Raid on the Villain Group [Lesser Rat] (2)
The villain organization [Lesser Rat] is a dangerous bunch. Sure, they're still small-scale right now, with individual combat prowess that's nothing special. Sure, they've been reduced to a smoldering wreck in an instant by a joint assault from multiple squads. But in the reports that had come in over the past few months since their name first surfaced—their influence had clearly grown by leaps and bounds compared to back then.
From petty thug-like villain packs causing minor trouble to the serious villain crimes cropping up lately, if you followed the threads, their name popped up every single time without fail. They were growing. At an astonishing speed. With tremendous momentum. Even if their goals remained murky, if they kept this up, they could become the spark for another Great Calamity… the axis of evil itself.
It might seem like excessive worry, but Captain Rahe—who was far smarter than Spade—and the other squad captains on her level, along with the wise heads at headquarters, had made that judgment. So for Spade, there was no choice but to accept it as truth without question. They absolutely could not be let go. Who knew what kind of headache they'd turn into next time if they slipped away now. For the future of heroes, for the powerless civilians living diligently today, praying for peace… they had to be captured. Here and now.
"Ah… ah… ah…"
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!"
BOOOOM!!
A surging red light accelerated. Releasing every ounce of mana in one explosive burst, at full throttle. The trajectory Spade traced, brimming with visible, immense energy, looked like a streak of crimson lightning.
"?!"
Startled by the thunderous roar—perhaps—the leader of [Lesser Rat], who had been fleeing desperately far ahead, whipped around to look. She frantically raised her hand, erecting a pillar of ice to block Spade's path, but it was no match for the overwhelming momentum barreling toward her.
With legs infused to the brim with mana, Spade charged straight for the villain. The visible aftershock of mana left a trail in her wake, crackling the air with sounds of burning and expansion—zzzt-zzzt-zzzt-zzzt—echoing behind her.
She sensed the sniper's bullet had been fired. Knew it would embed right where she'd just been. Knew it couldn't possibly reach her now. All Spade had to do was catch and subdue the fleeing villain before the next shot came.
—Next step. Spade exploded her mana again, accelerating.
—Next step. Without losing any momentum, her mana-charged fist shattered the ice pillar right in front of her.
—Final step. The distance to her target was all but gone. The charging Spade's footsteps weren't slowed even a fraction by the ice pillar. The enemy was now within arm's reach.
Spade could make out her widely opened eyes, her pupils, her expression—tense, resigned, furious, grief-stricken—all of it, up close.
It's over. Got her. Caught up. Caught her. Caught her. Caught u—
SPLAT!
"……?"
And in the instant she thought she'd finally nabbed her, the [Lesser Rat] leader vanished from in front of her eyes.
No, that wasn't right. Spade belatedly realized her own body had been hurled backward with the same ferocious momentum as her charge.
Whoooosh, her body sailed through the air. Spade had no flight magic, no midair control ability, and above all, her bewildered mind couldn't conjure any rational response to the situation.
So she just—
KABOOOOOM!!!
—hurtled through the air like trash, her terrifying charging momentum slamming her diagonally into a container box.
"……Huh…?"
Stunned by the hero suddenly flying off—perhaps—the [Lesser Rat] leader blinked in confusion, blurting out a dazed sound.
The hero, spectacularly embedded in the container box, didn't move. Though she was trembling faintly and coughing—cough cough—so she probably wasn't dead. She might even get up any second and give chase.
"……D-don't… follow me, you damn bitch…."
Crack-crack-crack!
After freezing for a moment, she flicked her hand, erecting a massive, thick ice barricade in front of Spade. Then she spun around and bolted away again.
She couldn't match Spade's speed, but with her body enhanced by mana, she vanished from sight in an instant.
"Guh… ugh…!"
Spade groaned, clutching her waist as she tumbled out. The container wall was massively dented, a huge hole punched through.
Rolling from under her hand was that same rubber bullet she'd dodged endlessly before. What the hell had happened? She'd definitely evaded it.
But the bullet she'd thought she'd dodged—the one that had grazed past her back—had somehow looped back and slammed into her side. With even more force than before.
…That last one…
…It just popped out of nowhere… like teleportation.
…No time to see it coming or react.
"Kuh… ugh… hack… kack…!"
Cough cough. Spade struggled to her feet, swaying.
Her exposed midriff under the battle suit bore a massive black bruise on her side. Her mana-reinforced body was tougher than steel. For a shot to pierce her fully deployed mana barrier and leave this kind of mark…
…The others were just… manageable attacks.
…But that last one felt like… someone else fired it.
The quality of mana, the depth of impact… her instincts whispered some inexplicable truth, like it was a different beast altogether.
If it hadn't been a rubber bullet—if that shot had carried just a bit more mana—half her gut might've been ripped open, not just bruised. The thought sent chills down her spine.
Hah… hah… hah…
Clutching her bruised side, she staggered forward, but the ice barricade loomed ahead, blocking her path. Its intensity didn't look much different from the earlier pillar, but after forcing through her max-output mana earlier… her control was shot.
The throbbing pain in her body intensified. Breaking the barricade—or pursuing further—was impossible now.
Spade ground her teeth at the realization.
Thud!
"Fuck…."
Her gloved fist slammed the container wall. The raw shock of the unpowered punch against unyielding metal reverberated through her.
Capture failed. The enemy got away. Spade had failed.
—Hero Spade had been defeated….
Hah… ah… haa… haa… haa… haa…
"Haa… haa… haa…! H… ugh… hack… kack… urk…!"
Ragged breaths, irregular and pathetically pitiful, echoed out. On the rooftop of some building, Club lay prone, rifle propped on the railing.
Just moments ago, under Villain No. 13's orders, she'd been sniping her comrade Spade relentlessly. Now she was hyperventilating, gasping for air, sometimes dry-heaving.
It was overload from overusing her ability. Her body was drenched in sweat. Her frail frame twitched in spasms, screaming its limits.
"Good job, Club. You did great. Really great."
Villain No. 13, beside her, half-lifted her trembling form, unhooking the rifle from the railing.
This was his doing. In the final moment, as Spade's last acceleration caused their attacks to miss, he'd desperately placed his hands on Club and forcibly drew out her power to turn the tide.
Naturally, forcing it out came at a steep cost. That was why Club was still convulsing, barely able to breathe.
He hadn't planned to push this far. But Spade from the 7th Squad was that exceptional. Too exceptional.
"Good job, Club. You did so well. I'm sorry. Really sorry. You can rest now. Rest, Club."
Even so. For all her excellence—beyond imagination—they'd prevailed against her.
They'd stopped her safely, withstood her full power head-on.
Villain No. 13 and Club—they had undoubtedly won.
