The Tough Guy Hides the Villainess - Chapter 78



078 – The Meaning of a Supernova is a Dying Star

078 – The Meaning of a Supernova is a Dying Star

“How long are you going to lie there? Come at me already.”

Nod, nod-.

“Supernova” waved at me.

It was an obvious provocation, but shouldn’t I take the bait?

The number one ranked Awakened.

There’s no lack of challenge for my full power.

Thud-.

I took a quadrupedal stance, lying flat on the ground.

The so-called Hanamjin-style crouching start position.

“I’ve evolved to be faster on all fours.”

Whoosh-!

I kicked off the ground, charging at Nam Woo-joo, raising a cloud of dust.

The acceleration of a third-grade leap changed the scenery so quickly that even I couldn’t keep up.

“Darwin Kick!”

BANG-!

No matter how powerful an awakened one was, they couldn’t avoid my instant acceleration kick, resulting in a fierce collision.

When the thick dust cleared, I could meet the eyes of the man standing with his palm covering his groin.

His eyes sparkled like starlight.

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They were like those of a demon.

“Stabbing at the vital point without hesitation shows great determination and energy, but it’s so straightforward that it’s almost crude. It means your trajectory is easy to read.”

WHOOSH-!

I immediately widened the distance.

Now, the distance between the man and me was about 10 meters.

Dusting off the dirt from his body, Supernova Nam Woo-joo stretched his wrist.

“As a return gift, I have no choice but to show you something good from my side.”

“Stop it! No matter how strong you are, you can’t beat Woo-joo oppa!”

“Friend! Honestly, I think so too! If you apologize now and ask for forgiveness, maybe we can pretend this never happened!”

“…Still, if it’s Nam-jin, he might show us something…”

Everyone’s reactions were varied.

Nam Woo-joo, who was looking around like me, spoke.

“Surprisingly, it seems I’m being expected. My lieutenant is worth noting. But I’ve seen countless awakened ones who, like you, believed only in their own concept and mistakenly thought they were invincible.”

CLAP-!

Nam Woo-joo clapped his hands.

Then, something strange began to happen between his two palms.

“Do you know why I’m called Supernova?”

WHIRRR, RUMBLE-.

A visibly powerful energy gathered into a round shape.

The small sphere, smaller than a pebble, distorted the surrounding space, looking just like a black hole.

Could it actually be something similar?

“A star is essentially gravity.”

This was the first time I faced an awakened one with such intense abilities.

Even with just pure strength, he was more than Yoo Yeoreum.

There were many things I wanted to ask the man in front of me.

This was a fight I absolutely couldn’t lose.

I couldn’t just keep holding onto my cards forever.

“Soldier, don’t blame me if you get hurt.”

Srrrng-.

I pulled out a ceremonial dagger issued by the Youngsago from my bag.

Duksuni, who loved analyzing everything, was greatly surprised.

“…Isn’t this the first time Namjin has held a weapon?”

“Now that you mention it, I think so!”

The atmosphere was tense in many ways.

Soon, Baek Yeoul, with her plump buttocks, stood next to me holding an unlucky frying pan.

“…If it comes to this, I’ll fight too! Han Namjin! I’ll protect you from oppa!”

I never thought Baek Yeoul would step up.

It was like adding an ant in front of a charging enemy tank, but sometimes an ant could achieve remarkable results.

So, should we come up with a plan?

Just as I was thinking that.

Bang-.

Nam Woojoo clapped his hands.

The black hole-like thing he had been holding in his hands disappeared, leaving behind a beautiful afterimage.

“Let’s stop. If I fight you guys, I’ll end up with at least one wound. I want to avoid getting nagged by my deputy.”

# # #

The interview was conducted in the VIP room of the Blue House.

It was a simple Q&A session.

“You know about Namsanho, right?”

I asked Nam Woojoo about the whereabouts of his twin brother, Namsanho.

Nam Woojoo, with his arms crossed, seemed to ponder for a while before giving a subtle answer.

“I could say I know, or I could say I don’t. To be precise, it’s more accurate to say I can’t tell you. Because all of you would be in danger.”

From my “feelings,” it didn’t seem like he was just making excuses or lying.

As an adult, he didn’t want to involve students in dangerous matters.

He’s a more solid guy than I thought.

Then let’s change the question.

“Your eyes turned like a demon’s.”

We were well aware of the terror of the “Demon” from our fight with Jin Eunbyeol. Everyone looked at Supernova Nam Wooju with worried eyes.

If the number one rank was a “Demon,” it would indeed be a catastrophe.

“Oh, that? It’s a side effect that occurred while liberating the concept of the ‘Star’ I possess. From the 4th grade, you can liberate the concept to use its inherent energy.”

“So, does that mean you’re a Demon too…!?”

Bbangdaengi asked bluntly.

It seemed quite unsettling that her cousin might have become a Demon.

Nam Wooju’s answer was simple.

“Similar, but different. You learn about the backlash of concepts in the third-year curriculum of Yeongsa High School. Everyone knows why concept holders get entangled in the troublesome matter of ‘backlash.’”

“I don’t know!”

Bbangdaengi shook her head vigorously.

Changshik also shook his head vigorously.

Soon, Deoksun, who knew a lot, showed off her knowledge, albeit weakly.

“…We just learned that backlash is like… the price of ability….”

“To be precise, it’s like a repulsion that occurs because this ‘concept’ comes from an alien place. Awakening and concepts ultimately originate from the Great Labyrinth.”

It’s like the rejection reaction that can occur when a foreign organ is transplanted into the body.

That’s what the backlash of a concept is.

“As the grade of the concept increases, the backlash also becomes stronger. If you can’t handle it, you become a Demon, losing your body to the concept itself.”

Conversely, if you can control that backlash, you can maintain your sanity while wielding power like a Demon.

4th-grade awakeners call this stage ‘concept liberation’ or simply ‘liberation.’

“Namsanho is somewhere between a liberator and a Demon. He’s like a ticking time bomb. If you approach such a person, you, who are not even active yet, could get seriously injured or die.”

It didn’t seem like he was lying.

This time, he asked me a question in return.

“How did you know that Namsanho was alive? We only recently realized that he was alive.”

How did we know? It was thanks to Seo Gaeul.

But if I mentioned Seo Gaeul here, it might be revealed that I was the kidnapper.

I had to use my wisdom to break through like a man.

“The one who caused the zombie incident urged the kidnapper of Seo Gaeul to surrender. Seeing his obsession with Seo Gaeul reminded me of Namsanho, who was called her fiancé.”

It was a clumsy explanation, but I decided to trust the power of “deception.”

Fortunately, Nam Wooju seemed to ponder for a while before nodding.

“That makes sense.”

“Are you okay?”

“What?”

Nam Woo-joo shrugged nonchalantly.

Was he trying to show off?

“Your palm.”

I looked at Nam Woo-joo’s palm.

The hand that had blocked my quadrupedal “Darwin Kick” was swollen and red.

“Wouldn’t it be better to get it checked? Thoroughly. It might be fractured.”

“Oh! Nam-jjin’s attack on Woo-joo oppa worked! Han Nam-jjin is amazing! It’s the first time I’ve seen Woo-joo oppa get hurt!”

Bbang-daengi was overjoyed.

Soon, Chang-sik and Deok-soon were also busy exclaiming, “Did the first attack really work?” or “It seems the destructive power has increased since becoming a third-grade awakener…”

Nam Woo-joo hid his swollen hand under the desk and snorted.

“Winter, aren’t you too happy that oppa got hurt?”

“It’s okay if oppa gets hurt a bit! He’s Korea’s ‘Supernova’!”

Korea called its talented awakeners “Supernova.”

The reason was the man in front of me.

The same reason they called the heroes who didn’t fear death and perished in the ruined world “Supernova.”

Well, we’ve got all the information we need, so we should get going.

“Guys, let’s go now. We need to hurry to reach D City before it’s too late. Zombies become active at night, so it’s better to get inside a building before sunset.”

“Huh? We haven’t found out where Nam San-ho is?”

Bbang-daengi tilted his head, but there was no need to pinpoint his exact location.

I came here to find out if Nam San-ho, suspected to be the zombie mastermind, had colluded with the government to cause the “zombie incident.”

Judging by Nam Woo-joo’s attitude, he didn’t seem to be involved in this matter. I guess I’ll have to confront Nam San-ho to find out the details.

‘It might be tricky to find Nam San-ho, who has deliberately hidden himself. But drawing him out will be easier. Just need to throw the bait.’

And what is that bait?

It’s me, the ‘Seo Ga-eul kidnapper.’

I’ll make it so he can’t help but come out on his own.

As I was about to leave the Blue House after achieving my goal, Nam Woo-joo approached me.

“Who taught you how to handle weapons? That’s not the stance they teach at Yeongsa High. If we had fought as is, I might have bled a bit. Who’s your instructor?”

“Old man Heo-gi.”

“I’ve never heard that name before.”

Of course not. I met the old man after the apocalypse while scavenging for scrap. He was a bit senile, but he handled a kitchen knife like a pro.

I learned how to handle blades while doing odd jobs under that old man.

Until now, I never had a reason to use a weapon, but I thought it might be okay to pull one out for Nam Woo-joo.

At that moment, from a distance, Bbangdaengi waved his hands wildly.

“Oppa! Take care! Mom and Dad said to keep in touch! See you later!”

Brother and sister.

How envious.

I wish I had a younger sister too.

If I said “water,” she would bring me water.

# # #

“I knew this would happen, that’s why I tried to stop you from meeting Han Nam-jin!”

After sending back “No Leftovers Day,” Nam Woo-joo had to listen to his deputy Jang Bo-reum’s nagging in his office.

It was because his hand had a crack.

“I’ve given you first aid, but you need to stay still for a while!”

As the cold-hearted Jang Bo-reum wrapped his hand with a cold touch, Nam Woo-joo recalled the mock battle from earlier. It was quite impressive.

“That guy is pretty skilled. He might be called ‘Supernova’ instead of me in the future.”

“That will never happen. And we need to keep this incident a secret from everyone. If word gets out that the Brigadier General is injured, people will worry.”

Fwoosh-.

Nam Woo-joo lit a cigarette with his lighter and put it in his mouth.

His palm throbbed.

“I’m good at enduring pain, so don’t worry. But how did that guy notice?”

─Are you okay?

To Nam Woo-joo, that one question felt like a sharper attack than Han Nam-jin’s kick.

It was as if he could see right through his condition.

It didn’t seem like he was just asking about his palm.

Nam Woo-joo changed the subject to distract himself.

“Lieutenant, how’s the search for ‘Kore’ going?”

“We’ve contacted an old man who talks about the ‘Fairy Princess,’ but… he’s not in his right mind, so it’s hard to get information from him.”

“Oh, really? What kind of old man is he?”

“A retired warrant officer who served as a Great Labyrinth explorer 20 years ago. He claims to have met the ‘Fairy Princess’ during his service, but he can’t even remember his own name well, so I’m not sure how reliable his information is.”

“A Great Labyrinth explorer from 20 years ago, huh. If he wandered around the Great Labyrinth with an ordinary body back when there were no Awakened, it’s no wonder his mind is a bit off. What’s the old man’s name?”

“He says his name is Ha Gi-hoon, but he asks to be called Hugi.”

Hugi.

Nam Woo-joo felt a sense of déjà vu from that name, but he dismissed it as mere coincidence and turned his thoughts in a constructive direction.

Because there was only one thing he had to do with the time he had left.

“Before it’s too late, I need to find Kore and close the Great Labyrinth’s door. Before things worse than ‘zombies’ cross over to this land.”

“Will Kore cooperate? As you know from the documents, to close the open door, we inevitably need to….”

“That’s why we have to make him cooperate. This is no time to be picky about methods. Ah─, if I had known it would come to this, I would have chosen a better nickname.”

Nam Woo-joo had been called “Supernova” since long ago.

It was a nickname given to promising talents, but its true meaning was actually the death of a star.

How much time did he have left?

It had been a long time since cigarettes and alcohol could no longer handle his ‘recoil.’

Nam Woo-joo was not okay at all.

But he wasn’t entirely unlucky.

“Come to think of it, the old folks have been nagging me to choose a successor for a long time, haven’t they? Given the situation, I should choose the heir to the ‘Star.’”

The concept of the ‘World,’ comparable to a tactical nuke, just by its potential.

One of them being the ‘Star.’

The one who inherits it will be called the next generation’s supernova.

At just the right timing, a suitable candidate appeared.

“What? General, you can’t mean that guy…!? That’s absolutely unacceptable! There’s no way the generals would agree to that in the first place!”

“Is that so. Actually, I think it would be boring to just hand it over to him lightly. My pride won’t allow me to just take it lying down either.”

After pondering for a while, Nam Woo-joo came up with a good idea.

It was a delightful story just to imagine.