Chapter 25

*Piiing-*

The ice spear flew straight in the direction she threw it.

“Did I aim wrong…?”

I deliberately brought up the civilians to snap her out of it quickly.

It was good that she snapped out of it, but I didn’t expect her to attack the civilians like that…

“Will she have a mental breakdown if she kills civilians with her own hands…?”

Of course, she would.

The thought of being screwed hit me hard, and as I was pondering what to do—

“Spread out—!!”

The flying ice instantly scattered, and the shards flew toward the prison cells in the dome.

*Clap!*

As she clapped her hands, the shards squirmed and connected organically, quickly freezing onto the prison bars.

“Break—!”

*Crackle… Crackle…! Snap!*

“Kyaa!”

“Gaaah!”

“Di-did it break?”

Finally, as she shouted and moved her hand, the sturdy iron bars crumbled into dust in an instant.

I was a bit surprised seeing that.

“Long-range shape transformation?”

It’s a skill you usually learn after a few episodes, but seeing it now means she’s grown in her own way.

“Growing from excitement… That sounds a bit weird, though.”

Anyway, growth is a good thing.

“Huff… Huff… Huff…”

The Ice Queen, completely drained from overusing her abilities, looked at me.

Ah, seeing her legs trembling, it’s not just that, though.

“You did a splendid job.”

“Huff… My… victory…”

“This is definitely a masterpiece, Ice Queen.”

Though she got a bit dazed from the tentacles, the whole thing started because of my coercion.

In a way, it could be seen as a noble sacrifice.

And she achieved such impressive growth, after all.

This part really deserves applause.

*Click-*

“…Huh?”

But without hesitation, I pressed the bomb switch.

*Kwaaaang!!*

“Wh-why…?”

“Why, you ask…”

Did you forget something?

I turned my gaze to the timer.

“There’s still time left, but you released the civilians, didn’t you?”

“That’s!”

“This is clearly a situation where the rules were broken.”

“…You damn—”

“Do you have time to chat with me like this right now?”

*Kugugung!*

“Kyaaaah!!”

“Wh-what do we do!!!”

“Help us!!”

As the building’s vibrations grew louder, the hostages, feeling anxious, began to scream.

“Wait! Maker, over there… Tch!”

I took the opportunity to turn around and head toward where Polia and 42 were.

“Have you arrived, Maker?”

“Did everyone else leave?”

“Yes. They all left as ordered.”

“Good… But why are you like this?”

“This guy made me thirsty, Oppa.”

Polia, sitting on 42’s shoulders like a chair.

His usually neat hair was now disheveled.

“…You’ve been through a lot.”

“…It’s fine. I have many siblings at home, so this is normal.”

Though he looks really tired…

Well, if 42 says it’s fine, then it must be.

Either way, escaping now is the priority.

“Polia, let’s escape now.”

“Got it.”

Polia grabbed my and 42’s hands.

*Whooosh-*

We activated our abilities and returned to the organization.

“Hello, chicken coop.”

“Kyaaah!! I told you not to teleport into my office!”

“Haha…”

There was a bit of a hiccup, but my concert hall terror ended like that.

***

“…Anyway, this terror mission ended well.”

“Yes. I think it was quite satisfying too.”

At first, I thought it might fail because of those Red Heroes weaklings, but Ice Queen saved the day in the end.

‘Plus, I helped Ice Queen grow too.’

“……”

As I smiled contentedly, Astra made a strange expression.

When our eyes met, she blushed and quickly turned her head away.

…?

What’s up with her?

“That… I saw the terror mission…?”

As I was puzzled, she cautiously spoke up.

The more she stumbled over her words, the redder her face became.

“Tentacles…”

“Yes. Is there a problem with the tentacles?”

“No… It’s more that you were too rough with a girl.”

“She’s over twenty, so she’s an adult, though…”

She’s younger than Astra, but Ice Queen is clearly an adult.

It’s a bit much to treat her like a girl when she’s already so mature…

“By the way, it’s rare for Astra to worry about a hero.”

“As a fellow woman, I can’t help but feel sorry for her.”

“Hmm.”

Well, her defenseless moans were broadcast live.

Of course, since there’s someone in the Association with a similar ability to our organization members, it won’t escalate further.

“Internet must be going crazy right now, huh?”

“Probably.”

It’s not like Ice Queen will stop being a hero, so she’ll have to deal with this for a while.

“I should check the internet reactions later.”

“……”

But that’s something for the heroes to handle, not me.

Unless she becomes unable to function, she’ll have to deal with it herself.

***

“Oppa.”

As I finished my report and stepped into the hallway, a girl came running up to me.

“Gayeon, were you waiting for me?”

“Yeah.”

I patted her head.

“Aren’t you tired?”

“Nope. I’m strong.”

In response to my question, she rolled up her sleeve and flexed her non-existent muscles.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at her display.

‘That potion I got last time must’ve been good.’

Seems like hunting those villains was worth it.

“Glad you’re strong.”

“Yeah.”

She confidently placed her hands on her hips and stuck out her belly.

“If you were tired, I was thinking of taking a nap together.”

“…Huh?”

“Then you’re free. I’m tired, so I’ll take a nap…”

*Tap.*

As I turned to leave, she tightly grabbed my sleeve.

“I’m sleepy too.”

“Huh?”

“Suddenly, I’m tired. I want to nap with Oppa.”

“Just a moment ago, you were clearly…”

“I want to sleep too.”

She puffed up her cheeks expressionlessly and looked up at me.

Her cuteness made me want to tease her more, but…

‘Let’s stop teasing her here.’

“Alright. Let’s take a nap together.”

Barely holding back my urge, I smiled and took her hand.

***

“Kooo-”

“Sleep well.”

She said she wasn’t tired, but as soon as we lay down, she fell asleep faster than me.

Even after I woke up from a nap, she was still sleeping, so she must’ve been really tired.

*Rustle…*

“Huuuum…”

I carefully stroked her head so as not to wake her, then covered her properly with the blanket and headed to the sofa.

‘Now, let’s check the reactions.’

Since the last terror mission, I’ve only checked the news reactions when hunting villains.

But today, I wanted to see how the citizens really think of me.

I picked up my smartphone and turned it on.

[How many times is this now… Maker’s terror. Is the Association doing nothing?]

[Idol-hero team Red Heroes… Controversy over rude remarks to fans.]

[A critical moment. Hero Ice Queen stops the collapsing concert hall.]

As expected, the news wasn’t very nutritious.

Just stuff like how much influence I had, or how the aftermath was handled.

I pressed the back button and went straight to an internet community.

[Those disgusting Red Heroes bastards falling into ruin makes me happy, upvote if you agree lol]

[If Ice Queen’s moans turn you on, upvote please]

[F*ck sis! Tentacles f*ck! F*cking hell!!!]

[Red Heroes dumbasses lol so cringe]

[Damn, for the first time in my life, I’m jealous of hostages.]

[Proof) I was one of the hostages locked up there.]

[Damn, was Ice Queen always that hot?]

[From today, my dream is tentacles.]

[Ice Queen’s wet look is really… damn…]

“Wow.”

The posts were filled with curses and all sorts of dark desires.

Some of the more extreme posts were being deleted by moderators, but the deletion speed couldn’t keep up with the posting speed.

I checked the top post first.

[Those disgusting Red Heroes bastards falling into ruin makes me happy, upvote if you agree lol]

===

For real, those ugly bastards acting all handsome is so cringe.

Those so-called heroes acting like clowns really pissed me off,

But seeing them get wrecked by Maker live was my first stress relief,

And their dirty personalities being exposed was my second stress relief lololol

So f*cking cringe, those idiots lololol

===

– For real, I always noticed their fans were divided, but seeing them fall is satisfying^^

– Heroes are supposed to protect citizens, not dance around, right? lol

– Current C+ hero here. There’s already some rumors about them among heroes.

ㄴ What kind of rumors exactly??

ㄴ Well… a lot. Some say they’re on drugs, others say they’re promiscuous. But one thing’s for sure, they’ve all been involved in some shady stuff.

ㄴ Damn…

– Listening to those bastards talk, it seems like they were planning to abandon their fans and run away lol

ㄴ For real?

ㄴ Yeah, check out the live terror footage the news showed lololol

ㄴ Oh damn, found it lololol these crazy bastards

ㄴ But how did the news show what was happening inside?

ㄴ Maker sent it live, apparently.

ㄴ That guy’s a real psycho lololol

‘They’re getting roasted hard.’

Seems like there were things building up over time, as the Red Heroes are being torn to shreds.

I offered a brief moment of silence for them and pressed the back button.

Not like I care about them anyway.

Curious about what other posts were there, I clicked on another one with a pounding heart.

[Proof) I was one of the hostages locked up there.]

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