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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: The Education of Meteel
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The Association-owned hospital, also known as the Healing Center.
It was there that Meteel, an American S-rank hero, had spent a week recovering.
In the temporary office set up for her within the Association, she was constantly seething with rage.
"Fucking... Piece of bullshit!"
Her body had fully recovered after several days of treatment, but the scratch on her pride remained untreatable.
"I lost to a mere A-rank... me...?"
Meteel then tore at her glossy gray hair on the desk, muttering to herself.
She couldn't accept that she had lost to an A-rank whom she had secretly—no, openly—disregarded.
Of course, the villain who ambushed her was supposedly S-rank, but how strong could a villain below A-rank possibly be?
Moreover, looking at the photo of the villain called Moonlight Shaman, who fired that beam, was embarrassing. She couldn't believe she had lost to some girl who looked 20 centimeters shorter than her.
"Right..."
Clutching her head in immense mental shock, she finally came to a conclusion.
She had merely... let her guard down and lost.
If she hadn't let her guard down, there was no way she would have lost to such pathetic nobodies.
What? They're strong? Nonsense. Compared to the enemies she had fought so far, they were nothing. It was simply because she had been careless.
"Shit..."
She cursed in English, then irritably scrolled through her social media.
Just as she was trying to find some peace of mind, she heard a voice.
'...Why are you acting up, you mere supporter?'
"Fuck!"
Every time that bastard's words echoed in her head, she was filled with rage.
You, an A-rank, dared to say that after winning cowardly with a sneak attack?
She vowed to tear him apart the next time they met, her eyes blazing with renewed determination.
Right. If she hadn't let her guard down and just used *that* technique, she could have won. Anyway, Ego Stream or whatever, once they get hit by one of her S-rank hero meteor strikes, everyone would realize the difference in power.
They were mere A-ranks; she was an S-rank.
She wouldn't be caught off guard twice.
Still in a state of denial and clinging to those thoughts, she then composed an angry post on her social media.
The content of the post she uploaded in English on her Instagram was, roughly, an insult to Egoistic. It claimed that Korea's Egoistic was a weak and despicable villain, and that she would absolutely pulverize him next time.
After writing that, the anger flared up again.
What? She was worse than an A-rank hero?
Every single word of his became a trigger for her, and she was once again consumed by rage and vengefulness upon recalling his words, barely managing to calm herself down.
Right, Meteel. Calm down, calm down.
She'd get her revenge next time, next time.
...Let's just go outside, for now.
Opening the door and stepping out, she walked down the Association's corridor, and as she turned the corner, she came face to face with...
"..."
"..."
Korea's A-rank hero, Stardus.
***
Stardus, Shin Haru.
Lately, her mood hadn't been bad.
"Heh..."
" '[Oh, they talked such a big game, calling themselves S-rank and all, so I thought they were incredibly strong.]' "
" '[They're just much, *pfft*, weaker than my hero, Stardus, aren't they?]' "
Of course, it was heartbreaking that the S-rank hero dispatched from America had been brutally defeated by Egoistic this time...
Well, truthfully, it was a result she had already anticipated, so she wasn't particularly shocked. Right. If even she, an Egoistic expert, couldn't catch him, what other hero could possibly apprehend him?
Indeed, the only hero who could fight him, who could truly stand against him, was Stardus herself.
...And, well. It seemed Egoistic thought so too.
'....Actually, come to think of it.'
From the very beginning, Egoistic had always said that Stardus herself was his true opponent. Whether it was when he said she would complete him during that old airplane incident, or how he mentioned Stardus every single time...
And seeing that he overtly mentioned Stardus this time too...
"Heh, heh."
Unaware that the corner of her mouth had slightly curled up, Shin Haru quietly thought to herself.
...Right. Egoistic. A dangerous villain who manipulated and terrorized South Korea all by himself. And at the same time, a man with countless secrets, who occasionally made her misunderstand things.
The only one who could catch him, Egoistic, was herself.
Certainly not that strange S-rank hero.
"....."
Meteel.
As she recalled her, Shin Haru's expression naturally hardened.
Truthfully, she hadn't liked her from the start. They were already handling things perfectly well themselves, so why send an unrequested hero out of the blue? Especially when they hadn't sent anyone even when requested before.
And when she met Meteel in person, that feeling grew even stronger.
Her utterly arrogant demeanor, her apparent lack of seriousness about hero work. Plus, her outright criticism and disparagement of Egoistic, despite knowing nothing about him.
Shin Haru, who was already in a bad mood because Egoistic hadn't appeared recently, found Meteel's first impression to be extremely poor.
And then, after claiming she could easily defeat 'mere' Egoistic, she returned brutally defeated.
Of course, a hero being defeated by a villain was a regrettable matter, and a victory would naturally have been a good thing. But ultimately, Meteel had lost to Egoistic.
Setting all that aside, Meteel's reckless charge without considering the safety of hostages was shocking to Haru. It was fortunate that, by chance or not, there were no people inside the building he had taken hostages in. If there had been...
"Sigh..."
Shin Haru, thinking such thoughts, naturally went to Egoistic's fan cafe.
Lately, there had been many discussions about Stardus herself, and Haru secretly enjoyed reading the posts, pretending not to.
One post caught her eye.
" '[Just translated Meteel's latest Instagram post lololol]' "
'...What is this?'
Shin Haru's expression, as she entered the post out of curiosity, naturally hardened.
The content was that Meteel was still in denial, disrespecting and cursing Egoistic. And on top of that, baseless confidence that there would be no surprises next time.
'....Haa.'
Shin Haru felt a throbbing in her head and stood up with a sigh.
Her favorable impression of Meteel had plummeted even further.
Well, one way or another, Meteel was still within the Association, so she'd probably insist on participating in the next terror incident too.
...Though, it didn't seem like she could win next time either.
As she thought such thoughts, she stepped outside.
And just then, in the corridor, she came face to face with Meteel.
"..."
"..."
Meteel was of similar height to her, with sharp eyes.
Seeing her look utterly sulky, Shin Haru simply gave a small nod in greeting. Well, she didn't really have anything to say, nor did she want to get involved with her.
However, it was simply laughable that Meteel, who had so arrogantly disregarded Egoistic and acted like she owned the place at the Association, was still in denial and acting like this even after her brutal defeat.
Unconsciously, a small smirk played on Haru's lips as she walked past Meteel.
Meteel, who noticed it with extreme perceptiveness, ground her teeth in fury from behind.
"....Fuck, fuck."
Now even an A-rank hero dared to disrespect her?
Meteel's immense pride was wounded greatly once again.
...The only solution, the only way to turn the situation around, was for her to utterly crush that Egoistic bastard next time.
Right. If she just eliminated him completely, no one would be able to disrespect her anymore.
And when that happened, she'd get rid of that woman, Stardus or whatever she was called, who had mocked her.
Thus, Meteel lost her reason, consumed by rage, and awaited only revenge.
A few days later.
Egoistic's broadcast turned on.
" '[Yes! Hello everyone. This is Egoistic!]' "
" '[I'm currently at an abandoned factory complex. Well, without further ado, let's get straight to the point.]' "
" '[Ms. Meteel, the self-proclaimed S-rank hero from America, if you want to catch me, come on over.]' "
" '[Well, I'll give you plenty of time. You seemed quite scared after your brutal defeat last time, so I should give you enough time to prepare, right? Hahahaha! Take your time, I'll be waiting.]' "
With his smug smile, Egoistic's blatant provocation was broadcast nationwide.
And naturally, upon seeing this, Meteel immediately saw red.
"I'm leaving."
" 'No, wait, Ms. Meteel! Before you go, we should have one more briefing...' "
"Fuck You!"
Thus, Meteel, already enraged and having fallen for the provocation, flew off on a rock.
Shin Haru quietly watched her go.
***
Outskirts of Seoul.
Abandoned factory complex.
" '[Oppa, do you really think she'll come?]' "
At Seo Eun's words, which reached my ears, I chuckled and replied.
" 'Of course she'll come. Don't worry.' "
" '[No... but it seems too obviously like a trap.]' "
True, I hadn't taken any hostages. I wasn't even committing an act of terror. Just calling a single hero to some secluded abandoned factory complex *was* a bit strange.
But, according to Lee Seol-ah... no, just thinking about her from what I've seen. She'll probably come.
The kid... seems a bit stupid, you see...
As I waited for Meteel, I reviewed the things I had prepared inside the factory once more.
Various devices Seo Eun had set up in advance, the magic circle Silver Moon had laid beneath the floor. Death Knight, contained within the ring.
And even Electra and Mist, waiting in the back, their abilities buffed by Ha Yul.
In short, everything was prepared to deal with just one rampaging hero who acted as she pleased.
This was a stage prepared specifically for the reckless Meteel. I even turned off the cameras to focus entirely on dealing with her.
By the end of today, Meteel would be returning to America.
Hmm... very 'nicely behaved'.
As I was thinking that.
With a *CRASH*—the sound of something shattering—the factory door burst open.
Then, seeing the figure shrouded in shadow, I found myself grinning.
Alright.
It's time for a lesson.