Academy's Silver Gatekeeper-Chapter 55

Unfair. That was the only thought in the head of Jinhan Group's Honorary Chairman.

He had built everything from scratch, using every means possible in his youth.

Starting with loan sharks and pyramid schemes, he eventually expanded into finance, construction, and distribution.

People still called it a shady business, but he had managed to come this far. Now he was pumping money into politics, gradually gathering superhumans under his wing with vast amounts of cash. He was just beginning to dream beyond being a mid-sized company when...

"Wow. This is really fancy. Honorary Chairman, they said? Are you living in a palace or something? Or is this where cult leaders stay? Or maybe... a tunnel for a gangster pretending to be human?"

That dream was crumbling before a monster.

Sitting cross-legged in the Honorary Chairman's seat, giggling, was a woman. She looked barely in her twenties, her youthful glow not yet faded.

Before her, the Honorary Chairman was kneeling, his head bowed to the floor.

'How did it come to this? How the hell did it come to this?'

It all started with an incident caused by his third grandson.

According to him, an examiner had humiliated him. He wanted to teach that nobody a bitter life lesson. So he tried to hire people to put the man in a difficult situation.

But as it happened, that examiner was suspected to be an acquaintance of the woman sitting before him, the "Irina" whom even villains called crazy.

'The boy clearly said he only planned it, didn't actually do anything.'

His grandson wouldn't lie to him. He had been raised to be completely obedient from childhood, so he definitely wouldn't. Therefore, every word his grandson said must be true.

Though he was caught in the middle, it only remained an "attempt," didn't it? If the police had gotten involved, it might have been smoothed over. Even if they had pressed charges, he could have found a way out.

But this "crazy woman" refused to let it go.

And the results were devastating. Irina had immediately stormed in and turned over all his affiliates. Literally by force, unstoppably, to the extent that even public authorities had to back down.

Immediately after, a sudden massive prosecution investigation followed. All branches were raided and operations completely paralyzed.

His connections in political circles? All of them shut their mouths and went into hiding.

No matter how much he reached out, no one would listen.

Even when he threatened to expose their relationships, they remained unmoved.

Later, he realized the prosecutors were purely focused on destroying Jinhan. They weren't planning to drag this into politics; they were answering to someone else. That's why all his political connections had cut ties and disappeared.

"Hey."

"..."

"Hey. Not answering me? You old geezer?"

The blond, blue-eyed woman spoke perfect Korean slang. It was shocking on a completely different level than hearing a foreigner shout "Shibal!"

"Y-yes, Miss Irina."

"Feeling wronged?"

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"N-no. Absolutely not..."

"That feeling of injustice is written all over your face."

Honestly, he couldn't deny it.

Getting completely raided by prosecutors, his group torn apart, Beaten down by the mass media, competitors taking advantage to bite chunks out of him. After weathering that storm, he'd barely managed to gather his wits.

Just when he thought it was over, Irina showed up again. This time with the terrifying statement that she would crush him completely.

"This time, this time we really had nothing to do with it."

"Hmm. Keep going."

"It's true. That previous incident, I admit it. I failed to educate my grandson properly. I even beat him up and told him to act like he doesn't exist at the Academy. He's not the type to disobey. After that incident, I really didn't order or plan anything!"

The chairman pleaded desperately, with sincerity in his voice.

It was the truth. He and his people really hadn't done anything.

Among those who were just trying to live well in the world, not even villains, What madman would think of provoking an S-rank ability user? Especially "Irina"?

She was a living strategic nuclear weapon. Touch her and you die. What's worse, other nuclear weapons at least have safety measures and management. This crazy woman had no safety switch. She could go off at any time.

"Hmm. So, this time you really didn't do it. Is that right?"

"That's correct."

"Really?"

"I swear. I swear on everything I've built."

At that, Irina let out a "hmm" through her nose and stood up.

The pressure from this woman who had just entered her twenties was unbelievable. And hidden among that creepiness were devastating gestures. Yes, she was definitely crazy, but there was also something inescapably captivating about her.

"So last time, you admit you were going to do it, right?"

"...Pardon?"

"Last time. When you tried to hurt my handsome oppa."

"T-that matter, Miss Irina already..."

Crunch—

Irina's foot landed on top of the chairman's head.

"So back then, you thought I was finished?"

"W-wasn't that the case?"

"No. It wasn't. I got dragged away on a dispatch. That's why I handed it to the prosecutors. But these bastards. They don't do their job properly? I told them to raid, and they just raided. That's not how it should be."

She said she told them to raid, but complained that they only raided. What kind of nonsensical, literally crazy talk was this!

But the chairman couldn't say a word. Advanced society, foundational science, deeply-rooted ideologies. But in this world, ability powers stood above everything else.

They beat down monsters that no Earth technology could handle.

They fought villains that even the military couldn't face. Just for that, ability users were untouchable beings.

Of course, since they were still people, living among people, They didn't completely ignore the world's gaze and judgment. Those who did had already become villains, breaking the world.

So even S-rank ability users paid some attention to the social atmosphere. They couldn't live alone, so even while being called demigods, they compromised.

But not everyone was like that.

"I hate it when someone touches what's mine."

A madness different from villains, yes. What reflected in those eyes was clearly madness.

"He's definitely an oppa who can interest me. Just thinking about it gets me so excited. It's thrilling, almost deadly. But only I can do that. I absolutely can't tolerate another bitch or bastard scratching him."

Fizz—

Golden light flickered around Irina's body and disappeared. Cold sweat ran down the chairman's spine as he witnessed the sight.

"S-so... what would you like me to do? Please tell me."

At the chairman's words, Irina went "Hmm?" in question. Then she immediately burst into laughter, holding her stomach.

"Ahh! Ahaha! Ah, ah! This is killing me."

"I'll do anything. If you want me to pay compensation to that examiner, I'll pay as much as needed. If my grandson is the problem, I'll leave him to your discretion. So please..."

"Hey. You still don't understand what I'm saying, do you?"

Irina bent at the waist and looked at the chairman. Seeing the madness swirling in those eyes once again, the chairman could only sigh.

Could one negotiate with a natural disaster? Surely not. Before an enormous calamity, humans could do nothing.

*

["...Are you going to just let this continue?"]

"You shouldn't ask me that. Jiyoon, isn't this your problem to handle?"

["This bitch needs to get her head straight! I don't know why she suddenly went crazy, but she's barging in and causing all kinds of trouble. Headmaster, please go take a look."]

News about Irina quickly reached Han Jiyoon through the Association.

In truth, even the Association didn't have much power to stop her. At best, they could request cooperation from other S-rank ability users. Otherwise, they would have to go beg Irina's parents again.

Or they could ask for help from the few individuals Irina was wary of. For example, Ma Hakjun, who was currently on the phone with Han Jiyoon.

"I'm busy."

["No! What if something serious happens!"]

"What power does an old man like me have? And don't pass your work onto me."

["That's too much!"]

Ding—

Han Jiyoon hung up with an indignant voice.

Of course, she wasn't really offended. She knew it was her job too. It was obvious that to stop an S-rank, you needed another S-rank.

"Hmm..."

Ma Hakjun, deeply buried in his chair, sighed. Was it because Irina had caused trouble again? No, not quite. Why worry about someone who wasn't even an Academy student anymore?

"Looking at that examiner reminds me of someone."

"Hakjun. Do you remember that man?"

He had no idea why his friend was suddenly mentioning that time. Ma Hakjun sincerely wanted to strangle his friend.

"Sujin. Hyeon Sujin, her fiancé."

At first, he didn't understand what he meant. He even cursed about why he was bringing up a story buried deep in the shadows. But then Kang Minseong apologized while firmly continuing:

"It might sound like nonsense... but they're similar."

"I'm not talking about his appearance or anything like that. What I mean is... he is similar to that man. The way their skills not only blossom but fully bloom all at once. And also how they instantly read the subtle technique shown just before and try to incorporate it into their own body."

To that, Ma Hakjun replied that geniuses appear at unexpected times. And he told him to never mention that incident again, in a very stern voice.

But after ending the call, Ma Hakjun had to bite his lip. Why suddenly bring up that time, that person's story?

"Haaah..."

Sighing once more, Ma Hakjun's face became lost in thought. He had lived a long life with few regrets, but if he had to name one, It would be that exact moment Kang Minseong had just dredged up.