It seems like today ended up being a waste of time. The sun was already setting as we left the last prison.
“Team Leader, why are we going around looking for people we’ve already caught? And even making me use my powers for it?”
“Hmm... it’s just... a personal reason. Sorry, but I can’t tell you why.”
“Is that so? Well, I guess it doesn’t really matter.”
As expected, Lee So-Young knows how to navigate life. She knows better than to ask detailed questions about her boss’s personal matters. If the conversation drags on, it’ll just become a hassle. It’s not like I want to keep listening to something I don’t even care about.
“How about I treat you to dinner while we’re at it? It’s almost dinnertime.”
“Oh! Sounds great! Gourmet guide Lee So-Young knows all the best spots!”
So-Young walked cheerfully, thrilled at the thought of scoring a free meal. I was thinking about how to deal with her mercenary nature when—
“......”
I stopped walking, and my expression froze.
“Huh? Team Leader, what’s wrong?”
Noticing my sudden stillness, So-Young turned to me with a puzzled look.
“Why did you stop all of a sudden? Did you see something or...?”
“Shh.”
I cut off her questioning. So-Young, looking baffled, watched me as I kept silent. Closing my eyes, I tuned in to the flow of the air. Something felt very wrong.
And then—
“Ah?!”
I lunged forward, pulling So-Young into a tight embrace.
“T-Team Leader? What’s going on? What are you doing...?”
“Stay quiet and hold on to me!”
“Wha...?”
With So-Young in my arms, I twisted my body and leaped into the air.
BOOM!
The ground where we had just stood exploded, leaving a massive crater. Something had attacked us.
“H-Huh...?”
Realizing I had just saved her life, So-Young’s eyes went wide with shock. We turned our heads toward the direction the attack had come from.
On the rooftop of a building across the street stood a woman, staring at us.
“Tch. I knew you had good instincts. I thought I could take you out with one blow.”
The woman clicked her tongue, clearly annoyed that her attempt to kill me had failed. I recognized her.
It was Choi Young-Hee, the younger sister of Choi Hye-Young, whom I had just met earlier. She extended her hand toward us again, preparing another attack.
“That’s... Choi Young-Hee?! What’s going on? She’s not supposed to be an Awakened.”
“I don’t know, but you evacuate the civilians. I’ll handle this.”
I looked around at the panicked crowd, screaming and fleeing from the sudden villain attack in the middle of the street.
It seemed that instead of going to her sister Hye-Young, Young-Hee had come to me. Her gaze was fixed solely on me, ignoring the chaos around her. Her expression said it all—she didn’t care if others died as long as she could kill me.
How could that family all share such a warped personality?
“Team Leader! Should I call for backup?!”
“No need!”
Without hesitation, I transformed into my magical girl form and launched myself toward Young-Hee.
Young-Hee fired something from her hand as I flew in a straight line. On closer inspection, it resembled the power used by Oh Min-Ji.
A concentrated energy of dark crimson, eerily similar to the magic I use. Crossing my arms, I blocked her attack head-on. She hadn’t expected me to charge straight through, and her face showed her surprise.
“Guh?!”
I slammed into Young-Hee, sending her tumbling across the rooftop. She rolled several times before coming to a stop.
She couldn’t react properly to even such a simple attack. As expected, she was still inexperienced. She’d only just received her powers and didn’t know how to fight.
“Damn it! Take this!”
Young-Hee kept firing magic, but the attacks were too weak for me to bother even dodging. If I evaded them, they’d hit the buildings behind me, potentially hurting civilians with the debris. So I absorbed them all without hesitation.
Despite the barrage, my body remained unscathed.
“You...! Argh!”
Realizing her attacks were useless, Young-Hee clenched her fists and charged at me.
Her punch was laughable, the kind thrown by someone who had never fought in her life. I caught it with one hand.
“Hmm?”
It wasn’t as weak as I’d expected. Her strength was boosted significantly, likely a result of the power she’d been given.
“Let go of me!”
Struggling against my grip, Young-Hee flailed. I grabbed her by the collar.
“Gah...! I’ll kill you! I’ll—mmph!”
“Shut up. Now answer my questions. What is this power? You weren’t an Awakened before.”
“I just awakened! That’s why I’m here to take my revenge on you!”
“Awakened, huh?”
I couldn’t help but laugh at her absurd claim.
“Receiving power from someone else doesn’t count as awakening.”
“...! How do you know that?”
“You got it from that woman, didn’t you? Let me guess—she spoke to you in your mind, right? That’s how it happened?”
“Urgh!”
Her response to being caught off guard was to try to hurt me, but I easily caught her other arm.
“Give it up. You know you can’t beat me, no matter what suspicious power you’ve gained.”
“Guh?!”
As soon as I let go of her arms, I delivered a punch to her stomach. She collapsed to the ground, unable to stand.
“Ugh...! Ack! Ugh...”
“You really thought you could beat me with just a tiny bit of borrowed power?”
“Khh...!”
Young-Hee gasped for air, saliva dripping from her mouth. She was no longer a threat, so I didn’t hold back.
“If you don’t want more pain, talk. Did that woman say anything else to you? Or did she just give you power?”
“I-I’m not going to... urgh!”
“Don’t bother with your pride. If you don’t want more pain...”
I gripped her shoulder tightly, causing her to cry out in agony. Tears streamed down her face.
And then it happened.
“Ah...! Aaaaah?!”
Young-Hee screamed in pain as dark crimson energy began pouring out of her body. Her abdomen glowed, and the energy burst forth, enveloping me.
“This is...?”
It felt like the same power Oh Min-Ji had used before.
But then—
“Ugh?!”
A sharp headache hit me, followed by pain in my stomach.
This pain... I recognized it. It was the same as five years ago when I first encountered her.
“Ah... Aaaah...”
The strange energy subsided as Young-Hee collapsed, unconscious.
“Dammit.”
I rubbed my temple, letting out a sigh.
I see. It was a self-destruct mechanism. That woman had set up this trap to inflict as much harm as possible before Young-Hee went down.
The headache passed, though my stomach still burned. Ignoring it for now, I checked on Young-Hee’s condition. She was still alive, though barely.
Lifting her shirt, I saw it—a tattoo. A message, just like with Oh Min-Ji, but this time longer and clearer.
[Come find me.]
“Well.”
This is nothing more than a challenge—a bold invitation to meet face-to-face. In that case, I’ll gladly oblige. After all, it’s exactly what I want too.
—Ssshhh.
As soon as I finished reading the message, the tattoo disappeared.
So, she orchestrated this whole stunt just to deliver that single line to me.
“This time, for sure...”
The sourc𝗲 of this content is frёeωebɳovel.com.
I’m going to teach her some proper manners once and for all.
***
“Team Leader! What happened to Choi Young-Hee?”
Carrying the unconscious Young-Hee over my shoulder, I landed near Lee So-Young. She ran up to me in concern.
“She’s out cold. You handle this—call someone from the Association to take her away.”
“Huh? You’re not coming with me?”
“No. There’s somewhere I need to go.”
“Go? Where?”
I gave her a wry smile.
“There’s something I need to figure out because of her. I’ll call you when I’m done.”
“Oh... okay. If it’s your call, I’m sure there’s a good reason.”
“Exactly. Handle the cleanup, will you?”
Handing Young-Hee over to So-Young, I took off into the air.
This time, I’d end it.
***
“Is that... Ms. Hye-Rim?”
Jung Ha-Yeon was returning home after her hero duties when she heard screams. She quickly flew toward the source of the commotion.
By the time she arrived, the situation seemed mostly resolved. There was no sign of the villain—only their unconscious form being carried by someone else.
“Did she handle the villain again today?”
Watching Shin Hye-Rim hand over the unconscious villain to Lee So-Young, Ha-Yeon hesitated.
She wanted to approach Ms. Hye-Rim, ask what had happened, and make sure she was okay.
Though unlikely, the thought of Ms. Hye-Rim being hurt pained her.
Just as Ha-Yeon was about to step forward—
“Huh? She’s flying off again?”
Shin Hye-Rim suddenly took off with a serious, determined expression.
“What’s going on?”
Unable to shake her curiosity, Ha-Yeon decided to follow.
If there was even the slightest chance she could help, she was ready to do whatever it took.
I thought it would take longer to meet her but ok