Battle for Siren's Heart (3)
Pop! "Kyaaah!"
Suddenly, as the lights cut out, the people who had found calm listening to the song emanating from Siren's Heart let out screams.
Darkness stirs the imagination. What if a ghost emerges from the shadows? What if a monster lunges out and devours me? It was darkness itself that conjured such needless fantasies that never came true.
The sudden blackout plunged the aquarium into utter blackness—you couldn't see an inch ahead—and chaos erupted among the crowd.
"What the hell is going on?!"
"Save me!"
"Kyaaah!"
Seized by terror, the people screamed as if villains had stormed in.
"Everyone! Calm down!"
"Acardan Museum has emergency generators! They'll kick in any second!"
Tough Guy and Samuel Sos shouted to soothe the crowd, but their voices fell on deaf ears amid the panic. All that registered were the screams.
The association president is gonna hit the bottle again...
Attending not as Ice Queen but as Han Ji-min, she sighed inwardly. These weren't ordinary folk gathered here—they were Dark City's elite, the heavyweights steering the city. For something like this to happen in their midst... People were screaming in fear. The Hero Association was bound to draw complaints. She could already picture Valencia, the association president, scowling and sighing heavily.
But what's really going on? Jenaraider went out there, and now a blackout...?
She was just as baffled by the abrupt power failure.
To take on Jenaraider, it'd have to be an S-rank villain... Wait. S-rank villain? No way—Steel Armor?
Dark City had seventeen S-rank villains in total, but Han Ji-min immediately thought of Steel Armor. His words from a few days ago had left a deep impression etched in her heart.
.....
The image of Steel Armor, arms crossed, telling her to keep agonizing over it endlessly, lingered in her mind. The others couldn't see her face in the dark, but a flush colored her cheeks.
W-what am I even thinking right now?!
She shook her head fiercely, banishing Steel Armor from her thoughts, and steeled her resolve.
Doesn't matter who it is. I'll take them down and protect the civilians.
She was here because of Valencia, the association president. Sure, she was a director at Sanctuary Corp, but at the end of the day, she was just an employee. There'd been no need to invite staff when the whole Bal Ji-woon family got invitations. So when the Acardan Museum's invite arrived, Director Han Sun-hyuk was thrilled, but Han Ji-min had given a wry smile inwardly. It felt excessive.
Valencia had been against displaying Siren's Heart to the public, but overwhelming internal pressure to reveal it left him no choice. Anticipating some incident, he'd secretly called her in to prepare for contingencies. The museum's guards made disaster unlikely, but Valencia planned for the worst, using Ice Queen as insurance.
Only Valencia and his secretary Gumiho knew Ice Queen was Han Ji-min. Following orders, she calmly watched the entrance in the darkness.
"....."
And there was one other person keeping cool amid the chaos.
Wonder when he'll make his move?
It was none other than Bal Jeong-nam. Phase two of the plan—using Jenaraider to trigger the blackout—had gone off without a hitch. Now it was time for phase three, but he wasn't kicking it off. That honor went to Bal Ji-woon, the president—or rather, A-rank villain High Fog, lurking for an opening to fire the starting shot.
They say the emergency generators will start up, but that's impossible, right?
Jenaraider himself had unleashed a full-power lightning strike that fried the circuits. Even if they fired up the backups, no power would flow.
Come on out already.
Splash. Confirming the shallow water pooling around his feet with a stomp, Bal Jeong-nam waited for High Fog.
*****
Meanwhile, at that very moment, High Fog—the one Bal Jeong-nam was waiting for—had witnessed the entire fight between Steel Armor and Jenaraider from the museum rooftop, start to finish.
Taking down an S-rank hero that easily...
High Fog couldn't hide his shock at how effortlessly Steel Armor dispatched the S-rank hero Jenaraider. He already knew Steel Armor was strong. Not just anyone could become an S-rank villain—only the chosen reached that absolute realm. So it was natural for an S-rank like Steel Armor to be powerful.
But he hadn't imagined this powerful. The clash of two human monsters began and ended with Steel Armor's dominance. Even Jenaraider's strongest attack left Steel Armor unscathed.
That suit and mask aren't ordinary gear.
Any normal clothes would've burned. Yet the plain-looking suit and mask showed no scorch marks anywhere.
Damn it.
High Fog bit his lip. He'd thought scattering the museum's heroes and dulling their senses would give him a solid shot. But the biggest obstacle was elsewhere: Steel Armor. He was after Siren's Heart too. Why else come to Acardan Museum on his own two feet, with heroes swarming the place?
But what the hell is he doing?
High Fog figured Steel Armor would charge straight in. Instead, against expectations, he just stood there outside, arms crossed.
What's he waiting for?
Like someone expecting company, Steel Armor occasionally checked his watch and waited patiently.
No choice, then.
After agonizing over whether to scrap or stick to the plan, High Fog decided to press on. His beloved wife was waiting inside even now. She'd respond once he moved. He couldn't bear seeing her disappointed if they failed to steal Siren's Heart. Even capture by heroes didn't scare him much. His identity might leak, but he had the cash to make the arrest vanish like it never happened.
Fog Form.
Activating the skill, his figure grew hazy and blurred. Moments later, he dissolved into mist and slipped through a window into the museum. The window was locked tight, but it posed no barrier to fog-form High Fog.
The swirling mist drifted down the corridor.
Hm?
"Huh? What's with this fog?"
En route, High Fog encountered a female hero patrolling with a flashlight. Judging by position, she was right above the aquarium displaying Siren's Heart. But she didn't spot him. That's why he'd traveled in fog form, anticipating this.
"Did someone leave a window open? Weird—they said no opening windows."
Tilting her head, the hero followed the fog back the way High Fog had come.
.....
Once the hero left, the fog resumed moving. With even the emergency generators fried, the darkness was the perfect cover for High Fog.
*****
Not long after High Fog vanished, the female hero who'd just passed the fog doubled back.
"Whoa, High Fog really showed up, just like the boss said? Our master's a genius, as always. Guess I should keep doing what he told me."
Praising someone absent, the female hero—Aqua Girl—placed her hand on the wall. Water formed by her superpower trickled down the wall below.
*****
Slipping into the aquarium via the vent, High Fog peeled off a chunk of fog and sent it to his wife.
I'm here.
Twitch! Stephanie's ears perked at her husband's voice in her ear. The moment had arrived to execute the plan they'd schemed through the night. Stephanie spoke to her two kids.
"Mom's gonna hit the bathroom real quick."
"Seriously? Bathroom now?"
"....."
Ji-na shot her mom a baffled look, while Bal Jeong-nam's eyes gleamed.
"Then I'll come with."
"Huh? Oh, uh..."
Ji-naa wouldn't let Mom go alone, but Stephanie panicked—Ji-na tagging along meant no transforming into Hazel Fox. Her son came to the rescue.
"Hey, you think Mom's a kid? Why follow her to the bathroom? Heroes are out there anyway—what's there to worry about?"
"But still..."
"Yeah, Mom'll be right back. Don't stress."
"...Fine, but hurry up, okay?"
"Of course. Stay with your brother and hold hands."
"W-why do I have to hold hands with this kid?!"
"This kid...? Mom, I'm so sad now..."
"Aww, my poor boy. You sad?"
"Yeah! Bal Jeong-nam's sad!"
"Urk! What the hell are you doing? Wanna die?"
Ji-na made a face like she might actually puke at Bal Jeong-nam's childish lisp. Smiling at her bickering kids, Stephanie stepped out. In the bathroom, she checked every stall thoroughly before shedding her coat. A tight rider's suit hugged her curvaceous figure—one that defied her fifty years, dizzyingly alluring. Rhombus-shaped silver devices gleamed on her shoulders, elbows, hips, and knees. Tapping the ring on her finger twice, transparent liquid oozed from the devices, enveloping her body.
Fox Mask.
With the final skill, a fox-faced mask materialized over her features. Simultaneously, a lush tail sprouted from her tailbone.
Invisibility activate.
—Command acknowledged.
A mechanical voice based on a woman's issued from her earring. Stephanie vanished.
This gear was a secret Sanctuary Corp prototype—only President Bal Ji-woon and Stephanie possessed it.
Preparations complete, Stephanie—no, Hazel Fox—headed lightly toward the aquarium. When she crossed paths with flashlight-wielding heroes, she clung silently to the ceiling until they passed. Invisibility was new to her, still clunky. A flashlight beam might give her away. Dodging heroes, she entered the aquarium and nodded at the ceiling.
Catching his wife's signal, High Fog finally sprang into action.
Fog Veil.
The skill triggered, fog exploding to engulf the entire aquarium.
"Huh?"
"What is this..."
"W-what the hell?!"
People relying on phone lights and flashlights panicked as the fog descended.
"...Fog?"
Tough Guy and the A-rank heroes guarding the area froze at the sudden mist.
Fog-wielders were common. But blanketing this vast space? Only one in Dark City could pull that off: A-rank villain High Fog. And if he was here, his partner Hazel Fox was too.
"High Fog!"
Tough Guy gnashed his teeth. Greedy master thieves who couldn't pass up treasure—he hadn't expected them to target Siren's Heart. It made sense, though. No matter how skilled, storming a hero-packed spot was suicide.
"Of all times, when Jenaraider steps out! Wait—could the guy outside be...?"
A scenario flashed in Tough Guy's mind. What if High Fog hired the rampaging villain outside?
High Fog was a bad matchup. Tough Guy could win physical brawls, but you can't punch fog. Jenaraider's lightning, though—that neutralized it.
We got played. But you underestimated us, High Fog! Siren's Heart ain't yours!
Tough Guy hugged the heart's side and radioed the A-rank heroes. No response. The fog jammed comms.
*****
Smirk. A man grinned deeply from within the fog.
"Guess it's my turn to move."
Phase three: underway.