The Golden Roll's Rescue

It was all too common for the local villains to open fire just to defend their own turf. Especially when facing a small group of skilled opponents like this, guns were the best tool for the job. No matter how outstanding the enemy's abilities, one wrong move could drop them in a single shot. Of course there were ways to prepare for that, but the current situation made it rather difficult. The fact that these guys hadn't used their guns at all, however, meant there had to be a reason they couldn't.

My mind snapped into focus. I scanned the surroundings again. The guy I'd pegged as the boss had already fled long ago, and the superhumans who'd charged in first were now slowly falling back. The only ones left encircling us were worthless small fry.

"Ha, so this is for real."

"Is there a problem?"

"There is. A very big one. We need to get out of here right now."

"But we've already seized the advantage?"

"That's not the issue. The Security Force will be here any minute."

It looked like these bastards had planned from the start to hand Tasha over to the Security Force. Seeing that their main fighting force and even the leadership had already pulled out, it was almost certain. Which meant the small fry surrounding us now were nothing more than bait or sacrificial pieces. The ones gathered here were probably all clean, with no criminal records. That way they could be released with just a light warning or short detention.

The reason they hadn't used guns was simple. If they did, the sacrificial pawns would have to rot in prison for at least several years. No matter how much they negotiated through plea deals, illegal firearm use was still a serious crime.

If Tasha and these guys all got captured here, it would be a win-win for everyone involved. The Security Force could arrest the troublesome Phantom known as Black Yaksha along with a bunch of gang members, boosting their public performance numbers. Meanwhile, Storm could cleanly eliminate the troublesome Black Yaksha without taking any real losses. On top of that, the cooperative relationship between the Security Force and Storm would grow even tighter. Any temporary power vacuum could be filled by letting the Security Force stir up their rival organizations.

Looking at it this way, it was actually harder to find a reason why Storm wouldn't sell Tasha out. The boss of Storm was more cunning than I'd given him credit for. He'd set the board quite well.

"The Security Force? You mean the government troops? Even if they're small, they're still a warlord faction. They're joining hands with the government?"

"No. These guys were never a warlord faction to begin with."

Tasha, who came from Russia, seemed unable to understand the current situation. She probably hadn't fully realized that Russia and Korea were completely different countries. In her homeland, the idea of government forces cooperating with warlords was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠simply unimaginable.

But the warlords of Russia and the local gangs of Korea had been fundamentally different from the moment they were born. No wonder she'd charged in without thinking about the consequences. She hadn't even considered that the Security Force might come to arrest her. She might not even know that Black Yaksha had become a YouTube star. In Russia, Phantoms like her weren't treated as particularly important. They certainly didn't receive the level of attention they got in our country.

"Shit. They're already here."

This was seriously fucked.

It wasn't just us who were panicking. The small fry used as bait were also running around in chaos, clearly having received no prior instructions. But that was the end of it. Once the armed troops pointed their guns at them, they immediately fell silent.

If we wanted any chance of breaking out, those guys needed to go on a rampage. At this rate, it looked completely hopeless. The encirclement was slowly tightening as the troops closed in.

I considered trying to break through at a single point, but even that didn't look easy. People called them watchdogs and all sorts of insults, but the Security Force was a unit with surprisingly strong discipline. Especially when dealing with villains, they pulled the trigger without the slightest hesitation. If we took the lead in breaking through, the concentrated fire would naturally focus on us.

I could force out my powers to protect myself with Bulletproof for a moment and look for an opening, but it would probably be difficult for Tasha. Escaping alone wouldn't solve anything, so my worries only deepened.

"Huh? That's..."

In this situation where we could neither advance nor retreat, it suddenly appeared.

Tight riding pants and stylish boots. A white butterfly mask that looked like something a medieval lady would wear to a masquerade ball. And the blonde rolled hair that served as its trademark.

One of Korea's most famous Phantoms, Golden Roll, had made her entrance.

"This is Unit 2-22. Moving toward sectors 2-22 and 3-21."

From the radio chatter, it seemed Seong Jiyeong had completely withdrawn from the scene while Tasha had fled in a different direction. They weren't moving together? It didn't really matter, but something felt off. With Seong Jiyeong's level of skill, she should have been perfectly capable of taking Tasha with her.

"Don't tell me she scattered clones?"

If Tasha had taken her hand and teleported away, then the Tasha they were talking about over there was definitely a clone. Scattering a clone ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠while leaving was probably her way of helping me, since I'd chosen a different escape route. Looking at it now, it made sense. The troops spread around the perimeter were all converging on the direction Tasha was moving. If their forces concentrated on one side, my own escape would become that much easier.

"Peekaboo?"

"What?!"

"O-open fire!"

I suddenly appeared in front of the armed officers who were hurrying to reposition. The startled enemies greeted me by pulling their triggers, apparently just as happy to see me as I was to see them.

"Time to take a little break."

"Guh!"

Guns pointed from every direction were scary, but facing them head-on like this wasn't particularly concerning. I just needed to slightly shift away from the muzzle direction, close the distance, and land a light body blow to end it.

"This is... guh!"

As expected, the armed police were slower to report than the Security Force or Special Task Force. The moment they spotted me, they should have used their radio instead of reaching for the trigger. Of course, I'd counted on that and deliberately startled them.

After silencing the second armed officer who tried to call for backup, I broke into a run toward my destination once ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠more.

The location Yu Hana had given me was two blocks away from the alley where I'd first fought Tasha. A man was waiting there with a massive motorcycle.

"You've arrived, Noona!"

"Ah, yes. Well... Did Yu Hana send you?"

"Yes, that's correct, Noona. The young lady sent me, Noona. I will escort you to the destination with speed, precision, and accuracy, Noona."

"...Right."

"Whoa, my god... You're incredibly beautiful, Noona."

"Um... thank you?"

I'd switched from my eye-catching rabbit helmet to a regular motorcycle helmet, but this guy was being unnecessarily chatty. The constant "Noona" this and "Noona" that made him an incredibly loud fellow. What the hell, Yu Hana? Why did you send this weirdo?

Still, in the current situation, escaping quickly was the priority, so I got on the motorcycle. Even so, I couldn't help wondering if I could really trust this frivolous guy. The fact that he'd seen my face also bothered me. Had I let my guard down too much?

Of course, since he was one of Yu Hana's people, he'd already seen everything there was to see during the Dr. Oh incident. Still, it felt a bit uncomfortable. But what could I do? For now, I had no choice but to trust him.

"By the way, this is... a two-seater."

"Another vehicle is on standby elsewhere, Noona. It doesn't look like we'll need it today, though."

"Ah, I see."

It seemed they'd prepared a seat for Tasha as well. Of course, it wouldn't be used today, but the fact that they'd made one for her was significant in itself. I was curious whether Yu Hana had already known that Seong Jiyeong was Golden Roll, and whether she'd known the latter would get involved in this matter.

From the atmosphere, though, it seemed she at least hadn't known that Golden Roll would intervene. My head was starting to hurt from all the things I had to worry about.

"Yeah, she did. It was Golden Roll."

"Ha, fuck. I don't know what's what either."

Just dealing with Black Yaksha was enough to drive me crazy, and now Golden Roll had been added to the mix. At this point, it felt like far more than just a simple matter of ley lines. Had our ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dear CEO sold a country in her past life or something?

"Golden Roll, Golden Roll. She's a real Phantom, right?"

"Ha, we're so screwed. For real. The only saving grace is that neither of them knows my identity, I guess?"

"Ha, I don't know. I need to think about it more. Right now I can't make any cold calculations."

"Alright. Escaping now."