Chapter 46: Chains Beneath Justice

“Well then,” I said quietly.

“Shall we talk about your sins?”

The Professor stared at me with pure terror carved into his face.

His legs gave out, and he collapsed onto the cold stone floor, trembling uncontrollably.

On top of the altar, the woman lay completely exhausted.

Her wrists and ankles were bound tightly to the stone slab.

Her chest rose and fell weakly, every breath shallow and strained.

I extended my right hand toward the Professor.

“Void Chain.”

Dark blue light erupted instantly, forming heavy chains that wrapped around his entire body, binding him from head to toe.

“N-no!! Please!! Have mercy!! I beg you!!”

I grabbed him by the collar and yanked him closer.

“You can explain yourself later to someone I know,” I said coldly.

“For now, shut your mouth.”

I pressed my hand over his lips.

Dark blue light spread across his face, sealing his mouth completely.

Muffled screams echoed uselessly from beneath the void seal.

Then, I turned my attention to the woman bound to the altar.

Her clothes—thin to begin with—were torn and filthy.

Her pants were wrinkled, stained, and barely holding together.

Long black hair fell messily over her face, hiding her expression.

I gently moved her hair aside.

Bright blue eyes looked back at me—eyes filled with fear, exhaustion, and something deeper… resignation.

I knew who she was.

In the original webtoon, she appeared only briefly in the prologue.

An S-Rank Hero, famous for possessing a rare and dangerous ability—poison manipulation.

More than that, she was known for her unwavering sense of justice.

Whenever she appeared, people felt safe.

Yet many hated her precisely because she was too just.

Then one day… she vanished.

No one knew where she went.

Who would have thought she had been here all along—

tortured endlessly beneath the Hero Association itself?

“Elvera…”

Her eyes widened slightly.

“Y-you… know my name?”

“Of course I do,” I replied calmly.

“You’re one of my favorite heroes.”

Elvera stared at me silently.

“…Are you here to kill me?”

Her voice was weak, almost hollow.

She sounded like someone who had already accepted death—someone who wanted it to end.

Unfortunately for her…

I wasn’t going to let her die.

“No,” I said.

“I’m here to make you an offer.”

Suspicion flickered faintly across her face.

With a snap of my fingers, the restraints binding her wrists and ankles shattered into fragments of light.

Elvera gasped softly in surprise.

I carefully helped her sit up.

“Ugh… What kind of offer?”

I bent slightly so my eyes were level with hers.

“The Hero Association is rotten to its core,” I said.

“And you are living proof of that.

An S-Rank Hero known for justice, tortured just to extract poison.”

She stared at me—trying to remain composed, though her body trembled with fatigue.

“I want you to join me,” I continued.

“To destroy the International Hero Association…

and build a new Hero Association from its ashes.”

Her eyes widened in shock.

“A new… Hero Association…? Do you even realize what you’re saying?”

I slowly removed my mask.

Elvera froze.

“Why… why would you show me your face?”

“So you know I’m serious,” I answered.

“And so you know I’m not a liar spouting empty ideals.”

Her eyes shimmered.

Tears welled up and spilled over.

Then suddenly—

She cried.

She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around me, clinging desperately.

I hesitated… then gently ran my fingers through her tangled hair, smoothing it down.

Between sobs, she spoke.

“I… hic… I want to… hic… I want to join you…”

I smiled faintly.

“Good,” I said softly.

“I’ll avenge you, Miss Elvera.”

After a moment, still holding onto me, Elvera glanced toward the Professor bound in chains.

“What are you going to do with him?”

“We should kill him.”

I blinked in mild surprise.

Her hatred was deep—far deeper than I expected.

“Easy,” I said calmly.

“He’s an important subject. We’ll need him alive… for now.”

She nodded slowly, understanding.

Then she buried her face against my chest again.

This was… awkward.

“Um… Miss Elvera?”

“Please… let me stay like this for just a little longer…”

“…Alright.”

I sighed internally.

Still—everything was going according to plan.

Now I finally understood why, in the webtoon’s ending, the Hero Association collapsed first during the Four-Faction War.

Four great powers stood in that war:

-The Hero Association

-Villain Corruption

-The Seven Deadly Sins

-The Obsidian Pact

The Hero Association fell early—not because they were weak,

but because they were already broken from within.

Honest heroes were betrayed.

The righteous were silenced.

And in the end…

Only Lightnova was left standing alone.

I couldn’t accept that future.

After a while, Elvera finally loosened her grip.

She wiped her tears.

I removed my cloak and draped it over her shoulders.

Her face flushed red as she clutched it tightly.

“Don’t worry,” I said with a small smile.

“You can keep it.”

“I-it’s just because I’m cold!” she huffed, cheeks puffed.

“Not because I want it or anything…!”

She turned away.

…Tsunderes really are dangerous creatures.

After I put my mask back on, we began walking together.

I held the glowing blue chain binding the Professor.

Beside us ran a sewer channel filled with glowing green liquid.

So this was it.

The “waste” Jade had been told about…

was actually Elvera’s power.

How long had they been torturing her to extract this much poison?

I glanced at Elvera quietly.

Her gaze avoided the glowing liquid.

Trauma still lingered in her eyes.

For now, I needed to bring her to the base.

She needed rest. Recovery.

Near the stairway leading up, we found Jade waiting.

She stood with her arms crossed, leaning against the wall.

As we approached, her eyes landed on Elvera.

“N-no way… Miss Elvera?!”

Elvera smiled gently.

“Yes. It’s me, Jade.

It’s been a long time.”

Jade broke down instantly.

She rushed forward and hugged Elvera tightly, sobbing into her chest.

For Jade, Elvera was like a mother.

She had raised her—along with her older brother, Amon.

She taught them how to fight, how to learn, how to live.

I cleared my throat.

“Ahem. Sorry to interrupt your reunion,” I said,

“but we have important work to do.”

Jade quickly pulled back, wiping her tears.

“S-sorry…”

“I’ll explain everything later,” I continued.

“For now—this man is the Professor who tortured Miss Elvera.

I want you to interrogate him.

Use him as evidence.”

“I’ll take Miss Elvera with me so she can recover.”

Jade’s expression hardened.

She nodded firmly.

“Understood. Leave it to me.”

Good.

The gears were turning.

The chains beneath justice were finally beginning to break.

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