Aerial Bombardment
"Huh...?"
Miracle Shine, the Rank 2 Hero, had slipped away from the Seminar Site early at Trauma's request and was now on standby in her lodgings.
"What in the world is... this...?"
Staring at the laptop Trauma had set up in advance, she muttered in a daze.
"Our next item is a support artifact crafted from the flayed hide of former Rank 46 hero, Acarion!" the auctioneer on screen announced enthusiastically.
"Imbued with Acarion's Concept of Hardening, this artifact can withstand impacts of several hundred tons with ease..."
The words tumbling from the auctioneer's lips were utterly incomprehensible, bordering on madness.
"Bidding begins at eighty thousand dollars! Yes, bidder number sixteen raises immediately to one hundred twenty thousand...!"
"T-Trauma. What... what on earth is this?"
Watching the nightmare unfold on screen, her face drained of all color. With trembling hands, Miracle Shine keyed her radio transceiver and stammered into the mic.
"Can't you tell just by looking?" Trauma's voice returned over the channel, cool and measured. "It's a black-market auction being held right behind the seminar."
"That's a lie. It has to be... This is just some pre-recorded, fabricated video—"
"Can't you tell it's a live feed?"
On the screen, Trauma raised his guest badge and gave it a slight wave.
"And you can sense it too, can't you? The fact that I'm nearby."
"B-But how could they commit such horrors right out in the open...?"
"When half the attendees at this hero seminar are Kaijin, and most of them are high-ranking Association officials or Top-Ranking Heroes, it's child's play."
Cold sweat beaded across Miracle Shine's forehead and dripped down her neck.
"...Fine. I understand the video isn't fake. But those auction lots... what are they, really?"
As she watched the bids climb into the stratosphere, she pressed him again. Trauma began his explanation in a low, even tone.
"Back when Magical Beasts ran rampant across the earth, humanity made a discovery: that their corpses could be harvested to craft specialized weapons and gear."
He was right. In this modern era, the remains of Magical Beasts were the most coveted raw materials and energy sources on the planet. The heart of a Magical Beast was especially prized. Capable of imbuing inert objects with supernatural traits known as 'Mysteries,' even the lowest-grade heart fetched anywhere from hundreds of millions to billions of won.
"Unfortunately, beasts weren't the only things that could be forged into weapons and items."
"Then...?"
"Humans endowed with Concepts can be processed into weapons and gear just like Magical Beasts."
A violent shudder ran through Miracle Shine's body.
"Then the recent explosive growth in the 'Mystery' industry...?"
"Was because they weren't refining beasts, but Concept-bearing humans into 'Mysteries.' Naturally, progress would accelerate on every front."
Nausea clawed at the back of her throat. She felt as though she might throw up right then and there.
"The heart of a Concept-bearer is harvested and refined just like a beast's heart to bestow their abilities. And if their Concept lingers after death, their remaining body parts are meticulously processed into support artifacts."
"Ugh..."
"Their primary clientele, of course, are heroes. Whether they are Kaijin wearing the guise of heroes, or genuinely virtuous heroes kept completely in the dark, they are the ones who encounter and wield these items most."
No matter how many battles the Rank 2 Hero had weathered, confronting the grotesque underbelly of the so-called golden age of heroes was too sickening to bear.
Muffled, agonized cries echoed from the massive screen hanging behind the auction block, where video footage detailed the grotesque processing of heroes into armaments and artifacts—a spectacle that struck her like a physical blow.
"Miracle Shine-ssi. How does it feel to learn the truth?"
Trauma spoke in a low murmur, broadcasting the feed directly through a micro-camera affixed to his cornea.
"By the way, Great Order hasn't said a word for some time. Did something happen on her end?"
"...D-Did she come as well?"
"Yes. She should be watching my broadcast from her room, just like you."
Miracle Shine's complexion turned stark white.
"I'm going to raid that place with her right now."
"That is impossible. Every single Top-Ranking Hero is gathered in that room."
"Are you telling me to just stand by and watch such an atrocity unfold?!"
Trauma's calm voice drifted steadily from the laptop speakers.
"The enemy doesn't know yet that you've discovered the truth. Are you really going to surrender our only tactical advantage?"
"That's..."
"Furthermore, your chances of success are minuscule. Even if you hold Rank 2, do you honestly believe you can handle every Top-Ranking Hero and high-ranking hero in that venue simultaneously?"
"........."
Trauma's cold logic silenced Miracle Shine completely.
"...Then what do you plan to do?"
"I intend to infiltrate their inner ranks."
"From the inside?"
"As I've told you before, to catch a tiger, you must enter the tiger's den."
His level-headed words echoed in her quiet quarters.
"Are you aware, Miracle Shine-ssi?"
"Of what?"
"Dominating Hands has already succeeded in synthesizing a chemical agent capable of exposing the true identities of the Kaijin."
"R-Really?"
"Yes. However, mass production and commercialization require time."
"Ah..."
"Meanwhile, the Hero Association is scouring the globe for our headquarters and manufacturing plants, preparing for total war. During this seminar, detailed briefings and operational reports will likely be exchanged."
Miracle Shine's eyes widened with sudden understanding.
"So that's why you took such a massive risk to come here?"
"Precisely. In a war like this, intelligence is paramount. That is why I am standing in this room." Trauma's tone softened by a fraction. "You understand now, don't you? In this situation, rash action is nothing short of suicide—"
He abruptly cut off.
"Ladies and gentlemen, our next lot—brace yourselves! It is none other than the flesh-and-blood younger sister of Justia!"
An eerie, suffocating silence fell over the room.
"Wouldn't you love to behold the weapons and 'Mysteries' forged from the sole remaining bloodline of the world's greatest hero, Justia?"
Grrrrk...
The sound of teeth grinding with terrifying force crept through the laptop's speakers.
"The moment the winning bid is placed, we will carve the beating heart from her chest right in her lodging and begin fabrication! The entire process will be broadcast live—"
Meanwhile, the feed on the monitor cut to the image of a young girl.
"When is the professor ever coming back...?"
Ariel, rolling lazily across her bed, was being broadcast live to the masked audience.
"Trauma. This is too much. I'm stepping in—"
Unable to watch any longer, Miracle Shine surged to her feet.
"Head to Ariel's room this instant."
"...What?"
"I am entrusting her to you."
The calm, measured tone from moments before had vanished entirely, replaced by a voice boiling with raw, venomous fury.
"It seems I'll have to tear this place apart."
Miracle Shine flinched, frozen where she stood.
"B-But..."
"Are you asking if this counts as rash action?"
As she struggled to form words, Trauma answered quietly, the rustle of fabric coming over the line as he reached inside his coat.
"After seeing that, I don't give a damn."
Click.
The connection abruptly snapped.
"........."
Left in absolute silence, Miracle Shine clutched her head, her thoughts spinning into chaos.
Who... who am I supposed to help?
A distress signal called to her from nearby—Ariel, the target marked by that sinister auction hall. Yet that signal was faint. Farther away, where Trauma was, the signal pulsing through her senses was overwhelming—a flare of desperation so blinding it knocked the breath from her lungs.
"Uuu..."
Miracle Shine's pupils trembled wildly.
"...Did it break?"
After attempting to reconnect the radio with Miracle Shine to no avail, I gave up on the dead device and pulled my smartphone from my coat.
"Well, at least I told her to look after Ariel."
Installed on my phone was a custom penetration-testing suite provided by Pandora. With that hacking tool, swapping the live feed of Ariel on the main stage screen for a cognitohazardous hypnotic video would have been child's play.
"Hmm."
A few taps on the glass told me it wasn't going to happen.
"So that's why the transceiver died."
It seemed they had deliberately jammed cellular and wireless internet access in the area.
"Mmh..."
Under these conditions, the only way to get online was connecting to the secured VIP Wi-Fi set up specifically for the live broadcast. But the Hero Association's network had automated protocols designed specifically to counter Pandora; the moment any hacking signature was detected, it would sever the feed immediately.
Unfortunately, Pandora's hacking app was off the table.
Even so, that didn't mean I was out of options.
"Excuse me, miss."
"Yes?"
Quietly scanning the crowd for a suitable test subject, I tapped the shoulder of a young woman standing a few paces back, her face hidden behind an ornate masquerade mask.
"Take a look at this."
"What are you—"
Before anyone noticed, I thrust the smartphone directly in front of her eyes. Her irritated frown dissolved into a glassy, hollow stare.
"Good. Very well done."
"Ah..."
"Would you mind if I borrowed your phone for a moment?"
"Yes....."
With her full, unhesitating consent, I took her phone, unlocked it using her thumbprint, and initiated a small experiment.
"Now then, let's see if this works..."
Beep!
I needed to check if Bluetooth was still functional.
"It works."
Seeing her device pair cleanly with mine confirmed that local Bluetooth hadn't been blacked out alongside the network.
"Excellent."
This was a massive stroke of luck. As long as Bluetooth and local peer-to-peer sharing were intact, I could unleash my semi-AoE ultimate technique: Air Raid.
"Let's see how they like this."
The unavoidable terror of every Apple user: AirDrop.
Ding!
Ding!
Ding!
Ding!
With the test complete, my fingers flew across the screen. Within seconds, notification chimes began sounding in waves across the grand hall.
"Wh-What is this...?"
"Ugh, gaaah...!!"
"Fucking disgusting! What the hell?!"
For the record, the hypnotic image I broadcast was set to an intensely grotesque cognitohazard. A static photo lacked the duration of a video file, so breaking someone's cognitive faculties in seconds required an image so violently repulsive it burned itself directly into their synapses.
"Hell... it's pure hell... I can't get it out of my head..."
"Urp... gag..."
"Who the fuck did this?! Who sent this insane photo—"
The payoff was exceptional. Shouts and curses erupted all over the hall, only to choke off midway as minds buckled under the shock.
"Anyone who isn't hypnotized is an enemy. Subdue them all."
The moment my command fell, the newly conscripted strike force moved in unison, hunting down the Galaxy users with cold, ruthless precision.
"Thank you, Apple."
I had a feeling I'd be using this trick quite often.
Several dozen minutes later.
"What in God's name..."
Having rushed to the VIP hall after reports of a critical disturbance, the Chairman of the Hero Association skidded to a halt, his face twisting in revulsion.
"Welcome."
The auction hall was a charnel house drenched in blood. Corpses with broken necks lay scattered cold across the carpet. Global elites and VIPs, stripped down to their undergarments and robbed of all weaponry, knelt blankly on the floor with vacant eyes.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Chairman."
Standing among the sea of prostrate figures, a young man wearing the mask of Trauma offered a bright, cheerful greeting.
"...Have you lost your mind?"
The Chairman's voice, trembling and utterly drained of color, echoed through the ruined hall.