Pearls Before Swine (1)
Just three days earlier, though the news had yet to be made public, something so shocking had occurred that no one could believe it.
In the operation to capture Doctor Hetra—the villain who, with overwhelming power and a twisted sense of justice, had turned an entire Central American nation into his personal laboratory and driven it to utter ruin—something unthinkable had happened.
Until the new generation’s strongest, Smile, became known to the world, there had been a living legend. From the earliest days of ability awakening some forty years ago, when power-users had only just begun to appear, he had been called by all “the strongest man in the world.” For nearly half a century he had served as America’s Number One Hero.
In pure combat power he might have fallen a little short of Smile when it came to subduing villains. Yet with his absurd ability he could perform unrestricted teleportation hundreds of times a day, and in terms of response capability—racing to large-scale disasters and rescuing civilians—even Smile was said to be outclassed by him.
That mighty hero had died in the line of duty… while fighting a nameless small-time thug who had been peddling drugs in some back alley.
Justice, the man once judged to possess powers like a god, had fallen so emptily.
“What…? You’re telling me Justice was taken down…? By some wet-behind-the-ears punk like that…?”
Moments earlier, the American government had done everything possible to suppress the news and prevent worldwide panic. But with heroes who had been active across the United States suddenly vanishing without explanation, they could no longer offer the public any answer. The moment the government finally announced his death to the press—
S-class Rank 2 Frost, who happened to be in Seoul on personal business, received the shattering report. In a Korea that already possessed Smile he had remained the perpetual second place; yet if one expanded the stage to the entire world, his mastery of his power would not have been found wanting even against a titan like Justice. He was, without question, a top-tier hero.
Worrying over the aftershocks this absurd monster’s appearance would unleash, Frost quietly pulled up his mask and set off to visit his daughter. She had entered Hero Academy this year and was living alone in Seoul for the first time.
Bzzzt. Bzzzt.
“Hm? What is it? I’m on leave right now.”
—S-sir! The villain who appeared in the middle of Seoul a short while ago and took citizens hostage has just been confirmed as the perpetrator of the Justice assault case currently being reported by overseas media! We’re contacting you for emergency support because you’re the closest S-class near the scene!
“…What?! Understood. Send me the location and I’ll join immediately. Is Smile already engaging the enemy?”
—N-no, sir! For some reason we can’t reach Smile at all right now…! On site we currently have multiple A-class heroes in combat, including the S-class hero Miss Ravi, who hasn’t yet received word of the villain’s true identity because she’s been fighting!
People often said that Korea’s “second-generation” heroes—those who could not help but be compared to Smile—each in their own way seemed to harbor a quiet aversion toward him.
Hero work had only begun to become a proper profession with the second generation, and because they belonged to the same era, the difference was glaring. Smile solved more villain incidents than anyone without taking a single coin, while the rest of that generation lagged far behind yet still enjoyed wealth and fame ordinary people could never dream of. Citizens’ subtle criticism was impossible to escape.
Korea was, in fact, especially sensitive to hero scandals compared to other nations, and a large share of that sensitivity belonged to Smile—the ideal hero who looked as if he had stepped straight out of a picture book.
…But contrary to popular misunderstanding, at least as far as Frost knew, not a single professional hero who actually ran into the field ever truly resented Smile. Not one idiot among them.
The first generation, who had endured so many nightmarish and hopeless situations in the early days of ability awakening that they regarded him almost as a savior descended from heaven, and the young third generation, who had grown up watching him and dreamed of becoming heroes themselves, were different. It was true that second-generation heroes like Frost found Smile particularly difficult to approach. Yet that feeling came from the shame they felt as the ones who had watched young Smile work the longest and most closely of all—not from the burden of being compared to an unreachable ideal, nor from any grudge that he had raised the standard for what a hero should be.
An idiot who felt that way would never have been granted even the minimum qualification to call himself a “pro hero” and rescue civilians at dangerous incident scenes.
…Therefore, as far as Frost knew, there was not a single hero—including himself—who did not revere Smile from the bottom of his heart.
He had always been everyone’s idol, the object of their gratitude and trust: the hero of heroes.
…So if he still hasn’t arrived on scene, there must be some unavoidable reason.
Frost reached that conclusion without the slightest doubt. For Smile not to have appeared when a villain this powerful had emerged in Seoul—his own jurisdiction—could only mean he was delayed saving someone in truly critical condition.
…It’s a good thing I’m near the site. Against an enemy whose abilities are completely unknown, the rookies there won’t be enough.
Until last week the man had been an unknown small-time crook, but if Justice really had fallen to him, the heroes currently on scene would stand no chance. With hostages involved, even buying time until Smile arrived would be impossible.
Ravi, the Flame Witch whose jurisdiction had recently changed, was without question the most gifted S-class of the third generation, and the other A-class heroes were all high-ranking powerhouses in their own right. Yet Justice, whom Frost had once witnessed with his own eyes, was a monster on a level that made comparison with them meaningless.
Frankly, if the man had truly defeated Justice, then even Frost himself—arriving without his suit—would be able to do little more than stall until Smile arrived. The enemy would be that absurdly strong.
Crack!
“Haa… Yet a hero never yields to evil or despair, no matter how hopeless the situation. If an unimaginable darkness falls before your eyes, you simply smash it with a justice greater still!”
He was a veteran who had been active even during the “chaotic era” before Smile. Korea’s situation had changed greatly after Smile’s appearance, but heroes had always been beings who fought enemies far stronger than themselves as a matter of course.
“Even if all I can do is buy time, if that lets me save even one more life, I will arrive as fast as I can and face him!”
And so Frost, still on leave and wearing not even an enhanced suit, froze the moisture in the air into footholds and raced across them without a moment’s hesitation, charging toward the incident site where his juniors were struggling.
“S-save me! What the hell is that thing?! There are so many heroes here and none of them can even touch him…!”
“Hic…! Th-this can’t be real! The others maybe, but Ravi is S-class! A-and why hasn’t Smile shown up yet…?!”
The middle of the city rang with countless screams. The place was filled with thousands of black, sharp “nails” that seemed created by an ability, floating wildly through the air, and with terrified citizens who could have their brains pierced the instant the villain wished it. Contagious fear spread, turning the already chaotic surroundings into pure pandemonium.
“Kyaha-ha—!! I didn’t personally grace you scum with my presence just to deal with the likes of you. Smile! Where is Smile?! If that bastard doesn’t come out, I’ll kill every last human here!! Kyahahaha!”
Whoosh—!
“Kh… shut up. We don’t even need Smile for a villain of your level…!”
Ravi stood face-to-face with the unknown powerhouse who looked roughly her age. Even while keeping half her attention on the trembling citizens and the other heroes who had already collapsed unconscious or been rendered combat-incapable, she forced herself to think of a way to subdue the enemy. Smile, whom she had carried to the hospital only a short while earlier, refused to leave her mind.
…Haa. His abilities are those floating nails and some kind of paralysis, but I have no idea what the activation conditions or limitations of the paralysis are. On top of that he’s hiding among the black nails and the citizens, so long-range sniping is impossible.
“Kyaha-ha—!! You? Subdue me? Kuhuhu! I am the executor of judgment who has come to pass sentence on you, the divine punishment that nothing can stop! So bring Smile before me this instant!”
Kh… what is this guy…? A villain who looks that pathetic shouldn’t be able to throw around power of this level without any burden on his body, yet he hasn’t shown a single sign of fatigue.
Honestly, the villain in front of her was clearly inferior to herself and the fallen A-class heroes beside her in both ability control and combat skill. The nails floating disorderly through the air looked dangerous, but if that had been all, even a squad of soldiers armed with advanced firearms could have handled them. The control was that unimpressive.
He wore a high-performance enhanced suit of the sort only S-class heroes usually donned, but his skeletal, untrained body made it obvious his combat sense was trash. He was nowhere near a monster like Eternox, who had made her feel true despair not long ago. Frankly he was barely better than the unregistered small fry who never even made the villain lists.
If it hadn’t been for that unique “paralysis” ability that completely froze her body without the slightest warning the moment her attacks were about to land—and then delivered agonizing pain—she could have handled ten or a hundred of him without trouble.
…Kh. There has to be a weakness. No one can keep spamming an ability this ridiculous without any restrictions.
Yes—normally the stronger an ability, the greater the burden it placed on the body. Heroes who trained constantly could overcome that to some degree, but looking at this villain’s scrawny frame and combat sense that wouldn’t even qualify him as a pro hero, he simply was not a vessel that could fling around power of that magnitude.
If she could just find the flaw or limitation in his ability, dealing with him would become far easier… yet no matter how hard she racked her brain while clashing with him, she couldn’t figure it out.
The enemy froze her body over and over as if using his power cost him nothing at all, and all the while he simply laughed like a child playing with a toy. With so many hostages around she couldn’t freely use her flames either… and with the image of the collapsed Smile still refusing to leave her head, Ravi’s mind was fraying by the second.
And then—
“Kyaha-ha! Fine, whatever. If Smile won’t show himself, I’ll just kill these people one by one and play until he does!”
Fwoosh!
Hup! My body—again!
A black, razor-sharp nail shot toward Ravi’s forehead the instant her body locked up without warning.
Crack-krrk—!
The nail that had been about to pierce her brow froze solid in mid-air and dropped. The surrounding air turned bitterly cold, sharp as frost.
“Hero Frost. Fortunately, it appears no one has lost their life yet.”
Korea’s second-strongest ability user—someone even Ravi and every fallen hero present could not have handled even if they had all risen and charged together—had arrived.
“I’m on leave today, but I can hardly turn my back when the enemy is right in front of me. From this moment, I will join the field as well.”