of me into the asphalt.
There was no time to be shocked.
“Kyaaaaaaah!”
Multiple gargoyles descended upon me.
“Eun-sung!”
“I’ve got this!”
I shouted back to Instructor Kim Sang-eung’s cry, swinging the Madman’s Butcher with frenzied abandon.
Boom! Crash!
“Kyaaaah!”
Clang!
“Aaaaaaaah!”
Chaos reigned supreme.
Cacophonies erupted everywhere—things shattering, creatures dying, lives being taken.
Yet paradoxically, my inner world operated in complete opposition to the external carnage.
‘Peaceful.’
Ironically, the chaos of combat granted me not fear, but inner tranquility.
Perhaps it was because I’d grown so accustomed to such circumstances that they’d become second nature.
Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump!
The Chinook helicopter, colloquially called the “rubber shoe,” descended.
Rat-a-tat! Rat-a-tat-tat!
The Chinook’s hatch opened, and soldiers poured out, unleashing gunfire upon the monsters.
“This way!”
“Move calmly, please!”
Hunters from the Defense Strategy Department cleared a path for civilians to board the Chinook.
Our Bravo Team assisted them, helping civilians climb aboard.
But once the civilians were loaded, there was no room left for us.
“Kyaaaaaaah!”
“Kehehehehk!”
With the gargoyles’ assault continuing relentlessly, someone had to remain behind to provide cover so the Chinook could escape safely.
Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump!
Another Chinook approached in the distance.
“We’ll extract next! First, we help the civilians get out!”
“Yes!”
Following Instructor Kim Sang-eung’s orders, we assisted the soldiers and Hunters from the Defense Strategy Department in covering the Chinook carrying civilians as it escaped the battlefield.
The moment the civilian-laden Chinook cleared the site safely, our extraction helicopter descended.
The problem was that unlike the civilians, we had no supporting forces to cover us.
“Come on, get in quick!”
“We can’t take off like this!”
The Hunters and soldiers from the Defense Strategy Department fought valiantly, but the sheer number of incoming gargoyles made takeoff seem impossible.
‘This doesn’t look good.’
The thought flashed through my mind.
Whoooosh!
A powerful surge of ether vibrated through the surrounding area.
“Kyaaaagh?!”
“Keheheck?!”
The gargoyles floated upward all at once, as if caught in a state of weightlessness.
Someone was blocking the Chinook’s hatch while releasing a torrent of powerful ether.
Long, natural hair dyed blonde.
It was Ra Si-hyun.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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