Copycat Crime (3)
The terrorists left not even a scrap of themselves behind. Their very existence had been erased, and the only proof they had ever walked this earth was the pool of blood gathering like a puddle beneath Skull Crusher's feet.
Valkyrie stamped her feet in horror, at a complete loss for what to do.
"S-S-Skull Crusher! Just now, right where you're standing... just now... the te-terrorists..."
The massive armored suit split apart and dismantled itself on its own. From within emerged a towering, massively muscled giant of a man.
Freed from the armor, the man glanced down at his own feet and answered as if it were nothing of consequence.
"Hm? Ah, so it turned out that way. Don't worry about it. These were the ones who committed terrorism, arson, and even caused civilian casualties. They were all going to get the death penalty after trial anyway. Think of it as the sentence being carried out a little early. I'll report it that way to the higher-ups. Don't concern yourself with the written apology either—I did this, so I'll write it."
"But... we still needed to learn their exact motives, or find out who put them up to this..."
"Who put them up to it? Didn't these guys themselves claim to be followers of Kid G? Obviously Kid G ordered them to do it."
"That's... a little different. Looking at them, for people who claimed to be Kid G's followers, their actions just didn't line up. Something about what they said and what they actually did—"
"Valkyrie. Maybe it's just my imagination, but that almost sounds like you're volunteering to defend the villain and claiming Kid G isn't the mastermind behind this incident. Am I mistaken?"
Skull Crusher fixed her with a piercing stare. Crushed by that overwhelming presence, Valkyrie hurriedly shook her head.
"O-Of course not! Why would I ever defend a villain?! It's just... I wanted to know what these people were really after..."
"Hm. Young heroes, or ones who only recently became heroes, tend to think that way a lot. But remember this. Our job is to catch villains and dispose of them. On paper there are procedures like trials and investigations, but for scum like these—ones who carry out large-scale terrorism and start killing people—summary execution on the spot is the usual approach. There's no benefit to giving time to people whose next move you can't predict, especially when their abilities haven't been clearly identified."
"But..."
"Once you have more experience as a hero, you'll understand what I mean on your own."
Skull Crusher checked the time on his wristwatch and changed the subject.
"By the way, Valkyrie, didn't you say you were a university student? At this hour you'd normally have lectures."
"Ah... yes. I was eating lunch when I saw the breaking news and rushed over..."
"That won't do. That simply won't do. Hero work is important, of course, but your everyday life is just as important. What do you plan to do if you only ever do hero work, miss classes, and end up with an academic warning? Leave the entire cleanup here to me and get back to school at once."
"But, Skull Crusher..."
"Ah, and don't worry about the media. I'll make absolutely certain they credit all the achievements to you."
Valkyrie had no interest in credit. She still couldn't bring herself to move, dithering in place.
Because the terrorists had all died in a single blow, she would never learn exactly what connection they had to Kid G—and that continued to gnaw at her.
Seeing that she still hadn't left, Skull Crusher asked quietly,
"Is there something else you wanted to say? Or have you already gotten a taste for skipping university classes?"
"Ah, no. Then... I'll be going first."
"Good. Hurry as much as you can. I don't know how long I can keep all the broadcasting stations and press people swarming nearby held back over there."
"Yes... thank you for your hard work."
"Return carefully."
After Valkyrie took flight into the sky, Skull Crusher surveyed the cosmetics shop where the battle had taken place and the surrounding area.
The shop itself had been completely demolished, but the surroundings were relatively less damaged—thanks to Valkyrie desperately driving the terrorists away from them.
Skull Crusher let out a deep sigh and donned the armored suit once more.
Running hopelessly late for class, Eun Seol kept apologizing to the professor as she took her seat.
By pure chance, the only empty spot was right next to Kim Sejin, so Eun Seol went over and sat there. The moment she did, she asked without preamble,
"Where's Lee Yechan?"
"You come back after all that chaos and the first thing you ask is that?"
"Keep your voice down. What if someone hears?"
"I don't know either. He was going on about some event reward or whatever and headed to a PC bang... What kind of game is worth ditching class for a PC bang?"
Eun Seol knew perfectly well that was a blatant lie, and she chewed her nails in anxiety.
"Damn it... Where the hell did that bastard go... I've got more than one or two things I need to ask him..."
"Ask him? What do you need to ask?"
"Just stuff."
"Want his number?"
"Yeah, hurry up and g— wait, what?"
Eun Seol had answered without thinking, then sensed something off and turned her head to the side.
"How do you have his number?"
"Heh heh heh. Both of us are passionate fans of Lord Kid G, aren't we? Fellow fans talk easily and have a lot in common, so of course we get close fast. Some people who live who-knows-where are so dense and uptight they barely have any friends, but I'm different!"
Eun Seol wanted to smack Kim Sejin across the head right then and there, but since Sejin held the upper hand she swallowed it down and bowed her head once.
"Fine, whatever. Just give me the number already."
"Your tone's getting short. You're supposed to say, 'Please, may I have the number~' first."
"I don't have time for games. Hand it over."
"If you don't do as I say, you don't get it. Come on, say 'Please give me the number~'."
A short while later, Kim Sejin was shrieking as Eun Seol twisted and pinched the flesh of her thigh. Her phone was snatched away and the number was forcibly extracted.
No matter how much of an ability user Kim Sejin was, and no matter how strong her physical stats were, she had just been pinched by the famous powerhouse Valkyrie. She forgot she was in the middle of class, screamed, and thoroughly embarrassed herself.
Phone stolen, Kim Sejin clutched her rapidly swelling thigh, tears streaming down her face as she spat a curse.
"Hiiik... huuuk... You dog of a bitch... Every time you eat, may food get stuck between your very back upper and lower molars..."
"I've thought this for a while, but you know those curses of yours are ridiculously petty, right? Here. Your phone."
After that, class proceeded normally, but even after the entire lecture schedule for the day had ended, Lee Yechan never showed up at school.
Because the terrorists had all been killed by Skull Crusher, she hadn't been able to get a single proper statement out of them. But Eun Seol was the type who couldn't simply let something suspicious slide, and she still refused to give up.
If I interrogate the person involved himself, something will come out.
Thinking that, Eun Seol dialed Lee Yechan's phone.
For a long while there was only the connection tone and no answer. Just as the exhausted Eun Seol was about to hang up, a voice finally came through from the other end.
"Ugh... Hello?"
"Hey. Where are you?"
"...Eun Seol? Wait, how did you get my number...?"
Lee Yechan recognized her voice immediately and shot back the question.
"I got it from Kim Sejin."
"Haa... That girl and her unnecessary nonsense again..."
"You always act like you know everything and put on airs, so I don't even need to tell you why I called, right?"
"No, I have no idea."
"Ah, quit joking around! I don't have a recorder on!"
"Well, you never know, do you?"
She was already busy trying to interrogate him, and the conversation was hitting a wall from the very start. Eun Seol felt irritation surge up and tried to coerce him however she could.
"Haa... Fine. Then I'll go wherever you tell me to. That work for you?"
"No, but why? You already arrested all those guys, so isn't it over? You think I don't know you're coming to pick some fight and arrest me?"
"You damn paranoid—"
Eun Seol started to curse, then cleared her throat, reeled the words back in, and coaxed him again in the softest voice she could manage—though it still trembled with anger.
"Ahem, ahem. Something felt off while I was dealing with them today, and I called to check on that. I promise I won't try to drag you in or anything like that today, so can we just talk?"
"You're a strange one. If you need to check something, just grab the gang you already arrested and interrogate them. Why come looking for me?"
"Those bastards are all dead, that's why I'm asking you!"
The other end of the line went silent for a moment.
"......Dead?"
"Yeah! Skull Crusher showed up and crushed them all in one hit! There's nobody left to question and no investigation possible, so that's why I'm asking you at least!"
"...Skull Crusher...? Understood. I'll get ready right away. I'll send you the place and time shortly, so come there."
"Got it."
The call cut off soon after. Eun Seol lamented how on earth she had ended up having such a leisurely phone conversation with a villain—and not just any villain, but the one she wanted to catch more than anyone: Kid G.
If I'd just beaten him down and locked him up from the start, I wouldn't have to do any of this...
Thinking that, Eun Seol left the university corridor.
As she passed the first floor, she briefly turned her gaze toward the news playing on a TV.
On the screen, Skull Crusher was giving an interview to the media.
Was it... really? It didn't seem like that much of a disaster to me...
"The terrorists were all eliminated, but it is expected that restoring the streets will take a considerable amount of time. We on our side promise to do everything in our power to capture Kid G so that copycat crimes by these fanatical followers who worship him no longer occur."
The announcer continued.
The broadcast screen showed Myeongdong streets that looked as though a war had swept through them.
Seeing it, Eun Seol recoiled in shock.
Wh-what is that...?! It wasn't destroyed that badly! At most one cosmetics shop on the first floor of a single building had been completely blown out... No, some other shops were damaged too, but nowhere near that level. What the hell is—
The government and the Hero Union expressed their condolences to the victims and, with one voice, issued strongly worded condemnations of Kid G, who has been named the mastermind behind this incident...
On the news, Kid G had gone from simple petty thief to the monstrous backer of heinous terrorists.