Chapter 61

“Damn it, just my luck to run into a hero.”

While returning after completing the job, I ran into a hero.

At first, I tried to pass by as if I were just a civilian, but the smell of blood on me was impossible to hide, so I ended up catching the hero’s attention.

“Of all times, why now…”

I had washed off the blood from the victim’s body after finishing the job, but the smell of blood doesn’t just disappear.

If I hadn’t run into the hero, I could have made it back to the underworld first, but now I had no choice but to grab a hostage while being tailed.

Running away blindly would just get me caught by a flying hero, so my plan was to create a gap by taking a hostage and then escape in the chaos.

“Judging by his face, he seems like a rookie hero. If I can just escape to the underworld, it should be fine. I’ll just lay low for a few months. Damn it.”

“Let the hostage go!”

“If you were me, would you let them go just because someone told you to?”

“Of course!”

The hostage-taker was momentarily speechless at the hero’s bold statement.

The sincerity in the hero’s still boyish eyes made it clear he meant it.

Meanwhile, Isaac, who was watching the scene, leisurely finished his remaining burger.

‘He’ll handle it himself.’

He’s not a hero.

So he didn’t need to worry about the hostage.

And he had no reason to punish the hostage-taker who suddenly caused the incident.

But…

‘Can’t resist watching a fight.’

Especially a tense showdown between the hero and the hostage-taker!

“Boss, should we step in?”

Mina’s eyes sharpened, annoyed at having her good time interrupted.

“It’s fine. Just eat your burger. Gotta eat when you can.”

Getting involved?

Try and make me.

Isaac confidently started watching the tense standoff between the hero and the villain.

“P-please, save me…”

“Don’t come any closer! If you do, this girl’s life is-”

“Hey, you! Let the hostage go!”

The rookie hero’s clumsy threats and the hostage-taker’s demands, delivered with a snort, were quite the spectacle.

Isaac, watching from a close distance, chuckled.

‘They’re so amateurish.’

The rookie hero, Lee Si-woo, trying to negotiate on the fly without any manual, was just too funny.

“Oppa, shouldn’t we help?”

“He’s a hero, he should handle it himself. It’s embarrassing for a hero to need help from someone who’s not even a hero.”

“Not really our business.”

Leaving the two engrossed in their conversation, the three of them chatted casually.

The hostage situation happening right in front of them seemed like no big deal.

After all, the Swamp Area is a neighborhood where criminals run rampant almost every day.

Having lived there, the three of them weren’t fazed by a mere hostage-taker.

‘Boring.’

The hostage-taker was slowly trying to back away, but the hero was floundering, unsure what to do.

While Isaac found it amusing, it was time to wrap things up.

If he kept watching, he might not get home until midnight.

Isaac slowly stood up and picked up two pieces of fries.

Now soggy from sitting out, the two pieces of fries. Mina and Seolhwa watched with interest as Isaac held the fries.

“Damn it, if you don’t clear the way right now-”

The fry between Isaac’s fingers made a sharp sound as it left his hand.

The target: the hostage-taker’s eye.

“Ah! Damn it!”

Even a soggy fry, when thrown at an eye with unimaginable speed, can cause excruciating pain.

The hostage-taker instinctively grabbed his eye and stumbled back.

In the process, the hostage quickly moved away from him.

“Y-you…”

“When dealing with a hostage-taker, you either neutralize them without them noticing or focus on getting the hostage out while keeping them calm. Trying to talk them down clumsily never works.”

If criminals could be reasoned with, they wouldn’t be criminals.

Their way of thinking is just too different to be swayed by words.

Tempest nodded with a complicated expression at his words.

“…Thank you for your help.”

In principle, he should have scolded the civilian for intervening, but given the situation, Tempest simply expressed his gratitude without adding anything.

“Well…I was just getting annoyed…”

Isaac waved his hand lightly. With one move, the hostage-taker, who had been trying to slip away, was dragged back and grabbed by the collar.

A force that made resistance impossible.

The hostage-taker, meeting Isaac’s indifferent gaze, realized he was of the same ilk.

‘This guy’s from the underworld!’

He didn’t know why he was helping the hero, but if he played his cards right-

“Hurry up and take him away.”

“Wait! You too…ugh!”

‘So sloppy.’

Isaac used repulsion to forcibly shut the hostage-taker’s mouth, then released the ability after confirming Tempest had cuffed him.

‘So this is what the rookie days were like, huh?’

“…I owe you another thanks. Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. It’s fine.”

“…Right. It’s fine.”

‘Huh? His reaction’s a bit off. Maybe…’

As if confirming his suspicion, Tempest masked his strange expression with a smile and disappeared, restraining the hostage-taker with his ability.

‘Well, whatever. We’ll cross paths eventually.’

“Kids, let’s head back.”

“Can we grab more snacks on the way?”

“Yeah, sure. Just don’t go overboard.”

“Yay!”

“Boss, me too…”

“Alright. Go ahead.”

The three of them left the store as if nothing had happened, walking at a leisurely pace.

———————–

“Rookie, I heard you caught two today? Not bad.”

“Ah, well…”

Tempest nodded awkwardly at Frost’s praise.

Technically, it wasn’t really him who caught them—it was someone who claimed to be Speed’s friend.

“…Actually, someone helped me catch them easily.”

“Someone? Who?”

“A guy named Park Yi-sak, said he was Speed’s friend…”

“Friend?”

Frost tilted his head. While he wasn’t particularly close with Speed, he knew Speed rarely went out to meet anyone.

“That guy, I never see him hanging out with anyone. I thought he didn’t have any friends…”

Muttering something that would hurt Speed’s feelings, Frost stored the name Park Yi-sak in his mind.

“Not a hero…hmm. But how did he help?”

“He just gestured and pulled the guy over. Seemed really skilled with his ability.”

In this world, everyone is born with abilities, but not many can use them skillfully.

Abilities require proper training to improve; just winging it usually leads to stagnation.

Most either learn through brutal experience in the field or use their abilities sparingly in daily life.

So, someone who can take down a criminal with ease?

‘Underworld? Or…a hunter?’

Remembering that Speed had been dispatched to the Swamp Area a few months ago, Frost accepted it.

He wasn’t close enough to Speed to dig into his friendships, nor was he paranoid—just curious.

“Alright, got it. Good work today…go get some rest.”

“Yes! Senior!”

“And no need to be so formal. Just relax. We don’t enforce strict hierarchy here.”

As long as everyone does their job, heroes generally don’t interfere with each other.

As Frost brushed off the icicles clinging to his hair and left, Si-woo sighed and sank into thought.

‘He looked like…’

Just out of his boyhood, he recalled the nightmares of his past with clouded eyes.

A ruined city.

The stench of death in the air.

Collapsed buildings.

And himself, buried beneath them.

And…

‘…Quaker.’

The face from his nightmares surfaced.

‘At first, I thought they looked a bit alike…’

But the look in his eyes during their second meeting.

That look was unmistakably Quaker’s.

“Next time we meet…maybe I’ll ask.”

The burning hatred in his eyes slowly faded.