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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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Chapter 39
“Legally speaking, I took the first hit—so from here on out, it’s self-defense, right?”
As Dojun finished speaking, Shunike felt as though his entire body had frozen solid.
Why?
Hadn’t this Korean failed to even dodge his punch?
Shunike couldn’t comprehend it.
’What kind of pathetic nonsense is this? He’s below me! And I actually let that cheap bravado get to me?’
Confused by his own fear, Shunike’s eyes widened.
To shake off the stiffness creeping through him, he forced his fist forward again.
’I’ll crush his nose—scum like him could never dodge or block my attacks!’
He would smash through this worthless posturing with brute force.
Once his nose was shattered and his face covered in blood, he would have no choice but to face reality, crawling away to save himself.
Shunike’s eyes briefly flicked behind Dojun.
Hyun Jooyeon.
It was obvious. This punk was only acting cocky because he trusted that S-Rank hero.
Sure, Hyun Jooyeon was powerful—but behind Shunike stood Ryouma Takashi, an even greater hero with far superior strength.
Even if he flattened Dojun here and now, no one could complain.
Shunike’s punch tightened with that certainty.
It packed enough force to destroy a normal person’s face outright. Even a fellow hero, if they were C-Rank or below, would be putting their life at risk.
Seeing a punch so different from the sloppy one before, the Imperial guild members all curled cruel smiles at their lips.
Their anti-Korean hatred was deeper than anyone’s, and just imagining Dojun collapsing in a spray of blood from Shunike’s punch made them giddy.
But reality was neither so easy nor so sweet.
Thwack!
A short, powerful impact—and a body crumpled to the ground on the spot.
“……!”
“……!”
“……!”
One man stood tall and proud, while the other knelt, head bowed.
The stark contrast between the two left the Imperial guild members unable to believe their eyes.
“Sh-Shunike?”
“What the hell just happened?”
“Did anyone see that?”
It had happened so fast that no one properly registered what they saw.
No one—except for two people: Hyun Jooyeon and Ryouma Takashi.
And among them, Ryouma Takashi was the most shocked of all.
Dojun’s punch was several times faster than Shunike’s initial strike, and terrifyingly precise.
Shclick-Clack.
From Shunike’s mouth—as he knelt—blood dripped along with a cascade of white teeth hitting the ground.
Dojun’s punch had landed perfectly on target.
He had knocked out ten of Shunike’s upper and lower front teeth in one clean blow.
Just like that, Shunike’s entire front row of teeth was gone—and he was so stunned by the hit that his mind had gone blank.
Ignoring Shunike, Dojun turned his gaze behind him.
Shunike had never been his real target anyway.
Dojun’s eyes locked onto Ryouma Takashi.
But he wasn’t so impatient that he’d jump Ryouma right away.
He needed one more spark to set things off.
And he knew exactly who would play the role of that spark.
Tap.
Dojun lightly placed a hand on Shunike’s shoulder.
Even if Shunike was meant to be nothing more than bait, Dojun had willingly taken a hit to the face—he wasn’t about to settle things with just one punch.
The same shoulder that had struck his face earlier.
Dojun’s gaze was still locked on Ryouma Takashi.
Without changing that cold expression, he slowly tightened his grip.
Crack!
Shunike’s shoulder bone was crushed so thoroughly it would never heal, and his body convulsed violently before collapsing to the floor.
“Damn it!”
“You bastard!”
“That’s enough already!”
The Imperial guild members’ eyes went bloodshot at the brutality of Dojun’s move.
They looked ready to leap at him any moment, shouting harsh curses.
But just a simple gesture from Ryouma Takashi raising his hand brought them under control.
That alone was enough to reveal the relationship between Ryouma Takashi and the Imperial guild members.
“So it was you.”
Ryouma Takashi said, staring straight at Dojun.
When Dojun didn’t answer, Ryouma continued.
“I was wondering who the new S-Rank hero in Korea was. Turns out it was you—Seo Dojun, wasn’t it?”
“I doubt you’ll live very long. You’re too slow on the uptake.”
Dojun replied.
Ryouma Takashi let out a dry chuckle.
“Do you know what I think whenever I see Koreans like you? Arrogant. So arrogant I can’t stand it—makes me want to kill you.”
Murderous intent began to pour off Ryouma Takashi like a tangible wave.
“Do you think just because you took down one of my men, you can look down on me?”
He cast aside Shunike—who had always groveled around him like a loyal dog—without a second thought.
Seeing that, Dojun’s eyes twisted in disgust.
In the world after its ruin, this was the type of human he despised most—the kind willing to discard allies or subordinates the moment they lost value.
In the past, when he’d had to fight for his life with comrades, that was something he could never forgive.
He didn’t even want to trade words any longer.
So he started walking directly toward Ryouma Takashi.
“Dojun!”
Hyun Jooyeon urgently grabbed at him to hold him back.
“I’ll take responsibility,”
Dojun’s firm tone made it clear—she couldn’t argue.
“Kukuku! Responsibility? You, of all people, talking about responsibility?”
“If you knew Korean, you should’ve spoken up sooner.”
Seeing that Ryouma Takashi understood his and Jooyeon’s words, Dojun frowned, annoyed he’d bothered speaking Japanese at all.
“From now on I’ll speak Korean… actually, never mind. You won’t have anything left to hear anyway.”
While Dojun spoke, Ryouma Takashi, who had been carefully watching his movement, sneered and grabbed the hilt of the sword at his waist.
Without the slightest warning, he drew.
A flash of light—a sword flying in a perfect straight line.
Ryouma Takashi’s famed Iaijutsu (Quick-Draw Sword Technique) was known not just in Japan but worldwide.
It was swift, simple, and powerful—so many monsters had died before they could even react.
It was proof that even if he verbally belittled Dojun, he wasn’t about to take him lightly.
“Look out—!”
Hyun Jooyeon reflexively shouted a warning—then fell silent.
Fshh!
That fearsome sword wave, strong enough to slice through an A-Rank monster in a single stroke, dissolved like mist in front of Dojun’s open palm.
“…!”
No one was more shocked than Ryouma Takashi himself.
“This is self-defense, too.”
Dojun’s chilling voice made Ryouma feel, for the first time, a shiver crawling up his spine.
The moment the words ended, Dojun’s shoulder twitched ever so slightly.
The distance between them was perfect for Iaijutsu—that was precisely why Ryouma had tried to capitalize on it with a sudden draw.
But from that same range, Dojun’s fist shot forward.
Smack!
Ryouma’s head snapped back violently, reeling.
A spray of blood burst into the air, along with white fragments that scattered like freshly popped popcorn.
“…Kgh!”
Ryouma staggered back, desperately covering his mouth.
Blood poured through his fingers in a steady stream—and a cold draft rushed through the gaps inside his mouth.
Just like Shunike before him, his teeth had been shattered.
’H-how…?’
Ryouma was horrified at the realization—his teeth had been knocked out by nothing but wind pressure.
The fact that he hadn’t even been able to react properly to the attack of a rookie hero who had just reached S-Rank was shocking.
’That bastard… he’s strong!’
Ryouma Takashi, recognized as one of the stronger heroes even among his peers, could tell.
The man standing before him was powerful enough to shatter everything he thought he knew.
And one more thing, Dojun was as relentless as he was overpowering.
Closing the distance in a single stride, Dojun grabbed Ryouma Takashi by the collar.
“Damn it!”
Once again, Ryouma couldn’t even resist before being snatched up.
He tried to pry Dojun’s hand away, but the force holding him was overwhelming, lifting Ryouma’s body clean off the ground.
Boom!
The world flipped upside down as Dojun hurled him with a devastating over-the-shoulder throw.
“Gahhh!”
A scream tore from Ryouma’s mouth as pain shot through his spine, like it might snap in two.
Staring at Ryouma’s contorted, agonized face, Dojun drove his fist down.
Smash! Crack! Slam! Smash! Crack! Slam!
Dojun’s fists pounded Ryouma’s face, chest, and stomach without mercy.
Faced with Dojun’s one-sided brutality that defied common sense, the Imperial guild members were frozen solid.
Their leader, Ryouma Takashi—the man they worshipped like a god and obeyed without question—was being beaten senseless, and not a single one of them could move.
They were crushed beneath the sheer force of Dojun’s ferocity.
“P-Please… S-Stop…”
Barely conscious, Ryouma pleaded in a deflated voice, begging him to stop.
For Ryouma, who had set out to hunt down this so-called rookie S-Rank hero, this was a nightmare he hadn’t even imagined.
“No.”
Dojun’s cold reply came as he slammed his fist down again.
Given how often Ryouma had insulted Korean heroes and spewed hateful garbage, even the Silken Lily Guild members couldn’t feel any sympathy.
But watching Dojun’s merciless assault was too much for some of them—they turned their heads away, unable to keep looking.
’We… We have to stop him!’
Jeong Injoo moved toward Dojun.
“D-Dojun, please, stop! You’re going to kill him at this rate!”
Killing Ryouma Takashi here wasn’t an option.
Worsening relations between Korea and Japan would be the least of the problems—Dojun’s reputation would crash and burn.
The heroes of the world would rage at Dojun’s actions and condemn him.
Jeong Injoo couldn’t let that happen.
A hero as powerful as Dojun should be someone the world admired, someone heroes everywhere respected.
If he killed Ryouma now, he’d just be seen as a brutal monster, not a hero to look up to—just someone to fear.
Of course, Dojun wasn’t the type to care about politics.
“Eh, I’ll just kill him.”
He just wanted to wipe Ryouma Takashi—and everything he represented—off the face of the earth.
Dojun’s fist sank once more into Ryouma’s ruined stomach.
Ryouma’s body could do nothing but twitch from the impact. Jeong Injoo was certain—just a few more hits, and Ryouma’s life would be over.
“Please! I’m begging you, stop!”
Jeong Injoo clung to Dojun’s arm.
Hyun Jooyeon also rushed in to stop him.
“Dojun, you don’t need to let someone like him drag you down! Please, stop this!”
Only when both of them were wrapped around him did Dojun finally halt his fists.
“Scum like him—you have to cut them down at the root. Otherwise, they’ll just crawl back up sooner or later.”
Dojun said it in Japanese, loud enough for the Imperial guild members to hear.
It was a warning.
A warning strong enough to feel like a threat to their lives.
“Hic!”
The Imperial guild members all dropped their gazes, unable to meet Dojun’s eyes, hiccupping in terror.
“They’ve learned their lesson today, I’m sure of it.”
Jeong Injoo’s voice was desperate, trying to defuse the situation.
“Hey! You all heard him! If you don’t want to die, answer him properly! Promise you’ll never crawl back up again!”
The Imperial guild members nodded frantically, not hesitating for a second.
And when Dojun still looked at them with disgust, they bowed so deep they were practically folded in half.
It was a gesture of absolute submission.
After all, Ryouma Takashi—their “God”—had been beaten bloody without even landing a blow. There was no room left for anti-Korean sentiment. All they felt now was fear of Dojun.
And this… this was their true nature.
Cowardly before the strong, cruel to the weak.
“See? From now on, they’ll bow whenever they see you. So let’s stop here, okay?”
Jeong Injoo’s effort to mediate was admirable, and faced with the sight of these wretches without a shred of defiance, even Dojun lost interest.
“If they try to crawl back up again, then…”
Dojun let his words trail off—but that was enough.
From now on, the Imperial guild members would freeze at even the sight of Dojun’s shadow.
That’s how deeply he had seared terror into them.
And just to top it off—
“Whose land is Dokdo?”
“Of course, Korea’s!”
“And Tsushima?”
“Korea’s too…!”
Their faces flushed red as they answered, and the Silken Lily guild members who understood Japanese couldn’t help but stifle their laughter.
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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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