Prisoners of Tartarus

The mass breakout of Tartarus criminals.

The commotion was even larger than when Alpha had escaped before, and the Association couldn’t contain the controversy.

[Breaking news!! It is reported that all prisoners in Tartarus have been released!!]

The reason was simple.

The guards were ultimately defeated, and prisoners from all floors of Tartarus escaped completely.

Moreover, ability users with warping, movement, and flight capabilities were returning to their respective countries one after another.

[While Russian authorities are attempting swift suppression, some escapees are already fleeing to other countries…]

With the collapse of Tartarus, the worst prison for ability users, and the release of vicious villains who had been confined up to the sixth floor underground, the world was thrown into chaos on a completely different scale than before.

[Ah! Another breaking news update!! As the A-16 defense line established in Russia has collapsed, even non-movement type villains are beginning to spread to other countries…]

[Currently, Russia’s S-class hero Anton is in critical condition after confronting a Tartarus prisoner…]

[We cannot stop the rampaging villains!!!]

As villains gradually moved to their countries, areas, and homes, people’s fears accelerated accordingly.

[Once the incident calms down, Russia will conduct a detailed investigation of Tartarus and check if there was a mastermind who helped with the breakout… Kyaah!!]

[Puheheheh!! Your country is ruined!! From now on! Our Jotnyangdan will rule here!!]

Click.

The news was cut off as a mysterious woman wearing cat ear headbands appeared.

But that didn’t mean the chaos and attacks stopped.

BANG!! KWAGAGAGANG!!

“[KYAAAAHHHH!!!!]”

“[Yes!! This is what excitement feels like!! Puhih! Puheheheh!! Escape is the beeest!!]”

The hero world was never free from terrorism, but there had always been a certain limit.

With the sudden increase in rioting prisoners, most people began to suffer.

“Are you serious? I still have to go to school even though there’s terrorism?!”

“..What? You want me to go to the client and make a sale?..There’s a terrorist attack happening there right now!”

Not only civilians…

“[Kik! Good area! From now on, I’m taking over this place!!]”

“[What is this crazy guy saying?!]”

Even villains too.

Most villains, unless they had connections, didn’t like the released prisoners either.

They were a new disruptive species threatening the stabilized food chain.

They were individuals with similar strength to themselves, or perhaps even stronger.

“[Hand over your territory, businesses, and the food and clothes I’ll need, quietly!!]”

“[Just because you ask doesn’t mean I’ll give it to you, you crazy bastard!!]”

When these people started coveting what belonged to the established villains, fighting was the natural outcome.

And the external impacts also caused major ripples on the internet.

[Polia is NongNong]: It’s so scary these days that it’s not easy to go anywhere;;

[Anonymous]: Hey f*ck, there’s a crazy bomber in C district! Run away!!

[LetsKillPolarBearsToo]: Villains are fighting each other in B district, what do these crazy bastards think they can get here

└ [BankruptDrugDealer]: Oh my, I think I’m one of them?

[BlackDragonFaction Korean Branch Head LinLing]: Really! Even our headquarters is in chaos because of the villains!!

[HugeHelicopterHighPriceDeals]: lolol your workload just exploded

[VirginDetector]: I can feel it..I can feel the number of non-virgins increasing with my horns..!! KRAAAK!! My horns!!

The community situation clearly showed chaos among ordinary people and villains alike.

However, since control over most communities continued even in this situation, most Korean users now communicated in [Trash Bin], the community created by Maker.

Of course…

[DragonKing]: 這就是他創建的社區嗎？ 年輕人多着呢。

[ThunderGod]: То, как ты играешь здесь, прискорбно. Молодые люди в наши дни не должны.

[Anonymous]: Es gibt zu viele Schurken.

It was no longer exclusively for Koreans.

[HateGoingToWork]: But why are there so many foreigners showing up?

└ [Anonymous]: A friend living abroad said that most communities in foreign countries are being controlled because they don’t want to reveal the mess in their own countries.

└ [GoodAngerManagement]: F*ck, the whole world has turned into the Communist Party.

Even in many countries that championed freedom, there was public opinion control similar to Korea’s, and users trying to avoid this process discovered [Trash Bin].

[BabyMaker]: Damn! It’s Maker again?! We must worship him!

[RegularCustomerOfBlackNight]: Did Maker foresee even this situation?

[PleaseReleaseSeasonTwoTentacles]: Maker is a god! Maker is a god! Maker is a god!!

Strictly speaking, it was created by Master (Narin), but she, who did all the work, didn’t want to be praised.

(Master)[MakerOppaNomNom]: If you’re going to praise someone, praise my oppa instead, you punks. If it weren’t for oppa, I wouldn’t be doing this annoying stuff anymore.

Rather, she wanted Maker to be praised instead of herself, and thanks to Narin’s early education, everyone began praising Maker instead of her.

As the untimely praise for Maker continued for a while, soon their praise inevitably diminished.

[SecretaryWorkingOvertimeAgain]: Fck work, there’s terrorism everywhere but still have to go to fcking work

└[S-Class Association Employee]: Hey hey

└[MyDreamIsToBeDirector]: lolol the secretary is pissed thinking about being the Director’s punching bag againlol

[RomComManiac]: Why go to school? Why go to school? Why go to school?

[D-360]: Fck military Fck military F*ck military

[LicensedRider]: lolol You want me to make deliveries in this situation? Me?

No matter how much they enjoyed joking around, reality hadn’t changed, and realizing that only made them feel worse.

[Anonymous]: F*ck this shitty world.

At this moment, this was the thought that came to everyone’s mind.

---

Meanwhile, amid the chaos affecting ordinary people, villains, and community users alike…

“A terrorist attack has occurred in C district!!”

“Prepare to deploy one A-class and two B-class heroes immediately!!”

“Terrorist attack in E district… What? A prank call? Listen you little sh*t, do you want to die?!!”

In such a situation, those suffering the most were none other than heroes.

Some prisoners, crazed with pleasure, committed murder and arson,

Some clashed with villains to steal the interests that others had built,

And some simply challenged heroes to fight against the strong.

Whatever the case, heroes had to appear whenever an incident occurred, creating a situation where everyone in the Association was being overworked.

“Patrol order for D district!!”

“Brother..! Huff.. I’m a patient, a patient..! Please stop..!!”

“You’ve only broken your arm! Just look around, and if anything happens, tell someone else and run away!”

“You son of a…”

Even heroes who had been injured during the Alpha incident were all deployed.

Still, Korea could be considered in a relatively better position.

Compared to many surrounding countries with large landmasses, Korea was very small, making it less targeted.

It was surrounded by sea, and the only accessible place was the continental entrance. (Near the area above where North Korea once existed.)

Additionally, due to events in recent years, the power of ability users was above average.

They could manage quite well against the prisoners of Tartarus floors 4-5 who pushed with sheer numbers.

“Haah…”

Of course, even though it was relatively easier, the workload they felt was still overwhelming.

Everyone was busy and struggling.

This was also true for Phantom Luna at the Korean Heroes Association.

“Phantom Luna in E district… current status is good. No terrorism..!”

[Excellent. Please return to the Association slowly via F district.]

“Yaaawn… understood…”

A-class hero Phantom Luna with summoning abilities.

She was continuously patrolling while riding Griffin, one of her summons.

‘I wonder how many weeks I’ve been doing this…’

Because of her ability for quick movement and flight, she had been patrolling constantly since villains who escaped from Tartarus began crawling into Korea.

She had even spent some nights sleeping on Griffin’s back.

“Huut… kreuuuuh…! Haah…”

It was when Phantom Luna was stretching as she reached the slums, looking around again.

-Piyo?

“Hm? What’s wrong, Griffin?”

In response to Phantom Luna’s question, Griffin made a sound and pointed in one direction.

When she looked down, she saw two sturdy middle-aged men.

Western appearance. Despite their sturdy builds, they were unkempt and shaggy.

Up to this point, she might have recognized them as ordinary homeless people in the slums, but the moment she saw their attire, her body froze.

“……”

What they were wearing was none other than tattered prison uniforms.

They looked like prisoners who had recently arrived in Korea.

“Spotted individuals in prison-like attire at the slums adjacent to C district. If there’s no additional contact within 5 minutes, I request backup!”

But she didn’t make a hasty judgment.

Since this was the slums, someone might have picked up discarded clothes.

Phantom Luna said this into her communicator and then rapidly descended toward the suspected prisoners.

“Stop right there! Please stop!!”

“……”

Just in case, she currently had a translator attached to her ear.

Therefore, Phantom Luna asked without any language barriers:

“I had to stop you because of your attire! May I ask where you got that prison uniform?”

“[..Phantom Luna?]”

“Eh..? You know me?”

At that moment. The westerner called her hero name.

As Phantom Luna was about to be surprised…

“[Found her.]”

“Kyak!”

CHARLARK!!!

-Piyooo..!!

The men attacked instantly after recognizing she was Phantom Luna.

Phantom Luna tried to fly away on Griffin, but one man’s chain attack quickly tied up Griffin.

“Tch..! Go back, Griffin!”

Phantom Luna had no choice but to get off Griffin and recall her summon.

She glared at them.

“Who are you?! What is the meaning of this sudden attack!”

“[Is this the hero that girl asked for?]”

“[Aah, I don’t have anything personal against you.]”

One man muttered to himself with a serious expression, while the other answered her question with a glib wave of his hand.

Their demeanors were different, but they seemed to be after the same thing.

“[It’s just that someone asked us to torment you a bit.]”

CHARLARK!!

With these puzzling words, the man’s attacks began against Phantom Luna.