Chapter 42

‘Trickier than I thought.’

Isaac, who had instantly created a distance of over 20 meters, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

He was the toughest opponent he’d faced so far.

A body encased in steel couldn’t be harmed by mere iron balls.

The Steel Cobra.

Slow in movement, but as agile as a cobra when attacking within its range.

“I thought it was some nonsense, but it wasn’t just ordinary nonsense.”

“Ha! All you’ve got is a mouth, kid.”

“You know that’s the kind of line a third-rate villain would use, right?”

“This brat…”

A grinding sound escaped from the Steel Cobra. Isaac chuckled as he watched.

‘When was it ever easy?’

Both the Security Chief and Salmusa were opponents with slim chances of winning in a head-on fight.

And so was the enemy in front of him.

‘Speed can’t help me.’

With a hostage held captive.

If Speed were to abandon the hostage and help me, I couldn’t guarantee the hostage’s safety.

Realizing this, Isaac observed Cobra’s surroundings and racked his brain.

‘His movement is sluggish. But once you’re within the range of that head, he’s fast enough to make it hard to react.’

Similar to a real cobra’s traits.

“Should’ve brought a flute.”

Isaac joked with a regretful expression.

If only he had a flute—

“Ah.”

Eureka!

An idea flashed in his mind.

“Guess it’s time to stop playing around and finish this.”

“Still putting on a tough act, huh? Kid’s all show…”

“Whether it’s just a show or not, we’ll see.”

“What can you even do? You think you can break through my ability?”

“As if I couldn’t break through such a crude ability.”

“What?”

Isaac bent his body like a sprinter, lifted his heels, and kicked off the ground, unleashing repulsion from his toes.

A speed unimaginable for an ordinary person.

In an instant, Isaac crossed 20 meters, and the moment he confirmed Cobra’s attack, he crouched and used repulsion to launch himself into the air.

“What?!”

An unexpected move.

In a flash, Isaac grabbed Cobra from behind.

And—

Isaac began relentlessly pounding Cobra’s body with his iron-ball-covered fists.

“Damn it!”

The Steel Cobra, not fully encased in steel, had gaps in its structure.

In that state, continuously hitting it with iron balls would send shockwaves reverberating inside.

“F*ck! Get off!”

Cobra thrashed, trying to shake Isaac off.

But Isaac clung stubbornly with gravity, relentlessly pounding Cobra. Even as his hands turned bloody, he didn’t stop.

And the fruits of that persistence began to show.

‘Damn… my head’s spinning…’

Just as noise pollution stresses humans, Isaac’s noise pollution became severe enough to disrupt Cobra’s ability usage. Cobra couldn’t maintain his precise control.

“You son of a b*tch…”

“Cheap insults, huh?”

Isaac smirked as he detached from Cobra.

The steel plates forming Cobra’s body lost their shape and fell to the ground.

Cobra, standing amidst the wreckage, glared at Isaac while clutching his head.

Isaac, gasping for breath, didn’t miss his timing and lunged forward, punching Cobra in the face.

But this was common in the underworld.

He shouted with a flash in his eyes.

“Die!”

The scattered steel pieces lunged at Isaac, aiming for his entire body.

The worst situation.

The worst timing.

But Cobra felt a chill run down his spine.

Because Isaac was still smiling.

“Did you really think I wouldn’t expect this?”

Isaac’s body was flung vertically.

Thanks to the full force of his repulsion.

With a force that strained his body, he launched himself vertically, aiming his right fist at Cobra.

“Now, just disappear.”

All the iron balls fired from Isaac’s fist at once.

Piercing through the darkness, the iron balls struck Cobra’s skull.

“No way… Boss…”

“You’re the only one left! If you surrender the hostage and turn yourself in, your sentence might be reduced!”

“Bullsh*t! I don’t want to rot in jail!”

“Do you think you can escape?!”

“Damn it!”

The frog pulled something from his waist and threw it to the ground.

Isaac and Speed, sensing danger, covered their eyes.

A flash of light barely pushed back the darkness, blocking Isaac and Speed’s pursuit. The frog, holding the hostage, began running at full speed.

“I’ll chase him. Isaac, you…”

“I’ll go too.”

‘It’s ominous to send him alone.’

This situation.

This setup.

Wasn’t it becoming eerily similar to the traumatic situation he experienced as a rookie?

‘Is this fate’s cruel joke?’

Even the raindrops falling made Isaac think the world was out to get them.

“Let’s hurry and track him!”

“Go ahead as fast as you can.”

“Yes!”

Speed dashed off first, followed by Isaac, who quickly composed himself and began the pursuit. But the chase wasn’t easy.

The frog, who knew the underworld’s geography like the back of his hand, and Speed and Isaac, who didn’t, couldn’t easily close the gap.

Even the rain made tracking difficult.

Speed decided he needed to push himself harder.

Otherwise, the hostage’s life would be as fragile as a candle in the wind.

He pushed his ability further.

A little more, a little more… a little more!

His speed increased. Obstacles hidden in the darkness blocked his path, but he boldly charged through them.

He was just in pain, but that boy might lose his life.

Isaac, following behind, sighed and guessed the frog’s destination.

‘If he runs to the end of the underworld, there’s a fast-flowing river. The bridge collapsed long ago, but if he wants to lose us—’

The most effective method.

The worst-case scenario made him furrow his brow.

‘We need to find him as fast as possible.’

Isaac also used repulsion to increase his speed.

———————

“L-let go!”

“Shut up, brat!”

The boy resisted, but a child couldn’t overpower an adult.

After being kicked in the stomach a few times, the boy stopped resisting. The frog tied the boy’s body to a rope and secured him to a tree near the river.

“You’re my lifeline now.”

With Cobra wiped out, he needed to shake off the pursuers to survive. He decided to use the boy as bait to escape.

If they didn’t rescue the boy tied to the fast-flowing river soon—they might never find him.

And—

‘His trauma is famous.’

Back when he was a rookie hero, he failed to save a young girl who was used as bait, leading to her death.

‘He never overcame it, so I’m free!’

Though the other guy was a concern, he judged that the guy couldn’t cross the river and ran off into the darkness.

Speed, arriving a step too late, turned pale at the sound of the boy’s cries for help.

“I-I’ll save you, just hold on—”

‘The rain’s making the current faster, if this keeps up—’

There was no telling how long the rope would hold. If this continued, the hostage’s life would…

“Damn it…”

What if he couldn’t save him this time?

What if he made another mistake?

His body was already at its limit.

Soaked from the rain, he took a sprinter’s stance.

All he had to do was run forward…

‘My feet won’t move…’

He had to.

He had to.

That’s what a hero does.

But the nightmares of the past wouldn’t let go of his ankles.

A voice came from behind him.

“Afraid you won’t be able to save him like last time?”

“…Yes.”

He answered honestly.

Isaac looked at his back and spoke in a warm voice.

“When you walk, sometimes you step on someone’s foot, sometimes you trip over a stone.”

“…”

“Save me!”

“Don’t dwell on mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes, and we learn from them. You can do it. You’re different from back then. Run, Speed.

Show me why you’re the fastest hero.”

Finally, the rope snapped, and the boy began to drift away.

There was no time to waste.

“…Yes!”

Isaac stepped aside and watched as Speed began to run.

Speed ran across the ground, stepped onto the river dozens of meters wide, and ran across the water.

An incredible power to run on water.

Speed, cutting through the rain and wind, reached out toward the drifting boy.

A dangerous speed under normal circumstances.

He might lose control and crash into the hostage like last time—

‘I can do it, I can do it, I can do it…!’

Speed grabbed the boy with all his might, kicked off the water, and leaped up. His target was the ground. Isaac, who had moved like a skipping stone, used his ability to safely land both of them.

“We’ve got the hostage. As for the frog—”

“I’ll catch him.”

“I’ll watch the hostage. Go ahead.”

“Yes… Isaac.”

Speed disappeared in an instant, and soon, screams echoed.

Isaac listened to the sounds as he took off his jacket and draped it over the boy.

“Thank you… bro.”

“Thank Speed for that…”

Isaac used his repulsion field to deflect the falling raindrops.

‘This should be fine.’

He pulled the boy closer, expanding the field.

“Wow…”

“You’re not hurt, are you?”

“No. Just cold…”

“That’s a relief.”

‘Things have settled for now.’ Isaac sighed as he watched the weakening rain.

‘I’ll make sure to get proper compensation.’

Can’t ignore the losses.

Isaac closed his eyes.

——————–

“Here’s your reward!”

“That’s hefty.”

“If it weren’t for Isaac, I wouldn’t have saved the boy!”

“Well, you could’ve done it alone.”

I modestly deflected the praise while glancing at Speed and the boy beside him.

This job’s done, then.

“Well, take care. Looks like your ride’s here.”

“Haha… see you next time, then.”

“Yeah. And watch out for Quaker.”

“Huh?”

“Never mind.”

“Take care.”

“Bye, bros~”

I saw them off and looked up at the sky.

Annoyingly clear.

“…No idea how this snowball’s gonna roll.”

But no regrets.

Just did what had to be done.

I chuckled and walked back into the office.