Pearls Before Swine (2)
“F-Frost?! Why is he in Seoul instead of Daejeon…?!”
“Hngh! A-Anyway, we’re saved! Frost is here—he’ll definitely figure something out!”
In that moment of absolute desperation—when the suddenly appearing villain had taken them hostage and even Lavy, the only one still standing, was about to fall—an S-class Rank 2 hero appeared out of nowhere. Relief swept through the citizens in scattered voices.
He lacked Smile’s overwhelming force or Lavy’s dazzling flair. But the moment Frost arrived on scene—
No matter what happened, he always subdued the villain and claimed victory.
Even against opponents far stronger than himself, he somehow found their weaknesses, broke through, and took responsibility for the safety of every civilian nearby.
It was different from the absolute, fear-erasing reassurance Smile inspired. Yet Frost, too, gave citizens the unshakable feeling that he would save them—a true hero worthy of the name.
“Frost…? Why are you here…?”
“I was on a short leave to see my daughter. …More importantly, you managed to stay on your feet. The news just broke—three days ago, that man killed Justice.”
“…What? Justice is dead…? Someone like him, to a nobody like that…?”
“Quiet. Keep your voice down. No need to spread panic among the civilians.”
“Ugh, fine. But be careful. If you get hit by his ability, your whole body locks up—you won’t be able to do a thing.”
Frost quietly informed Lavy of the threat level, and she shared the scant information she had gathered about the villain’s unique “paralysis” power while fighting him.
“Kyaha! Well, well—if it isn’t Frost. Still clinging on without retiring, even though you’re just the washed-up has-been who always loses to Smile?”
“…So you know who I am. In that case, this is hardly the time for you to be so relaxed.”
KRAK-CRACK—!
The black nails that had been floating chaotically through the air, threatening the civilians, plummeted uselessly to the ground—caught by ice that precisely targeted only the thin surface of each nail, without harming a single person around them.
“Lavy, help evacuate the civilians and the fallen heroes. I’ll handle this one in the meantime.”
The battle began between a villain armed with countless hostages and a high-performance enhancement suit—and Frost, who had to protect everyone with nothing but his bare body.
Piiing—!
“Kyaha! Dropped nails are easy enough to pick right back up! From now on I’m just going to punch holes through everything nearby without holding back—block them all if you can!”
KRAK.
One second when the target is in his line of sight, about 0.8 seconds if I block his vision. No apparent range limit in this vicinity, and he didn’t seem particularly strained even when he stopped both Lavy and me at once.
Black nails whirled through the air, menacing the citizens. The brief relief they had felt earlier dissolved back into chaotic screams.
…And on top of that, the ability hits you with this level of pain the instant it activates. Using something like this repeatedly… if it had been a sudden ambush, even someone of Justice’s caliber would have had trouble reacting.
In the middle of this chaos, he had to block every last one of them so that no one got hurt.
…But he’s not the absurd powerhouse I expected. At this level, I should be able to subdue him well before Smile arrives.
KRAK-CRACK!
It looks like thousands of nails flying every which way, but if you look closely they’re clustered into groups of about a hundred. Anything more finely controlled must be a strain. His ability definitely takes a toll on his body.
Thud-thud-thud—
And since each individual nail is weak and their movements aren’t especially complex, their trajectories are easy enough to predict.
With near-miraculous control, Frost prepared for the moments when paralysis would lock him out of his ability. Hail he had frozen in advance fell on perfect cue, knocking the nails off course before they could reach anyone. Around his own body—where his control was far easier than at a distance—he dropped the temperature to an extreme so that the instant paralysis hit and his power cut out, hard armor-like ice would form.
KRAK-CRACK—!
“Kyaha! Ice chips like this are nothing—I’ll just smash them! You think freezing my feet is going to rattle me?”
…The suit seems focused on strength enhancement. Unless the ice touches bare skin, I can’t freeze him solid enough to stop him. When he swings his body hard, he has a habit of twitching the left corner of his mouth.
KRAK!
Aiming for the joints of the enhancement suit where bare skin was exposed when he stretched his limbs, Frost drove ice spikes into those thin gaps.
“Gyaaah! M-My knee…! Grrrraaah!! You eternal number-two washed-up bastard…!”
Going straight for the exposed belly or face would be easier, but this is a villain who came over from America. Until there’s an official statement, my goal is to subdue him with as little injury as possible.
Faced with a villain weaker than expected, Frost already considered the problems that would come after the fight—and slowly, steadily, he overwhelmed the man in front of him.
“Gyaaaaah…! M-My arm!”
…He’s strong. Completely different from Smile, but his control over his ability is almost on the same level. Ugh, we’re both S-class—so why is the gap between them and me this huge…!
Every time his body was paralyzed, the pain should have been enough to make him scream, yet Frost never stopped performing microscopic manipulations that would have been difficult even with a clear head… doing it as naturally as breathing.
The same went for Smile, who maintained near-maximum physical enhancement for the entire duration of his long operations and always overwhelmed villains. Standing before these two, Lavy—who had always prided herself on her skill with her own ability—felt too embarrassed to even make the comparison.
…No. This isn’t the time for pathetic thoughts. Anyway, with Smile down, Frost showing up is a real stroke of luck.
To be honest, Frost was not a hero with an especially powerful “ability.”
His innate maximum output was low; no matter how hard he trained, his ability’s power ceiling stayed at upper A-class. Overwhelming single strikes like Smile’s or her own were simply impossible for him.
…If a hero with that level of control had also possessed raw power, he would have frozen the villain solid from a distance before ever showing his face.
And yet.
He was clearly the second-strongest ability user in Korea, and even on the world stage he belonged firmly among the absolute elite.
Naturally—because explosive power was not the only thing that determined a hero’s “strength.”
On top of that, he’s already past forty, and in close combat he’s handling a guy in a high-performance enhancement suit like a child.
Frost was not the type whose body was naturally reinforced; without his ability he was only somewhat tougher than an ordinary ability user. One solid punch from that villain would shatter his bones and kill him… yet he moved right in the man’s face without the slightest hesitation.
Even the same model of enhancement suit performed differently depending on who wore it, and Frost’s “utilization” of his suit was considered overwhelming even among fellow professional heroes. If he had been fighting properly equipped, he would have been far stronger than this.
…Whew. I jumped when I heard he’d killed Justice, but at this rate it shouldn’t be a big problem. The civilian evacuation is almost done, so the snipers at long range should be able to start working soon too.
She made up her mind that the moment this mess was over, she would head straight back to the hospital where Smile had been admitted.
…Honestly he didn’t seem to need much help, but the crowd around the villain had finally thinned enough that she could use her ability freely without worrying about collateral damage.
“Frost, evacuation’s almost finished. From now on I’ll help—”
“Grrrraah! Kihiik…! Gyaaaaaaah…!!”
Just as Lavy approached Frost, who was still engaged with the villain, and was about to join the fight—
“It hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts…!! What the hell is this? I was just trying to mess around a little before Smile got here, and you’re actually trying to kill me with something this cheap…? Hihihi, see? Heroes and villains are all the same. You’re all just murderers who kill people without batting an eye…!”
Kiiing—.
Khuh…! What is this insane pain…! Khh, my head—my head feels like it’s going to split open.
The villain, who thanks to Frost’s consideration had not suffered any fatal wounds, thrashed wildly. Suddenly every last one of the thousands of nails floating around him vanished. In his hand he formed a single enormous nail—long and massive, like a sword.
“Kihihi, I guess this ability really doesn’t suit me. It’s way too inconvenient to use alongside my own power. Firing a bunch of them is fun, but for now just one is the most comfortable.”
Khhuh…! When I heard he killed Justice I assumed he’d ambushed him with the paralysis ability, but… was that not it…?!
“Kihihi! You people—you can never kill me. Up until now you were mistaken, weren’t you? Thinking my ability was nothing more than paralysis.”
Along with a colossal pain that paralyzed not only the body but thought itself—
Lavy and Frost standing right in front of him, every civilian in the area, the snipers watching for an opening far away, even the stray dogs and cats wandering the streets without a care in the world—
The villain before them stole the freedom of every living thing in sight, completely freezing the landscape around him.
“Kihihi…! My ability isn’t some cheap paralysis. It is absolute heavenly Judgment, delivered upon sinners!”
.
.
.
Meanwhile, at that same moment—
In the VVIP suite of a certain large hospital where absolute patient confidentiality was guaranteed—
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!
A hero does not fall.
A hero does not fall.
A hero does not fall.
.
.
“Gyaaah! You crazy little status window bastard…!”
“Kyaa! S-Smi… I mean, Patient Do Hyul! You absolutely must not get up yet!”
Smile, who had fainted from pain so intense he could barely breathe after eating a top-grade natural matsutake from Seoraksan, was now receiving chest compressions far more violent than any hospital defibrillator.
He tore off the oxygen mask somehow stuck to his face and sat up.
“…What’s all this? Why do I have so many missed calls?”