Saving My Favorite in a Doomed World Chapter 108

“They sure are having fun.” 

 

Chanyoung said as he sat down on the living room couch. 

 

He had tuned in because he heard the SH Unit was giving an interview, and—

 

– Everyone, I’m not discriminating based on rank; I’m telling you the reality. The ones appearing here are the SH1 Unit. You only invited Heroes who have the ability to handle Red Gates. Up to the 3rd Unit of the GH Unit are Combat-type… but among them, there probably isn’t a single Hero who can beat us.

 

The moment Hwashin finished speaking on the screen, the phone rang loudly. 

 

“Hello…”

 

– Hey, did you see the broadcast just now? Did you hear that?

 

An enraged Ko Youngwoo was huffing and puffing. He must have been watching the broadcast while running on a treadmill until a moment ago. To match Ko Youngwoo’s mood, Chanyoung responded with somewhat harsh language.

 

“What. The part about us being total nobodies?”

 

At Chanyoung’s remark, Ko Youngwoo’s voice softened slightly. Usually, when one side gets even more heated, the other side tends to calm down.

 

– Yeah. Can you really stay calm after hearing that? That guy just insulted us. Even after enduring that humiliation, I even greeted him when he went to the summit.

 

“You didn’t just ‘greet’ him; you usually crawl before S-ranks. You probably ignored that Lee Suho kid because he’s an S-rank with fewer achievements than you. But you were practically groveling in front of Hero Jeong Mueum.”

 

– …Whatever, man! Is that statement normal right now?

 

Is it normal? Chanyoung took a sip of water and looked back at the TV screen. The live broadcast had already ended, and a commercial was playing.

 

“There’s no way.”

 

With the sound of shattering glass, a cup suddenly broke and fell to the floor. Ko Youngwoo wasn’t the only one swallowing his rage inwardly.

***

 

“Hyung, you’re getting enough hate to last a lifetime right now. Why on earth did you do that yesterday?”

 

Mueum sighed, having seen the internet flooded with insults directed at Yoo Hwashin while he was browsing. Yoo Jian followed up.

 

“Exactly. People are sensitive about things like this as it is, so why did you talk like that? Are you really okay with being hated? I even got a message from my friend in Unit 2.” 

 

Yoo Jian, sitting across from him in the lounge, asked.

 

“But you don’t seriously believe you’re superior to the GH Unit just because you’re an S-rank, right? If you were the kind of guy who believed in that ‘rank-is-everything’ ideology, I would have snapped your ribs just to wake you up—”

 

“There’s no way I’d think like that.”

 

Yoo Hwashin waved his hand dismissively while leisurely unwrapping and eating a chocolate.

 

‘The one with the rank-is-everything ideology is probably Ko Youngwoo.’

 

That guy must have been quite angry after hearing yesterday’s interview. It was the first time an S-rank had said something like that so openly to an A-rank. People with that kind of mindset only pick on those below them; they’ve likely never picked a fight with—or had a fight picked with them by—those above.

 

“Then why on earth did you say such a thing?” 

 

Cha Jaeha had been on edge since the previous day.

 

“Do you not think your remarks have caused damage to the entire SH Unit? This controversy has existed from the very beginning. What exactly do you hope to achieve by taking it upon yourself to fan the flames with your own mouth? I cannot understand you at all.” 

 

What a life, getting scolded by the protagonist. 

 

– He has a point.

 

Of course, as everyone pointed out, it was an aggressive method. Hwashin picked up another chocolate from the table. He said,

 

“But look. What do you guys think?”

 

He placed the single chocolate in his hand on his palm.

 

“Do you think the GH Unit and SH Unit being in the same place would actually be helpful?”

 

“Of course! We could reduce civilian casualties while we handle the Gate.”

 

“Even in a Red Gate?”

 

“Pardon?”

 

“Are you certain they would never hold you back? What about teamwork? Have you ever synchronized with them even once? Have you ever actually viewed A-ranks and S-ranks as a single team?”

 

Bombarded with questions, Jeong Mueum couldn’t find an answer and fell silent.

 

Teamwork?

 

‘Since we’re S-ranks, we could manage alone, and with Noona here, I didn’t feel the need to form a party with A-ranks. Besides, there are already Heroes among the A-ranks who are just as popular as us.’

 

Hwashin didn’t stop talking.

 

“Is there anyone who has memorized all the abilities from GH Unit 1 to Unit 3? Have you ever realized that you can synchronize with each other, rather than them just acting as support?” 

 

“Yoo Hwashin, we are the SH Unit. Our purpose and composition are different from the GH Unit.”

 

As Cha Jaeha interjected, Hwashin replied as if he had been waiting for it.

 

“Right. We are the SH Unit. A unit created to handle high-grade, high-risk Gates that appear in the city center. Doesn’t that already say it all? It’s not for nothing that people are talking. The GH Unit has ultimately degenerated into a mere sideshow. Is this because the units were divided? No. A problem that never existed wouldn’t suddenly pop up out of nowhere.” 

 

“….”

 

“Have you guys really never…”

 

…Thought that you were superior to A-ranks?

 

Yoo Hwashin’s words were sophistry. We considered ourselves superior? And we never even thought about teaming up with A-ranks? In the first place, whether they were A-rank or S-rank, the more of them there were, the easier it would be to handle a Gate. Furthermore, a Combat-type A-rank might be equal to an S-rank. An A-rank Combat-type might even beat a Support-type S-rank.

 

But the reason Cha Jaeha, Jeong Mueum, and Yoo Jian couldn’t easily answer was because they already knew. They themselves had never once spoken up to break that sophistry.

 

***

 

Someone might say he was just stirring up a hornet’s nest for no reason.

 

Riel especially would say so.

 

– You know it well.

 

However, this much conflict was necessary. The Hell of Falsehood. The Hell of Falsehood is a hell that ‘disturbs the hearts of others through clever ruses.’ The main theme of this hell is ‘conflict.’ Conflict created by dragging out problems that had been submerged deep within the mind.

 

And that conflict, in <Your Hero Is Here>, which unfolds solely around the protagonist, begins from ‘reality.  

 

There was a Hero who committed suicide because of their rank. That suicide eventually becomes publicized and controversial, but it is ultimately buried. This is because everyone has a tacit understanding of that ‘reality.’ The invisible ‘reality’ that ranks are absolute and that lower-ranked Heroes are of a lower status than higher-ranked ones.

 

– An A-rank Hero can’t beat an S-rank Hero anyway.

 

– Even if it’s not us, even if we don’t step up, those guys will take care of everything on their own. 

 

– In the end, are we beings who must only work silently behind them?

 

While resolving the Seven Hellscapes, only the SH Unit plays an active role in ‘Your Hero Is Here’. Even when Hell appeared in reality, the Heroes who stood at the forefront to resolve it were only the S-ranks. Although the Heroes of the GH Unit cooperated in the first Hell, no spotlight fell on them.

 

In the end, the two groups drift apart. That small ember would have, to a greater or lesser degree, assisted in the destruction within the original work.

 

‘To properly end the Hell, I’ll have to uproot that first.’

 

Even if he has to stand at the center of the controversy.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

“So I’m saying—!”

 

“I get it, Ko Youngwoo. Stop yapping.”

 

“Is that Ko Youngwoo guy still angry? Hey, Jian said that wasn’t—oh…”

 

“What is it?”

 

The automatic door of the lounge opened, and the GH1 Unit members stepped inside. The first to spot the SH Unit was ‘Sun Sihan,’ an A-rank colleague who had dueled Yoo Jian during the SH Unit selection exam. This meeting was possible because they had gathered in the Association lounge where regular Heroes usually meet, rather than the training center. Of course, Yoo Hwashin was the one who chose this location.

 

“Came here for nothing.”

 

Ko Youngwoo scratched the back of his neck and headed toward the vending machine. Lee Suho was stuck between his former mentor and his current mentor, not knowing what to do.

 

“Ko Youngwoo, don’t be like that.”

 

Chanyoung approached the SH1 Unit with a soft smile.

 

“Hello. Aside from Lee Suho-ssi, this is my first time seeing you all this close.”

 

“Ah, hello!”

 

At the appearance of the angel-like Chanyoung, Lee Suho straightened his back. Since this person is kind, surely there won’t be any sparks flying because of the last interview….

 

“And Yoo Hwashin-ssi, who is quite good at belittling people, is here too.”

 

…Oh, never mind. Lee Suho, more flustered than Yoo Hwashin, looked back and forth between the other Unit 1 members. 

 

“I watched the interview well.”

 

Chanyoung rested his finger on his chin. He continued speaking in a thoroughly cold and calm tone. 

 

“Yoo Hwashin-ssi is someone who rose from E-rank to F-rank, and then to S-rank, right? You must have gone through quite a lot of hardship in that process. Seeing how you belittle people as soon as you became an S-rank, one can tell just how full of an inferiority complex you are.”

 

Witnessing the scene of someone being beaten with a gentle smile right before his eyes, Lee Suho couldn’t say a word. Aren’t these two somewhat similar? Then Sun Sihan approached and grabbed Chanyoung’s shoulder. She snapped at him sharply.

 

“Why are you picking a fight before Ko Youngwoo? I told you, I checked everything with Jian yesterday.”

 

As Sun Sihan glanced at Yoo Jian, Yoo Jian sent an ‘okay’ signal and said,

 

“Right, Hwashin didn’t mean it with that kind of intent—”

 

“I did mean it with that kind of intention.” 

 

….?

 

“What?”

 

“I’m saying I spoke with exactly that intention.” 

 

“What kind of intention is that?” 

 

Even the eyebrows of Sun Sihan, who was trying to end the situation on a good note, twitched. Jeong Mueum couldn’t hide his shocked expression, and Cha Jaeha was staring at a distant mountain beyond the window. That bastard had already gone beyond the boundaries of what he could control. 

 

Hwashin scanned Ko Youngwoo, Sun Sihan, and Chanyoung in turn. Since the full members of the 1st and 2nd Units weren’t all gathered, he wouldn’t be able to dictate everything in this spot, but perhaps he should cast a stone.

 

“The intention that I want to have a match with the GH Unit.” 

 

“I didn’t know it was that kind of intention.” 

 

Though he might have been flustered, Chanyoung was still calm as he retorted. There was a reason he and Ko Youngwoo hung around together in the Unit 1. 

 

“Like you said, how long should the GH Unit have to be looked down upon? If you felt looked down upon after watching my interview, you should give the person who said it a good beating. Weren’t you angry because you don’t believe an A-rank is unconditionally weaker than an S-rank?” 

 

If someone crosses me, I crush them. At least, that’s how he had lived. Though he didn’t have many memories of being ignored.

 

“You’re clouding the issue.”

 

“It might look that way.”

 

Ko Youngwoo, who had grabbed a cup of coffee, immediately grasped the situation and faced Yoo Hwashin. But it was strange. The fine hairs all over his body were telling him something. A signal that a disaster would strike if he didn’t leave this place immediately. Although he had no memory of what happened on the day of the selection exam, his body seemed to remember. For some reason, his stomach churned as soon as he saw Yoo Hwashin. Chanyoung looked down at Yoo Hwashin and the rest of the SH1 Unit and said,

 

“So. Just what do you want to do, Yoo Hwashin-ssi, having spoken with such intent?”

 

Yoo Hwashin grinned. For the first time in a long while, the faces of all the Heroes in that spot who heard his words turned pale.