“[You can’t do this!]”
“[Move aside.]”
“[You’re still not fully recovered, why did you come here! Please go back to the hospital… Victor!!]”
*Kwaaang!!*
Russian Branch Hero Association.
Victor, who had just woken up in the hospital, rushed straight to the Association and slammed open the door to the President’s office.
“[Victor!!]”
“[I know my own body. Move aside.]”
“[Even if it’s you, this is beyond rude! Victor!!]”
Ignoring the staff trying to stop him, Victor glared at the middle-aged man sitting in the chair.
The Association President had a gentle smile on his face, but his narrowed eyes made it clear he wasn’t actually smiling.
“[President. We have something to talk about, don’t we?]”
“[……]”
“[Or should I just start shouting on my own?]”
“[Sigh… You should go in.]”
The Russian Association President let out a shallow sigh at Victor’s behavior and sent the staff member who had been trying to stop him away.
*Click.*
“[…You haven’t changed a bit since you were a kid.]”
The President still had a smile on his face, but his eyes were cold.
“[Especially when you’re this emotional, you act like a clueless brat who doesn’t know his place.]”
But despite the smile on his lips, his eyes weren’t smiling.
Instead, there was a hint of contempt or disdain in his gaze.
“[Though, I thought you’d grown up a bit when that hero from Korea came.]”
“[Shut up.]”
*Kwoong!!*
Victor stomped over to the President’s desk and slammed his fist down on it.
The desk cracked heavily under the force.
Victor didn’t even care about the damage and continued to glare at the President.
“[Why didn’t I know that guy was in the prison I oversee?]”
“[Let me ask you this instead, why are you asking me about the place you’re in charge of?]”
*Ugh.*
“[Because you were the former warden of Tartarus.]”
Victor gritted his teeth and spoke through clenched jaws.
“[Alpha. I didn’t even know he was alive. I didn’t even know he was in Tartarus…!]”
*Thud! Thud!*
A mix of regret, guilt, and anger surged through Victor as he slammed his fist on the President’s desk.
“[Basement 7th Floor. You said it was just like any other prison level, but it’s actually a storage space for Mystic Traces that harm humans.]”
*Thud!*
“[He was locked up in there!!]”
*Thud thud thud!!!*
“[He couldn’t even eat properly! Surrounded by evils that could drive him insane at any moment, he was alone for 40 years!!]”
*Kwaajik!!*
The President’s desk was completely shattered from Victor’s repeated punches.
It was impressive that he managed to destroy it without even using his ability.
“[He couldn’t eat, his mind was barely intact, and he still managed to take you down. He really is a monster.]”
“[You bastard!!]”
Victor, boiling with anger, grabbed the President by the collar.
“[…Hah, this is ridiculous. Anyone watching would think you two have a special relationship.]”
As Victor’s large hand touched him, the President’s gentlemanly demeanor broke, and his face twisted.
He smirked and mocked Victor.
“[Did you forget who took down Alpha 40 years ago? How shameless.]”
*Twitch.*
At those words, Victor’s right hand trembled slightly.
“[…Tch.]”
After letting go of the President’s collar, Victor clenched his fist so tightly that his nails dug into his palm, trying to suppress the trembling.
Blood, whether his own or not, dripped from his hand.
“[…How did he survive?]”
Feeling the dampness on his hand, Victor couldn’t help but wonder.
40 years ago, from his own attack.
And 40 years in prison.
How could he have survived with his sanity intact?
“[…You’ve become quite talkative since I last saw you.]”
But the President didn’t answer Victor’s question.
“[You just need to follow the Association’s orders. Like you’ve always done.]”
As if brushing off something dirty, the President dusted off his clothes and looked at Victor.
“[Isn’t that the most fitting behavior for a coward hiding behind the title of a friend?]”
“……”
The President, now smiling, stood up from his chair and patted Victor’s shoulder.
The President’s mocking words.
But Victor had no response to them.
***
Right after leaving the hotel, Alpha and I went looking for a place where Gayeon could land.
‘A place with few people and a wide open space…’
Is there even such a place?
Maybe somewhere, but it doesn’t seem like there’s anything nearby.
It’s not just about being wide; it also needs to be deserted.
After all, Alpha is on the run.
‘Where would be good…’
As Alpha and I were searching online and pondering for a moment.
“Akaoni.”
“Huh?”
Alpha looked at me curiously.
“That space. Can’t we just make it?”
“Huh?”
My eyes widened at his words.
After that, Alpha and I arrived at a slum just outside the city.
Looking at the skeletal remains and crumbling abandoned buildings, I naturally smiled.
‘Right, if it doesn’t exist, we can just make it.’
The slum was a place that had suffered irreparable damage from villains in the past.
Due to various circumstances, restoration projects hadn’t progressed, so destroying a building or two wouldn’t cause any commotion.
‘Perfect conditions for creating a space that didn’t exist.’
No CCTV, so less chance of getting caught.
The people in the slums dislike heroes who don’t help them, so the likelihood of them reporting or informing anyone was low.
“Let’s get started. Alpha.”
“Got it.”
Let’s hurry.
At my words, Alpha stepped in front of an abandoned building.
*Whoosh!*
He activated his ability for a moment.
“Hup-”
With a light gathering of power in his right arm, he swung his fist.
*Kwaaaang!!!*
The wind pressure from his punch created a massive hole in the building, extending in a straight line.
‘As expected of the former strongest hero.’
Even in his weakened state, with just a light use of his power, he could easily create such a hole…
“I’ll keep going.”
*Kwoong!! Kwang!! Kwaaaang!!!*
With each punch from Alpha, more holes appeared in the building.
At this rate, we’ll finish faster than expected.
“Don’t get lazy and break it into smaller pieces! We don’t want any accidents when the helicopter lands!!”
“Got it.”
Of course, safety is more important than speed, so we need to be careful.
Anyway, after a short while…
“This should be enough.”
“Got it.”
The abandoned building in front of us was now reduced to rubble.
After briefly looking at the empty space, I contacted Narin to let her know the location.
-You want me to come to the slums? Got it~
Her cheerful voice, along with the sound of keyboards and machinery, came through.
“…Will she be able to get here properly?”
-Huh? Ah~ It’s fine, it’s fine!
Occasionally, strange sounds like *fzzzt* or *thud* mixed in, making me a bit uneasy… but it should be fine, right?
“She says she’s almost here.”
Pushing aside my unease, Alpha and I waited for Narin to arrive.
“Older Brotheeeer!!”
A moment later, Narin’s voice came from above.
Hearing it, I looked up. But…
*Tat tat tat tat…*
Why is the helicopter wobbling like that?
***
After Narin landed.
I calmed my slightly startled heart and gave Narin and Alpha some time to talk.
“Wowowowowowowow!!!!”
“…Nice to meet-”
“You’re Alpha? The Alpha from modern history? Nice to meet you! It’s so cool to see you in person! I was monitoring Older Brother through the camera attached to him to help him out. Oh, but that means you’re way past sixty, right? No way! How do you look so young? Are you just really youthful? But is it okay to speak casually to a sixty-year-old grandpa? It’s fine, right? Thanks! You can speak casually to me too!”
“……”
“Are you usually this quiet? I don’t think I’m that talkative either. But how do you manage that messy hair and beard-”
“Alright, that’s enough.”
Hmm. Maybe I should just introduce them.
Seeing Alpha getting overwhelmed in real-time, I had no choice but to step in and start introducing them.
“This is Alpha. Former S-rank hero, once considered the strongest hero in the world. Now a skeletal escapee.”
“…Skeletal.”
If you’re not satisfied, you explain it yourself.
Looking at the dazed Alpha, I started introducing Narin.
“And this is Narin. A genius hacker who can handle pretty much any electronic device. Thanks to her, I was able to break into Tartarus.”
“Older Brother! You should add ‘beauty’ before genius hacker!!”
“As you can see, she’s a narcissistic chatterbox, but she’s not a bad person.”
“What!”
Narin pouted at my words and started jumping around excitedly.
“Anyway, that’s the end of the introductions. Let’s all get along without fighting.”
“Tch… whatever, fine. Nice to meet you, old man.”
“Yeah.”
Alpha nodded in response to her words.
With that, the conversation between the two abruptly ended.
“……”
“……”
“…Anything else to say?”
“?”
Narin looked at Alpha with a ‘Is that it?’ expression.
But Alpha just looked back at her with a questioning gaze.
“Like, ‘Nice to meet you too,’ or something…”
“Ah.”
Finally, after Narin impatiently gave him the answer, Alpha seemed to realize and nodded.
“Nice to meet you too.”
“Yeah.”
We’ve got a long way to go…
But at least they won’t fight, so it’s fine.
I chuckled as I watched Alpha and Narin’s awkward exchange.