Before the Terror
Before the concert hall terror began, I did one last check.
“Are you ready?”
“Yeah.”
When I asked, she nodded and spun around once. A half-mask similar to mine, an oversized hoodie that reached down to her thighs, running shoes built for mobility, and short shorts. Put it all together and she gave off the vibe of a total troublemaker.
“After the terror starts, I will address you as Polia.”
She nodded.
“And what did I tell you to call me?”
“Oppa.”
“...Yes. You should call me Maker. Under no circumstances are you to say my real name.”
“Got it, oppa.”
Lee Gayeon nodded while looking at me.
...She does understand, right?
I was a little uneasy, but since the kid was surprisingly sharp, I decided to trust that she’d handle it.
“Polia.”
I refocused and called her again. Then, with a somewhat serious expression, I crouched down to meet her eye level.
“From now on, we are going to commit an act of terror.”
“......”
“We’ll take people hostage and threaten them.”
She nodded.
“There might be a lot of people making scary faces at you during that time. Are you scared?”
“I’ve seen plenty of people with ugly expressions. I’m fine.”
What I really meant was, are you sure you won’t get traumatized? You’re the star of this terror attack. If your mind breaks, you won’t be able to use your powers properly.
Polia reached out, grabbed my hand, and placed it on top of her head.
“And if you do this, it’s okay.”
She said it while looking straight at me. A faint smile lingered at the corner of her mouth.
So as long as I’m here, it’s fine? That’s… kind of touching.
I let out a small chuckle and gently ruffled her hair.
“Shall we go, then?”
“Yeah.”
When I held out my hand, she grabbed it with all her strength.
Vrrrr—
She activated her ability.
It was a somewhat lazy lunchtime.
“Haaam…”
“You really tired?”
The woman with glasses nodded at her short-haired friend’s question.
“Yeah…”
“Well, you did ride the train for eight hours to get to District C. No wonder you’re sleepy. Hey, wanna take a quick nap?”
“No way. We don’t even know when it’s gonna start.”
The woman forced her drooping eyes open and stared at her friend. How much effort had she put in for today?
Tickets that sold out in seconds, then hours of standing in line just to get a seat among 25,000 people. She had fought tooth and nail for this spot.
No matter how tired I am, if I can’t enjoy it properly today, I’ll never forgive myself!
“Right, you’re a hardcore fan of Red Heroes, aren’t you?”
“Obviously! My oppas are so handsome!”
“...They just look greasy to me.”
“What?!”
Red Heroes. The idol-hero team this woman loved like crazy—the very stars performing at today’s massive concert dome.
And she called them greasy?
“Give me back my ticket, you bitch!”
“You can’t take back something you already gave.”
Faced with that shameless attitude, the woman let out a long sigh.
My oppas are so good-looking and kind. Greasy? Ugh, never mind.
“...Still, this place is ridiculously huge.”
Her friend had already forgotten their little spat and was looking around, craning her neck. The woman cleared her throat and pushed her glasses up.
“It’s the largest venue in Korea, capable of holding 25,000 people. That’s how big my oppas are—”
“Wow, what if a villain showed up in a place like this?”
Her friend casually ignored the boasting and kept sightseeing. The woman snorted.
“If a villain shows up, my oppas will beat them up. Did you forget? My oppas are heroes!”
“Really? Then I guess there’s no problem.”
The average rank of Red Heroes was C. Most people considered them weak for heroes, but the woman, blinded by her fangirl goggles, saw things differently.
My oppas are just being considerate of their fans. If they really wanted to, they could do anything.
She firmly believed that if their fans were ever in danger, the boys would risk everything to protect them.
At least until the day she actually came face to face with a real villain.
“Hello, citizens.”
The moment I announced the start of the terror, Polia slammed her hand on the ground and used her earth manipulation to instantly seal every entrance to the distant dome.
-Maker. Communications room secured.
-Control room secured as well.
-Here too…
The organization members had successfully taken their assigned positions.
Smooth sailing.
Satisfied with the voices coming through the comms, I continued speaking to the citizens.
“Some of you may already know me. My name is Maker. I am an executive of Eclipse.”
The moment I introduced myself, the murmuring grew louder.
Tap. Tap.
Screeeeech—
When I saw confusion starting to spread, I deliberately tapped the microphone to draw everyone’s attention.
““......””
Once the hall fell silent again and all eyes were on me, I smiled and continued.
“You will all become my hostages. In other words, you will serve as compensation for the heroes.”
““......””
“If you simply follow my instructions, no one here will get hurt. I promise.”
I gave Polia a look. She immediately activated her ability.
Rumble—
“Kyaa!”
“Kyaaa!”
“W-what the hell!”
The ground shifted and a prison formed in an instant. Because it was built in a circle around us, it almost looked like we were the ones trapped, but the reality was the opposite.
“I-it won’t open!”
“L-let us out!!”
“Mommy…”
“Isn’t anyone here an ability user? Someone strong, anything!”
The citizens shook the bars Polia had created, but they didn’t budge.
Come on, I literally said I won’t do anything until the heroes arrive.
Still, if I were in their shoes, I’d be suspicious and anxious too.
Suddenly trapped by a villain, only to be told the villain would let them go soon—it was only natural that they wouldn’t trust me.
“If you all stay calm, I won’t do anything. I swear it.”
“W-what do you want?!”
When I asked them to believe me, a trembling short-haired woman shouted the question. Even though her glasses-wearing friend tugged at her sleeve as if telling her to stop, she ignored it and stared straight at me.
Hmm.
“Polia. Could you teleport us over to the woman who just asked me a question?”
“Yeah.”
Vrrrr—
I took the hand Polia extended, and we instantly appeared in front of the bars where the woman was.
“Kyaaak!”
The short-haired woman fell backward in shock when we suddenly appeared.
“Oh dear, if I startled you, I apologize. I just thought it would be better to answer your question face to face…”
“Y-yes…”
When I smiled gently and apologized, she stared at me with a dazed expression.
“Anyway, to get to the point, I want the heroes to come here.”
“...Again?”
“Looks like you saw my last terror attack.”
“Yes…”
“Are you perhaps a fan of mine?”
I grinned playfully. After the footage of me killing those villains spread, I’d heard that a group of people had started worshipping me or obsessing over me excessively.
It was just a joke based on that news. Obviously it was ridiculous to ask if someone was my fan just because they’d seen one of my terror attacks.
And even if someone was my fan, what were the chances they’d run into me during one of my attacks?
“......”
The short-haired woman’s face gradually turned red at my joke.
...Huh?
“...Anyway, what I want is for the heroes to show up.”
I pretended not to notice the awkward atmosphere and moved on.
“Since this is being broadcast live, they should be here soon, right?”
I glanced at Polia. She nodded while floating several cameras in the air.
“...Hey!”
At that moment, a woman with glasses inside the prison called out with a bright expression.
She was clearly the same friend who had tried to stop the short-haired girl earlier. What was this about? As I wondered, she quickly continued.
“We have heroes! My oppas! Red Heroes are here!”
She shouted with an innocent, sunny smile.
“H-hyung… w-what do we do?”
Inside the stage waiting room. Five men wearing red costumes were trembling violently.
“Why… of all days, during our concert…”
It had been about five years since they started living as unknown, weak heroes. All they had were decent looks and a few cheap tricks.
“We finally made it this far…”
They had done a lot of shady things just to survive. But after all that hardship, they had finally reached the moment when they were about to see the light.
“What the hell does he want us to do…”
—Red Heroes… Are you here by any chance?
At least until the man named Maker appeared on the stage above, looking for them.
“W-what should we do?”
“What do you mean, what should we do?! There’s nothing we can even do…!”
They were technically heroes, but their average rank was C. The strongest among them, their leader, was only C+. That said everything.
“...That crazy bitch just had to drag our names into this…”
“Hey! No matter what, she’s still a fan!”
“Fan? So what? Are you gonna go out there and take a bullet for her? You want tomorrow’s news to say ‘A Hero’s Honorable Death’ and then be completely forgotten?”
“......”
“...This time, Eunchan’s right. Siyoon. Going out there blindly is just throwing your life away.”
A brief silence fell over them.
Throwing their lives away. None of the five gathered here wanted to die a dog’s death.
That was exactly why they had chosen this path even while being treated like clowns by other heroes. But…
“...Let’s run.”
“Huh…?”
“...No matter how I think about it, we can’t. None of us want to die, right?”
“That’s… true, but…”
The youngest of the team glanced at the live feed of the stage.
“Then you stay behind and die trying to save the fans.”
“...That’s…”
They didn’t want to die. Even if the lives on the line belonged to fans who loved them.
It wasn’t their own lives at stake, nor the lives of anyone particularly close to them. So they could abandon them without hesitation and run.
...Nod.
In the end, even the youngest agreed, and they began preparing to escape. They changed out of their costumes to avoid being recognized and grabbed wallets full of cash.
“Those bitches have nothing to do with us anyway.”
“Who even asked them to come to our concert?”
“I never wanted this kind of attention.”
“Let’s just get out of here fast.”
“......”
Each of them rationalized it, insisting they had done nothing wrong. After changing clothes and finishing their preparations, they reached for the waiting room door to make their escape.
Creak…
“Ah.”
“This is Unit 42. We have located the hero team Red Heroes.”
“We’re fucked—”
Thud.
One capable organization member had found them. Their escape plan was scrapped in an instant.