Academy’s Villain Professor-Chapter 196 : Chapter 196

Chapter 196: The Plan (2)
Ho-cheol, with one step back, watched the battle.
“Not bad.”
He nodded his head.
An overwhelming numerical disadvantage of 4 to 1, and on top of that, himself as a burden.
The situation itself was harsh for Ha-rin, but she was holding her own.
If her combat power had been at the level of the students he was in charge of, he would have been quite disappointed, but it seemed she hadn't aged for nothing.
Unlike the relaxed Ho-cheol, Ha-rin was having a hard time.
Peopeopeopeong—
The moment she punched a villain in the stomach, a strong explosion erupted.
A Trait related to explosions, just like the dean's.
However, unlike the dean, who turned objects he touched into bombs, there was a difference in that she could cause explosions from her entire body.
“Why are you picking on me! Do you know who I am!”
“I do.”
The villain, who had been pushed back by the force of the explosion, said shortly.
“But that doesn't change the fact that you're going to die.”
Of course, their clear target was Ho-cheol.
But it was a basic rule to also deal with the person with him to leave no witnesses or evidence.
In fact, they had been waiting for a better opportunity, but Ha-rin showed no sign of leaving.
If they wasted more time here, Ho-cheol would reach his organization, and it would be more difficult to deal with him.
Especially since, according to their information, Ho-cheol's combat power was not significant, but there was a widespread rumor that another villain who faithfully followed his commands had a strength of a top-tier A-rank.
“But if you’re quiet, there will be no pain.”
His fingertips became as sharp as a knife.
“Bullshit! It’ll hurt like hell when you die at my hands!”
Ha-rin swung her hand at the villains who were attacking from four directions again.
They once again engaged in a fierce battle.
Meanwhile, Ho-cheol was out of their interest.
For Ha-rin, Ho-cheol was an important piece for her revenge.
Although she had tried to protect him as much as possible, surprisingly, the villains had paid no attention to him.
In the first place, since he was a villain with almost no combat power, they probably thought it would be over once they dealt with Ha-rin.
Thanks to that, Ho-cheol was able to confirm Ha-rin's skills without any trouble.
“As expected, not bad.”
Of course, compared to the students he had taught at Clington, her basics were not very solid, which he could see from time to time.
She would make a mistake that she should never have made very occasionally, but it felt like she was somehow covering that opening with the output of her Trait and the experience she had accumulated.
There was plenty of room for her to become even stronger.
Was she an unrefined, rough jewel?
Of course, since she was not a student, and her goal of strength was revenge, he had no intention of teaching her.
Kung—
One of the four villains collapsed.
At the same time, the expressions of the villain and Ha-rin crumpled.
For Ha-rin, she had fought tooth and nail for nearly 5 minutes and had only managed to take down one of the four.
And her Trait and stamina were already at their limit.
All she could do now was to hide her trembling legs.
On the other hand, the villains had thought they would have finished everything in 5 minutes and would be cleaning up by now, but the time was still dragging on.
And Ha-rin's capabilities had far exceeded their expectations.
If anyone else were to fall here, it would be a huge loss for the team as well.
“There’s no choice.”
The villain who seemed to be their leader pressed the watch on his wrist.
And then.
The subordinates who had been spread out to prevent the intervention of outsiders rushed in.
He had even made the decision to take a risk for a quick success, not a stable one.
There would be no failure now.
And seeing the additional villains who had rushed in, Ha-rin's expression turned black.
It had been hard enough with four.
And now eight.
Even if their level was lower than the previous four, if they were to blatantly gang up on her like that, she would have no way of holding on.
For a moment, she even considered abandoning Ho-cheol and running.
But in the end, she grabbed him by the collar and pulled him right behind her.
“Hey, stick right behind me!”
She raised both her arms.
One big one.
Never mind the surrounding damage, I have to live first.
“Let’s see you block this too!”
Ha-rin couldn't see it, but Ho-cheol, who was now stuck right behind her, his eyes widened in surprise for a moment.
Then he smiled lightly.
This was a bit of a surprise.
I had thought she would abandon me and run, of course.
It seems she's not completely crazy with revenge.
In fact, if she had been seriously injured and had to retire while running away, she would have had to give up on her revenge and go home quietly.
He had had such a thought.
Ho-cheol nodded his head.
“Well. Not abandoning me is a pass.”
If she had been even a little tainted by villainy, she would have chosen the most efficient and convenient method of abandoning Ho-cheol.
Whether that was through some calculation, or if her heart had simply been moved by a simple kindness, that essence was not important.
That choice was definitely to protect Ho-cheol.
Because it was.
If the other side was risking their life to save him, he couldn't be so cold-hearted.
And he quite liked it.
“I’ll help you this time.”
Ho-cheol grabbed her wrist and pulled it down again.
The flustered Ha-rin shouted.
“You crazy bastard! What are you doing!”
He forcibly blocked her blow, and stood in front of her instead.
Not only Ha-rin, but also the 8 villains looked at Ho-cheol, who had come forward, with an expression of incomprehension.
Is he crazy?
“Ah, well. Don't be so surprised. Everyone has a trump card, right?”
Ho-cheol said, taking out a medicine bag from his pocket.
He tore open the bag and put three pills in his mouth.
The sudden participation of a non-combatant, and the suspicious medicine he was taking in front of them.
Seeing that, everyone came to one conclusion.
“St-stop him from swallowing it!”
But before they could rush in, Ho-cheol swallowed the medicine first.
He said softly, looking at the villains who were rushing at him.
“This stuff works great.”
He lightly clenched his fist and threw it.
***
Looking at the scattered villains, Ho-cheol tilted his head left and right.
“It’s a bit awkward to use my strength after a long time.”
“……Unbelievable.”
Ha-rin muttered blankly.
The villains whom she had barely managed to take down one of, but Ho-cheol had smashed the remaining 8 with great ease.
It had taken less than 30 seconds to take down the 8 of them.
Not 30 seconds per head, but 30 seconds for all of them.
Looking at Ho-cheol, Ha-rin asked.
“Is that because of that medicine just now?”
“Yes.”
Ho-cheol shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.
It was a misunderstanding, but for now, it was a welcome one.
In Ho-cheol's plan, he was not supposed to show his overwhelming combat power.
It wasn't for nothing that he had been taking Wolf Fang with him.
In the first place, if he had been appealing to his absurd strength so much, he would not have been able to enter and leave Hong Beom-do's hideout so easily.
The situation was possible only because he had instilled the image that his combat power was not at all threatening.
The strength to subdue five A-rank villains in an instant was more convenient to package as the effect of a drug in the future.
She asked again, unable to hide her displeased expression.
“What on earth did you take?”
“A trump card.”
Ho-cheol answered shortly.
Of course, it was a lie.
The medicine he had just swallowed was just a medicine to help recover his overloaded Trait.
Although he hadn't received a clean bill of health from the hospital yet, Ho-cheol could feel it instinctively.
To express his current recovery state as a number, it was over 99%.
No, it would not be an exaggeration to say it was 99.99%.
The only reason he couldn't be sure if this was perfect was…
“Hmm. Not bad.”
Because he had never been in such a good condition before.
Since he had never experienced 100%, he couldn't tell if this was perfect or not.
But it was a completeness he had never felt before.
Ha-rin, who had been staring blankly at Ho-cheol and the fallen villains, belatedly came to her senses.
She hurriedly grabbed Ho-cheol's arm.
Her eyes were glistening with greed and anticipation.
“Th-that medicine! Where did you buy it, by any chance!”
The neighborhood pharmacy.
Swallowing the answer that was on the tip of his tongue, Ho-cheol shook his head.
“Others won't get such an effect even if they take it.”
Ha-rin relaxed her hand as if disappointed.
In fact, there were many stimulant boosters that were custom-made for an individual's Trait.
If it were that kind of medicine, even if she were to take the same medicine as Ho-cheol, Ha-rin's strength would not have increased dramatically.
Ho-cheol scratched the back of his head.
“By the way, you, for someone who’s grinding their teeth to get revenge, you’re quite disappointing.”
It was a treatment that was the complete opposite of his earlier evaluation.
“You’re going to get revenge on Hong Beom-do with just a level a little stronger than an A-rank?”
His evaluation was ‘not bad,’ but that was when he was using the general heroes and villains of society as a standard.
He was just stronger than a mediocre A-rank.
The target of her revenge was none other than the S-rank No. 1 villain, Hong Beom-do.
Although Hong Beom-do was not the strongest among the villains, he was not at all lacking to be called an S-rank.
Her skills would not even leave a scratch on him.
“If your plan for revenge is to just chant a prayer next to him until he dies of old age, I don't really recommend it.”
Of course, he had heard her revenge plan before, but it was so low-level that it wasn't that different from what he had just said. Would her growth rate be enough to reach Hong Beom-do within a year?
No matter how he looked at it, that was difficult.
Ho-cheol expressed her situation shortly.
“Your revenge is like hitting a rock with an egg.”
“That’s why I’m trying. And even if I were to fail…”
Ha-rin looked up at the distant sky with a determined expression.
“The whole world will know. That there was an egg that was smashed after hitting a rock.”
“Is that the best you can do?”
Ho-cheol let out a sigh as if it was pathetic.
It would be a problem if she were to just recklessly attack Hong Beom-do with that kind of trashy mindset.
“A realistically possible revenge, an ideally possible revenge. Aim for a point where both are just barely possible. Don't stop thinking. Is that all your best revenge is?”
Towards the silent Ha-rin, Ho-cheol added.
“Wait. The opportunity will surely come.”
Originally, according to his promise with the dean, he had been planning to create a situation where Ha-rin could not get her revenge at all, regardless of what she was thinking.
But she had risked her life to protect the useless him at the most important moment.
I'm sorry to the dean, but my heart has leaned a little in this direction.
***
Ho-cheol silently glared at the chair in front of him.
Then he suddenly kicked the chair.
Kwajangchang—
The chair flew and collided with the display case next to it, and all the glass shattered.
“I don’t even feel like sitting down.”
He turned his body and crossed his arms.
Originally, unless the opponent was a villain, he had always shown a minimum of courtesy, but this time, it was difficult to even show that minimum.
Honestly, he was so angry that he was surprised at himself for holding back this much.
He glared at the head of the Legal Department, who was sitting across a desk from him.
The Legal Department of the Hero Association.
The reason Ho-cheol had come here, setting aside all his other schedules, was simple.
“A hero. Collaborating with a villain. To get a share of the achievements. What do you think I feel, seeing that with my own two eyes.”
The head of the Legal Department could not answer.
Although he had been caught in the Association's shameful acts several times so far, most of them had been committed by the Association's executives, not heroes.
And the target had mostly been Ho-cheol, an ex-villain.
At the very least, there was plenty of room for an excuse.
But not this time.
It had been clearly committed by a hero, and the victim was an ordinary citizen.
Ho-cheol spread his three fingers, from his thumb to his middle finger.
He folded his thumb first.
“My patience has really grown. If it had been just a month ago, I would have twisted the neck of that hero whose face I don't even know.”
Next, he folded his index finger.
“If it had been three months ago, I would have come straight here and twisted your neck and the other Association executives'.”
Before long, only the middle finger was left, standing tall.
He pointed at the head with his middle finger.
“If it had been right after my release, instead of playing a fake villain like now, I would have really switched to being a villain. To the point where the me of 10 years ago would look like a cute little joke.”
That's how much the sense of betrayal Ho-cheol felt was beyond imagination.
In fact, at that moment, he had managed to let his emotions go and had even thought of using it.
A small number of heroes who had abused the system itself.
That's what he had thought.
But after looking into it a little more later, it was not something that could be simply passed over.
“They’ve been doing that kind of shit systematically.”
His estimate was that the number of people who had colluded with villains and created fake achievements was more than twice as many.
Except for the situation where he had kicked the chair at the beginning, he did not feel his usual intimidating atmosphere or anger.
In fact, his voice was so calm that no emotion could be felt.
The head of the Legal Department's lips parted.
“I had heard that there were such rumors.”
Before he could make an excuse, Ho-cheol cut him off.
“That’s enough. I’ll just get angrier if I hear it. So, the list of guys who are likely to commit large-scale crimes?”
The head of the Legal Department took out a file folder from his desk drawer and held it out to Ho-cheol.
Among the villains, there were many who enjoyed the crime itself more than just the profit.
Since the guys who committed crimes for pleasure would not be swayed by conversation or negotiation, the Association had made a list of them and was watching them.
“There are quite a few.”
Ho-cheol checked the contents of the document.
He hadn't just come to argue with the head.
“I’m going to handle this matter on my own, in my own way.”
Although he had handled most things on his own until now, he had at least tried to maintain a solution that the Association or Clington could accept.
But not this time.
Ho-cheol's way.
It was also the way of the most terrible villain in this country, who had disappeared more than 10 years ago.
The head wanted to stop him, but he couldn't bring himself to open his mouth.
Instead, he asked, to get at least some information.
“What on earth are you planning to do?”
As he checked the list, Ho-cheol muttered softly.
“If villains are fighting among themselves, they won’t have the leisure to mess with the citizens.”
The rats that were eating away at society.
There was no need to find and catch them one by one.
For such things, another large beast was perfect.
“You have to make them cry so loudly for a tiger to go after the rats.”
The head swallowed and asked.
“Don’t tell me you’re planning to use Hong Beom-do?”
“What are you talking about? He’s just a rat too.”
The very bottom of the list.
Looking at the last name that had been newly added, Ho-cheol scoffed.
“He hasn’t been seen much lately. Should I try to draw him out?”
He folded the list in half.
Since it wasn't folded perfectly in half, the bottom part of the list stuck out.
And the name that remained there was.
Eclipse.
He was also the only ferocious beast that Ho-cheol acknowledged.