[What's life, anyway? Just live as it comes]
[What's life, anyway? Just live as it comes]
As soon as I hung up on Shion, I got ready to head out. I felt bad for Baek-ri and Seo-ae-ssi since I was leaving right after arriving at work, but honestly, our Shion is more important than that.
"Sister-in-law was kidnapped, you say?!"
"Minimal safety is guaranteed, so it's fine."
"But isn't it kidnapping? We should report it to the police!"
"As has been the case since olden times, it's a cliché that the police can't do jack in situations like this."
Besides, if I call the police, I won't be able to beat the shit out of the bastard who kidnapped our Shion myself.
"I cut off half my power and cast a Force Field on Shion. It'll probably withstand an attack strong enough to shatter the Earth. So, as far as this planet is concerned, there's no need to worry about Shion getting hurt."
"Uh... then can't we just leave it to the police?"
"There are two other kidnapped kids. My wife is obviously too kind, so she let herself get kidnapped for their sake. Honestly, my wife isn't weak enough to die in a ditch somewhere even without my protection."
I took the Raccoon Man transformation headset out of my pocket.
I don't know which bastard kidnapped my wife, but I'm going to beat the living hell out of them.
"Ah, found where they are. The location is... Jongmyo? Fuck, what a classy place to hold a kidnapping. Is he the eldest grandson of a noble family? A precious piece of shit has arrived."
"Jongmyo? Isn't that a tourist spot where lots of people come and go?"
"Must be a restricted area or something. But who'd notice if they're right in the middle? It's like hiding a tree in a forest; the places where people flock are the least conspicuous."
Once I roughly grasped the location, I expanded my 'Sense'. Centered on me, a radius of several dozen kilometers. That alone put one-sixth of this country within my 'Sense'.
A little distance from here, I could feel Shion's presence and the presence of two children nearby. And I could also feel the presence of a guy who was hiding, but it was useless against my 'Sense'.
Stay right there. I'm coming to grind your face off.
"Handle the business today and close up early. Actually, since I won't be back today, just pretend you're the boss and do a secret discount—like Koshiki Two-Chicken, give 'em two for the price of one."
"The business will go under?!"
"Just do it as a surprise event for today. Since it tastes worse when you fry it than when I do, you've gotta make up for it with quantity."
I dumped today's business on Baek-ri and stepped outside. Then, I put on the Raccoon Man transformation headset and pressed the button, and a metallic mask covered my face.
This Raccoon Man will beat up a kidnapper who messes with elementary school girls, so don't worry!
Aram also woke up from her sleep at the sound of Shion and Su-jeong talking. At least Aram had been kidnapped a week later than Su-jeong, and since Su-jeong was there, she didn't seem too anxious.
"You look like an older sister, but you're not? Did you live abroad? America? England?"
"Even if I look like a peer, I'm a married woman with a perfectly fine husband. And if you ask where I'm from, I'll just say America for now."
According to her background, she was a foreigner who had naturalized from the US to Korea. It was just a setup that she had been receiving medical treatment in another country, not the US, so she had no connections there.
"Anyway, about what you said earlier regarding the horns. I'd like to hear it again."
"Ah."
I put the conversation with Aram on hold for a moment and asked Su-jeong about what she had said earlier.
The mention of horns sprouting from the kidnapper's head.
I didn't know how she noticed the appearance of an invisible opponent, but it was a concerning remark.
"When I was being kidnapped, I was flustered and hit the kidnapper's head. But I hit something strange and got a cut on my hand."
Su-jeong showed Shion the scar on her wrist. She said it had healed over time, but a small scar remained.
It was a mark that looked like it had been grazed by something sharp.
"I don't remember exactly, but I think I swung at where the face should be. It felt like I hit something hard. But it's weird to get a cut like this from hitting a head."
If it were a bruise or a bite mark, it would be understandable. But in this case, the incident was shrouded in mystery.
There was a possibility the kidnapper was wearing a helmet with sharp or pointy decorations, but Shion predicted another possibility.
It smelled similar to another incident from before. Shion hadn't lived by Choi Ak's side for thousands of years just for show. If it came to intuition, she was beyond a master; she was a grandmaster. She just played dumb in front of Choi Ak to act cute.
"Still, it'll be fine."
"Huh? Really?"
"Because someone who is one of the strongest people I know is coming, so there won't be any problems."
".......Wait a second, is a police officer actually coming?"
".........."
"Hey, self-proclaimed ahjumma. Say something."
When Su-jeong pressed her, Shion exercised her right to remain silent. She stared at Shion with suspicious eyes. If she had said they were the same elementary school age, she might have been somewhat believable, but since she said she was older and a married woman from the start, it was even less convincing.
Of course, even if she told the truth, it wouldn't be convincing if the truth sounded like fantasy.
"But I think it'll be fine."
Aram chimed into their conversation and said softly.
When Shion turned her gaze to her, Aram stated her opinion.
"The kidnapper ahjussi kidnapped us suddenly, but he didn't lay a hand on us. He gave us food, built this house so we could avoid the sun, and got us clothes. If he wanted to do something bad, he would have done it already."
"........."
It had a point.
If the opponent had contacted the children's parents to demand money, there would be a reason to treat them well, but now, weeks after the first incident, with no contact whatsoever, the kidnapper's purpose wasn't money.
To say that rape or sexual assault was the goal—aside from the first victim who died, the two children in front of her were fine. They hadn't been touched, and other than not being able to wash, their health was fine.
Only then did Shion reach the fundamental question.
What on earth is the kidnapper's goal?
"..........."
It wasn't money, and it wasn't sexual desire. He would catch the children if they tried to run away, but he didn't lay a hand on them. He just watched over them. As if they were children he had to take care of........huh?
Once her thoughts reached that point, Shion changed her perspective.
What if, from the very beginning, what was important to the kidnapper wasn't material, but merely self-satisfaction?
"If that's the case, there must be a story we need to hear directly. If we can subdue him properly, we should hear his reasons."
"Subdue? Can a police officer subdue an invisible monster?"
"It'll work because he's not a police officer."
"........?"
Before Su-jeong could ask Shion what she meant, the surrounding temperature turned icy cold in an instant. Even though it was mid-summer and the sun was high in the sky, a feeling that chilled them to the bone enveloped them.
Before long, a man wearing a metallic Raccoon mask landed from the sky, performing a cool superhero landing.
Negating the reason for hiding his face and using the mask's voice modulation function, he blurted out his entrance line openly.
"Do you think I'd spend more than 5 minutes saving my wife?"
"Wow! It's Raccoon Man!"
Aram cheered and raised her hands. Even though she was kidnapped, Raccoon Man's appearance had started a month ago. It wasn't strange for her to know about him; in fact, elementary school kids were even more enthusiastic about him.
Force Users were treated like heroes, but superheroes who hid their identities were more popular. Plus, the motif was a cute raccoon. It wasn't strange for him to be popular with girls.
"Are you hurt anywhere? Ah, both kids are here too. They seem fine. Anything wrong with your bodies or anything?"
"I'm fine. And you're worrying for nothing."
"You're not scraped anywhere, right? Everything's fine, but your body durability is the same as a normal person's. You get hurt even from a graze or a cut, so how could I not worry?"
Su-jeong, who was more mature than her peers, realized from their conversation that they knew each other.
And the story Shion told about being a married woman came to mind at the same time. If that was the case, then the identity of Raccoon Man is, by any chance........!
Kkaaaang!!!
"Ah, the bastard's here."
As Choi Ak raised his hand to deflect an invisible attack, a vibration rang out as if something hard had collided. It was an invisible attack that would have split a sturdy adult male in two along with his spine, but he blocked it without even looking.
"Let's beat that bastard up first and then talk. Keep the kids there."
"Please don't kill him, just subdue him."
"Uh, why?"
"I have a hunch. I need to hear his story, so please subdue him."
"My wife's orders, I must obey, of course. But he's still going to die in the end, right?"
"Do as you wish."
If the opponent hadn't hurt anyone, Shion might have reconsidered, but there was already one girl who had passed away. Even if it were a murder involving a grudge, he deserved to be punished, and killing a child who had more days to live than days lived was a great sin.
Under current South Korean law, if a Force User criminal commits murder, they can even be sentenced to death. Not a nominal death penalty, but an actual one.
Even if he killed him here, the result would be the same.
"Huh? This bastard is a bit weird?"
Choi Ak blurted out without realizing it after perceiving the kidnapper caught in his 'Sense'. Unlike when he was just roughly sensing the location, he now had his 'Sense' expanded to detect the movement of a single strand of hair in order to fight an invisible opponent.
In a 'Sense' that could even image what kind of person the opponent was, and even their appearance, invisibility didn't hold much meaning.
But what surprised him was that the opponent didn't have a human appearance.
"He's got horns on his head, and overall, how should I put it......that thing that feels hard like an insect alien."
"Do you mean an exoskeleton?"
"Yeah, that. That's exactly what he looks like."
In the gap while he was speaking leisurely, the kidnapper reached out. The opponent was bare-handed, but the hand Choi Ak sensed was covered in an exoskeleton that had flexible and strong durability.
The fingernails, with a sharpness that could make even the blades of most swords chip and a durability that could deflect bullets, fiercely aimed for Choi Ak's head, but he didn't dodge and swatted them away.
"His combat sense is terrible, isn't it? I guess he wasn't professionally trained?"
Choi Ak, who evaluated him coldly, punched up at the wrist of the reaching arm, changing its trajectory. And as the hand grazed over his shoulder, he grabbed it, threw him over his back, and slammed him into the ground.
Kwa-ang!!!
The sound of something heavy crashing echoed. It was a light judo technique, but he slammed him down with such force and speed that even a national athlete's body would have burst, so it wasn't a technique meant for a human. He did it on purpose because he knew the opponent looked like a monster.
He had held back, but the kidnapper was fine. He swung his hand again, aiming for Choi Ak's legs, and distanced himself from him as he stepped back to dodge it.
And he began to circle around Choi Ak, spinning round and round.
If the opponent is invisible, it has a big impact on the fight. Especially if they circle around like this so you can't grasp their location.
The kidnapper, looking for an opportunity to launch a surprise attack, continued to circle around Choi Ak.
"Since I awakened my second ability, not a single bastard has ever successfully ambushed me, you prick."
Choi Ak's first ability is 'Interference'.
It's an ability that can mimic various powers and has high versatility, but lacks depth. However, it's also the ability that suits him best, as he uses various means in a complex way.
And his second ability is 'Sense'.
It's an ability that extremely develops not only the five senses of the body but even the sixth sense. A Transcendent who awakens this ability, depending on the level, boasts superhuman senses that can predict the future, prevent ambushes, or even pick the right lottery numbers.
His 'Sense' creates a synergy with his first ability, 'Interference', forming an absolute 'Sense' within his Will Force Field. Depending on the range he usually expands it, even now, when he had expanded it roughly, it boasted enough accuracy to guess the model of a mobile phone held by a passerby several kilometers away.
The advantage that the opponent was invisible was no different from having none.
He rushed in, aiming for Choi Ak's back, but he had already grasped it and reacted, twisting his waist to turn around and delivering a powerful side kick. A sound as loud as an explosion was heard, louder than the impact sound, and at the same time, something invisible was shattered, destroying a couple of thick trees.
"He's tough as hell. He's definitely not human, right?"
No matter how strong a person is, they cannot train their internal organs. Choi Ak also only guards with his ability; his internal organs themselves aren't sturdy.
He kicked him hard enough to affect a Force User, and he kicked him in the side, breaking his bones, so there was no way the damage didn't reach his internal organs. But in Choi Ak's 'Sense', the kidnapper was being perceived as getting up just fine, even if he was staggering.
"It's annoying, so reveal yourself first."
Choi Ak went on the offensive. Once he started attacking in earnest after only defending, the aspect of the battle changed. The kidnapper, who had been the one attacking until just a moment ago, ended up in the position of blocking attacks.
If someone else were to see it, it would be nothing more than punching at thin air, but if you look at the fact that the aftermath of the battle causes roaring sounds and shocks, you'd change your mind. When the sound of air tearing was heard, claw marks that looked like they were left by wild animals remained on nearby trees.
Kii-ing!!
Choi Ak placed both hands above and below his head respectively and moved them simultaneously, drawing a Taegeuk. Since the martial arts or abilities he used were specialized for killing rather than subduing, he had to pursue 'Flow' rather than 'Strength' in order to catch him intact.
When he activated the principles of Taegeuk to the extreme and applied them to combat purposes, a strange phenomenon began to occur. Force began to tremble around Choi Ak, and soon, even the Force that had been hiding the kidnapper's appearance scattered, making him reveal his form.
"Kruek......."
As the kidnapper revealed his form, his beast-like growl was heard. His trait didn't seem to be just hiding his appearance, but concealing everything that could be tracked, such as sound or smell.
Overall, he had a blue exoskeleton, and other than the fact that he had two arms, legs, and a head, there was nothing that looked similar to a human, but if there was one human-like point, it was that he was wearing clothes, even if they were tattered. The sleeves of the top and bottom, which were presumed to have been white originally, were worn out to become short sleeves and shorts, and had turned yellowish, but they seemed to be proof that he had been human.
"Huh?"
Choi Ak, who felt a sense of déjà vu, hesitated for a moment. He had seen a human-like but monster-mixed appearance once before.
Taking advantage of that brief gap, the kidnapper, no, the monster, reached out and rushed at him, aiming for Choi Ak's neck. As his legs swelled up for a moment and he kicked off the ground to pounce, he accelerated to the point where it would only take 2 seconds to reach zero-to-a-hundred. Even if he just delivered a body slam, it would cause an impact equivalent to colliding with a large truck.
However, Choi Ak reacted closely. If he were to measure the battle by speed, he would have to be past triple digits in km/h first. After ducking to dodge the monster's reaching arm, he coated his arm with the wave of the Taegeuk he had drawn in a spiral. Then, the monster's arm and fingers were twisted in different directions.
"Guaaaah!!!"
"That's one arm."
The Taegeuk that Choi Ak created by waving both arms reached the monster's two legs this time. Then, as the monster's legs were twisted like a pretzel, his body rolled on the ground.
"Two legs. I spared one arm for now."
Once the work was finished, Choi Ak walked over to Shion and the children. He had to talk to the children to keep them quiet, and he had to know what Shion was trying to find out.
However, Choi Ak, who was taking steps, stopped walking. The monster was foaming at the mouth and was blocking him from leaving by grabbing Choi Ak's ankle with his one remaining arm. He should have been unable to move even from the pain, but the sight of him looking desperate didn't seem like an instinctive action to Choi Ak, but a definitely rational one.
"Can't talk, doesn't seem to understand, turned almost into a beast, but still has humanity left? What kind of situation is this?"
Choi Ak sighed.
Because the worst end given to a human was the state the monster was in right now.
Choi Ak hesitated a little, but he stepped on the wrist of the monster who was holding his ankle and wouldn't let go, breaking it. He let out a scream, twisting his whole body in pain, but Choi Ak didn't care.
However, even though his wrist was broken, the monster's hand that was holding Choi Ak's ankle still didn't let go.
"No matter if there was no malice, a crime is a crime. I can overlook the kidnapping, but I can't overlook murder."
Choi Ak himself knew best about the crime of murder. That's why he could be infinitely cruel to those who crossed the line.
The girl the monster first kidnapped and killed hadn't even been able to spend her youth before passing away. That sin was far from enough to be repaid with a human's lifetime.
"So let's return those kids to their parents. You get it?"
He didn't know if the monster understood Choi Ak's words or not. If they could have talked, things wouldn't have turned out like this in the first place.
But for now, it seemed Choi Ak's words had been conveyed to him. The monster's hand, which he had been desperately holding onto and wouldn't let go, trembled and let Choi Ak go.
"Yeah."
They said to hate the sin, not the person.
Choi Ak expressed pity for the humanity left in him, even though the sin he committed was a sin. At the very least, he decided to treat him as a person, not a monster.
And deep in Choi Ak's heart, anger rose quietly.
Anger toward the culprits who made a person like this.