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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: Operation Metel
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The S-rank Hero Metel had personally come all the way to Korea to capture me.
The moment I heard that news, I immediately launched an investigation into Metel.
"Hmm..."
America's S-rank Hero, Metel.
A woman with long, grey hair, appearing cold and arrogant.
Her primary ability was summoning rocks.
[CRUMBLE!]
In the video showcasing her exploits, numerous gigantic, jagged rocks erupted from amidst the confronting villains, tearing them to shreds.
"Whew. She's tough."
After watching several other videos, I came to that conclusion.
She was strong. Very strong.
Well, she *is* an S-rank hero, so I suppose it's to be expected.
An S-rank hero.
With S-rank villains practically littering the landscape, you might wonder if there's much of a distinction, but not all S-ranks are created equal.
Generally, the Association is incredibly strict when assigning high ranks to heroes, but quite generous with villains, which makes an S-rank hero truly exceptional. Considering that A-rank heroes can usually defeat multiple A-rank villains and even contend with S-rank villains... you can roughly estimate how strong an S-rank hero must be. Especially when you consider how carefully and through how many evaluations an S-rank designation is granted to a hero.
American S-ranks, in particular, were rumored to be exceptionally strong, even among the multitude of S-rank heroes. Since there's no SSS-rank hero above S-rank, everyone who crosses a certain threshold is simply an S-rank. The consensus is that if an S+ rank existed, all American heroes would be at that level.
But setting all that aside.
This 'Metel' who's come to Korea, she just *looks* strong.
"Oppa... look at this."
It was an S-rank Hero Metel highlight reel available on YouTube.
In the video, Metel stood atop a forest, arms crossed, looking down.
Beneath her, villains rose up from the forest.
Above them.
[...Beneath the heavens, you shall all be judged.]
She spoke, standing imperiously with an arrogant gaze.
And at the same time.
[
C-R-R-R-R-U-U-U-M-M-M-B-L-E!
]
From the sky, a colossal chunk of rock. No, a meteor, fell.
The forest was utterly destroyed with a deafening roar. Villains were swept away without even a whimper.
"..."
"..."
Seo-eun, who had watched the horrific devastation with me, asked, sounding worried.
"...Oppa. Are you sure you can win this? She looks pretty unbeatable..."
Seo-eun sounded slightly uneasy.
Looking at her.
I let out a small chuckle.
"Even better."
"Huh?"
"There's no thrill in taking down a weak opponent."
After ruffling Seo-eun's hair, bewildered by my sudden surge of confidence, I stood up.
"Seo-eun, call the others. Let's go."
"Uh, go where?"
"Where else? To the strategy room."
We've got an S-rank hero to hunt, don't we?
***
In truth, there were many ways to deal with this hero, Metel.
After all, I have a reliable ally in Lee Seol-ah, so I could just find her location and launch a surprise attack, or I could even just lie low and conduct all my terroristic activities remotely.
But that's the move of a third-rate villain.
As a first-rate villain, I was already looking beyond the obvious.
"...."
Why would the American Association dispatch her just to capture me, someone who only operates in Korea?
My guess is it's because I attended the villain gathering, Cathedral.
Now that I think about it, they might have found it even more suspicious that an unknown A-rank was among them.
Either way, the conclusion was singular.
"This is our chance to utterly crush this hero, Metel, who came all the way from America."
Inside the strategy room.
I stood before the whiteboard, announcing this to our Ego Stream members, who were seated and watching me.
...Honestly, while I said it with the confidence of someone who'd just come up with it on the spot, it was actually a conclusion reached after considerable rational thought.
First, to understand this conclusion, one must understand the International Association.
The International Association oversees all hero associations worldwide. Incidentally, its headquarters are in America. In other words, it's practically one and the same as the American Association.
And a common policy for both the American and International Associations is: 'Each nation handles its own affairs.' Meaning, it's only 'international' in name; they don't provide hero aid. If a hero dispatched to another country were to die there, it would cause various problems, and there's also the risk that the host nation's association might tempt and poach the hero.
Therefore, dispatching an S-rank hero to Korea this time was quite an unusual decision. No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't understand why they were so determined to get rid of *me*, a mere A-rank.
Well, as I said before, the most likely reason is my participation in Cathedral. Or perhaps it's because I allied with Latis.
But honestly, the reason isn't important.
What *is* important is that someone else's dog has trespassed into my yard.
And if I don't teach that dog a lesson, it'll surely come back again.
Might as well educate it now.
So my goal is singular.
To utterly defeat this S-rank hero who dared to invade, and send her back to America in one piece.
Given the International Association's priority of self-preservation, they won't send another S-rank hero after one has already been utterly defeated. After all, strictly speaking, it's not their country.
...That's the superficial reason.
In truth, I have a hidden agenda.
'...If I utterly crush this S-rank hero who came all the way here, wouldn't Stardus's popularity skyrocket as a result?'
I can already hear the national pride headlines in my head.
[Egoistic Brutally Crushes America's S-rank Hero, So Why Does He Always Lose to Stardus? Stardus Has Already Surpassed America's S-rank Heroes! Stardus, The Sole Suppressant of the Vile Villain Egoistic! Without Her, the Republic of Korea Would Have Already Fallen!] Something like that.
...Maybe I should start a YouTube channel after I retire. I think I'm pretty good at coming up with titles.
Anyway, through this entire process, I reached the conclusion to 'take down' Metel.
Both to quietly warn the International Association not to meddle with me in Korea, and to use this opportunity to once again make people realize how truly amazing Stardus is.
So I declared I would crush Metel.
Everyone nodded, seemingly accepting the plan.
"...I thought you'd corrupt another perfectly good hero this time, but it's surprising you're just going to fight her fair and square..."
"What? When did I ever do that? That's slander."
"Hmph..."
Of course, Seo Ja-young did throw in a slanderous remark, but well, it was such an absurd slander that I decided to ignore it. Anyone would think it was ridiculous...
"Exactly. That's a relief."
"Ms. Soo-bin...?"
When Ms. Soo-bin nodded in agreement, I made a face as if the world had betrayed me, and she smiled sweetly.
"Haha, just kidding."
Ms. Soo-bin had been making more jokes lately.
...It *was* a joke, right?
I cleared my throat briefly, then spoke again in a serious tone.
"Anyway... to take her down, we need to think this through carefully. Especially since, according to Lee Seol-ah, she doesn't care about hostages, so we need to keep that in mind too..."
Honestly, thinking about it still makes me scoff. What's a hero? Aren't they supposed to protect people? But if they abandon people, how can they be heroes?
Truly, encountering people like her only ever reinforces how incredible Stardus is.
...And Metel. Her problems don't end there.
Her ultimate move shown in the video, the 'Giant Rock Drop'—which looks practically identical to a meteor—is also a problem. She won't use that in a crowded area, so we need to carefully choose the terror location.
As I explained, Seo-eun, who was typing on her laptop and planning with me, tilted her head and asked.
"Oppa. But how are you going to defeat Metel? She looks really strong..."
"Ah, how am I going to crush her?"
"Yes."
"Oh, that's simple."
I extended my arm, pointing a finger at our Ego Stream members.
"We'll just gang up on her."
"....Huh?"
"No matter how skilled or powerful she is, how can she win against six people attacking simultaneously?"
And now that Ha-yul's buffs are in play, it's perfect.
I gave Ha-yul a thumbs-up.
Ha-yul, I'm counting on you!
"...Oppa, you just smiled so wickedly while saying that, you really looked like a villain."
"Well, I *am* a villain, aren't I?"
I grinned and replied.
If even heroes of justice gang up, what's to stop us wicked villains?
Hero or not, a group assault will finish them off instantly.
Honestly, Eun-wol alone could probably handle her, but for a swift and complete defeat, nothing beats ganging up.
Ignoring Seo-eun's bewildered gaze, we began to formulate the detailed plan.
"...We can't start with that, so we'll divide it into two phases."
"For the first act of terror, it wouldn't be bad if Eun-wol and I just went for a short preliminary skirmish..."
"Phew, I need to finish my Star Buster quickly. Oh, but the opponent isn't Stardus... Should I call it the Yankee Buster?"
As time passed, the plan became more concrete, and with Lee Seol-ah feeding us Metel's plans in advance.
Finally, the grand S-rank Hero Terror Plan was complete.
Well, the fishing rod is ready.
Now, let's bait the hook and wait for a bite.
To catch a big one.
***
America's S-rank Hero, Metel.
She strolled through the streets of Seoul, eating a chicken skewer she'd bought from a street vendor.
She had been sightseeing in Seoul, keeping her identity hidden until Egoistic or whatever he was called, initiated a terror attack.
In truth, she wasn't worried about Egoistic at all.
'A mere A-rank villain... I'll just catch him quickly and be done with it.'
She'd heard he had a few S-rank villains under him, but how strong could subordinates of an A-rank really be?
Having personally butchered countless villains, she didn't believe a villain from *this* country, not even America, could be that formidable.
As she was chewing on her chicken skewer.
[Metel-nim! Egoistic has launched a terror attack!]
"Oh? Alright. I'm heading out now. Get ready."
The news finally came. She flicked the skewer stick into a trash can, cracked her knuckles, and soared into the sky.
The thought that she might lose to Egoistic hadn't even crossed her mind.