Actually, Dad Was a Hero

Chapter 44: Grey Knight

“Come on, one more! One more!”

“Ugh!”

“Good, then one last time! Last one!”

“Huuuuh!”

“Okay, really the last one! Breathe in!”

“No…wasn’t just now the last one…?”

“This time it’s for real! Last one!”

“Kuuuuuh!”

Clang!

Jin Beom-Min lifted the barbell with difficulty, each side loaded with a lump of iron the size of a human torso.

“Okay! Done!”

Jin Beom-Min’s personal trainer, Yoon Jeong-Hyeon, pulled the chain connected to the pulley, helping Jin Beom-Min place the barbell on the rack.

Usually, during high-weight training, trainers would hold the barbell to assist and prevent injuries. However, the weight Jin Beom-Min was lifting was beyond common sense, making it impossible for the trainer to assist with his bare hands, no matter how strong he was.

In the end, Yoon Jeong-Hyeon had to use his ingenuity, utilizing a pulley that could be fixed with a cogwheel to assist Jin Beom-Min’s training.

Otherwise, with his strength, he wouldn’t be able to lift Jin Beom-Min’s dedicated barbell even a single centimeter.

That wasn’t all. Jin Beom-Min’s barbell, which had to withstand an immense weight, was made of special materials, and even the rack supporting the barbell was a custom-made product with reinforced durability, welded with separate iron pipes.

As a result, the gym at the Monster Response Headquarters, where Jin Beom-Min trained, resembled a blacksmith’s workshop, with iron chains hanging everywhere and roughly welded lumps of iron scattered around.

“Phew, just how many ‘last times’ are there? I almost used Mana because I was running out of strength.”

“That’s how you work out, member-nim.”

Yoon Jeong-Hyeon replied calmly, recording the weight and repetitions he had recorded today on the chart.

“…Your records are increasing incredibly fast. At this rate, you’ll reach a three-lift total of 3 tons within this month.”

“I’ve been so busy lately… I have to work out when I can.”

Yoon Jeong-Hyeon nodded, finishing the record, and spoke to Jin Beom-Min, who was wiping away his sweat.

“I saw the UN agreement announcement a few days ago.”

“Ah, you saw it?”

“They broadcast it live on TV.”

“Ah…ah…”

“Even with your face covered, I can recognize the member-nim I’m training. Just by looking at your muscles.”

“Haha, yes…”

Yoon Jeong-Hyeon sat down lightly on the equipment opposite Jin Beom-Min and carefully asked,

“But from what I heard on the news…you’re being transferred to the UN?”

“Yes, I guess so.”

“Then, you won’t be able to train anymore…?”

Jin Beom-Min shook his head and answered,

“As far as I know, nothing much will change. It’s just on paper that I’ll be under the UN… They said there’s no difference from what I’ve been doing so far.”

“Phew, that’s a relief.”

Yoon Jeong-Hyeon smiled, seemingly greatly relieved.

“Even if you go somewhere else, I’ll definitely take you with me as my trainer, so don’t worry.”

“Haha, well… There are others who are better than me…”

Jin Beom-Min shrugged.

“Besides, it’s tiring to keep measuring, explaining, and all that. You’re doing a good job.”

“Haha, well, it’s an honor for me. I’m training the only ‘Grey Knight’ in the world.”

“‘Grey Knight?’ What’s that?”

Yoon Jeong-Hyeon widened his eyes as if he really didn’t know and answered,

“You don’t know? It’s your nickname, member-nim.”

“…This is the first time I’m hearing it.”

“You were wearing grey armor during the agreement announcement this time, right? It seems the media is calling you that now.”

Jin Beom-Min was completely unaware. He didn’t usually use YouTube or the internet, and he had been so busy lately that he hadn’t watched TV in a long time.

“It’s a bit…cringey.”

“Why? It’s cool!”

“Grey Knight… That’s weird! It’s not like I’m a cartoon character…”

“There’s a cartoon too!”

“Huh?”

Yoon Jeong-Hyeon picked up his smartphone, tapped a few times, and held it out in front of Jin Beom-Min’s eyes.

The smartphone screen displayed a cartoon depicting a version of Jin Beom-Min, with his limbs elongated for visual appeal, cutting down various monsters with a single stroke.

“What…is this…?”

“It’s a webtoon that started serialization last week. You didn’t know? I thought they got permission and everything for serialization.”

“I didn’t…know.”

“Wait, then isn’t this copyright infringement? Or is it…portrait rights?”

“…I don’t look like this.”

Yoon Jeong-Hyeon shrugged and put his smartphone away.

“Anyway, you’re the hottest person in the world right now, member-nim. You’re the only one who doesn’t know.”

Jin Beom-Min scratched his head. Yoon Jeong-Hyeon’s words didn’t feel real at all.

Of course, even if he was a global sensation, he couldn’t feel it.

His identity was thoroughly hidden, and very few people had seen his face without the mask.

“This is… If my identity gets exposed, it’ll be a big problem.”

It would be fine for now since his identity was hidden, but if his identity were to be exposed, he, Su-Yeon, and Seong-Gyun wouldn’t be able to avoid trouble.

His every move would be under the global spotlight, and it was obvious that all sorts of media and eccentrics would chase after him.

Not only would Su-Yeon and Seong-Gyun’s daily lives become uncomfortable, but their safety could also be threatened.

“Don’t worry. I’m guarding your secret with my life.”

Yoon Jeong-Hyeon spoke with a trustworthy attitude, but Jin Beom-Min couldn’t feel reassured.

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust him. Yoon Jeong-Hyeon had a tendency to be a bit overly cheerful, but he was someone who knew what to protect.

However, having gone through countless training sessions and battles since he was young, Jin Beom-Min knew all too well how weak humans were to pain.

Even Noh Min-Gu, who was the director of the National Intelligence Service, a supposedly elite organization, cried like a baby and spilled everything after just breaking a finger.

Just as Jin Beom-Min was about to give Yoon Jeong-Hyeon a word of caution, a piercing siren blared.

***

“What a magnificent city. It’s almost a shame to defile it.”

Tyrel looked around at Sydney’s towering buildings and straight roads, speaking in a voice filled with admiration. However, flames and black smoke were already rising from various parts of the city, and the sound of sirens echoed everywhere.

“Yes, it’s completely different from the place we visited before. That place was closer to a desolate wasteland…”

Teano emerged from behind Tyrel, who was clad in elaborate armor made of black steel and red leather.

Unlike before, when he wore inconspicuous, gloomy-colored armor, he was now adorned in armor as flamboyant as Tyrel’s.

“…It’s…astonishing that a race that doesn’t know how to use Mana at all could build such a city.”

“The dwarves of the East also built magnificent structures without Mana. But in the end, they were annihilated by our hands.”

“These people will also meet the same fate…”

At Tyrel’s gesture, dark elf soldiers brought two giant white mantises.

The giant mantises, their entire bodies covered in smooth, white chitin, knelt obediently before Tyrel and Teano, their mouths muzzled with gold-decorated gags.

“What’s the current situation?”

Teano asked a dark elf soldier as he mounted a mantis.

The soldier, clad in dark red armor, knelt on one knee and replied,

“There’s no significant resistance yet. As you instructed, Master, there are a few with weapons that shoot metal balls, but the defense magic was sufficient to block them.”

Teano smirked and lightly reprimanded him,

“I’m not the Master, Tyrel is.”

“I, I apologize!”

Tyrel glared at the soldier with disapproval but didn’t take any action.

Normally, she would have torn off the limbs of a soldier who made a mistake, but the situation was different now.

Teano had retired and handed over the position of Master to her a few years ago, but now that he had returned, the soldiers followed Teano’s orders, not hers.

The boss was no longer Tyrel, but Teano. It was a situation she had brought upon herself.

“…What are you planning to do now?”

Tyrel asked Teano, unable to hide her sullen expression.

“First, we need to grasp the terrain. We need to find a suitable location before he arrives.”

However, Teano replied while observing the surroundings, not even glancing at her.

He didn’t care about the feelings of his daughter, who had repeatedly failed.

Preparing for the upcoming battle was his priority.

The man in the grey armor who had inflicted his first defeat. The only thing that filled his mind was Jin Beom-Min.

“Then, we’ll assess the terrain from the air…!”

The soldier, trying to gauge Tyrel’s mood, quickly tried to answer, but gunshots rang out from nearby.

Rat-a-tat! Bang! Tat-tat!

Dust rose from the ground around where Tyrel and Teano were standing.

“Take cover! Enemy!”

The dark elf soldier made a fuss, but Tyrel and Teano only calmly looked around.

A few bullets, having lost their power after being blocked by the defense magic, fell with a thud at the feet of the giant mantises.

“You haven’t cleaned up properly.”

“I, I apologize!”

“Forget it. Leave it.”

As Tyrel raised her hand, three black daggers, each the size of a finger, detached from the arm part of her armor and floated into the air.

“Since I’ve gotten some fresh air after a long time, I should have a taste of blood too.”

As she flicked her fingers, the three daggers that were floating in the air shot into the air like lightning. They then flew into the inside of the collapsed building, drawing sharp arcs.

“Kyaaak!”

“Aaaack!”

Screams erupted from where the daggers had flown in. A moment later, the three daggers flew back into Tyrel’s hands, soaked in blood.

She opened her purple lips and slowly licked the bloodstains off the tips of the daggers.

“…This is another delicacy…”

Tyrel smiled with satisfaction and lowered her hand. The three daggers clicked back into place on the arm part of her armor.

“Are you still using such toys?”

Teano’s blunt remark made Tyrel’s smile distort.

“…These are weapons that have taken the lives of countless enemies. Father…”

“That’s why you keep failing, relying on such toys.”

“But…!”

Teano ignored Tyrel’s words and pulled the reins of the mantis. The giant mantis spread its wings wide, and Teano soared into the air.

“…Tsk…!”

Tyrel bit her lip and swallowed her anger. She looked around for a place to vent her frustration, but there was no one beside her.

She saw the quick-witted dark elf soldier already retreating far away.

The mantis carrying her groaned lowly, as if sensing its master’s mood.

A while later, Teano, having assessed the surrounding terrain, landed next to Tyrel.

“I found a suitable place. It’s conspicuous and spacious, so it won’t be difficult to lure him in.”

“…Then, as planned…?”

“Yes. As we discussed.”

Tyrel hesitated and swallowed dryly. Teano smirked, finding Tyrel’s appearance amusing, and added,

“You won’t have to fulfill the Sacrifice Contract. If my prediction is correct, that is.”

“…Understood. I will follow your words, Father.”

Teano smiled with satisfaction and pulled the reins of the mantis. The six massive legs of the mantis pounded the asphalt road, making a loud noise.

“It’s the building with the flamboyant white shell-shaped roof! Deploy the troops!”

Tyrel glared at Teano’s receding figure and firmly shut her mouth.