Villain Encounter # 3
Villain Encounter # 3
The beach.
ㅡGooo.
Yu-ri's three-shot bazooka barrage reduced it all to rubble. Every last villain, monsterkin, and monster was blown to bits and lying scattered in pieces.
They took devastating losses.
They sure as hell didn't see it coming. Who would've guessed that the second they stepped out of the gate, cadets with bazookas would be lying in wait? See? The military and the heroes haven't even made it yet.
If it weren't for us, they'd have accomplished their objective without a hitch. They'd have dragged that new monster species back home. In five minutes flat. But it's over. Whatever those bastards were planning doesn't matter anymore.
Because we smashed it all with our own hands!
ㅡDing.
[Coin Acquired: 582]
[Coin Acquired: 461]
[Coin Acquired: 819]
Coins were pouring in so hard my teeth were practically chattering on their own. All I did was shoot a rifle, cover Yu-ri, and keep an eye on the perimeter—and they're throwing this much at me?
That's how important this was.
[$%#$%#$]
But the main quest window was still garbled with noise. I'm not sure what's up, but clearly something more is needed.
"Phew! God, I blew 'em all to hell!"
Yu-ri let out a holler that was nothing short of gleeful.
"Yo, fuck! I think we got 'em all! Let's bail!"
She looked way too happy.
"Yeah! Good idea! Anyway, well done, Woo Yu-ri! The villains and monsters are all smashed! And that creepy new monster species got turned to powder!"
"See? That's what happens when I'm the one shooting!"
How much bounty money are we gonna walk away with after this?
"Wait. Those guys who came through earlier. They're taking cover right now. We need to be careful."
"Ah, those bastards. Si-hoo. They haven't bolted yet, have they?"
"No. From what I've seen, they don't seem to have run. Looks like they're still hiding behind the building."
So that's how it is.
Those villain bastards who spotted us and came charging earlier. They're hunkered down right now. Once we started hosing them with bullets, they couldn't advance so easily.
On top of that, the gate vanished and the whole area is wrecked. Now the top priority has gotta be getting the hell out of here. Their unit got completely smashed—why would they try to link up? They'll fucking bolt.
Right then.
ㅡFwoosh!
A grenade came flying!
"You fucking—"
ㅡFwoosh!
I instantly projected a shield across my front and batted the incoming grenade away with the flat of my sword, sending it way off into the distance!
ㅡKABOOOOM!
The grenade detonated far away.
"Home run! These crazy villain fuckers are chucking grenades now!"
"Nice work, Kim Geun-cheol! Now let's withdraw!"
"Wait! Yo! The asshole who threw the grenade from down below! How 'bout we grab that one last before we go?"
"That's a good idea! Let's finish strong!"
Two villains total.
And four of us.
We can absolutely take them.
"Right. Even if it's risky, we have to catch them. Now that the gate's gone, they're gonna try to escape however they can. That'll put civilians in danger."
"Yeah. Si-hoo's right. Leona! Yu-ri! Let's get down there and nab 'em!"
"Hell yeah!"
"Got it!"
And so all of us headed down from the building together.
Let's round up every last one of these villain bastards!
* * *
ㅡRat-tat-tat-tat!
From further back came the sound of a firefight. Soldiers were engaging the monsters. And maybe because the noise drew them off, no monsters headed our way.
As soon as we got down, we moved fast toward that building we'd scoped out.
"That bastard! He's right there!"
Leona charged in, shield blazing. A villain in a black coat was taking cover. He frantically fired his rifle.
ㅡBang-bang-bang!
But he couldn't punch through Leona's shield!
"Tch!"
The instant he stopped shooting and tried to launch off the ground, I pulled the trigger—still sighted right on him.
ㅡRat-tat-tat!
The muzzle spat fire as the villain tumbled across the ground. I'd hit him in the leg. My marksmanship's not half bad, I guess. At the same time, Leona descended on the fallen villain.
"Haaaahp!"
ㅡCRASH!
She flat-out soccer-kicked him!
"Wow!"
The villain flew backward and slammed into a wall. Leona immediately launched herself, disarmed the villain who'd just crumpled off the concrete, and started beating the shit out of him.
ㅡPow-pow-pow!
"You son of a bitch! We came here to have fun and you just barge in and start this bullshit! Take your medicine! You pieces of shit deserve a beating!"
"Gahak...!"
That's some very righteous and proper thumping right there. Villains like these need a professional superhuman beatdown prescribed to 'em.
Anyway, what about the other one?
"Stop right there!"
Si-hoo was in pursuit. But that villain bastard was seriously fast. Si-hoo was firing her submachine gun left-handed, but she couldn't break the guy's shield.
ㅡClick!
The moment Si-hoo's magazine ran dry.
"You piece of shit!"
"Huh?!"
Yu-ri appeared from the side and plowed into the villain with a shoulder tackle!
ㅡTHUD!
She was a goddamn bulldozer. Without bouncing him off, she carried him clean forward like a traffic accident and slammed him straight into a wall.
ㅡWHAM!
"Guhk...!"
"Like some villain bastard gets to show up at a resort!"
Then came the disarming and the beating. As if her earlier reveal about her brother had been foreshadowing, Yu-ri stomped the subdued villain like crazy and wrecked him.
"Whoa."
So this is what my friends are capable of?
It's terrifying beyond words.
All I did was plink from a distance with a rifle, and my friends straight-up apprehended two villains just like that. Who even knew something this amazing was possible?
Anyway, before long Leona and Yu-ri came back hauling the villains like a pair of bandits. With the surroundings slightly darkened, all I could see were black silhouettes and blazing red eyes—they gave off a real villainous vibe.
"..."
"..."
Both of the beaten-down villains' faces were purple-green, practically Na'vi-like. They definitely took concentrated facial beatings. Word is Avatar 2 is in the works—James Cameron would be frothing at the mouth to cast these guys.
"We got loot! Live villains, no less! Now, shall we begin the interrogation?"
"Hell yeah! But first, let's follow procedure and get 'em squared away!"
"Right!"
ㅡTHUD!
Leona and Yu-ri roughly tossed the villains down.
"Gah! We came here to swim and have fun—the fuck are you showing your faces for?!"
"Die, you bastards!"
ㅡStomp-stomp-stomp!
And they started stomping and beating them all over again!
Literally, additional beating!
DLC-level beating!
"No! Hey! They're gonna die! We're supposed to interrogate them—we can't kill them! Calm down!"
"Yo, fuck! If you capture a villain, breaking their limbs first is regulation! Memorize the damn rules of engagement!"
"Wait, there's a rule like that? I'm in!"
ㅡFwoosh!
I immediately launched myself and stomped the villain's arm!
ㅡCRUNCH!
ㅡCRACK!
"GYAAAAAAAHHHH!"
"AAAAAARGH!"
The two villains with the rotten luck to get caught screamed. As if we cared. We did exactly what model, law-abiding students ought to do.
"Hey, hey! Kim Geun-cheol! Strip those bastards!"
"Strip 'em down to their underwear too!"
"Leave it to me!"
"Geun-cheol! We're not giving 'em back anyway, so just slice everything off with a knife!"
"Si-hoo, you really know what's up!"
At my friends' request, I used my blade to cut the villains' clothes clean off, left them butt naked, then tied their limbs with some cord I scrounged up nearby.
"Huff... huff..."
"Hraaah...!"
I even bagged their heads.
Naked and trussed up like that, they looked worse than actual criminals.
"Perfect."
Finally, we dusted off our hands.
"Hehehe. Damn. Who knew our friends were this capable. Just nabbed 'em like that, huh?"
"It's no big deal, really. I mean, a two-bit villain like this can't possibly beat professionally trained superhuman cadets, right?"
Leona said it with a smile.
"That so?"
"Only the ringleaders among villains are strong. These grunts are just disposable pawns. They're not particularly tough."
Yeah, they sure looked it.
"Do you think guys like this bust their asses with intense personal training? They became villains precisely because they didn't want to do that. Besides, if they were truly strong, they could just live well-treated by their respective countries. In the end, most villains are just minnows."
"That's convincing."
Listening to Leona's explanation.
"Hey. Shit. This bastard's got a tattoo on the inside of his armpit."
Yu-ri, who'd been searching them, spoke up.
I looked—a weird tattoo.
"Oh my. These bastards are those cultists?"
"Cultists? The nuts who worship gates?"
"Yes."
"Ah, now that you mention it, that's the symbol."
Crazy bastards who worship otherworldly beings.
"Cultists make things a little different. They're crazy superhumans obsessed with some fucked-up faith. I've heard they're the type who'd throw their lives away to achieve their goals... Anyway, shall we pull back first? I'd like to interrogate them somewhere a bit safer."
"Yeah. Let's."
"Yo. Kim Geun-cheol. Lee Si-hoo. The guys haul the prisoners."
"Yep."
"Got it."
We immediately slung the bag-headed, stark-naked villain prisoners over our shoulders and moved out.
Ah, seriously.
I've never felt such a sense of accomplishment. We really did something good today. When we head back, we'll collect bounties and get tons of praise. And we'll have something to show for it at school.
It was dangerous, yeah.
And it was suspicious too.
But once everything's settled, there'll be plenty to gain. Like... I could consult with Kitty about today's events and dig a bit deeper.
"You people!"
As we went along, we ran into that retired hero from yesterday.
"Uh... those guys are?"
"Villains. We kinda ended up catching them. We're transporting them."
"Oh, right! There are soldiers over that way, so hurry on!"
ㅡFwoosh!
He said it briefly, then rushed right past us. He had a sword drawn.
"Hm."
Yesterday he just looked like a scumbag extorting tourists with a parasol, but I guess he's still a superhuman after all—he's in the middle of dealing with monsters. His body was soaked in monster fluids too.
"Guess he wasn't just a pure thug."
"Well, when monsters are rampaging on your turf, even a retired hero's gonna lose his mind."
Like that, we reached where the soldiers were.
"Ah, at ease! So, uh..."
"We're cadets who came here on vacation. When the situation blew up, we joined the fight."
"Ah, is that so? But, Cadets? Those military weapons...?"
"They're authorized, so don't worry."
"Yes, yes. Understood. The platoon leader's right behind; just have a word with him."
"Okay."
Damn. A high-school girl walking around with a bazooka, and it just slides because she's a superhuman.
We talked to the platoon leader.
"Ah, so, Cadet Leona and the three others. You're saying you want to interrogate the villains you personally subdued and then hand them over, correct?"
"Yes. That's the plan."
"Understood. I'll report it that way."
Here we are, a bunch of minors, with two half-dead bodies swollen blue all over, tied up tight, bags over their heads—and he just nods because we're superhuman cadets.
"The hero unit specializing in villains will be here soon, so feel free to interrogate as long as you like."
This really does feel like a whole different world.
"Yo! Let's go interrogate 'em already!"
Yu-ri hollered, pumped.
We stepped right out of the temporary barracks and into a suitable building.
"Huff... huff... Urgh... Wh-who the hell are you people..."
Maybe he'd come to, because the villain mumbled weakly. I gave him a rough answer.
"You've been kidnapped."
