Chapter 23

A short while later, five men followed 42 onto the stage, their heads bowed low.

“Kyaaaah!!”

“Oppa!!”

“Save us, oppas!”

The hostages, upon seeing them, cheered with hopeful smiles.

‘Are they the so-called Red Heroes?’

They looked like pigs being dragged to a slaughterhouse, their heads hanging as if they didn’t want to be there.

“I didn’t expect the heroes to already be here.”

“W-we are the five flames who protect justice and punish villains!”

Tch…

The men awkwardly struck poses and glared at me.

“…We, the Red Heroes, will stop your evil deeds..!”

“Kyaaaah!!”

The hostages cheered, and the Red Heroes forced smiles.

…If you’re going to talk, at least stop your legs from shaking.

Their lines are B-grade at best, and their poses are tacky.

It feels like watching an old-school hero team.

“…I feel like my whole body is twisting.”

Polia trembled and clung to me.

“H-hurry up and release the hostages, c-can’t you?!”

“Hostages, you say…”

I gently patted her head for a moment, then smirked as I looked at them.

“Are you seriously saying that with a straight face?”

“Huh?”

“Y-you’re breaking the promise now?”

As the Red Heroes panicked, I walked toward them step by step.

They seemed to be misunderstanding something.

“I never said I’d release the hostages just because you showed up.”

“But last time during the terror attack, you clearly…!”

“That was me being considerate. To build trust between you heroes and me, the Maker.”

“That’s…!”

“Let me make this clear. I never set the same conditions for this terror attack as last time. You simply misunderstood.”

Or else.

I stopped walking and looked at the Red Heroes.

The men looked flustered as they stared at me.

“Just because the conditions I set are different, are you planning to abandon the hostages here?”

“……”

An awkward silence followed my words.

“T-that’s not it!!”

The man who seemed to be the leader of the Red Heroes waved his arms exaggeratedly and shouted at me.

“…We, the Red Heroes, will never tolerate injustice, no matter the situation!”

“Is that so?”

The man was sweating bullets.

His wandering eyes didn’t inspire much confidence, but if he says so, I’ll take his word for it.

“Then, you can now participate in my game.”

“…Game?”

“Yes, a very simple game.”

‘Actually, what I prepared this time was meant for female heroes…’

Most of the usable data I got from the research lab was filled with dark desires.

And after several reviews, I picked out something that would be suitably tormenting.

‘Ice Queen would’ve been the best. Even a female hero would’ve been fine…’

But instead, male heroes showed up.

Using this on male heroes is just… no.

‘Then there’s only one answer.’

“10 minutes. Attack, defend, use abilities—whatever means you want. Just survive 10 minutes against me and Polia. If you do, I’ll leave cleanly.”

‘Yeah. Let’s change it up.’

I’ll just get rid of these guys and wait for another hero to show up.

***

“Is this all you’ve got?”

“Dammit…!”

“It hasn’t even been 5 minutes yet. You can’t get tired already.”

A short while after the fight between the Red Heroes and the villains began.

The Red Heroes were barely holding on, no match for the villains.

“Oppa…”

The woman who had called them, wearing glasses, watched the scene with trembling eyes.

‘Is the difference in skill really that big…?’

The small girl called Maker and Polia.

Could just the two of them really take on five people?

The woman, who usually had no interest in villains or heroes, knew nothing.

She didn’t know that Maker had faced off against an A-rank hero during a terror attack, nor the disparity in power between ranks.

‘No, my oppas will win!’

So, the woman had no choice but to believe.

That her heroes would splendidly defeat those villains…!

That they would save us and continue to rise as heroes…!!

“Oppa! Hang in there…!!”

Whoosh!

Bang!

“Kyaaah!!”

Just as the woman was cheering for the Red Heroes.

A fireball flew toward her and hit the bars in front of her.

“A-are you okay?!”

“……”

She almost died.

If it weren’t for those bars.

She would’ve been roasted alive.

“Die!!”

Trying to calm her trembling heart, she looked down to see one of the Red Heroes wildly throwing fireballs using his ability.

Known to fans as Eunchan.

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

Bang!

The more Maker dodged Eunchan’s attacks, the more he poured power into his ability.

“Kyaaah!!”

This led to attacks aimed at the hostages trapped in the prison.

“If you keep attacking wildly like that, the hostages might get hurt.”

“…Shut up! No one’s hurt yet, stop overreacting!”

“Right now, no one’s hurt, but judging by what you’re doing, it won’t be long.”

Enraged, Eunchan lost all reason and continued his wild attacks.

‘W-what do I do…’

The woman was scared.

She couldn’t believe this was the person she had admired.

And she was scared she might burn to death because of him.

Whoosh!

“Ugh…”

“L-leader oppa!”

As the woman panicked, a figure flew toward the bars where she was.

It was the leader of the Red Heroes.

Known for his gentle personality and mature demeanor, he was popular for leading the team well.

Surely he could stop Eunchan…?

“O-oppa! Please stop Eunchan oppa! W-we’re going to burn to death…!!”

The woman immediately spoke to the leader.

Surely he would help us.

He always told the fans he loved them.

So surely…

“F*ck… is that you?”

“Huh?”

He’ll save us…

“You b*tch!!!”

“……”

“F*cking b*tch! You sold us out?!”

“……”

“If it weren’t for you, we’d still be alive! Is this how a fan acts?!”

“What are you…”

“Why did you drag us into this?! We could’ve lived if it weren’t for you, just die already!”

“……”

“F*cking b*tch! You ugly, violent b*tch, dragging us down with you!!!”

…I thought he’d save us.

“…Uncle, you’re disgusting.”

Thud-

“What? Y-you little brat! Let go! You’re not letting go?!”

Polia quickly approached, and the leader was dragged away.

“……”

But the fans’ wounded hearts didn’t heal.

***

A short while later.

“Ugh…”

“Oof…”

The Red Heroes were quickly dealt with.

I considered finishing them off, but instead, I asked Polia to create bars around them, turning them into a prison.

“Well, now we have more hostages.”

“……”

The hostages hung their heads in a somber mood.

It wasn’t just because the heroes lost, but because their illusions were completely shattered.

‘From the guy who couldn’t control his ability and threw fireballs at fans, to the one who ran away saying he couldn’t fight, to the one who blamed the fans for everything.’

Since it was all broadcast live, things would get pretty funny once the terror attack ended.

“Now, what should we do with these hostages…”

I could just blow everything up and escape, calling it game over.

But.

‘I’m a bit bored.’

This terror attack felt too boring.

What’s the point of tormenting a few C-rank heroes and then leaving?

I’d just be called a coward for running away.

Besides, my ultimate goal is to make all heroes stronger.

These guys are clearly hopeless, so if I leave now, it’ll be like I accomplished nothing.

‘So.’

I turned my head and smiled at the camera Polia had floating in the air.

“Let’s give you one more chance. I’ll give you 30 minutes. Let’s see if another hero shows up.”

***

“Hoh.”

After waiting for 30 minutes, chatting with Polia, a familiar face appeared.

“Ice Queen. We meet again, don’t we?”

“…Maker.”

She looked at me with her usual cold eyes.

Interpreting my smile in her own way, she sighed and spoke as if making an excuse.

“…Hoo. I hope you don’t get the wrong idea. I had to come because you’re an A-rank.”

“A-rank?”

“Yes, that’s the villain rank the Association assigned to you.”

“Hmm.”

A-rank.

A respectable upper rank, whether as a hero or a villain.

Of course, villain ranks are based more on overall threat level than just strength…

But still, I got a higher rank than I expected?

I thought B+ would’ve been more appropriate.

I smiled in satisfaction.

“So, are you my ‘assigned hero’?”

“…For now, yes.”

The assigned hero system was created to capture high-ranking villains.

‘No matter how strong someone is, there’s always a counter.’

You could say it’s a specialized hero system to counter specific villains.

In my case, since my abilities and personality aren’t fully understood yet, they temporarily assigned Ice Queen.

‘Anyway, lucky me.’

Thanks to being A-rank, the person I wanted to show up came.

“Now that the player’s here, let’s create a masterpiece.”

“What are you planning now…”

She flinched at my words.

But perhaps because of how badly she’d been beaten before, she just glanced at the hostages and didn’t take any specific action.

‘You’ll have fun too.’

It’d be a lie to say I’m not worried, but Ice Queen should be able to handle it!

“It’s similar to what I did with the heroes earlier.”

“You had to survive 10 minutes of your attacks, right? You could counterattack or use abilities.”

She smiled, thinking it was manageable.

The context is similar.

But that’s not all.

“Overall, it’s similar. But for you, I’ll add a few conditions.”

“Conditions…?”

“15 minutes. And for the first 5 minutes, you can’t do anything.”

“…What?”

“I said you can’t do anything.”

Her expression gradually hardened.

What kind of nonsense is this? her face seemed to say.

“What do you think this is?”

But she had no choice but to follow my words.

“……”

I took a switch out of my pocket and waved it in front of her eyes.

‘Don’t want to? Then what do you think will happen to the hostages?’

Ice Queen looked anxious.

I smiled brightly at her.

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