Fired

That one phrase was enough.

The evacuation siren howled across the area, and the streets of Hongdae filled with citizens who had no time for anything but screaming and running.

And right in the middle of that chaos—

BOOOOM!

"Kyaaaaa!?"

The blast took the outer wall of a condemned building with it, and rubble came pouring down. Citizens clutched their heads and screamed, and two shadows burst out from inside.

"Heh heh heh. Look at those stupid civilians. So scared they've gone and sat down. Feast your eyes."

A-rank villain Deathgun said it with a greasy little grin. Click— he racked the shotgun in his hands and looked down over the citizens. Faces soaked through with terror. Now that was a spectacle.

"Well then. Shall we start the show."

From beside him, the villain Dark Shadow offered a quiet piece of advice.

"Don't slip up. You'd better aim properly, Deathgun."

Deathgun snorted.

"Relax. This body knows at least that much."

The instant his muzzle locked dead on one citizen's head—

Bang! The shot cracked, and the bullet whipped past just beside the citizen and buried itself in the asphalt.

"Kyaak!?"

"Khahaha! You hear that? One fine scream. I almost want an encore."

Deathgun even clapped, savoring it. His eyes, though, were somewhere else entirely: shadows moving where they shouldn't, in the windows of the building across the way. Ten of them, at the least. The corner of his mouth climbed.

"Ho. Finally here."

"……"

The moment the two villains touched down, the heroes who had been hiding inside the building showed themselves, as if they had been waiting.

"Don't move! You're under arrest!"

"A-rank villains Deathgun and Dark Shadow confirmed on scene. Engaging now!"

"Waaaah! Heroes! The heroes are here!!"

"It's even the famous Team 3! Kyaaaah, look over here!"

The instant every member of Hero Association Team 3 revealed themselves, the terrified citizens burst into cheers. The heroes closed a ring around the two villains, and Deathgun's smile turned thoroughly satisfied.

"Good. Very good! You're finally he—"

Deathgun, in the middle of welcoming the heroes, stopped.

"…Huh?"

Something was off. He started counting the heroes in front of him, one by one. One, two, three, four, five… fourteen. Every one of them an elite of B-rank or higher. The one he actually wanted was nowhere in sight.

"The hell. Why isn't that bastard here?"

"What are you doing! Drop the weapons, now!"

"No, hey, hey. Hold on. Before we fight, let me ask you something."

In the middle of all that urgency, Deathgun scratched at his neck and pulled an awkward face. Wide open as he was, the heroes did not loosen their guard.

"What's your game, Deathgun? Don't tell me you're buying time, or laying a trap!?"

"Trap, my ass. Dig a trap here and half the civilians get blown away. You think we'd pull that shit?"

Do that, and the fun with that guy would be gone. Looking thoroughly deflated, Deathgun set the shotgun down for a moment.

"Just in case I'm asking—are you all of them?"

"…What?"

"I'm asking if anybody else is coming, you fuck. Think. There ought to be someone."

One after another, the heroes' faces went blank. The heroes already standing here were elites to a man, every one of them B-rank at minimum. Fourteen of them had gathered, and this guy was saying what, exactly? Some kind of trap? Or a code that only made sense between villains? While the heroes wore expressions of pure incomprehension, Deathgun alone stayed dead serious.

"I'm asking! Is the other one not coming? Are you really all of them!?"

"What are you even talking about. Or are you scared, now that you're face to face with Team 3? Surrender quietly, while we're still asking nicely!"

"No, that's not it… Ah, shit. Looking at your reactions, it really is just you. If I'd known, I wouldn't have come here today, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you sons of bitches!"

He shouted it and even flung the shotgun onto the ground. At the sight of a genuine tantrum, the heroes went slack-jawed. If this was a trap, he had already thrown his weapon away, and the whole performance looked far too sincere for one. The other villain beside him was no different.

"One, two, three, four……"

Dark Shadow counted the heroes with careful fingers, and the calm in her eyes slowly came apart.

"He's really not here."

At the fact of Ahn Taeyoung's absence she sank down where she stood, head drooping, face on the verge of tears. The disappointment was plain to anyone, and the heroes were thrown all over again.

Why are the two of them suddenly doing this together?

In the end the heroes looked to Lee Hayeon, captain of Team 3.

"C-Captain. What do we do? Do we just arrest them like this?"

"Well……"

Lee Hayeon kept her composure and studied the villains. One of them was all curses and irritation. The other was a breath away from crying. The other heroes didn't know why. Lee Hayeon did. Why they had suddenly gone like this, and exactly who they were waiting for.

Haah. They really are infuriating. Ahn Taeyoung included.

She drew the sword at her hip and gave the order.

"All of you. From this moment, we execute the villains. Mercy is unnecessary."

A few of the heroes faltered.

"…Ma'am?"

In principle, an on-the-spot execution required Kill Authorization from headquarters. Lee Hayeon had stopped giving a damn about rules like that a long time ago. The opponents were high-rank A-rank villains. There was no reason to leave them alive.

"I won't say it twice. All of you, prepare for combat."

"Y-yes, ma'am!"

At her order the heroes drew their weapons and began to close the distance. The two villains, for their part, had forgotten the heroes existed some time ago.

"Something's wrong… Why didn't that bastard come today? Did some other villain punk get the jump on me? Or is he sleeping in?"

"You don't think it's because you shot at a civilian earlier?"

"Damn it! There are worse bastards than me all over the place, so what! I never even meant to hit the civilians in the first place."

Deathgun exploded at Dark Shadow's words. He said it, and still the thought that maybe that really was why the man hadn't come made him more and more uneasy.

"Heh. Then what do we do? Should I post on the Community right now that I never meant to hit anyone?"

"On the Villain Gallery? As if. How would Hero Mister even see that."

"Son of a—! Then do I slap an excuse post up as a guest on the Hero Gallery!? 'Villain who fired a shotgun in Hongdae today. I swear on my life I never meant to hit a civilian, so Ahn Taeyoung, please show up.' Like that!?"

"…Haaah. I never should have partnered with an idiot."

The two villains lamented, each for a different reason. In that instant the heroes charged and swung.

Clang—

Deathgun's shotgun turned both attacks aside without effort.

"Huh. Look at these guys. Coming straight for my neck?"

"Y-you criminal bastard……!"

"And? Did the Kill Authorization actually come down?"

The heroes couldn't bring themselves to answer. Deathgun clicked his tongue, as if he had expected exactly that.

"Worthless bastards. You think I went through all this annoying shit just to look at the likes of you?"

He had timed it to the hour that man would be passing through, and deliberately picked an empty condemned building to start something. Just in case the man didn't show, he had even forced himself to partner with that unlucky Dark Shadow. The usual him would have dropped a tedious farce like this ages ago. Run wild however he pleased, and jam bullets into anyone who got in the way. That would have been the end of it.

And yet there was a reason he wasn't doing that. A single reason that, even now, he wasn't leveling the muzzle at a hero's face.

To fight Ahn Taeyoung—Hardline, by his hero name—one more time.

"That's far enough, Deathgun. My shift starts now."

And in that moment, a welcome voice from somewhere. Deathgun turned his head, and there was Ahn Taeyoung, coming in through the air.

"Which also happens to be the end of yours."

"You're here! You bastard!!"

Whud!

Ahn Taeyoung's feet cut through the air and stomped straight into Deathgun's chest.

"Guhk!"

CRASH—

Ahn Taeyoung drove him through the wall and into the condemned building, then stood, brushing the dust off his clothes.

"Traffic was a mess on the way. You know how it is. This city is crawling with villains besides the two of you."

He pulled on his gloves and walked toward the rubble Deathgun was buried under. A hand shot out of the shadows—Dark Shadow's—caught him by the ankle, and giggled.

"Hehe. Is that so? I didn't know our Hero Mister was that popular. Should we take a number and wait next time?"

"I'd appreciate it if you did. I'd appreciate it even more if you just surrendered like this."

Both villains laughed at once. Deathgun shoved the rubble aside, got to his feet, loosened up, and aimed the shotgun at him.

"Heh heh. The other hero bastards are itching to kill us, but you're the only one who always roughs this body up like you're chasing off a mutt and then moves on, huh?"

Unable to contain his delight, Deathgun racked the shotgun.

"This time I'll tear that obnoxious hero act of yours to shreds."

"Right. Don't tell me you're planning to crack a few bones and clock out again."

Dark Shadow's shadow rippled, sharp as a blade.

"Today we're going to make Mister want to fight us for real."

"That so? Then I'll give you one warning too."

Ahn Taeyoung loosened up at his leisure, watching the two of them, and closed the distance in an instant.

BOOOOM!

Meanwhile, outside the condemned building, every member of Hero Team 3 waited with their bodies hidden behind the outer wall.

"Captain, will this really be all right? It's those two A-ranks. Even if it's Hardline, taking both of them at once is……"

"Be quiet."

Lee Hayeon growled low at the worry in her subordinate's voice. Her eyes stayed fixed on the entrance of the condemned building, where Ahn Taeyoung and the two villains had vanished. A deep-blue Sword Aura writhed violently along the blade in her hand.

"I don't care if Ahn Taeyoung goes down. The moment they come tumbling out of there tangled up in each other, everyone hits them at once."

Whether Ahn Taeyoung bought them time or came bouncing out half a corpse, it didn't matter. All she needed was the moment to cut the two villains' breaths short. The heroes gripped their weapons and held the tension—and right then.

Thud—!

From inside the condemned building, a single heavy rupture of sound. And then—

"……?"

It went dead quiet, as if the noise had been a lie. No screams after that. No gunshots. No crash of anything colliding. At the sudden stillness the heroes looked at one another, thrown.

"W-what? Don't tell me he's already down?"

"The villains might have laid a trap!"

"Tsk. Ahn Taeyoung, you useless bastard…! All units, prepare to breach!"

Lee Hayeon was grinding her teeth, on the verge of giving the signal, when—

Step. Step.

Footsteps came through the dust from the dark mouth of the building.

"Huh……?"

"W-what is that?"

A dark figure, walking out at an easy pace. The moment the heroes recognized Ahn Taeyoung, their eyes went wide all at once. Not a drop of blood on him. Perfectly intact. And from his other hand, Deathgun and Dark Shadow—bound tight in Special Magic Wire—dangled by the scruffs of their necks like fish on a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠string.

"Guhak! Cough……"

"U-ugh……"

Deathgun lay sprawled with his jaw turned completely out of place, foaming at the mouth. Dark Shadow hung limp, every channel in her body sealed shut. Hero Team 3 froze, unable to hide their shock.

"Th-that's impossible……"

"Alone? Those two… in less than ten minutes?"

"……"

Even seeing it, Lee Hayeon's eyes only sank colder.

Step. Step.

Without a word she closed the distance in long strides and brought her sword down at Deathgun's neck in a single flash.

The blade hissed down—a beheading without so much as a flicker of hesitation. But it never reached ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Deathgun's skin. Ahn Taeyoung's leather glove had already shot out and struck the flat of the blade, knocking it off its path.

Boom! The Sword Aura only gouged a deep split through the blameless asphalt. Lee Hayeon fixed him with a look edged in killing intent.

"…What do you think you're doing, Ahn Taeyoung."

"That's my line."

Ahn Taeyoung tossed the two bound villains behind him and let out a long sigh.

"It's over. Just cuff them and haul them in."

"Are you saying that in your right mind? They're garbage that barely deserve to be called human! Cut their throats right here, or there'll be nothing but trouble afterward!"

"Under current law, a villain who has lost the will to resist is to be taken alive. You don't even have Kill Authorization, so whose say-so are you killing them on? You think you're above the law?"

"You really…!"

Lee Hayeon ground her teeth, unable to swallow her anger.

"How long do you intend to keep harping on those damned rules!? They keep crawling back out and running wild because you spare them every single time!"

"If we aren't even going to keep those damned rules, then what are we doing this hero job for? Hand the licenses back, join hands with the villain bastards, and dance with our swords."

"…Ha. You really."

Lee Hayeon drew a hollow breath, as if there was no talking to him anymore. She looked from the sprawled villains to Ahn Taeyoung and back, then shoved her sword into its sheath with a snap of irritation, as if he were no longer worth the effort. She ordered Team 3 to arrest and transport them, brushed past Ahn Taeyoung, and spoke, ice-cold.

"That's why you're a permanent A-rank. That's why you got demoted out of S-rank."

"……"

"Let's see just how far that pathetic hypocrisy of yours goes."

With that, Lee Hayeon left without a backward glance. Whether she did or not, Ahn Taeyoung was stretching when a low laugh came from beside him.

"Heh, heheh… Ahn Taeyoung. I failed again this time, but you just wait."

"Yeah. Yeah."

He answered offhand. The bound Deathgun, mouth ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠full of blood, bared his teeth anyway.

"Look forward to it. Next time, I will definitely—"

"Doesn't your mouth hurt? I saw it earlier. Your jaw got turned clean around… I figured you'd block it, obviously."

"……"

Only then did Deathgun shut his mouth. Dark Shadow, on the other hand, was a little different.

"Hero Mister……"

"What is it now."

"You didn't kill us this time either."

"……"

"Hehe. As expected. Mister, you really are……"

"If you've got the energy to talk, then walk properly. And once you're inside this time, do some actual reflecting."

"…Chee. So mean."

Dark Shadow pouted as she said it. After Ahn Taeyoung had gone on ahead, one of the heroes watching the villains being transported suddenly tilted his head.

"…Come to think of it, nobody died this time either."

"What's the matter?"

"No. It's nothing."

When the senior beside him asked, the hero looked over the citizens still lingering on the street and asked, quietly,

"When did it start, anyway. Those villains not attacking civilians."

As the situation wound down, the sirens faded little by little into the distance. The street that had been chaos only moments ago was settling back into peace, as if nothing had happened.

One week later.

Early morning. I got up at six again today and left the house.

"Haaahm. All right. Let's give today a proper try too."

On my way downstairs, a gold-foil document envelope was stuck in the mailbox.

"Hm? What's this."

Did they have something to send me?

But the moment I read the red letters across the top of the document—

"……"

I stood there a long while with the envelope in my hand, saying nothing.

Fired.

Ten years I had rolled through with my life on the line, and in that moment a single scrap of paper brought them to an end.