Villain Hunting Villain (3)
Escape successful. I'd heard the shocking news that a terrorist attack was planned for the Starfield opening ceremony, which made Seo Ha-yoon hesitate just long enough for me to put some distance between us and slip away from the scene.
Of course, the getaway itself wasn't smooth sailing.
"My name is Midas Girl!!! Ohohot! You've heard of me, right? I'm an S-rank hero who's locked up more villains overall than Flash himself!! You're under arrest—by me!"
Here came Midas Girl, Seo Ha-yoon's self-proclaimed rival from the original story. Long, wavy golden hair, and a hero suit that was more like a frilly, flowing dress than anything practical—yep, that was her. She had this fun character trait where she felt intense rivalry toward Seo Ha-yoon and constantly bragged about stats like "total villains captured."
"Once I catch Blank, the world will know for sure that I'm above Seo Ha-yoon."
Midas Girl approached me, activating her superpower in her hand. Midas's Hand. That was her ability. Anything she touched turned into a pale golden alloy that she could manipulate freely. It was inspired by Midas's hand, but the alloy had no actual gold in it. If it made real gold, it'd be way too overpowered—imagine the impact on the real economy.
"Cerberus!!"
With a technique name that was cringey in just the right way, she summoned massive tentacle-like things from the ground made of that alloy. They were shaped like the snarling heads of a vicious giant dog—three golden heads charging at me like mad, jaws of alloy gaping wide.
She created metal from the surroundings, then manipulated it. A solid ability, but with clear limitations.
It's soft metal.
Hardness about like tin or copper, maybe. In a world where tons of superpowers packed raw destructive force, the metal itself wasn't that threatening. If she could generate and control steel, she'd have smacked Seo Ha-yoon silly ages ago. Pity, really.
Click.
I gripped the baseball bat and swung with all my strength, channeling a shockwave into it.
Kwaaaaaang—-!!!!!
The shockwave-infused strike shattered all three alloy monster heads in one go. As the tin-like body fragmented and scattered, the backlash sent Midas Girl flying backward.
"Eeeeek…!"
She twisted awkwardly in the air, failing to land properly, desperately trying to summon a dome. Pretty humiliating pose, honestly. Head-first into the ground, legs splayed wide, skirt flipped up for all to see. Kinda embarrassing to watch.
Still, she didn't break her head or spine falling like that. What kind of freakish durability did she have?
Come to think of it, the setting was that superpowered folks had tougher bones and muscles than regular people. Seeing this made it click.
"Catch you later."
I'd need to watch out for incoming shockwaves from now on.
"You… stay right there!!"
Midas Girl staggered to her feet. No way was I sticking around for that. I focused a shockwave into my legs and leaped far away, clearing the scene.
"Stay right theeeere!!"
Her voice trailed off in the distance, drawn out comically. Figures for a comic relief character—her vocal power was insane. That's how you carve out a niche as a gag character, with a voice that sticks.
After ditching the scene, I took the classic detour route, looping around before heading back to my hideout.
No signs of intrusion in the hideout… good.
I'd braced for Crusher to send goons after me here, but nothing.
Blank, you genius at picking spots.
I had no idea how the pre-possession Blank operated, but I was starting to get it. Pure self-preservation instincts. That philosophy shone through in his hideout choice.
This rundown one-room apartment was nothing special—shabby as hell—but its location was prime. Right on the border between the southern and northern districts of the 23rd ward.
The south was Red Empress Yama's territory; the north belonged to Kamisato Mizuru's Nine-Tails Alliance. Sandwiched between two heavyweight factions of similar caliber made it awkward for Crusher or any other villains to mess with. Raiding here was basically flipping off Yama or the Nine-Tails.
A fuzzy neutral zone. Even Crusher, who'd sent goons to kill me, hadn't touched the apartment—that was why. Last time he tried grabbing me for a "talk," he'd only brought a few lackeys.
Blank knew this and picked it as his base.
Live like a weed, unnoticed. That conviction was evident in the spot.
Suddenly, Steel Skin feels impressive.
Ignoring this geography to send minions straight at the hideout? Guy's got nerves of steel.
Safe at last, I savored the relief and pulled out my phone to check the dark web.
The villains were skeptical, half-believing at best. A blatant terror attack at the Starfield opening? Hard to swallow.
Mainstream internet was surprisingly more credulous.
It'll really happen in a few days, idiots.
Crusher might scrap the plan now that it's leaked, but knowing his mindset, nah. The Starfield groundbreaking ceremony was perfect for boosting his notoriety as a villain. That's what he craved most—proving his ragtag crew was legit to the world. Terror was on.
Not my problem.
Just wait for Crusher's threat to get crushed.
Ding.
A message popped up. [Ida-in]. Right, I'd given her my number.
I'd considered ghosting, but maintaining friendly ties wasn't bad—as long as it stayed surface-level.
Some dumb frog grinning like an idiot. Who even uses that? Popular or what?
True to the original, Ida-in got stuck with Starfield security. Her last apprentice gig as a trainee hero, but it'd turn into hell. She'd give her all amid the villain terror, only to watch civilians get crushed by gravity fields right in front of her—trauma and guilt city.
"…."
Thinking about it stirred some guilt.
I figured selfie, but no hand in frame. Someone took it? Low angle too.
Ah, Barrier.
She propped the phone with a barrier tripod. Clever use.
Replied, feeling some vague guilt or whatever.
This sunny girl was about to face lifelong trauma? Wild.
Thinking of Ida-in brought Seo Ha-yoon to mind. She went through hell in volume 1's Starfield terror too. Took down Crusher the villain and saved tons of civilians, but too many died. Humans love nitpicking flaws over merits. Her and the op heroes got flamed online. She got badly hurt by Crusher, sidelined for weeks.
Knowing disaster's coming and just watching? Guilt only a possessor could feel.
I sipped instant coffee to calm down. Still tasted like ashtray water.
"Boss. Plan's leaked… maybe postpone?"
In Crusher's hideout—an abandoned building in the 22nd ward—a minion mustered courage to speak.
Crusher said nothing, just gravity-fielded the guy's head into paste. Half the body shredded, corpse slumped limply. Goons stared stone-faced. Silence was survival here; they all knew.
"We must make this terror succeed!!! If we can't even pull off something this big, we got no future!!!"
Crusher glared bloodshot at his crew, resolve burning to force the Starfield attack through.
"And Blank—that fucking prick—still alive? What the hell are you doing? Go fetch his head! Now!!"
"B-but… over 10 organization members already dead…."
"Dead by my hand or his—same diff? Or you want the former?"
"Y-yes sir!!! We'll get him!!"
Crusher's will for Starfield terror was ironclad. His villains said nothing, but one thing was clear: this plan was fucked from the start.