Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Clash at the Rest Area (1)
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◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "A… Agent? What's wrong?!"
"Ugh… Uwaaaaaah!!!"
A Hero Union agent had been hurled in front of Magical Seraphina.
He had been turned into a human bomb by Firecracker's supernatural ability 'Bombification', and now he trembled in terror, sensing something wrong with his body.
"S… Save…! Hero… please save me…!"
- KABOOOOM!!!!
"Kyaaaaaaaah!!!!"
Despite the agent's desperate pleas for mercy, Magical Seraphina couldn't lift a finger and was caught in the blast.
"Seraphina?!"
The tremendous shockwave from the explosion slammed her against the rooftop door wall. The impact seemed severe; she couldn't get back up easily.
"Whew… It's been a while since I turned someone into a bomb."
All that remained at the explosion site was damage to the building from the shock. Not even a scrap of flesh from the agent's body was left behind.
Just a wisp of smoke rose, as if his soul itself were dissipating.
"Making corpse bombs is tough every time. It takes so much focus. Mess it up, and only part of it blows, spraying blood and guts everywhere."
Firecracker showed no guilt whatsoever over sacrificing an innocent life. Instead, she casually critiqued the explosion.
"Seraphina! You okay?"
Magical Aquamarine, who had been locked in combat with Executioner, rushed to Seraphina's side and supported her wounded body, which was bleeding from multiple spots.
"The… agent… right there… not even a trace…!"
The injuries from the blast's shockwave were bad enough, but her mental state—having witnessed the agent's explosion up close—seemed even worse.
"You okay? Can you stand?"
"Th… That… The… agent…!"
She stammered like the timid Firecracker before donning her gloves, unable to even open her eyes fully as she hung her head with a tearful expression.
"What? She's freaking out over just one guy blowing up?"
Firecracker shook her head in disbelief at Magical Seraphina's fragile reaction, waving her arm around.
"No more pointless fights. It's a waste of time. Crazy Chain's pulled out too… We should scatter."
Executioner retracted his blade into his arm and tapped Firecracker's shoulder.
At his signal, she pulled her gloves from her cheongsam sleeve and slipped them back on.
"Ah…! Aa…! Y-Yeah! Right, right!"
Just like that, she reverted to her old speech and demeanor, timidly responding to Executioner.
"If we don't find them within a week, regroup at B City Airport instead. Later."
"Y-Yes…! A-Airport!"
In case they failed to locate both Trickster Chae-ryeong and Leader Kaiser, they set a backup meeting spot and the two villains vanished leisurely.
"Urgh…!"
Magical Aquamarine could only watch helplessly as the villains she needed to catch slipped away, cradling Seraphina, who was reeling from both physical and emotional shock.
"If only… If only I were a stronger hero…"
She realized vividly that all the villains she'd faced before had been fakes.
She had definitely landed hits on them and blocked attacks too fast to see.
The same went for Magical Seraphina.
But suddenly being overwhelmed like this was due to something emanating from Firecracker and Executioner.
To become a truer, braver hero, she had to overcome that something. She had to conquer it and defeat those villains.
Aquamarine closed her eyes, holding the gasping Seraphina, lost in thought.
"For now… let's head back. Seraphina."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The morning after the clash between multiple villains and heroes in front of a shopping district in S City.
Chae-ryeong and Ji-woo—minus Do-hwa—stood with Si-yoon on a street near the hideout, waiting for something.
"Whoa! That's really amazing."
While waiting, Ji-woo and Si-yoon killed time by watching Chae-ryeong use her supernatural ability 'Doppelganger' to create clones.
"Like this… Nya!"
Her red eyes closed in focus, and soon a hazy smoke leaked from her body.
- Shoooo…
The smoke from Chae-ryeong's body gathered and swelled, slowly forming a cloud-like mass resembling a human figure.
The gaseous blob grew more detailed until—with a pop—it became a clone identical to Chae-ryeong.
"I can make up to three! Impressive, right?"
Both Chae-ryeongs beamed with childlike anticipation, awaiting praise from an adult.
Si-yoon hesitated for a moment, wondering which was real, then just smiled and scratched both their chins.
""Nyaang…♥""
The two pitch-black female cats rubbed their faces against his chest.
"M-Me too! I wanna hug the Master!"
Ji-woo marveled at the clones' identical expressions and movements but grabbed his arm tightly as the two Chae-ryeongs tried to cling to him.
"You guys are all too cute for your own good."
- Vroooom!
As he smiled warmly at the two cats and one maid in his arms, a large mid-sized van pulled up in front of them.
It was spacious and clean enough for six burly men.
"Alright! Everyone, hop on!"
Do-hwa—who had a driver's license—had rented the van and driven it near the hideout.
"Okay. Let's go!"
Chae-ryeong dismissed her clone and—now in a hoodie instead of her maid outfit for once—took the back seat with Ji-woo. Si-yoon rode shotgun next to Do-hwa.
"Hit the highway to the beach in Y City, right?"
"Nyaang! Yep! Do-hwa."
Chae-ryeong fiddled with the spare phone Si-yoon had given her, quickly searched the address, and showed it to him.
"Plug it into the nav… Okay. We're good to go. Leader Kaiser… Finally gonna see what he looks like."
The address Chae-ryeong had pinpointed was the Dark Knights' temporary base—and Leader Kaiser's hideout.
"Gonna take at least an hour. Should we stop at a rest area midway?"
Reaching the beach in Y City would take well over an hour.
"Yeah. We haven't had breakfast, so everyone's probably hungry."
"There's one on the nav route… We can swing by that rest area."
"Rest area! We're stopping at the rest area?"
At the mention of a rest area, Ji-woo perked up excitedly and asked Si-yoon.
"Yeah. Why? Got something you wanna do there?"
"W-Well! I heard rest areas have tons of yummy snacks… Hehe."
Rest areas were originally spots for tired drivers and passengers to relax on long trips. In recent years, they'd become popular for their delicious foods and snacks too.
Ji-woo wasn't big on proper meals, but she loved snacks and junk food, which explained her reaction.
"Wonder what she'll eat. Walnut pastries? Or hot dog skewers?"
"Ji-woo doesn't eat much rice, but snacks make her eyes light up. Back at the Union dorms, she'd blow her allowance on snacks and I'd scold her all the time."
"Th-That was because the dorm food didn't suit my taste…"
Since becoming a maid at the hideout, her meal portions had improved somewhat, but she still favored snacks and sausages.
She downed about two 1.5L soda bottles a day, which worried Si-yoon about her health.
"Lately, she's been eating proper meals regularly and cutting back on snacks. Didn't touch the sodas or bread in the fridge yesterday."
"Hehe! To be a diligent maid, health management is key!"
Ji-woo had long recognized her eating habits were a problem.
Before, with her flipped sleep schedule, sporadic hero work, and all-day gaming, she hadn't bothered fixing it.
But as a maid tending the hideout and serving her master, she figured a healthy body made for a better maid.
"Hmmm… Nyaaaa…"
While Ji-woo and Do-hwa bantered, Chae-ryeong had dozed off, her head resting on Ji-woo's thigh.
"Already asleep?"
Ji-woo noticed the weight on her lap and jumped, but calmed down seeing Chae-ryeong sleeping cutely with soft breaths.
"She's just like a real cat… So cute."
Of course, she'd removed her cat tail and ears before heading out, but watching her cat-like behavior, Ji-woo gently stroked her head.
"Nya? Ji-woo?"
"Eek?!"
Chae-ryeong woke to the touch and stirred. Ji-woo flinched and raised her hand high.
"You can keep petting me. Ji-woo's hands are soft and squishy—I love it!"
"O-Okay then… Hehe…♥"
And so the four passed the time, drawing ever closer to where Leader Kaiser awaited.