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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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Chapter 21
BEEEEEEP—!
“…It really doesn’t seem to be working.”
“Is it broken?”
“No, sir.”
“That can’t be right… Just in case, try another machine. Actually, scrap that—use a brand-new one. Measure him again.”
“…Understood.”
Barely hiding his irritation, the male technician bustled around to comply.
But the result was exactly the same.
The new machine gave the same reading—it confirmed that Dojun’s body was no different from an ordinary person’s.
“What the hell is this bullshit? You didn’t even test him properly. Forget it, just pack it all up.”
Prosecutor Park Cheol-yong yelled, exasperated.
The technician, cursing silently with his expression, began dismantling the hero-detection device.
“…He’s really not a hero?”
No hero had ever gone undetected by that machine. Even as he voiced the doubt, Park Cheol-yong felt like an idiot for saying it.
Dojun, for his part, just sat there silently, unmoved.
“…What the hell am I even saying? Forget it. Hey, Seo Dojun—do you get what kind of crap you’ve pulled? Just what’s listed here is enough to land you at least ten years in prison. You’re looking at spending your whole damn youth behind bars!”
Even with Prosecutor Park’s words veering into threats, Dojun didn’t so much as blink.
“This little bastard… You think I’m bluffing? You see this?”
He slammed a thick file down onto the table.
“I’ve already dug up enough evidence to convict your ass through Hwang Chang-seop!”
SLAM!
The heavy file landed with a thud, as Prosecutor Park tried to intimidate him.
“…This was Hong Hee-joo’s doing, wasn’t it?”
“…What?”
Park Cheol-yong hesitated for a beat—clear as day.
Anyone could see he was startled. Even his voice wavered slightly in shock.
Unconsciously, he glanced over at the interrogation room’s CCTV camera.
“Who? Hong Hee-joo? Who the hell is that?”
Too late. He furrowed his brow and pretended not to know. But Dojun already knew everything.
⋯⋯⋯
“I'm sorry… Hong Hee-joo… that bitch… (Sigh)! We were completely set up. She planned this from the start. Turns out she coordinated the whole thing—lined everything up with the lead prosecutor, even the evidence. There’s no way to dig ourselves out of this.”
⋯⋯⋯
That’s what Manager Kim Eon-gu had said when he came to see him.
They’d been totally screwed. The evidence was airtight.
Hwang Chang-seop had no choice but to take the prison sentence.
HCS Capital was being gutted by a brutal tax audit.
The company was pretty much finished.
The prosecution and the tax office had carried out a perfect joint operation.
And now, even the local gangs were getting stirred up.
Manager Kim confessed the organization was hanging by a thread.
Hong Hee-joo hadn’t just pulled the strings of law enforcement—She'd even mobilized the thugs.
Dojun stared quietly at Prosecutor Park, remembering the seething face of Manager Kim Eon-gu, who’d gritted his teeth every time he spoke that name.
“You know... I always heard the rumors. But seeing you up close?”
“What the hell are you getting at?”
“Now I get why they call prosecutors in this country dogs in suits.”
“You son of a bitch! You dare insult a Korean prosecutor?!”
Prosecutor Park’s face turned beet red. He raised the file, ready to smack Dojun across the head.
But then—
‘…Th-Those eyes…’
Dojun’s cold, razor-sharp gaze stopped him in his tracks.
He couldn’t bring himself to strike.
But he couldn’t show fear either.
So he slapped the table again, as if that’s what he intended all along, and shouted—
“I don’t know what you think you know—but it’s over for you. And I’ll make sure of that. Ten years? Don’t make me laugh. Trash like you? I’ll bury you so deep, society forgets you ever existed. You’ll see what a real prosecutor can do. You’re finished, you piece of shit!”
And with that, Park Cheol-yong stormed out of the interrogation room.
Left alone, Dojun let out a snort of laughter at the sight of the barking dog tucking its tail between its legs and running off.
But the smile vanished quickly.
“There’s only so much a man can endure…”
He’d been trying to hold back—for the sake of his grandmother and Eunyeong.
But his limit was fast approaching.
Truth be told, if Dojun wanted to, he had the power to turn the entire country upside down.
If things hit rock bottom, he was prepared to do just that.
They’d framed him—fabricated crimes out of thin air.
As things stood, brute force was the only way out.
“So this is how you want to play it, Hong Hee-joo?”
He didn’t yell. He didn’t raise his voice.
But every word hit like a loaded gun.
Calm.
Steady.
Final.
＊ ＊ ＊
Just as Dojun’s patience was plummeting toward rock bottom—
“What are you doing here?”
It was Hyun Jooyeon.
“I wish I knew.”
Dojun replied, his voice sharp with an unmistakable chill.
Jooyeon immediately picked up on the tension. She could tell just how dangerous things were getting.
“Whatever you’re thinking… don’t do it. I get how absurd your situation is, but that doesn’t mean you need to resort to violence.”
From her tone, Dojun could tell she hadn’t come just to check in—she was here with intent.
“So you’re here to help me?”
“Because I know you didn’t do anything wrong. If I didn’t know, that’d be one thing—but now that I do, I can’t ignore someone getting framed for nothing.”
She leaned in slightly, her voice dropping to a near whisper.
“But… your status as Dark Knight could still be handled according to the law. And there’s also the new Rift that appeared at your place in Mapo. That one’s a bit of a headache. The Hero Association might launch an investigation.”
On those points, Dojun had nothing to say.
She wasn’t wrong.
The Dark Knight identity was illegal.
And the Rift? That, too, was just something he had to deal with.
“What about my family? Are they safe?”
Jooyeon gave him a look—like, ’Seriously?’
“Okay, I think you’re confused about something. I’m not your secretary. Why would I be checking in on your family?”
But even as she threw the question back at him, Dojun just stared silently.
After a beat, Jooyeon let out a sigh and frowned.
“Don’t worry. They’re fine.”
Dojun gave a small nod, as if that’s exactly what he’d expected.
“You know, the least you could say is thank you.”
“Thanks.”
“…Wow. Real heartfelt.”
She muttered under her breath.
“Anyway, just wait a little longer. This will all get sorted out soon.”
As she stood up like the conversation was over, Dojun asked her—
“What do you want out of this?”
At first, he’d assumed she was helping him because of the Hero mana Stone. But was that really it?
Sure enough, Jooyeon responded like she’d been waiting for him to ask.
“I was worried you might not bring it up. Glad you did.”
“I don’t need anything right now. But if I ever end up in a mess like you are—just help me out. Once. That’s all I ask.”
“So you’re putting me in your debt.”
Jooyeon pouted slightly, like he was being overly dramatic.
“Can’t we just call it mutual support? You’re always so extra with your words. Anyway, no matter how pissed you are, just hold back a little. I’ll settle this as fast as I can.”
Seeing the sincerity in her eyes, Dojun gave a silent nod.
And just as Jooyeon had promised—the problem was resolved quickly.
But she didn’t do it by proving Dojun’s innocence.
Instead, she went straight for the source: Prosecutor Park Cheol-yong.
When clear evidence of bribery and case-fixing came to light, Park was arrested and indicted.
And as more illegal activity surfaced on top of the bribery charges, his dismissal from the prosecution was all but guaranteed.
Since the prosecutor in charge had pursued the case under outside influence, all charges against Dojun were effectively reset.
To be exact, a new prosecutor—assigned to replace Park Cheol-yong—reviewed the existing evidence and discovered multiple inconsistencies. It didn’t take long for him to determine that Dojun had no involvement in the incident.
However, Dojun couldn’t avoid punishment for using fake ID.
Still, since it was his first offense and he had no prior incidents on record, he was spared a prison sentence.
It also helped that Hyun Jooyeon had stepped in to actively advocate on his behalf—a contribution that couldn’t be dismissed.
“You’ve been through a lot.”
Dojun gave a dry chuckle as he looked at the white block of tofu being offered to him.
“Bit too much to just call it a bad-luck ritual, don’t you think?”
Jooyeon chuckled too, clearly aware how awkward the tofu-in-hand gesture was.
“The new prosecutor told me: if I hadn’t stepped in for you, things wouldn’t have ended here.”
“Is that your way of saying thanks?”
“I’ll make sure to repay the favor.”
“That’s all I ask. And about the new rift—like I mentioned before, the Hero Association’s planning to look into it quietly. If it goes public, the Association could take a hit too, so they’re moving cautiously. Not sure if you already know, but the Association isn’t so bad. It’s better to cooperate.”
“Yeah, I plan to.”
Dojun had no desire for media exposure either, so he intended to cooperate with the investigation as smoothly as possible.
“And stay away from anyone connected to Hwang Chang-seop. Though… their whole side is in chaos, so I doubt they even have the means to come after you now.”
As she drove, Jooyeon gave Dojun some advice here and there.
He stayed silent for a while, before finally speaking.
“What if I killed Hong Hee-joo?”
SCREECH!
“…What did you just say?”
Jooyeon slammed on the brakes, then turned to look at him.
Honking erupted from behind them, but she didn’t care.
“Tell me you’re not serious.”
“And if I am?”
“Are you insane? If you kill Hong Hee-joo, that makes you a murderer—no excuses. I get that you're angry, but that’s not the way. Under the Hero Special Law, you’d get extra charges, and with HER as the victim… you know how much your family would suffer, right?”
“Yeah. I know.”
Hong Hee-joo. Executive at T Group—one of Korea’s largest conglomerates—and heir to the group’s future leadership. Also the second daughter of the W Group, another top-ten chaebol.
Calling her a gold spoon was an understatement. She was a diamond spoon.
If someone like her were killed, the fallout would be immeasurable.
If the world had already gone to ruin, Dojun wouldn't even have said a word. He would’ve just found her and torn her limb from limb.
Which meant—even now—he had no real intention of going through with it.
He was angry. But not enough to become a murderer. Not enough to stain his sister Eunyeong’s life by turning her into a killer’s sister.
“Even if you’re furious, don’t let yourself go there. Right now, you’ve become a hero others look up to. Letting people like her drag you down—that’s just foolish. I know this is a cliche, but isn’t living well the best revenge?”
Dojun didn’t answer. He just turned his gaze toward the window.
A massive digital billboard was displaying news from the UK, where a monster wave had torn through nearby towns, leaving chaos in its wake.
Seeing where he was looking, Jooyeon quickly shifted the conversation.
“The UK situation is worse than expected. A completely new type of monster showed up—never seen before. From what I’ve heard, it’s powerful enough to be classified A-rank or higher. Even Britain and Europe’s top heroes are struggling. Things are bad enough that we’re preparing a large-scale deployment from Korea.”
“It’s a Mekkasian.”
Roughly 1.5 meters tall. A long head with four jet-black eyes. It swung four scythe-like limbs like arms. Each leap covered over ten meters in an instant.
It looked… like a praying mantis from hell.
“Wait, how do you…? Do you know that monster?”
Jooyeon stared at Dojun, eyes wide.
It had been ten years since the dimensional rifts began, and hundreds of monster types had been cataloged since.
The World Hero Association had even made a public monster database accessible online—just so civilians could at least recognize monsters by appearance or name.
But the creature now wreaking havoc in the UK had never been named publicly.
In fact, the name Mekkasian was classified at the highest level by the Association.
Even the news only referred to it as a “new monster.” No one had mentioned the name.
The only reason Jooyeon knew it was called a Mekkasian was because she was an S-rank hero.
So when Dojun named it instantly, her shock was only natural.
“A Mekkasian can be taken down using red fire ant extract.”
“Red fire ant… extract?”
“It’s harmless to humans, but incredibly neurotoxic to Mekkasians. The pure extract works best, but even if diluted and sprayed, it’ll stop them from rampaging like that.”
The explanation rolled off Dojun’s tongue effortlessly.
Jooyeon could only stare at him, speechless once again.
“…Just who are you, really?”
Her eyes were suspicious—like she was trying to put the pieces together.
But Dojun didn’t respond. He kept his eyes on the screen.
On the broadcast, the Mekkasian charged between four heroes—its scythes slashing wildly, spraying blood and flesh as it carved through everything in its path.
Crystal clear. Raw. Terrifying.
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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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