Hero's Qualifications (10)
"You're pretty banged up."
The man looked down at Han Sua and extended his hand. "Can you walk?"
"...Get lost. This much is... ngh?!"
Grinding her teeth, Han Sua slapped his hand away and staggered to her feet. But her strength gave out, and she collapsed right back to the floor. She didn't even have the power left to brace herself with her arms. Bracing for the impact, Han Sua squeezed her eyes shut.
"Huh?"
Then a lukewarm warmth enveloped her body. Han Sua blankly let out the word. She wasn't on the cold floor anymore—she was pressed against someone's firm chest. Realizing she was in Kim Woojin's arms, She panicked and opened her mouth.
"W-what the hell are you...!"
"Don't be a hassle."
Dismissing her protest lightly, the man carefully steadied her on her feet. It was a meticulous, gentle touch that contrasted sharply with how she'd treated him before, but she immediately denied it in her mind. Maybe crawling at his feet like a dog all this time had driven her insane for real.
Still in that position, Kim Woojin scanned her body from top to bottom. A creeping shame flushed Han Sua's face, but unfortunately, she had no strength left to resist.
Soon, a modulated voice came from behind his mask. "No fatal wounds, at least. You can hold out for a bit with your suit and drugs."
"What...?"
Han Sua replayed what he'd said while looking down at her. Her mind was still a jumbled mess.
"What are you trying to make me do...?"
She asked, her attitude plain to see. She couldn't even tell anymore if what he wanted was good or evil.
"I told you. Your job isn't done yet."
Kim Woojin nodded as if it were obvious. "Hero Psyche. I need your help."
"Help...?"
Han Sua muttered in a dazed voice. Not an order, but help. The man's attitude had flipped dramatically.
"What the hell...?"
Han Sua asked, bewildered. The man in the black suit nodded as if it were natural.
"First, hit me."
Han Sua thought: That face behind the mask was probably smirking right now.
"Hit me hard."
BOOM!
"Gah...!"
With a thunderous roar, the pink-haired hero rolled across the floor. She took the follow-up attacks without countering, just enduring them.
"Kuhahaha, excellent, just excellent!!"
The villain's shadow loomed through the dust, shaking with laughter. The S-rank villain Stingray raised his prosthetic arm high, cackling wildly.
"Should've done this from the start. You look great like this, Peerless! Uhahaha!"
Peerless spat out bloody foam and gritted her teeth.
"Cough... you bastard...!"
Her tattered suit blared durability warnings nonstop. She'd taken dozens of minutes of beatings from Stingray to protect the hostages. She had no choice. As long as she was alive, he wouldn't dare touch them.
She'd been holding out, waiting for backup, but the news she wanted never came. And regrettably, her body was reaching its limit faster than expected.
"Didn't know you were this stupid. Sacrificing yourself for worthless civilians?!"
Splat!
A beam from Stingray's fingertip pierced Peerless's knee. She let out a pained groan and slammed into the floor.
"Ngh...! Shut... up...!"
Peerless forced herself back up, unyielding.
"A superhuman's life... isn't heavier than a civilian's...! How could a hero abandon citizens...! Cough...!"
"That's why it's so stupid."
Thud!
Another brutal kick sent her rolling across the floor.
"The age of strength and savagery is back. The strong rule—that's the natural order now. So why keep pretending to be civilized? Huh? You hypocrites."
"I said shut up...! Kehk...!"
Stingray planted his foot on Peerless's throat and ground down. The smile on his lips grew even more sinister. Leaning in, he whispered.
"Peerless, wanna hear some good news?"
"Cough... what...?"
"That orphanage you love so much? I sent half of Banwol's forces there. Guess why?"
"What...?"
Peerless stared in disbelief. Seeing her reaction, Stingray grinned wickedly.
"Told 'em to bring your precious orphans here. Aren't you curious? Alive? Dead? Or maybe... just body parts."
"What the hell...! You son of a bitch!!"
"Why so surprised? I'm keeping my promise—not touching the hostages here. No problem, right?"
Stingray chuckled and manipulated his prosthetic arm. With a mechanical clank, a sharp blade extended from the tip.
"Can't wait to see your face when they arrive...!"
Peerless sighed at her own complacency. She'd prepared as best she could, but this villain was more obsessive and cruel than she'd imagined. She never dreamed he'd send half his forces to the orphanage.
"Let's take it slow while we wait. First... shall we start with that arm?"
Stingray's blade drew closer.
"Kuhuhu, I'll make you feel the same pain I did. Don't worry. I'll peel your flesh nice and slow..."
BOOM!
Just before the blade sank into Peerless's shoulder, a massive explosion kicked up dust. A hero in a purple suit landed with a tumble from her jetpack.
"You...!"
Peerless's eyes widened at Psyche's arrival. Psyche scanned the situation and shouted urgently.
"Peerless! The hostages are all rescued! The orphanage kids are safe too!!"
"What...?"
"What nonsense is... Graaah!"
BOOM!
Stingray swung his blade in panic, but Peerless moved faster. The moment she heard Psyche, she kicked his gut, snatched her fallen blade, assumed position, and closed in. Before he could react, her blade pierced his abdomen.
"This... impossible... gurk...!"
The villain collapsed sideways, gasping like deflating. Seeing him motionless, the hero finally slumped in exhaustion.
Psyche rushed over and supported her.
"Peerless!"
Her final strike had used every last ounce of strength. Psyche wasn't much better—her suit was torn and burst open. Seeing it, Peerless smiled faintly.
"Cough... thanks, Psyche. For protecting the kids..."
"...It's what a hero has to do."
"Haa... good thing. This was really close."
Peerless relaxed a bit at Psyche's unwavering response. "Didn't expect the villains to scheme this far. Backup's coming soon, so just hold on till..."
"That idiot Stingray. Failed, huh."
Suddenly, an unfamiliar, intimidating voice echoed. Peerless's face hardened as she stared ahead. Heavy footsteps approached through the acrid smoke. A villain in a full black suit emerged.
A distorted, crackling voice boomed from behind his face-concealing mask. "Useless. I told you to kill Peerless."
"Who...!"
Peerless glared and snapped. The villain, oozing casual confidence, answered simply.
"Marionette."
"Marione...tte...?"
She mulled the name. It rang a faint bell. Marionette—one of the new villains active recently, from the back alley and bank incidents. A superhuman, presumed to have manipulation-type Authority. Last month's villain chart ranked him F-grade. The Hero Management Bureau concluded he was less dangerous than most, despite being new.
"'Handling business,' huh..."
But Peerless quickly grasped the implication.
"You mean... you orchestrated this?!"
"Yeah, that's right."
He nodded simply again.
"I ordered this raid. Peerless, you were a thorn in my side around here."
His footsteps stopped at the now-cold corpse of Stingray. He placed his foot on the thick skull and pressed down without hesitation.
Splat!
Brains spilled like a burst watermelon. Even in that gruesome scene, he calmly wiped the splatter from his suit.
"But he couldn't even handle that... tsk."
A chill ran down her spine. Peerless realized the Bureau's rank was way off. To treat a vicious villain like Stingray as a limb meant his depths were unfathomable.
"Ngh...!"
Peerless gritted her teeth in frustration. A new terror had shattered her glimmer of hope. And after the last fight, both were battered. No chance of winning. Even steeling herself, despair crept in.
And beside the despairing Peerless...
"..."
Psyche, supporting her, wore an expression that seemed not terrified, but awkwardly sheepish and reluctant.