Club's Coin Barrage Assault (3)
Gulp... A heavy lump of saliva slid down his throat. Whoa, no way we got spotted, right?
"...N-No. 13...? I swear our eyes just met for a second...."
"Your face isn't famous anyway, Dorothy, so you're fine. ...Don't get too tense. If you're tense, hold my hand.... No, grab it. Let's pretend we're a couple...."
The ones who had appeared in the dessert shop where Villain No. 13 and Dorothy were sitting were unmistakably heroes from the 7th Squad: Club.
Heroes don't know every single villain on sight, and if they're at a place like this, they're off-duty, so they won't be on high alert... He tried to convince himself as best he could.
The two slipped out of the dessert shop immediately to avoid being spotted by Club. The entrance was narrow, so they had no choice but to brush past her, but it was still better than running into her inside.
Thump, thump... This is bad for my heart...
Keeping their steps as steady and natural as possible—not too fast, not too slow—they moved across the shopping mall floor. He casually pulled out his smartphone to contact the Advisor without raising suspicion....
"No. 13? No. 13...."
"It's fine, Dorothy. It's fi—duck your head!"
Whoosh—!
He tossed the smartphone aside and yanked Dorothy's head down, practically embracing her. Something shiny streaked past overhead, slicing through the air with a sharp whistle.
Thump, thump, thump, thump! His heart was pounding harder than ever.
Glancing back, he saw a ribbon-haired hero glaring at them with wide owl-like eyes. The ribbon-haired hero—Club—had them squarely in her sights. The shiny 500-won coin in her hand was pinched firmly atop her tensed thumb.
That was Club's 『Reload』 stance. The coin was her bullet. Her outstretched hand was both gun and chamber.
"Why...."
Club's eyes narrowed fiercely as she gritted her teeth and tensed her finger. Then—fire.
"Why the hell are villains here?!"
Screeeee—!
Her flicked finger launched it. A silver streak shot straight toward Villain No. 13—or more precisely, toward Dorothy in his arms.
"Dorothy!!"
"Wha, whoa?!"
He scooped Dorothy up and vaulted over the railing into the open space at the mall's center. A silver coin bullet grazed the back of his head.
That was close!
He dodged the coin. But the danger wasn't over.
"Kyaaah?!"
Dorothy screamed in his side grip. Suddenly airborne, it was no wonder. Even as an Awakener, Dorothy's physical abilities were average; acrobatics like this weren't her forte.
People on the escalator and those on the same floor who noticed the commotion stared blankly in their direction. They were drawing attention from all sides, but there was no time to worry about that.
Dorothy, an Awakener with ordinary physical prowess, and Villain No. 13, an Awakener stripped of his powers and no stronger than a regular person. As they were, they'd either plummet to their deaths or, at best, shatter bones and tumble humiliatingly across the floor below.
They should have. But...
"Don't bite your tongue, Dorothy!"
So he pulled out his trump card, the one he'd been saving.
"【Come forth!】"
"【Come forth!】"
⟨ Summon Chain Anchor ⟩
Ripples spread near Villain No. 13's free right hand, as if something were surfacing from water. Splaaash!
Then, from the empty air where the ripples had formed, something burst forth.
It was a heavy, weathered chain that looked ancient and worn. Or rather... anyone seeing the ornament at its end—a bizarrely small but unmistakable anchor for dropping into the sea—would think exactly that.
Rattle, ratterattle!!!
The chain anchor whipped through the air gracefully, tail dragging. With a heavy metallic clang, the anchor wrapped solidly around a pillar opposite them and locked in place. Villain No. 13 wound the other end around his arm and swung his body forward, using the chain like a pendulum.
Down below...!
"Hngh...!"
Ratterattle!!
Like a pendulum. Clutching the chain anchor fixed to the opposite pillar, Villain No. 13 and Dorothy in his arms arced through the air.
Their target: the play area for kids several floors below. Thudwhump!!! They crashed safely onto the thick, soft cushions under the slide, designed to catch tumbling children.
"Ah, oof...."
"Hah, ha...! Dorothy, you okay? Hurt anywhere?"
"My stomach's churning... Dizzy...."
"No injuries! What a relief!"
Luckily, there were only a few kids in the play area. No one got caught in the chaos, but two children playing right across from the cushions stared at them in stunned surprise.
Sorry for scaring you guys.
『Whoa, so cool...』
『T-Tarzan...』
"Dorothy? Hear that? They think I'm cool."
"Shut up! Not the time... She's coming!!!"
Dorothy urgently pounded Villain No. 13's side and pointed behind them.
In the direction her finger pointed: at the railing on the top floor where they'd just been, a hero leaned halfway over, glaring down fiercely.
Jingle, jingle. Something shiny flew from her swinging hand through the air. Each one a 500-won coin—Club's favorite improvised bullets.
Oh...
The coins rained down like a meteor shower, scattering wildly through the air. For a split second, they halted midair as if seized by an invisible force.
Then, every single one hurtled toward the two of them.
"Gya啊啊啊啊啊啊啊?!"
He swung the still-wrapped chain anchor in a wide circle and dashed into the corridor. Some coins clanged off the long, heavy chain and veered away, but the ones he couldn't block barreled toward them like a bullet hell.
Crack! Clang! Crash! Shatter!
A coin aimed at his legs gouged a crack in the floor. One targeting his head whistled past his ear and smashed into a nearby glass wall. Dodge, dodge, dodge, dodge...!
Splat!
"Guh... Ack...!!!"
He couldn't dodge them all. One hit home. His face flushed red from tension, he spat out a pained breath.
"No. 13?!"
"I'm... fine...!!"
Princess-carrying Dorothy while running, he gritted out the words through the pain. His side. Not a direct hit, but solid. A mere coin, yet it packed enough force to rupture organs or snap bones if it landed true. Man up, he told himself, enduring through sheer spite.
Only one coin had struck. He'd dodged the rest. Club wouldn't catch up easily now, and the onlookers who noticed the commotion weren't approaching them.
So all they had to do was escape before she closed the gap.
"Hah... Dorothy, help open the door. No free hands."
"Got it...!"
Clunk! Boom!
They barely made it, dodging Club's sniping and bullet storm, bursting through the door to the emergency stairs.
* * *
Did I lose them...!
"Fucking shit...!"
Club scowled in frustration, leaning so far over the railing she might fall any second.
Spraying coins everywhere tanked her accuracy. Firing one by one created delays before the next shot.... But more importantly...
It was definitely No. 13...
Those two from before... One was unmistakably Villain No. 13 from the villain organization Abyss. She never forgot a face she'd seen once, and her ability made her habitually scrutinize even passersby in detail.
She'd recognized him instantly, even brushing past. She didn't recall the woman with him, but anyone with a villain was a villain. Even if she were a civilian, they'd treat her as one until proven otherwise—that was Hero Association protocol.
Still...
Why the hell was a villain here...?
A villain at a regular dessert shop in a normal mall. What did it mean? What scheme? Prepping some villain terror attack? No way a wanted villain would casually drop by for sweets...
No way to know the villain's intent right now. And they couldn't just let him escape.
"Heroes here! Everyone stay calm and listen up!"
Club announced the situation professionally to the crowd and issued brief instructions. She radioed the 7th Squad—and Apple, who happened to be at the office—for backup.
Then she hurried after No. 13 herself.
But she had no clue where he'd flee or what floor he was on. Checking cameras would let him slip away. And without Spade's physical enhancement specialty, just chasing wouldn't catch him.
She'd lose him like this. Normally, anyway. But Club still had her ace in the hole.
It'd tire her out, and she hated that, but this was an emergency.
...God, I really hate it.
More than that, that No. 13 guy... Spade senior's report said he couldn't use any powers, but that thing earlier...
Lots of nagging questions, lots unknown. But first things first: catch No. 13.
"Tch...!"
Club clicked her tongue and drew up her mana.