Chapter 41

‘What’s that guy’s ability?’

Isaac casually observed Cobra charging forward, his right arm raised like a shield.

Upon closer inspection, the arm glinted under the faint light of the headlights, and Isaac quickly realized it wasn’t a human arm.

‘A prosthetic? Did he lose his arm, or—’

Just as Isaac was trying to guess his ability, Cobra’s prosthetic arm unfolded, transforming into the shape of an axe blade. It looked like slime changing its form.

‘A Transformation Ability?’

It didn’t quite match the name “Cobra,” but it wasn’t that important since the name was probably just slapped on anyway.

Right now—the only thing that mattered was that this guy was after his life.

‘How strong is that arm?’

Since it transformed from metal, its strength should be on par with that.

Isaac’s eyes darted between Cobra’s burning gaze and the incoming axe.

First—

Isaac bent his knees.

The axe naturally passed over his head.

As he raised his gaze, his eyes met Cobra’s.

“Let’s see how this goes.”

Isaac’s fist, wrapped in a steel ball, struck Cobra’s solar plexus without hesitation.

But what he felt wasn’t the sensation of hitting flesh or a scream—it was like hitting a wall.

‘He’s coated his body in metal too!’

An annoyed expression flashed across Isaac’s face.

‘Guess I’ll have to aim for his face. He’ll protect it fiercely, so it won’t be easy…’

An opponent who wasn’t fazed by steel balls.

He was practically Isaac’s natural enemy.

But…that didn’t mean he could just give up. Isaac immediately used Repulsion to fling himself backward.

“You little rat.”

“You know what? Rats are the animals that happily feast on snakes hibernating in winter.”

Cobra felt an inexplicable chill at his words.

‘This guy’s dangerous.’

His instincts, honed over years, rang alarm bells like crazy.

“Tonight’s gonna be long!”

“Maybe. It might be shorter than you think.”

A steel ball shot out from Isaac’s fist.

Cobra, seeing the steel ball flying toward his face, raised his arm to block it.

“You’re pulling some interesting tricks!”

“The fun hasn’t even started yet.”

As the steel ball bounced off Cobra’s widely spread arm, Isaac closed the distance.

With sharp, light steps, Isaac’s fist flew toward Cobra’s head.

A straightforward trajectory.

Not too fast.

An attack full of holes, suspiciously so.

Instead of countering, Cobra hastily created distance.

If the opponent was intentionally leaving openings, it meant there was a plan behind it.

But Isaac’s plan was deeper.

Isaac generated Gravity from his extended fist.

At maximum output.

Cobra, who was naturally moving backward, was pulled forward.

His strength, honed through experience and training, forcibly dragged Cobra closer.

An irresistible force.

Cobra reflexively transformed his arm into a giant drill.

As he thrust it forward, Isaac had no choice but to release the Gravity.

If that drill hit him, it could punch a hole big enough for a human head to pass through.

“I wondered what your ability was when you stuck steel balls to your fists. So that’s it.”

“Well—I’ve got a rough idea of your ability too.”

The distance between them closed again.

Now that the probing was over, it was time to settle the fight for real.

Speed glanced at the two out of the corner of his eye, then turned his attention to Frog and his underlings.

And the hostage in the car.

“I’ll save you soon!”

“Ha! You think we’ll just hand over our money-making tool?”

Frog, with a vile voice, glared at Speed while holding the hostage.

“Boys! Take care of him!”

“Yes, Vice Boss!”

At his command, the underlings activated their abilities.

Abilities to shoot sticky liquid, launch wind blades, and even telekinesis.

A variety of superpowers targeted Speed from all directions.

‘Guess I’ll have to take them down one by one!’

Speed immediately stomped the ground.

His target was the outlaw shooting the sticky liquid to hinder movement.

Speed’s body shot forward like a beam of light, aiming for the enemy.

But there was no way they wouldn’t know Speed’s fighting style.

“Damn…!”

“You think we’re idiots?”

The man’s figure crumbled, merging with the darkness.

‘A clone? Or an illusion?’

Either way, Speed knew this fight would be tough.

‘But if I can just rescue the hostage—’

His gaze briefly shifted to Isaac and Cobra.

‘No. I can’t abandon him.’

Even if Isaac abandoned him, he couldn’t abandon Isaac.

Because he was a hero.

‘I’ll finish this quickly, even if it’s reckless! That’s the only way—’

His thoughts, body, and mind began to accelerate.

The ultimate acceleration, speeding up everything.

It would put a significant strain on his body, but if it meant saving the hostage, it was a hero’s duty.

In the slowed-down time, Speed took a step back.

But that one step created a distance equivalent to dozens of steps for others.

He quietly observed his enemies in the accelerated world.

‘The hostage first…no, if I rescue the hostage at this speed, they’ll die.’

Only he could withstand the backlash of such extreme speed.

If he snatched the hostage at this speed, they’d turn into minced meat.

In the end, he had no choice but to look for a way to take down the remaining criminals.

‘The distance is too far, and they’re blending into the darkness. The headlights aren’t shining this way.’

But his eyes, adapted to the dark, could somewhat pierce through the shadows.

2 seconds elapsed.

‘There’s someone in that darkness.’

His body shot forward again.

His target was the other outlaws.

His fists struck five faces in an instant.

But there was no reaction to be seen.

‘An ability close to an illusion!’

3 seconds.

‘An ability that shifts the actual position from the visible one!’

Speed’s figure scattered like a storm.

His target was the faint shadow hidden behind the dozen underlings.

4 seconds.

“What the—”

Before he could finish, his fist slammed into the face of the ability user hiding in the dark.

As the criminal fell, teeth scattering, Speed immediately turned to face the others.

‘The actual distance was about 3 meters!’

He exited the accelerated world, placing his hand on the ground.

“Damn it! Ming-hyun’s down!”

“Shit! Everyone, get ready! That guy’s about to make a move!”

“You think you can stop my sprint just by preparing?!”

He shot forward like a bullet, charging at the criminals.

Overwhelming speed.

And overwhelming power.

“Ouch!”

“Damn…!”

“My teeth…”

The criminals, struck by Speed’s fists, groaned in pain and rolled on the ground.

The battlefield was cleared in an instant.

Frog, horrified, roughly grabbed the boy with his arm.

“H-Hey…don’t come closer!”

“P-Please spare me!”

“I’ll save you soon!”

“Don’t move! If you move, I’ll kill the hostage and everything else!”

“Ugh…”

‘Damn it!’

The inherent flaw in his ability.

Isaac, using steel balls to keep Cobra at bay, glanced at the situation.

‘This part is the same as the original.’

Speed was a righteous man, but his ability had a serious duality.

‘Being too fast is a problem. Only he can withstand that speed.’

His body, accelerating to hundreds of kilometers per hour, could handle the strain, but anyone attached to him couldn’t.

“Ha! Where are you looking?!”

The axe came down, ready to split his skull in two.

But Isaac used Repulsion to slightly push himself back, dodging the blade.

The scene repeated itself.

Isaac, unable to deal significant damage to Cobra’s body, kept dodging, while Cobra, unable to land a hit on Isaac, exchanged meaningless attacks.

Isaac exaggeratedly yawned and spoke.

“I’m getting bored. You look pretty tired. Isn’t it time for your winter nap?”

“You arrogant brat! I’ll shave your head and hang you naked in the square!”

“Didn’t know that was your thing.”

Isaac exaggeratedly cringed, and Cobra, already irritated by Isaac’s constant taunts, snapped.

“You little—! I didn’t want to use this, but I’ll tear you and that water strider brat to pieces!”

Cobra’s clothes began to writhe.

To be precise, it was the sound of the metal plates hidden under his body stirring.

“Let’s see if you can block this!”

Soon, his clothes tore, and the metal plates began to envelop his body, increasing his size.

His transformation complete, he resembled a cobra, true to his name.

And then, he charged fiercely at Isaac.

“Die!”

“Ha.”

Isaac counted the remaining steel balls.

Seven.

Not many at all.

“Guess it’s time to end this.”

The final exchange.

Their shadows overlapped under the moonlight peeking through the clouds.