Hero Hunting (1)
Hot summer sunlight had forced sweat to trickle down foreheads with every passing moment. That season, which had felt unbearably muggy, gradually faded with time, giving way to a cooler breeze and trees bursting into vibrant reds and golds.
People often claimed that autumn no longer felt like autumn due to climate change, yet most agreed it was far preferable to days when air conditioning was an absolute necessity. Because of this, many found autumn better suited for outdoor activities than summer, and in reality, just as many people enjoyed leisure and travel during this season.
Under the clear autumn sky where a refreshing breeze blew, a popular idol group was performing at an outdoor concert venue in downtown S City.
"Alright! Everyone together now!"
A rare band-style idol group in the current domestic music scene, they had gained massive popularity through their flashy instrumental performances, powerful vocals, and the members' striking good looks.
"Waaaaaaaah!!!"
The cool autumn wind seemed to vanish as a scorching wave of passionate cheers erupted, blending with the energetic performance to create a fantastic harmony.
— Wreeeeeeeeng—!!!
A sudden discord shattered the harmony. A harsh, piercing electric guitar screech tore through the speakers.
"What was that sound? Why is the speaker making weird noises all of a sudden?"
The audience, who had been enjoying the show, covered their ears at the sudden roar, while the band members on stage stopped playing in confusion and looked around.
— Krrrrrrk—!!! — Wreeeeeeeeng—!!!
Even after the performance halted, the speakers continued blasting an agonizingly loud noise.
— Ring—! Ring—! Ringringring—! — Zzzzzzt! Zzzzzzt—!
Not only the venue speakers but also the smartphones of everyone inside the concert hall began blaring the same deafening sound at full volume.
"Why… why is this happening?! What the hell?!" "This… is this a villain?"
The roar pierced through covered ears, threatening to rupture eardrums.
"Aaaargh!!! Aaaargh!!" "My ears!!! Aaaargh!!!"
Victims began collapsing with bleeding ears from the overwhelming noise.
"Aaaargh!!! I hate this!!!" "Kyaaaaah!!!"
Seeing the injured, the crowd panicked and fled. The once-passionate concert hall now echoed only with screams and the terrible roar.
The audience poured out of the venue like a flood, leaving behind the fallen victims and a single man still inside.
"Phew… That was awful to listen to. I guess I’ll have to teach these ignorant fools what real rock sounds like."
The man chuckled in satisfaction as he nudged the fallen audience members with his foot. He climbed onto the now-empty stage and picked up a discarded guitar.
"Kuh… Hehehehehe…!!!"
Gripping the electric guitar, the man shook his head wildly and began to play.
— Zzzzzzing— Zzzzzzing—!!!
The melody was the complete opposite of the band’s fresh, emotional style. Though rough and destructive, it carried an intense artistic spirit that felt anything but unpleasant.
— Shuuuuk—
Suddenly, something large and heavy flew straight at the electric guitar in the man’s hands.
— CRASH!!! "What the—!!! You broke my guitar…!!!!!!"
A wooden beam from the stage structure slammed into the guitar, shattering its body and strings and cutting the performance short.
Before the furious man stomping his feet while clutching the ruined guitar, a hero in a pitch-black suit appeared.
"That unpleasant performance ends here, don’t you think? Villain ‘Bad Spirit.’"
The man who had turned the concert hall into chaos was the villain ‘Bad Spirit.’
He had been praised as a prodigy guitarist since his teens, but commercial pressures, artistic differences, and genre barriers had prevented him from flourishing. By the time his band debuted, idol groups dominated the charts, leaving no room for his wild hair-flailing, rough vocals and playing. After the band disbanded, he fell into despair and began using his newly awakened ability to sabotage popular idol and band performances.
"What… you want your eardrums burst too, huh? Aang?"
Bad Spirit hurled the broken guitar at the hero and trembled with rage, but the instrument stopped midair and fell harmlessly to the ground with a clatter.
"Throwing that won’t work. It won’t hit me."
— Shuuuuk— CRASH!!! "Kuaaaargh!!!"
Instead, the shattered guitar fragments rose and shot into Bad Spirit’s leg and shoulder.
"Kuh… You… a hero?"
"That’s right! I’ve been waiting for you to ask. I’m the hero ‘Psychokinetic’—here to protect citizens from scum like you!"
The B-rank hero Psychokinetic proudly introduced herself, spreading her fingers as if she had been anticipating the question.
"Kuh… My leg and arm… they won’t move…!!"
Psychokinetic’s ability, as her name suggested, was psychokinesis—freely manipulating objects of any size with her mind. She had shattered the guitar and fired the fragments at Bad Spirit.
"We’ve already received reports of two concert venues in the city being trashed. They say every sound device along your path emitted that horrible noise… am I right?"
Bad Spirit’s ability, ‘Dissonance,’ forced sound equipment to emit ear-splitting noise that disoriented people’s minds. Ordinary citizens often suffered ruptured eardrums, just like the victims here.
"Yeah… so what are you gonna do about it, huh? What are you gonna do…!!!"
— Wreeeeeeeeng—!!! — Krrrrrrk—!!!
Several audience smartphones on the ground and the venue’s massive speakers began blaring the noise again.
"Kuh…!"
The roar was so intense that even Psychokinetic struggled to stay on her feet.
"Anyway… the loudest noise is coming from this!"
Psychokinetic hid behind a pillar to minimize exposure, then extended her hand to control objects scattered throughout the venue.
— Shuuuuk— CRASH!!!
Multiple fan light sticks pierced and destroyed the large speakers, silencing the loudest source of noise.
"The noise from the smartphones… should be manageable…!"
— Shuuuuk—
With the speakers destroyed, Psychokinetic hurled the fragments at Bad Spirit.
— Thud thud thud—!!! "Kuhak…!!!"
The speaker body slammed into the back of Bad Spirit’s head. He lost consciousness and collapsed. The smartphone noise faded as well, and alliance personnel who arrived late began assisting the injured citizens.
"Hero ‘Psychokinetic,’ mission complete. I’ll wrap things up here."
"Ugh… guitar… my guitar…"
Special restraints bound Bad Spirit’s arms and legs. Psychokinetic brushed dust from her shoulder and transmitted a mission-complete report via her terminal.
— Shuuuuk—
"Hero-nim!!! Watch out!! Behind you!!" "Uwaaah?!"
— CRASH!!!
Something shot at terrifying speed from behind Psychokinetic and embedded itself into the opposite stage wall.
"Was there another villain nearby…?!"
Yet no one resembling a villain could be seen—only alliance personnel in uniform.
"Who’s there! Come out right now! Face me properly!"
— Shuuuuk— — CRASH!!! CRASH!!! "Kuaaaargh!!! Hero-nim!!! It’s an ambush!!!" "Aaaargh!!!"
Before they could identify the attacker, ice spikes rained down on the personnel evacuating citizens and securing the area. Thick blood poured onto chairs and the floor.
"This is bad… I need to request backup…?!"
— CRASH!!!
As Psychokinetic tried to request support from behind the stage, a massive ice pillar erupted from behind her and pierced her back.
"Kuh… Backup… quick…"
— Crack— Shatter—!
Impaled by the ice spike and bleeding profusely, she dropped her terminal. Someone stepped on it and crushed it.
"Psychokinesis… It’s a shame to waste such a useful ability, but there are plenty of others with similar powers. Besides… your face isn’t pretty enough for Master to like you…"
"You… who… are you…"
A woman muttered while crushing the terminal. Psychokinetic, barely clinging to consciousness, asked in a trembling voice.
"Still conscious, huh? For a B-rank, you’re pretty tough."
The woman merely chuckled without revealing her identity, then turned and left, her silver hair fluttering behind her.
SLAVE 04… Master’s orders completed…♥
