Chapter 152: Broken Relic, Broken Resolve

A chill swept through a corner of Laika’s chest.

Memories of his brief but happy times with Iris flashed through his mind.

He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to shake off his lingering attachments, then opened them again.

The anger that had briefly settled flared up once more.

Now that he knew Iris’s true nature and what she had done to him, he couldn’t afford to let personal feelings cloud his judgment.

If he did, he’d not only put himself in danger but also risk ruining J Corporation’s plans.

‘I just need to kill her. That’s all it takes…’

Laika’s lips pressed into a thin line.

His head told him he had to kill Iris, but his heart, for whatever reason, hesitated.

She was a Hero who had stolen a Relic and even taken his skill—she deserved death.

Yet, he had a feeling that if he killed her, he would fall into a deep depression for some time.

Still, it was time to make a decision.

Laika grabbed Iris by the collar and effortlessly hoisted her over the railing.

Iris’s face drained of color in the precarious situation, as if she might fall at any moment.

She struggled desperately to break free from the effect of <Lion’s Roar>, but the terror was too overwhelming; she couldn’t calm down.

It seemed this skill had the effect of incapacitating ability-users by driving them into fear.

If her <Smash the Skull> skill wasn’t activating because of this, then things were dire.

At this rate, she would be helpless.

Iris looked down into the dizzying void below, grabbed the wrist of Laika who held her by the collar, and let out a groan.

She couldn’t bring herself to beg for her life—not after what she’d done to Laika.

“Ugh, Laika.”

“Hm? Still have something to say?”

“That is…”

Iris clamped her mouth shut, unable to say more.

Laika squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them.

With a sigh, his voice came out low and subdued.

“Iris, say you’ll join my side. Then I’ll spare you.”

“That…”

“You can’t make any real money living as a Hero. At best, it’s just pocket change.

To make big money, you have to do bad things. If you side with me, we can be happy together. What do you say?”

Laika was sincere in his own way.

If Iris became his ally, he planned to hide her identity from Abellus and his father and live happily together.

But for that, Iris had to quit being a Hero.

Otherwise, it’d be like sleeping with the enemy.

Soon, Iris’s lips parted and Laika’s face hardened.

“…I can’t do that.”

Iris’s hesitation didn’t last long.

She wondered if her reincarnation into this posthumous manga world, the mysterious Chastity Belt she had gained, and the appearance of the Hero’s State Window were all because of someone’s earnest wish—whether a god’s or someone else’s.

Since she had decided to live as a Hero, she didn’t want to betray that intent.

And more than anyone else’s wish, it was her own.

She wanted to make Gyodam City—a city where her precious people lived—peaceful.

At Iris’s reply, Laika’s expression darkened.

His eyes, opening after another tight squeeze, were cold.

Contrary to his face, the hand grasping Iris’s wrist trembled minutely.

“Goodbye, Iris. If you survive, you’d better try not to cross paths with me again.”

“Ah!”

Seeing the sudden shimmer of tears in those blue eyes, Iris went blank.

In that moment, Laika let go, and her body plummeted downward.

Laika squeezed his eyes shut and turned away.

A moment ago, he had been so angry his scalp tingled, but even so, he didn’t truly want to take Iris’s life with his own hands.

Even though she had rejected his offer without hesitation.

So instead, he chose to drop her below.

After waiting a moment, he heard something shatter.

He couldn’t tell if the noise came from somewhere else or if it was caused by Iris.

Maybe she had used her wits to survive, or maybe, paralyzed by the <Lion’s Roar> skill, she hadn’t been able to do anything and met her death.

He could have just looked down to see what happened to her, but he didn’t want to.

More precisely, he didn’t have the nerve.

Clenching his fists so tightly that veins popped on the backs of his hands, Laika trudged away.

A scene flashed through his mind: Iris’s weapon deflecting bullets in Rugang Park.

That astonishing weapon might save her again—maybe one day they’d meet again.

Even so, the Iris he knew was now dead.

Only the Hero, Angel Girl, remained.

He pressed his now-hot eyes and opened the rooftop door with a forlorn air.

Then, after releasing his transformation, he trudged down the empty hallway.

He had lost important skills, so it seemed he wouldn’t be able to do villain work for a while.

Acting, with its forced smiles, would be just as impossible.

He couldn’t see himself smiling casually in front of a camera.

“Hoo…”

He washed his face dry, and even though no one was watching, he arrogantly raised his chin.

Just as he always did—looking proud, never showing any sadness.

He let out a heavy sigh, rummaged through his pocket, and took out the ring.

But just as he was about to slip it on, he froze.

“At least I got the ring back… the hell, what is this?”

With clenched teeth, he raised the hand holding the ring.

His blue eyes trembled at the unbelievable sight.

Since Iris had been wearing it, it couldn’t be a fake—this had to be the Ring of the Goddess.

But the ring, which should have adjusted to fit his finger, remained unchanged.

It was still the same, shrunk to fit Iris’s finger.

“What is this…ha! Ridiculous, really.”

Standing in place, Laika finally understood the situation and, irritated, threw the ring.

It hit the marble floor with a sharp clink and rolled away.

He fumed for a while before regaining his composure.

He picked up the ring again and gripped it so tightly that veins stood out on his hand as he muttered,

“The Relic has lost its power completely. How am I supposed to report this…?”

He had thought at least he’d recovered the ring, but that wasn’t the case.

After all that commotion, he’d only managed to retrieve a powerless shell.

Not just that.

He’d lost not only the extra skills granted by the ring but also his original skills, all taken by Iris—and, thanks to his lingering feelings, he hadn’t finished her off properly.

From what he saw on the rooftop, the Monster he’d borrowed from the Laboratory seemed to have been killed by someone in a black mask, too.

He felt like he’d been thoroughly played.

Ensnared by a woman, he’d handed over everything like some comprehensive gift set.

With a sigh, Laika raked his bangs back roughly.

‘I need to check what happened to Iris.’

Since the ring hadn’t regained its power, she was probably still alive.

No, in fact, he had expected her to survive the moment he turned his back instead of finishing her off himself.

He thought she was a threat, yet had let her go because of his residual feelings.

He should have checked the ring first before dealing with Iris, but he’d been a fool.

‘She’s not dead. Definitely.’

He looked out the window, down below—sure enough, there was no sign of Iris.

She had to be alive.

Laika unconsciously let out a sigh of relief, then hardened his expression.

He’d dropped her to kill her, yet he was relieved she was alive—a contradiction.

At that moment, sirens blared noisily in his ears.

Looking toward the entrance to Main Street, he saw police cars arriving one after another.

Laika put on the hat and sunglasses he’d prepared and quickly slipped out the back door—to get away in the direction opposite the police.

If Iris had absorbed the Relic’s power, it was no small matter.

If she managed to collect all the other Relics’ power besides the ring, then, as the legends said, peace would come to Gyodam City and its citizens would be happy.

But J Corporation, whose main source of income was Gyodam City, would be ruined.

With peace, there would be no market for weapons.

‘I should give the higher-ups a rough heads-up, but not in detail.’

After losing everything, he felt a powerful urge to flee abroad, but he couldn’t keep covering up his mistakes.

If they found out, he’d be blamed even more.

Better to get the beating over with now, even with a vague report.

He didn’t want to go into details.

Admitting it was hard, but he genuinely hoped Iris—who deserved death for how thoroughly she’d stripped him bare—wouldn’t get too badly hurt.

Even after all this.

‘It’s not because I have feelings or anything. It’s just… I kind of pity her. She doesn’t seem to have much money either… If J Corporation goes down, I can just live well with the money I’ve saved up…’

Muttering pathetic excuses to himself—things he’d never normally say—he hurried out of Main Street.

The desire never to see Iris again warred in his head with the hope they might cross paths by chance.

Meanwhile, as she fell, a message appeared before Iris’s eyes.