Chapter 126: A Fleeting Spring Dream (9)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 126: A Fleeting Spring Dream (9)
The aftermath of the explosion left the area around the Olympic Bridge in utter chaos. Due to the series of bombings, a section of the bridge that had stood firmly over the Han River collapsed, and vehicles that had been on the bridge were sinking beneath the water.
The disaster wasn't limited to the bridge itself. On the roads leading to both ends of the Olympic Bridge, startled drivers slammed on their brakes, causing a massive chain collision. Furthermore, explosions on the sections of the bridge that hadn't collapsed resulted in a surge of casualties, with people suffering injuries so gruesome they were difficult to look at.
Seoul was always congested with traffic, and the explosion in the middle of the bridge paralyzed transportation, preventing even emergency rescue vehicles from entering.
A, who had lost consciousness from the shock of the blast, briefly came to. The first thing he saw was the members of Team Hunter Killer—his girlfriends—staring blankly at him with expressions swirling with a cocktail of emotions.
He lay collapsed in his suit before them, and they were also clad in their suits for the duel. The moment he saw them, his first thought wasn't that his identity had been compromised. Instead, he was overwhelmed by a crushing guilt that all of this was his fault, making him feel that it would be better to simply lose consciousness again.
"This son of a bitch, playing games with people. Just thinking about how everything turned into this shit-show because of a bastard like you makes my blood boil!"
Indigo, who was clutching A by the hair, slammed A's face back down into the dirt.
"Oppa!"
Red was the first to scream, her anger reaching its breaking point. As the other members were about to lunge forward, Indigo’s voice rang out first.
"Shut your traps! If any of you take a single step, I’ll put a hole through this prick’s head."
He had pulled out a handgun and was aiming it at A. In terms of physical ability, the members of Team Hunter Killer far surpassed Team Guerrilla, but the latter were also Superhumans. It was impossible for them to move faster than Indigo could pull the trigger from that distance.
Above all, the members of Hunter Killer knew Indigo was a man who had long since abandoned common sense. Believing he truly would pull the trigger, their feet remained rooted to the ground.
"Haha! The great Team Hunter Killer, rendered helpless because of one man. How pathetic. Utterly pathetic!"
Indigo continued to sneer and mock them, not even trying to hide his malice. They wanted to rush him immediately and crush his bandage-wrapped face once more, but they were powerless against the gun in his hand.
They knew. If A truly was Spacetro, he simply possessed superior physical capabilities like a superhuman, but otherwise, he was no different from a human. He didn't have a body of steel that could deflect bullets, nor did he have a defensive barrier to block them.
If Indigo truly pulled the trigger, A would die right here.
"Get a grip! The treaty with Spacetro strictly forbids killing!"
"The treaty? Fuck the treaty! Why? You want to save this bastard so badly you're even bringing up the treaty?"
Veins bulging in his neck, Indigo shouted as he struck the collapsed A across the head with the muzzle of the gun. Though they had mentioned the treaty, it was clear that Indigo, having already crossed the line this far, no longer cared about such things.
They looked for any opening to subdue him, but none appeared. Even as Indigo ranted and laughed like a madman, the other members of Team Guerrilla kept their eyes fixed on Hunter Killer, and Indigo kept his gun trained on A throughout his nonsensical rambling.
"You Superhumans were played by a Spacetro grunt, and now you're trying to protect him? I guess you've forgotten the purpose of being a superhuman."
It was an absurd thing to hear. Even if it were true that the members of Hunter Killer had forgotten their duty and were being manipulated by A, Indigo was in no position to say such things.
It was Team Guerrilla who had long ago forgotten the original purpose of Superhumans: to fight Spacetro and protect the Earth.
"You crazy bastard."
Finally, a curse escaped Red's lips as she glared at Indigo. But that single remark only made Indigo laugh harder, as if he were enjoying himself.
"You really want to save this guy, don't you? Right. You probably want to save him just to hear him say something."
The laughter that had been plastered on Indigo's face since they met vanished, replaced by a cold, hard expression. He stared at them with sharp eyes filled with sinister intent.
"Strip."
At that single word, the expressions of the Hunter Killer members froze. They wondered what this subhuman creature was even talking about at a time like this.
"I've been thinking long and hard. How can I screw over you lot, who always looked down on me, and this bastard who turned my face into this mess, all at the same time?"
Soon, the vanished smile returned to his face. His eyes, betraying the lewd thoughts running through his mind, scanned the Hunter Killer members from head to toe.
"Strip, right here. And do what you did when you were fawning over this guy. If you do, I won't kill him."
The hands of the Hunter Killer members, who had been standing still, trembled. Even if they complied with Indigo's demand, he would likely kill A anyway. That was the kind of man Indigo was.
But perhaps, they thought, it might offer a glimmer of hope. Maybe a split-second opening would appear, allowing them to save A.
The suits worn by Hunter Killer recognized the wearer's DNA and were activated or deactivated by touching a pad on the neck. In other words, stripping off the suit here meant they would have to manually deactivate the tight-fitting suit and take it off themselves.
Oppa...
Red's mind was filled with thoughts of A. About their argument yesterday. About everything that had happened until now. And whether he truly was a member of Spacetro. Whether he had truly played them. She wanted to hear it directly from his mouth.
Her slightly trembling hand slowly moved toward the pad on her neck, but Pink caught her hand.
"...Pink?"
Pink lowered Red's hand and took a step forward.
"Promise me you'll let A go if I strip here."
"Depends on what you do after you strip."
Pink clenched her fists. Stripping off her suit and exposing herself here—of course she didn't want to do it. She had never even imagined showing her naked body to anyone other than A, and the fact that her audience was Team Guerrilla made her feel sick to her stomach.
However, if there was even a shred of hope to save A, she could endure the humiliation of exposing herself. Even though she was the leader, she couldn't let Red, the youngest, step forward. Although there was no hierarchy within Hunter Killer, she didn't want Yubin, who was like a younger sister to her, to go through such a shameful experience.
It would undoubtedly be a humiliating experience for her as well, and following Indigo's orders would leave a scar that might never heal. Still, she felt it was worth it if it meant saving the injured and collapsed A.
"Pink!"
Blue immediately called out to her. Pink turned her head, looked at Blue, and smiled.
"It's okay."
Leaving it at that, she turned back to Indigo, who was leering at her and licking his lips. She gritted her teeth and reached for the pad with a trembling hand. As her hand drew closer to the small black pad on her neck, Indigo let out a disgusting, heavy breath—
And then, a small stone landed on Pink's foot.
Since everyone's attention was focused on Pink, they all saw the stone fly in. Their gazes shifted toward the direction it had come from.
"Don't... do it..."
A, suffering from severe injuries and still bleeding from his head, forced the words out as he clung to his fading consciousness. The moment she heard his voice, Pink felt the trembling in her hands stop.
The other members of Hunter Killer, who had been thinking it would be better if they did it instead of Pink, felt the same way.
To Pink, A was someone precious. Even if he had played them, she had no intention of believing a word Indigo said until she heard the truth from A himself.
A was precious enough for her to trust him blindly, and A had cherished her just as much.
Wondering what kind of expression she should make, Pink settled on a smile.
"Okay. I understand."
A said no. So, she wouldn't do it.
And she made a vow in her heart.
That she would never let anyone in the universe, other than A, lay a hand on her body.
No one else could see it, nor touch it. Her body was reserved for A alone.
"You son of a bitch!"
Indigo, who had been excited at the thought of his desired scenario finally playing out, spat out a curse and stomped on A's head, enraged that A had ruined it.
"You bastard! You fucking piece of shit! Who do you think you are, interfering?!"
He continued to trample A's head. As the Hunter Killer members reached the limit of their patience and were about to lunge at Indigo to kill him, the muzzle of the gun in his hand pointed toward A.
In that brief instant, the trigger was pulled, but a flash of light faster than the bullet severed Indigo's right arm. As the trigger was pulled, the bullet flew into the air instead of A's head.
"You son of a bitch!!!"
Before he could even register that his arm had been severed, Seira flew in through the dust, grabbed Indigo by the hair, and slammed him into the ground.
"Die! Die, you bastard!"
Spitting out curses filled with rage and madness, Seira held Indigo's head against the ground and dragged his bandage-wrapped face across the dirt.
"Aaaaaagh!!!"
He screamed in agony from his severed arm. His face, already being ground away by the pavement, was dragged further.
"Seira. Calm down."
Seira, her anger at its peak, looked ready to kill Indigo as she tried to slam his face into the ground again. Luche pulled her scythe out from where it was embedded in the earth.
Just before Indigo could shoot A, two flashes of light had streaked down from the sky. One of them was Luche's scythe, which had spun through the air and severed Indigo's arm. Then, Seira had landed and ground his face into the dirt.
The expressionless Luche was soaked to the bone, water dripping from her as she approached Seira with her scythe.
"Please take care of A."
Regaining her composure at Luche's low whisper, Seira moved toward the collapsed A. Luche looked down coldly at Indigo, who was writhing on the ground and groaning in pain from his severed arm.
"Don't worry. I won't kill you."
Luche raised her scythe, which she had been dragging along the ground, and plunged the blunt end of the handle into the stump of Indigo's severed arm.
"Aaaaaagh!!!"
An ear-piercing scream erupted. With the end of the great scythe embedded in the wound, Luche gripped the handle tight and twisted it.
"Guh... Ack!"
Indigo, unable to even scream properly from the pain, began to foam at the mouth. Luche watched him with cold eyes, continuing to gouge the wound.
From the moment Indigo had insulted A and tried to shoot him until now, barely a minute had passed.
The members of Team Guerrilla, watching Indigo bleed profusely and scream, were frozen in terror. The members of Hunter Killer, who had been staring at the mangled Indigo, finally turned their attention back to A.
"A. Wake up. Hey? Can you hear me? Get up! Please. Please...!"
Tears streaming from her eyes, Seira pulled the collapsed A into her arms and called out to him as he continued to lose consciousness. A was still bleeding from his head, gasping for breath as he barely clung to his senses.
"Oppa!"
"A!"
"Darling!"
The women of Hunter Killer rushed toward A simultaneously. Sensing them approaching, Seira quickly pivoted and leveled her sword at them.
The tip of her blade pointed sharply at them, as if warning them not to come any closer. Seira glared at the Hunter Killer members with eyes full of rage and hostility.
To Seira, it wasn't Team Guerrilla who had caused this disaster, but the Superhumans. She had no idea what else these Superhumans, who had reduced A to this state, might do. Everyone before her was an enemy, and she had to save the dying A immediately.
She held her sword in one hand, aiming it at Hunter Killer, while using her other hand to hold A's head to stem the bleeding.
"Seira. It's okay. It's okay now, so calm down."
At the familiar voice, Seira turned her head. Angelica, the 2nd Team Leader, had appeared out of nowhere and was patting her on the shoulder.
"Captain Angelica... A is... A is...!"
"Don't worry."
Soon, a shadow fell over the sun-drenched ground. Looking up, they saw a massive flying object hovering above. Team Hunter Killer tensed as they looked at the enormous craft, the likes of which they had never seen before. They felt their bodies tighten, and then a beam of light descended upon the spot where A, Seira, and Angelica stood.
"Luche. Let's go."
Esmeralda, the 1st Team Leader, had also arrived and was calming Luche, who was still expressionlessly gouging Indigo's wound.
"I'm going to make sure this bastard never moves again. So he can never lay a hand on A. Never again..."
At that moment, a series of gunshots rang out, followed by another scream from Indigo.
"Aaaaaagh!!"
In Esmeralda's hand was the handgun Indigo had been aiming at A moments ago. Several bullets from the gun had pierced the back of Indigo's remaining left hand.
With his right arm severed and his left hand shot, Indigo, overwhelmed by the agonizing pain, couldn't even keep his balance. Luche pulled the end of her scythe handle out of his wound. Dark blood gushed out, but Luche's expression remained unchanged.
She looked at him with a cold gaze before turning to A, who was being held by Seira.
"How is A?"
"Let's get back and check on him first."
"...Alright."
Luche replied in a low voice. She was in a somber mood and didn't feel like talking anymore.
Then, her eyes fell upon Indigo's severed arm. It was the filthy arm with the hand that had pointed a gun at A. Thinking she couldn't leave that disgusting arm—the one that had injured A and threatened his life—alone, Luche swung her scythe.
The arm—or what used to be an arm—was instantly shredded, turning into a mass of flesh so mangled it was unrecognizable.
Soon, a beam of light descended upon Luche and Esmeralda, just like the one that had come for Seira, A, and Angelica. With a brilliant flash, all the Spacetro personnel vanished from the spot.
The Hunter Killer members, who had been checking A's condition while facing Seira's sword, turned their gaze toward the craft in the sky as soon as A and the Spacetro executives disappeared.
The massive flying object emitted a glow and then vanished with an intense flash of light.
The city was still in a state of pandemonium, with screams echoing everywhere.
On the day an incident occurred that would have a profound impact on the treaty that had lasted for twenty years.
On that day, A disappeared from before the five women.
And so, a month passed.