Chapter 85
Chapter 85
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 85
Chapter Title: All-Out Brawl
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Nova let out an incredulous laugh.
“So, when trying to latch onto my darling didn’t work out, you switched to their side? They must be paying you well.”
“They give us plenty of Potions, too.”
The men, who had once been Cue's subordinates, gulped down the Potions. Bluish veins bulged on their skin.
Nova quietly assessed the number of enemies, then spoke in a trembling voice.
“Darling…”
“Nova. Are you tired?”
Haon asked worriedly.
They had used up all the Potion-nullifying patches while clearing out Sector 2. She hadn't been able to prepare many cartridges since she'd made them in a hurry.
Besides, Haon herself was exhausted from the incident at Headquarters. If Nova was also tired, she had to consider retreating.
But when their eyes met, Nova showed no signs of fatigue. Instead, he flashed a brilliant smile.
“I want to play like this with you every day. This is so much fun.”
“…Play?”
“As long as I don't kill them, it's fine. Right?”
“Huh? That's… an odd way to put it. But yes, no killing.”
“Got it, Boss.”
Winking one eye, Nova charged at the temporarily Awakened. Haon's small mana bullets followed close behind him.
His words about having fun seemed to be genuine; Nova was practically flying as he fought alongside Haon.
“N-Nova! You're going to bring the whole wall down! The ocean is on the other side!”
It reached the point where Haon had to tell him to stop breaking things.
Befitting an Awakened with superhuman strength, he ran along the walls as if they were the ground, leaving deep footprints in his wake.
There was no telling the limits of his power. Others had Awakened with similar strength, but none were as powerful as Nova.
“Since these Potions were made from my blood, it seems they only grant physical enhancement. That makes all of you cheap knockoffs, doesn't it? The kind that would get you shot if you put them up for auction.”
Nova taunted them, throwing the minions around—always aiming for the generator or Bae Anjae.
Perhaps having re-learned that her bullets were useless near Haon, Sniper didn't step forward with the minions.
Instead, she was whispering something to the terrorist, Bae Anjae, but Haon couldn't hear what she was saying.
Bae Anjae irritably swatted away the bodies flying toward the generator and snapped at Sniper.
“What do you want me to do! I told you, this is the best we can do for now!”
“…”
Staring at Bae Anjae, Sniper pulled a radio from her belt and began to operate it.
*Did something go wrong?*
Watching them, Haon suddenly felt a flicker of doubt.
*Bae Anjae's goal is to take over the world by selling Potions, but why did Halo join him? She already controlled the Villain ecosystem.*
Besides, Sniper was here, but Halo still hadn't shown up. Was she hiding somewhere, waiting for an opportunity?
Then, at some point while fighting off Cue's former subordinates with Nova, Haon felt a strange sense of incongruity.
Somehow, the number of minions seemed to have decreased.
It wasn't just that she and Nova had taken down a good number of them, leaving fewer standing.
Their numbers literally seemed smaller.
Just as she was wondering if they'd run off to find a new master…
The sound of multiple footsteps flooded in from the underground passage.
“Freeze! You're surrounded. Surrender quietly, and we won't use force.”
It was the Heroes, led by River.
Haon's face lit up at the sight of River drawing her long staff, and she waved.
“River! How did you—Ugh…!”
Suddenly, something grabbed her, and she was yanked into the shadows.
Haon, who had reflexively started to swing her phone, froze.
Someone was embracing her from behind, their forehead resting on her shoulder.
Soft hair brushed against her neck and cheek, and the sound of slightly ragged breathing filled her ear.
*It tickles.*
She hadn't seen his face or heard his voice, but she knew who it was.
*It's Juyeol.*
Feeling a tingle run down her spine, Haon gently stroked his hair.
The arms around her waist tightened.
“When did you find the time to take over Sector 2?”
“Mm. It just sort of happened.”
“There's a rumor going around that you killed Halla.”
“Oh, I didn't kill her.”
“I know. I figured you didn't. And even if you did, I wouldn't care.”
“What?”
“It was you who would have killed her, not someone else. You must have had your reasons.”
He took a deep breath and let go of her waist.
“Juyeol. Were you worried?”
“What kind of question is that? You've barely been awake, and I hear you've taken over Sector 2. You must have had to fight.”
Juyeol rubbed a gunpowder smudge off Haon's cheek.
“So, do I just need to beat everyone up?”
Only then did Haon notice the minions lying unconscious in the shadow.
“Yeah. There's something I need to find here. To do that, we have to stop that generator first.”
“Alright.”
With a grin, Juyeol grabbed Ttiyong from his shoulder and hurled it at the generator.
“Go break it.”
[This is hamster abandonment!]
“Ttiyong…!”
Startled, Haon timed it perfectly, creating a gap in the barrier surrounding the generator.
“Damn it! What the hell!”
Bae Anjae, who had been busy dealing with the Heroes and Nova, spotted Ttiyong too late.
He never would have imagined a mechanical hamster would pop out of the shadows.
Haon leaped out of Juyeol's shadow, manipulating the walls to create shadows everywhere.
Juyeol moved freely through the shadows, taking down the minions who were rushing toward the generator one by one.
Ttiyong rolled around inside the generator like a bowling ball, wreaking havoc.
*KRRRRRRK—*
As the sound of grinding machinery filled the air, Nova used a foothold created by Haon to leap up and rip a gear out of the generator.
*WHIIIRRRR…*
Finally, the generator stopped. The vibrations underfoot ceased, the main lights went out in unison, and the emergency backup lights flickered on.
Tension filled the now dimmer space.
*BOOM! BANG!*
The sound of explosions continued to echo from inside the breached doorway, and then someone walked out.
From a shadow beside Haon, Juyeol emerged with a frosty expression, glaring at Halo.
Halo glanced around before shooting a sideways glare at Bae Anjae.
“You told me to trust you, and look at this mess.”
“Things would have been better if Sniper had cooperated.”
“Are you trying to blame someone else right now?”
Halo yanked the needle and tube from her forearm, sending a shower of blood to the floor.
*Was she giving blood? What for?*
Haon narrowed her eyes, studying Halo's condition.
“Halo. Why is it so hard to get a look at your face?”
Nova tossed aside the person he was holding by the collar and charged at her without hesitation.
“You weren't running away because you were scared of me, were you?”
The scabbard Halo used to block his punch shattered, revealing a sharp blade.
Juyeol, as if unwilling to let his prey be stolen, also tried to rush Halo, but Sniper blocked his path.
“Get lost.”
Every time Juyeol tried to change direction, Sniper continued to block him.
His anger flaring, Juyeol finally aimed his gun at Sniper.
“I have a bone to pick with you, too. You said you saw Gowon set that fire with your own two eyes.”
He gritted his teeth and pulled the trigger. Sniper dodged with a light sidestep and drew her own pistol.
“I never said I saw him set fire to *your* house, specifically.”
“…”
Juyeol, furious, began to fight Sniper frantically.
The entire area was a battlefield.
Juyeol fought Sniper, Nova fought Halo, and the Heroes took on the other Bae Anjaes and Cue's former subordinates.
Meanwhile, Haon was tapping relentlessly on her phone, tracing the devices powered by the generator.
With the generator—which also ran the security system for the machines here—out of commission, this was her chance.
[Warning! Firewall is under attack!]
A red light flashed from inside the doorway, accompanied by an alarm.
“What! That little rat!”
Realizing Haon wasn't helping the Heroes fight but was hacking, Bae Anjae cursed and mounted a defense.
However, Haon had already faced Bae Anjae in a hacking battle before.
His specialty was making mana bombs; his hacking skills weren't that impressive.
“You backed up the data from 'Eun Haon's' phone, didn't you? What was on there that made you pretend to wipe it from existence?”
“…”
Bae Anjae's reaction confirmed her suspicions, and Haon sped up her attempt to breach the server.
At that moment, Sniper, who had been fighting Juyeol, changed direction and lunged at Haon.
“Eun Haon!”
A panicked Juyeol shouted her name and fired a volley of shots at Sniper's back.
Sniper kicked off the wall to leap and dodge the bullets, but she was hit squarely by Haon's mana bullet.
However, she was only pushed back slightly, not slammed into a wall. Instead, she landed firmly on her feet.
“…!”
But that wasn't the only reason Haon was frozen in shock.
The mana bullet had been absorbed directly into Sniper's body.
“H-How…?”
As Sniper tried to approach Haon again, she suddenly coughed and spat out a mouthful of blue blood.