Eclipse Within the Terrorism

“Shouldn’t we call for heroes?”

In a busy street of B District.

People looked at the beasts on the street with uneasy eyes.

“Why are there lions and tigers here..”

Not just lions and tigers, but various animals were roaming the streets.

The peculiar thing was that they were all maintaining a neat formation without making any sounds.

That sight caused a strange sense of dissonance.

“It seems like terrorism..”

“When are the heroes coming?”

And just as people were gradually falling into anxiety.

“Grrrr..”

An anomaly occurred.

“Those bastards are moving!! Don’t take photos with your phone, run away!!”

“Aaaaaaahhhh!!!”

The group of beasts suddenly started attacking.

Many people were instantly injured and harmed.

“Kyaaa!”

Bang!

“We’re from the Hero Association! Are you alright, citizen?”

“Y-yes..”

“We’ve set up defensive positions at nearby shelters! I’ll hold them off here, so hurry and escape!!”

And there was no big change even after heroes appeared.

‘They’re not that strong! They’re at a level where they fall to my punches, and I’m just a C-class hero!’

Dogs and cats, and even predators classified as lions and tigers fell easily.

They seemed even weaker than the known strength of animals.

‘The animals are much weaker than expected! They’re weak, but..!’

However, if there was one problem, it was that there were far too many animals.

Grrr..!

“These bastards..”

Moreover, as if their intelligence had increased, they started using feints and terrain little by little.

Wounds gradually appeared all over the heroes’ bodies.

‘..This won’t do.’

Honestly, it was too much for C-class heroes who were just doing patrols because they were pushed out by senior heroes to stop this disaster.

A hero who quickly grasped the situation urgently raised his radio.

“This is B District-22nd Street! B District-22nd Street! An unidentified beast terrorism has occurred! Requesting support for Patrol Team D!!”

Bzzt.

-This is the Association, understood. We’ll send support right away..

And soon after, a voice was heard.

That wasn’t the end.

-This is B District 35th Street! Requesting help..!

-This is B District 17th Street! Please save us!!

-Currently in B District…

-They’re starting to cross over to C District too!

Not long after, the radio became chaotic.

Bzzt, bzzzt, bzzt.

“……”

A massive emergency was declared across the entire country.

---

‘It seems to have started properly.’

A high-rise building where the entire city landscape could be seen at once.

I watched the animals spreading out like colorful lumps from up there.

‘The No. 1 creatures obey orders well and have become quicker-witted, but in exchange, their strength and infectiousness are weak.’

Still, their numbers were far greater than the others.

So they should be able to buy enough time.

“It’s fascinating, by the way.”

“What is?”

Sword Ghost suddenly spoke up.

At my question, Sword Ghost pointed at me with his hand.

“You, I mean you. The more I look at you, the more fascinating you are, you know?”

“?”

“You even predicted that terrorism would occur today. It’s fascinating that you alone noticed what even the top heroes and villains in each district didn’t know, and you were actually right.”

Certainly, from others’ perspective, it would seem fascinating to have information that no one else knows, and quite accurate information at that.

It’s simply because I’m the culprit behind the terrorism happening, though.

“It’s not like you’re actually the real mastermind behind this terrorism or anything, right?”

“Hahaha! That’s quite a joke.”

“Puhah! Was that too much?”

What the fuck.

How did he figure it out?

I laughed along with Sword Ghost who was chuckling, saying it was a joke, while inwardly wiping away cold sweat.

‘He’s quite perceptive.’

Although he looks like an uncle who’s always laughing heartily, Sword Ghost is also an executive of Eclipse.

It seems he didn’t get his executive position for nothing.

“..Anyway, we just need to get the target during this chaos.”

“Alright~”

“Grr! House burglary isn’t my style, but I’ve already received orders from the Boss! If it’s her order, there’s no choice!”

“I-I’ll do my best too..! F-for Maker-ssi..!”

-If you’re ready, wait a little. The helicopter is on its way to you.

As everyone was steeling their resolve for a moment.

Just then, Astra’s voice came through the communicator.

Although Eclipse’s executives were gathered together, unfortunately, Astra didn’t want to be deployed on-site.

“That’s a shame, it would have been nice if Astra-nim came to the scene too.”

-Someone needs to guard the headquarters. And overall management is essential too.

She didn’t come to the scene due to her characteristic safety-first attitude and to manage the organization members.

At any other time, it would be praiseworthy to be thorough, but from my perspective knowing all the situations, it was just a bit disappointing.

-Besides, it’s already overkill, what’s the point of me joining in?

“There are many things Astra-nim could do.”

What we’re going to do this time is house burglary. In other words, we’re going to steal things.

And the destination is none other than a museum where historical treasures are gathered.

Even if it’s not our target, there would be expensive treasures scattered here and there, and in such a situation, how much more convenient would it be to use her ability of telekinesis?

‘We could have secured a large sum of money for sure.’

It would be a lie to say I’m not disappointed, but I decided to be satisfied with just carrying out this mission.

-Sigh, normally it’s better not to do missions at such dangerous times.. but it’s the Boss’s order, so there’s no choice.

It was fortunate that I asked the Boss to give the order.

If not, we might have missed the chance to obtain the mysterious trace ingredient to save the Boss.

-What on earth did you talk about that day, for the Boss who never properly gives orders to give an order?

“I asked normally.”

-Hmm.

I felt like I could sense Astra’s gaze looking at me disapprovingly, but it must have been my imagination.

-..Still, give me a heads up next time too, I’m not such an inflexible person.

“I never thought you were an inflexible person.”

-Liar. If that were true, there would be no reason not to tell me. Weren’t you afraid I’d oppose because this mission is dangerous?

..Why are they all so perceptive today?

Usually, it would have been easily overlooked.

I glanced at the other executives huddled together on the rooftop for a moment, then moved slightly away from my spot.

“That’s not it, Astra-nim.”

Even if the bull’s eye was hit, the moment I submit to it is when I’m really screwed.

I continued to placate Astra under the guise of explanation with dazzling eloquence until the helicopter arrived.

“You know how much I like you, Astra-nim.”

“..Hmph.”

Kyaaaaaaah!!

While all sorts of horrible screams were coming from outside making me sweat, I was sweating trying to soothe a sulking work colleague.

For a moment, I almost had a strange realization at that thought, but fortunately, I succeeded in soothing her anger before the helicopter arrived.

..It was winter.

---

We somehow managed to arrive at our destination by helicopter.

“This is the museum, our destination.”

The National History Museum, the largest museum in this world’s Korea, which is our target today.

There are plenty of other museums overflowing, but the reason we specifically came to this place was very simple.

‘This is a museum that displays mysterious traces.’

The second mysterious trace to cure the Boss was here.

As it displays mysterious traces, it would normally be a quite high-difficulty mission because multiple heroes patrol.

“It seems everyone has evacuated due to the chaos.”

But it appears that heroes, minor security guards, and staff or manager-level people have already left for elsewhere.

At a glance, it seems irresponsible, but in a way, it’s natural.

It’s only natural that there are no bastards who would risk their lives to protect a few old objects in a situation where their own lives are in danger.

“Seeing the lowered firewall along with security robots deployed, it seems they activated the security system before leaving.”

“Is it confidence that the security system can handle mere thieves without problems?”

“It could be.”

Firewalls are set up throughout the museum, and the exhibited works are covered with metal cases.

Plus security robots known to be quite powerful.

The security robots were robots with excellent durability and attack power, enough to be guaranteed by A-class heroes.

And with the terrain changed by firewalls mixed in, it seemed a bit difficult for ordinary guys to escape unscathed.

‘But it’s no problem at all with our forces.’

“Sword Ghost-nim.”

“Hm? What?”

“Could you cut down all of those for us?”

I pointed at the robots with my hand.

The robots that started operating as soon as we entered the museum.

Dozens, perhaps hundreds of machines started moving all at once.

‘It would look difficult even for an A-class.’

At least it seemed clear that I definitely couldn’t break through if I had come alone.

“Ah~ I’ll get to stretch my body after a while.”

“Grr! I want to relieve some stress too.”

“Then Black Wolf-nim can join in defeating them too.”

But with not only Sword Ghost but also Black Wolf, there’s no particular problem.

“One Flash-“

“Awoooooo-!!!”

Bang! Crash!! Boom!!

Because they are none other than S-class.

Mere museum security couldn’t stop them.

Thud! Thudududud!!!

“Shall we sit and watch for a bit?”

“..Ah, y-yes..”

The Training Manager and I sat on a mat I created.

Auto-hunting is really the best, isn’t it?

We quietly watched them rampage like that.