Chapter 125: Special Sequence - Tarot
At a major press conference held at Vought Tower, the president, Madelyn Stillwell, dressed in a solemn black suit, confirmed with a sad expression that the member of The Seven, The Deep, had been killed. She also announced that Vought would spare no effort in finding the culprit.
"Neither I, nor anyone at Vought, nor the other members of The Seven—Homelander—we will all work to find the killer and bring justice for The Deep…"
Tap. Tap. Tap…
At that moment, Homelander, his footsteps deliberately loud and clear, walked in through the main entrance. Every eye in the room turned to him. The press corps completely ignored Stillwell, and every camera swiveled to focus on Homelander.
"Homelander! Your teammate The Deep is dead! Have you found the killer?"
"Will you be avenging him soon?"
Homelander's expression was cold, but seeing the cameras on him, he stopped, forced a small smile, and said, "I will absolutely avenge The Deep."
Stillwell let out a sigh of relief. But then, Homelander's tone shifted.
"I would like to say that. But in fact…" His voice suddenly rose. At the same time, a crowd of people began to pour in through the open doors behind him. Some were dressed as security guards, others were wearing gold chains, and all of them were holding signs with Homelander's face on them.
"In fact, what I want to say is that The Deep was not worthy of being a superhero!"
Homelander's words plunged the entire room into a stunned silence. The reporters from the mainstream media, the tabloid journalists who loved to invent stories—everyone was shocked into silence. Stillwell's face went pale. She felt as if the beast she had raised had just snapped the collar from its neck.
"Today, I want to ask all Americans one question," Homelander boomed, his voice filling the hall.
"What… is a hero?!"
"Is it someone who puts on a show all day, who claims to love animals and get along with sea creatures, who is beloved by animal rights groups, but when faced with real danger, can't even protect himself, let alone our citizens? Is that a hero?"
Homelander had just ripped open a bloody truth, and the reporters were speechless. The ones who reacted first were already furiously snapping pictures. They knew a world-shaking story was about to break.
"NO!"
Behind Homelander, the crowd of gang members and his own fanatical supporters roared in unison. Homelander was already one of the most popular heroes. His invincible power was an object of admiration and envy. Everyone had, at some point, wondered: if I were in danger, what kind of hero would I want to save me? Homelander was the perfect answer. He could fly, he was super strong, he was bulletproof.
He took two more steps forward, until he was right in front of the forest of cameras. He had to project an image of absolute power to conquer them all, to make them all believe that he was the one, the only true hero.
There was no [The Seven]. There was only [Homelander]!
This was what "Mercenary Tao" had taught him. Homelander was growing more and more fond of the Asian man. He felt he had truly found someone who understood him.
He grabbed the microphone from the New York Times reporter in front of him, his voice now amplified throughout the building. He looked at Stillwell, the woman who had once fascinated him, and said, word by word, "It's time we redefine who can truly be a hero that saves this nation, and who should just go home and protect themselves from dying."
With that, Homelander turned and walked out. The reporters glanced at Stillwell for only a second before stampeding out of Vought Tower. They all knew an unprecedented purge was about to begin. The other heroes, who had been resting on their laurels for years, would surely fight back against Homelander's challenge. The government, the military, and the public, who had long grown tired of the complacent heroes, would all use Homelander's words to advance their own agendas.
Unprecedented chaos was about to erupt.
[You have obtained the Special Item: The Card (Unique, Indestructible, Drops on Death)]
Kaito Shirogane looked at the [Card] in his hand. If not for the clear system notification when he'd received it, he would have had a hard time telling it apart from any other card. It had no trace of any special power. Or rather, the power it contained was on such a high level that he was currently unable to perceive it.
Unlike his black [Card of Sin], the back of this one was white. When held up to the light, he could see the same intricate patterns, and the same golden Ouroboros symbol in the center. The [infinite] text was slightly different; on this card, it was written in a beautiful, slanted cursive.
He still couldn't see the image on the back. He began to gently rub it, as he had before.
[Heartless], seeing this, sighed and explained, "Don't waste your effort. I've tried everything on that card. The common 'blood-binding' method, the rumored 'appraisal' method… none of them worked. If it weren't for the system notification and what that man told me, I would have thrown it away long ago. But in any case, I've given it to you. If you can't activate it, that's not my problem."
Kaito's hand suddenly stopped. He felt a sharp prick on his fingertip. He immediately stored the card in his inventory.
[Special Item has been bound.]
[Sequence: Tarot, beginning activation…]
[Activation Terminated…]
A ripple of Hamon flowed over Kaito's hand, and the tiny pinprick on his finger instantly healed. His expression was calm. He patted [Heartless] on the shoulder. "Even if I can't activate it, I can sell it for a good price. You just go be a good little bait, as planned. Heh. And try not to die."
[Heartless] was relieved. He, [Providence], and [Flawless] had all tried to activate the card, but nothing had ever happened. Even when they'd tried to force a blood-binding, the system had just given them the notification: [Insufficient Qualification. Activation Failed]. [Providence] had theorized that the card required a Reincarnator with a special qualification to activate, but they lacked the intel channels to find out more. In the end, the [Card] had just become a smokescreen to throw their pursuers off their trail.
As a veteran "Farming Team," [9527] had been brought down by the coordinated efforts of its three "pigs." Not only were the team's core members all dead, but the team's charter and legacy had been seized by the three of them. To hide the true reason for the team's fall and to protect their real prize, [Providence] had intentionally leaked the rumor that they had found a special [Card].
Then, [Heartless] had been sent out with the (useless) [Card], and [Flawless] had been sent out with the team's real treasure—the massive hoard of DP and Singularities they had accumulated—and both of them had been deliberately "hunted." The true leader of the trio, [Providence], was in hiding with the real prize.
Now, seeing the card gone and his own life spared, and in a way that would arouse no suspicion, [Heartless] was so relieved that he didn't even notice the small, golden ripple of Hamon Kaito had just used.
"Heartless," Kaito's voice was soft. "Those other survivors of [9527]… they must be very important to you…"
[Heartless] froze, a sense of panic rising as he looked at the unsettling red face smiling at him.
Kaito gently tapped him between the eyes. "If you die, and I lose my Werewolf lineage item, I will absolutely hunt down your cute little comrades and collect my losses from them. So… don't die so easily."
The words should have been warm, but coming from this "Mercenary Tao," they only made [Heartless]'s blood run cold. He knew this wasn't just a threat. This man was absolutely the type to follow through.
After Kaito left, [Heartless] took a deep breath and began his own operation. He contacted Vought, demanding a private villa for his "convalescence," with the arrangement to be made immediately.
At that moment, Vought Tower was in complete chaos because of Homelander. The Operations Department didn't even dare to report this new request to Madelyn Stillwell, who was desperately trying to contact Vought's real CEO, Stan Edgar. The situation had completely spun out of control. Stillwell had lost her grip on Homelander, and the public narrative had completely collapsed. The government, which had been looking for a reason to move against Vought, was now fully involved, and Vought could no longer suppress the story. The short-form video platforms were now flooded with scandals about various heroes: some who had failed to maintain their physique and were now too out of shape to fight; others who were addicted to drugs and alcohol. The carefully crafted concept of the "Hero" was being deconstructed.
And in its place, Homelander's approval ratings were skyrocketing. The B45 gang, under Homelander's influence, had already been released without charges. Bobby immediately declared that Homelander was the true hero of the common people.
"In Homelander, I feel seen. I feel respected." Bobby's quote became the headline on every website.
In this situation, the Operations Department immediately approved the new Translucent's request. They arranged a villa in the suburbs and even thoughtfully provided physical therapists.
Kaito watched as [Heartless] was driven away in a black SUV. He himself then went to A-Train's hospital room. But he was disappointed. The room was empty. The speedster was gone.
"Are you looking for A-Train?" A voice from behind him.
The Amazonian-looking [Queen Maeve], in her battle costume, was standing there. She studied Kaito carefully.
"Did you bewitch Homelander?" she demanded. "Who are you? And what is your goal?!"