episode_0006

This voice. This tone.

Even though about two months had passed since she heard it, there was no way she couldn’t recognize the voice of that disgusting man, which still lingered in her memory.

“Number… 13?”

[That’s right. So you remember me. It’s your Number 13.]

That sly voice was annoying. My Number 13, what a disgusting thing to say.

No, more importantly.

“Why are you calling from Apple-nim’s number… What, why did you call?!”

[I picked it up on the street, where should I send it to return it? You’ll give me a reward, right? This looks pretty expensive.]

“Don’t joke around!”

She didn’t think Apple would carelessly drop her phone,

and more than that, it was hard to believe a villain would specifically pick it up.

On top of that, calling Spade directly with it.

[Heroes really can’t take a joke. You should at least pretend to play along at times like this. My stomach boils just talking to you, you know? You haven’t forgotten what you did to me, have you?]

“…….”

[No answer, huh… Alright, I get it. I won’t say anything unnecessary anymore. Let’s get to the main point.]

From beyond the smartphone speaker, Number 13’s sigh could be heard.

That exaggerated sound, that exaggerated demeanor, was incredibly infuriating, but…

Spade blinked her eyes several times, calming herself.

[I just sent a picture, so check it.]

She lowered the smartphone from her ear and checked the screen.

Indeed, a message had come from Apple’s number. When she opened it, there was no text, only a single image attached.

And, in the photo.

“Apple…!”

Apple, her fellow hero from the 7th squad, was restrained in a chair, her head bowed low.

She couldn’t tell what had been done to her, but at a glance, it was clear that her white sleeveless shirt and uniform skirt were disheveled.

Instantly, Spade’s head heated up.

“Hey…! You…!”

[I understand how you feel, but I’d like you to calm down for now, Spade.]

Calm down? Calm down?

While her vision spun from the scalding heat boiling in her head, Number 13’s words continued.

[Understand the situation properly. This woman is in front of me right now, and in my hand is—]

*Clank*, a metallic sound, was ostentatiously audible.

There was no way she couldn’t understand what that meant.

[Do you understand a little now?]

She couldn’t know if the object was what Spade was thinking of or not.

But regardless, it was certain that Apple’s life and death lay in his hands.

She was angry.

She was furious.

Her mind felt like it would explode from excessive rage.

But she had to endure.

Calmly, always calmly.

Villains taking hostages was nothing new by now. It was something Spade, who had been through all sorts of trials, had experienced countless times.

She closed her eyes briefly, then took a deep breath.

When she opened her eyes again, Spade’s face was expressionless and calm, and her mind had regained its composure.

As if discerning Spade’s demeanor even through the phone, Number 13’s voice, sounding admiring, was heard.

[You’re already calm? Amazing. As expected of an A-rank hero. I guess you’re used to situations like this?]

“……Shut up, and just state your business.”

[Let’s have a leisurely chat. When else would I get to have a proper conversation with you, if not in a situation like this?]

“I said, shut up.”

Having just finished showering, still naked.

Spade clenched her fists tightly and growled.

Her mind was calm, but that didn’t mean the anger in her heart had vanished.

At Spade’s chilling demeanor, which seemed capable of killing a person with just the murderous intent in her voice, Number 13 on the other end of the speaker clicked his tongue as if helpless.

That leisurely attitude made her furious.

[Hero Spade, come to the location I designate from now on.]

[If you come, I’ll release this woman. As long as you don’t do anything unnecessary, I won’t do anything to her.]

[However, you must come alone.]

[If I see any other heroes, or if you try anything unnecessary… I don’t need to spell it out, do I?]

[Just you and I—let’s settle this, Hero.]

With those words, the call ended.

Spade, taking the smartphone from her ear, stood rooted in the middle of the room for a while, her eyes filled with terrifying murderous intent.

* * *

*Vroom-vroom— screech…!* *Clunk, click…*

And, approximately 30 minutes later.

Spade parked her motorcycle in front of a building in a ruined district and dismounted, taking off her helmet.

The streets, like remnants of past villain disasters, were still completely dead and abandoned.

The only people living within a few kilometers would be vagrants who had made the ruins their base to escape the rain and wind, with no homes or belongings.

“……Is this it?”

She checked her smartphone again. Indeed, the GPS coordinates Number 13 sent clearly pointed to this location.

Spade squinted her eyes, examining the eerie building that resembled an abandoned factory.

…It looked like an abandoned building, but light was seeping out from inside.

[Spade Senior-nim, have you arrived?]

Club’s voice came through the Bluetooth earpiece she had in her ear.

Although Number 13 had given a warning, she couldn’t just come without any precautions, so she had briefly explained the situation only to Club before coming.

However, there were no other countermeasures.

Perhaps to prevent her from setting up other plans, he had set a very tight time limit.

Even though she briefly informed Club and left immediately, she had to run at full speed to barely make it on time.

“It seems this is the right place. …But Club, the sound is crackling.”

[Your voice keeps cutting out for me too, Senior-nim. Is it because it’s a ruin?]

“Well… I don’t think so.”

When she checked her smartphone screen again, only one bar was displayed on the antenna.

When she moved a little further from the warehouse, the antenna quickly increased to two bars.

“It looks like he’s done something.”

She had heard that the villain organization 【Abyss】, to which Number 13 belonged, had a genius who made all sorts of inventions.

Even if not, signal jamming devices that interfere with radio waves can be acquired more easily than one might think.

“Let’s end communication here. If I don’t contact you again within… 30 minutes… no, within an hour of me going in, then proceed as we discussed beforehand.”

* * *

*Thud… Thud…*

Spade cautiously entered the abandoned factory.

She proceeded with extreme caution, paying attention to every corner, in case bombs or similar devices were installed somewhere in the factory.

With Spade’s special ability 【Body Reinforcement】, she could withstand a C4 bomb detonating at close range without dying, but if there were multiple, or enough to blow up the entire factory, even Spade would die instantly.

In one hand, a heavy pistol. Instead of live rounds, it contained rubber bullets for suppression.

Although Spade herself was practically a weapon, for simple suppression in an emergency, a gun like this or her usual stun baton was better.

To think that a pistol was safer because her fists had too high a killing power.

As Number 13 had emphasized multiple times, there was no doubt that Spade was a monster.

‘Until the time Number 13 specified… there’s only 1 minute and 20 seconds left.’

Thinking about traps made her cautious, but if she was late, something might happen to Apple.

Her hesitation was brief. Spade quickly made her decision and rushed inside.

Inside the warehouse, LED lights were sparsely lit, and countless containers were haphazardly lined up as if abandoned.

As she went further inside, there were many doors, and beyond them, bleak corridors stretched out. There were multiple floors, so checking each one would take time.

It felt somewhat like a maze.

*“……! …!”*

As she was thinking that, something reached Spade’s ears as she hurried down the corridor.

‘This is…?’

—A human presence.

It was a quiet abandoned building, and the sound echoed, making it clearly audible.

Her hearing, enhanced by magic, clearly picked up the sound.

‘It’s that way….’

She knew it was a trap… but she couldn’t *not* go forward.

Towards the direction of the sound, Spade went past the area lined with containers and further inside.

After passing a heavy iron door and a bit more of a corridor that felt like a prison,

she found a room, the only one lit, left with its door open.

“Mmph…! Mmph…!”

“Apple!”

A stuffy space, enclosed on all sides by concrete walls, like a warehouse.

In the middle of that rather cramped space, Apple, her fellow member of the 7th squad, was restrained in a chair just like in the picture.

Tape was stuck over her mouth.

‘Where’s Number 13?’

He was not visible.

Only Apple was left here.

*Beep, beep, beep—*

She knew at a glance that something was wrong. At least, that she shouldn’t step right inside.

She surely would have judged more calmly normally, but because of the object placed at Apple’s feet, her mind instantly went blank.

For there was a box, with a red light blinking on and off.

‘A bomb?!’

If it was a time bomb, it would surely be set to the 15 minutes Number 13 had specified.

Then how much time was left now? What was its destructive power? How much impact would it have?

Apple was right in front of her. No, more than that, what should she do first?

Could she kick it away? Would it explode? Should she hug Apple?

No, more than that, how many seconds were left? Would it be too late if she ran now?

“――Ugh!!!!”

Various thoughts raced through her mind, and Spade dashed into the room like an arrow.

She would embrace Apple and rush to the back of the room. Get as far away from the bomb as possible, and protect her with her own body as a shield.

She didn’t know the scale of the bomb’s explosion, but there was a higher chance of survival this way than Apple enduring it unprotected…

*Beep, beep, beep…*

*BEEEEP!*

‘Ah, no way.’

As she leaped over the bomb, just as her outstretched arm reached Apple,

the regular beeping sound changed. It was an alarm indicating time over.

There was no time to run with Apple. Spade hugged Apple tightly in that very posture. Her heart pounded fiercely.

Ah, she might actually die today.

As she thought this with a surprising sense of emptiness,

from behind her, a *pop* sound was heard.

* * *

…………………………………… ………………………… ………………

‘………A pop?’

Hmm………………

For an explosion sound, wasn’t that a bit too light?

Thinking something was strange, she cautiously turned her head.

With a *boing~ boing~* sound.

From the box she had thought was a bomb, a clown head toy was bouncing and shaking back and forth on a spring attached to its base.

With its tongue sticking out in a raspberry.

With a mischievous smile, as if deliberately trying to infuriate her.

………That bastard, seriously.