Chapter 405: The Great Car Thief (4)
Chapter 405: The Great Car Thief (4)
Leaving my two former subordinates with their heads still planted firmly in the dirt, I moved to free my two disciples.
Even after being released from their restraints, the two of them looked around with blank expressions, seemingly unable to comprehend what had just happened.
“…What just happened?”
A-bin eventually asked in a dazed voice.
It wasn't surprising, considering how much had occurred in such a short span of time. From the moment they were kidnapped to the moment they were freed, barely a minute had passed.
Just as I opened my mouth to explain, Ultimate arrived on the scene.
I bypassed Svetlana, who was nearby, and walked straight up to Montague, whose Hawaiian shirt was fluttering in the breeze. I didn't stop at just words.
“Explain yourself, you punk.”
Along with those words, I delivered a sharp kick to Montague while his head was still buried in the ground.
Montague rolled across the dirt from the impact, then scrambled to his feet and spoke up.
“Hey! Why me? The black one was right in front of me.”
The "black one."
He was talking about Svetlana. It was understandable why he’d call her that, given that everything about her—from her hair and eyes to her clothes—was black, save for her skin, and her abilities were shadow-based. But he was the last person who should be saying that.
“I don't like to bring race into this, but as an African-American, shouldn't you know better than to say that?”
“It’s fine when I’m the one saying it.”
What a load of crap. This guy isn't even thirty yet, and he’s already a master of double standards.
Irritated by his attitude, I gave him another kick before explaining my reasoning.
“It’s because you’re a guy.”
“That’s a sexist remark.”
“Then it’s because of your shitty personality.”
I followed up with a low kick. This guy was clearly messing with me.
After a bit more of a scuffle, I turned my attention away.
“Svetlana. You, get up.”
“Yes, sir.”
Svetlana, who had remained perfectly still with her head in the dirt, stood up instantly at my command. She quickly brushed herself off, returning to her usual composed state.
Well, "composed" only meant she brushed off the dirt and tucked in her shirt. Her overall appearance was still a mess. To make matters worse, her necktie, which was looped around her neck like a hangman’s noose, had slipped behind her back, though she didn't seem to notice.
“Montague. Stop making out with the dirt and get up, you too.”
I tried to get the idiot—who was still hugging the ground after being kicked several times for his personality issues—to stand up.
“I like the ground.”
Montague, apparently in the middle of a stubborn contrarian streak, muttered some nonsense while trembling.
“If you don't get up this instant, I’m going to start using you as a soccer ball.”
As I lifted my foot, he relented.
“It was a joke. Just a joke.”
Montague stood up with a bizarre, jerky motion. One moment he was lying on the ground, and the next—as if a frame had been cut from a film—he was standing upright without any visible transition.
Since this was a common sight for Svetlana and me, we didn't react. However...
“Huh?”
“Wh-what?”
“Hmm?”
The other three let out exclamations of surprise.
Standing between my two former subordinates, I began the introductions.
“Ah, you guys haven't met, right? These two are my former subordinates. This is Svetlana.”
“Greetings.”
Svetlana waved with a vacant expression.
“And this idiot is Montague.”
“Nice to meet you.”
Montague waved back, but his face remained expressionless.
It was a typical greeting from two idiots who lacked even a shred of social grace. The rest of the group, including Ultimate, didn't seem to know how to respond to such a cold welcome, but they managed to squeeze out smiles and introduce themselves in return.
The atmosphere didn't improve in the slightest, but then again, I hadn't expected them to play nice from the start.
Regardless.
“Montague.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Explain.”
“Explain what?”
At his response, I looked at Montague with a broad, beaming smile. Then, I lifted my foot and stomped down hard on the contrarian’s leg.
“You kidnap people and then ask ‘Explain what?’ Which mouth is that coming out of?”
Is this kid already trying to dodge responsibility at his age?
As Montague’s left leg was slowly driven into the ground by my stomp, I decided it was time to give him a little "education," just like the old days, since he was still acting like a brat despite his age.
“Captain! My leg’s gonna break! My leg! Let’s just talk!”
Montague, who had managed to endure my low kicks earlier by using breakfall techniques, clearly had no way to counter this. He started putting on a whole show of agony.
“Then start explaining, you punk.”
I ignored his pleas and spoke calmly.
“I’m sorry! Disciples! I heard you were the Captain’s students, so I was curious about your skills and kidnapped you on a whim! I’m sorry!”
Only when his leg was truly on the verge of snapping did Montague finally confess his wrongdoing.
I turned toward my disciples.
“He said he’s sorry, so try to forgive him.”
And with that, the kidnapping incident was settled as a minor misunderstanding.
“Ah… okay….”
“Understood!”
One of the disciples gave a hesitant reply with a dubious look on her face, but since they’d "reconciled," the matter was closed.
Just as I was about to talk more with my former subordinates, someone interrupted.
“I have one question!”
Ultimate shouted, stepping forward.
“What is it?”
I answered as the representative of the team.
“I understand that these two are skilled Heroes, but I don't understand how they managed to kidnap Baek Si-hyun and Han A-bin while evading our notice! If you don't mind, could you tell us how they did it?”
Ultimate’s tone was genuinely curious, but the underlying intent was clear. He was asking if they were willing to reveal their cards since they were going to be on the same team.
The fact that he phrased it so politely and indirectly showed his social tact. However, even that seemed to rub our resident contrarian the wrong way.
“Who is this guy?”
Montague leaned in and whispered to me with an annoyed expression.
“Ultimate.”
“…Excuse me?”
“I said, he’s Ultimate.”
I threw that out and ignored Montague’s bewildered expression as I turned to Svetlana.
“Is it okay if I tell them?”
Svetlana gave a slow nod in response.
I turned back to Ultimate and answered.
“Svetlana over there is an esper with shadow-related abilities. She can use Shadow Stealth, shadow materialization, shadowification, and can even summon clones through shadows. She can also share those abilities with others as long as they are near her.”
“No clones.”
Svetlana added a brief clarification with a yawn.
I nodded, satisfied, and then looked toward the still-confused Montague.
“And Montague’s ability is…”
Just as I was about to start the explanation...
“Wait! Captain!”
Montague jumped in front of me, cutting me off.
“What now? You want another kick?”
I made no effort to hide my annoyance, basically telling him to get lost. But Montague didn't back down and began to protest.
“No, it’s just… my ability is the kind of thing that’s bad if people know the secret, you know? It’s my bread and butter. If you just tell anyone…”
What is this guy talking about, "bread and butter"?
“What exactly do you do for a living right now?”
Even Svetlana, who’s currently with the KGB, is fine with revealing her powers. What do you do that’s so special you have to stop me? You’re probably working for some government agency or the Management Bureau anyway.
“Uh… well… it’s a bit hard to say….”
“What is it?”
Why is he hesitating so much?
I waited for a moment, but my patience quickly wore thin as Montague kept shifting his eyes. I tapped my foot on the ground a few times to signal that I was done waiting.
“…Will you promise not to punish me?”
Montague pleaded.
“Do you want to talk and then get hit, or get hit and then talk?”
I firmly raised my fist.
“I’m working as a bodyguard.”
Montague blurted it out instantly.
However, the answer was so normal that I wondered why he’d found it so hard to say.
“What’s wrong with being a bodyguard?”
When I asked, Montague broke into a cold sweat for the first time today.
“…Well… you see… the guys in the 'back-alley' sectors pay really well….”
Wham.
I threw a punch immediately.
But this time, Montague must have expected it, as my fist only hit air.
“…But I’m very selective about the jobs I take!”
Montague’s voice drifted from a different spot.
“So you’re saying you’re a shade of gray that’s basically pitch black.”
I threw another punch toward his new location, but as soon as I realized he had vanished again, I lifted my foot and slammed it into the ground.
Magical Girl Style: Jingak.
Boom!
The ground shook violently as I stomped, though no crater or hole formed. I had directed the force specifically toward targets on the surface.
I lifted my foot to stomp two or three more times in succession, but...
“Gyah!”
Fortunately, I’d timed the first Jingak perfectly. I felt my target collapse.
I immediately snatched the airborne Montague and gave him a grin.
“How many hits do you think your sins are worth?”
“Um… one?”
Montague struggled to break free from my grip, but with the conditions for his ability sealed, he had no way out.
I put all my strength into my hand.
“Then, as you wish, you get one hit. Try to hold on.”
Clank. Clank.
With the sound of shifting metal, a metallic gauntlet formed over my right hand.
“Captain, wait a sec—”
Before Montague could even react to defend himself...
CRACK.
The heavy metal gauntlet slammed into Montague’s solar plexus.
“Guh-ack.”
Upon impact, Montague gasped for air and his eyes rolled back into his head.
He didn't break, though. I’d intended to snap at least one rib, but it seemed he hadn't slacked off on his training since leaving the front lines. He’d managed to avoid any broken bones.
I tossed the unconscious Montague onto the ground and resumed my explanation.
“Right, that guy who just passed out. Montague’s ability is an esper power called Process Erasure. Roughly speaking, if it’s an action he can perform within two to three seconds, he can realize the result while completely ignoring the intermediate steps.”
I gave Montague a couple of pokes with my shoe as I continued.
“The way to deal with him is either to restrain him with a force he can't escape, like I just did, or to completely obliterate the entire area he could possibly flee to within those two or three seconds.”
The additional restrictions were that he couldn't interfere with others during that skipped time, and he couldn't realize actions that were physically impossible for him to perform.
As you saw when he dodged my punch, it’s a very useful ability in many ways, but because of the restrictions, it always feels like a budget version of Quilp’s power. It’s a great ability considering it’s being compared to an O-Rank like Quilp, but with a user like him, well….
“Anyway, if you combine those two abilities, the answer is obvious. Svetlana used Shadow Stealth to move behind you, then Montague used Process Erasure to jump right to the point of capture. He activated his ability to secure the restraints and then immediately escaped back into the shadows with her.”
It was a combination of abilities perfectly suited for ambushes, as expected of former Assassination Team members. Since the two of them were experts in such operations, the whole process would have been over in the blink of an eye. They’d performed similar kidnappings many times during past missions.
With that thought, I turned back to my disciples.
“So, don't feel too down about being kidnapped. These guys are specialists in—”
Just as I was about to launch into a lecture...
“Captain. There’s one thing I should mention.”
Svetlana, who had been quiet until now, interrupted me.
“What is it now?”
Do you want to end up like Montague too? I turned toward her with an annoyed look.
“There’s a slight error in your explanation. We succeeded in the kidnapping, but we almost died in the process.”
As she spoke, Svetlana pulled back her collar to reveal a wound on her neck. It was a long, straight laceration, as if something sharp had grazed her.
“….”
While I stood there speechless, staring at the red mark...
“That one. The gray-haired girl. She reacted to our speed and immediately summoned a knife to swing at us. Montague didn't seem to notice, but I almost died.”
Svetlana pulled her collar back up to hide the wound as if it were no big deal.
Startled, I turned to Baek Si-hyun with a look of shock.
“…Really?”
“Yes! If I’d known they were your acquaintances, Master, I wouldn't have done it!”
Baek Si-hyun replied in a bright, cheerful voice.
As if she had no idea just how incredible a feat she had performed.