Debut Battle (2)
What exactly is coincidence? Is it truly something that happens without any underlying probability at all? The reason I could find Bianca was because I had wandered around countless times searching for her. The reason I could meet Chain Girl was because I had caused an incident that would draw in heroes. No matter how much we call it coincidence, our actions are what summon it. Like the butterfly effect—one small good deed creates a chance encounter… or one small evil deed carves out a deep emotional scar. That’s the feeling.
That’s why today’s “coincidence” was also something deliberately created. The story of Catena—who had been “coincidentally” walking down the street—suppressing a terrorist attack in the city center before the police could arrive. Of course, the preparations had been thoroughly laid long before the incident occurred.
“Mmm.”
Which is why I was currently hiding in an alleyway, holding the item I needed to deliver, waiting… Maybe I should have explained it to her in more detail. Just as I was thinking that—
“There you are. Sorry, I was looking for you for quite a while.”
Speak of the tiger and it appears. Catena pulled back her hood with a bright smile, slightly loosening her tied-up hair.
“What do you think? Does the tied-up look feel more natural, or the loose one?”
“Either way, I don’t think it matters that much.”
“It’s going to be on camera. You’re the one who said visuals are important, Manager-nim.”
“I just quit being a hero. Wouldn’t it be weird if I looked too pretty?”
“Ah… Heh, hehehe. Y-yes, that’s true, but…”
Does everyone get this happy when complimented on their appearance? Still, isn’t she enjoying it a bit too much?
“I used to tie it up a lot in the past, so I guess I’ve always wanted to let it down.”
“Even so, wouldn’t the tied-up version feel more everyday and appropriate? Or maybe… let it down first, then tie it up right before jumping into battle?”
“Oh, that sounds good! Letting it down and then tying it back up. People apparently love that kind of thing. You know, holding the hair tie in your mouth while gently lifting your hair?”
As she spoke, Catena immediately demonstrated. She slightly unzipped her hoodie, raising both hands above her head and subtly revealing her figure… It was quite provocative. Especially coming from someone with such a mature face, far removed from anything cute.
“…How is it?”
“It’s way beyond ‘okay.’”
“I practiced a bit back in the day. I never got the chance to actually do it, though…”
She even practiced to create a scene like this? …Is this a hero or an idol?
“The visuals are more than enough. Here, take this.”
“Wireless earphones?”
I had chosen an ordinary, easily obtainable brand to emphasize her everyday side. Of course, I had deliberately picked a somewhat expensive model so it wouldn’t fall off easily during intense activity.
“We’ll communicate through these.”
“Wow. My first gift from a fan? I’m so happy.”
Even as she accepted it with a beaming face, the way she tore through the plastic wrapping before even opening the package showed… Well, a powered person is still a powered person.
“How does it look? Does it suit me?”
“Yes. It looks much better than I expected.”
“Then I just need to walk around pretending to listen to music, and jump in the moment the terrorist attack happens, right?”
“Help as many people as possible first. Then, if the villain starts getting violent, you have no choice but to step in… That’s the vibe we’re going for.”
Glue Stick was in quite a predicament. His organization was on the verge of splitting apart, his manpower was running dry due to leaked members, and his funding was about to dry up. He knew too much to run, had done too much to run, and Stahlleder would never forgive him. In that situation, what if a large sum of drugs—something that could secure both money and trust in one go—were being transported sloppily?
“Okay. I’ll do it that way. But… will the terrorist attack really happen today?”
I couldn’t say for certain. I couldn’t let the city—or the hero standing in front of me—find out that I was colluding with villains.
“If it doesn’t happen, that would actually be fortunate for the city. If that’s the case, I’ll let you know about other news right away.”
“When you say it like that, it sounds like I’m hoping something bad happens to the city.”
An awkward smile. And a hint of guilt. It was the perfect mindset for a hero, but not very realistic. I liked that about her.
“Reporters are out there praying for a scoop to drop too. That’s reality.”
“Still. Reporting on an incident and saving people are two different things.”
I was enjoying her slightly deflated expression for a moment when my phone began ringing violently. It was one of the burner phones I had given to Horn.
“Yes.”
“I asked.”
Along with those short words came a crunching sound. It seemed he had disposed of the informant as ordered.
“Is that the informant?”
“Yes. It’s happening soon.”
The face that had been filled with guilt just moments ago had vanished. In its place stood a hero brimming with motivation and confidence.
“Good. Then I’ll just wear this, make the call, and take a casual walk outside, right?”
“I’ll stay nearby and provide support.”
“See you later!”
She ran off excitedly. Well then, time for me to get to work too. With the CCTV feeds already in hand…
“Yes, Strategist-nim.”
“The truck has been ambushed. Begin preparations for extraction.”
“Understood.”
Using the organization members I had carefully selected for this job.
Boom.
Just as planned, Glue Stick had walked beautifully into the trap. No wonder—he was still on top of the truck, spraying adhesive everywhere in a desperate attempt to stop the vehicle.
But.
“That… those are Stahlleder’s guys.”
Why were there so many of them? And they were… fighting each other?
I knew Stahlleder’s organization had gone to hell, but I hadn’t expected it to come to this.
Screeeech.
The cars tangled wildly and flipped over. Everything had been going according to plan until now… Should I really keep going with this?
“Catena, where are you right now?”
“Tracking the accident site!”
It was already too late to pull back. We had no choice but to proceed.
“Listen carefully. I don’t know why it turned out this way, but villains from the same faction are now hostile toward each other. It’s a violent organization mixing everyone from D-rank to B-rank, so even if you try to suppress them, do not let your guard down for even a second.”
“Are you worrying about me right now?”
“Can you blame me? I originally expected only one person to show up!”
I immediately muted the call and dialed the organization member driving the truck.
Please… pick up…!
“Fuck… Yes, I’ve got it!”
“Stop the truck and prepare to get out. Do exactly as I told you!”
“Understood!”
The moment the call ended, I contacted the extraction team that would be following the truck. An operation with no rehearsal… I could only hope…
“Truck deceleration confirmed. We will begin entry the moment the smoke deploys.”
“You can see the current situation, right? Rock Fist and Glue Stick are both there!”
“Yes, I see them.”
“You must never get caught up with those two. The three of you need to slip away without anyone noticing! Not even the hero!”
“Understood. Do not worry.”
I understood that their body reinforcement abilities allowed them to move quickly, but their opponents were all high-risk villains. And with everyone brawling over a single cargo shipment, the scene had turned into complete chaos…
“The scale has grown way bigger than I thought.”
The police must have already received the report—large numbers of them were swarming in. If Catena didn’t intervene now, she would definitely be stopped. She needed to reach the scene before the police did.
I unmuted the call.
“Catena, if you’re going to enter, now is your chance!”
“I’m going!”
The moment those words left her mouth, chains began sprouting across the scene. When I zoomed in with the camera… Wow.
Catena was flying in, not only unzipping her hoodie but outright throwing it off as she swept away flying debris. The way she swung her chains like whips was completely different from that day. It was as if she had finally broken free from the restrictions that had bound her.
Her speed was still lacking. Her movements were no different from an ordinary person running at full sprint. However, her chain handling had become far more flamboyant than before. It no longer stopped at simply binding people or connecting objects.
“Get back!”
“Whoa!?”
She approached civilians here and there, shouting at the top of her lungs for them to get back, while thoroughly sealing off the entire area so no one could easily escape. She instantly launched chains at cars trying to hit the accelerator, pinning them to the ground, and tripped up organization members rushing toward the crowd, flinging them back into the fray.
“I’ve secured the perimeter so the fight doesn’t spread any further! What now?”
So far, so good. But could the driver get out? He seemed to be watching for an opening, but the fighting around the truck made it impossible to find one. The extraction team… There. They’re in that alley.
In that case.
“You can see Rock Fist and Glue Stick fighting each other, right?”
Rock Fist, a hardening-type ability user, swung his fists while sticky white threads wrapped around his body. Glue Stick kept spraying adhesive at him while frantically running across and beside the truck. It was painfully obvious who held the advantage.
However, the fight was so fierce that both of them looked exhausted, their heavy breathing visible even from here.
“Should I start by trimming the small fries first? Can I make it flashy?”
“Flashy, as in?”
“Hmm, like hanging them between streetlights or cars as a performance. What do you think?”
In hero comics, characters whose specialty was restraining others often did exactly that. That friendly neighborhood guy who shoots webs especially loved plastering sticky threads all over the streets. Naturally fading chains would cause less hassle.
“Not tying them up neatly like cocoons?”
“It needs to look dramatic to become a hot topic.”
“Mmm… I’ll try it first. Tell me if it looks okay?”
The moment she received permission, Catena dashed toward the outskirts and instantly pulled two chains from her hands, swinging them. The arms and legs of a man whose limbs were only partially hardened were instantly wrapped up, and he collapsed on the spot.
“Kugh!?”
She dragged the man over, wrapped him several times, lifted him into the air, and began linking the chains together. A bit messily.
“How is it?”
I couldn’t exactly call it good, but now was not the time to dampen her motivation.
“Not bad. But a performance is a performance. The police are closing in, so focus on suppressing them quickly.”
“Got it!”
Following my instructions, Catena dashed back and forth, tripping villains by wrapping chains around their feet and taking them down one by one. It was an efficient way to fight… but only efficient. It lacked decisive impact.
Still, the reactions from the bystanders weren’t bad.
“Wooooah!”
“That’s it! Nice!!”
Every time a fallen organization member smashed their nose into the ground and bled, every time Catena narrowly dodged an attack and wrapped a flying fist with her chain before slamming it into the floor, cheers erupted. It was like watching spectators at a martial arts or boxing match.
“Hah… haa.”
As the fighting began to die down, Catena’s breathing grew louder. Standing among the chains and unconscious organization members, her soaked top clinging to her body showed she was quite exhausted.
“Just a little more. You heard the crowd’s reaction, right?”
“Yes, hah, huu… huu.”
Even so, she kept her weapon chains gripped tightly as she approached the truck. Wait, she shouldn’t head for the driver’s seat—
Thud.
At that moment, a tightly wrapped cocoon fell to the ground with perfect timing. It twitched, meaning whoever was inside was still alive, but at least they could no longer move.
“Glue Stick…!”
Descending alongside the cocoon was Glue Stick himself. He was breathing heavily too, but he began dripping adhesive from his hands, clearly ready to keep fighting.
“Surrender now. There’s nowhere left for you to run.”
“…”
No answer came. The hero and the villain simply stared at each other. Both sides were clearly exhausted. However, the one with the advantage was… Glue Stick.
I needed to help, but today’s protagonist was Catena. I couldn’t step forward. In that case…
Ring ring.
“Yes, Strategist-nim.”
“You still haven’t gotten out yet.”
“Correct.”
“This is your chance.”
With attention scattered by the smoke, Catena attacking would put things in our favor. However, Catena herself must not lose focus because of this smoke.
“Hey, Catena?”
“Yes.”
“Get ready. I’ll draw Glue Stick’s attention.”
“Huh?”
“Don’t ask questions. Focus only on Glue Stick.”
“…Yes.”
How long did their standoff last? Along with the faint sound of sirens, the smoke began to explode outward. Bright fireworks burst from the truck’s windows like celebratory flares.
“Now!”
As expected, Glue Stick immediately turned toward the truck. Of course he would—the drugs were urgent. But Catena threw herself into the erupting smoke, and I saw the extraction team, who had been waiting in the alley, do the same.
“…”
The driver had to disappear in the chaos, and Glue Stick had to be successfully subdued by Catena. However, the police who had just arrived began surrounding the area, aiming their guns into the smoke.
“Please…”
Two unexpected villains. A suppression that had dragged on longer than anticipated. I could only pray this operation would succeed…!
Ring ring. Ring ring.
“Hello.”
“Driver has been rescued. We are leaving the scene.”
Thank goodness. The cleanup should go smoothly. But what about Catena?
“Hands up! Don’t move!”
A sudden shout. A single shadow slowly moved within the smoke, approaching the police. Was it Glue Stick? Or Catena? Glue Stick? Catena…
“You’re late, everyone.”
The one who broke through the smoke with those words was Glue Stick, now turned into a steel cocoon. Catena lightly kicked it aside with her foot and raised her hands in a relaxed manner.
“Sidekick Chain Girl…? Where is Angel!”
“Ah, about that?”
I slowly sat down on the floor, listening to the conversation leaking through the wireless earphones. I had been worried I might have to shatter the entire board myself.
“I am neither Angel’s sidekick nor Chain Girl anymore.”
“Then—”
“From now on, please call me the hero Catena.”
A bold declaration made in front of the late-arriving police and cameras. While the pistols slowly lowered, microphones thrust forward through the police line.
“What is your relationship with Angel!”
“How did you stop today’s attack!”
“You arrived at the scene first and suppressed it first—what are your thoughts!”
The barrage of questions was so overwhelming it hurt my ears. In the end, I had to hang up first. Even from a distance, Catena didn’t seem to be paying any attention to my direction.
“So this is the end of one job.”
Just as I turned to leave the building, my phone began vibrating violently.
“…Catena?”
She should be in the middle of a press conference… Why was she calling?