Standoff at Neverland (1)

"KYAAAAAH!!"

"What?! What's going on?!"

"Th-the Ferris wheel just exploded!"

The three of them froze in stunned panic as the ground shuddered under a sudden, deafening roar.

Just as Kim Isabel had said, the central bearing of Neverland's Ferris wheel was collapsing in a burst of flame and smoke.

…So it's finally starting.

I'd figured it was about time things kicked off. After all, I'd had my fill of fun with three lovely ladies—it was high time I got to work. There were three goals I absolutely had to prioritize in this event.

One: protect Kim Isabel, the target of Black Moon, and Han Sora, the target of Scissorhands Kang Kal-jin.

Two: cooperate with and build rapport with Park Cheon-ho and Park Ha-na—the so-called "Park twins"—who would prove useful later once I entered Cheonmu Hunter Academy.

Three: capture or kill the foot soldiers of Black Moon, the villain organization.

All three were indispensable. If I had to rank them, the top item mattered most, of course.

-BAAAAANG!!

"……"

As I watched the Ferris wheel with those thoughts in mind, Park Cheon-ho and Park Ha-na kicked open the door of the topmost gondola and leapt out.

Confirming that everyone from the original story was now assembled—everyone except Seo Woojin—I hurried back toward the three girls.

"It's a villain attack! Let's evacuate ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠somewhere safe, first!"

"O-okay…!"

"Goddammit, seriously! Why the hell today of all days?!"

"Sh-shouldn't we head for a shelter…? Th-this is an amusement park, s-so there's probably a shelter somewhere…"

"Will it be all right? The Ferris wheel just exploded—we can't assume anywhere else is safe just because it's somewhere else!"

"…Right. If their goal is a mass-casualty terror attack, a shelter packed with people might actually be more dangerous."

In reality, a shelter wasn't especially more dangerous or safer than anywhere else—but I knew better than anyone that Black Moon's targets were Kim Isabel and Han Sora.

If they blended into a shelter with ordinary civilians, the coming fight would only turn against us. I personally didn't care much so long as my girls were safe, but neither Kim Isabel nor Han Sora had it in them to look after only their own skins.

There was no reason to waltz onto a battlefield of the enemy's choosing. The original story already gave us a guaranteed way to win—why bother with anything else?

"Let's head for the exit! We get out of the park as fast as we can and call the authorities from outside."

"Y-yeah…! O-okay…!"

"…Fine. Seonho's right. We're still just academy students… no, technically we're not even students yet."

"……Yes."

Han Sora nodded along to my words with a visibly uneasy expression, and Kim Isabel hesitated, as if her conscience were pricking her, before dipping her head in agreement.

Even now, a dozen or more people must have been killed or injured beneath that collapsing Ferris wheel. Abandoning them to save themselves didn't sit well with her—that was all.

And yet in a few minutes, she'll learn that this decision is actually the one that saves more people.

With Cha Eunju—who would follow my word without question—and the two heavy-footed girls in tow, I moved quickly toward the park entrance.

And there, we found Black Moon operatives already dug in, blocking the way out.

"M-move! We're getting out, so get out of the way, now!"

"KYAAAAH!! Terrorists!! It's a terror attack!!"

Amid the chaos and screaming, ordinary civilians desperately scrambled for an escape route. Then, before long, several gunshots rang out from the park entrance and reached our ears.

-Bang, ba-bang, ba-da-bang!!

"Huh…?"

"AAAAH!"

"KYAAAAH!! Help meee!!"

People crumpling mid-scream, bullets finding vital points before they even understood what was happening. People taking rounds to the shoulder or the calf, howling in agony.

A hellscape unfolded in real time before our eyes—a sight far too brutal for tender-hearted Cha Eunju or Kim Isabel to witness.

"H-hyuhk?!"

"What is wrong with those people…?"

"H-how ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠could anyone do something so cruel…"

Seizing the moment amid the chaos, I cast a suggestion on Cha Eunju first. For a girl as soft-hearted as her, a scene this extreme was more than enough to trigger instant panic.

Once I confirmed that Cha Eunju's tearful expression had steadied somewhat, I explained our situation to the others as if I'd only just finished assessing it myself.

"Those guys are probably the terrorists who blew up the Ferris wheel. My guess is they're seizing the park and planning to take whoever's left as hostages."

"Th-that's insane! Are you out of your mind?!"

"No one in their right mind becomes a terrorist. They've already set off bombs and shot people dead. I don't know what they want, but one thing's certain—they're the enemy."

"How could anyone wear a human face and commit such atrocities…"

Meanwhile, the Black Moon operatives, having spotted Kim Isabel, began exchanging what looked like radio chatter among themselves.

"Right—so either way, they're all fair game to kill…!"

In the brief opening that followed, Han Sora suddenly bolted for the souvenir shop in the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠adjacent building.

"Sora…!"

"Ms. Han Sora…!"

"…Let's wait for now. She probably has a plan of her own. And…"

-Click.

"…we're not exactly safe here either."

Black Moon raised their muzzles at me, Cha Eunju, and Kim Isabel, seemingly indifferent to Han Sora darting off alone.

With ten hooded figures surrounding us front, left, and right, even knowing what came next, the tension was impossible to shake.

"Hey. You. Black hair."

"…Are you speaking to me?"

"Yeah. You."

"…What do you need?"

What they wanted was obvious, of course.

Pretending to nod along to their questions, I brought my fingers behind my back toward Cha Eunju's and sent a signal against her spine.

A "D" shape once. Then the number five once. It was a signaling method we'd often used training at the Training Grounds in preparation for the practical exam—she'd understand it well enough.

"Hand over that priestess standing next to you."

"…I'm sorry?"

"Give us the priestess, and the rest of you walk. She's the only one we have business with."

"Don't tell me—you planned this entire terror attack targeting Kim Isabel?"

"…Hah. What? We're just clearing out Recovery Department hunters who've become a nuisance. Our righteous cause won't be derailed by some pointless variable."

Even though it was, in fact, an attack aimed at Kim Isabel, they were playing dumb and talking in circles.

Their policy was that the organization must never be revealed to be after her, so they mouthed the party line—but in truth, they'd struck because of Kim Isabel, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠no question.

It was also why they had guns trained on us yet hadn't fired. If even a single stray round happened to kill her, the operation they'd built would fall apart.

When I put on an expression of visible hesitation, the hooded man pressed me again.

"I'll say it once more. Hand over the woman, and you all go free. Refuse, and every one of you dies. Do you have anything to think over?"

"…Seonho, if I could just—"

-Kwaaaaak.

"…If we truly hand over Kim Isabel, you'll let us go safely?"

"That's right. Of course we will."

A lie.

The moment they had her in hand, they'd rain bullets down on us without mercy.

While outwardly acting as if I might hand Kim Isabel over at any second, my right hand gripped hers tight. It was my way of telling her—even like this—that I had absolutely no intention of giving her up.

"Understood. In that case…"

The instant I grabbed her shoulder, as if nudging Kim Isabel forward while glancing around warily—

"……"

"……"

…I caught sight of three arrowheads poking out from a second-floor window of the souvenir shop.

"Eunju, NOW!!"

"D-Dark Spear!!!"

-THWIP! THUNK! THWIP!!

"Guhk…!!"

"Grahahek?!"

At my shout, five strands of dark mana burst from Cha Eunju's fingertips.

With her incantation, the bodies of the five operatives positioned on her side were each skewered through in a different direction.

"What—!"

"Isabel, bind their leader!"

"…O chains of light, bind him!"

-CLANG!

"Y-you damned woman…!"

Kim Isabel's binding spell followed in an instant.

Befitting her station as a Saint Candidate, she could cast a simple binding in short order on anything short of a monster the size of an Owlbear. Last time had merely taken longer because she'd needed to tie down a three-meter monstrosity.

The man who appeared to be their leader, standing directly in front of Kim Isabel, was wrapped in Light Binding—and while the others stood frozen, still struggling to grasp the situation, three arrows rained down on them from the second floor.

-THWIP! THUNK, THWIP!

"AAAAH!!"

"GRAAAAAH!!"

Three operatives collapsed, arrows punching through where their eyes or ears should have been.

That was Han Sora's skill. She was poor at leading a moving target, but when it came to nailing a fixed one, her accuracy was rock solid.

Even better, her awakened ability, Piercing Arrow, carried lethal stopping power even through arrows made from a children's toy. She must have rushed into the souvenir shop expecting to find exactly this sort of thing.

"You guys okay?!"

"Nice shooting, Sora!"

The moment her sniping was done, Han Sora came leaping down from the second floor, clutching a cute little toy bow and arrows.

With Han Sora having taken out three, only one operative remained.

"Uwaa, UWAAAAAH!!"

Realizing the tables had turned, he tore off toward the park entrance at a dead sprint.

If I let him go, troublesome reinforcements might arrive. So I scooped up a rifle from the nearest corpse and cast a self-suggestion.

…Firearms are usually of little use against monsters, but when the target is a person, that's another story entirely.

I leveled the loaded rifle at his back—a shot that could have justifiably been fired moments ago already—and squeezed the trigger.

-BANG!

"Gah…!!"

Unable even to manage a proper scream, he dropped with the back of his skull blown clean through.

I rechambered a fresh round, then leveled the muzzle at the temple of the man sprawled on the ground, bound in chains of light.

"Where's your boss? How many operatives are left? And the bomber who rigged the Ferris wheel—where is he?"

"Y-you think I'd tell you?! Not a chance in hell—!"

-CRUNCH!

"Urk?!"

"Yeah, I didn't expect you to talk willingly."

I'd seen this trick somewhere before, so when he bit down on his tongue to end himself, I jammed my shoe into his mouth, pressed my palm against the crown of his head, and forced my specialty to pour into him.

…I'm getting tired. Setting aside what I'd cast on Kim Isabel and Cha Eunju, counting this guy, this was already the third forced suggestion today.

I could feel that I had barely enough mana left for one more—and even then, only if the target didn't resist. With that in mind, I interrogated this Jeong Byeokhyeon, an executive of theirs, once more.

"Answer again. Where are your boss and the remaining operatives? How many of them are executives? And the bomb technician who rigged the Ferris wheel—where is he right now?"