A Hero's Final Act
Kugugugu-! The area around the Yeongjong Island breakwater, which had been heaving violently, slowly began to regain its original silence.
“Hahahahaha!” Triple Power burst into a hearty laugh, brushing back her hair, which was a mess from the rain. Gone was the pathetic figure from just moments ago, crying while drifting at sea trapped in a tube. She had returned to the boisterous laughter of an A-rank hero.
“That was seriously awesome!” Triple Power slapped Eunbyul, who was sprawled out nearby, on the back with a loud *thwack*.
“Ouch! That hurts.......”
“I just asked you to try it on a whim, but you did even better than I expected! Good job! You really did great!”
“You asked me to do it on a whim?!”
After showering her with praise, Triple Power turned her head to look at Ohu, who was catching his breath.
“And.......” Triple Power gripped Ohu’s thick shoulders tightly. “You’re the one who dragged this timid kid and flew all the way here, right? Seriously...... thank you. If it weren’t for you guys, I would have been.... Thanks to you, I survived.”
Ohu looked at Triple Power’s hand indifferently and gave a faint smile. “Well, I guess you’ll have to earn your keep from now on.”
“You bet! What’s a little meal money? Since you came looking for me, you want gear, right? Then I’ll get you all the best equipment.......”
Just as the heartwarming atmosphere was about to ripen,
“......Huh?”
Triple Power, who was adjusting her wet clothes, had her gaze fixed on a truck parked in a corner of the breakwater. Namiyang and Ayoung, who had been flattened against the side of the truck by the air pressure, were finally pulling themselves together.
“Geez, Master! You don’t have any broken bones, do you? Namiyang really thought her heart was going to drop out, nyang!”
As Namiyang wagged her tail and ran toward Ohu, Triple Power began to tremble violently the moment she saw Ayoung.
“M-Manager...... Manager Park......?”
The things she had done today flashed through her mind like a revolving lantern. Property damage in the evaluation hall lobby and grabbing an employee by the collar. Unauthorized suit flight. Intrusion into civilian aircraft flight paths and pursuit. Ignoring Incheon International Airport control tower communications without permission.
‘I’m, I’m screwed......! I am seriously screwed......!’
She had enjoyed a whole host of actions that wouldn’t just end with a written apology. ‘Because of what I did, the Association must have sent a manager-level official directly to the scene to immediately discipline and arrest me......!’
As Ayoung approached with calm steps, Triple Power began to rub her hands together obsequiously, bowing her waist at a 90-degree angle as if she were about to kneel right then and there.
“M-Manager Park!! I was wrong! I had lost my mind! I wasn’t in my right mind because of the shock of the senior leaving! Please, I’m begging you, just this once, please let it slide...... okay?! I don’t want to go to prison, waaaaah!”
A top-tier A-rank hero of the world was begging shamelessly in front of an administrative official who had zero combat ability.
“.......”
Just as Ayoung, who had been watching the pathetic display calmly, opened her mouth to clear up the misunderstanding,
“Hey. How long are you going to be rolling around on my back? It’s heavy, so get off already.”
A blunt complaint erupted from the mouth of the giant sprawled on the ground.
Fassss-! The 15-meter-tall giant, which had been massively inflated, instantly contracted its bones and muscles and began to return to the physique of a normal adult male.
“Oh, oh?!”
“Kyaaak!”
As the giant back beneath their feet instantly collapsed and shrank, the balance of Ohu, Eunbyul, and Triple Power—who were sprawled out catching their breath—collapsed all at once. The three of them slid off the shrinking giant’s back and tumbled to the ground with a loud thud.
“Damn it, my clothes are all stretched out.”
Triple Crown roughly pulled up his tattered trousers and brushed off the dust. Then, he began to pour out complaints with a heavily crumpled expression toward Triple Power, who was rubbing her backside while looking at him.
“No, Yeoksam. We have years of experience working in sync, so why did you make the rookies do something weird instead of landing safely in my palm like we always do? My palm and shoulder are cracked, you son of a bitch. It hurts like hell.”
Triple Crown grumbled as he kicked his overturned, top-of-the-line sports car.
“And why did you flip over and wreck someone’s precious baby? This is a limited edition.”
At his colleague’s grumbling, Triple Power, who had been crying and begging in front of Ayoung just a moment ago, whipped her head around and snapped back as if that had never happened.
“Oh, seriously! You’re wearing a special liquid suit, so what are you whining about! Even if your bones break, that suit hardens on its own, gives you a full-body cast, and regenerates you! Stop the whining!”
“Hey, it itches and hurts like hell when bones knit together, you know? Seriously, you still have no manners.......”
The daily bickering and banter of the two, who were members of the same crew, echoed across the breakwater.
“And is that what’s important right now? I’m about to be disciplined...!”
Ohu spoke up quietly to take Triple Power’s gaze, which was still trembling, away from Ayoung.
“We didn’t come here because of disciplinary action.”
“......Huh? Really?”
As Triple Power looked at Ohu, Triple Crown, who was rotating his wrist nearby, smirked and cut off Ohu’s words.
“You stupid Yeoksam. Do you think Manager Park would personally chase you all the way here to discipline you? Do you think manager-level officials have nothing better to do?”
Triple Crown perched his backside on the door of his overturned car and got to the point.
“She came to recruit you.”
“......Recruit?”
Triple Power pointed at herself with a bewildered expression. Ohu nodded and explained calmly.
“Yes. We recently created a new crew called Unmarked. But according to Association regulations, we need one veteran hero of B-rank or higher to lead the crew, and...... above all, we desperately needed a dedicated mechanic to be responsible for our gear, so we chased after you.”
“We’re going to rack up insane achievements and make Unmarked the best crew in Korea, nyang!” Namiyang added confidently from the side.
Triple Power looked at Ayoung, who was standing in front of the pickup truck, with a dazed expression.
“Is that...... recruitment thing for real? Manager?”
Ayoung smiled gently and nodded.
“Yes. After seeing the analysis results of Eunbyul’s ability, I judged that you, Triple Power, are the mentor and core force to lead this new crew. I sincerely hope you will join our Unmarked.”
She wasn’t being disciplined or going to prison; rather, a KHC manager was personally running around in the field to scout her. As a sense of relief washed over her, Triple Power scratched her cheek, feeling awkward.
“Haa...... well, I’m grateful for the offer, but....”
She then glanced at Eunbyul and Ohu.
“Now that I’ve received an official offer like this, it feels a bit burdensome. Someone like me, with such severe mood swings....”
“It’s not just severe, you’re a crazy bitch.” Triple Crown interrupted without pause.
“Shut up! Anyway... I don’t know if someone like me should be teaching others and leading a crew.......”
To her self-deprecating mutterings, Triple Crown, who was sitting on the overturned car, chimed in again.
“Why, isn’t it good? Since Manager Park is the manager, you’ll naturally have connections to Rapid Star. And looking at those kids over there, their eyes are full of venom, so they have grit and will follow you well. Don’t you think?”
“No, why do you keep acting like you’re talking about someone else?!” Triple Power furrowed her brows and glared at Triple Crown.
“Even though the crew disbanded because Mr. Hoseop went to S-rank, we’re still an A-rank duo! Even without our senior, we should be thinking about starting a new crew together! Are you just going to bail on your own?!”
From Triple Power’s perspective, it was a matter of course. Even if the leader had left, her teammate, with whom she had shared life and death for years, was standing right in front of her, alive and well. It was common sense to think about joining forces to overcome the crisis and build a new nest. But.
“Ah.” Triple Crown picked his ear indifferently.
“I’m retiring.”
He made a sudden announcement.
“......What?”
“......Huh?!”
At the unexpected statement, not only Triple Power but even Ayoung, who was coordinating the situation, couldn’t process Triple Crown’s words in time.
“No, what do you mean retirement?! Why are you retiring all of a sudden?!” Triple Power approached him to demand an answer.
“You’re only just over forty! In this field, physical enhancement types are still active and going strong even after fifty, so what are you going to do if you retire now?!”
Triple Crown rotated his stiff shoulder and made an excuse in a dry voice, showing absolutely no regret.
“I cracked my shoulder today, and as for money, I’ve earned enough to eat and play for the rest of my life while rolling around in this business.”
Then, his eyes turned toward the sea.
“In the first place, I...... never had any intention of being a hero.”
The strange fatigue mixed into his calm voice scattered on the wind of the breakwater.
“I was just going to hide in some rural corner, never use my shitty ability, and rot away quietly. It was purely because Triple Axel, that meddlesome guy, grabbed me by the collar and dragged me around, forcing me to learn the taste of saving people, so I had no choice but to go along with it.”
Triple Crown shoved his hands into his pockets.
“Now that the guy who controlled me has left, and there’s no reason to be in a crew together, I’m retiring without any lingering attachments. I only came here in the first place to tell you to go to another crew with a light heart. Today is the last day of my hero life.”
At his firm attitude, which lacked even a shred of regret, Triple Power was struck dumb and pressed her lips shut. Although he had always been branded with the infamy of being the triple crown of excessive force, causing accidents and smashing everything, she had vaguely known deep down that he had always wanted to cast off the shackles of being a hero itself.
“......Haa, seriously.” Triple Power let out a deep sigh and roughly tousled her hair.
“Fine. It’s your life, so do as you please. But after you retire, don’t go causing a ruckus and debuting as a villain on the news. I’ll catch you myself.”
“How could a guy with an ability as obvious as mine play villain? Villains are for people who have the capacity for it.” Triple Crown snorted and let out a dry laugh.
“Anyway, flip that damn car back over, Yeoksam. I need to drive home and sleep with my legs stretched out.”
Triple Power grumbled but approached the overturned sports car. She gathered her elasticity ability in both hands and struck the bottom of the overturned car hard.
Paaang-! The ability-infused car body bounced into the air like a rubber ball, rotated half a turn in mid-air, and landed on its four wheels on the ground with a *thud*. Of course, it looked a mess with the roof crushed and the glass shattered, but it didn’t seem to have any trouble rolling.
“Good luck. I’m off.”
Triple Crown forced open the crushed driver’s side door, got in, and started the engine. *Vroom-!* A rough exhaust sound rang out. Triple Crown, about to depart, stared intently at Ohu, who was watching him while leaning against the pickup truck through the broken window. And.
“Hey, kid.”
“......?”
“Thanks.”
“All of a sudden?”
“What do you mean ‘all of a sudden’ when an adult is saying thank you, you rude brat.”
“No, the person who should be thankful is us. You’re the one who helped us.”
To Ohu’s calm and puzzled reaction, wondering why he was thanking him,
“Because you were the one who asked me to rescue you by throwing you first.”
Triple Crown gripped the steering wheel and looked up at the sky.
“Because the final act of my shitty hero life...... could end as a pure rescue operation with no property damage and not a single casualty.”
“.......”
“Due to the nature of my ability...... when I try to save people, it’s inevitable that I end up hurting someone or causing collateral damage.”
With that lonely yet relieved confession, Triple Crown stepped on the accelerator of his broken and crushed sports car.
Skreeeeech-! With a loud tire screech, he drove off into the dark coastal road of Yeongjong Island without a shred of lingering attachment. Staring blankly at the receding red taillights, Ohu could vaguely guess the meaning of the deep fatigue contained in his final words.
A pure rescue operation with not a single casualty. Ohu realized that for the giant, that proposition, which should have been a matter of course, was a salvation like a miracle he had craved his entire life.
Of course, separate from his moving exit,
The repair bill for that smashed sports car would undoubtedly be stuck in Triple Power’s mailbox tomorrow morning.